I put out his fire

The procedures for enlisting into the Guards are more troublesome.

The recommended soldiers need to go to Rome by boat, undergo a strict medical examination, and ensure that they do not have serious diseases such as malaria before they will be awarded a silver medal with the words "enlisted".

Rhodes was dressed in black, with black leather gloves wrapped around his hands, and his white fingers protruded from half of the fingertips, with a hint of abstinence.His loose, messy long hair almost blended with the black clothes, leaving only a deep neck.

He stood on the deck, with his right hand habitually pressing the sword, always looking ready.

At this time, the sun was setting.

The orange-red color of the setting sun is like gilt splashing on the blue sea, as if a fire is burning in the bottom of the sea.The whole boat was dyed in the twilight of the setting sun, like a golden ball rolling on the blue silk.The sea horizon is a dark blue line that hugs all views tightly.

The sea breeze is wrapped in a fishy and salty smell, surging under the tip of the nose.This is the scenery Rhodes is most familiar with.

Back then, after retiring from the military as a young and frivolous man, in pursuit of adventure and excitement, he went to sea anonymously and worked as a pirate for a long time.

Because of his outstanding strength and beauty, many pirates are willing to surround him.He plundered countless ships and slaves, and killed countless people. He was praised by his subordinates as the "Rainbow of the Great Abyss", and he was absolutely in the limelight at sea.

However, life is at stake for pirates.

When he was chased by the army and lost his ship, he had no choice but to accept the employment of some nobles, work hard for the nobles, and rely on a huge amount of employment money to survive the most difficult time...

There was a sound of vomiting behind him, and Rhodes turned to look over.

A black soldier was helped out of the cabin by slaves.

He has an extremely strong physique, his bulging muscles are like pieces of iron armor, his facial features are clustered together, and the whites of his eyes are jaundiced.He vomited violently while grabbing the rail, his broad back undulating like a whale.

The slave on the side held his breath and patted him on the back dutifully.

The black man vomited for a while, and slowly slid down to the deck with the support, wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and panted heavily.

"Here you are." A voice pierced like an ice blade.

The black man was startled, his breath was stagnant, and when he raised his head, he bumped into Rhodes' black eyes.

Rhodes stood in front of him, looking down at him expressionlessly.He bent slightly, holding two olives marinated in vinegar.

The black man froze for a moment, but didn't take it.His face was as dark as coal, his eyes trembled slightly, and he said suspiciously: "This...can it be useful?"

Rhodes couldn't help but press the olive into his mouth at once.

"It's been soaked in vinegar," he said forcefully. "It will relieve your emesis."

The vinegar olives tasted sour and bitter, and the black man took two bites with difficulty, frowning.

Rhodes stood up straight, turned his head and told the slave, "Boil some onions and grapes in sea water, boil them into a paste like glue, and add a few spoonfuls of honey."

The slave blinked his eyes twice, and said in doubt: "But... honey can cause diarrhea. You know, it can be fatal at sea..."

"Honey can cover the spicy taste, and mixed with grape pulp can actually resist diarrhea." Rhodes glanced at him, "If you don't want him to vomit out his stomach and intestines because of the strange smell of onions, you'd better do what I said manage!"

The slave was stunned and asked, "You... are you a doctor?"

"I'm not." Rhode smiled, "I just vomited too many times on the boat, definitely more than the two of you combined!"

……

After arriving in Rome, Rhodes passed the physical examination smoothly and won the silver medal for admission to the Guards.At this point, he can permanently settle in Rome as a guard of the palace.

And it was on this day that the descendants of Augustus returned to the city in a carriage.

The blue clouds like thin arrows lie across the setting sun, so the sun seems to be pierced by this arrow, and the flowing sunlight is like a golden liquid, spreading across the sky.

The streets of Rome are narrow and yellow at sunset.People lined the streets, throwing roses and hazelnuts.Actors painted all over their bodies danced along the street, and musicians sat on the backs of bulls and played flutes.The whole of Rome was as lively as boiling water, and people reveled as if they were celebrating the Saturnalia.

Rhodes was crowded in the crowd, and there were crowds of people around, shouts came from all directions, and there was no time to stop.He was like a solid nail nailed to the ground, unmoved.

Amidst the flurry of flower petals and perfume, the carriage followed the band.

Rhodes clenched the hilt tightly.

The carriage was covered with a ruby ​​red canopy, and was pulled around by four copper-red horses.In the overwhelming golden red sunset, it is like a cinnabar mixed with gold.

All Romans knew that the person sitting there was a direct blood relative of the founding emperor Octavian.

The car curtain was blown away by the wind, and a small piece of bone-cut and purple cuff flew out of the car window.

This color is extracted from an extremely rare shell, only available to princes and nobles.

The familiar purple, like a cunning little mouth of a swimming fish, bites along the line of sight, unknowingly reaches the fundus of the eyes, and then bites along the blood vessels to the heart bit by bit.

Rhodes was touched by the biting movement, and his thoughts went back to the past.

……

The empty manor was very desolate, and there was a warm corpse lying in the weeds, which was the emperor's personal guard.

Rhodes held a bloody dagger, and through the thick bronze mask, he approached the betrayed emperor step by step.

The armies in the provinces rebelled one after another, and the Senate declared the emperor an "enemy of the state", and the court issued a huge reward to him.Even the Guards, whose responsibility is to protect the emperor, launched a coup d'état, preparing to support a new emperor.

Everyone from the priests of the temple to the philistines of the slums spurned the matricide and cruel tyrant.

Nero was cornered.

"Even your personal guard wants to kill you in exchange for a bounty," Rhodes flicked the blood from the dagger, "I solved him for you."

Nero was sitting on the ground, wearing a tattered purple robe, with a badly bent back, and a pair of deformed bowlegged legs.His impeachers in the Senate liked to ridicule him in his speeches for his physical defects.

In the life of pirates with complicated connections, Rhodes had heard that the emperor's disability was caused by being poisoned.

"And then? You're going to get rid of me too, right..." Nero's voice was hoarse, as if he was taking a puff of cigarettes, and the words he spit out were covered with grains of soot, "My life is very valuable."

Rhodes straightened the mask and looked at the embarrassed emperor through the eye holes of the mask.

"I recognize you. You are the 'Rainbow of the Abyss', the pirate who went around killing people for mercenary money. Every street in Rome has your arrest warrant..." Nero looked up at him and said.

Rhodes sneered: "Since I choose to be a notorious pirate, I don't care about these at all."

Nero lowered his eyelashes slightly, his light brown eyes half closed into a slit.Despite his physical defects, his eyes were as clear as well water.

"I am a dying person, and I hope to die clearly." Nero said, "I want to ask you, who hired you to kill me?"

Rhodes folded his arms on his chest, squinted him down, and fell silent.

According to the rules of hiring a murderer, the killer cannot reveal the identity of the hirer.

"Forget it..." Rhodes compromised, "Anthony Otto. When he saw me, he was wearing a white robe. He was probably an eloquent elder."

Nero laughed at himself, with a sad look on his face.Rhodes saw that there was a small piece of light brown freckles on the bridge of his nose.

"Okay." Nero said calmly, "You can kill me now."

Rhodes held the dagger, walked in front of him, and looked at the emperor who was alone.

Nero raised his head and looked into his black eyes, the brown pupils were shining brightly, like the backlight of a candle when it was burnt out.

"Your eyes are beautiful, just like art." He suddenly said, "After staying at sea for a long time, your eyes must have been stained with salt."

Rhodes said with a smile: "It's useless to say nice things to please me."

He bent down, and the cold bronze mask touched the tip of Nero's nose, and the distance between the two was extremely close, "But... I have a lot of experience in killing people, and I will definitely let you die without pain."

Nero remained calm.He raised his hand, stared at the golden ring between his fingers, and took it off.

"Thank you. Rather than falling into the hands of the elders who hate me, it may be my best choice to be killed by you." Nero handed over the gold ring, "In return, I will give you the emperor's signet ring You. It still has the force of law, you can draw up an amnesty decree, and then seal it, you can get rid of the crime and restore your citizenship."

Rhodes was surprised, staring at the emperor's amber-like eyes, and didn't speak for a long time.

Nero took his hand that was still holding the dagger, and put the gold ring on his bloody ring finger.

Gold rings are small in size but not light in weight.Rhodes had deep eyes and asked him, "What other wish do you have? I can help you realize it."

Nero laughed twice, and said bitterly: "I have been driven to a dead end, and I have long since lost hope for fate. But I have to say one thing..."

He said seriously: "Can you take off the mask? I want to know what kind of person I died in."

Rhodes hesitated.Since becoming a pirate, he has always worn a mask except when sleeping.The reason why he has not been arrested for many years is inseparable from this strict habit.

The witty Nero took advantage of Rhodes' stunned moment, suddenly grabbed his hand holding the dagger, and stabbed it into his neck.

……

Rhodes recovered from the blood in his eyes.

The carriage had gone a long way, but the surrounding noise was still there.

The men carried the children on their shoulders, and the slaves with crock pots on their heads watched the excitement. Some urchins picked up dried fruits on the ground, peeled the shells and ate them; some admirers of Augustus even knelt down and kissed the ruts of the carriage.The gentle sunset makes everything seem peaceful, without any pain.

None of those tragedies have yet happened.

Rhodes calmly patted the petals that fell on his shoulders, staring at the carriage surrounded by the crowd.

"It's been a long time." He said to himself, "Nero."