Chapter 944
When the cheerful music played at the end of the third act, the actors quickly lined up in a neat triangle and began to dance to their heart's content. Márquez and the other Roman soldiers were wide-eyed. They had never seen such a strange dance before. Accompanied by the ups and downs of the music, the actors' movements were sometimes masculine, sometimes soft, and sometimes comical. They shook their heads, twisted their waists, and swayed their hips. These dance movements were something they had never seen or heard before, but they fit the music so well and were so uniform that it made everyone's blood boil. Their bodies trembled with the music, and they wanted to dance to their hearts' content.
In fact, when the music started, many Diónia soldiers stood up, hummed the melody, shook their heads, and swayed their bodies, and danced with the actors on the field.
The drama lasted for more than an hour. When it ended, the audience burst into cheers. Even many Roman soldiers could not help but shout along with their comrades.
But soon, the people of Rome stopped shouting, and the soldiers of Diónia cheered even more enthusiastically because their beloved King, Devers, was standing in the center of the hall.
The Devers was wearing the same black shirt as the soldiers, holding a wine glass in his hand. He looked around and said with a solemn and loud voice, "Brothers, it only took you four months to conquer Rome and the surrounding city-states, saving our allies, and removing the threat from the north of the kingdom. You will be engraved on the stone tablet for this war, and be remembered by future generations! Your families will be proud of you, and the kingdom will be proud of you! Here, on behalf of the Senate and the generals who commanded you, I propose a toast to you, thanking you for your blood and sacrifice in this war! "
As the Devers spoke, he bent down and held the wine glass with both hands. He raised it high above his head and slowly turned around.
At this moment, the field filled with tens of thousands of people was silent. Only the sea breeze could be heard.
The Devers stood up again and shouted, "This glass of wine is for you, the heroes of the kingdom! Cheers! "
The field was suddenly filled with thunder. "Cheers, Your Majesty! … "
The Diónia soldiers all raised their wine glasses and shouted excitedly. Some of them even shed tears.
Devers gulped it down in one gulp and wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth. He stretched out his hand and gestured for the crowd to quiet down. Then, he said loudly, "Was the play I just performed good?"
"Beautiful!"
"Next, I'll also perform something for you, okay?"
"Good! The soldiers shouted excitedly.
"This is a song I wrote for you!" After Devers said this, the soldiers became even more excited and expectant.
Devers coughed twice, and the entire venue quietened down.
"We are soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia.
Brave warriors who defend the safety of the kingdom.
Take up my dear shield and lance,
He rushed to the battlefield without hesitation.
My parents were reluctant to see us off.
The ardent expectations of his wife and children at home.
With our longing, we rushed to the battlefield and won glory to share with them;
We are soldiers of the Legion of Diónia … "
Devers had been preparing this song for a while. The original song came from the famous Soviet song "Katyusha" in his previous life. The melody was simple and beautiful, the rhythm was light, and there was a hint of romance in the heroic. It was very suitable for the soldiers to sing during marching and fighting. Devers took it out at this time in the hope that it could inspire the soldiers to overcome the fatigue of long-term fighting, reinvigorate their enthusiasm, and devote themselves to the next battle against Carthage with exuberant fighting spirit.
Sure enough, the soldiers fell in love with this song after listening to it once. Due to the simple melody, many soldiers could quickly hum along. When Devers sang it for the third time, the soldiers could already sing it loudly. The entire venue was filled with singing and was unusually lively.
After Devers finished singing, the surrounding singing did not stop. The soldiers were completely intoxicated.
After a while, the venue became a little quieter.
Devers asked loudly, "Brothers, is it good?"
"It's very good, Your Majesty!"
"Do you want to know the name of this song?!"
"Yes!"
"It's called 'The Song of the Legion of Dionysia'!"
Not only the soldiers, but even the officers were surprised. "This song was written for us?!"
Everyone was filled with pride and pride. The soldiers who had stopped singing sang again in a louder voice. "We are soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia …"
They were so engrossed in singing that the fanatical atmosphere infected the Roman soldiers. Even though they did not understand the meaning of the song, they also hummed the tune softly. The song was really catchy.
After singing it again and again, the soldiers of Diónia memorized the entire song and the lyrics.
Devers signaled for them to quiet down again. He smiled and said loudly, "Next, the two commanders, Amyntas and Martonis, will perform wrestling for everyone. Do you want to watch?!"
"Yes!!!" When the soldiers heard that there was such a good thing, they all shouted excitedly.
Wrestling was one of the most common sports events in Greece. The Dionysian soldiers had been training since they were young, and wrestling was also a routine event to train the soldiers' physique. However, they had never seen two high-ranking army commanders wrestling, so they were naturally very curious.
According to Greece's tradition, the contestants were supposed to be naked and covered with olive oil. However, the autumn night was a little chilly. The two commanders were not young, so they were wearing black shirts to prevent themselves from catching a cold. It did not affect the enthusiasm of the soldiers. When the two commanders stood in the middle of the venue, the cheers became even louder.
"Are you ready?" Devers asked with a smile.
Amyntas stared at his opponent and raised his chin. "Martonis, you always like to compete with me. Today, I'll let you know who the strongest warrior in the kingdom is!"
Martonis blinked and said indifferently, "Old Captain, you're older than me. Don't worry, I won't use my full strength."
"Trying to provoke me?" Amyntas grinned, but his expression soon turned serious. He took a small step back with his right foot, squatted down, arched his back, and opened his arms wide. He was ready to strike.
Seeing this, Martonis immediately got ready to wrestle.
At this moment, Devers became the referee and shouted, "Begin!"
The two commanders roared at the same time and pounced on each other.
The hall immediately erupted into an uproar. The soldiers of the first and second corps were desperately cheering for their respective corps commanders, while the soldiers of the other corps were also cheering for the two famous corps commanders. If there were no officers to maintain order, most of the soldiers would have probably rushed to the center of the hall. Even though they could not leave, they stood up and kept waving their arms, shouting and jumping. The scene was very lively.
In such an atmosphere, Amyntas and Martonis had long forgotten about Devers's reminder that it was just a performance and not to take it too seriously. They became high-spirited and used all their skills, wanting to completely defeat each other.
The two of them fought for a long time and were panting from exhaustion. Even their shirts were torn. In the end, Amyntas, who was six years older than Martonis, fell to the ground due to exhaustion and lost the match.
Martonis immediately helped him up.
Amyntas patted the dust off his body and said indignantly, "Kid, if it was ten years earlier, you definitely wouldn't be able to defeat me. But now … I'm old …"
Martonis, who had the upper hand, did not argue with him. He only had a smile on his face.
At this moment, Devers said loudly to the soldiers around them, "Soldiers, was the wrestling performance of the two commanders exciting?!"
"Exciting!" the soldiers yelled excitedly.
Devers pointed at the two who were patting the dust off and said seriously, "Commander Amyntas is 54 years old this year, and Commander Martonis is 48 years old this year. They are old, but they are still strong and agile. They are not weaker than you young people. This is the result of their persistent training. Therefore, all of you should learn from the two corps commanders. Persevering in training will not only improve your killing skills and gain more battle merits, but it will also keep you healthy and young. Am I right?! "
"Yes!" the soldiers, especially the soldiers of the first legion, yelled.
The yelling dispelled the awkwardness in Amyntas' heart.
The next to perform was Epicthenis and Olivers. Both of them were cheerful and lively generals. They had a handstand walking competition, which was indeed out of the soldiers' expectations. Their funny performance made the soldiers laugh.
Next, Legio III's Commander Lizaru and Mountain Reconnaissance's Captain Izamu had a sprinting competition, Cavalry Commander Ledes and Kucius had a horsemanship competition, Legio VI's Commander Trotiras and Royal Guard Captain Martius had a heavy infantry competition, and the 3rd Fleet's Commander Midolades and his crew cooperated to climb the mast …
At this moment, the prestigious generals who commanded the army to charge and break through the enemy lines were doing their best in the center of the venue. Some were even shouting and yelling ungracefully. Their faces were covered in dust, which was a novelty to the soldiers. It also gave them some psychological balance. This was one of the main reasons why Devers insisted that the generals perform for the soldiers on this special night.
However, for the soldiers of Rome's reserve brigade and the noble soldiers of Rome who had surrendered, although they were surprised that the Diónia generals did not put on airs and mingled with the soldiers, they were not as excited as the Diónia soldiers. After all, they were not familiar with the Diónia generals and did not have a deep impression of them. That was until Sextus stood in the center of the venue.
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