Crassus—one of the future Triumvirs of Rome.
Among the three, Pompey Magnus commanded Rome's military, he controlled its wealth, and young Caesar would emerge as a dark horse.
Using Crassus's wealth and Pompey's military strength, Caesar eventually grew into a titan far beyond comparison.
Together, the Triumvirate ruled Rome for a long time, until Caesar laughed last, becoming the ultimate winner:
Caesar the Great.
They gave him power and resources, and people often forget the names of the ones who lost.
But in fact, to even be called one of Rome's Triumvirs, Crassus was anything but ordinary.
At a young age, he had amassed enormous wealth through commerce.
In Rome, many beast arenas, gambling houses, and other shadowy noble-pleasing venues were founded by Crassus.
This old fox also knew how to invest—he wasn't afraid to spend on people with talent.
And in an era where young Caesar had yet to rise, the most worthy investment in Rome was undoubtedly Marius, the man contending with Sulla for the crown of Rome's uncrowned king.
When Marius arrived at Crassus's beast arena alone, the latter personally welcomed him—
With a radiant smile, he asked his guest's purpose.
Marius got straight to the point:
He wanted slaves.
Not just any slaves, but the kind who could fight lions, wolves, even conquer mountains and oceans, slaves capable of battling legendary monsters!
Crassus's smile nearly froze on his face: "???"
Huh?!
Is this guy asking for the moon?
What the hell is he talking about?!
That's as good as saying nothing at all!
Slaves?
He just described Greek myth heroes!
Heracles, before becoming a god, completed the Twelve Labors by fighting countless legendary beasts.
A guy like that, how unlucky would he have to be to end up a slave?!
And if he was a slave, who the hell could keep him under control?!
Why not just say, "Hey, can I buy Zeus off you?"
Crassus couldn't help but say,
"You really know how to joke, my lord…
While we do have some decent gladiators, they're still just gladiators.
There's one called Hercules—
and yes, we do have warriors who can take on lions and wolves.
On the battlefield, they can fight a hundred to one.
But… they're pricey.
That said, if it's you, I can do a special deal—buy one, get one free."
But Marius shook his head.
"That level of warrior is strong, yes…
But they're nothing compared to real heroes."
He hadn't personally seen Lista Night fight, but he'd heard the legends.
He used to be a his fanboy, after all.
He'd heard the tale of the Ebro River.
A single spear destroying an entire Spanish rebel base, an invulnerable steel body, frightening speed and stamina, after rearguard battling for days, he still had the energy to cross the Ebro River on foot.
That kind of monster was basically Achilles reborn.
Marius spoke. "Can your warriors defeat someone with an invulnerable steel body?"
Crassus. "…Uh, no."
"Can they shatter a military base with a single spear strike?"
"..."
He suspected Marius had come here just to mess with him.
Is this guy even human?!
It's a spear, not a catapult.
How much strength would it take to throw something like that and cause such devastation?
Seeing Marius's expression grow increasingly disappointed,
Crassus suddenly thought of something and quickly spoke up. "Right—perhaps there really is someone who fits Lord Marius's request."
A new slave gladiator just came to mind...
As a major slave owner and land magnate, Crassus had all kinds of strong slaves pass through the hands of his vast network every single day.
The most outstanding ones would be selected and sent to his arena, where they would fight for his profits—earning him mountains of gold.
Don't be fooled by his image as just a merchant, Crassus had built a slave empire of monstrous scale.
In fact, in the future, when Rome would face a massive slave uprising, and its regular forces were too stretched thin from fighting wars on multiple fronts—
They hired Crassus to suppress the rebellion with his own slave army.
And the leader of those rebel slaves?
The legendary warrior who fought for freedom—Spartacus.
Even though Crassus wasn't a military genius, he had money, and resources, and an army big enough to grind Spartacus into the ground.
By that point, Spartacus had raised an army of over 100,000, sweeping across Rome like a storm.
But Crassus, through sheer financial and numerical pressure, crushed the rebellion.
It could be said that the resources at his disposal rivaled, if not exceeded, those of the Senate or the Roman legions themselves.
Which meant, if you were looking for strong warriors, you were more likely to find them in Crassus's holdings than anywhere else.
After all, among slaves, there were always surprises, particularly those captured from Greece, Sparta, or other lands, some of whom carried faint divine bloodlines in their veins.
As long as their potential was triggered, they might even become true heroes.
When Marius asked eagerly who it was——!
Crassus spoke. "Spartacus——!
A Thracian warrior! When he first arrived at the arena,
he snapped one of our stone pillars in half and used it as a weapon—
then casually bashed in the skull of a lion."
"You should know just how thick and heavy that pillar of mine was, right, my lord?"
"That guy's strength is like a monster's!"
"No matter what enemy you're facing, I doubt anyone could survive a direct hit from that thing."
In fact, if you used that thing as a throwing weapon, it could absolutely smash a group of soldiers to death in one go.
That might just count as blasting apart an enemy camp with a single spear, right?!
But Crassus still felt a bit hesitant.
That monster-like warrior, even if you chained him with dozens of steel locks, he still felt incredibly unsafe and unreliable.
And yet, for some reason, Spartacus had been very well-behaved.
Despite possessing strength akin to a hero out of myth, a little Heracles, he had shown no will to resist.
Crassus always had the feeling this man was scheming something...
Was it really okay to hand this thing over to Lord Marius?
What if it backfired?
On the other hand, Marius, hearing Crassus's description, also sucked in a breath.
Sure, the feats didn't sound quite as legendary as those of Night…
But after all, legends are mostly exaggerated anyway.
Just imagining that strength, smashing down onto a human skull, made Marius shudder.
Even if Night had an invulnerable steel-like body, sure, maybe his skin could take the blow, but were his organs made of metal too?
If he were caught off guard and took one full strike from this monster——
Could that finally kill Lista Night?!
At this thought, Marius was tempted.
.
.
.