The two were speaking in Latin, which the Scodisqi slaves could not understand, but they saw the elder dressed in thick armor and wearing a red-plumed helmet looking imposing, while their esteemed sage appeared somewhat subdued, causing fear and resentment to arise in their hearts.
Emmerich turned back with a calm demeanor and loudly announced, "Children of the Grey Bear, follow me, I will take you to a place of safety!"
After speaking, he took a flag and held it high, leading the way westward. The others holding flags automatically followed behind him.
Thus, under Emmerich’s leadership, the Skodisqi male slaves left the battlefield, following their compatriots.
As they blindly followed the main force, Gowes had many doubts in his heart. Someone came to find him, saying, "The sage wishes to see you," and he immediately ran to the front of the line.
When Emmerich saw him, he amiably asked, "Gowes, how many years has it been since we last met?"
"About 15 years... and 5 months... the last time I saw you was when we were disastrously defeated by the Romans, and you came to heal me," Gowes recalled.
Emmerich sighed, "You remember so clearly, you must have had a difficult time these past years."
Feeling a pain in his heart, Gowes hastily asked, "Sage, what is going on here?"
"I know you have doubts, and I called you here to give you the answers." So Emmerich briefly explained to the former Scodisqi noble in front of him how he joined the rebel army.
"Are you saying that this army, daring to fight against the Segestica people, is composed of slaves from western Italy? ... They have previously defeated the Roman Army multiple times? ... You have already sworn allegiance to their leader and joined their ranks? ... And promised their leader to bring us to join them as well? ..."
Every time Gowes asked a question, Emmerich nodded in affirmation.
Finally, Emmerich said earnestly, "Now, the only place on this land willing to truly accept us, regard us as their own, and ensure our safety is this newly established Nix Tribe! It is only the Nix Tribe that dares to go to war with the Segestica people and is willing to rescue our other suffering compatriots!"
Gowes was silent for a moment, then looked up at the waving flag and said softly, "If everyone joins this Nix, what about our tribe?"
"Our tribe has already perished..." Emmerich said heavily, "For now, we have no choice, but as for the future... no one knows what will happen."
Gowes blinked, seemingly understanding the implication of Emmerich’s words, and then he declared, "I will listen to you, Sage, so... let’s temporarily join this Nix Tribe."
Temporarily join... Emmerich glanced at him, immediately understanding what he was thinking, but he chose not to persuade further and instead mentioned another matter, "In your group, besides you, who else has prestige?"
"We were all temporarily assembled here from various Segestica tribes and do not know most of the people in this group very well, but during these days of marching, I saw a few acquaintances..."
The names Gowes mentioned were known to Emmerich; they were all former Scodisqi military nobles, renowned warriors, so he instructed, "When we arrive, you will be given shields and long spears, you and those few should organize the group well, and then follow the commands of the leaders sent by the Nix Tribe. Return here when the time comes—"
"The Nix people want us to go back to the battlefield and fight bloodily with the Segestica people?!" Gowes’s expression darkened.
Although brave, Gowes was not a fool. During the march, he had witnessed the strength of the Segestica Army. Having just escaped captivity and with newfound hope for rebuilding the tribe, he naturally did not want to be driven by the Nix people to fight against the powerful Segestica Army, depleting the already scarce number of compatriots.
Emmerich shook his head and waved his empty left hand with force, "No, it’s not sending you to fight the Segestica people! But rather, when they collapse, you need to intercept them and prevent their escape!"
Gowes immediately asked, "How many warriors has the Nix sent to fight the Segestica people?"
"Over 9,000," Emmerich replied truthfully.
"Only over 9,000, and the Nix expects to defeat this Segestica Army?!" Gowes found it hard to believe.
Having marched with the Segestica Army for several days, Gowes roughly knew the number of Segestica warriors. The disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. Although the Nix people’s weapons and formations resembled those of the Romans, they were not the Roman Army. They claimed they had defeated the Roman Army before, but neither Emmerich nor he had seen it with their own eyes. He was more inclined to believe that the Segestica people, with superior numbers and having defeated his tribe multiple times, could achieve victory.
Emmerich knew a little about Maximus’s battle plan, but he was unwilling to say much, as he himself was skeptical about it. He could only say softly, "Rest assured, Leader Maximus promised me that he would not send you into battle unless the enemy collapses."
"But..." Gowes did not feel relieved by this, for he already realized: if the Nix is defeated in this battle, the Segestica people will continue to advance, and if they destroy the Nix, what will become of us?"