Thirty-two soldiers from Spartacus's village died in combat, and sixteen were left disabled. Seeing the fate of the soldiers who had followed him when they left the village, Spartacus felt deeply grieved.
The Thracians who died were childhood friends or relatives of Spartacus.
If they had died defending their tribe, it would have been a dignified death, but they died for Rome. What meaning does that have?
Just at that moment, Nero entered.
Nero was carrying out an internal inspection when he arrived at the dormitory of Spartacus and his men, and his face immediately darkened slightly.
"Spartacus, is this a dormitory? Why is it so dirty? Didn't the general's orders say to keep the dormitories clean?" Nero said with an annoyed expression.
In ancient times, the deadly factor of an army also came from the lack of basic hygiene.
In many wars, disease claimed more lives on both sides than the war itself.
Septimus knew the habits of the allied armies after integrating them into his army and, consequently, decided to be demanding about basic hygiene.
A simple disease in this era is deadly, and the spread of a plague could wipe out the clone army.
On the other hand, Nero said with a serious expression, "As punishment for disobeying, you will have to clean the latrines tonight."
Spartacus, with an indifferent expression, did not bother to turn around to look at Nero.
Nero frowned upon observing Spartacus's reaction.
Previously, Septimus felt a little sympathy for Spartacus and his tragic story of seeking freedom.
Originally, Septimus had no intention of making life difficult for Spartacus or putting obstacles in his way, but Spartacus's attitude was irritating.
Spartacus was a person with a double standard who directed his kindness toward his own ethnic group.
In the modern era, he could be a pure nationalist.
To Spartacus, the life of a Thracian is more valuable than the life of people from other ethnic groups.
In the original history, after Spartacus was enslaved and forged a blood brotherhood with gladiators from other ethnic groups, he was able to change his mentality slightly.
"Yes, sir," Spartacus said indifferently after noticing that Nero was becoming angry.
Seeing that Spartacus appeared obedient, Nero nodded, then went to inspect other places.
Septimus had mobilized a large number of clone soldiers to locate and identify the people spreading malicious rumors about him.
The clone called Nero was also a familiar face in the Thracian military camp and could wander around without arousing much suspicion.
Septimus's slightly annoyed mood was also shared among all the clones.
Without realizing it, the clones who dealt with the allied barbarians changed their attitude.
The Thracians, being the largest allied ethnic group and contemptuous toward Septimus because of the supposed homosexuality.
It is undeniable that Septimus's prestige was affected, and the attitude of the clone army toward the Thracians changed.
The Thracians did not understand why their instructors became annoyed by the jokes made about Septimus and Julius Caesar.
Consequently, many Thracians were brutally beaten.
Septimus had sentenced to death the group of Thracians who spoke badly about his image, and a beating was the appetizer of his revenge.
The objective was still to find the mastermind.
On the other hand, the Thracians are hot-tempered men, and many argued with the clone legionaries.
As a result, two small-scale fights broke out.
The group of Thracians ended up being crucified in front of the entire camp.
Septimus would not allow the dignity of his legions to be affected by a group of barbarians.
In the Thracian military camp.
A large number of Thracians did not stop complaining, but Spartacus wondered why the Roman army had suddenly changed its attitude toward the Thracians.
Spartacus had also heard the rumors about Septimus and, deep down, despised the perversion of that Roman general.
But Spartacus could not understand how such an immoral general could obtain the loyalty of thousands of Romans.
"Do all Romans practice homosexuality?" Spartacus thought to himself with a mocking expression.
While Spartacus was thinking about the fate of the Thracians and Roman customs, a Roman centurion approached his group.
Upon observing Nero's return, the Thracians, who moments earlier had been chatting and laughing, immediately became serious.
"I have received orders from my superiors that there will be a military operation tomorrow," Nero said calmly.
"Dammit! Are we going to fight in this cold? Weren't we supposed to be in a winter camp?" someone expressed his dissatisfaction.
"It is an order! Our objective is very weak. We will break into their settlement and plunder everything they have. The soldiers who participate will receive a share of the spoils," Nero said calmly.
"So this is about dividing the money? That's great!"
"All right, count me in. I'm short on money right now."
"I want to go too."
"..."
The Thracians, who had just been complaining, immediately burst into joy, wishing for the next day to arrive so they could plunder the enemy village.
Nero looked at the Thracians with contempt.
A raid in this weather was more dangerous and had a higher casualty rate.
Bringing the Thracians could reduce the number of clone legionaries who would die.
Spartacus asked, "Who is our target?"
"Some barbarians who joined the army of Pontus must pay the price for their actions," Nero calmly replied.
"I will go too." Spartacus thought for a moment and then said.
The next day, the allied and Roman armies set out with the objective of attacking the barbarians who lived in the north of Euphorbia (the Black Sea).
Nero's group headed toward its target.
It was a Thracian village, and its resistance was quickly crushed when facing the troops led by Nero.
The ground was littered with the corpses of rebels, and a large number of Thracians lay bound as if they were cattle. The cries of children and women could be heard everywhere.
A group of clone legionaries indifferently plundered everything they saw: cattle, sheep, gold, and silver jewelry.
The Thracians also helped with the plundering. Although they would have to hand over a large part of the spoils, they were happy.