Cross, having been hit where it hurts, jumped up fiercely and strode over, grabbing Cleonis by the collar and lifting him up, roaring, "Who the hell do you think you are, daring to spout nonsense here! When I was slaying Romans mercilessly in Campania, you were probably begging for food somewhere..."
The towering Cross glared fiercely at Cleonis at close range, his eyes flashing with a ferocious light, like a giant beast ready to devour a man.
Cleonis, who could rally the southern Calabrian civilians and form a team to join the rebel army, was not lacking in ability and courage. Yet, at this moment, he was so intimidated by Cross’s daunting presence that he forgot to resist.
Spartacus rushed forward just in time, forcibly separating Cross, and shouted in an equally angry voice, "Cross, didn’t you hear what I said just now! Go back to your seat and discuss our next moves with everyone. If you dare to act recklessly again, I will not be polite to you!"
With a crisp "pop," Cross forcefully knocked aside Spartacus’s hand from his chest and said with hatred, "I’m causing trouble here today, so what! Spartacus, what trick will you come up with to deal with me!"
Hearing this, Spartacus clenched his fists tightly, his chest heaving dramatically, but he bit his jaw, controlling his rising fury.
The two faced each other, glaring angrily.
Hamilcar, seeing that things were not right, quickly got up and persuaded, "Cross——"
"Shut up!" Cross angrily pointed at Hamilcar, "You accomplice of Spartacus, always helping him come up with bad ideas, making everyone foolishly follow your instructions. I’ve long wanted to beat you up!"
"You, too, Antonix, Spartacus’ lackey, besides nodding and agreeing with him, what else can you do!"
"And you——" Cross pointed at Maximus, "A traitor to the gladiators, having caused so many brothers to die, yet you still became a leader!"
Maximus, who still hadn’t figured out why all this was happening upon entering, decided to watch and wait in the face of Cross’s accusations.
"And you, Attutmus, someone who’s never killed a man, yet can still..." Cross cursed out each leader in the tent, venting his long-held anger, then bent down furiously to pick up the short sword stuck in the ground.
Others instinctively drew their short swords and pointed them at him.
Cross looked around, stepped back two paces, then raised his sword and shouted, "What, want to gang up and kill me here?!"
"Cross, don’t slander us, you were the one who drew the short sword to threaten us first!" Antonix retorted.
Cross angrily said, "I knew long ago, you guys have joined hands to deal with me! Fine! Fine! Let the officer’s meeting go to hell, I won’t stick with you cowards, go be deserters if you want, I absolutely won’t leave! I’ll stay here with my brothers——"
Cross stared directly at Spartacus and said firmly, "Without you, I, Cross, can still defeat the Romans, you just watch!" Having finished, he sheathed his sword and strode out of the tent.
Spartacus’s face turned successively red and white, evidently infuriated, but after hesitating for a moment, he still chased after Cross.
Hamilcar hurriedly followed.
The others in the tent looked at each other, with uneasy expressions on their faces.
"Attutmus, what exactly is going on? Why did Cross suddenly break with us?" Maximus approached Attutmus and whispered.
"You just arrived, you wouldn’t know, this wasn’t sudden, ever since that guy brought his troops here, he’s been arguing with Spartacus and these leaders over whether to retreat north. Before you came in, he was shouting and jumping around, almost ready to hit someone. If Spartacus hadn’t stopped him, we would have beaten him down long ago!" Attutmus said resentfully, having been yelled at by Cross earlier, he was also bottling up anger.
It seems Cross’s angry departure had nothing to do with me arriving late to the meeting..... Maximus didn’t feel relaxed and continued to ask, "Wasn’t it agreed to face the battle here, why suddenly change to want to retreat north?"
"Ah, it’s really no choice." Attutmus glanced at the others, then said quietly, "After we returned from withdrawing our army from Metapontum, news quickly spread that the Roman Army would come here. The majority of the soldiers led by these leaders are Great Greeks, they are extremely afraid of the Romans, and were very panicked upon hearing the news.
They believe that although our Free Italy has a large number of people, we lack armor and weapons, and couldn’t even take a small town like Metapontum, it’s absolutely impossible to defeat the Roman Army.....
Spartacus and they went to the various camps, trying to reassure the soldiers to no avail, and even the civilians who were attached to us but not incorporated into various teams and scattered on the periphery had started to flee north in succession.
Later, after Cross brought his troops here, the Roman army also arrived on the Turi Plain, making people even more panicked here. They protested to Spartacus and the others, refused to fight the Romans, and demanded an immediate retreat.....
This is why Spartacus urgently convened the meeting. Actually, not just here, although my side is a bit farther, the reaction of those soldiers who joined later is much the same, coupled with seeing the continuously northward fleeing people, where else would they have the courage to fight the Romans, I hurried here actually intending to discuss this with Spartacus, is it the same situation on your side?"