With the arrival of enemy reinforcements, the Roman defenders on the wall calmed down.
The three legions of Septimus were like a bucket of cold water that woke the Roman defenders from their initial enthusiasm.
In Sila's military camp.
Septimus was sitting on a wooden chair while observing the old general in front of him.
The old man wore a fine Roman general's armor and looked at Septimus seriously, with a glint of cunning in his eyes.
"As the son-in-law of the Scipio family, could you hand over Lucius' body for a proper burial?" said the old general with an expressionless face.
The old man in general's armor was Sila.
Sila's intention in speaking with Septimus in his tent was to request the body of Lucius Scipio in order to give him a proper burial.
Lucius Scipio had had his limbs cut off and had been tied to a log while being paraded on a wooden cart.
The humiliation of Lucius had prevented Sila from contacting Scipio Nasica and reaching an agreement with the neutral faction.
In the end, Lucius could not resist the infection of his amputated limbs and died.
"Son-in-law?" said Septimus with an amused expression.
"It is common knowledge that your wife is the noble lady Fausta of the Scipio family," said Sila patiently as he observed the mockery in Septimus' expression.
"Oh, you mean Fausta, unfortunately she died in an accident," said Septimus indifferently while taking the jug of wine at his right and pouring himself a drink.
"She died?" replied Sila while frowning. He did not remember that the young noblewoman had any illness.
"Yes, she died, unfortunately she slipped and fell onto a sword, fortunately her death was quick," said Septimus indifferently while taking a sip of wine from his cup.
Sila looked seriously at the young man in front of him; his impulsiveness and brutality were uncommon within the Roman upper class.
With a sigh, General Sila set aside his unnecessary thoughts.
"I need Lucius' body, and I also expect that your legions will not continue launching reckless attacks," said Sila with a serious expression.
"Don't worry, the two sieges I ordered were only to test the defenses of the City of Rome, and I will order my soldiers to deliver Lucius' body," replied Septimus without expression with a superficial excuse.
Septimus planned to replace the body of the former consul Lucius with the body of the consuls Carbo or Norvanus. It would be better if they were alive.
Sila did not give importance to Septimus' unconvincing excuse and dismissed him with a gesture of his hand.
As Septimus left the tent, General Metellus entered with a serious expression.
"Are we going to let that bastard get away with it?" said Metellus angrily as he thought about Septimus.
"It is not the right time to deal with that young man," said Sila with a serious expression.
"He is a separatist who must be eliminated for the good of Rome," replied Metellus seriously.
Sila knew that Metellus felt a great aversion toward Septimus.
Septimus did not have good origins, and his actions in the region of Campania and against the Scipio family had generated great resentment among the Roman upper class.
Septimus' actions also resulted in Sila lowering his guard. An impulsive opponent without political allies could not achieve strong support to become dictator or king.
"We will deal with Septimus after the war, I want to know if you fulfilled the task I assigned you?" said Sila seriously.
Metellus frowned at Sila's response but quickly calmed down.
"The soldiers will bring Demetrios within a few days," replied Metellus seriously.
Demetrios was one of Pompey's most valuable slaves.
When Sila besieged the city of Rome, his original strategy consisted of recruiting the neutral faction of the city with the purpose of launching an attack from inside and outside the city.
Septimus' actions against the Scipio family ruined Sila's strategy.
Demetrios is important for Sila's strategy because he was a friend of Lucius Sergius Catilina, a legion commander of the city of Rome.
In the original history, the legion commander Catilina would be one of Sila' most loyal supporters.
The butterfly effect of Septimus causes Catilina to be dragged to the opposite side of Sila.
"I still do not fully understand your plan," said Metellus while frowning.
"I know that commander Catilina very well; he is extremely greedy, he has borrowed a lot of money at exorbitant interest rates and cannot pay it all. If we promise to help him pay his debts and offer him some benefits, there is a high chance he will switch to our side," replied Sila patiently to Metellus' doubts.
"We can use someone else to contact Catilina," said Metellus with doubt.
"Catilina and Pompey served together in the legions of Gnaeus Pompey Magnus. Catilina and that slave Demetrios were very close," replied Sila patiently.
"I understand," said Metellus with a thoughtful expression; as a veteran politician, he understood that using a former comrade-in-arms was the best way to increase the chances of recruiting an enemy general.
"Demetrios is exceptionally intelligent, eloquent, and a prodigy. If it were not for his condition as a slave, his achievements might not be inferior to the young Pompey," said Sila with a serious expression.
Metellus accepted Sila's strategy without objection while saying goodbye and leaving the tent.
Two weeks passed.
The clone army had recovered the number of legions, and Septimus had eight legions around the city of Rome.
The clones, using their replication ability and the collected armor, recovered from the losses of soldiers they suffered during the two failed sieges.
The clone army could be compared to a plague difficult to eliminate; as long as a single clone survived, over time a large number of clones would reemerge.
On the other hand, inside the city of Rome, in an upper-class tavern, a group of noble officers were drinking while groping a group of prostitutes.
On a discreet side of the tavern, a young Roman general was looking at a hooded man.
"What brings you here?" asked Catilina.
"I came to see you? To see if you are the Catilina I know? The proud noble Catilina who works for the common people? When I first heard it, I thought I had heard wrong," said Demetrios, sitting in a chair without any courtesy.
Catilina snorted coldly. In truth, he was only of impoverished noble origin, but the poorer he was, the more he valued his noble status. He had always despised common people.
"The city of Rome is surrounded, and it will only be a matter of time before it falls or the legionaries mutiny and hand over the city," said Demetrios seriously.
"The city resisted the siege of the traitor Septimus and will be able to continue resisting the siege of Sila, do not try to deceive me, old friend," replied Catilina with a confident expression.
"Even if they can resist the attack of half of Sila's army, the other cities outside Rome cannot resist, it is only a matter of time before the city of Rome becomes an isolated city," said Demetrios with a sincere expression as he looked at his friend.
Catilina frowned as he analyzed the situation of the war.
"I am speaking very seriously! We are friends; I tell you this risking my life. If the negotiations with the neutral faction fail, General Sila will order a massacre of the entire upper class of Rome, and then no one will be able to save you," said Demetrios with seriousness in his words.
Although Demetrios was a slave, he was exceptionally capable and skilled at making money; he managed Pompey's fortune.
Since Catilina was a disgraced noble, he knew the value of money. On one occasion, he offered to buy Demetrios, but Pompey refused.
"What do you want from me?" said Catilina after thinking about the situation of the war.
"When the right moment comes, seize the opportunity and open a gate; as a reward, General Sila will make you governor of a province," replied Demetrios seriously.
Upon hearing this, Catilina felt very tempted.
Becoming an official was not easy; one had to constantly borrow money to please the people. He was already heavily in debt, almost crushed by it.
If he managed to become governor of a province, he could become rich.
"Hmph, I will not work for those plebeians! Not even if I die!" exclaimed Catilina with malice.
Demetrios sighed slightly. Prejudice, deeply rooted class prejudice.