Rome Must Perish-Chapter 250 - 160 Inconsistency_2

While Emmerich was speaking, Maximus was sizing up Gowes: He wasn’t tall, but his body was strong, with prominently bulging muscles. Unlike the Scodisqi slaves he had seen before, who looked thin due to not being fed well by the Segestica people, his features were hard, and there was a determination in his eyes...

"Gowes." Maximus warmly extended his right hand, smiling as he said, "You are a capable person. Welcome to the Nix Tribe! I believe you will surely—" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"Leader Maximus." Gowes looked directly at the young leader before him and said solemnly, "I’ve heard you are a generous and kind leader. I have a request, and I hope you will agree!"

No one had interrupted him so rudely for a long time. Maximus felt displeased, but he suppressed it and asked with an unwavering smile, "What is your request?"

"We are not prepared to join your tribe." Gowes stated forcefully, "We hope you will allow us to leave here!"

Maximus was taken aback, immediately looking at Emmerich with a questioning expression, only to find the other equally surprised.

"Gowes, what nonsense are you talking about!" Emmerich, who was usually kind-hearted, was now furious, sharply questioning, "Didn’t you agree to join the Nix Tribe before!"

"I’m sorry, Sage, I did agree before." Gowes showed no sign of apology, saying righteously, "However, after discussing with everyone, we feel we have had enough of the Segestica people’s oppression and do not wish to join another tribe and be constrained again. We are Skodisqi people, and if we were to join any tribe, it would be our own—"

"Gowes, you should know— the Skodisqi Tribe has already been destroyed!"

"Our tribe is gone, but we will rebuild it!" Gowes said with determination.

"How many times do I have to say that you simply cannot survive here on your own!" Emmerich reminded loudly with deep concern.

"We can!" Gowes lifted his head, responding with confidence, "The Segestica people have already suffered a great defeat; they can no longer deal with us!"

"That is just the Segestica Tribe! There are still the Brochi, Mazi, Desitia, Perustai, Disone... Any one of those tribes is a giant beast capable of easily crushing you like a little ant!"

"We won’t provoke the other great Pannonian tribes; why would they send troops to attack us?"

"Have you forgotten how we were defeated back then! The various Pannonian tribes are far more united than us. They will respond to the Segestica Tribe’s request and jointly send troops to annihilate you! Moreover, remember that you are Skodisqi people; the Pannonians will never allow your independent existence. They will try everything to eliminate you as soon as possible!"

"I... we have our own ways to deal with that!" Gowes responded stiffly.

Seeing he was adamant, Emmerich had no choice but to turn his gaze to the others, "Are you all planning to go with him?"

Some hung their heads in guilt, while others calmly said, "Yes, Sage, we have already discussed and decided to seize the opportunity while the Segestica people are defeated, go into their territory, seek revenge, and rescue our compatriots!"

Emmerich’s expression eased slightly but soon turned stern again as he asked, "How many people have you persuaded to go with you?"

"About 700 people; the others are cowards!" Gowes cursed a little, then continued, "Sage, I just wanted to talk to you about persuading our compatriots who have already joined this tribe if anyone else is willing to leave with us."

"Absolutely not!" Maximus, who had been listening to the conversation and observing whether Emmerich and these people were putting on a show, finally couldn’t help but speak.

"Why?!" Gowes stepped forward excitedly, "They are all Skodisqi people!—"

The guards behind Maximus immediately rushed forward, blocking in front of him, with their short swords pointing at Gowes and the others.

"Leader Maximus, please forgive their recklessness; they bear no malice!" Emmerich hurriedly explained.

Maximus waved his hand, causing the guards to step aside, but they still held their sword and shield, remaining vigilant against Gowes and the others.

Maximus said sternly, "They have already sworn to join the Nix Tribe and have received recognition from the entire tribe, becoming a part of it. According to the tribe’s decree, unless expelled by the tribe, tribesmen cannot arbitrarily leave the tribe, or they will be considered traitors and face severe punishment!"

"You are depriving us Skodisqi people of our freedom, attempting to enslave them!" Gowes shouted angrily.

Maximus sneered, "A nation has its laws, and a tribe has its rules. Would the previous Skodisqi Tribe allow its people to leave the tribe at will?"

Gowes was left speechless.

The former Skodisqi tribes were formed based on blood ties, with the leader and nobles as patriarchs. Except for the Druids of noble status, ordinary tribe members who fled without permission would also be severely punished. As someone who was once a noble, Gowes was well aware of this.

He had only heard Emmerich mention that "the Nix Tribe is newly established, with most of its members coming from various parts of the Mediterranean," and had assumed its management must be lenient, with members free to come and go, which was why he had made such a request.

"If what you said to Emmerich about ’joining the Nix Tribe’ was only a verbal agreement and not officially recognized, otherwise you would already be tied to a post, awaiting a public trial by the tribe."

Maximus stated calmly, "Since you’ve made your decision, leave quickly and don’t disrupt the normal order of my tribe. By the way, leave behind the shields and long spears you took before you go."

"What?! You want to take our weapons away!" Gowes was agitated upon hearing this.

"You are mistaken; those are not your weapons but ones we temporarily lent you to intercept the defeated Segestica soldiers. Now that the battle is over, you naturally should return the weapons," Maximus replied calmly.

"But... we helped you complete the mission and intercepted so many Segestica warriors! As a reward, these weapons should be given to us!" Gowes argued righteously.

"And those supplies in that village—" one of his companions reminded him.

Gowes immediately reacted, "Yes, yes, yes, we also captured a Segestica village not far from here and seized their supplies. According to our Skodisqi war customs, though we fought for you, these supplies we captured on our own should belong to us...

Regarding the Segestica warriors we captured and the armor and weapons they had, we should have a share as well. But considering you have helped us before, as a gesture of gratitude, we will not take them."

Maximus laughed heartily until Gowes and the others looked somewhat embarrassed. He then stopped, his expression calming down, and he said indifferently, "Hearing you say this, I should thank you for your generosity!"

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶