"As long as it's enough for everyone to have a meal." Spartacus looked at Cross and asked, "Have the brothers all changed into weaponry and armor?"
"All changed." Cross grinned widely, pointing behind him, "Twenty brothers have all changed into infantry gear, plus you and I took down the gate guard at the iron gate, changed into this set, and there's an archer who fell off the balcony... Now we have twenty-two infantrymen and one archer. Anyone who tries to stop us can be crushed like an ant!"
"Roar!" The fully armed gladiators behind him followed with a roar, causing others in the training ground to look back in astonishment.
Spartacus glanced at these fully armed gladiators and noticed they were all Gauls. He nodded and said calmly, "During our escape, if we encounter any more enemies, we'll have to rely on you."
"Don't worry, I'll lead them to charge ahead," Cross confidently replied.
"How are the brothers' injuries?" Spartacus turned to Antonix.
Antonix replied in a low voice, "Twenty-one dead, eleven seriously injured, thirty-two lightly injured..."
The gladiator leaders simultaneously fell silent: the school had a total of 295 gladiators, all of whom were mobilized in this revolt, resulting in sixty-four casualties, more than one-fifth...
Spartacus quickly gathered his composure and said solemnly, "For the lightly injured, have the brothers take turns carrying them; for those seriously injured and beyond help... let them leave peacefully."
"Got it." Cross responded and went with his subordinates to carry out the order.
Thus, Maximus saw these gladiators come to their grievously injured and unconscious companions, mutter a few words with closed eyes, and then drew their short swords, stabbing directly into their chests.
No one stopped them, nor did anyone object. Since the day they became gladiators, they had been dealing with death and had long become accustomed to it.
But this deeply shocked Maximus and equally startled Fesaros, who was injured beside him.
At this time, Spartacus loudly proclaimed, "Brothers, through bloody battle, we have broken the cage Batiatus set for us! The gate is open now, but when you escape this school, never forget that many of the guards you killed were Roman citizens! That coward Batiatus, who fled in fright, has certainly already pleaded for help from the officials of Capua. The Romans are always cruel to slaves who betray their masters, and they will surely dispatch armies to hunt us down, capture us, and then nail us to the cross to torment us to death!
Never forget the strength of the Romans; all of Italy, the entire Mediterranean, is under their control. Trying to escape alone and hide is not feasible. We must stay tightly united, gathering all our strength to overcome one challenge after another to ultimately attain true freedom!"
As soon as he finished, a gladiator shouted, "Spartacus, rest assured, I will not run away, I will always follow you!"
"That's right, Spartacus, you are the most resourceful, we trust you and will fight alongside you!"
"Spartacus, you are our leader, and under your guidance, we will tear apart any Romans who dare to obstruct us!"
.....
The gladiators' shouts gradually arose, finally merging into an excited roar: "Spartacus! Spartacus!!..."
Maximus curiously gazed at the Spartacus standing ahead: This real Spartacus bore no resemblance to the actors who portrayed him in movies and TV dramas of previous generations. He was tall, muscular, but not bulky, with sweat-soaked brown curly short hair plastered neatly on his broad forehead, a long oval face, slightly pointed chin, a straight nose, large bright eyes, notably expressive brown pupils, complemented by long thick eyelashes and a reserved smile...
A phrase flashed through Maximus's mind: "A face as gentle as a lamb." This appearance hardly matched his physique, but it was precisely this contradiction that evoked a strong feeling of intimacy, and perhaps, it was also because of this that this undefeated number one gladiator in the arena commanded such trust and following.
Spartacus put on the Roman-style helmet left by the gate guard he had killed. The glow of the twilight cast a hazy halo on it, making it especially dazzling. With firm eyes, he waved forcefully: "Follow me, let's get out of here!" With that, he led the charge towards the gate, with armed gladiators following closely behind, and then the other bare-handed gladiators carrying the wounded companions...
Pequot, without hesitation, carried Fesaros on his back. Maximus beside him said, "Pequot, if you get tired of carrying him, you can let me carry him."
Pequot ignored him.
This gladiator school was surrounded by stone walls over four meters high, with a sturdy oak gate secured by a large iron lock, meant to be heavily fortified. At this moment, the iron lock on the gate was not opened, but the wooden gate had been smashed into a large hole, with the hole neatly cut out with a short sword. Remembering the original's memories of Enomai and the incredible strength of those Germanic men, Maximus was not surprised.
Through the hole in the gate lay a narrow, winding alley...
Capua was once the capital of the twelve-city alliance of Campania and remains the region's chief city to this day. Gladiator games are immensely popular here, and it is one of the first towns under Roman rule to build gladiator arenas. Some Capua people even proudly claim that "gladiator games originated in Capua," so there are more than ten privately operated gladiator schools here.
The Capua people love watching gladiator games, but they don't want to live alongside these killing monsters, and the constant din of fighting from the gladiator schools is annoying. Therefore, many years ago, the citizens of Capua collectively demanded that all gladiator schools be moved outside the city. But schools with hundreds or thousands of gladiators could not be without daily supervision, so eventually, these schools were required to be built near the city walls, where soldiers patrolling the city could always see.
As the Romans expanded and conquered, Rome became the center of the Mediterranean, and immense wealth and slaves poured into Rome. Numerous foreigners and poor people came to Rome seeking opportunities for survival and development. Capua, not far from Rome, with rich sustenance and a better environment, also became a sought-after destination for them to settle. The inner city of Capua could not accommodate the large influx of outsiders, so they gradually built houses outside the city. Due to the lack of unified planning, combined with the self-indulgence of the new residents, the housing in the outer city of Capua became disordered, with narrow alleys and poor roads, resembling a large maze.
Usually, Spartacus and the others entered the arena in the city directly under the watchful eyes of Batiatus's guards and were brought back to the school immediately after the competition ended. Batiatus never granted them the right to go out alone, which was also because the vast majority of them were criminals or prisoners of war.
The sky had already dimmed, the road was narrow and winding, and after running for a while, the gladiators suddenly stopped, for a wall appeared in front of them - it was a dead-end!
Spartacus couldn't help but feel a bit anxious as he scanned the row of tightly closed wooden doors along the alley, and said harshly, "Break open a door, and grab two people to lead the way!"
"No need for that trouble, I know the way, I'll lead!" someone shouted from the crowd.
Spartacus looked in the direction of the voice, surprised: "Maximus? You're still alive?!"
"I just passed out. Later, I woke up and saw you fighting the guards at the entrance of the training ground, so I joined the fight..." Maximus said as he walked towards Spartacus. The reason he dared to step forward at this moment was that he realized the actions of the original character were too outrageous, and it was hard to imagine what might happen if the gladiators found out. Therefore, he couldn't remain inactive and had to actively earn credit to gain Spartacus's protection while reducing the disfavo among the others.