The vast sky was cloudless for thousands of miles, and the afternoon sun was exceptionally scorching, with the lingering heat of midday still present, baking the entire land as if all the moisture in the soil was about to evaporate.
Because the tents themselves absorbed heat and the air inside did not circulate with the outside, the military tents were even more stuffy than outside.
To cooperate with Karl's act and to establish an alibi, Augustus, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, left the military camp on time, accompanied only by Dracula and a few other personal guards.
However, he did not go to inspect the logistics and supply work as Karl had said, but instead went to the top of the mountain where Karl and Riccardo had been yesterday, quietly waiting for the show to begin.
Riccardo had already made arrangements according to the plan, sending people to keep a close watch on the Venice soldiers wandering in groups of three or five in the Tuscany Camp, and several capable officers were sitting in the main tent.
As soon as the time came, Riccardo waved his hand, and several Tuscany officers strode out of the main tent, brimming with suppressed energy.
In recent days, whenever conflicts arose with Venice soldiers, it was always the Tuscany soldiers who suffered losses. Over time, most Tuscany soldiers simply avoided provoking them, which was why Venice soldiers became increasingly rampant.
"How boring. Does Tuscany have no men left? They're all cowardly like quails, not daring to utter a single fart even when cursed at to their faces."
At this moment, a leading Venice officer was complaining sulkily about not finding anyone to fight, drawing a burst of laughter from the accompanying soldiers. The Tuscany soldiers nearby, having learned from previous lessons, dared not speak their anger.
One of the soldiers even deliberately echoed loudly, "Exactly! Tuscany people are all cowardly rats!"
"Stop! Who are you, and why are you in our Tuscany Camp?" A Tuscany officer, dressed in plain clothes, led several unremarkable but brave and skilled soldiers towards them, attracting the attention of the onlookers.
Seeing the "prey" deliver himself, the Venice officer became greatly interested and eagerly stepped forward, pointing to his shoulder and saying, "Are you blind? Can't you see the crest on my body?"
"What kind of insignificant crest is worth me knowing? I don't care who you are. Don't you have your own camp? You're scurrying around like stray dogs. Get out of our Tuscany Camp immediately, or don't blame us for being impolite!" The Tuscany officer glanced at him disdainfully, then deliberately provoked him with his words.
The Venice officer, however, was not angered: "Hmph, quite arrogant. It's been a long time since I've seen such a stubborn Tuscany person. Is this your first day here? Don't you know that this entire camp is our Venice people's territory?"
"Scoreggiare! Venice and Tuscany are both reinforcements invited by His Holiness the Pope. In terms of kinship, our Grand Duke is also a relative of the Pope, and moreover, the master of the Papal States is still here. When is it your Venice people's turn to speak such nonsense?" The Tuscany officer was so enraged that he cursed, displaying genuine emotion.
"Master? Haha, it's your business if you want to grovel to the Pope. We Venice people are all our own masters. Even the Pope has been obedient to us these days, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
Unlike you, you only deserve the treatment of house slaves. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. How could you Medici house slaves appreciate the preciousness of freedom?"
At this point, the Venice officer involuntarily raised his proud head. For him, the glory of the Venice Republic came from his heart.
"Fanculo! Beat them up!"
Tuscany's original plan was to provoke a conflict and then let the Venice people make the first move, but this sentence directly broke the Tuscany officer, so he furiously gave the order to act and personally led the charge.
However, none of that mattered now. In previous conflicts brought before the arbitration court, both sides always held their ground. Even if it happened in the Tuscany Camp, with Venice making the first move, and eyewitnesses unanimously testifying, Venice still managed to twist facts. Moreover, this conflict was never intended to go to an arbitration court.
The Venice officer's proudly raised head had not yet had time to lower when his defenseless jaw was met with a precise and swift punch. Dense nerves simultaneously transmitted signals of intense pain, the cerebellum connected to the trigeminal nerve instantly lost balance, and a cracking sound came from his cervical spine. His entire body was sent flying backward, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
The Tuscany officer's brilliant attack earned cheers from all the surrounding Tuscany soldiers. Unknowing spectators also held their breath for him.
Seeing their officer taken down in one move, and then seeing the opposing soldiers' menacing aura and uniform movements, clearly indicating they were prepared, the remaining Venice soldiers finally realized something was wrong. They no longer cared about their officer's sprawled body and, with surprising uniformity, took off running.
But it was too late. How could they outrun the elite soldiers handpicked by Tuscany? After only a few steps, the Tuscany soldiers caught up to them one by one, forcefully pinning them to the ground, followed by a torrent of blows as the anger accumulated over many days erupted.
The Venice soldiers only put up a symbolic resistance. When their resistance was futile, they lay motionless on the ground like corpses. Seeing that the Venice soldiers had stopped moving, the Tuscany soldiers also stopped their hands, not wanting to beat them to death.
To prevent accidents, there were actually Tuscany soldiers ambushed nearby, but because the plan was executed too smoothly, they did not show themselves.
"Paper tiger." The Tuscany officer spat lightly with disdain.
"You hit people! I'm going to the arbitration court to sue you! I'll make you pay dearly." Hearing the Tuscany officer's insult, a Venice soldier, whose face was bruised and swollen, cried out.
"To hell with your arbitration court! Go to hell! You brats, stay put! Tie them up for me!" The Tuscany officer's anger had not subsided. He pulled out a rope and walked towards the unconscious Venice officer, regretting at that moment that he had dealt with him too quickly.
"What are you doing?" With his hands and feet swiftly bound, the Venice soldier was completely dumbfounded, and an ominous premonition rose from the bottom of his heart.
"What am I doing? Don't you like coming to our Tuscany Camp very much? If so, then stay here." The Tuscany officer said lightly while nonchalantly tying up the Venice officer, who had already fainted.
At this point, even the most unobservant spectators realized that this conflict was extraordinary. Not only was the leader highly skilled, but the other Tuscany soldiers were also well-trained. Some spectators already had some bold guesses in their minds.
At the same time, similar scenes unfolded in various parts of the Tuscany Camp, with dozens of Venice soldiers being detained.
Barricades were also erected between the Tuscany and Venice Camps, with Tuscany soldiers armed to the teeth on the Tuscany side.
These were Riccardo's direct troops. This deployment was highly confidential before its implementation. Similarly, they did not know why they were doing this, but it was clearly aimed at Venice, and all participating soldiers were full of fighting spirit.