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Outside the city of Ostia, Camillus preached that he could negotiate with the Theonians as long as they captured the small port city and eventually took back Rome peacefully…

Encouraged by this, the eager Roman soldiers launched two consecutive days of fierce attacks on Ostia. Unfortunately, the Theonian army repelled them, resulting in corpses covering the city, the ground stained red, and multiple places in the city wall collapsed, showing how fierce the battle was.

Even with that, the Roman army continued launching attacks on the third day.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

In the Roman Senate, Davos was holding a meeting. Apart from all the statesmen who were in Rome, they were also participants that included the legatus of the Third Legion – Litom, Phryntor, Tolmides and Tapirus.

“Everyone, I had appointed Tapirus to go to the Etruscan city-states on the north bank of Tiber, including Caisra, Volch, Tarchna, and Fufluna, in hopes that these Etruscan city-states, which the Romans forced to join them under their strong military strength, could tear up their alliance with Rome and join hands with us in attacking the Roman colonies on the north bank of Tiber…” After saying that, Davos let out a light sigh.

“Your Majesty, so these Etruscans didn’t agree?” Litom asked hurriedly. As the legatus responsible for guarding Rome’s Pons Aemills and the new river port on the north bank, if these Etruscans could change sides to Theonia and attack the Roman colonies, then the pressure of the enemy on the north of Rome would disappear, allowing the Third Legion to leave and go to other battlefields. Hence, Litom interjected.

But instead of answering, Davos just looked at Tapirus.

Everyone’s gaze immediately shifted to Tapirus, who swallowed slightly before nervously saying, “I…I took a ship to Caisra first after receiving His Majesty’s order as it is the closest to us, but also because…as far as I know, it is the Etruscan city-state that is friendliest to the Greeks. And indeed, that proved to be true, as I received a warm welcome from them.

But…when discussing our willingness to ally with them and work together against Rome, the Caisrans politely declined and said they had been friendly with Rome for decades and would never turn their backs on that friendship so easily. Still, they said they won’t get involved in this war as an enemy of Theonia, either.”

Moreover, they had spoken on Rome’s behalf. They said it would be best to stop fighting the Romans and hold a peace talk since we had already taken hold of the city of Rome and gained the upper hand, which could bring more benefits and ensure that the trade order on this land wouldn’t get significantly disrupted…”

“Despite saying they won’t be enemies of us, the Caisrans still defend the Romans with their words,” said the praetor of Rome, Asistes, while frowning.

“The Caisrans made it clear that they had friendly ties with Rome for decades while never having any contact with us. If I were a Caisran, I would naturally help the Romans!” Matonis said bluntly.

Nicomachus stared at Tapirus and asked anxiously, “Since Caisra, the most friendly towards the Greeks, also favoured the Romans, the other Etruscan city-states might not have supported us, right?”

Tapirus nodded slightly and continued, “After Caisra, I headed next to Volch and Tarchna, both of which were city-states the Romans had attacked and ultimately forced to submit. Since Rome even founded colonies within their borders, they had shown interest in His Majesty’s proposal. However, they both ultimately had no choice but to say that with the vast majority of their young and abled citizens fighting together with the Roman army, they dared not take any hostile action against Rome right now, lest they anger the Romans and put their citizens who have gone out to battle in danger…”

“It seems the Romans were strict about their Etruscan allies!” Antrapolis, who had come from the intelligence department, said with a sigh when he heard this.

“Afterwards, I headed to Fufluna. A few months ago, Rome sent troops to conquer this city, but the Romans could only withdraw their troops once we started waging war with Rome, which was equivalent to saving them.” Tapirus continued, “But the council of Fufluna didn’t appear enthusiastic when they welcomed me and didn’t seem interested in our proposal. Instead, they told me that they could not decide alone, so if we wanted them to join us and declare war on Rome, we must consult with the Etruscan League and reach an agreement with them before making a final decision. But until then, they are quite willing to establish friendly ties with us…

But, from what I know, the Etruscan League is a loose alliance that lacks unity. In the past few years, they didn’t even unite to fight against the invading Roman army when Rome attacked the Etruscan city-states, making it easier for Rome to conquer Volch and Tarchna.”

“You mean to say…the people of Fufluna said that because they have no intention of allying with us?” Asistes interjected.

Tapirus nodded and said, “After meeting with their council, I had the interpreter who followed me to bribe their council members before I learned from them that although they hate Rome, they are also wary of us outsiders and were even more worried because after the Etruscans allied with the Romans to drive away the Celts, the Romans led their army to conquer them within a few years. Hence, they didn’t want to make the same mistake again. I fear they prefer to see us and Rome losing in the battle, which would benefit them most…”

“These Etruscans schemes well! Unfortunately, they would only regret it in the future!” Matonis exclaimed.

“I believe it isn’t just the people of Fufluna who think this way. The other Etruscan city-states should also have the same thought, to the point where they’re more willing to trust the Romans they’ve been dealing with for hundreds of years compared to us,” said King Davos’ brother-in-law, Alkibiades. He then added with a serious tone, “Since yesterday, our ship pullers and sailors saw a small group of Etruscan troops coming and going on the north bank. Fortunately, they didn’t dare approach us with the cavalry legion escorting our caravan.”

“I also receive the same report from the cavalry. However, I believe they are only scouting and dare not engage in combat with us,” Ledes confirmed the report.

“Although they haven’t fought us yet, they have already shown their hostility! So we must fight them, or these Etruscans will think we are weak and easy to bully!” Matonis said furiously.

“Your Majesty,” Asistes looked at Davos and said worriedly, “With the Roman army attacking Ostia, our ships from the kingdom can only be pulled from the north bank of the Tiber to the city of Rome by ship pullers. Once the Etruscan attack the north back, it would result in our waterway leading to the city being cut off, and it would become more difficult for us to come and go, send reinforcements, transport goods, and supply food, which isn’t good for our governance of Rome…”

After hearing that, Davos tapped his finger on the table, but his eyes remained sharp as he said deeply, “It seems I misjudged these Etruscans! I had originally thought they would be happy allying with us after suffering from the threat of Rome, but I didn’t expect each of them to have other plans! Since they won’t accept our good intentions, we will deal with them differently and show them our strength so they know the terrible consequences of making an enemy of Theonia! Thus, I have decided-”

Davos glanced at everyone and said imposingly, “Send troops to capture Caisra!”

Upon hearing this, some people cheered up while others showed reluctance.

“Your Majesty, won’t us attacking Caisra lead to the Etruscan city-states to side with Rome completely?” Asistes expressed his concern.

“You don’t need to worry, Lord Asistes. As His Majesty said, each Etruscan city-state has its own plans. Volch and Tarchna held grudges against the Romans after losing to them and getting their territories divided. They only feared cooperating with us because most of their citizens were in the Roman army. Meanwhile, most of the city-states that are further away, like Fufluna, will act as a bystander…Only Caisra is close to Rome, and its location is too close to the banks of the Tiber. Thus, capturing it will not only protect our waterway but also deter other Etruscan city-states, which will be beneficial in trying to persuade them to ally with us again!” Tapirus confidently gave his analysis.

“However, Caisra is a mountain city located on a mountain range much higher than Mons Capitolinus, making it harder to capture. Moreover, our current situation won’t allow us to bring too many soldiers to attack, and once we take too long to attack, our army will be caught fighting on two sides!” Tolmides reminded gloomily.

“Despite being a mountain city, Caisra has fewer defenders as most of its citizens joined the Roman expedition against Hernici, with the Third Legion even capturing some of their citizens a few days ago. So, in reality, they don’t have many soldiers in the city of Caisra right now. My lord, I only need to lead four brigades to quickly take the city of Caisra!” Epiphanes loudly asked.

But as soon as he said that, Matonis immediately retorted, “Epiphanes, you couldn’t even capture Mons Capitolinus, yet you still want to attack Caisra? Forget it! Your Majesty, let my Second Legion carry out this task!”

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