Septimus did not want to waste any more words with the delegation of the Pharto Empire, and with a simple gesture, the clone soldiers escorted the delegation outside the mansion.
"General Septimus, we are representatives of the Pharto Empire who have come with good intentions," said an old man angrily as he was restrained by a clone guard after a simple introduction.
The old man did not receive a response from Septimus, but he did receive a response from a clone soldier who stepped forward to cut his throat with his sword.
The murder of the old man instantly calmed the other members of the delegation.
The group of Parthians was isolated in a modest mansion inside the city and watched over by clone guards.
Septimus would need them to send a message to the Pharto Empire.
On the other hand, after learning the location of Tigranes and Mithridates, the clone army mobilized automatically.
One week later.
By order of Septimus, a large number of Galatian and Numidian horsemen quickly arrived in the city of Nixebes and surrounded it.
Six legions of clone legionaries and a large number of allied troops arrived and also surrounded the city.
Instead of attacking the city immediately, the clone legionaries and the allied forces built extensive earth walls to completely surround Nixibeth, making sure that no one inside could escape.
The actions of the Roman army did not go unnoticed, and the soldiers guarding the city felt despair.
Inside the governor's mansion, Tegranis was completely drunk and uttering incoherent mutterings.
Gulas looked at Tegranis with a complicated expression. How arrogant and domineering Tegranis used to be!
With four kings as his guardians, Tegranis's fame spread everywhere, but now he looked like a pitiful creature that had lost everything.
"Brother, cheer up. If the Parthian delegation arrives, perhaps Septimus will accept their mediation," said Gulas, trying to encourage Tigranes.
"It is useless. Septimus already proposed to the Senate that Armenia be designated as a province, and the Senate approved it. The path toward mediation is blocked, and that damned psychopathic Roman will surely attack!" Tigranes replied with a loud laugh filled with pity.
"Then we must persevere. For the sake of Mesopotamia (the land between the two rivers, later Iraq), I am sure that the Pharto Kingdom will be willing to send troops to help," said Gulas with a determined expression.
The Parthians demanded that Tegranis cede Mesopotamia, and Tegranis, with no other choice, had to accept.
"Do you think we will be able to resist until the Parthian army arrives? Don't even dream about it! We are finished! Completely finished!" said Tegranis while laughing like a madman.
"The Roman army is going to attack the city day and night, and at this rate, the city could fall in a few days."
"And what do you think we should do?" asked Gulas while frowning.
A glimpse of desperation shone in Tegranis's eyes, but he quickly hesitated.
Gulas sighed; he knew that Tegranis was probably thinking about clinging to life.
"In that case, I think we should surrender. That way, perhaps we can save our lives," Gulas replied after observing Tegranis's silence.
---
At the same time, far away in Rome.
The passage of time did not extinguish the enthusiasm of the Roman people for Septimus's victory.
The news published in the newspaper and the accounts of informed people in the taverns increased the enthusiasm of the Roman people.
Republican Rome continued to be a society that valued military heroes.
Unlike Imperial Rome in its later years, which completely degenerated into hedonism.
On the other hand, not all Romans were excited about Septimus's victory, and Crassus was included in that small group.
Crassus envied Septimus's commercial insight and his talent for training legions.
Although the region of Campania belonged to Rome, all of Rome's upper class knew that the region had a separate autonomous government outside the control of the Senate.
Even Sulla was reluctant to confront Septimus because a confrontation would mean a civil war that would drag the Republic into it.
Crassus envied Septimus because his military talent was comparable to his talent for generating money.
Few important figures in Rome had exceptional talents, including Pompey, who depended on his Greek slave to manage the finances of his legions.
"Fortunately for the Republic, Septimus had no political talent, or a new Sulla or Marius would emerge," Crassus murmured inwardly.
---
In Armenia, Tigranes's words surprised Gulas.
"Surrender? Are you joking?" Tegranis replied with an agitated expression.
Gulas observed his brother, who was reluctant to die but refused to surrender. He had never imagined that his older brother would be like this, despite the fact that he used to admire him.
The disappointed Gulas left, completely ignoring Tegranis's agitated screams behind him.
Outside the city, thousands of prisoners carried sacks of earth to fill the ditch protecting the city while being riddled with arrows by the archers on the walls.
Because the price of war slaves had been considerably reduced, Septimus transferred thousands of prisoners to use them during the siege.
Arrows rained down from the city walls, and from time to time javelins were thrown, but the prisoners of war were forced to perform dangerous work under the threat of a painful death inflicted by the Romans.
The prisoners preferred to die from the impact of the arrows rather than suffer the torture of the Roman soldiers.
Due to the large number of prisoners of war, the clone army had to use terror to prevent them from escaping or rebelling.
The prisoners who tried to escape were cooked alive in large copper pots filled with boiling water in front of the horrified gazes of all the prisoners.
After boiling the rebellious prisoners in front of a large crowd of terrified prisoners.
The clone soldiers removed the charred corpse of the rebellious prisoner and cut pieces of his flesh to distribute among the thousands of prisoners.
Under the Romans' orders, the prisoners swallowed the piece of meat without chewing, and the fear of being the next victims temporarily prevented them from wanting to vomit.
After witnessing the Roman army's method of torture and execution, few prisoners dared to try to escape.
Consequently, the docile prisoners preferred to face the rain of arrows.
More than 40,000 prisoners were mobilized to fill the ditches beneath the wall and create a slope large enough to climb the wall.
The work of thousands of prisoners advanced quickly, and the accumulation of corpses was used as material to build the slope.
In less than two days, a 200-meter-wide slope appeared, leading directly to the city wall.
The soldiers protecting the city had pale expressions as they observed the brutality of the Roman army and the slope built with sandbags and corpses.