chapter 29 : Death will strike today

A full day has passed since the capture of the city and Orion remained in the city councilor's villa without worrying about the outside world.

 He spent all his time in bed with Saxa or eating, drinking and meditating.

 For the management of things, he had left everything to his men because he wanted to enjoy quality time with his girlfriend.

 The next day, in the alleys of the city, the Roman prisoners were chained there awaiting their fate and among them, Laeta sat there with a blank expression.

 They had not been properly fed or hydrated since their captivity. Unlike the canon where the aedile had wasted ¾ of the wheat reserves with pitch, thanks to Orion, the food was intact but the rebels wanted to take everything for themselves without worrying about the Romans.

 Orion's men were only there to intervene in extreme cases, they had already taken a good part of the wheat for themselves along with other supplies.

 Spartacus had been quite clear with his men about rape and unnecessary excess violence being completely prohibited but yet far from any supervision they thought, some men wanted to abuse Roman women.

 Also among the Roman prisoners was Attius, an old friend of Gannicus who had been saved by him during the invasion but had been forced to forge swords for the rebels.

 As Apollos and Salma were walking through the streets they suddenly heard a commotion further away.

Within seconds, they saw the rebels shouting encouraging a fight between two Roman prisoners, each of them had a sword but neither of them seemed to know how to use it.

 "ULPIANUS!!" 

 A pregnant Roman prisoner cried out in distress to her struggling husband. This fight was Crixus' idea because the two men were fighting over a piece of bread and Ulpianus wanted this bread for his pregnant and starving wife.

 "This woman is pregnant and he's making her husband fight?!" Salma asked calmly with a frown.

 Finally, after a desperate maneuver, Ulpianus managed to kill his opponent by planting his sword in his throat.

 It was the first time he had killed a man in his entire life, the first time he had used such violence and he was in shock.

 The fight won by him, The rebels shouted for him.

 Crixus:A FIGHT THAT WAS NOT WORTHY OF AN ARENA! But a promise has been made.(looks at Ulpianus) Enjoy your laurels.

 Crixus threw the piece of bread on the ground in front of poor Ulpianus, his wife wanted to come to him but she was thrown back violently to the ground.

Salma lost her patience and pushed the rebels near the woman to get her up, a rebel wanted to act against her but she grabbed his arm and bent it at an abnormal angle the rebel screamed like a hen grabbed by a fox .

 Crixus' attention drawn to the scene, Ulpianus tried to grab the hard-earned bread from the ground next to his sword when Naevia tried to strike Ulpianus' hand with her sword as the madwoman thought it was the sword that he wanted to take but just as the movement was about to be executed, a hand grabbed his wrist, it was Apollos.

 Before Naevia understood what had just happened, Apollos pushed her towards Crixus where she fell.

 Enraged, Crixus wanted to say something but it was Apollos who began to speak.

 "A fight that wasn't worthy of an arena, huh!? You want me to give you one right here and now, stupid Gallic?! Wouldn't it be fun for you this time?! Come, take out your sword and show these fools what a real fight is, you will die as soon as you see the shine of my sword!" Apollos said walking straight towards him, all the rebels who looked at his eyes were scared without even knowing why.

 Apollos was the strongest celestial after Orion; for him, fighting with Crixus was like fighting with a child. He gave off a killing intent that Crixus and the rebels quickly felt, he was going to kill them here and now.

 Crixus was afraid, he felt even more danger in front of Apollos than in front of Orion.

 Naevia got up and wanted to whisper who knows what in her ear when Oenomaus and Segovax arrived.

 Oenomaus: Crixus, can I know what's going on here?!

 Crixus: Nothing, a quarrel among the prisoners!

 Salma: A quarrel that gave them swords to kill each other for a piece of bread?! Go ahead and properly explain to your friend what you have organized here and why. Also explain what your crazy wife wanted to do to the winner when he wanted to take the bread for his pregnant wife.

 When Crixus heard "crazy woman" he started to lose control and moved towards Salma.

 "WATCH YOUR TONGUE OR-(interrupted)"

 Crixus was quickly cut by the cold of Salma's blade on his neck, he hadn't even seen her properly draw her weapon but remained frozen.

 The celestials were no longer Normal Humans like the others and Crixus was beginning to understand this.

 Salma: Or what ? Please, finish your sentence.

 Oenomaus: No need to shed blood here, please. Crixus and Naevia, go away, we'll talk about it later.

 Apollos came before Ulpianus who kept thanking him and helped him up. Salma did the same with his wife who then hugged her husband.

 Apollos: Your name is Ulpianus, right ? What was your job ?

 Ulpianus: Baker...I was a baker...have mercy...my wife...

 Salma: Your wife will be treated well, we are not savages . When we took Baiae, no Roman was mistreated without any good reason. You and your wife are now under the protection of the celestials, you will work for us here for a time and will even be paid until you and your wife are released.

 Ulpianus and his wife cried with gratitude but that was not all, Apollos asked Ulpianus to show him some Romans he knew who were good and kind to their slaves before the city was taken.

 There weren't many of them and he didn't really know everyone, but those listed were officially placed under the protection of the celestials. They will be better fed and treated than the others.

 Ulpianus and his wife were taken to a safer place where he would work for them under surveillance and security. This man was a baker so the celestials could find a use for him, they had plenty of wheat for them and Ulpianus could turn that wheat into bread and other foods.

 In another villa in the city, Spartacus is organizing the city's forecast with some of his men. Apparently, even if they had a lot of wheat, it won't be totally enough because of their large numbers not counting the Roman prisoners in addition to the large amount of wheat taken by the celestials. Despite their small numbers, they had taken ¼ of the wheat and it was enormous on their scale.

 He had released Laeta to take care of the Roman prisoners on Sura's recommendation, he needed someone for that because too much blood had already been shed and he didn't want more innocent people to die or suffer for nothing despite the protests of a good part of the rebels against the Roman prisoners.

 As if that wasn't enough, he had to deal with the savagery of his men including Crixus with whom he argued about what happened today.

 Crixus was increasingly affected by Naevia's venom and her hatred .

 Since she knew how to wield a sword, she believed herself capable of anything and was no longer the sweet Naevia of the past because she had suffered the same fate as in the canon thanks to Ashur.

 This woman had become a psychopath when it came to the Romans and someone needed to calm her down quickly.

 Orion had been swimming in lust with Saxa for days now without worrying about the outside world, he just wanted to have a good time and go back to the still developing Baiae.

 This morning he received a message from one of his men from his city and apparently Rome has decreed that Baiae now belongs to the celestials.

 This news made Orion laugh because he knew very well that the Romans would try to retake this city at the slightest opportunity but given what they suffered by trying previously, they were going to think twice.

 He left the villa with Saxa and they began walking through the streets of the city under the insistent gaze of the others.

 They went to Spartacus who was talking with Apollos. In Orion's absence, it was Apollos who led the celestials and he made this clear to the rebels.

 He and Spartacus were discussing the deal he himself had made with the Cilician pirate Heracleo.

 Apollos tried to warn Spartacus against the pirates but he affirmed that he would be careful and that the pirate could be useful to him. Orion entered the tent smiling with Saxa next to him.

 Some of Spartacus' men, including Sura, who were in the room unconsciously straightened up as soon as he entered without knowing why and this gave a little mocking laugh to Apollos.

 Salma had already given a brief report of things to Orion when he came out so he wanted to discuss it with Spartacus.

 Orion: Hello here. How are you doin' ? I don't know about you, but I'm in a really good mood.

 Some of the rebels in the room started to get angry. During the days that they worked after the capture of the city, Orion and one of their members spent their time fucking, eating, drinking and sleeping, then, he appears like a ray of sunshine at their meeting saying that he is good mood.

 Spartacus: Orion, it's been days since we last saw you.

 "Some even said that something had happened to you during your days of debauchery!" Crixus said in a provocative tone as he moved forward but was completely ignored by Orion who came straight to Spartacus.

 Orion: I learned from a report from my subordinate that some of your men were going crazy when it came to dealing with the Romans. A fight was forced between Romans for a piece of bread and if Apollos had not intervened, the winner would have had his hand cut off.

 Spartacus: Oenomaus told me of this terrible matter, I too don't want us to turn into those who harmed us. Please know that I will make sure that this type of thing never happens again, you have my word.

 Orion: I trust you but I prefer to be clear with everyone as well. (he looked at the others) Ulpianus is giving us information about the Romans who were always good to their slaves, they will be questioned then placed under the protection of the celestials if they are good. Among them, a certain Attius was mentioned, a Blacksmith forced into your service; you will have to find another one. Moreover…

 He had not finished speaking when Crixus cut him off.

 " WHAT NEXT ? WE SPARED THIS ROMAN SO THAT HE WOULD MAKE US SWORDS! WHERE ARE YOU GONNA COME AND TAKE IT FROM US ORION, YOU ARE NOT IN BAIAE HERE! »

 When they heard Crixus, some of Spartacus's lieutenants nodded their heads slightly. Orion suddenly had an indifferent and cold look, it was not Crixus he was looking at but Spartacus who he was now staring into the eyes.

 Orion: Apollos, I want that if the Gaul opens his big mouth again to interrupt me, you cut off his head in one go.

 Crixus, like everyone else, listening to this, wanted to react but he felt a cold object on the side of his neck, it was Apollos' extremely sharp sword.

 "I particularly like killing fools so don't be one, you damned Gaul!" Apollos said calmly looking Crixus in the eyes.

 " When ?!" 

 "When did he even draw his sword?!" 

 "When did he get this close?!" 

 These were the questions the rebels were asking themselves in front of this scene, especially Crixus who was now sweating.

The others who wanted to move just like him were now frozen, they were experienced fighters and they had never seen this kind of disgusting speed.

 Orion: Okay, I see everyone is lost so I'll explain it to you, it's a gift. The weakest of my men in close combat are my archers and each of them is slightly stronger than your leader Spartacus. The man who has his blade at Crixus' throat is Apollos, the first of my lieutenants and the strongest celestial after me so I'll let you imagine his level compared to a simple celestial archer. (looks at Apollos) You can lower your blade.

 Disbelief, fear, and even admiration struck the rebels' minds as they realized what Orion had just said.

Yet now they wondered that if Apollos who could seemingly kill them all without problem was weaker than him then how strong was Orion himself ?

 "Good, things got tense because of an idiot. Let's avoid angry topics, we are allies here, right ?"

 He resumed his smiling and innocent expression and said with good humor.

 The others no longer even knew how to behave in his presence, this guy was no longer really a normal human for them anymore, as for the celestials elsewhere whom they swore never to provoke.

 Segovax: Champion, as Spartacus said earlier this kind of thing won't happen again, no need to get upset.

 Orion: Huh? Upset ? Believe me my friends I wasn't upset and you will never like to see me like that. In short, if anything happens to one of the Romans under my protection or if rapes are spotted in the city, the culprits will be killed and I am extremely serious about this. Believe me, I don't want to kill any of you, but I would if you were still acting like crazy. Oh by the way, Saxa will leave with me when the time comes.

 The Germans who heard this wanted to react quickly but quickly calmed down and the girl herself confirmed that she wanted to leave with him.

To her, Orion was her absolute soulmate and she no longer wanted to be separated from him.

 They then left the room, leaving the others in a rather strange atmosphere and continued their walk in the city.

Attius the Blacksmith has been informed that he will be under the protection of the celestials.

 Now better housed, fed and even paid, he agreed to continue forging swords for the rebels because that's what he was paid to do.

 Just before dawn, Spartacus went to a meeting on the beach not far from the city with several of his lieutenants.

Sura, Duro and Naevia stayed up while waiting. The Thracian was to meet Heracleo on the beach and the latter also came with his men.

 It was an exchange and the deal was that Spartacus paid a large sum of money to the pirate in exchange for deliveries of wheat and wine.

 Very quickly as tensions rose due to Heracleo only bringing a sample when Spartacus had the full amount, a Roman troop charged at them and the fight began.

The leader of this charge was a young, high-ranking soldier, Tiberius, the eldest son of Crassus.

 At first, the rebels believed they had been betrayed by the pirates but soon realized that this was not the case.

 Because of the number of Roman soldiers, they had to form a united front against them and the battle began.

 Seeing that the soldiers were too numerous, Heracleo threw a torch into the sky, this was a signal for his ships who began to bombard the Romans with flaming projectiles thus causing huge losses to the Roman troops.

 The ships were far away but managed to hit the Roman troops thanks to a sling system.

 In the city, Apollos who saw the projectiles pass was very surprised because he believed that it was the celestial ships which were attacking but quickly convinced himself otherwise.

 Their ships had smaller projectiles but did much more damage than he saw. Additionally, the machines that launched them were much more precise and had more range.

 He looked out to sea and got confirmation that they were pirate ships.

 He looked for Orion to report the situation but found his boss already looking at everything with amusement.

 Orion's sight, like all his other senses, was superhuman and he was using a spotting scope so he missed no detail of the battle.

Even at such a distance and although the day was barely breaking, he managed to see the few features of the Roman commander's face.

 By the presence of some rebels supposed to die facing Glaber in the canon but who by the existence of Orion were still alive, in this battle while the Romans were retreating, Tiberius did not face the rebel who just injured him like in the series but unfortunately for him he had Crixus as an opponent.

 Orion, looking at this little face to face, smiled and this smile widened when Crixus killed the young and arrogant Tiberius.

 He knew immediately what was going to happen in the next few days, Galatea who was by his side saw his brother's smile and could not ask for explanations.

 Galatea : First time I saw you smile like that was before the overly arrogant leader of the daughters of Artemis challenged you in Lamia so that I would be free and go with you. You had massacred almost the entire village with your hands that day.

 Orion: Gal you are the descendant of the legendary Alexios of Sparta and therefore you also have the blood of Leonidas in your veins. Why would I have abandoned you with these bitter bitches where you were completely locked up and deprived of your freedom like a bird in a cage?! Plus I really liked your cheeky character, you are my little sister .

 The girl started to blush and punched Orion on the shoulder who laughed at her reaction.

 Galatea : Let's get back to our topic. Why did you show the same smile?!

 Orion: You can't see it very well from here, but one of Spartacus' strongest men has just killed a very special Roman soldier, Tiberius Licinius Crassus, the eldest son of Marcus Crassus.

 When the surrounding celestials heard this, they frowned to definitely pay attention to their lord's words.

 Vayline: Crassus is the one who comes to stop the rebellion, right?! He's going to lose his temper there!

 Ajax: I'm not sure sweetheart, Crassus is an immensely rich man who started from nothing, he has a strong and patient spirit.

 Orion: Yet she is the one who is right, Ajax.

 Galatae: Wow, wait! Do you know this Crassus?!

 Orion: When in my time as a Gladiator my fame was at its peak, the biggest Roman names paid fortunes to see me fight and Crassus was one of them. One day, he took his eldest son Tiberius, he was already very arrogant despite his young age and Crassus offered me astronomical sums to train his two sons but I refused each time.

 Galatae: I wish I was there too!

 Demiclas: You missed things, the boss had a certain way of fighting in the arena! His fights were more like art than just fighting.

 Orion: And so...to come back to what I was saying, Crassus despite all his patience will not be able to resist the sudden loss of a second loved one by the same enemy. Remember his wife had been killed when Spartacus led the rebellion.

 The others finally realized this fact and understood what their boss was getting at.

 Ajax: At first it was a revenge of honor for his wife but now, the rebels have just taken away something from him that even his wealth will not bring back, an eldest son, loved and legitimate.

 Orion: That's right, Crassus certainly intended to play his strategies with Spartacus before having him because he is an intelligent man but now, he is going to use all these means to destroy Spartacus and his people.

 Apollos: It wouldn't be wise to linger here then, there are too few of us to deal with this and much less prepared.

 Orion: Obviously, we'll leave the day after tomorrow! (he moves closer to Phobos on Galatae's shoulder) you are the only flying celestial that I know and certainly the wisest so I would like you to be able to transmit a message to our brothers in Baiae.

 The bird took on a proud look and spread his wings to show his agreement, he had known for a long time that others considered him a celestial in his own right but that he was the wisest strengthened his ego. Later, Orion wrote a message which he took to deliver to Theokoles.

 Orion and the others prepared to leave Sinuessa without telling Spartacus what awaited him, they were going to use the rebels as a bait to take Crassus from behind.

 Orion didn't care about the confrontation between Spartacus and Rome but knew that Crassus would win given his means.

 However, after Spartacus it was himself that Rome would want to get rid of and Crassus would be their hero, it was necessary to nip the problem in the bud to avoid future harassment.

 All day long, Orion and the celestials trained. They didn't have enough space so Orion had asked them to find quiet places where they could practice in pairs for practice fights.

 The celestials were already monstrously strong people but Orion did not want them to stagnate because this world is certainly big and you always end up finding someone stronger than you.

 On the rebel side, a problem was becoming apparent. Indeed, for some time some Roman prisoners had been missing.

 Spartacus and his men initially thought it was the work of the celestials but that made no sense because the latter only valued a category of Romans who were now under their protection.

 As in the canon, the person responsible for these disappearances was Laeta, Spartacus under the request of Sura this time had left her free to move around to take care of the Roman prisoners and she took advantage of this act of kindness to go and free some of them and hide them under her late husband's stables.

 The next day, while doing his physical exercises, Orion was interrupted by one of the celestials who reported an emergency.

Enesie, one of the celestial archers, had overheard a fight between Attius the Blacksmith and Naevia.

 After separating the fight by threatening to kill Naevia if she insisted, Naevia tried to justify her aggression by accusing Attius of being the one who hid the Romans.

 Enesie had no choice but to report the matter to the celestials and chain Attius up for questioning just like Naevia in front of everyone.

 Orion wasted no time and went to the city's main square where the interrogation was to take place. Of course he took his truth serum with him.

 Arriving on the scene, he did not fail to congratulate Enesie for her work and came in front of Spartacus and his lieutenants who were waiting for him to begin the interrogation under the cries of the rebels who were all demanding the death of poor Blacksmith.

 The only one who took his side among the rebels was his friend Gannicus. Naevia in Crixus' arms had a slight smirk on her lips, she wanted to see this Roman die.

 After calming the crowd, Spartacus questioned Attius who completely denied the accusation against him because he said he was satisfied with the treatment he had and the money he earned from the celestials.

 He was paid even better than forging chains for the Romans, he claimed.

 " HE LIES !! HE'S THE ONLY ROMAN WITH SO MUCH FREEDOM AND MOREOVER, HE'S THE ONE WHO ATTACKED ME FIRST WHEN I WAS GOING TO INTERROGATE HIM! » Naevia shouted, pointing her finger at Attius, which again raised cries from the crowd.

 Attius: YOU'RE THE CRAZY WHO INTERRUPT MY WORK BY ACCUSING ME OF THIS SHIT BEFORE ATTACKING ME! IF THE PRETTY ARCHER HAD NOT INTERVENED I WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU, YOU WEIRD!

 Crixus, seeing the Roman treating his wife like a freak, wanted to throw himself at him to tear off his head but he was immediately stopped by Segovax and Varro.

 Orion, who hadn't said anything since earlier, realized that he didn't even need the serum to know the truth.

 The crowd immediately calmed down when he came close to Attius and looking him in the eyes he asked the Roman to tell him the truth and that if it was proven that he was lying then he would be killed.

 The Roman without even blinking his eyes claimed that he was innocent of everything he was accused of and Orion nodded at that.

 He came near Naevia and with a cold look he asked her

 "Do you have any proof of the accusations you made against him ?" 

 Naevia had a little moment of hesitation before answering

 "He suddenly attacked me while I was questioning him!! That's enough to know he's guilty! 

 Enesie: Allow me to interrupt you but I saw the fight between the two, Attius was armed with a simple poker and the girl had her sword drawn during the fight but it was the Roman who clearly had the advantage in the fight.

 Given their abilities, if Attius had really attacked first with his tool then she would never have had time to defend herself. I doubt he was the first to attack.

 Crixus: LIE!! NAEVIA FIGHTS MUCH BETTER THAN THIS BLACKSMITH, THIS CELESTIAL LIES TO PROTECT THE ROMAN.

 Orion calmed Enesie and looked at Crixus coldly asking calmly

 "Are you sure you want to accuse a celestial of lying and want to face the consequences?!" 

 Crixus felt shivers run down his spine, he himself was unsure of his accusation but because of Naevia and her pride, his arrogance took over his caution.

 Crixus: Yes, I am not afraid of you celestial hypocrites! Everyone knows that you protect the Romans, the same Romans who killed your friend and his family. You want to protect this Roman but you couldn't protect your friend.

 Orion: This friend was also a Roman, you idiot.

 Crixus: Then he deserved his death.

 When they heard this, Apollos, Demiclas, Vayline and Salma who were there drew their weapons, they wanted to kill the Gaul immediately but Orion shouted at them to calm down then he looked at Crixus promising him that it was his last day on earth.

 Spartacus tried to calm the situation but it was no use as Orion who was completely calm continued with the matter at hand.

 Orion: Attius has been accused of being the Roman with the most freedom in the city, but is that really the case ? I heard from my men that the wife of the aedile, still alive, had been seen without chains giving a little bread to the Romans in the streets.

 Sura: Yes, we gave him this position to ensure that what happened a few days ago doesn't happen again!

 Orion: And so, was not questioned the one who not only was free to move around as she wanted while having a lot of contact with other Romans but we immediately fell back on the blacksmith?! Where is she ?

 Spartacus: Laeta moved into her husband's stables on the outskirts of the city. (looks at his men) SOMEONE GO GET HER!!

 Orion: There's no need, we just have to go there.

 Spartacus nodded and they left for the stables where they found Laeta who immediately became stressed when she saw them arrive.

Before she even asked why they were there, Orion had his men search the stables and it didn't take long for his suspicions to be confirmed as Roman prisoners were found under the floors of the stables.

 Laeta had a serious expression on her face, her plan to protect several Romans from the clutches of the rebels was destroyed without her knowing how or why.

Spartacus and especially Sura looked surprised and disappointed, they believed Laeta intelligent enough to cooperate in the right way so that as few innocent people as possible were killed but she betrayed them. They hadn't even begun to question him when Orion spoke up.

 "So the real culprit in this story was found with just a little logic and calm. However, repairs must be made. Naevia attacked an innocent Roman who was under my protection under false accusations and Crixus did worse, he accused one of my men of lying before calling all of my men and me hypocrites! You understand that I can't let this go, right ?"

 Oenomaus: We can settle this without bloodshed Orion.

 Gannicus: Attius was accused unjustly and if the celestial had not intervened then we would not even know what his fate would have been. Naevia clearly incriminated him for nothing and lied about his attack. If we cannot act justly, how are we different from the Romans who chained us?!

 Segovax: Gannicus is right, we must remain fair.

 Duro: Whose side are you on?! He's just a dirty Roman!

 Spartacus: ENOUGH!! Orion, could you let this story go just this once?!

 Orion: Impossible! I promised security to these people, how can I maintain any credibility if I do not correct the offenses committed against them. Likewise for Crixus who insulted my subordinates, how could I look them in the eye without repairing that? I clearly warned you that I would kill anyone who attacked those I protect, right?! I gave my word and I will keep it, death will strike today.

 Crixus immediately drew his sword to threaten him

 "I WILL KILL YOU BEFORE YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ON HER!!" he said fiercely.

 "Apollos, your sword please, i'm going to fight an ancient gladiator and I want him to leave with honors" he asked calmly and Apollos gave him his weapon.

 Sura: Orion please, you fought under the same ludus, be Clement and let this matter go at least this once.

 Salma, listening to Sura speaking to Orion directly, also drew her sword.

 "I warned you to kill yourself if you dare to talk to him again or get closer to him, didn't I?! Apparently you will understand better in action." She said, wanting to rush towards Sura but Orion immediately stopped her before addressing the rebels mockingly.

 Orion: You seem not to want to respect your Gallic comrade! Crixus is a great warrior and by begging me not to confront him out of fear for his life, you are implying that he is weak and will surely die. Is it only me who respects him or what?!

 Sura:…

 Oenomaus:…

 Varro: Orion, I know you well enough to know that you are very intelligent. You know very well that we don't have to get to that point so why be so extreme?!

 Orion: No you don't know me, you may know who I was but you don't know who I am. I'm going to explain something to you, whether you are Romans or others, if you provoke the celestials then you will die. This is something that others have understood to their detriment, if I don't make you understand this in the same way then I will be unfair to them.

 Crixus: It's okay, I'm going to face you Orion! I am not afraid of you and we must finish the fight we had in the arena.

 The other Gallic rebels also wanted to intervene and even fight but Crixus asked them all not to intervene, he explained that he wanted to face Orion alone for his own honor and take responsibility for his actions and those of Naevia.

 Orion listened to this and felt he had misunderstood himself.

 "Wait, I never said Crixus would be the one to face me to the death ! He and Naevia have offended the celestials, they will have to face me together." Orion said nonchalantly.

 A certain silence began to reign within the crowd watching the scene but everyone had just realized one thing, allies or enemies, the man in front of them was cruel to those who insult his men and try to harm those he protects.