Augustus Road

Soon, the audience let out even louder exclamations, because they saw a huge flame suddenly ignited on the top of Asimanus Peak, which was like a miracle.

In fact, it was a huge brazier made of bronze that had been arranged there in advance. It had a sophisticated ignition device and sufficient fuel. Once the rocket that prompted the signal was seen, the relevant personnel immediately used the internal mechanism to fire it. The brazier ignited instantly, and the raging flames rose. In addition, the smooth mirror-like surface of the bronze brazier can also refract the sun's rays, making it look like a small sun rising slowly on the mountain peak.

Then an even more incredible scene happened. A winged envoy of God actually appeared on the mountain peak, holding an unlit torch and slowly descending towards the brazier in the sky. This scene is not to mention ordinary viewers. Said to be the monarch and envoy of the country, even Adiana who accompanied Lepidus was so smart and clever, she covered her lips in surprise, not understanding how this was achieved. In fact, the winged "angel" was just a juggler who was hired at a high price. He had a wooden model tied behind his back in advance, and there were wire controls inside. The wooden board was coated with a layer of wax and had bird feathers glued on it. , it looks like it has wings from a distance. Behind this "god envoy" is a delicate lifting device with levers and pulleys. It is hidden, and the "god envoy" is hung with wires. Look. It looks like he is soaring between the sky and the mountain peaks. "Please be gentle with your hands, don't let the artist fall into the brazier, otherwise he will be very embarrassed." Several old engineers said. The people in front of the crane were nervously directing the personnel and carefully controlling the equipment. There was nothing careless about this situation.

Slowly. The angel with wings fluttering held the torch in both hands and hovered over the brazier. Seeing this scene, the one hundred thousand spectators held their breath nervously. But when they saw the angel put down the torch and lit it, they started to light it again. Amidst the cheers of the crowd. Slowly flying high, there were several priests in white robes next to the brazier. The athletes, who were surrounded by flute players and drummers, were waiting. The divine envoy flew in front of the group of people, then slowly landed on the ground, and handed the burning torch to the hands of the chief priest. Several priests passed the torch to each other, and finally the contestant with the garland took the torch and ran down the mountain path amidst the playing of the flute. This greatly stimulated the high emotions of the audience. They lined the path and cheered as if they were welcoming. War heroes triumphant.

The contestant ran all the way to the main campus, then climbed onto the stand holding the torch, and handed it over to the host Lepidus in full view of the public. The cavalry officer then held the torch high. After the sound of trumpets, he made a speech to many people: "I, Calabis Cornelius Aemilius Marcus f. Lepidus Marcelicus. Iulius, Dictator of Rome Caesar's deputy, the conqueror of Masseria, and now the conqueror of Menander and the Bronze Shields, declared at the foot of the sacred Mount Asimanus that I, in behalf of the will of Caesar, would soon Withdraw all Roman legionary garrisons from Bithynia, Sardis, Ephesus, Carlia, Lycodania, Pontus, Galaxia, Armenia, Colchis, and the Bosporus The army carrying the eagle also gave freedom to the local states and people, and did not allow any tax collectors to set foot in this place. From then on, the republic only existed in a few disconnected places such as Virginia, Lepidus, and Silesia. The province maintains a small number of troops stationed in order to assist the kings and elders of each country to calm down unnecessary rebellions, and this competition dedicated to Mars, the God of War, just represents the arrival of precious peace in this fertile land! "

After hearing these words, the representatives of various states in the stands took the lead in standing up and cheering. These people certainly knew the reality of Lepidus' words - Virginia, located in the core of Asia Minor, has two legions of the Romans; Silesia has one legion. and a fleet; while Lepidus Castle had an unknown number, but had at least two or three legions of garrison troops. Therefore, the so-called "freedom" in the mouth of the cavalry chief is just some kind of autonomy under the supervision of Rome's powerful force. Moreover, the monarchs of various countries still have the obligation to pay tribute and servant troops to Caesar. For example, if they provide auxiliary legions this time, they will directly After being assigned a serial number by Caesar and taken away, when these people can return home is a big question.

"Lepidus removed the shackles from our feet, and then placed the shackles on our heads, finally allowing our legs and feet to be 'free'!" A certain king of the Quarter Territory of Little Armenia teased bitterly in a low voice, and then also Join everyone in cheering insincerely.

As for the soldiers on the campus and the people from various countries who came to watch the competition, because there were so many people, many people could not hear what the cavalry commander was saying at the first time. They could only pass it on by word of mouth, like a relay. Lepidus' speech was conveyed one by one, and the audience who had not heard it was impatient and asked to repeat the order just spoken by the cavalry commander.

This time, it was two professional announcers who repeated the order loudly twice in the chorus version of the opera. Only then did all the soldiers and people hear it clearly. They cheered, "Lepidus, the Liberator and the Patron Saint!" The shouts were like an angry wave, one wave after another, and then Lepidus, who was wearing a blue toga and holding a torch with a smile, lit the huge sacred fire altar in the stands and announced the start of the performance before the competition!

Amid the shouts of all the audience, the square formations, all trained by the soldiers of the legion under Lepidus, marched into the parade ground in neat steps, and then, under the instruction of the whistle, the soldiers of one of the square formations raised the small wooden boards in their hands above their heads. All the small wooden boards of a square formation were raised at the same time, immediately forming a huge "mosaic painting". Each painting is a scene story, including the scene of the Eastern God of War Lius holding a small tower and his nose hair surging, the scene of King Numa making Roman laws, the scene of Caesar and the cavalry commander jointly discussing military opportunities, the scene of the legion triumphant return, etc., which were very intuitively displayed to the audience on the stands and hills around the parade ground, and soon the atmosphere reached the peak.

After the mosaic painting, all the contestants of various states and the soldiers of Lepidus' legion also held their own flags and formed square formations. Under the petals and the commentary of the announcer, they walked into the parade ground in a heroic and high-spirited manner.

"Now passing by the grandstand are the athletic representatives of Bithynia. They are in high spirits. Their strong points are wrestling and heavy infantry foot race. They swear in the name of their ancestor Hercules that they will win the championship in this athletic meet!" Every time a phalanx of a state passed by below, the two announcers on the podium would make various gestures and shout at the top of their lungs according to the speech script to report the situation to everyone.