I put out his fire

Rhodes performed well in the rodeo and was rewarded with some jewels and coins.

The encounter with Nero that day, as well as the light kiss, were like a small stone sinking into a lake, causing a little splash, but it was just a splash.

The time passed so easily.

According to the usual practice, whenever a new guard joins, the Senate will hold a celebration to boost morale.

The celebration took place at the open-air training ground behind the villa.

It was mid-day with strong sunlight.It was a hot and dusty celebration.

The sun-shading curtains are supported by long sticks, and the slaves place ice cubes at the four corners, and use fans to blow out a cool breeze.The royal coachman sat on the chariot and drove the four white horses around the field with a whip.A bronze podium stands in front, and behind the curtain walks cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.They roared, and their backs were covered with jeweled red satin, and they were sacrifices for this festival.

There are many civilians watching from a distance.Actors, peddlers and prostitutes were forbidden to peep because of their low status.

The number of newly joined guards is huge.

They stood in a phalanx, crowded almost shoulder to shoulder, and the phalanx slowly heated up like a fire in a stove.Each wore the same black leather armor, with a feather like an eagle's wing bristling from his helmet.

Rhodes stood among them and exhaled arrogantly.

The lingering strong smell of sweat from other guards, like extremely salty salt water, marinated the tip of his nose.

Slaves beat on cowhide drums.A general with a helmet in his arms slowly walked onto the podium.

The nobles of Rome loved speech, and it was the most basic ability for them.They have learned debate and rhetoric since childhood, just to develop a very provocative mouth.

The general was tall, with good-looking blond hair and blue eyes.He was no longer young, and a few wrinkles were stretched across the corners of his eyes like thin lines, as if the sunken eyes had accidentally creased the skin.The corners of his lips were raised all the time, as if glued to a fixed angle, which made him always have a friendly smile.

His face is a whitewashed face.

Rhodes stood under the stage, raised his head inadvertently, and the iconic blond hair and blue eyes came into view.

He clenched the hilt of the sword in his hand tightly, making a trembling sound.

A few streaks of red light burst out from his black pupils, surging like boiling red magma, rushing down along the cracks in the mountain.

Back then, Anthony, who hired him to assassinate Nero and then poisoned him, looked strikingly similar to the general in front of him.

These two people have the same blond hair and blue eyes, and their facial features are the same as in a mirror, only differing in height.

The blond general straightened the buckle on his front shoulder, cleared his throat, and preached loudly:

"The Roman Empire, conquered by the God of War, as old as the Tiber, as longed for as the Golden Fleece. Its military power is never questioned, its wealth is never questioned. Contemptuous, its orders will never be criticized. However, who would have known that this iron-blooded empire has a soft and compassionate heart?"

He raised his hand to cover his heart, with a pained expression on his face, as if he was really shot by an arrow in his soft heart:

"Its heart will be constricted by the famine of the people, it will fall because of the dystocia of women, it will bleed because of the ruthlessness of disaster, and it will be weakened by the spread of the plague! The barbarian provinces that once hated Rome surrendered because of this heart , Neighboring countries who used to be unfamiliar with Rome are in awe of this heart. Countless people have asked me where the heart of Rome is, and now I want to give the answer..."

The loyal expression was squeezed out by him, and it floated out of the flesh.

He pointed to the palace in front of him and said, "It is right in front of your eyes!"

His wonderful performances and beautifully rhymed speeches have a demagogic effect.Some guards couldn't help being moved.

"The swords you hold can only be put away in front of the royal family; the military talents you rely on can only be revealed by the blood of the royal family; the authority you rely on can only be bestowed by the royal family; His dignity can only be abandoned for the glory of the royal family. This must not be simply attributed to dictatorship, but should be traced to the softness of this heart!"

At this time, a slave came to the stage and knelt down carefully.

Above his head was a round wooden platform covered with silk, on which stood a golden sword.

The hilt of the dagger is cast from gold, with a flat and plain surface without any carvings.

However, the shape of the blade is very special, showing a sharp jagged shape.Spikes of different sizes are densely arranged, like a row of fangs of a beast, just looking at it can give people a painful feeling of the sharp piercing into the flesh.

The extremely weird blade concentrates all the attractiveness of this sword.

The golden sword is the exclusive possession of the chief of the guards, and it seems to be inherited by successive chiefs.Like the red-trimmed white robes of a senator and the ruffled feathers on a gladiator's helmet, the golden sword has become the hallmark of the office.

The muscles in the general's arms tensed as he held up the sword carefully.

The moment his palm touched the golden sword hilt, his blue eyes froze for a moment, revealing a dim light.

He raised his sword high above his head.

"Salute to your Commander! Children!" he roared passionately.

A golden light reflected from the hilt of the sword, breaking into Rhodes' vision like a ferocious golden lion.That golden light was so dazzling that it was like a second sun in the sky.

A long memory gushes out, like an unknown monster active on the seabed, jumping to the surface of the sea by chance, causing wind and clouds to turmoil wherever it goes.

Rhodes narrowed his eyes.He fell into that memory with some struggles...

It was also a scorching summer day.The high temperature hummed like the noise of a saw, and the golden-red sunset was covered by layers of scattered clouds, and the afterglow flowed among the clouds like blood.

The bronze cross was erected high, with dried blood on it.

The young Rhodes was held by Mars and led to the cross.

Mars was healthy at the time.He stumbled and ran over, grabbed the pedestal of the cross with both hands, knelt down on the ground and wept bitterly.He wept so sadly that he almost fainted.

The unreasonable Rhodes slowly raised his head.

Among the blood-clot clouds, the nailed sinners are silhouetted hard.That was his father.

Thales stepped on the wedge-shaped wood to prevent his body from slipping, and the palms of both hands were pierced by spikes.Dirty black sweat glistened on his pale skin, dried blood and black mud filled his nails, and buzzing flies surrounded him from time to time.

This is the only meeting between father and son in ten years.

"Hi..." Thales pulled out a nonchalant smile, his voice hoarse like a dotted line, "It's been a long time."

The phrase "It's been a long time" seems to come flying like a brand, burning in the deepest part of Rhodes' soul.

Rhodes only felt a little dizzy.

"I want you to get my golden sword..." Thales whispered, "and destroy it!"

Rhodes was only 12 years old that year.Thales was sentenced to crucifixion by the court for accepting bribes to assassinate Emperor Caligula.

……

When Rhodes withdrew his thoughts, he felt a similar sense of dizziness as before.

This feeling buried unfathomably deep and blocked for a long time suddenly emerged, like a sinister seed that finally germinated.

It wasn't worth the tears, it just made him feel so empty.

What he discards like a shoe, actually still cares about; what he avoids like a snake, actually still remembers.

After the general showed off the golden sword, he even wiped the dust off the sword with a silk cloth, showing great care for it.

He carefully put back the golden sword.The slave held the small round platform and sent the sword back to the palace again.

The emperor was very cautious about the sword.

The previous emperor Caligula was stabbed to death.And the one who assassinated him was none other than his most trusted bodyguard, Thales, then Chief of the Guards.

After Caligula's death, his uncle Claudius succeeded him as emperor.

Claudius was suspicious by nature, fearing that he would end up in the same fate as Caligula, so he had never been able to determine the candidate for the commander of the Guards.

This position has therefore remained vacant for a long time.

And this unowned golden sword has been kept in the palace.

……

It was already evening after the celebration, and the new guards had no time to change their clothes and went directly to guard the palace.This is their first mission.

A luxurious and extravagant dinner is being held in the dining room of the palace.Playing songs every night is the norm here.

Rhodes' bodyguard status belongs to Nero.He stood upright in the courtyard outside the restaurant, holding a long sword, and was always responsible for Nero's safety.

A square pool is located in the center of the courtyard, and fish of various colors are kept in it.

The dining room was brightly lit.

The sofa is arranged in the shape of a horseshoe and surrounds the circular dining table. The guests lie on the sofa to eat, and a napkin is placed in front of the skirt to prevent the clothes from being soiled.Slaves, jugs in hand and towels draped over their shoulders, shuttled from sofa to sofa, busy pouring wine and wiping hands.

This is a symbol of noble status.In Rome, only nobles were eligible to eat lying down.

There are musicians playing long pipes, actors performing ancient Greek dramas, and slave girls spraying rose water into the air. The atmosphere is very lively.

The ingredients for the dinner were rare.

Lampreys were thinly sliced, roasted pheasant brains were sprinkled with tawny cinnamon, fried nightingale tongues were neatly arranged, and little silver plates were filled with sturgeon roe.There are nobles who overeat, and they will let slaves induce vomiting for him, and then eat happily after vomiting.

The emperor is the host of this dinner.

Claudius was in his late sixties, with a greasy bald head.Because of a childhood illness, he became lame and had a severe hunchback, and his eyes quivered in their sockets all the time.

After Caligula was assassinated, there were no suitable successors in the direct blood line.With no political achievements, he became emperor like picking up a leak.

Claudius lay curled up on the main seat, pouring wine for his wife Messalina as if to please.

Messalina's breasts were exposed, her eyeliner was raised, and there was always a strong sense of eroticism.She has gorgeous red hair, flaming fingernails, and she's lounging on her side with her legs spread blatantly.

Thirty-four years younger than Claudius, she was a powerful woman.Even her husband is afraid of her power and always tolerates her three points.

Messalina had a bad reputation.

Whether it is in the palace or in the public, there are rumors that she is extremely lascivious. It is said that she once challenged a prostitute and accepted 25 guests in one go, making the prostitute also willing to bow down.

She is in high spirits tonight.

Holding the wine glass, she touched a nobleman beside her with her elbow, and said charmingly, "I heard that you spent two hundred dinars to import a batch of parrot fish from Sicily, Anthony."

Anthony, who was talking to her, had blond hair and blue eyes, and his eyes stared at her breasts openly.

"Of course." He raised his mouth slyly, "I have raised them a lot."

"That would be great..." Messalina said under her breath.She stretched out her index finger, stirred in the cod sauce, and scooped out a lump of fish sauce.

Anthony smiled at her, looking a little wretched.

"I like big things..." She put her index finger dipped in fish sauce into her mouth, sucked it clean at Anthony, and stretched it out slowly, her eyes full of provocation.

Anthony raised his eyebrows with great interest, and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Claudius glanced at them, the corners of his mouth twitching faintly.He leaned closer to his wife and muttered under his breath, "Now it's at the dinner party..."

Messalina moved her face away impatiently, and said irritably, "Shut up! You cripple who can't even eat fish eyes!"

Claudius retracted his neck awkwardly.He took a sip of wine in a muffled voice, making a "gudong" sound from his throat...

Under the main seat, Nero was lying on the side sofa, slowly tearing a whole roasted dormouse.

He peeled off the poppy seeds scattered on the skin, and cut open the dormouse's belly with a sharp knife, and the minced pork and pine nuts poured out, and the delicious smell of meat rushed over like the wind.

Nero kept his ring and pinky fingers up to keep the food out of the way.This is the mark of a well-bred aristocrat, only a commoner would do it with five fingers.

His mother Agrippina was lying on the side, watching his every move, her eyes were stern, and there was a hint of surveillance.

Agrippina has bright silver hair and light brown pupils, like an old deep well, which makes her always imply a kind of impenetrable and bottomless temperament.

She is Caligula's own sister.

"Very good." She said approvingly, "This is what our Domitius should look like."

Nero didn't even look up, and turned a deaf ear to her compliment.

Agrippina raised her eyelids, and a pair of always alert eyes were like iron hooks, staring at Claudius on the main seat.

—her uncle was drinking sullenly.

Her eyes moved subtly, and she pushed the wine glass in front of Nero.

"Claudius is drinking," she ordered, "go and offer him the dormouse you torn up, and clink the glass with him, boast of his achievements, and cry a few tears if you can." .A person who drinks alone is most likely to be moved by kind words and tears..."

Nero glanced at her, took a bite of the Dormouse's leg.

"You can do it yourself," he said. "Don't tell me all the time."

Agrippina reprimanded in a low voice, "You are handing over the emperor's laurels to others..."

Nero said unhurriedly: "But I want to act like a monkey, just like an actor who makes a living by squeezing tears and smirking."

"It's really disobedient!" Agrippina grabbed his arm, and Nero shook her off calmly.

"Sorry, I have to go out," he said. "The smell of vomit is really making me uncomfortable."

"This is a dinner party where high-ranking officials gather." Agrippina said in surprise, "You should hold a glass of wine and try to make friends with those elders..."

Nero wiped his hands and walked straight out of the smelly restaurant.