Unfortunately, it was in the last step that the Roman expeditionary force encountered huge trouble and was surrounded by the opponent. Although Emperor Claudius did have the idea of picking peaches, which was normal, after all, it was to consolidate his rule, but he also understood that he was incapable of commanding the battlefield, and he did not deprive Prouti of his command right, just waiting for the supreme military merit to fall on his head. However, if nothing unexpected happens, then something unexpected happens. Because according to today's scout report, the British coalition forces, which had been defeated and had lost all their armor, somehow managed to find the Picts, who have strong physiques and are sometimes even called giants, as well as some large magical beasts that retain a strong sense of mystery. Now, the 50,000 Roman expeditionary force was forced into a desperate situation by the coalition forces of the twelve British kings, numbering about 90,000. The Roman army could neither advance nor retreat without the risk of collapse, and it was very likely that all its members would lose their lives. "Prouty, you should know better than me what the consequences will be for you and me if we lose tomorrow's decisive battle." Claudius said dimly that if the expedition to Britain failed, not only Prouty but also he himself would be to blame. Not to mention the throne, it was unknown whether he could survive. The casualties of 50,000 people were enough to seriously damage the ancient Roman Empire, which had just experienced Caligula's madness. The hidden factors of instability in various places would jump out one after another. Magic, spells, and mysteries beyond human intelligence would bare the fangs of destruction to the ancient empire that has continued to this day. Therefore, although Claudius can now escape with the help of magicians, this news is still difficult to hide, because there are also magicians in the British coalition. The Roman army may still think that the emperor is still there and there is hope of victory, but once they know that even the emperor has run away, their morale will probably collapse instantly. ".....clear....." Then, Claudius ignored Prouty and returned to his residence.
"Roman gods, may you bless your children to victory. God of war Mars, please let your glory shine on Rome again." Claudius closed his eyes and prayed. Even though he didn't like God very much, he still hoped very much that God would really appear. For some unknown reason, over the past forty years, mysteries in various places have been rapidly disappearing. The gods who walked the earth a hundred years ago have also ceased to appear, as if all previous events were illusions. It was as if in an instant, the planet entered the age of humans from the age of gods. "Report, Your Majesty, there is news from Rome that the aliens from the Anatolian province-" "That's enough. Stop spreading their shabby stories." Claudius waved his hand and asked the magician who brought the news to leave, indicating that he didn't want to listen to any more boring news. Claudius knew the news by heart. It was just about spreading Christianity everywhere. It was nothing more than donating food here and there today, building churches there and so on. He didn't want to hear it anymore because the most urgent matter was the 90,000 British troops who were eyeing him covetously... "Why is there a noise? Could it be that those barbarians are coming for a night attack?" Claudia, with his chin supported, suddenly heard a noise outside the camp, but it soon returned to silence. This made the emperor extremely curious, and he wondered what had happened. He didn't even ask the magician who was delivering the information, and just walked out by himself. Then, following the crowd's gaze, Claudius subconsciously looked up at the sky. In fact, because of his nephew Caligula, he really disliked the moon goddess Diana, so he basically would not look at the moon at night. However, after everyone looked up, the emperor finally understood why, despite the crowds of people, the tight baggage, and the sounds of unknown scenes, all of which should have been bustling and noisy, no one said a word, and they just watched silently - A ray of setting sun was slowly disappearing from the horizon, and a crescent moon was hanging high in the dim and yellow sky. In the sky where the setting sun and the moonlight met, a huge, fiery red object appeared clearly visible. "Huh, is this a barbarian's magic? He actually wants to use it to influence us." Emperor Claudius quickly came to his senses and asked the magician beside him. As a Roman emperor, he naturally understood that such a scene could only be achieved by magic. However, the trembling voice of the court magician told Claudius an incredible truth. "No, no, no, Your Majesty, there is no magical fluctuation there, it is just like a pure scene..." "What!? Look carefully, is there any unfamiliar monster in the sky?" "Your Majesty, no, there is really nothing, just the same view as always, it's like pure..." The magician swallowed for a long time and didn't say the last few words.
But Claudius knew very well that the last few words he failed to say were "miracle", so he remained silent. Presumably, the reason why the Roman army and the British allies remained silent was the same - Is this the reappearance of the glory of Romulus, the supreme god of Rome? Or does it come from the great power of the ancient British island itself? Both sides were silent, silently praying that this "miracle" that had come so many years ago would belong to them. The evening breeze was a little chilly as it blew on the face of the Roman Emperor Claudius. He could not help but shiver, while continuing to stare at the strange things slowly forming in the sky. In fact, he already felt in his heart that this was definitely not a miracle of the Roman gods, because although it was not fully displayed, it was completely different from the symbols of the Roman gods he was familiar with... Then it could only be the opposite side. Claudius was extremely depressed, and so were the Roman soldiers, because at least that was not the symbol of Mars, the god of war they believed in. If things continued like this, the Roman army might be defeated on the spot. Just when Prouty was about to make a final stand, the huge thing in the sky finally fully revealed itself - The power that was born out of common sense was dazzling, but it didn't have the power to destroy the world; it was just extremely dazzling. "what is that?" Claudius murmured to himself, because the five flaming crosses were facing the Roman army, and the following words also appeared: Rely on this and you will be victorious. "Your Majesty, there is no god with a cross as its symbol at present, but this year in Rome there are people called Christians who are widely using it as a symbol." The court magician at the side explained to his emperor. "........" Emperor Claudius was silent for a moment. He did not reply to the magician, but quickly called a messenger, "Quick, ask Prouti to have everyone mark the same cross on their shields! This is the power of a god. Five crosses symbolize our army! Rome will surely win!" As Claudius passed this order to Prouti, it didn't take long before everything in the Roman army that could be marked was marked with a cross. The effect was very obvious. Every soldier in the Roman expeditionary force believed that Rome had God's protection and would be invincible! "Christianity, the cross... the new god?" These were not words seeking an answer; rather, they were the soliloquy of the Roman Emperor Claudius, spoken under the dark night sky as if asking a question. "Your Majesty, should we inform you immediately——" “…That’s not necessary.” Claudius waved his hand, interrupting the court magician's words. "I will personally meet the new god's messenger, Novia from Anatolia." The next day, in the decisive battle between the Roman expeditionary force and the British allied forces, the British allied forces were defeated, and areas including Wales and Cornwall were completely occupied. Thus, in 48 AD, all of Britain became one of the forty-five provinces of the Roman Empire. 005: Plan Pass√ After nearly a hundred years, from 55 BC to 48 AD, Rome finally turned Britain into its own territory. Since then, the Roman Empire has completely consolidated its control over northern France and Belgium, controlled the English Channel, and broken Britain's trade monopoly on continental Europe. Most importantly, it strengthened the status of the ancient Roman Empire in Europe. Even though the mystery of this ancient empire, which had lasted from the Age of Gods to the present day, had faded, it was still the undisputed overlord of Europe. However, even if Emperor Claudius intended to control people's discussion of the "miracle" on the eve of the decisive battle, it was still of no avail. Starting from central Britain, the news that the "miracle" that had been absent for many years had reappeared and gave Rome victory was spreading rapidly.
However, apart from the British and Roman expeditionary forces who witnessed it with their own eyes, not many people knew that the symbol of that "miracle" was - the cross. At this moment, in the suburbs not far from Rome. Novia walked along the path in the forest. At the end of his sight, he could see sunlight shining through the gaps in the forest. He ran all the way back from Britain because the schedule was too tight. Although the Roman army would take a long time to return, it might not take Claudius that long. Novia had to be back before Emperor Claudius, otherwise it would be too much of a coincidence no matter how you looked at it. The miracle is the cross. In the past year, there has been a person who has been promoting the cross everywhere. The miracle happened to occur during the war... It feels like it was premeditated. But Novia was also helpless. If he didn't use the cross, who would know that the miracle was a Christian one? The reason why he used crosses everywhere as a symbol during this year was because Christianity in the first century AD did not have a universal symbol at all! Early Christianity had not yet broken away from Judaism, and apart from spreading the story of Jesus, there were not many graphic expressions of faith. To put it simply, according to the original historical development, the cross became the universal symbol of Christianity three hundred years later, after it became the state religion of Rome. In theory, the universal symbol of Christianity is only the words of Jesus: A new command I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. In Jesus' eyes, the mark of a Christian is love for one another, not anything else tangible. But in order to make Christianity replace polytheism, Novia believed that it would be too difficult to replace polytheism in advance if they continued to simply promote the deeds of Jesus. The theory of salvation, which is well-known in later generations, is now ignored by everyone, and the focus of discussion among many sects is still mainly on predestination. However, the year of Novia was precisely focused on the doctrine of redemption, strengthening the image of Christ's suffering on the cross, centering on salvation and the Son of God's suffering and ascending to heaven. It was widely publicized and launched discussions on the fall, original sin, Christology, ecclesiology, sacraments, the end of the world, and other issues related to the universal human condition, the ideal way of life, and the picture of world history, so as to provide universal care for everyone. This is the theoretical breakthrough of its propaganda and what attracts others. It should focus on both organization and ideology. Novia walked out of the forest quickly and finally saw Lucius, who he had asked to wait for him here. "Novia, you're back." On the river where flowers were floating, petals gathered together and drifted leisurely, Lucius was standing on a small boat with its bottom facing up. "I haven't seen you for a few days. Why are you dressed so formally?" "Does this look strange? I am a Roman soldier after all." The scarlet coat fluttering on Lucius' back is exactly his color, codename? Scarlet - 'Bright scarlet call to action'. That "red" is the Roman "red", which is the color that the god of war Mars and Roman soldiers are most proud of. "If someone didn't know, they would think you were sent to kill me." Novia said jokingly, taking out a long sword from the sword belt around his waist. "Hey, hey, hey, I'm teaching you spearmanship, why are you using a sword?" Lucius' tone sounded like a mutter, but the iron spear in his hand had already stabbed towards the silver-haired boy. In fact, during the year, Lucius sometimes served as Novia's spearmanship teacher to teach combat techniques, but Novia had never seen him take out the Spear of Longinus. "I heard that the gladiator duel was a sacred ceremony dedicated to the Roman gods, but that was in the arena, and you used a gun." There was a sound of metal clashing, like ice breaking, accompanied by Novia's voice.
The silver-haired young man raised the sword in his hand high, stood with the sword horizontally, and looked at Longinus with a smile that was uglier than crying. "Are you making progress too fast? Do you still need me to keep following you?" The spear spun neatly in the air and fell in front of Novia again. Just before the spear hit the ground, he grabbed it and threw it back to Longinus' feet at lightning speed. "What you said is true. I promised you that I would solve the pain of the bite." Novia put the sword back to his waist, still smiling. In Novia's vision, Lucius was the man he needed to take down the Roman Praetorian Guard. As for the 45 external provinces, once he successfully replaced polytheism with Christianity, there would naturally be plenty of opportunities for political integration and religious unification. "I hope so... But are you really sure if you go to Rome now?" Lucius slowly picked up the spear and stuck it into the ground not far away. The two had been fighting wholeheartedly and focused. For Lucius, after many fights over the past year, he had not grown much. Instead, he felt deeply the terrifying growth of the fifteen-year-old child in front of him, and he no longer needed to think twice before taking action. Lucius also understood that Novia's fighting skills and strength were equal to or even better than his own. If the mystery was more vigorous, Novia should have grown into a hero in mythology, but unfortunately, times have changed. "I heard that the Roman expeditionary army defeated the British coalition army with the blessing of a miracle. Did you do it?" Lucius' eyes flashed with mischief, and then he suddenly returned to his usual cold and ruthless soldier's attitude. "I didn't expect you to be able to deceive tens of thousands of magicians." "A miracle, hidden? Haha, that's impossible. No matter what kind of magic it is, there will be fluctuations in magic power." Novia chuckled twice, then turned lazily and walked towards the city of Rome. "For the moment, it is truly a miracle." In the first century AD, in order to create a fiery red illusion in the sky, due to the lack of later scientific and technological means, some special methods had to be used. Novia's method is to use a hot air balloon or similar aircraft to release fiery red suspended objects to create a fiery red illusion in the air. To be fair, this method requires skills and experience, and current technology and equipment are relatively crude, so the resulting effect may not be as good as imagined. But as far as the results were concerned, Novia thought he had done a pretty good job. There were no flying monsters coming to investigate, and there was nothing else. Even if the magicians standing on the ground looked over, they would probably mistake his hot air balloon for a red star. Therefore, when Novia said it was a miracle, it was true, although it had to be qualified with the word "man-made". Moreover, according to Novia's speculation, the conquest of Britain by the ancient Roman Empire was an inevitable event in human history, just like the demise of Britain in 500 years. It cannot be rewritten, which means that even without a miracle, it would have been able to win. Therefore, when he saw that the Roman expeditionary army was at a disadvantage, he acted according to his original plan. Otherwise, if he had obtained the blessing of "miracle" and still failed, it would be a huge disgrace. Soon, Novia and Lucius arrived at the center of the empire, the gate of Rome. "Sir, this must be Novia." Novia had been prepared for the possibility that he would be imprisoned as soon as he arrived in Rome. A dozen aggressive people, plus some soldiers, seemed to be waiting here specially. After all, Novia's silver hair was quite conspicuous. "I am Novia from Anatolia." The silver-haired boy's sincere words and his unresisting actions made Lucius' eyes widen. He was ready to fight right away, otherwise he would not have put on equipment that he hadn't worn for many years. But before being taken away, Novia signaled to Lucius with his eyes, asking him to wait for a while.
....... It has to be said that prison cells are very unfriendly to survival no matter what era or country it is. Take the cell where Novia was held for example. It was built underground, with poor ventilation, lack of natural light and fresh air, and was simple, dark and damp. There are only some simple facilities, such as straw piles and wooden beds, and the quantity and quality of food and water are probably not good enough. But Novia didn't care about it. It was just that the environment was a little bad and the food was a little bad, not a big problem.