"From the beginning, I knew it was a bad idea to attack the region of Campania by land," said a man with elegant features and a calm expression.
The man was called Mercios and was part of the pirate group.
Lesiux stared fixedly at Mercios. Although he tried to disguise it, Lesiux could sense the great difference between Mercios and the other pirate leaders.
It was the aura of nobility, but judging by his appearance, he should not be Roman; he was a foreigner.
Furthermore, Mercios possessed astonishing military talent; it was he who led his pirates to defeat the army of the governor of Sicily.
It was for these reasons that Lesiux decided to collaborate with the pirate group, trying to recruit them to his cause.
"On land it will be very difficult to cause problems for Septimus, but we can intensify the harassment of his merchant ships and affect the commercial income of the entire region of Campania," said Mercios with a calm expression, ignoring the gazes of Lesiux and Gallius.
Gallio, with a gloomy expression, nodded. He was a pirate, and his only ambition was money. The previous raid had caused losses to his pirate group, and there had been no profit.
Unlike other regions, the peasants in the region of Campania proved to be warriors difficult to harass.
Lesiux also agreed.
Attacking Septimus' merchant ships would cause him more damage.
As a Roman noble, Lesiux perfectly understood the value of money within the upper-class social circle of Rome.
On the other hand, in the city of Decapitation, Septimus sent a delegation to Rome.
The pirate raids were annoying, but they did not represent a great threat to the stability of the entire region.
During the last months, more than a dozen large and small improvised gladiator arenas had been built.
Previously, the gladiator industry had been completely decimated during the great massacre carried out by the clone army.
Several ludus were attacked, and the gladiators inside became corpses alongside their owners.
Septimus wanted total control of the region and did not trust the owners of the ludus.
After three years of smooth integration throughout the region, it was time to reopen the gladiator industry.
Gladiator fights were an important source of income and entertainment in Roman culture.
Septimus could neither nor wanted to prohibit gladiator fights in the region of Campania.
Throughout Rome, gladiator fights were celebrated as a deeply rooted custom that represented an important source of entertainment, political prestige, and economic activity for the cities.
The region of Campania belonged to Septimus, but it was undeniable that it formed part of the Roman cultural environment.
Septimus also liked gladiator fights, and participating through the clones could relieve his desire for blood.
History books about gladiator fights in Rome record their origins around the 3rd century B.C.; the oldest recorded tradition occurred in 264 B.C., when the sons of Junius Brutus Pera organized combats during their father's funeral as part of a funeral rite of Etruscan influence.
Over time, these confrontations ceased to be simple private ceremonies and transformed into enormous public spectacles financed by politicians and emperors in order to gain prestige and popular support.
Their impact on Roman culture was profound, reinforcing values such as discipline, courage, and resistance in the face of death, in addition to becoming a powerful tool of entertainment and political propaganda.
In Roman history, amphitheaters, especially the Roman Colosseum, would become symbols of Roman greatness and of a society fascinated both by military glory and public violence.
Septimus' plan for the future also included the construction of a great colosseum near the city of Decapitation.
The colosseum of the city in the region of Campania would become the first great colosseum built in Rome.
In 79 B.C., the Colosseum still did not exist, and its construction began much later, around 72 A.D. under Emperor Vespasian, and it was inaugurated in 80 A.D. by his son, Emperor Titus.
In 79 B.C., many gladiator combats were held in temporary wooden structures specially built for the public games, normally in the Roman Forum or in open areas that could be dismantled after the events.
Before completely conquering the entire region, Septimus knew that the region of Campania had more developed amphitheaters due to the enormous popularity of gladiator fights.
Hundreds of clones would also dedicate themselves to fighting in the arena as gladiators and gain fame for the region of Campania throughout Rome.
Over the years, the region of Campania would become the headquarters of gladiator games.
One week passed quickly.
Septimus was inside his mansion in the city of Decapitation with a gloomy expression.
A commercial fleet belonging to the region of Campania had been attacked by a dozen pirate ships.
The fleet consisted of three cargo ships and was protected by two warships.
The pirates sank the two warships and then attempted to loot two cargo ships before setting them on fire.
The surviving ship managed to escape to the nearest port and avoid pursuit by the pirates.
The members of the fleet were clone sailors and clone guards with great individual combat skills.
Unfortunately, their fighting will and individual abilities could not stop the ramming attacks of the pirate ships.
The pirates rammed the two warships, leaving the clone guards without any possibility of launching a counterattack.
On the other hand, the merchant ships were also controlled by clone sailors who offered fierce resistance when confronting the pirates who boarded the ships.
The pirates were not fools, and the fierce resistance at the bow caused them many problems, forcing them to retreat.
In the end, several pirates withdrew after looting only a few goods.
The retreat of the pirates at the bow of the two merchant ships did not mean a withdrawal.
Dozens of torches were thrown onto the two merchant ships, and the clone sailors hiding in the ship compartments were burned alive.
Most of the clone sailors died burned or drowned, and the few who escaped the fire jumped into the turbulent sea with an uncertain fate.
The economic loss of the fleet was calculated at a total of 600,000 denarii.
Septimus was angry. He had suffered a great loss at sea, and the delegation sent to Rome had received no response from Sulla.
The clone delegation had spent three days in the city of Rome without receiving a response from Sulla or the Senate.
The pirates were a disorganized rabble incapable of causing major problems for the region of Campania, but at sea they were very troublesome.
Outside the sea, Septimus was completely certain that he could defeat all the pirates of the Mediterranean using a single clone legion.
However, the pirates were scattered throughout the Mediterranean Sea in small groups.
Septimus could replicate thousands or millions of clones, but he was powerless when facing a group of elusive pirates.
On the other hand, building a great fleet would take too much time. Even if all the trees of the Italian peninsula were cut down and transported to the docks for the construction of warships.
The immense logistical task would take years to complete, and many problems would arise during the process.
Septimus needed the support of all the provinces of Rome and the allied kingdoms near the Mediterranean in order to put an end to piracy.
In the original history, Pompey used the same method, and with the support of all Rome and the allied kingdoms to encircle the pirates, he managed to destroy them.
Since there was an easy path, Septimus would not choose a more troublesome and cumbersome process to eliminate the pirates in the Mediterranean.
It was time to return to Rome.
With a thought from Septimus, the carriages were prepared for the journey to Rome.