The clone with a fatigued expression coldly observed the surrounding mercenaries.
Since the sinking of the merchant ship days ago, the sailor clone had drifted for an entire day across the raging sea.
Later, the sailor clone's body was carried by the currents, drifting aimlessly until finally reaching land.
Lying on the beach and soaked, within a few hours or days the sailor clone would have died, but a slave caravan found him and saved him from his imminent death.
The leader of the caravan was not a good person.
With sharp eyes, he was able to notice the sailor clone's sturdy physique and the potential to sell him for a high price at a slave auction.
For two days, the sailor clone remained unconscious, on the verge of death, being fed watery porridge and dirty water.
The clones created by Septimus did not possess the massive musculature of a bodybuilder, but training and a balanced, nutritious diet eventually turned them into robust men.
After nearly two days, the sailor clone slowly recovered and opened his eyes.
The sailor clone's last memories dated back to the pirate attack on the merchant fleet.
The sailor clone, along with fewer than a dozen of his companions, jumped into the sea before the arrival of the rain of torches that fell and set the entire merchant ship ablaze.
Through the shared connection, the sailor clone learned that he was the only survivor.
Surviving the raging Mediterranean Sea for an entire day could be considered a miracle that would be difficult to replicate.
Spending an entire day at sea and surviving was a feat worthy of great mythological heroes in history.
The long time at sea also brought consequences to the sailor clone's body, but his strong physical constitution meant that sooner or later he would recover.
Due to his weakness, the sailor clone was locked inside the cage reserved for the elderly, the weak, and women.
During four days within the caravan, the sailor clone was unable to discover where he was, nor did he understand the language spoken by the mercenaries or slaves.
In the modern era, with globalization and connections between countries from different continents, there were still more than a thousand different languages.
In comparison, in 78 B.C., with inefficient methods of long-distance communication and extremely underdeveloped transportation, the number of languages exceeded an unknown figure throughout the Mediterranean.
Previously, during Septimus' military campaign in Africa, he had been able to rely on a large number of translators.
Rome was a military power in the Mediterranean with a history of regularly launching wars abroad for years.
Consequently, Latin was the most widely known language in the Mediterranean, followed by Greek.
Septimus had no communication problems, and most nobles or important figures outside Rome were educated people who spoke Latin or Greek.
On the other hand, the sailor clone had the misfortune of encountering a slave caravan that spoke a language he did not understand.
The slaves also spoke different languages that were difficult to understand, and their apathetic expressions showed little interest in conversation.
The sailor clone also did not dare reveal his identity as a Roman, and remaining as discreet as possible until he could recover his strength would be the best idea for survival.
Surviving had a purpose.
Two days ago, when the sailor clone had only just begun recovering some of his strength, he witnessed a tragedy.
After transmigrating into this world, Septimus knew that ancient Rome was a period of history filled with barbarity and constant atrocities.
In the beginning, Septimus pursued the most basic form of protection and sought military power.
Septimus' sinister emblem and cruel actions were intended to instill fear among his enemies and spread terror.
Septimus, through the sailor clone, witnessed the harsh reality of the era.
During the monotonous journey, the slave caravan encountered a family of four.
A cart pulled by an old horse carrying two adults and a woman holding a baby.
The mercenaries guarding the caravan became excited and attacked without offering an explanation or asking a single question.
The two men, who appeared to be father and son, were beaten and subdued with ease.
On the other hand, the woman carrying the newborn was pushed to the ground.
The mercenaries tore the baby from the woman's arms and threw it aside as if it were a bundle.
Amid the baby's cries, the woman was raped by eight or nine mercenaries.
From inside his cage, the sailor clone witnessed the tragedy with a newly discovered sense of helplessness.
At first, the woman struggled and bit her attackers, but the expression on her face changed to despair, and the light in her eyes as she looked at the baby on the ground showed a gaze that Septimus could not understand.
As a modern person, the sailor clone wished he could break free from the cage and castrate all those bastards.
Septimus was not a saint, and the number of lives taken by his thousands of clones could easily form an Egyptian pyramid, but the tragedy witnessed through the sailor clone made him understand the cruelty of this era.
Finally, the woman, with a numb expression, was thrown into the wagon that served as a cage alongside the other slaves.
The two men, who were father and son, also became slaves.
The mercenaries tacitly ignored the baby's cries, and the caravan continued moving forward slowly.
The sailor clone could hear the baby's cries becoming softer and softer, like the mewling of a kitten.
Originally, the sailor clone had hoped to recover some strength and then commit suicide.
Clones were expendable, and without limitations they could be replicated within a few months until their numbers reached the millions.
But now the situation was different.
All clones shared a connection of shared experiences, and the feeling of helplessness and the cruelty of the slave caravan had been witnessed by every clone.
The raped woman committed suicide that very night, and her corpse was thrown onto the road as if it were trash.
The sailor clone took advantage of every opportunity to recover his strength and carefully observe his surroundings.
Throughout Rome and the kingdoms of the Mediterranean, the estimated population was between 40 and 50 million inhabitants.
Between cities and villages, there were vast stretches of untouched land with no signs of human interference.
The sailor clone did not know his current location, and communication with the other slaves was a futile effort.
The apathetic slaves had no desire to engage in conversation with a stranger.
The surrounding terrain also offered no clues. In his previous life, Septimus had not been a botanist and could not determine a location based on a specific plant species.
Taking a deep breath, the sailor clone focused all his efforts on recovering as quickly as possible.
Two days passed quickly.
The sailor clone's recovery had reached 70%.
The sailor clone was confident that he could escape from the slave caravan.
Although he could also confront the mercenaries, the final result would be death.
The clones were ordinary human beings, and the only individual advantage they possessed over the people of this era was the ability to share experiences with thousands of clones.
The sailor clone's combat skills could defeat half of the mercenaries, but eventually he would be surrounded and end up being killed.
The clones were not superhuman and could also become exhausted after great physical exertion.
The sailor clone's plan consisted of learning his current location and waiting for help from the nearest group of clones.
Septimus had no intention of granting all the bastards in the slave caravan a quick death.
A large number of clones would be necessary to control the entire caravan and prevent the mercenaries from escaping.
The sailor clone also could not replicate himself; he was surrounded by a group of ragged slaves with little room to move.
Activating the replication ability would cause panic among the slaves and alarm the mercenaries.
In the end, it was highly likely that the mercenaries would stab the sailor clone with spears before he could divide into another clone.