Meeting Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus

As the group cheered and rushed joyfully towards the Ebro River,

They were met with an endless expanse of calm river and lake, their voices abruptly falling silent...

Until one person, with a trembling voice, asked, "The... the reinforcements?"

"...!!!"

No reinforcements—!

When they confirmed this fact, all the Roman soldiers erupted.

They were furious, they roared, they despaired, and panicked, cursing those reinforcements who were supposed to arrive but hadn't shown up.

What was going on?

In the midst of this despair, an unnoticed handsome young soldier stared at the empty lake—

His face was very pale, seemingly more stricken than the others, and he kept muttering, "... They've gone mad!"

"There really are no reinforcements!!"

Everyone was in despair, some collapsing powerlessly to the ground, some covering their faces and weeping, others laughing manically and lying flat on their backs.

Witnessing all this, Night, who knew that he could potentially just die once in the simulated universe, remained calm.

And this calmness made him notice the unusual behavior of the handsome young soldier.

As the sun set and darkness approached,

The hopeless Roman soldiers suddenly turned their thoughts to the one who had led them to this dead end—the one who had initially suggested fleeing in this direction.

As time passed, their status was about to be officially classified as deserters.

Even if they weren't killed by the pursuing Spanish rebels, they would be dealt with by Rome later—either sold into slavery or directly executed.

Blaming everything on the one who proposed the escape route, a group led by a burly, aging soldier, with cold expressions, approached the handsome young soldier Night had been watching.

Yes, that handsome young man was the one who had suggested fleeing towards the Ebro River.

The soldiers started beating the young man, who cried out in pain but didn't dare fight back, merely hugging his head and curling up on the ground.

"That's enough, stop!" Night suddenly spoke up.

The soldiers instinctively paused, turning with dissatisfaction to see who had intervened.

Upon seeing it was Night, they swallowed their curses.

The old soldier leading the group, though fearful of Night's strength, still had a face twisted with resentment and anger.

"You're standing up for him?

If it weren't for this man, we wouldn't be deserters now.

The sun has set.

Even if we return to Rome, our names will be stained with dishonor, and we might even become slaves, losing our identities and bringing shame to our families!!"

Having said this, the old soldier drew his sword and aimed it at the young man's head.

"This disgrace must be repaid in blood—!"

And seeing his action, the young man, who had been silently enduring the beating out of guilt and had no intention of fighting back, panicked when he realized the old soldier was truly about to kill him…

As the cold blade neared his neck, he desperately wanted to say something, but it was too late—

No one had expected the old soldier to lash out so suddenly with such explosive anger!

Even knowing Night's terrifying strength, he still dared to defy his command.

In the next moment, a sword suddenly knocked the old soldier's weapon out of his hand.

Night appeared in front of the old soldier as if he had teleported, lifted him by the neck with one hand and then slammed him into the ground.

Bang~!!

The ground cracked slightly, and the old soldier spat out a mouthful of blood, groaning in pain.

After easily subduing and injuring the old soldier, Night stood up and coldly looked down at him:

"What's wrong, no strength left to hold your sword?

Too weak.

As a warrior, your strength is utterly inadequate.

Maybe dying on the battlefield is the best outcome for someone as weak as you.

At least you would have died with some dignity. Or do you prefer to die by my hand?"

"Karkases~!!" The others who had come with the old soldier shouted his name.

They were shocked by the sight of the cracked ground and Night's inhuman strength, swallowing hard and feeling grateful they hadn't resisted him.

Night didn't kill the old soldier.

As Karkases lay on the ground, hearing Night's words, his face flushed with anger and humiliation, momentarily forgetting his fear of the young man.

Just as he was about to say something—

Night: "Calm down. My attack was a punishment for disobeying my orders.

I'm not favoring anyone.

I have questions for this man that concern our chances of safely returning to Rome.

Things might not be as dire as they seem.

Or—do you want to keep testing my patience?"

Night's words gradually calmed Karkases.

"I understand…" Though he didn't know what Night had discovered, the old man chose to comply.

Night then turned to the handsome young man, and asked coldly, "Who are you?"

The handsome young man, still sweating from his close brush with death and about to express his gratitude, felt his pupils contract at Night's question.

Night: "Don't rush your answer. Think carefully before you respond. If you lie or try to deceive me with a falsehood,

I will hand you over to these soldiers to deal with as they see fit. Unless you want to experience the feeling of nearly losing your life again.

Your fate depends on your honesty…"

Taking a deep breath and sighing, the young man realized he could no longer hide the truth.

After a long pause—

Considering the grim fate he would face at the hands of Karkases and the others, he shuddered and finally chose to speak the truth…

"My name is Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus…"

"...Serving as the quaestor for this Roman campaign in Spain.

In the chaos of battle, I switched equipment with one of the soldiers and managed to escape.

The soldiers protecting me sacrificed themselves heroically, and just as I was about to be killed, you saved me.

The reason I proposed heading to the Ebro River is because I received a message from Rome not long ago stating that a reinforcement force of several thousand troops would be arriving by river to support us.

The exact location is where we are now—

I can assure you that once the reinforcements arrive, I will explain everything to their commander, and none of you will be considered deserters. Please trust in the honor of the Gracchus family."

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus—...!?

Upon hearing this familiar name, Night, who initially wasn't too concerned about the young man's identity, was stunned.

Tiberius might not be a name widely known, but the Gracchus brothers were famous in Roman history for their reforms.

In the real world, the Lex Iulia that he intended to guide Lucius Caesar to create was based on the original proposals by the Gracchus brothers, which were later modified.

The Gracchus brothers were the pioneers, with Lucius being the one who consolidated their efforts.

Tiberius was the elder of the Gracchus brothers...

Night was momentarily shocked by this twist of fate: ...!

Well..he hadn't expected to catch such a big fish.

.

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