Chapter 230
"Yes, he's beautiful, just like you!"
"I haven't named the child yet. I'm waiting for you to come back and name him."
As for the child's name, Devers had thought about it on the way back. He put one hand on his wife's shoulder and the other hand under his chin. He said thoughtfully, "I remember the first time I learned that you were pregnant, it was when we had just defeated Crotone … And this time, when he was born, we defeated Crotone again. The war with Crotone had just ended. This child is so fated with Crotone. This is the wish of Hades! I think it's better to name our child … Crotocatax, what do you think? "
"Crotocatax … Crotocatax …" Kristoya whispered a few times. She looked up at her husband worriedly, "Isn't this name too flamboyant? (Catax means conquest, and Crotocatax means Crotone's conqueror)."
Devers smiled, "My child has this name. When he grows up, the people of Diónia will call his name. They will remember the hardships of the founding of the country and his father's contribution to this alliance, and they will be more tolerant of him! At the same time, if my child has ambition, he will create his own glory under the inspiration of this name! … "
Kristoya, who was not very satisfied with the name, thought for a while and finally nodded, "Okay, let's call him Crotocatax."
As soon as she said that, the crying of the child outside the room stopped abruptly.
Kristoya covered her mouth and looked at Devers in surprise, "Oh my god, this name has been blessed by Hera! The child himself has accepted it! "
At this time, Asuna came in with the child in her arms.
Kristoya took the child and said softly, "Little … little baby, this is your father! Call him daddy! "
The child laughed and danced with joy.
"Look, he's calling you!" Kristoya smiled gently, then carefully placed the child in front of Devers.
Devers carefully put him in his arms, for fear that he would hurt the little guy if he used too much strength.
This time, the child did not cry. He opened his bright eyes and looked at Devus curiously. His two chubby little hands scratched Devus' face.
Devers let him play. At this moment, he felt the surge of blood connection in his heart. He said excitedly, "Kristoya, I want my name to be the family name and pass it on to my children, and then they will pass it on to their descendants. I believe that the Devers family will become the most dazzling family in the Mediterranean Sea!"
Devers's words made Cristoa's eyes light up. Most Greeks only had first names, not surnames. In order to distinguish between duplicate names, they often added a place of origin or other annotations in front of the name to distinguish it. For example, Socrates of Athens, Socrates son of Asidatis, and so on. However, the aristocrats of the large eastern country of Persia had names. As a native of Miletus in Asia Minor, Cristoya, of course, knew that. From Devers's words, she heard her husband's ambition. She repeated her son's future name with great interest, "Devers Crotocatax …"
At this time, Devers saw a little head popping out of the bedroom door.
"Cynthia, come in!" He waved and said.
Seven-year-old Cynthia held the hand of almost five-year-old Adoris and hesitantly came to the bed.
"Come and see your brother!" Devers said happily to the siblings.
"You have a child … Do you still want us?" Cynthia asked timidly.
Devers was stunned. He did not expect his adopted daughter to be so sensitive. He immediately handed the baby to Cristoa and hugged them in front of his chest. He said loudly, "You will always be my children, Devers. How can I not want you!"
Cristoa also said softly, "And mommy also hopes that when you grow up, you can take good care of and protect your brother!"
The two children were comforted by the husband and wife. They immediately lost their melancholy and looked curiously at the baby in Cristoa's arms.
"Can I touch him?" Cynthia asked softly.
"Of course you can." Cristoa smiled gently.
Cynthia carefully touched the baby's little face. "What's his name?"
"Crotocatax. His nickname is … hmm … Crowe."
"He's so small." Adoris also held the baby's little hand curiously and said like a little adult, "Little brother, I will protect you."
… …
"Hey, wake up! Wake up!! " Crobus, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up by someone. He opened his sleepy eyes, but he still felt sleepy. He turned over and prepared to continue his sweet dreams.
Immediately, the wet whip lashed at his body, burning with pain. He immediately jumped up in pain, and the supervisor's demonic voice rang in his ears, "Go to the quarry immediately, Lord Lucimenes wants to lecture you!"
Krebs had long been afraid of being whipped by the supervisor. He dragged his sore legs and endured his hunger as he staggered out of the cave. He accidentally knocked into his companion beside him and subconsciously reached out to pull him up. As a result, he, who had no strength left in his body, was dragged to the ground as well. He struggled for a while before he could get up. In the process, he was kicked by the supervisor several times.
The Crotone captives staggered out of the various quarry caves like ants and gathered in the circular quarry square.
There were piles of freshly excavated marble materials everywhere. On the sentry tower at the entrance, Lucimenes, the person in charge of the Turií stone mine, looked down impatiently at the scene below, "They're too slow. Go and urge the Crotone cowards to hurry up!" He ordered his subordinates.
Hence, the Crotone captives were herded to the sentry tower by the supervisors with sticks and whips like lambs.
A similar scene happened at the Turií copper mine and the construction site of the Temple of Hades.
"Crotone people, just based on the crimes you've committed against the Turií, I can't wait to lock you up here for a hundred years! I'll turn your filthy flesh and blood into dirty water and turn your fragile bones into powder! " Lucimenes cursed them viciously, "However, the great Hades has shown mercy and allowed the Diónia Alliance to sign a truce with the damned Crotone. We've become … allies. Now … you can … go home …"
After Lucimenes finished his words reluctantly, the place suddenly fell into a dead silence. The captives could not believe their ears.
"What … what did he say?" His companion beside him asked with a trembling voice.
"He said … he said we can go home …" Colombus mumbled. Then, he seemed to have reacted to the situation. He grabbed his companion's shoulder and said, "Did you hear that?! We can go home! We're free! … "
After confirming that the news was true, countless people shed tears of excitement. They hugged each other, cheered, kissed the ground beneath their feet, and closed their eyes to enjoy the warm sunlight. For the past few days, they had been digging in the dark caves like slaves. They had to endure the beatings of the supervisors. They did not have enough to eat, and they could not sleep well. These pampered citizens of Crotone almost broke down. They had never felt that freedom was so precious.
Lucimenes snorted coldly. He did not want to watch anymore. "Bring the bread and cheese over. Let them have their fill."
"What if they resist when they're full?! We can't deal with so many captives! "His subordinate said hesitantly.
"Isn't that perfect?!" Lucimenes sneered. "They broke the contract that we just signed. We can eliminate them all!"
"Understood."
"After they're done eating, let them take a bath in the river and change their clothes. Otherwise, the people from Crotone will say that we're abusing the captives."
'That's not abuse!' His subordinate cursed in his heart.
With the arrival of the Crotone messengers, the captives completely believed the truth that Diónia and Crotone had formed an alliance and that they wanted to go home. Under the protection of the heavily armed Diónia soldiers, they lined up and walked to the port of Turií …
Why did they protect them? Because they were afraid that the radical Turií would harm these defenseless and weak Crotone captives. Colebus had experienced this situation once half a year ago. However, this time, the Turií did not cause any trouble for the large troop that was returning to Crotone. Even when they arrived at the port, they saw very few Turií.
Where did the Turií people go? This thought only flashed in Colebus' mind for a moment. Now, he was filled with joy. They could go home successfully!
The captives were finally relieved when the troop ship left the port of Turií.
"I'll never come back to this place again!" A captive shouted to vent his anger. Most of the soldiers, including Colebus, nodded in agreement. Two wars, two captives, especially the second time, were nightmarish days that they did not even want to recall. Every single one of them was more or less afraid of the Diónia Alliance!
In fact, during the second Crotone War, Diónia treated the Crotone captives this way because they had no other choice. After all, it was difficult to manage tens of thousands of captives, and most of the male citizens of Diónia were fighting outside. At the same time, the Crotone fleet would occasionally raid the coast of Turií. If the captives were to riot, the consequences would be unimaginable. That was why the Senate decided to imprison them like slaves in the mountainous mining area far away from the coast. They would be crushed by the harsh environment, starvation, and heavy labor …
… …
The people of Diónia were not in the mood to care about the Crotone captives who left Turií because their hero was about to return!
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