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through the minds of most men was that the battle had been lost. Titus remained fixed on the messenger's face, who seemed determined to continue only when there was silence. Once satisfied, he spoke again. ‘General Flavius Sabinus was killed in battle by Demirati cavalry ten kilometres south of Sanot,' he said, almost with a hint of triumph in his voice at having revealed such important information. Gaius suddenly rose to his feet and all eyes turned expectantly to him as the room <a href="http://www.putianb2b.com/"><strong>莆田外贸之家</strong></a> instantly hushed. Rollo seemed somewhat disconcerted at having to now share the spotlight. ‘What of the battle, you fool? Tell us the outcome of the battle now without further delay and dispense with these theatrics. We are not here for your entertainment. You are here to perform your task and then leave us to the business of State,' Gaius demanded angrily. 162 THE REPUBLIC – CONFLICT Titus said nothing. He had been on the verge of a similar outburst himself. Rollo was deflated by the remark, but he began to speak much more concisely. ‘The Battle was won. The Demirati army was utterly destroyed with only twenty survivors, all cavalrymen.' A great cheer arose at this news. The result seemed better than any had dared hope. The utter annihilation of the Demirati army was unexpected for the Republic, which had ne mbt kisumu ver before faced anything larger than an uprising amongst the Provincials. Many of the men, especially the Rear Levels, embraced each other. Titus and Janus however were not so quick to celebrate. ‘What about the dead?' Titus said finally, when it appeared the jubilant Orators would not stop without prompting. The messenger bowed his head at this. ‘Estimates begin at fourteen thousand dead, largely from the original Northern Army. The reinforcements arrived mid-battle and only through them was the battle won.' The room went instantly silent. The thought of so many dead was staggering. Never before in the history of the Republic had so many men died in a single engagement. The population of the entire Republic, including the Provincials numbered no more than two hundred thousand. The death of so many men was such an unprecedented event that the whole Oratory found themselves in mourning over their victory. It was Gaius who broke the silence again, which seemed to relieve Rollo, who remained standing awkwardly in the centre of the Chamber, not knowing what to do with his hands. ‘And the Oratorial Imperative? Who did you deliver it to?' Tit mbt anti shoe us' ears pricked up at the mention of the Imperative. Perhaps now Gaius would give some hint of what it was he had planned. ‘I delivered it to Marcus Sabinus, who was with Ardo Regulus at that time,' Rollo replied. ‘Did they accept our Imperative? Did they act upon it?' Rollo looked confused at hearing this. ‘I know not. I am unaware what it was that the message contained, and neither Marcus nor Ardo deemed to tell me.' 163 THE REPUBLIC – CONFLICT Gaius appeared frustrated at this response and rephrased his question quickly. ‘Who is now in charge of the Northern Army?' he asked. Rollo considered this. ‘Ardo Regulus has taken command of the reinforcements I believe. The remaining men from the Northern Army are exhausted and most are wounded. Marcus Sabinus has taken command of the original forces.' At this, Titus, who was still staring intently at Gaius' face, thought he saw an almost imperceptible smile flash across Gaius' lips. Unsure whether it was his imagination or not, he directed a question of his own. ‘To what end? Ardo presumably to expel the garrison from Davire if one remains. What of Marcus? Why divide the forces?' Rollo seemed confused by this. ‘Are the men to be dis mbt shoes discount banded?' Titus continued. Rollo cheap mbt shoes nodded. ‘I believe so, yes. When I left the North, Ardo Regulus was about to leave for Davire and Marcus Sabinus was to head towards Vissimo. He said that for these men the war was over.' Titus listened to this with a growing sense of dread, and when he looked back at Gaius, he could see him smiling again, however much he tried to conceal it. Ceminus and Janus sat opposite Titus <a href="http://anfu.putianb2b.com/"><strong>安福市场</strong></a> in his dining room. Jonathon Malkus and Letes Ferres sat at either end of the table, both rather out of the main thrust of the conversation. Drusilla had seemed annoyed when Titus had arrived home with his colleagues, but had managed to act cordially, greeting them and then leaving the room quickly. She glared at Titus as she left. Livia was nowhere to be found, and Titus wondered if perhaps she had heard him arrive and gone into hiding. ‘We have a problem. I understand this is merely speculation and may seem an extreme thing to say, but I believe I should say it anyway,' Titus began. No discount mbt trainers body replied, so he continued. 164 THE REPUBLIC – CONFLICT ‘Marcus has taken control of the Northern Army. This may be seen as a reasonable course of action for an autonomous General to take, but Marcus is not the General. He was given command of the reinforcements only through his father's contacts and we, seeing no harm in this, allowed it.' ‘Our first mistake,' Janus said. ‘Exactly. It appears we failed to take into account the conditions of battle. We also failed to take into account the fact the Flavius could die whilst his army survived. By our Imperative, Ardo Regulus should be in command of the entire Northern Army and the reinforcements. Marcus was supposed to be relieved of all command by his father upon the conjunction of the two forces. Obviously this has not been the case.' ‘What exactly is it you are suggesting, Titus?' asked Ceminus. ‘I am suggesting that that rodent Gaius has made some sort of arrangement with Marcus Sabinus, and has given him the army to carry it out. Gaius was a strong supporter of Flavius' when he suggested installing Marcus as the General of the reinforcements, but he did not support Flavius initially. Why do you suppose that was?' Ceminus considered this, taken aback by the ferocity of Titus' tone. ‘To what end? What can he do with the army? They are merely the exhausted remains of a once formidable for cheap mbt shoes ce.' ‘The exhausted remains of a once formidable force are still perfectly able to occupy the undefended Capital of Vissimo, Ceminus, which is what I believe Marcus intends to do.' From the end of the table came the mild voice of Letes Ferres, who had said nothing thus far. ‘Now hold on, Titus. That's an absurd claim. Why would these troops march upon their own Capital? Maybe under Flavius, but certainly not under Marcus. He doesn't have the loyalty of the men to that extent,' Ferres said argumentatively. Janus groaned. ‘Titus is right. He can do it, and we've given him the ability. More to the point, Gaius mbt uk has given him the ability. It makes sense now, all of it.' 165 THE REPUBLIC – CONFLICT Ceminus, Ferres and Malkus all looked alarmed as they watched Janus' deflated form. Titus listened, hoping for some clarification of his theory. ‘The Oratory has broken the Confirmation of Beliefs. Gaius knew he could arrange his supporters to do so, because they trust him. But none of them know what is going on now. He's deserted them.' Ceminus shook his head. ‘I don't quite understand. How does this help Marcus gain loyalty?' he asked. ‘You said yourself that Flavius could probably have compelled his army to march on Vissimo if he had so desired. That was never a danger. Flavius was a patriot. That is why he inspired such loyalty. But Marcus is less devoted to the Republic. He knows he can use his father's loyalty to win over the men. With his father dead, he can take control by pointing out that the corrupt and outdated body of men known as the Oratory have mbt stockists broken the laws of the Republic to oust the man that they all loved and admired. He can use their <a href="http://anfu.putianb2b.com/"><strong>莆田安福商城网址</strong></a> loyalty to Flavius to make them loyal to him. He becomes a champion of his father's cause,' Janus said. ‘You mean he's planning to remove the Oratory entirely?' Ceminus said hesitantly. ‘It makes sense. Gaius pushed through the Imperative at all costs, making enemies of all his Oratory allies, because he did not care if he lost them. He knew that the Oratory wouldn't matter any more. Marcus no doubt has promised him a position of power when he returns.' ‘But you're talking about a dictatorship. That's not possible, is it? People would not stand for such a thing. The soldiers would mbt sale not stand for such a thing,' Ferres argued, but without much conviction. ‘You underestimate the greed of humans, Letes. Once the soldiers have had a taste of luxury and power then they'll want to hold on to it. Marcus can easily corrupt them the same way he corrupted Gaius. Or Gaius corrupted him. I do not know who was the instigator.' Ferres was clearly shaken by the idea and was determined not to believe it. He argued against it but something in his tone suggested he knew it made sense. 166 THE REPUBLIC – CONFLICT ‘This is all circumstantial. We can't act upon this. How can we know? The pieces may all seem to fit, but we can't possibly know if this is true or not,' he said. Titus nodded at this. ‘There is only one man who can tell us whether it is the truth or not. Gaius Fulvus. We must confront him. It may seem drastic to accuse a man of high treason but if it is true then we need to find out the extent of the plan and see if there is anything we can do. We must confront him.' Janus seemed to accept the logic of this. They could not afford to take half-measures on the issue anyway. Too much was at stake. ‘Not in the Oratory, however. We should confront him at his mbt uk home. The less witnesses the better, until we know what we're talking about. None of you are to speak about this to anyone. Tomorrow, early morning we arrive at Gaius' house. We shall meet here at sunrise and catch the fiend while he sleeps,' Titus said. After a pause, all the men around the table nodded their consent, and then they all stood up to leave. ‘Till tomorrow, old man,' Titus said to Janus as he left the room. Within a minute, Titus heard the door pull closed and the murmur of their voices disappear into the streets of Vissimo. He stood up, taking the candle from the centre mbt walking shoes of the room and lighting several others that were on the room's edges. He didn't like lanterns, as the smell bothered him, and so it was quite dark. 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