On the other hand, the 10 elephants would also be affected by the noise of the trumpets and drums that the clone army used against the enemy elephants.
The advantage of having more elephants belonged to the enemy army, and Septimus would not be foolish enough to waste them in a lost confrontation.
Septimus was absorbed in the idea of using the strength of my elephants to bring down the gates of the city of Thala.
On the other hand, outside Septimus's main tent, a group of tribal leaders requested to meet with Septimus while being stopped by a group of clone soldiers.
Inside his tent, Septimus's face turned gloomy as he thought about that group of traitors. He remembered that the time had come to eliminate that group of miserable traitors.
With a wave of his hand, the clone soldiers allowed the tribal leaders to enter.
The dozen tribal leaders entered Septimus's tent with respectful postures, and the first request they made was to buy the Numidian prisoners.
Septimus observed them with an indifferent expression while holding a cup of wine.
"Let us leave unimportant matters for later. All of you have been true allies of Rome, and as a sign of my appreciation for the victory, I intend to hold a small banquet for the entire army before conquering the city of Thala," said Septimus with a calm expression while ignoring all the requests of the allied tribal leaders.
Most of the allied tribal leaders looked at one another, surprised by the sudden announcement from the Roman general.
With the seizure of the enemy's supplies and the death of thousands of clone soldiers due to various circumstances, the clone army had enough provisions to hold a very modest small banquet to raise morale.
Septimus did not wait for their response and, with a gesture, dismissed the tribal leaders with courteous words without paying them any more attention.
In the vast desert, the clone army spent the entire day repeating its task of feeding the desert with thousands of Numidian prisoners.
The arduous task did not stop, and the clone soldiers took turns so as not to lower efficiency.
On the other hand, the Numidian prisoners were not fools and suspected the possible danger when they observed that the companions who were taken away did not return.
Some Numidian prisoners tried to rebel, but the climate and the lack of water had exhausted their will to resist.
Knowing that their fate was uncertain, the completely exhausted and thirsty Numidian prisoners had no energy to rebel and resigned themselves to their uncertain future with numb expressions.
Septimus had foreseen a possible desperate revolt among the prisoners.
Even the prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps occasionally rebelled when faced with an uncertain future, not to mention bolder tribal soldiers.
Consequently, the clone army did not distribute water among the prisoners, allowing the Sahara's scorching sun to exhaust all their possible resistance and will.
Without the blazing heat of the desert, the clone army would not have been able to eliminate all the prisoners without facing desperate resistance.
Nearly 20,000 prisoners was not a small number, and most of them were brave warriors in their respective tribes.
Throughout the entire day, around the clone army's camp, the moans of pain and despair could be heard, which also attracted the attention of hundreds of vultures from the surrounding areas.
The infernal climate of the Sahara Desert and the clouds formed by hundreds of vultures waiting for a sumptuous banquet caused despair among the nearby prisoners with broken knees.
Around the clone army's camp, vague sounds of crying, groans of pain, pleas, or curses against Septimus and the gods could be heard.
Ignoring the lamentations from the surroundings, the clone army faithfully carried out its task with indifferent expressions.
The sun slowly disappeared, and hundreds of clone soldiers carried jars and barrels of wine from the supplies onto the carts.
The banquet to celebrate the victory began.
The wine within the army's supplies was insufficient; Septimus was not very fond of the wine produced in the current period of history.
The fruit wine consumed by the Roman upper class had a low alcohol content, and the crude processing left many impurities in the drink.
Compared to the wine that Septimus produced using modern techniques, the difference was enormous, but Septimus could neither nor wanted to consume too much of his own wine.
Septimus was not an oenologist in his previous life, and his wine production left much to be desired, causing a low wine output.
Wine, along with white sugar, also became a great source of income for the region of Campania.
It should be noted that the Roman army was not very strict about transporting large quantities of alcoholic beverages together with the provisions of the entire army.
Wine was used by the Roman army to release the tension of war or increase morale; however, the clone army, with its unique capability, did not need to use other means to overcome the tension of war.
In the original history, when Julius Caesar was defeated in his first battle against Pompey, he allowed his soldiers to drink abundantly during the retreat. Even after capturing the city of Gomphoi in Thessaly, the first thing they did was drink large quantities of wine as a celebration.
Some of Julius Caesar's legionaries contracted illnesses due to the change of environment, but they recovered miraculously without medicine after drinking wine.
On the other hand, the allied soldiers of the Numidian tribe were delighted to see the large quantity of wine being used to entertain them.
Many of the tribal warriors barely had enough to eat, much less to buy expensive alcoholic beverages.
The small celebration became lively with the wine, and the allied Numidian soldiers also relaxed because of the cheerful atmosphere.
The tribal leaders seated at the most prominent table competed to boast about their loyalty to Rome in front of Septimus.
With an indifferent expression, Septimus raised his cup and made a toast without giving importance to the boastful words of the tribal leaders.
Septimus's serious expression did not alarm the tribal leaders; during the last few days, they had become accustomed to the expressionless faces of Septimus and his legionaries.
The night grew colder and colder, and the small celebration gradually calmed down little by little.
The allied Numidian soldiers fell asleep in groups near the fire, and the previously lively atmosphere of celebration became silent.
The nights in the Sahara Desert were very cold, with temperatures reaching 0 degrees or less.
Most of the allied Numidian soldiers gathered in small groups near the fire to sleep.
Septimus was also resting in his tent, but near the Numidians, three clone legions were completely awake and equipped.
The three clone legions had the objectives of controlling the horses and silently approaching the allied Numidian troops.
A small group of Numidian sentries was tasked with watching over the horses and preventing them from escaping or being attacked by a wild animal.
A dozen Numidian sentries sitting near the fire and protecting themselves from the cold with animal skins watched with half-closed eyes while trying to endure the cold and the sleepiness.
The rhythmic footsteps in the sand of a group of clone soldiers managed to wake the few allied Numidian sentries.
The leader of the sentries, confused by the sudden appearance of the Romans, stood up with the intention of asking the purpose of the Romans, but he was met with a sword stab that pierced through his mouth and came out through his neck.
Without waiting for the reaction of the other sentries, the clone army advanced quickly and stabbed the Numidian sentries near the bonfire.
The same scene was repeated at the other Numidian sentry posts near the improvised horse stables.
In less than an hour, the clone legion efficiently eliminated the Numidian guards and took control of the entire herd of horses.
The smell of blood alarmed some horses, causing them to neigh.
A dozen clone soldiers quickly calmed the restless horses.
The other two clone legions were tasked with silently surrounding the nearly 5,000 allied Numidian soldiers while advancing quietly and tightening the encirclement.
On the other hand, a group of clone soldiers advanced in formation toward a large tent.
Inside the tent, a group of tribal leaders was resting on carpets with empty wine jugs scattered across the floor.
The sudden intrusion of the clone soldiers failed to wake the drunken and exhausted tribal leaders.
The clone soldiers carried ropes and, regardless of the mess, approached the tribal leaders roughly, beginning to kick them and tie them up with ropes.
The sudden beating woke two tribal leaders, who looked at the clone soldiers in confusion, but they fainted from the beating.
On the other hand, the two clone legions successfully surrounded the nearly 5,000 allied Numidian soldiers in silence, and the encirclement was tightened as much as possible.
The occasional noisy wind and the excellent coordination of the clone soldiers, combined with the black leather armor, served as an excellent disguise in the night for the clone army.
After completing their encirclement, the clone soldiers began to advance silently, avoiding stepping on the allied Numidian soldiers around the bonfire.
Septimus did not plan to give the Numidians any opportunity to resist.
A sudden gust of air woke a Numidian soldier, who unconsciously moved closer to the fire.
The confused Numidian soldier observed hundreds of blurry figures approaching like ghosts.