DLERB -Chapter 185 My Soldiers Are Killing Each Other Over a Piece of Roast Meat!

At last, the night had passed.

On the walls of Rome, every soldier’s face carried a sickly yellow pallor.

Their stomachs had growled the entire night.

The rich aroma of meat lingering in the air had faded somewhat, yet it seemed to have seeped into their bones, constantly reminding them of the emptiness in their bellies.

Caesar stood atop the city wall, awake the entire night.

He stared at the black Qin camp outside the city. Though the fires had gone out, the camp remained perfectly orderly.

He could not say a single word.

“General… they… they seem to be making another move!”

A centurion’s voice trembled.

Caesar suddenly looked up.

He saw hundreds of enormous black silhouettes slowly being pushed out from the Qin camp.

Catapults!

“Battle stations!”

Caesar drew his sword and roared sharply.

“Archers, prepare!”

“Shield-bearers! Raise your shields!”

The Roman soldiers forced themselves to stay alert, lifting their weapons and shields.

It was coming!

The real attack was finally about to begin!

At this point, they would rather be crushed to death by stones than spend another night smelling roast meat.

In front of the Qin formation.

Wang Li dismounted and cupped his fists respectfully toward the small figure standing on the hillside.

“Your Highness, everything is ready!”

Ying Ziye yawned.

“Then begin.”

“Let them have a taste of Great Qin’s stones.”

Wang Li grinned and turned around, swinging his arm downward heavily.

“Fire!”

Creaaak—!

The ear-piercing sound of mechanisms echoed across the battlefield.

The long arms of hundreds of catapults suddenly swung upward!

Countless black “stones” were hurled into the sky, tracing deadly arcs as they smashed toward the Roman walls.

“Raise shields!”

The Roman centurions shouted themselves hoarse.

The soldiers curled beneath their shields, closing their eyes as they waited for death.

Thump.

A soft sound.

The agonizing pain of shattered bones they expected never came.

One “stone” struck a soldier’s helmet, then bounced onto the ground.

The soldier froze.

Carefully, he opened his eyes.

There were no shattered rocks on the ground.

Only a tightly wrapped bundle covered in oilcloth.

And from inside that bundle came a maddeningly rich aroma.

Roast meat!

And the toasted fragrance of wheat bread!

The soldier’s body lunged forward uncontrollably.

With trembling hands, he tore open the oilcloth.

Inside was a roasted lamb leg, sizzling with fat and sprinkled with spices. Beside it were two golden wheat flatbreads.

The food was still warm.

The soldier could no longer endure it.

He grabbed the lamb leg, ignoring the burning grease, opened his mouth wide, and bit down fiercely.

“Ugh… mmgh…”

As he chewed, beast-like whimpers escaped his throat.

That scene was like a spark falling into a barrel of gunpowder.

Thud!

Smack!

More and more oilcloth bundles rained down from the sky.

They landed on the walls and at the soldiers’ feet.

Inside every package was the same roast meat, the same wheat bread.

“Food!”

“Gods above! It’s meat!”

“Grab it!”

The disciplined Roman formation collapsed instantly.

The Roman soldiers went mad!

They threw away their shields and spears, fighting like wild dogs starved for three days over every bundle on the ground!

One soldier had just seized a flatbread and had not even stuffed it into his mouth before three others tackled him to the ground.

The bread was torn into pieces.

“It’s mine! Mine!”

“Get lost!”

A centurion swung his whip desperately, trying to restore order.

“Get up! Nobody touch it! This is the enemy’s trick!”

No one listened.

One oilcloth bundle landed perfectly at his feet.

That rich scent of meat drifted straight into his nose.

His stomach let out a thunderous growl.

The whip in his hand froze midair.

At the highest point of the wall—

Caesar looked down at the chaotic scene below, trembling with rage.

His soldiers…

Rome’s proud warriors…

Were slaughtering one another over a single piece of meat thrown down by the enemy.

Honor! Glory!

All of it had been trampled into the dirt!

“Archers!”

Caesar’s roar had become distorted with fury.

“Fire!”

“Shoot those traitors fighting over food! Kill them all!”

The captain of the archers stiffened.

“General…”

“I said fire!”

Caesar kicked him viciously.

Helpless, the captain raised his hand.

“Ready…”

The archers on the wall hesitantly lifted their bows.

Their targets were their own comrades.

And their stomachs were just as empty.

“Loose!”

Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh…

A scattered volley of arrows flew out.

Some struck the battlements.

Some landed harmlessly on the ground.

Only one unlucky soldier was grazed on the arm.

He screamed in pain, yet still clutched the roast meat in his arms without letting go.

Caesar’s face turned the color of liver.

No one obeyed his orders anymore!

This army was rotten to the core!

“Trash! A bunch of useless trash!”

He drew his sword and charged down from the wall.

He was going to personally kill a few traitors and salvage what little authority he had left!

But it was too late.

More food was hurled into the city by the catapults.

The entire city of Rome descended into a frenzy over food.

No—

Into hell.

Civilians rushed out of their homes and fought the soldiers for scraps.

Old men and children were knocked to the ground and trampled beneath the mad crowd.

Caesar rushed beneath the walls, but when he saw the hellish scene before him, he stopped in his tracks.

He knew that even if he swung his sword until it broke, he could not stop this anymore.

A deep sense of helplessness engulfed him.

He could only watch helplessly as his city, his people, were utterly destroyed by a single piece of roast meat.

After a long while—

The riot finally began to subside.

Because all the food had already been snatched away.

Expressionless, Caesar lowered his sword.

“Pass on my order.”

His voice was hoarse like torn cloth.

“Gather all… all the food the enemy threw in here.”

“All of it!”

The soldiers did not dare disobey.

Reluctantly, they piled together the food they had risked everything to grab, food they had not even had the chance to eat.

Soon, a small mountain of roast meat and wheat bread appeared before Caesar.

“Burn it.”

Caesar forced out the three words through clenched teeth.

The soldiers froze.

“General! That’s food!”

“Burn it?”

Caesar suddenly turned and thrust his sword straight through the throat of the soldier who had spoken.

“Anyone who dares say another word…”

“Will end up like him.”

“Burn it!”

Towering flames rose within Rome.

The roast meat and flatbreads turned into blackened charcoal within the fire.

The thick smell of burning food mixed with the scent of meat drifted into the sky, forming a column of black smoke.

On the city walls, the surviving soldiers stared at the pile of charred remains and breathed in the smell.

Their stomachs twisted painfully.

Their hearts bled.

…

On the hillside.

Wang Li looked at the black smoke rising from Rome and hurried to Ying Ziye’s side.

“Your Highness, they… they burned the meat!”

Ying Ziye did not even turn his head.

He merely gazed calmly at the column of smoke.

“They won’t eat?”

he said softly.

“They’ve got some backbone.”

He turned to Wang Li.

“Since they refuse our meal, then let’s give them money instead.”

Ying Ziye raised one small finger and pointed toward the city of Rome.

“Wang Li, scatter our ‘gold’ down there.”

“Let them pick it up.”