Chapter 133
The two sides pushed each other as hard as they could in the middle. The soldier on Antonios' side finally got the ball and passed it back to Olivers, who threw it with all his might at the big man on the left, Tegthinus.
As Tegthinus caught the ball, he spun and dodged the opponent who lunged at him to grab him, then charged forward with the ball in his arms.
Another opponent lunged at him from the side.
Xenotimus blocked the grab just in time.
Tegthinus was a big man, and once he sped up, he was unstoppable. He was caught twice by his opponent, but he managed to shake him off with his powerful momentum.
Seeing that he was already two yards away from his own half of the field, Epthenis could no longer hold back and shouted anxiously from the sidelines.
At that moment, a player from the side quickly caught up and lunged with all his might, spreading his arms in the air and accurately grabbing Tegthinus' feet.
Tegthinus fell to the grass like a falling pillar. Fortunately, he had the ball in his arms and did not lose it.
The Epthenis players rushed up and excitedly patted the player's body. It was a Lucanian, and though he did not understand what the Greeks were saying, he sensed the gaiety and good will in them, and he, too, broke into a broad grin.
The Lucanian in Antonios' team suddenly exclaimed.
"What are they saying?" Antonios asked Bagoule.
"They're calling that man's name. His name is Litom." Bagoule pointed at the Lucanian player on the field. "He's a famous warrior in our tribe and a very good hunter!"
Antonios nodded thoughtfully.
Drax ran over and asked with concern, "How is it? Is something wrong?! "
Tegthinus struggled to his feet and took two steps to show that he was fine. Due to the strong physical nature of rugby and the high risk of injury, and the fact that Amendola could not make protective gear for every soldier, the Devers strictly stipulated that they could only use grabbing, grabbing, pulling, and blocking to disrupt attacks. They were not allowed to hit, kick, or injure anyone else. Otherwise, they would be banned from the game. That was why the soldiers were afraid of being banned and were cautious in their attacks. At the same time, the Devers arranged for doctors to be on standby.
"Good! Very good! Well done! We've already advanced so much. Let's work harder and get this point! "Olivers clapped his hands vigorously to encourage his teammates. At the same time, he laid out a new strategy.
The game started again. Olivers got the ball and threw it to Tegtinos.
Tegtinus ran two steps with the ball. When he saw two opponents charging at him, he immediately threw the ball back to Olivers.
Under the protection of his teammates, Olivers threw the ball to Tegtinos again.
The big guy quickly threw the ball back to Olivers.
Oliver made a move to throw the ball to Tegtinus for the third time, but when his opponent's attention was drawn, he suddenly leaned to the side, and with a flick of his wrist, he threw the ball to the front right side with all his might. Then, he was tackled to the ground by his opponent.
Amid the exclamations of the players on the field, the football flew 20 meters in the air and was about to fly out of the end line. One of the Antonios players quickly rushed over, jumped up with all his might, and reached out to block the football. However, because the ball was too fast, he did not manage to catch it. Therefore, after landing on the ground, he quickly jumped up again, but he still did not manage to catch it firmly. The other party had already pounced on him and grabbed him.
Amidst the cries of regret from the soldiers watching the game, Antonios' team lost their chance to attack.
The slaves off the field also shouted loudly.
"What are they talking about?" Antonios asked curiously.
"They said, 'If it were them, they would definitely be able to catch this ball!'" Bagoule explained, "We Lucarians have been walking and hunting in the mountains since we were young. We often climb high and low. When it comes to jumping, other races may not be able to compare to us!"
Antonios nodded and said, "It's our turn to defend next. The five of you will attack together."
Bagoule was taken aback for a moment before he became excited. After watching off the field for a while, he felt that this game was very interesting and exciting. He had long been eager to try it.
"Also, I suggest that when you go back, it's best to urge your people to learn Greek. Otherwise, you won't be able to communicate during the game!" Antonios reminded with a slightly deeper meaning.
… …
The sky was getting dark. More than eight hundred Lucanian slaves were anxiously waiting at the construction site. Some of them were getting restless and started arguing with the soldiers who were supervising them.
At this moment, the forty slaves came back, talking and laughing.
"Hey, are you guys okay?!" The clansmen went up to them and asked with concern.
"Don't worry, we're fine!" Bagoule comforted them, unable to hide the excitement on his face.
"Oh my, this football game invented by the Greeks is so interesting! You guys didn't see it, in the last round of the game, Bagoule jumped up and caught the ball in the air. He dodged the obstruction of two people and directly rushed into the formation to score, helping his team win the championship! "A returning slave said excitedly.
"It's not rushing into the formation, it's passing the formation!" Bagoule corrected him.
"If it wasn't for the bad teamwork of my team, we would have definitely beaten you and entered the finals!" Litom said, unconvinced.
"Brother, you have to understand that your teamwork is bad because you don't understand each other! If you want to beat me next time, you must learn Greek well! "Bagoule warned him.
Litom thought for a moment and nodded seriously.
The slaves who were waiting were confused: What game … competition … champion?
Then, the returning slaves began to excitedly tell them about their experiences in the Amendolara training camp. The waiting slaves were curious at first, but later, many of them became interested in the game and secretly made up their minds. From now on, they would work harder at the construction site and strive to be selected next time to participate in this game that sounded very interesting!
From that day onwards, the progress of various projects in Amendolara advanced by leaps and bounds …
For the old citizens of Lucania, it was destined to be a sleepless night. For example, Arsineis. He could not forget the fact that his parents died at the hands of the Lucanians. However, when he advanced with the ball, the Lucanians on his team blocked the opponents for him many times and scored touchdowns for him. When he excitedly hugged his Lucanian teammates, he forgot about his hatred. When he returned home and thought about it, his heart was extremely conflicted. This was the charm of modern team sports in his previous life. When an individual integrated into the team and won through unity, any hatred and conflict in the past would be eliminated by the joy of victory. This was why the Devers forced each team to have five Lucanian slaves.
… …
The next morning, the Devers had breakfast and were about to go out to inspect the carpenters' construction of the elevated waterwheel when they saw Asistes rushing in.
"What happened?!" the Devers asked immediately.
"Cunogorata … Cunogorata has been expelled from Turií. Now he is leading his family … and people to the direction of Amendolara!" Asistes said, panting.
What?! The Devers were shocked.
It turned out that after the signing of the alliance agreement, Cunogorata sent people to investigate the financial situation of the Turií's national treasury on the grounds of "the need to formulate a new trade plan to replenish the empty national treasury".
While the investigation was in progress, rumors began to spread in the city of Turií. "The hasty battle with the Lucanians was facilitated by Cunogorata. At that time, Felice and the mercenary leader strongly opposed it. Even the heroic Devers who saved the Turií submitted a more feasible battle plan, but they were all rejected by Cunogorata. Under his urging and coercion, the old general, Felice, was forced to fight. During the battle, it was Cunogorata's early escape that led to the collapse of the central phalanx, and Felice died bravely in battle … "
The rumors quickly spread throughout the city. Since some of the rumors were true, when the skeptical citizens went to find people to verify it, they selectively chose to believe the truth. They were the families of the Devers who had died in the battle. Their sorrow had been suppressed by the Devers' victory. Now they needed an outlet, and Cunogorata was the best target. Anger erupted among the citizens. They gathered and shouted, "Cunogorata, step down! Punish Cunogorata severely! " Slogans surrounded the city hall.
Seeing that things were not going well, Cunogorata sneaked home through the back door of the city hall. However, the citizens who heard the news rushed to his house and surrounded it.
Cunogorata urgently ordered his family and slaves to be on guard to prevent the citizens from rushing into his house. He stood within the walls of the house and tried to explain to the angry citizens.
While both sides were in a stalemate, someone suddenly shouted, "Citizens, don't forget, after Cunogorata escaped back into the city, he forced us to close the gate! As a result, the citizens who fled could not enter the city, and more than half were killed by the Lucarians! He's a murderer! "
With this reminder, many people remembered Kunogorata's neurotic shout at that time, "Quickly close the city gate!" In fact, this measure had saved the lives of all the people in the city during the emergency, but the angry people did not care about this at all. They only remembered that they had watched their loved ones being slaughtered like lambs on the city wall. They hated themselves for being powerless, and of course, they hated the "culprit" even more!
Thus, an even more intense conflict occurred. The citizens wanted to force their way into Cunogorata's house. The people in the house tried their best to stop them. The angry citizens even carried a black log and finally broke through the gate. Countless frenzied citizens rushed into the house. If it was not for Cunogorata pretending to be dead and the slaves protecting him loyally, he would have been beaten to death on the spot.
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