I put out his fire

When saying the word Rhodes, the tip of the tongue flicked from the upper gums to the front teeth. As the syllables were spit out, an invisible heat surged from the deep throat to the lips and teeth, and then slowly returned from the lips and teeth to the heart.

The two of them were deadlocked.

The people in the theater, unaware of the movement on the balcony, were still punching the air and shouting for the gladiators.Several giant sailboats sailed into the artificial lake from the channel, and the naval battle show was about to begin.

The ships dragged their oversized hulls and moved slowly, like pregnant women with limited mobility and eccentricities.One by one, the braziers ignited open flames, like mouths waiting to be fed, facing the night sky.

The guards on the balcony squinted their eyes at the legendary officer one by one from their helmets.

This slender, long-haired man wearing a mask, with an innocence and public opinion that once swept Rome, is the source of inspiration for the Banshee or Avenger in the play.

Tonight, the emperor called out all the guards and arranged countless eyeliners in the theater, just to find this person.

Rhodes took off the mask covering his face, and his facial features under the moonlight looked glamorous.Whenever Nero sees this face, he will go back to the night when he first met, and then fall in love with him again.

He sighed his name again: "Rod..."

"Let go of that stubby neck, he saved me by the water." Rhodes said calmly, "It's too noisy here, let's go outside."

As he spoke, he stepped on his light burlap shoes and walked towards the stairs.The guards stood dumbly, blocking the exit.

The emperor reprimanded sharply: "Where are your eyes? This is your chief, why don't you make way for him?!"

The guards moved their heavy iron-soled military boots and opened a small hole.

Rhodes coldly swept over the row of gray and black armor that should be under his control, drilled through the small opening, and walked down the spiral staircase.

They came to the quiet street, leaving behind the rumbling and fighting sounds of the theater.

Rhodes walked in front without making a sound.Nero followed him.The toga worn on ceremonial occasions dragged the floor, and he had no time to care about it.

Suddenly Rhodes quickened his pace, walked faster and faster, and finally started to run, raising silver dust all the way under the moonlight.

Terrified, Nero tore off his heavy tiger-skin cape and ran to catch up.

The heavy iron-soled boots inlaid with precious stones tapped on the blue-yellow stone slab.Nero barely caught up with him several times, each time he went to hold his hand, but Rhodes threw him away.

The soles of his iron boots hit the protruding flagstones, and Nero stumbled, knocking his knees and chin to the ground.

His eyelids gradually swelled, and a freckle on the bridge of his nose quickly covered his flushed skin.

"Don't run anymore, Rhodes..." he said in a crying voice.

Rhodes stopped, with his arms propped on his knees, panting shortly, sweat dripping onto the slate.

Nero raised his tearful eyes and said to his back: "I know you love me..."

Rhodes, who had been stern and calm all his life, finally couldn't bear this sentence, turned around, and walked to the embarrassed emperor.

He leaned over slightly, saw his almost bloody chin, and said depressingly: "Your chin..."

Nero jumped up as if he was resurrected, hugged him by the waist, and tightly grasped his clothes with his fingers wearing gold rings.

"I've been going crazy for the past few months..." Nero tightly wrapped his arms around his waist.The two turned into a dark street corner.

During the stalemate, Rhode's back hit a mosaic wall.

Nero raised one palm, put it behind Rhodes' hair, and buried his tear-stained face into the socket of his neck.He was hot all over, as if he had nowhere to vent, he bit Rhode's neck, neither heavy nor light.

"Where did you hide..." Nero said, "I searched all over Rome, and the salvage team went all the way to the bottom of the flood, but there was no clue about you. During this time, I was dying every day..."

Rhodes felt tired for a while, and said lightly, "I'm at sea."

Nero was stunned, thinking of the stubby neck in the theater, his eyes were bloodshot due to his sensitivity and jealousy, "You have been staying with him all the time, but you refused to respond to me who was going crazy in the palace every day..."

"He saved me and healed my injuries," Rhodes said, "he is a kind friend to me."

Nero said darkly: "I don't want you to have any friends."

Rhodes raised his tired eyebrows and glanced at him.

"Come back with me." He stared into Rhode's black eyes, "I have prepared everything. Your official position, the golden sword you entrusted to me, and your bed. You will sleep with me every night from now on On a bed..."

Rhodes said seriously: "Golden sword? You didn't destroy it?"

"Do you know why I didn't destroy it?" Nero said in a voice close to collapse, "Because I don't want to admit that it was your last words to me! I don't want to admit that you died!"

Rhodes' breathing stagnated for a moment.

Nero hugged him harder and harder, "Melting it with molten iron means that I accept the fact that you are dead. You know, I have planned to let the Guards search the city for the rest of my life, because it will make you I feel like you're still in my life, you're alive."

He felt greatly wronged, "Why didn't you come to me..."

Rhodes closed his eyes and opened them after a while, with thick emotions in his eyes, "I am a controversial person, and you have exposed the traits of defying everything for me. My return is bound to cause panic, especially Now you have just ascended the throne, let alone in case one day, my mother's identity is revealed again..."

He looked at the holy flame over the temple in the distance, "As early as the day my identity was reported, I should have left. You are a risk taker, and you are qualified to say you don't care; but I am an imposer, and I am not worthy of saying this. You have held me back countless times before, even at the expense of self-harm, I have turned back..."

Nero smiled wryly, and asked knowingly, "Then why did you turn around again this time?"

"Because I love you, I love you! You damn bastard!" Rhodes broke away from him and turned his back, "Why did you find me before I could make up my mind right away, you insidious bastard!"

Nero took a step forward, putting his hands on his trembling shoulders.

Rhodes covered his eyes with the back of his hand, and his tone turned gentle: "I miss you so much, Nero..."

"I miss you more," Nero said.He reached behind Rhodes and said in a hoarse voice, "Do you feel how much I miss you... Rhodes, do you feel it? The first time I saw you in the theater, I was..."

Rhodes turned his face, and he stuck it up.They exchanged a long, fiery kiss on a dark street corner.

A gigantic ball of fire exploded over the theater, illuminating the street corner where it stood.There was a loud bang, shaking the ground and rattling the windows.

Rhodes came back to his senses in an instant, and pushed away Nero, who was not sober, "There is movement in the theater, we have to go and have a look."

Nero said gruffly: "It's just a fire show..."

"No." Rhodes said solemnly, "This loud noise gives me the same feeling as the fire in Latium."

……

There was chaos in the theater.

The sea ship in the naval battle performance was ablaze, and the catapults on the deck projected fiery stones towards the auditorium.There were already many corpses lying across the seats, and the awning dedicated to the emperor had collapsed long ago, scorched.

The hull made of wooden planks was pierced with many large holes, and heavily armed soldiers jumped out of the holes continuously.

The guards shot arrows down from a high place, shooting several soldiers who climbed out of the boat.

As soon as Rhodes and Nero stepped into the theater, an arrow flew into the sand at their feet with a whizzing fire.

Both slaves and nobles were running for their lives with their heads in their arms, and some jumped from high-rises and fell into the artificial lake.There was a burning smell in the air, and the whole theater was like a pot of burnt porridge.

Rhodes glanced over the flints and arrows flying around, and saw the ships leaning sideways on the artificial lake.A few soldiers in black armor drilled out of the holes in the hull, like moths in wood.

He raised his finger and raised his voice amidst the noise, "Here is the tactic in the Greek epic, the trick of the Trojan horse massacring the city."

Nero grabbed a fleeing civilian and asked loudly, "What's going on?"

Seeing the purple stripes on his cuffs for the imperial palace, the commoner said tremblingly, "Sea...sea battle performance, there are many soldiers hidden in the belly of the ship, and they threw flints at the auditorium..."

Nero was very surprised, loosened the collar of the civilians, looked sullenly, and looked at the few soldiers who were still throwing stones.

A guard with a damaged leather armor came over with a sword in hand. When he saw the emperor's injured jaw, he was surprised at first, and then knelt down on one knee, "These soldiers came out of the hull where they were hiding, and the first thing they did was to attack with catapults. Your exclusive seat. Fortunately, you were not there at the time..."

Rhodes immediately tensed up, "Someone wants to rebel."

"They are doomed to fail. The number of our guards far exceeds these rebellious soldiers, and their combat capabilities are not strong. The only thing to be afraid of is the catapult." The guard continued.

Nero looked at Rhodes, "I have deployed a lot of guards in the theater tonight, just to find you. I didn't expect this to happen..."

He pointed to the special seat facing the stage not far away, with deep eyes, "If it weren't for you, Rhodes, I would definitely be smashed to death or burned to death by a sudden flint tonight, and I might have died for the wonderful naval battle before I died Applause. Water is my curse, and the oracle is right."

The scattered flames illuminated Rhodes' face flickeringly.He looked serious, "How many soldiers are there?"

"Not many, less than two hundred." Jin Wei said, "We have killed more than half of them now, and only a few dozen are still alive."

"Don't kill them all." Rhodes said sternly, "Keep a few and ask who is the mastermind of this Trojan horse plan."

Nero thought, "Don't ask, I know who it is..."

His expression became more and more ferocious, "It's Julius. He is in charge of the troops in the center of Rome, and he is the only one in Rome who has not passed the order and has the ability to mobilize soldiers."

A rolling flint flew towards this side, and slammed into the noble seat next to it, and the seat hung with silk curtains immediately burned.

"Block the theater!" Rhodes covered his mouth and nose in the thick smoke, "Kill those dozens of soldiers pushing the catapults."

The guards received the order and retreated with their swords in hand.

In the gray-red smoke, Rhodes grabbed Nero's wrist and walked out from the arch carved with the statue of the goddess.

The potholed streets were full of people who had escaped from the theater, some of them carried the bodies of their relatives on their backs, and there were faint wailing sounds of women in all directions.

"This is a rebellion that must be lost. The sea boat used for the performance can't hold many people. Julius knows this, but his goal is also simple. It is enough to kill you alone." Rhodes calmly analyzed .

Nero's eyes showed a fierce look, "Give up an army with low combat effectiveness and go to Sicily to spend his old age in peace. He obviously has a smarter choice, I don't understand why he wants to kill the king."

"The motive is very strange." Rhodes said, "Even if he kills you, he will be crucified for the crime of regicide, just like my uncle..."

Hearing him mention Thales, Nero's expression changed slightly, and he was just about to open his mouth to say something.

There was a loud bang, and a figure wrapped in silk fell from the upper level of the theater to the ground next to the two of them.He groaned in pain, his body twisted, and his hip seemed to be broken.The man's dull blond hair had a dull sheen in the night.

Rhodes felt that this person was very familiar, recognized it for a while, and said in surprise: "...Menxi!"

Nero was even more agitated.He walked over, stepped on the man's shoulder with his iron-soled boots, turned over and saw a familiar face, even though it was already covered in blood.

"How can he still wear expensive silk?" Nero said fiercely, "Obviously he is already a wanted criminal that everyone is calling for."

Meng Xi was unconscious, humming non-stop.

Nero looked at him with disgust, and suddenly lifted his cuff with the sole of his shoe.A neatly ironed family seal was exposed.

"He sold himself as a slave." Rhode looked at the Taoist seal and said, "And the master is Julius."

Nero rubbed the soles of Menche's shoes on the ground a few times, and said with a grim expression, "No wonder he was never found. He turned out to be a private property."

He called a guard, pointed at the distorted worm on the ground, and ordered: "Find him a doctor, don't let him die now."

The author has something to say: there are still two chapters to finish, and finally, please bear with me