But when the news that "the Roman Army is about to invade" spread throughout the entire camp, it caused unrest in the ranks, especially among those soldiers who had joined the troop only after leaving Campania; they felt panic.
Fortunately, Maximus exercised strict control over the army, with each subdivision stationed in independent camps. Under the leadership of their team officers, they carried out daily training, patrol tasks, and adhered to set routines. Unauthorized outings were prohibited, so no major incidents occurred.
However, a small number of deserters emerged among the personnel from the two major logistical departments: the kitchen and the warehouse.
Because of this, Maximus had to strengthen oversight across all departments and personally visited various locations for several consecutive days, working with supervisors to reassure personnel and boost morale.
After much effort stabilizing the situation, Maximus was preparing to lead the First and Second Legions south to Tarentum when he suddenly received urgent news from Fesaros, the Legion Commander of the First Legion, stationed near Bari City: A significant number of soldiers from the Free Italy forces had entered the Bari Territory with their families, claiming they planned to retreat north... and asking Maximus whether they should be expelled.
Maximus’s first thought was that Spartacus and his forces had changed their plans—not fighting the Roman Army at Tarentum but instead opting to move north temporarily to avoid the Roman Army’s onslaught.
But upon reflecting further, he found this implausible, as this was not Spartacus’s usual style. Even if Spartacus intended to do so, he would at least convene a meeting with the officers to reach a consensus, rather than act arbitrarily. Thus, it was far more likely that some soldiers from the Free Italy forces feared the Roman Army and fled north on their own accord.
Realizing this, Maximus couldn’t sit still. He immediately led the cavalry along the main road, racing toward the First Legion’s camp.
Before reaching the camp, Maximus encountered rebel soldiers from the south—or perhaps it would be more accurate to call them peasants. With their families in tow, scattered across the Bari Territory, they were not organized into units and were clumsily fleeing north.
Maximus dispatched his cavalry to question these fleeing peasants, and their answers were largely similar: the invading Roman Army was overwhelmingly strong, and the ill-equipped rebel forces stood no chance. It’s better to retreat first and avoid the conflict.
When asked which units they belonged to, their responses varied greatly. Some were from various troops, including Spartacus’s forces, but many were unaffiliated peasants. These were mostly elderly, infirm, and disabled individuals not officially integrated into the rebel army when they enlisted, but they didn’t leave; instead, they stayed near the rebel camps, inhabiting the crude, impoverished settlements Maximus had seen during his first expedition south.
Faced with this scene, Maximus’s expression turned grim. After pondering for a moment, he issued an order: "Akegu, immediately return to Sarabia and inform Vallerus. Tell him, it’s my command: have him send messengers to notify all towns that are under our control to evacuate the civilians outside their city walls back into the towns for shelter. Also, express our apologies to them; we can no longer fulfill the promises we made."
Akegu, puzzled and shocked, asked, "Leader, we have to... apologize to them?!"
"Even though these towns have likely received the news of the Roman Army’s arrival and may even be secretly preparing to oppose us, they have upheld their commitments for the past two or three months. And ultimately, we were the ones who broke our promise—unable to stop people from other troops from trampling their lands. Offering an apology is deserved. This concerns our credibility," Maximus said earnestly.
Half of the cavalry escorted Akegu back while Maximus hurried to the First Legion’s camp.
As soon as Fesaros saw him, he immediately knelt down: "Leader, I violated your orders— I didn’t command the soldiers to expel these people who entered Bari Territory—"
Before he could finish, Maximus gripped his arms and forcibly pulled him up. "You did the right thing. The situation has changed now; we can no longer stop them. Assemble the soldiers immediately, abandon this camp, and follow me to Tarentum!"
"Are we going to engage the Romans?!" Fesaros asked nervously, albeit with some excitement.
"That remains to be seen," Maximus replied ambiguously.
On the way south, the northward stream of people never ceased, and it seemed to be growing larger. Maximus was fortunate to encounter a messenger sent by Spartacus, who informed him that Cross had led his troops away from the Turi Plain and into Tarentum Territory. Furthermore, Spartacus and the other leaders had left Uriya and gathered near Tarentum’s northern border to urgently convene a military officers’ meeting.
Maximus grew contemplative upon hearing that the meeting would be held even closer to Apulia.
The meeting location was a temporary camp set up by Cross’s forces. Maximus lifted the curtain and entered the military tent to find the scene unchanged from last time—apart from him, all the other leaders were already present.
Compared to the last meeting, the atmosphere inside the tent was unusually tense. Each person’s face looked grim, especially Cross, who was sitting on the ground with a reckless posture, holding an unsheathed short sword. With a ferocious expression, he repeatedly struck the soil in front of him.
Seeing Maximus enter, Cross immediately vented his fury: "Maximus, every time, you’re the last to arrive, making us wait so long! Do you even deserve to be called a leader anymore?"
Maximus was taken aback, not understanding why Cross suddenly targeted him with such hostility. Without overthinking, he retorted sharply: "Compared to someone who refuses to follow the decisions of meetings and sends no troops to attack Metapontum, I believe I am very much deserving of being a leader!"
All but Spartacus and Hamilcar burst into laughter, with Phitodorus even chiming in: "Well said!"
Cross drew his short sword and flicked it. With a flash of cold light, half the blade embedded itself in the soil before Phitodorus, causing him to cry out in shock and fall backward.
Cross sneered, his wolf-like ferocity sweeping across the faces of Maximus and the other leaders. "So, are you all teaming up against me today?" he hissed angrily.
"Knock it off!" Spartacus roared furiously, a rare display of anger. "The Romans’ army is already right before us, and you still have the mind to bicker here! Finish this meeting properly and quickly decide our next military action for Free Italy!"
Spartacus’s outburst prompted Phitodorus to quickly sit upright, while the other leaders fell silent. Only Cross let out a heavy snort, sarcastically saying, "Spartacus, is there really any point in holding a meeting? Don’t all decisions come down to you alone? The Romans are here, and if you say we should face them head-on, we all agree to fight head-on. If you say we should focus all forces on Tarentum, I give up the Turi Plain camp and bring all my warriors here painstakingly. But now you’re telling me to avoid the Romans and retreat north—"
"Chief Cross, I believe you’re not being entirely truthful." Cleonis couldn’t help but interject, "If I recall correctly, when the messenger conveyed our collective decision to ’face the Romans at Tarentum’ to you in the Turi Plain, your initial response was to refuse to comply with the resolution!
The reason you ended up here is because the Roman Army advanced on the Turi Plain, and the Greek towns south of the plain gathered an army of no less than ten thousand, putting you in a position of being attacked from two sides. That’s what forced you to come here—"