Lady of Pompeii

There was a commotion in the crowd.The Romans greeted Hannibal one after another.

Julian also recognized Hannibal.I didn't expect him to appear here in this way.Hastily greeted.

"Caesar from Rome!" An old Spartan man squeezed out from the crowd, came to Hannibal, saluted him, looked up at Hannibal, and said, "Since you It is also here, and you must have seen the match just now with your own eyes. The young Spartan Milo has the will not to lose to steel. He could have defended his honor on this sacred ground, but he But he lost. It was not his opponent who defeated him, but the unfair penalty! This is a stain on the Olympia Arena!"

"Son!" He looked at Miro, "tell this Roman Caesar standing in front of you loudly, are you convinced of this match?"

"Not convinced!" Milo said loudly, his face flushed.

"Not only he is not convinced, but all the Spartans are not convinced, Delphi, Thebes, Arcadia, and all the Greeks who have witnessed the fair competition in Olympia will not be convinced either!"

Julian rushed to the front and ordered the guards to drive away the booing Greeks. He hurriedly turned to Hannibal, with a flattering smile on his face, "I swear to the gods in the sky, I never thought you would have come here Just now, I asked my herald when you will arrive. This place is too messy for you to stay. If you want, I will take you there myself. It has been prepared for you The place to stay, I believe that you will be satisfied..."

Because the guards chased them away, the crowd that had just calmed down rioted again.

"Caesar of Rome! If you also acquiesce in this injustice, by Zeus the god of gods, all Spartans will refuse to participate in the next Olympiad! We regard this as an indelible colossal shame!"

When the old Spartan just now was being dragged away by the guards, he raised his arms and roared loudly in Hannibal's direction.

"Let go of him! Get all your people out of here!"

Hannibal addressed the sheriff with orders.

The sweaty magistrate hurried over, "Caesar, you don't know how barbaric these people are. For your safety, I hope you can leave here as soon as possible..."

Hannibal glanced at him.

The sheriff paused, turned around immediately, and loudly ordered the guards to evacuate.

"The winner just now, let him come over," Hannibal said.

Tubero, who had long since lost the joyful expression on his face, ran over in a hurry.

"Report your name and resume!"

"Tubello Asina Julian, served in the Sixth Ferrata Regiment, with the rank of Centurion, participated in more than a dozen battles, among which he was awarded for the battle of Formina!"

Tubero stood up straight, gave a military salute to Hannibal, and said loudly.

"He is my nephew, a very good young man."

Julian hastily added on the sidelines.

Hannibal ignored Julian, stared at Tubero for a moment, and then nodded.

"You are an excellent Roman warrior. The Sixth Regiment of Ferrata is known as the Iron Army, and honor is more important than life. Today you won the victory here. This is the highest honor, but your opponent claims injustice. You are right Is there anything you want to say about this?"

Tubelo glanced at his opponent, Miro, and then at the referee who was hiding behind the guards because he was being chased, his face gradually turned red.

Julian bribed the referee in advance, and he didn't know about it at first.After winning the victory, although he felt that he was in a fog, and even he didn't believe it, he quickly attributed it to his luck and didn't think much about it, and immediately threw himself into the ecstatic victory celebration.It wasn't until the conflict happened just now that he thought about the strangeness during the game, and he gradually came to his senses.He has a proud personality and has always been conceited. He feels a little uncomfortable with this result, and even blames his uncle a little bit in his heart.Seeing Hannibal asking himself this question now, he felt blushing, and immediately said loudly, "I am willing to fight him again to defend my honor and reputation!"

Hannibal nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and turned his head to announce the restart of the game.

The Greeks were overjoyed and cheered loudly.

Julian's old face was flushed, and he complained in his heart that his nephew was ignorant.It's just that the matter has come to this point, and there is nothing else to do, so I can only hope that my nephew can win again, otherwise, among other things, just a Roman on the scene spit at him is enough to drown him.

The Spartan elder bent deeply towards Hannibal, then turned around, and said to Milo who was still standing there, as if he still couldn't believe his ears: "Son, go on to the competition! As long as you do your best, no matter what the result is, all Spartans will be proud of you."

Milo nodded vigorously, striding towards the arena.

Overturning the results of the game and re-matching it is rare in the history of previous competitions.Unless there is a very serious case of fraud, and this situation has been unanimously approved by the priests and the jury, this can be done again.But now that the Roman emperor has come to the scene to speak, the priests and referees will naturally not raise any objections.After a referee was replaced, the game resumed.

With the determination of revenge, the Greek teenager Milo didn't give Tubero more chances in the game.Although Tubero had tried his best to draw with Miro in the first two rounds, in the last match of the decisive match, he was finally pressed down by Miro on the sand due to his lack of strength. defeat.

All the Greeks watching the battle on the grass slope were elated. They shouted wildly at the victorious Milo and threw laurel branches and garlands at him. Withdrew.

Miro walked around the field for a week before running to Hannibal in front of the VIP seats.

Because of the extreme excitement and the fierce confrontation just now, his young and fit body was covered with sweat, and his eyes were shining with joy.As he bowed to Hannibal, expressing his gratitude for the fair treatment he had just given, Hannibal stood up slowly from his seat.

"Young man, you have won the final victory of this game. Now, if I challenge you as an athlete, are you willing to accept my challenge?"

Milo froze, as if he didn't know how to answer for a moment, he froze in place.

The priests, referees, and officials including Julian in the VIP seat were also taken aback, turning their heads to look at Hannibal.

Hannibal's words were quickly spread to the grassy slope through the herald next to him. The Greeks whispered to each other with doubts on their faces, while the Romans, who had fallen into depression, complaints and even anger because of Tubero's defeat, began to rekindle their anger. With hope, he began to urge Milo loudly to accept the challenge.

Strictly speaking, the participation of Roman emperors in Olympia is nothing new.Tiberius and Nero had previously participated.However, this is not the norm after all.The participants in the competition are all the best in this field.Although most of the emperors of the Roman Empire could roll on the battlefield, they might not be able to win their opponents when they came to the arena.Although winning can lead to great glory among the people, but if the strength is not enough, and you meet a guy who is unwilling to release water (this possibility is not impossible), once you lose, the problem of face will be a hurdle to overcome.So throughout history, most Roman emperors had self-knowledge and would not dig such a pit for themselves and jump into it.

It has been nearly 20 years since the last time a Roman emperor entered the contest.But that time, Nero ordered the match to be moved to Rome. When he played, God knows whether the referee and his opponents had to let the water go so as not to be dragged into the Colosseum by the famous tyrant to feed the wild animals after the game.So now, Hannibal, as the Roman emperor, suddenly raised this challenge, which really surprised everyone.

Hearing the eager urging voices from the Roman audience on the grassy slope, Julian's heart that had been hanging just now was finally relieved a little.

Although he was also puzzled by Hannibal's decision.But obviously, if he is willing to have another match with Miro, no matter what the final result is, it will be a good thing for him and his nephew Tubero who are suffering from the anger of the Roman audience.If Hannibal had won, they'd be so busy celebrating the victory that the attention wouldn't be on them.If Hannibal lost, the Roman emperor who wanted to challenge for the championship would be the one who would bear the biggest dissatisfaction of the Romans. The defeat of his nephew would not be worth mentioning.

So at this moment, Julian unprecedentedly hoped that this Greek boy would have the courage to accept the challenge from the Roman emperor.

Amidst the collective silence of the Greeks and the eager urging of the Roman audience, Milo met the gaze of the opposite Roman emperor.After a few seconds of silence, he puffed up his chest and said loudly: "Although you are the head of Rome, I am willing to accept your challenge!"

"Very good. Considering that you just finished the game, for the sake of fairness, you can take a rest first, and we will start the game after your physical strength recovers."

Under the gazes of tens of thousands of people, Hannibal stepped off the VIP table.

----

Adjani was stunned again by this sudden change.

The Greek teenager regained the honor that should belong to him.Although his victory severely slapped the Romans in the face and made all the Romans present feel angry and humiliated, but this is a game, and the skills are not as good as others, so you must accept defeat.She never thought that Hannibal would stand up to challenge the Greek boy at this time.

He is also Roman.Was he trying to appease his people by saving the face of the Romans by his victory here?

If you can win, it is naturally a good thing.But what if he also loses?

Naturally, he won't win by cheating, and that Greek teenager doesn't seem to let him much because of his status.He is known as the god of war, but the ruler on the battlefield may not be able to continue the legend of invincibility on this small sandy land that requires strength and skill.

Ajani was still looking forward to the victory of the Greek teenager Milo just now, and when he celebrated the victory and cheered around the field, she was also excited, but now, she began to worry about Hannibal.

She watched him and the Greek boy Milo swear a fair competition towards the temple under the leadership of the priest. He entered the venue and took off his coat amidst the cheers of the Roman audience.

The Mediterranean sun shines on his broad, flowing shoulders.After he finished warming up, when the referee announced that the game was about to start, he suddenly turned his head, cast a distant glance in the direction of Adjani, and smiled slightly.

The distance is so far, and there are crowds of people on the grassy slope, but Adjani feels that he seems to see herself, and that his action is for her to see, it seems that he sensed her mood at the moment, so he deliberately comforted her like this of.

Ajani can only sigh now.

Compared with this Greek teenager, he has absolutely no advantage in age.But judging from his performance after the two were together, his physical strength seemed to be maintained well.I hope that on this field, he can also maintain the same physical strength as when they were together, otherwise, the hope of defeating this Greek teenager who is in the golden age of competition is even slimmer.

☆、Chapter 66

The referee announced the start of the game with gestures, and the originally boiling Olympia Arena quickly fell silent, and no one made a sound.

The scorching sun above his head made Milo's back feel hot. When he stood barefoot on the sandy ground with hot soles, and stared at the opponent opposite, he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of tension in his heart.

Everything that happened today is like an Aristophanes drama with ups and downs.When he was confident to defend his honor, he encountered an unexpected blow; when he was angry and desperate for being treated unfairly, Norns, the goddess of fate, opened another door for him ; and now, he is about to face the test of accepting the challenge from the emperor of the Roman Empire.

It must be admitted that even though he has experienced hundreds of battles and won the highest honor by defeating all opponents on this lucky sand twice, but now, when his opponent on the opposite side starts to walk towards him, he still can't help it. Feeling a little nervous.

What made him nervous was not only the opponent's special status as the emperor of the Roman Empire, but also the determination and kingly aura that he had naturally shown since he stood on this field.

This aura is by no means deliberate.But it is precisely because of the natural expression that it is even more terrifying.

If, just a moment ago, the Greek boy who had just won the laurels doubted the strength of his opponent, then now, he did not dare to take it lightly.

"Don't underestimate him. I have a hunch that this will be a difficult game. But don't be afraid. Forget who he is, in the arena, he is your enemy. You can't have the slightest distraction, You have to concentrate, do your best, and beat him!"

Milo quickly recalled in his mind what his uncle, who was also his coach, told him just now, and his gaze fell firmly on Hannibal's feet.He involuntarily leaned forward slightly, and the muscles of his young body stretched slightly following his movements, like a cheetah full of strength and ready to pounce on its prey at any time.

The moment Hannibal's footsteps landed in a favorable offensive position, Milo's knees sank and he lunged forward, and the two of them twisted together immediately.

----

At the beginning, the actions of both sides were somewhat tentative.

After fighting the Greek teenager for a few rounds, Hannibal couldn't help nodding secretly.

When Miro and Tubero played just now, he had been paying attention.Now that he took the initiative to challenge this young man who had just won the laurels, he naturally had a certain degree of confidence in his own strength.

As a very popular and popular entertainment among the Roman legions, Hannibal was no stranger to it. Even when he often fought with soldiers during the truce in the early years, it was difficult to meet opponents in the legions.

Although the Greek teenager is young, when he played against himself, he changed his aggressive performance in the last game and showed patience and caution beyond his age.

No wonder he was able to win the championship at the age of 16. In addition to his talent and practice of skills, he adjusted his tactics in a timely manner according to the changes of his opponents. His deep understanding of this point surprised Hannibal.

Hannibal quickly assessed the strengths and weaknesses of himself and his opponent.

There is no doubt that he is still in his prime.But in this fierce personal competition, age is a disadvantage that he must face up to.The 20-year-old Greek teenager's muscular explosiveness and stamina in confrontation cannot be underestimated.Therefore, if this young man is allowed to control the rhythm of the game at his own pace, in the end, the result may be difficult to predict.

Just like meeting a powerful enemy for the first time on the battlefield, the best way to win is to disrupt the opponent's position and strive for a quick victory before the opponent can calmly think. This is his experience in many years of combat career.

Hannibal appeared more patient, basically defending, as if this was not an important match that needed to be decided, but rather a practice with his opponent.

Sure enough, after Hannibal lost two points in a row and was unable to win the third point that decided the outcome of the first game, Milo gradually lost his composure. He was no longer as cautious as he was at the beginning. become aggressive.Hannibal was keenly aware of his change, and quickly seized the opportunity to counterattack and equalize the situation.

Seeing that the advantage of being able to win the first game collapsed in an instant, the two returned to the original point.The Greek teenager began to look restless, with a trace of frustration on his face, but this expression quickly passed, and then he cheered up again, trying to regain the crucial last point.

Hannibal and Milo pulled each other's limbs, trying to throw each other to the ground. The two sides were in a stalemate. When they couldn't stand for a long time, Milo suddenly grabbed Hannibal's upper arm and wanted to throw him back, but luckily No, when grabbing Hannibal's arm, because the angle was very reluctant, and the sweat on the skin hindered it, the grip was not firm. As soon as Hannibal exerted a little force, his hand slipped away, and his body swayed. When he was anxious to get back into balance, Hannibal didn't give him the chance and threw him on his back, scoring the third point and winning the first sentence.

After a brief adjustment, continue to the second round of the game.

Not long after the start, Hannibal noticed that the mentality of the Greek teenager had now undergone a subtle change.He seemed a bit impetuous, and his offense lost the confidence and decisiveness he had at the beginning.He obviously also knew that there was a problem with his mentality, and seemed to be anxious to adjust.But Hannibal also changed tack.Instead of focusing on defense as in the first game, they launched a fierce offensive.After he took the lead to gain a two-point advantage, the Greek teenager seemed to have finally regained his senses, trying to make a final counterattack and regained a point.

Hannibal will not give him another chance to stand up.

Amidst the overwhelming shouts from the Roman audience, Hannibal pinned Milo to the ground with his back pressure.

Milo struggled to turn over, but the back of his neck was firmly pressed by the opponent's knee. After struggling in vain, he finally had to admit that he had lost the match, to the Roman emperor.

The referee declared Hannibal the winner.

Hannibal let go of Milo.

Half of Milo's face was still pressed against the hot sand, but he didn't feel the heat at all.In his ears was the deafening Romans' tidy "Caesar" voice full of pride, and his whole body was filled with a strong sense of shame. If he could, he just wanted to bury this face forever like this now. on the sand so he wouldn't have to face the humiliation he'd already brought on the Spartans.

Hannibal leaned down and reached out to pat him on the shoulder.

"Young people, the original meaning of Olympia is to dispel the hatred and truce between people, and also to challenge yourself. Regarding the former, it may only be regarded as an ideal, but the latter is real. Your luck today Not very good. When you are ready, you can come to me again at any time, and then we can have another game."

After he finished speaking, he stood up and waved to the crowd on the grassy slope who were cheering loudly for "Caesar".The crowd responded even more frantically, and many threw laurel wreaths at him. He took one and headed for the grassy slope, passing through the crowds that flocked towards him, and finally came to Ajia Ni's side.

----

His victory not only brought infinite joy and surprise to Ajani, but also a sense of pride.Just when Ajani felt her blood boil like everyone else, she found that he was coming in her direction, and she suddenly had a bad premonition in her heart.When he was smiling and getting closer and closer to him, the excitement because of his victory just now completely disappeared without a trace.

What on earth does he want to do...

At this moment, Adjani suddenly had an urge to turn around and run away...

But her feet seemed to be nailed to the ground and she couldn't move. She could only open her eyes wide and passively watched Hannibal getting closer and closer to her. Finally, he came to her side and greeted him with a smile on his face. The laurel wreath in his hand was placed on her head.

His movements are so natural, as if this is a matter of course.

The Romans in the distance were still cheering to celebrate the surprise and pride that their Caesar had brought them, but the voices of the nearby crowd gradually died down.Countless pairs of astonished eyes watched this scene.

"who is she?"

This question and Hannibal's unexpected move quickly spread throughout Olympia. Many people speculated and bet on whether the woman was the future Augusta of the Roman Empire.

☆、Chapter 67

Hannibal did not return to Rome, but remained in Alexandria.

A month after returning from Olympia, Adjani saw that he didn't seem to have any plans to leave. The two were together that day. When she asked him casually, he replied: "The Senate will handle all the affairs when I am away." .If they can't solve it, they will naturally come to me. For me, what I want to do most now is to give you more time to learn to understand me. Because there are many things about me that you don't know For example, if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, you probably wouldn’t have believed that I would have won that match against that Greek boy, would you?”

His tone sounded serious at first, but in the end, there was still a little pride that couldn't be concealed.

"Yes, including what you did to me in public," Adjani smiled, "You always said it was a surprise for me, but I would rather think it was a kind of scare, I almost ran away without turning my head. "

Hannibal snorted, grabbed her hand and made her sit on his lap and stared at her with an unhappy expression, "Only frightened? Don't you have any other feelings, for example, even a little touch?"

Ajani raised her face, met his gaze looking down at her, stared at him for a moment, and then smiled.

"Well, I admit that I was a little moved, no, no, I should say, I was very moved. But why didn't you discuss it with me in advance?"

"Let you know, what kind of surprise is it?"

Hearing that she was touched, Hannibal finally showed satisfaction and interrupted her, "Besides, that idea came out of my mind suddenly, and I thought it was perfect, so I followed it Done."

"But," Adjani resumed the words he had interrupted just now, "I don't want to put too much extra pressure on you, after all..." She hesitated.

"I know," Hannibal smiled slightly, "I remember the past, when we were not together, when I expressed my feelings for you, you always emphasized the impossibility between us. At that time , You gave me the feeling that you were so calm that you were even cold-blooded. But now that we are really together, you have never mentioned anything about the future in front of me. Adjani..."

He stroked her face with his fingers, and stared deeply at her, "Don't you care about our future now?"

"Uh, it's not bad as it is now..." Ajani sighed again, "I really didn't want to force you to disclose our relationship so soon..."

"I feel very bad," Hannibal recalled the unfriendly look that the young man outside looked at him when he came to find her just now, "It's not good for you to live here, the law and order are messed up, and, That man who has been by your side all day," as if he was afraid that he would not be able to attract her attention, when he said "man", his tone was emphasized, "He doesn't seem to be very friendly to me, every time I come to you , he showed a defensive expression. In fact, I don't like that guy very much."

Adjani couldn't help laughing, she clenched her fist and thumped his shoulder, "You mean Ribo? He's in charge of my safety, and he's naturally wary of anyone who gets close to me."

"No, no, I bet he's obsessed with you too. So he's my rival. If I just leave and go back to Rome, Gods be witness, how can I safely leave you alone all day long?" Heaven and earth facing a man?"

"Stingy man!" Adjani punched him again, "He already has a woman he loves! The reason why you feel that he is a little nervous is because he doesn't know your identity. By the way," She sneered, "In your eyes, do all the men who get closer to me have plans for me?"

The news of Hannibal in Alexandria was not made public.Libo had never seen him before, so he didn't know how divine this man who appeared out of thin air was, to be able to stay in Adjani's boudoir every night, so his expression was naturally abnormal.

Being ridiculed by her like this, Hannibal showed a slightly embarrassed expression and was speechless for a while.

Adjani stared at him, stopped joking, and gradually became serious.

"To be honest, you can treat me like this. Apart from accidents, what I feel the most is still moving. But as you said just now, now that we are really together, I didn't talk about our future anymore. That's because I know you are where you are today, and my presence is not welcome for you, or for the Romans. I heard you mention the pressure Titus was under because of the Jewish princess .I don't want you to be in the same situation as Titus. So, if I can let me know in advance when you are going to do that at that time, I will definitely stop you. Really, as long as we can Together, I am satisfied."

"Why?" Hannibal stared at her, his expression became solemn, "Why are you willing to wrong yourself? I know you are not such a person."

Adjani sighed, "I don't know why I changed my mind. But haven't you changed too? Maybe once you make up your mind, you will find that some things that you thought were important to you may not be It is as important as I imagined. When I clearly realized that I actually love you and hope to be with you forever, at that time, I knew that I had to give up something. And I don’t think it’s a grievance .Because this is my willing choice.”

"Ajani!" Hannibal hugged her tightly and kissed her, his voice was full of emotion and joy, "This is the most joyful words I have heard so far, from the heart. I don't I will regret my decision at that time, in fact, that was my idea from the beginning. In Olympia, in front of the temple of Zeus and Hera, I will dedicate the crown I won to my beloved woman as a token of respect for her. What could be more exciting than a vow of love? At that moment, I was not the one with any title attached to it, I just did what I wanted to do as a man thing."

"Oh, a romantic man!" Ajani leaned in his arms, smiling, "The more I know you, the more I feel that I love you a little more."

He smiled warmly and held her hand tightly.

"So now, I also have to let you know that, just like you worried, we may encounter resistance in the future. But as long as we have our hearts," he pressed her hand to his chest, staring deeply Looking at her, "As long as our hearts are together, even if we are betrayed by the gods of Olympus, we will never be separated."

"I like what you said," Adjani kissed his lips, "We will be together and never separate!"