Chapter 191 : Demonstration

With the gridiron finals just around the corner, a group of men gathered on the outskirts of Nova Troia.

They were all senators of Rome.

Among them were men presently holding magistracies, as well as former magistrates.

In other words, they were the most influential leaders of the Republic.

The tribunes were among them as well.

"From here on out, no slaves may accompany you. Senators and magistrates only, please."

"Not even our slaves? Well, I never."

The senators scoffed and chuckled at Lucius Caesar’s demand.

"Dragging all of us all the way out to this barren field... It had better be something important."

"Indeed. I don’t know what on earth he plans to announce, but forbidding even our personal attendants is absurd."

"Isn’t it related to the Religious Council? If they want another favor from us concerning the council..."

While everyone grumbled in annoyance, Cicero kept his mouth firmly shut. Cato came up beside him and asked in a low voice.

"What do you make of this, Cicero?"

"I was just thinking that nothing would surprise me anymore," Cicero replied. "Rumors have been circulating that Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus have been holding frequent secret meetings lately. This likely has something to do with that."

"Those three are plotting to carve up Rome among themselves," Cato whispered in a hushed tone. "They have their eyes on Gaul, undoubtedly. And Lucius is aiding them. They intend to coax the Senate into granting one of them a proconsular command in Gaul."

"Yet why summon us all the way out to an empty field just for that? To intimidate us?"

Cicero let out a soft chuckle.

Lately, Cato had often found himself aligning with the Triumvirate, but for all that, he was still Cato.

Watching Cato’s suspicion-filled face, Cicero thought for a moment.

Intelligence suggested that unrest was beginning to stir among several Gallic tribes, but hardly enough to justify a massive military expedition.

To secure a sweeping proconsular command over Gaul, they would need far greater justification.

Perhaps today’s gathering was meant to provide exactly that justification.

"Please, follow me this way."

Guided by one of Caesar’s engineers, the senators and tribunes stood upon a barren field.

On one side of the field stood an earthen barrier made from stacked bags of earth.

"You may watch from behind this barrier."

"Watch what, exactly?"

The senators’ gazes turned toward the center of the field.

There sat a cylindrical object none of them had ever seen before, though it wasn’t particularly large.

"It looks like it’s made of paper."

"Did they summon all of us out here just to show us that tiny thing?"

While the senators murmured amongst themselves, the man who had called them here finally made his appearance.

Lucius Julius Caesar.

"It seems everyone has gathered," he said, standing before the assembled statesmen.

"Then let us begin."

***

The very first thing that registered was a deafening, cataclysmic roar.

A burst of crimson fire erupted, followed by a thick cloud of choking grey smoke.

A moment later, the pungent reek of sulfur and acrid smoke reached them.

The paper cylinder that had contained the powder was torn to shreds, leaving behind only blackened, charred scraps.

"Great Jupiter!"

"T-Thunder! A lightning bolt has struck the earth!"

The senators’ earlier bravado was nowhere to be found.

Some had fallen backward onto the ground, while others lay prostrate on the dirt, clutching their ears in terror.

Their pristine white togas were now plastered in dust and soil.

Amidst the screaming, panic-stricken crowd, very few men remained standing.

Only Father, Pompey, and Cato.

Even Crassus had flinched and taken a step back before regaining his composure.

Though I’m pretty sure I saw Pompey drop into a low crouch for a split second, too. I walked toward the spot where the black powder had detonated.

Nature truly was magnificent.

To think that simply blending charcoal, nitrate, and sulfur in the proper proportions could produce an explosion of such destructive power.

"This is truly magnificent!" Pompey hurried over, laughing heartily. "To be frank, when you first brought up Gaul, I thought you were grossly exaggerating. But this is undeniably extraordinary. Are you saying the Gauls possess something like this as well?"

"Everything we’ve learned so far suggests that they do."

"If we had marched to fight them knowing nothing, the result would have been disastrous." Pompey turned his head to survey the still-trembling senators.

"Our legionaries would have been just as terrified as these fools. To think men who call themselves Roman senators could be such cowards."

Watching him click his tongue in disdain, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

I think it’s far more bizarre that you aren’t terrified after witnessing gunpowder for the first time in your life.

"The Gauls have suddenly acquired such a weapon, and you just happen to discover its secret formula as well. Quite the amusing turn of events, wouldn’t you say?"

"I learned of it through my intelligence network."

"Right, that miraculous intelligence network of yours," Pompey said with a shrug. "If we could hurl an explosive charge like this into the enemy ranks, it will produce a devastating effect."

"We can make far more than weapons meant simply to be thrown. We can create far more than that."

"Far more?"

"I shall explain once development is complete."

The true terror of black powder lay in its endless versatility.

It would be used in countless ways across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East for over a millennium.

"A weapon of this magnitude could easily be added to your father’s One-Year Plan. Even the Senate won’t dare oppose it."

I remained silent. Most of the senators were slowly regaining their composure.

They stood whispering among themselves, casting wary glances at Pompey and me.

Right then, Cato strode forward.

"Lucius, how many people know the formula for this substance?"

"A select few. All men I trust with my life."

"Then right now, this power belongs entirely to you."

"Which is precisely why I summoned all of you today," I said. "I intend to place the final mixing process in the hands of the Vestal Virgins. That is the only way the formula can remain a state secret."

"Then why demonstrate it before our eyes today?"

"Manufacturing this substance requires immense manpower and state resources. Of course, I could finance and organize the production myself, but..."

"Then you would maintain a personal monopoly over this devastating weapon."

Cato studied my face, as if trying to read my true motives.

Right then, Pompey chimed in.

"By the way, you don’t look particularly pleased, considering how successful the demonstration was."

"It was merely the expected outcome."

"Interesting. Why not summon the foreign delegations and the Pharaoh to put on a demonstration for them as well?"

"The foreign delegations and the Pharaoh?"

What did he mean by that?

"Yes. Prepare a similar batch of powder and detonate it before their eyes. When they witness this sight, they’ll be so terrified they won’t even be able to speak."

"You wish to intimidate them."

"We show them the full might of Rome. So that none of them ever entertains the thought of challenging Rome. Who would dare wage war against Rome if they knew what fate awaited them?"

I remained silent.

Deterring war through an overwhelming display of force.

It certainly had its merits.

However, what bothered me was that Father was still standing there quietly, offering no reaction.

What was Caesar thinking right now?

If Caesar held this weapon in his hands...

What would he do with it?

***

That night, I sat on my bed, playing with the puppy.

Just like when we first met, the little pup wagged his tail enthusiastically from side to side and licked my fingers.

"I think it’s about time we gave this little one a proper name," Pompeia said as she sat down beside me. "Do you have anything in mind?"

"Well, since he miraculously survived, Felix—Lucky—would suit him, but..."

Felix probably wouldn’t appreciate sharing his name with a dog.

"How about Faustus?"

"That sounds wonderful."

Faustus meant ’fortunate’ or ’auspicious.’

It suited him well.

"Father is departing for Gaul, and now you are also marching alongside him. I must be the most unfortunate woman in all of Rome right now." Pompeia rested her head against my shoulder and let out a soft sigh. "When I was a child, I hardly ever saw Father. He was always away on some campaign."

"I will do everything in my power to return as quickly as possible."

In the history I knew, the Gallic Wars dragged on for nearly a decade. Yet I had no intention of staying away from home for that long.

It wasn’t as if I were Odysseus setting off for Troy.

"Father always said the exact same thing before marching off to war." Pompeia chuckled softly before wrapping her arms around me. "Tonight, I want to etch you a little deeper into my memory."

"As much as you want."

After placing Faustus outside the chamber, we spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms.

I soon drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Or at least, that was what I believed.

***

"Imperator, the legions are formed and ready for battle."

"Good. Order the line to advance."

I suddenly realized I was standing upon an open plain.

Was this the Campus Martius?

No, it wasn’t the Campus Martius. This was a vast, rolling grassland I had never seen before in my life.

The sprawling meadow smelled of fresh green grass and damp earth.

Standing atop a windswept hill, I caught the scents carried on the breeze.

Amidst the pleasant fragrance of nature lingered an alien, sickening stench: the metallic tang of blood mingled with the acrid smoke of gunpowder.

Belatedly, I realized I was dreaming.

I turned to the officers standing before me and spoke.

"Inform the men once more. Take no prisoners."

Strangely enough, the command came to me with an ease that terrified me.

It was as if I had repeated it hundreds of times before.

"Understood, Imperator."

"Advance!"

Amidst the thundering blare of dozens of tubae and cornua, blood-red vexilla were raised high.

Tens of thousands of legionaries filled the plains to the horizon.

The opposite side of the field was no different.

Enemy formations advanced slowly toward our line in close order.

"Kill them all! For the Republic!"

"Fire! Keep firing! Do not stop!"

The battle erupted with savage ferocity.

Deafening explosions thundered across the valley, mingling with the roar of battle and the screams of the dying.

Countless men collapsed into the dirt.

Explosions erupted in blinding flashes across the field, churning up thick, rolling clouds of smoke.

Standing atop the hill, I watched the carnage unfold.

Through the telescope, the sprawling battlefield looked like a clash between colonies of ants.

Before long, an officer rushed up the hill, his armor drenched in blood.

"The enemy is breaking, Imperator!"

"Deploy the cavalry. Run down the fleeing enemy."

"It shall be done!"

The officer struck a fist against his chest in salute.

Descending from the hill, I walked slowly toward the center of the battlefield.

With every step, my sandals sank into pools of crimson blood.

I could feel the warm, sickening stickiness of fresh blood against my skin, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of suffocation.

The legionaries caught sight of me and erupted into a thunderous roar.

"Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!"

"Imperator! Imperator! Imperator!"

And watching them...

I felt an overwhelming surge of primal triumph and ecstasy.

In that single instant, everything around me froze.

The roaring soldiers, the cratered, burning earth.

Everything froze, as still as a painting.

"Quite the thrilling spectacle, isn’t it?"

A familiar voice whispered from behind me, one I could never mistake. It belonged to the goddess who had cast me into this world.

"Lucius Julius Caesar."

"What is the meaning of this?"

Turning around, I froze. The woman looked exactly as I remembered her.

Yet something was different.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the woman standing before me was not the same woman I had known.

"It’s a pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face."

"Who are you?"

At my question, the woman merely offered an enigmatic smile.

"Humans always ask the same question, completely ignoring the one that truly matters."

"Answer my question."

"But what you should be asking is this, Lucius."

The woman stepped slowly toward me and asked in a soft, melodic whisper.

"What is it that you truly desire?"