In order to avoid being used by the Roman commander as a feast for the eyes of the Romans, the captives often committed suicide to escape this humiliation.
In 30 BC, Cleopa, the Queen of Egypt, who had fallen into the hands of Octavian, would rather be bitten to death by a poisonous snake than let Octavian take her to Rome.
But now, due to well-known reasons, no captured Jews could be found, so the plan was naturally cancelled.
When Novia arrived at the city gate, he met the senators and other officials who were waiting there, and these people would be equipped to participate in the triumphal procession.
From this moment on, the last part of the triumphal ceremony has officially begun. From now on, Novia will start from the Triumphal Gate and march along the Triumphal Avenue to the Forum of Flaminius, then follow the Sacred Way to the square and climb the Capitoline Hill to reach the end point - the Temple of Jupiter.
However, this final location was rejected. After discussion, the emperor and the Senate changed it to the Pantheon, and the only thing left in the temple was the Christian symbol that is now widely spread in the Roman Empire - the cross.
Although the team led by Novia was cheered by the crowd who threw flower petals along the way, unlike the previous triumphal procession, no one in the army was whispering to each other, pointing fingers, praising, mocking or condemning their commander, Novia, as they pleased.
This is because the Romans believed that when a commander was able to hold a triumphal ceremony, his honor and glory reached the extreme, and he would be envied not only by mortals but also by the Roman gods. In order to prevent the triumphant commander from reaching the peak of his power and ending in sorrow, the Romans deliberately let the soldiers ridicule and insult the triumphant commander as much as possible, hoping to appease the jealousy of the gods.
For example, when Caesar was holding a triumphal procession to conquer Gaul, the soldiers took the opportunity to mock him for his lust and shouted at the Roman citizens on both sides of the parade:
"Keep an eye on your wives, citizens, we've brought a bald old pervert..."
And now, all the people in the army just cheered along with the masses with fear and admiration, without any ridicule or insult.
"This is the symbol of prosperity and enthusiasm. Teacher, you are indeed full of brilliance and kindness in everyone's eyes."
Nero kept whispering in Novia's ear.
"Glorious Rome blesses this day."
After the triumphal ceremony, Novia, as usual, held some public banquets, competitions, beast fights and other activities at her own expense, but in the end she followed Nero's suggestion and held a concert with her as the lead singer, allowing the people of the entire city of Rome to hear her heavenly voice for a whole night.
046: Novia, I want to eat
"......"
The Dragon of Albion lay on the ground bored, in this place where there was no distinction between morning and evening, no sun and moon, only the faint aurora illuminated the sky.
One hundred and forty-seven days and twenty hours have passed since my soul was damaged last time I helped a weak human being. Now I can't speak.
This means that it is impossible to talk to that human with the help of the 'gun', and the strongest dragon can only use the 'gun' to see what he does.
The Strongest Dragon always felt that during the time when he could not speak, he was almost always watching this weak human leaning back in a chair in the sun, thinking about something, or reading a strange book while the golden wind blew and the leaves fell.
Although this can be considered a different kind of fun and is not bad, as long as the dragon closes his eyes, he feels that if he sleeps for a while, he will not be able to see this human being when he wakes up again. After all, the dragon's body is very slow to react to the passage of time, and humans are too weak and die quickly. This is how it is before the fantasy disappears.
Therefore, the dragon kept watching with its eyes open. However, every time it saw the disciple of this weak human coming to find this human, it felt very uncomfortable, as if its things were secretly taken away. It naturally couldn't understand why it was like this, so after thinking for a while, it finally understood -
When this human being spoke to the strongest me at that last moment, he was referring to you, not who you have always been!
Is this being hated?
Being disliked by weak humans? Humph, it doesn't matter. There are a lot of weak humans anyway, so there is no shortage of this guy. I don't need the love of weak people either...
But at the same time, the Dragon of Albion is confident that if it is really hated or despised, it will cry.
Two different emotions were pulling at each other in the dragon's body, and in order to confirm the unspeakable emotion, it kept its eyes open just for this.
Finally, the strongest dragon figured it out. His feelings were very simple.
I must teach this shameless human a lesson. He acted so respectful to me before, but actually kicked me away after using me.
What unique brilliance, what only light, what the most noble starlight...all are lies!
After teaching this human a lesson, if he can repent, I can at least show him some mercy from the strongest dragon. That's how I feel.
But now I can neither speak nor go out, what should I do?
The strongest and smartest dragon thought of a brilliant idea, which was to transform itself into a human being. It remembered that before the fantasy disappeared, those gods loved to do this the most, associating with weak humans all day long. The Dragon of Albion used to disdain this.
And now it is just because of special circumstances, and only this time, Long thinks so.
Soon, the dragon molded its soul into the appearance of a human. After all, it was just an incarnation and it could change back if it wanted to. But it was fixed after being molded. It was not a big problem. It did not think that it would turn into a weak human again except this time.
Afterwards, the Albion Dragon tried to contact the space where it could see what the weak humans were doing. As expected, it worked. As long as it spent some time to connect with the "gun", it could go out in this way.
As for height, weight and so on, it had no good idea for the time being and thought that since it had not seen it for one hundred and forty-seven days and twenty hours, it would just let it be. As for appearance and so on... The dragon raised his head and took a look at the faint aurora that illuminated the sky here.
It remembered that human said it was his unique light, the most noble starlight, the only light...
Well, accepting the fantasy world of refuge, shining at the extreme, and maintaining the light inside and outside the world alone is in line with the identity of the strongest dragon.
After everything was resolved, the Albion Dragon began its final action. This time, it was surrounded by a glowing tide of magical power.
Like a merry-go-round, it kept spinning itself, and a human figure emerged from the tide, soon growing into a human form.
A 'gun' appeared in the sea of magic power, and the dragon who had transformed into a human grabbed it.
"Novia, human, the strongest dragon you have contracted is me, Albion!"
This human being is very ordinary, with almost no advantages over others, and the number of disadvantages is too many to count with two hands.
That is why the dragon is so confident that this human being must be self-aware and thinks that meeting him is great luck. Once he appears, the human being will naturally regain his respect for him.
Because they are the strongest, and they must absolutely obey the strong, which is what the weak must do!
..........
Since Novia solved the problem of Judaism, he had a lot to do. Not only did he have to deal with some government affairs for Emperor Claudius on a daily basis, but he also had to properly handle matters related to the widespread spread of Christianity. Although it spread quickly because of miracles, it was also a problem because of this. After all, no matter what, the doctrine had to be thoroughly rooted in people's hearts.
For this purpose, Novia has invited the eleven apostles of Jesus and Paul Martha to Rome for discussion. He also asked Kobek to invite the current leader of the burial agency to talk. However, if the leader really cannot be persuaded, then it is not impossible to build a new burial agency by themselves.
Suddenly, Novia realized that a large amount of magic power was gathering in the room he lived in. He prepared for defense and walked towards the direction, only to find that it was coming from the hanging "gun". Thinking that it was Albion, Novia was a little relieved.
After all, Albion had spent a lot of effort to help him deal with Doro who used Solomon's body, so he had to be grateful.
At the same time, a strong flash of light gushed out, not physical, but a huge magical power that could burn the spiritual senses.
The magic power was woven into the shape of a human, and a new figure slowly emerged from the inside of the gun.
Her eyelids opened, as if to take in everything.
"…You are, Albion?"
Novia quickly came to her senses and greeted with a smile.
"Hmph, I am a human..."
What is this...I want to eat it, I really want to eat it, I really want to eat him, I want to eat it, eat it thoroughly, eat it all.
In an instant, the rationality of the girl who was the incarnation of the strongest dragon suddenly disappeared, leaving only animal desires.
She opened her mouth wide, showing her sharp teeth, and bit Novia's shoulder hard.
047: I really want to kill this person and tear his soul apart
The sunlight shining through the window illuminated the figures of the two people.
The moment he bit Novia's shoulder, the lower half of Albion's face was dyed red by the splattered blood, and he was immersed in the hot blood flowing in and out of his throat.
Therefore, Novia's body subconsciously pushed Albion away, but the fangs in the dragon girl's mouth tore off a piece of meat and swallowed it in one gulp.
"Are you hungry all of a sudden because you're in this state?" Novia touched his shoulder, and the bleeding stopped immediately by magic, but the pain still persisted. "How about I go buy something you want to eat? But I think you, the strongest person, probably don't like to eat the meat of weak animals. It was probably just an accident."
Novia smiled and made a joke that was not so serious in this situation, but since the words were said by the victim himself, he could not refute it.
When Novia saw the bloodshot silver-haired girl's eyes gradually regaining rationality after swallowing the blood, it was not difficult for her to guess that Albion had consumed a lot of magic power to become like this, so that he was suddenly in a state of "hunger".
Although dragons don't get hungry and don't need to sleep, that was before the mystery disappeared. After the Age of Gods, her original dragon body was a huge mystery, and there were plenty of mysteries inside, so this is the case. But now Albion is just a soul that came out with the help of a "gun", and the mysteries in the room where Novia is and even in the world naturally cannot replenish her in the first time, so she devours the nearest source of magic power with the desire to "survive".
"........."
The girl lowered her head, blood was flowing from the corner of her bloody mouth, and her body was shaking.
Albion originally wanted to say something to rebuke this human for not calling her "you", but because of her own behavior just now, she felt an indescribable embarrassment, and she didn't even listen to Novia's explanation to her, until a gentle hand was placed on her head.
"It's okay. If this satisfies you, then there's no problem."
Albion slowly raised his head, his silver hair swaying gently, his golden eyes gleaming faintly on his fair face, looking uncertain, as if he was still embarrassed, and one hand touched Novia's shoulder after she bit him.
"......Are you okay?...Does it hurt..."
"Although I really want to say it doesn't hurt, I don't think there's any need to lie to you. Actually, it still hurts a lot."
Novia said in a tone that was a mixture of calmness and seriousness, shrugging her shoulders.
"No.....I'm sorry..."
Albion touched Novia's chest again, then looked away.
The reply from the strongest dragon was subtle, but it couldn't be missed, because it was unlikely that Albion would apologize to the weaker for a second time, probably.
"By the way, since you've finally come here, how about I take you out for a walk?"
Novia winked at Albion, intending to show the strongest dragon who had helped him a lot around.
"Human, this is not a request, this is an order." Albion suddenly raised his eyes and grabbed the boy's chest with both hands, "But only this time! Take me away."
"Well, um..."
Novia looked at Albion who was pulling him away with an inexplicably strange look.
It was early winter, but a warm one, with no snow yet. Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, was full of people. Some were discussing tomorrow's affairs, while others were sitting on benches built by someone unknown, feeding animals.
Everyone greeted Novia with great respect the moment they met him. The girl behind him, who was wearing an elegant blue dress, looking elegant and neat, with her back straight and her head held high, and wearing a strange mask, would naturally greet them because of Novia, but the girl said nothing, as if she couldn't hear anything.
Novia understood the reason. It was because when Albion excitedly pulled him out at the beginning, it might be the first time for him to walk on human feet. He was not used to it and he seemed to be tripped by something non-existent on the flat ground and almost fell down.
Seeing this, Novia held out his hand to her, as if to say, "Well, let's go," as if it was natural for a knight to do so.
Afterwards, Albion, who was persuaded by Novia, did not destroy the road directly, but used magic power to condense into a mask, and followed Novia silently, looking like a guardian.
In fact, the reason why Albion put on the mask was not only because she was indeed embarrassed at first, but also because she found that even though she had enough magic power, she still wanted to eat Novia... this desire was born for the first time.
It's not enough, I need more. If I eat it, my soul will get something extremely important...
The only thing that dyed the girl's brain bright red bit by bit was the desire that arose from an unknown reason.
"I still want to eat it..."
As if it was imprinted in her brain cells, Albion, who was following behind Novia, took a bite of the food he bought for her, looked at the back in front of her, and murmured repeatedly. Suddenly, she had an idea.
If this is the case, if he is really willing to worry with me, be confused with me, think with me, and struggle with me, if he is really willing to do this, and if he is not a liar, I will definitely suppress this desire at all costs and not hurt him.
"Hey, human."
Albion suddenly made up his mind and narrowed his eyes slightly, calling out to Novia in front of him.
The reason why she suddenly made up her mind now was nothing big. It was just because the man looking at her with his head lowered deeply was a bit similar to the way he looked when he promised her before.
"You said before that you would always be with me—"
So, she mustered up her confidence and said so.
"Hmm, isn't this the teacher? Who is this? He has silver hair! Is he an acquaintance of the teacher? Or is he a hired bodyguard?"
The culprit who instantly chilled the silver-haired girl's heart was now asking Novia with a smile on his face.
This...human is so disgusting. She smells so bad and she stayed with me for so long. I really want to kill her right now and tear her soul apart.
048: Nero's Confidence
It was early winter, but a warm one, with no snow yet. It was good weather for Nero to stay at home and rest, but she went out on purpose. There must have been some reason for her to do so.
In the crowded square, almost everyone's attention was drawn to the silver-haired man who had arrived, and Nero, who had hurried over, also had his eyes fixed on the man not far away.
Novia, her teacher, was four years older than her. At first glance, her appearance was no different from when they parted in the palace four hours, twelve minutes and twenty-three seconds ago. However, she seemed to sense something different about her teacher... Was it because of the silver-haired girl behind her?
To be honest, although her face could not be seen clearly due to the mask, the aura of this silver-haired girl alone made her stand out among the people Nero had ever met. It was not only because of her aura, but also because of the aura that was different from that of human beings.
Generally speaking, most people's attention would be involuntarily attracted by this silver-haired girl, but Nero was displeased from the bottom of her heart. She always felt that the aura exuded by this person was like a declaration of sovereignty, just like the "gun" used by the teacher.
Although the gun used by the teacher was just a dead object, it gave Nero a feeling that it was actually alive, which was why she hated it so much.
Who is this silver-haired girl? When I went to Antioch before, I didn't see Martha and Paul mention this person. Besides, the teacher has never been out of Rome. How could he bring someone with him out of nowhere?
Just as Nero was observing her carefully from head to toe, she suddenly found that the silver-haired girl took off her mask and said something to the teacher, and then the teacher turned to face her.
The blonde girl carefully observed the change in the silver-haired girl's expression. From the initial expressionless face, she became a little relaxed, lowered her eyebrows, and trembled slightly like a pitiful little animal. She made a very important decision. From the look that Nero saw, she felt that the silver-haired girl's vague expression was definitely this meaning -
