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Chapter 144 - Gauls and Britons

At this time, the Britons hadn't yet fallen into endless slaughter and hatred with the Gauls as they would in the future.

On the contrary, those who would later be mocked by Romans as "Britannic savages" were currently helping the Gauls invade Rome.

It was only after young Caesar matured and became Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar, leading his armies to almost annihilate the Gauls, that the Britons entered Roman attention.

Later, they were completely absorbed into the Roman Empire and became a province.

But after the East-West Roman split, the weakened Western Roman Empire couldn't defend Britannia, and it was seized by the Saxons.

The Western Roman Emperor simply abandoned the territory and fled.

He left behind a single sentence telling the Britons to stand on their own feet and defend themselves with weapons—then shamelessly ran off.

With no other choice, the Britons reverted to their ancient system from 800 years prior, establishing hundreds of scattered kingdoms across their lands.

That's when the legendary tale of King Arthur began to take form.

It could be said that Britannia had already been fully Romanized, it was Rome itself who had abandoned its own people and lands.

No wonder that in the future, when the Sword Emperor of Eastern Rome tried to reconquer Britannia, the Britons, under King Arthur, vowed to resist unto death.

You could only blame the mess left behind by Western Rome, which had utterly lost the people's hearts in Britannia.

Let alone the fact that King Arthur of that era was hailed as invincible and undefeated, and the most legendary monarch of all.

Which was why the Britons, who had once merged almost seamlessly with the Romans, would now fight back with all their might.

Night was deeply curious——

Would the Britannia of this world also give birth to the legend of King Arthur?

Even if not, if the Lady of the Lake truly existed, then those legendary swords would be treasures he'd never let slip by.

Even if not for his own use, he could collect them, or in the future gift them to his most trusted subordinates to win hearts and loyalty.

For someone like Night, who had truly experienced abject poverty, especially after having survived the Greece era where every hero had three to four divine weapons each, the thought of their wealth still made his mouth water with envy.

Sure, Hector had given him a lot of equipment before, and he'd looted a set from Achilles' template, but those were just conceptual forms, in the real world, he'd never actually touched any of them.

And besides, who would ever complain about having too much treasure?

Having already begun to show signs of being affected by his dragon lineage, Night's personality had inevitably begun to adopt some of a dragon's greedy nature.

And the truth was, he'd already noticed it himself.

But he had no plans to resist it.

If anything——

He faithfully followed his desires.

After all, desires are not particularly harmful as long as he didn't become obsessed and lose himself, it was fine.

Humans live driven by desire.

Many become slaves to it, blind and led by the nose, spiraling into decadence and rot.

But there are also many who freely indulge, yet never abuse their power, always living with clarity and self-control, stopping just short of excess.

The best contrast between these two extremes is the Roman Senate versus the Hero-King Gilgamesh, or the Senate's relationship with Iskandar, Alexander the Great.

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Back to reality——

The one Night had called on to start the vote, Strabo Pompey, had just moments ago confirmed a terrifying truth:

——The man standing before him was the very devil he once knew.

That same man, back when Strabo was still a brash youth, had utterly suppressed him, humiliating him in front of countless citizens and noble peers.

And when he heard that line—"So, who's in favor, and who's opposed?!"

The instant those familiar words reached his ears, Strabo Pompey could swear—

besides himself, over twenty senators visibly trembled.

Damn——!!

My DNA reacted!

Sh*t——!

That's a familiar flavor!

Strabo Pompey: "I… agree…!"

His voice was dry and hoarse.

So many years had passed, and he had now become the new head of House Pompey.

Logically speaking, in Rome's upper echelon, he had a stable footing. Even old foxes like Marius and Sulla had to win his favor; none would dare push him too hard.

And yet, because of this one man, long absent from Rome, with no power or faction at all——

He didn't even have the courage to oppose.

He had planned to say something strong, but somehow, it turned into

"I agree."

"I agree…!"

"I agree!"

"I agree too——!"

One after another, many senators began to echo the vote.

And now the senators unfamiliar with Night were stunned.

What are you all doing?!!!

Have you lost your minds?!

We were ready to fight to the bitter end, and now our whole camp's surrendered?!

"I object!!" One bold, clueless young senator shouted in anger.

And in the next instant, a crimson flash appeared before that senator.

"Ah——!!" The senator let out a terrible scream and clutched his face.

Blood streamed down his cheeks—his eye sockets were now empty.

Standing beside him was Helena, wearing an innocent, sweet smile.

She enjoyed fighting with Night, but couldn't stand seeing anyone oppose him.

If she hadn't remembered Night saying these senators were still useful, she'd have already killed this one.

Night, who was watching all this, was a bit surprised.

Helena had actually followed his words?

To be honest——

Though she was tagging along beside him, Night never thought he could actually command her.

He only wanted to keep her calm temporarily.

But he had to admit, Helena's sudden, ghost-like strike had scared the living daylights out of the senators.

One even banged the table in fury:

"Lord Lista Night!! What do you take this sacred Senate for?!

You dare commit violence here?!"

In mighty Rome, there were indeed warriors who had inherited divine bloodlines or descended from heroes.

The Senate had seen some inhuman beings before.

But——Helena was too fast.

No one had seen how she moved.

Such a monster, they had never encountered one so brutal and swift.

The fact that some of them could even speak now was sheer rage barely holding back fear.

The Senate could not be humiliated!!

As the supreme authority of Rome, they represented Rome's dignity.

No matter how savage or powerful, none could make them bow, not so easily.

And yet, this senator had no idea that the Senate's dignity had been utterly trampled decades ago by the very man standing before them.

When noble lords were dragged like cattle into the central plaza for public trials, paddled and shamed by soldiers…

Only then did the aristocrats understand that "honor" and "dignity" were worth less than a coin.

Strabo Pompey now stayed silent.

Compared to his brashness in youth, he had quietly shrunk into a corner.

He didn't want to speak at all…

House Pompey had already been crushed once by Lista Night in the previous era.

It had taken them this long to recover—no longer basking in former glory.

Now?

He absolutely didn't want to drag his family back into this mess.

However——

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