The design of the standard that Septimus devised included a black background with three gray heads with red blood, impaled on three brown spears in a valley stained with blood. Although Septimus considered that his standard might be seen as terrifying by some people, he preferred to be feared rather than to be seen as a pusillanimous honest man and end up being attacked because of his wealth.
It was only a matter of time before his modern knowledge for invention and his fortune would attract the attention of ambitious Roman nobles or elites; by creating an ominous standard and forging a terrifying title, he would be considered someone difficult to offend, and anyone who dared to covet his fortune would think twice.
Septimus considered that in two or three days he would face the 2,000 or 3,000 soldiers under the command of the admiral of the Campania region.
They were a force dedicated to naval combat in the Mediterranean, fighting pirates and composed of 5,000 people, of which only half served as marines.
Taking advantage of the little time he had, Septimus began to prepare a full legion; he did not care about Rome's reaction, as long as he had the necessary legions under his command in this critical situation, the Roman Senate would tolerate him as long as he did not openly side with Sulla.
Three days passed.
More than 2,500 Roman soldiers marched rhythmically toward Capua; at the front was a Roman general along with three centurions on horseback. The Roman general read a report on papyrus that he had received urgently from nobles of the city and the prefect's family.
His name was Sextus Aemilius Faustus, and he was the admiral of the Campania region, in charge of protecting the region from pirate attacks.
Sextus still could not believe that a newly risen elite had the courage to kill the prefect of Capua appointed by the Roman Senate; he could only attribute his reckless actions to the senselessness of that newly risen young elite or to a conflict he did not understand.
Septimus, without paying much attention to his social situation, had been considered by the Roman upper class an elite thanks to his wealth gained from the trade of white sugar. But due to his discretion and lack of intention to socialize with the upper class of Capua, he lacked influence, which is why the prefect of Capua dared to openly conspire against him without receiving opposition from the elites or the nobility of Capua.
If Septimus had been related to or had friendships with the upper class of the city, the prefect of Capua would not have been so decisive in acting against him.
Sextus's army arrived at Capua, where he received detailed information about the attack on Gaius's ludus. Upon learning that soldiers, slaves, gladiators, the lanista, and his family had been executed and had their heads cut off and placed on wooden spears,
Sextus burned with fury. It was already a disgrace that the prefect had been executed; he had hoped that that fool named Septimus would have a bit of common sense and would flee or hide, but instead he dared to attack a Roman elite.
Not wanting to waste more time, Sextus planned to rest one night in Capua and depart as soon as the sun rose; he had been treating this rebellion calmly, considering it a serious but easy problem to solve.
But if Rome learned of his delay in acting, he could be criticized.
Sextus rejected the invitations of the upper class of Capua to celebrate and welcome him.
The next day, as the sun barely rose, Sextus ordered his already prepared troops to march toward Septimus's villa; he was accompanied by a slave as a guide.
The death of a prefect alarmed all of Capua; no one could conceive the idea that a newly risen elite would dare to assassinate the prefect of a Roman city, much less the prefect of an important Roman city like Capua.
Previously, the news of the death of the prefect of Capua was discovered thanks to his family, which quickly caused a sensation throughout the city.
The prefect's family, after seeing that the auxiliary soldiers who had left with the prefect to arrest Septimus did not return, sent slaves to call for him, believing that he was being received and praised in the villa of that newly risen elite,
Only upon seeing the slave return in panic did they learn that the heads of the prefect and his auxiliary guards were impaled on spears at the gates of Septimus's villa.
The entire family of the prefect and all of Capua were shocked by Septimus's audacity; to dare to kill a prefect was to go against Rome and the Senate, so the news was quickly communicated to Rome and to the nearest force, being reported to the admiral of Campania.
Although the city garrison could also be mobilized, without the city's prefect the act of mobilizing the garrison could be considered treason, and Septimus's attack on Gaius's ludus left the question of how many rebel soldiers Septimus had under his command. Therefore, the upper class of the concilium of Capua met in emergency session and decided to inform the admiral of Campania to deal with the problem.
It is worth noting that Marcus Atilius, father of Atilia, as an important member of the concilium, was among the first to learn of Septimus's actions, feeling relieved that he had not married his daughter to that reckless young man. Originally, upon learning that Septimus was involved in the trade of white sugar, he had planned to use his influence and prior relationship to propose that Atilia marry Septimus and win over that promising young man. But when this incident occurred, he quickly discarded the idea, seeking an opportunity to obtain the formula for white sugar.
He was not the only one; a large part of the Roman upper class hoped to obtain the formula for white sugar, including the admiral of Campania. The ancients were ingenious with white sugar; all kinds of exquisite dishes emerged that added culinary diversity to the meals at Roman upper-class banquets.
Sextus's army took another day of forced marching to arrive near Septimus's villa; the villa was two days from the city of Capua, but with the forced march the travel time was reduced to one day.
Sextus's intention was to take advantage of his numerical superiority and capture the villa quickly, ending the problem efficiently and resting in the villa. He did not expect a fierce battle; he represented Rome, and to face him meant certain death. Although Septimus might have that courage, he did not believe that all the private guards under his command would have it.
Therefore, upon sighting the perimeter walls of Septimus's villa and noting that they were not very high, without preparing basic siege equipment, he ordered his tired troops to attack and enter the villa quickly.
Septimus was surprised to see this army of just over 2,500 soldiers attack directly without saying a word; the soldiers' faces looked tired, but they were still confident in attacking his villa.
Septimus's clones responded quickly, taking positions on the walls and waiting for the enemy's attack.
Sextus's army, although fatigued from the forced march, still advanced steadily toward the perimeter wall under the orders of their centurions.
Septimus contemplated this fatigued army advancing toward its death and was surprised at the confidence that the Roman people place in the authority of their Senate. If he did not have the ability to replicate himself and could not form a legion of completely loyal clones, it would be difficult to find men willing to face Roman soldiers without spending a large amount of denarii.
Even so, spending a large amount of money, few would be willing to face Rome; after all, what use is money when you are dead?
Therefore, Septimus's ability to replicate himself gives him the courage to face Rome; only with his replication ability can he form an army of clone soldiers capable of confronting Rome,
saving money on soldiers' wages and training.