Chapter 231: Conclusion

Chapter 231: Conclusion

< 231. Conclusion >

‘It’s too far.’

Bayatur kept moving toward Caesar and Marcus, who were far away.

He slashed and slashed again.

Every time Bayatur’s curved sword swung, a path was made without fail.

It was a truly overwhelming power.

But his breakthrough was also coming to an end.

‘Is this it... my dream.’

His speed was slowing down.

Both his horse Tengri and his own stamina were running out.

At some point, the cheers of the warriors behind him became less and less.

One by one.

They fell from their horses and died.

He looked up at the flags of the North and East Emperors in the distance, then turned his head back.

“Kuh!”

“Aaah!”

The warriors who followed him were being slaughtered.

Caesar had deployed a tactic to lure Bayatur’s breakthrough and strike the main force of the Xiongnu behind him.

The spearmen and the auxiliary soldiers with nets had already prepared for this.

While Bayatur broke through and killed dozens of people at the front, the main force of the Xiongnu behind him fell from their horses or were pierced by spears, losing hundreds of lives.

“Kuaah!”

“This... this monstrous bastard!”

Still, he cut down the Roman soldiers who blocked his way and moved forward.

This road would end with the end of the grassland.

He had no choice but to run toward the predetermined doom.

Even though he knew he could only end up in death, he did not stop.

“I am the Heavenly Son of the Great Plains!”

Chwak

“Kuh!”

“This... this monster!”

“Throw all the nets! He’s the only one left!”

Countless nets and spears flew at him. Bayatur’s power finally reached its limit.

His horse Tengri was stabbed in the neck by a spear from a centurion and fell down.

Dozens of nets flew over Bayatur, who had fallen from his horse.

“It’s over.”

Caesar’s words marked the end of this war.

※※※

Rome did not usually execute captured enemy generals.

It was not because Rome was merciful, but because they needed to raise the dignity of the triumphal general by putting the enemy general on display at the triumphal ceremony.

It was also a principle not to execute the enemy general after the triumphal ceremony, but there were exceptions.

Those who were considered too dangerous were executed immediately after the ceremony.

A representative example was Vercingetorix, who lost to Caesar in the original history.

It was probably because they feared that Vercingetorix’s survival would hinder the Romanization of Gaul.

This time was no different.

Marcus had no intention of keeping Bayatur alive.

He was too dangerous to be used as a trophy to glorify his honor.

Marcus nodded satisfactorily and got up from his seat.

Spartacus followed him out with a look of pity.

The war was over with a perfect victory, but there was still a mountain of work to do.

Bayatur was executed in front of hundreds of thousands of soldiers as Marcus said.

Caesar did not object to executing Bayatur either.

Their victory was the largest in Roman history.

They did not need to take the enemy general as a prisoner for the triumphal ceremony, as they had plenty of trophies to show off.

So they agreed that it would be better to just cut off Bayatur’s neck here and declare their victory.

Bayatur climbed up to the scaffold in front of everyone as the Heavenly Son of the Grassland.

He did not lose his composure until his neck was cut off.

Even amid the angry cheers and jeers of the Roman soldiers, his eyes did not waver at all.

Marcus took on the role of venting the anger of all the Romans who had died so far.

He cut off Bayatur’s neck cleanly and raised his sword high in the sky.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers stomped their feet and shouted in unison.

“Wow! The war is over!”

“It’s our victory! Roma Invicta!”

As the soldiers’ ecstatic cheers subsided and the situation was settled, Caesar began the final work of the war.

Bayatur suffered a humiliation that did not match his fierce life.

His head, preserved to prevent decay, was sent to Rome.

It was practically a tribute.

Maybe he was lucky to avoid living as he pleased and facing hardships.

Spartacus seemed to show some compassion, but it was inevitable.

No matter how great a hero he was, he was an enemy that could not share the same sky with Rome from Rome’s perspective.

Rome needed to announce his demise and celebrate the victory of the war on a large scale.

And of course, the punishment of the traitors was included in the final work.

Marcus led his fleet across the Black Sea and crossed over to the Bosporus Kingdom.

There was no chance for them to resist once the Huns, who would have been their rear support, had fled.

Marcus offered them two choices.

“Die with the city or open the gates and become slaves. There are only two paths allowed for you.”

At first, none of the cities opened their gates.

But Marcus and the Roman army were serious about their anger.

A city chosen as an example was unable to resist properly against the Roman army’s attack and its gates were breached.

After that, the city of traitors was completely destroyed and not a single survivor was left.

When this rumor spread, other cities that could not hold out any longer sent their surrender.

Marcus kept his promise and sold them all as slaves.

Rome never showed mercy to its allies who betrayed them.

Marcus, who once again established this absolute principle, secured hundreds of thousands of slaves and set out on his way back.

If Bayatur’s death was a symbolic signal that announced the end of the war, the fall of Bosporus was evidence that showed that the war was completely over.

Marcus, who greeted the end of the long war, promised to reunite with Caesar and Rome and returned to his own territory.

The end of everything and the way back home.

He looked at the waves breaking on the bow of the ship and felt an indescribable emotion sprout in his heart.

He tried not to think about it during the war, but now he had to face the reality that was approaching him.

Two people who had acquired the greatest authority and power in the history of the Republic were born, so Rome’s political situation would inevitably face a great change.

The storm of blood would not stop even after the war ended.

The calm waves of the Black Sea in Marcus’ eyes felt like the calm before the storm.

< 231. Conclusion > The End