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Then Publius felt a pang of sorrow after saying that. After a light sigh, he exclaimed, “Thus, the king of Theonia wishes for you to surrender!”

A commotion had once again arisen in the meeting place, with several senators standing up in anger and uttered, “We Romans would rather die in battle than surrender!…” and so on. Still, some senators muttered in vexation, “How is it possible for Theonians to capture Fidenae and Gabii also?!…” and so on.

“The king of Theonia is overconfident!” Potitus sneered, “Even if what you said is true, it isn’t like we didn’t experience the same thing during the Celt invasion. And back then, it was even worse than this one, but we still won in the end!”

“You can’t compare the Theonian invasion with the Celts. I am sure you should be able to feel it despite being trapped in this hill!” Publius retorted loudly, “The Celts only burned and pillaged their way through Etruria and Latium, causing all races to turn against them. Moreover, the gods punished them for their atrocities, resulting in them contracting the plague before Camillus led the united Latins to defeat them at last. But now-”

Publius shook his head and pointed at the foot of the hill, “Not only have the Etruscan city-states successively allied themselves with Theonia, but even the Latin city-states of Praenesta and Bolae have also submitted to Theonia one after another. Finally, almost all of the Roman plebeians within the city have become citizens of Theonia, so that, except for this place, the city of Rome has completely become a Theonian city, while you have instead become isolated in the Latium region!-”

“Lies! Everything you said is a lie! Theonia is the invader, and both the Etruscan and Latin city-states won’t ally with them as they can only be loyal to Rome!” Exclaimed Senator Lucretius hysterically.

Publius looked at him with pity, “There’s no need for me to lie, as you can ask Decimus and Domitius later who would tell you the truth. It’s time to wake up from your sweet dream!”

Potitus, Maluginensis, Ambustus, Scipio, and others exchanged anxious glances as Publius’ words confirmed their fears.

In the end, Potitus could only cough lightly and say, “We already understand your intentions and need to discuss this matter. You can leave first and await our decision.”

Publius bowed and then turned around. While leaving the temple’s door, the faces of his former colleagues were devoid of their former arrogance. Instead, their faces are now filled with a sense of fear and jealousy, which gives Publius an indescribable pleasure. He held his head high and strode out of the temple’s door. As he left the dim rear hall, he saw guards leading Decimus and Domitius into the hall.

A few hours later, a guard led him again into the rear hall, where only Ambustus was left.

“Have you decided?” Publius asked directly.

“Take a seat, and we’ll talk, Publius.” Ambustus didn’t answer immediately and instead pointed to the seat prepared for him.

Publius sat down without hesitation, “Knowing about the Roman Senate, your decision must have been to refuse to surrender, right?!”

Ambustus only looked at him without speaking.

“I am actually happy that you didn’t surrender because you are all a group of selfish, arrogant and vicious men, so it is for the best if you die on this hill!” Publius said mockingly. Then he changed his tone, “However, there are also your families and other people on this hill beside you, especially those plebeians. They are left hungry and lying on the ground, unable to make a mournful sound. Do you have the heart to bury these thousands of people with you?! Do you really want the Roman nobility to be completely extinct?!”

Ambustus’ twitched a few times. But instead of responding to the subject directly, he said softly, “Publius, when Marcus insisted on helping the plebeians, the Senate had no choice but to make that decision as he had almost led to civil unrest-”

“But the current situation proves that Marcus had done the correct thing. If the Senate had approved his suggestions then, the plebeians of Rome would not have taken refuge in Theonia  today, and you would not have fallen into this predicament!…” Publius loudly vented his pent-up dissatisfaction with the Senate over the years.

“Perhaps we have indeed made incorrect decisions over the years…” Ambustus sighed and gazed at him. He said in a heavy tone, “The Manlia house, as one of the oldest houses in Rome, has lived here for generations. Many relatives of your family have intermarried on this hill, some who have given you favours, some who have helped you before…do you have the heart to abandon them, including Jupiter and Juno, whom you have worshipped since childhood-”

Publius frowned and interrupted, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Ambustus looked at him sincerely and said sorrowfully, “We underestimated the war with Theonia. We thought that even if they captured Rome, we could recapture it again as long as Camillus returned with his army. Thus, we brought so many people with us, but as you said, Camillus’ army suffered defeat, so the plan to reclaim Rome was far away, but our food supply was already tight. Alas, the miserable condition of the people, I believe you have already seen it when you went up the hill. In a few days, they…may starve to death on this mountain because there is nothing to eat…”

Tears suddenly glistened in Ambustus’ eyes after saying that. He then continued, “You guessed it right. We will not surrender, but we hope to allow these people to go down the hill and surrender so they do not become food for the crows…”

Ambustus’ request had taken Publius aback, placing him in a difficult position. After all, the Theonians aimed to force the Romans on the hill to surrender by besieging Mons Capitolinus and cutting off their food supply. Ambustus, however, had hoped to orchestrate the departure of the individuals responsible for most of their food consumption, enabling them to maintain their hold on Mons Capitolinus. Unfortunately, the King of Theonia is someone shrewd and would never permit such a cunning proposal by the Roman senators to succeed!

Seeing Publius’ continued silence, Ambustus promptly placed his hands on the ground, bent down, and heavily struck his forehead on the floor.

Publius was startled and hurriedly got up, “Ambustus, what are you doing?!”

“Please! Save our fellow countrymen!” Ambustus begged.

“I…it’s useless. King Davos will definitely not agree!” Publius shook his head.

Ambustus didn’t say anything and instead kept kneeling on the ground.

It would have the opposite effect if Potitus and Maluginensis had done this, but Ambustus had a good relationship with Publius in the past. So, after a long time, he sighed helplessly and said, “Alright, I’ll do my best to try and convince King Davos.”

“Thank you, thank you! I would like to thank you on behalf of everyone on this hill!” Ambustus sat up and said gratefully.

“There’s no need for you to thank me. Instead, I’ll be content if you curse me less,” Publius said, self-deprecating.

Ambustus coughed, feeling awkward.

“But…don’t place too much hope on me. The King of Theonia is already dissatisfied with the Roman nobles, but you have now proposed this suggestion. So even if they can descend the hill in the end, they may not get a good outcome!” Publius warned.

Ambustus smiled bitterly and said, “There is hope as long as we are alive, so we can’t ask for more.”

Publius could only remain silent.

Ambustus then eagerly asked, “By the way, have you seen my daughter and son-in-law in the city? Are they doing okay now?!”

“Your son-in-law and daughter are imprisoned in their residence. However, they are not harmed as it seemed that King Davos had a bit of interest in Stolo and even had him meet with the captured Minucius yesterday…”

“They had also captured Minucius?!” Ambustus was surprised.

“That’s why I came to persuade you to surrender because you have no hope anymore,” Publius took the opportunity to persuade him again.

But Ambustus didn’t say anything.

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

“Is this what those Roman senators proposed?!” Davos looked at Publius without a hint of anger or displeasure.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Publius didn’t dare to look at Davos and instead continued to bow his head and said respectfully, “After going up the hill, I have been patiently persuading for their surrender and even brought the Roman nobles captured in the previous battles, hoping they would realise the situation. Unfortunately, they never compromise…and I can only bring back their proposal…”

“You’ve worked hard!” Davos praised him. Then he said in a calm tone, “It seems these stubborn Romans do not have a plan to give up.”

Publius became nervous and didn’t dare to answer.

Davos, placing his hands on his back, took a few steps in the centre of the Senate Hall and suddenly asked, “How many Romans are there on Mons Capitolinus?”

“About six thousand.”

“Six thousand…” Davos pondered for a moment and then asked, “How many people stayed there when the Celts captured Rome?”

Despite not understanding why Davos would ask this question, Publius answered truthfully, “Five hundred and thirty-two.”

Davos thought briefly before looking at him and said decisively, “I agree to their request to allow those Romans to descend Mons Capitolinus. However, they can only serve as official slaves of the kingdom, but they must keep five hundred people to stay on the hill!”

Upon hearing this, Henipolis hurriedly advised, “Your Majesty, this is the scheme of those Romans! They are trying to-”

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