"Me?" Tini Bazus snorted, "I want to build a strong house, have someone make a comfortable bed, then lock the door tight and get a good sleep. You bastards, don’t even think about waking me up!"
Such a commotion occurred in every tent.
But in a few tents, the situation was different.
"Kadesos, Mark...Leader Maximus said that upon reaching Validosi, everyone in the troupe could receive land. Can we get some too?" a blacksmith asked anxiously, referring to the group of blacksmiths who had escaped during the Womans River battle, disrupting the camp and now being guarded.
"I’m not sure," Kadesos replied cautiously, "However...Leader Maximus once said, ’As long as you obey the army’s commands from now on and don’t violate military law, once the campaign ends, you will no longer be treated as criminals...’ ’By that time, you should also be part of the army."
"Exactly! Leader Maximus needs us! If we can forge weapons and armor for his army, a lot of weapons and armor, he will surely grant us land!" another blacksmith encouraged loudly.
Even though these blacksmiths had decent wages in Sarabia before, they never owned their own land. Despite being blacksmiths by trade, their yearning for land was no less than anyone else’s, especially since Maximus promised land comparable to that of ordinary Roman citizens, which would certainly not be small!
"Hmph, don’t dream too much. Maximus would never give us land! When we reach Validosi, he’ll turn us into his slaves, forging and working for him until death!" someone sneered in the dark.
"Shut up, Sistos, this is all your fault! If it weren’t for you inciting us, we wouldn’t have fled, wouldn’t be worrying about whether we could get land—"
"Was it me who incited you?! Wasn’t it because you hated Maximus for forcing you away from your homes with swords and spears, leading to your decision to escape? You even said you’d help the Roman Army to disrupt their camp, hoping they’d suffer a great defeat to get back at him—"
"Damn you, Sistos, shut up!" someone roared, lunging at Sistos and punching him in the head.
Sistos ducked to avoid the blow, preparing to fight back when yet another person rushed at him...
Soon, Sistos was being pounded into the bed, fists raining down on him, multiple voices shouting, "It’s all this guy’s fault, beat him hard!"
"If he dares to keep talking nonsense, tear his mouth apart!"
"Stop it! If you hurt Sistos, we’ll all have to pay for it!"
.....................
At dawn the next day, the Maximus Army broke camp and set out. Led by the Alde Tribe Envoy, they bypassed Tarsatica City, walked a short distance along the coast, and then headed east into the mountains.
Before entering the mountains, Maximus heeded the advice of Karsipengpas to dismantle all the carriages (not abandoning them because Karsipengpas said that in the mountainous area, supplies are scarce, and all carriage parts are valuable), with the materials loaded onto pack animals, while the rest of the supplies were carried on the soldiers’ backs.
As Cleobrotas said, entering the mountains brought cooler weather, mainly because the high mountains and dense forests blocked the scorching sun.
Sometimes, the rebel army trekked on winding mountain paths, with towering peaks on both sides, seeing only a sliver of sky above. Wild goats leaped between the cliffs, dislodging stones with nowhere for soldiers to hide;
At times, they moved through towering forests, with thick soil made of dead branches and leaves, snakes and insects slithering, herds of wild boar darting through the woods, and large lynxes lurking in the trees... Even seasoned warriors were wary walking through here;
Sometimes the rebel army crossed ridge lines, even in the scorching summer, where snow still lay thick, clouds swirling around their feet, making each step hard to breathe, not to mention the pack animals which required pulling and pushing to progress...
Daytime marching was difficult, and resting at night was an even bigger issue, with no large open spaces for campgrounds. They had to clear the ground as best as they could, light bonfires, set many sentries, and have others wrap themselves in cloth blankets, sleeping on the ground around the fire.
Every day there were injuries and illnesses, the excitement and passion for finding a new home slowly drained by the arduous march, and murmurs of complaint started to arise within the troops.
Maximus could only instruct his attendants to spread words like, "If we are struggling so much in these mountains, those well-off Roman Soldiers surely wouldn’t dare to venture here; life will be safer beyond the mountains..." to calm the troops’ moods.
Though Maximus said this, in truth, ever since the march began through the mountains, he remained tense, not anticipating the sheer difficulty of traversing these steep peaks, straining the army’s resources tremendously. Their unfamiliarity with the terrain meant a surprise attack could spell disaster.
Maximus regretted leading the troops into the mountains so hastily and quietly instructed Pequot: "Keep a close watch on all members of the Aldean Envoy. If anything happens during the march, seize them immediately!"
As it turned out, Maximus’s concerns were unfounded. Throughout nearly twenty days of traversing mountains, there was no sign of an enemy, not even a single figure; the only living things they encountered were wild animals.
As the mountains suddenly lowered, vistas expanded, breathing eased, and most importantly, they saw a river rushing through the valley, with herds of deer drinking along the banks, and even spotted a hunter, javelin in hand and prey over the shoulder, walking by the river.
The hunter, seeing a large group of strangers suddenly appear in the valley, was so frightened that he abandoned his prey and fled, but was shouted down by an elder from the Alde Tribe Envoy.
It turned out this hunter belonged to the village overseen by the elder, located on a hill not far from the river.
Only upon questioning did they learn that the village had been informed about the Maximus Army’s alliance with the Alde Tribe and their entrance into the territory; he simply hadn’t connected it to the group before him.
"Here, we are within the Alde Tribe’s territory. You can proceed with peace of mind," Cleobrotas declared proudly, then gestured to the river before them, "This is the Kupa River, one of the two rivers flowing through Validosi."
"So if we follow this river, we’ll reach Validosi?" Maximus looked down at the river in the gorge, noting its steep gradient, swift water, thirty to forty meters wide, and crystal-clear waters, though bottomless.
"No, no, no," Cleobrotas shook his head, "The Kupa flows in a huge loop ahead. If we follow it precisely, it will take over two months to reach Validosi, so we will only follow it part of the way."