Strabo now held the gold coin in his hand, unsure whether to count it or discard it—
His face flushed red, especially at the loss of face in front of his son, which made him somewhat lose his rationality.
When he saw the shocked expression on his son Gnaeus Pompey's face, he suddenly felt that his actions were utterly humiliating.
Without dignity, Strabo abruptly threw the gold coin to the ground.
"Sir Lista Night, according to our wager, I have brought the stakes. However, there is no clause in the wager that requires us to assist in counting the gold coins.
If you wish to know whether there are truly twenty talents here, then count them yourself."
After venting his anger, he immediately regretted it, fearing he had provoked this slumbering lion.
But to Strabo's confusion, Night's expression remained unchanged—calm and indifferent.
Did the other party not consider his behavior humiliating or provocative?
He had even prepared for the other to take action—
But the next moment, when Night spoke, Strabo quickly realized that this man was still the same, unchanged.
"Did you just say—these gold coins are now my property, correct?"
"That's right..."
"Very well. Because of your actions just now, my personal property has been damaged.
Although it has not reached the level of burning houses or grain, offenses that would warrant being bound, flogged, and burned alive,
I am now formally notifying you, Lord Strabo. Under Roman law, your actions just now desecrated my personal property, allowed it to be sullied by the earth, and even caused the side engraved with the sacred image of the Goddess of Victory to fall onto this filthy floor.
I now have the right to retaliate, to defend the sanctity of my property with my fists, and at the same time teach you, a heretic who has blasphemed the gods, how to repent."
...
"What?!"
Strabo reacted instantly.
If the other party had simply started a brawl, it would have been a fight.
But after saying all this, it became a judgment.
A perfectly legitimate beating. And the justification was complete nonsense.
"I didn't"
Bang.
Before he could finish his sentence, a fist slammed into his face and he collapsed unconscious on the spot, a massive panda black eye blooming around his socket.
Any words he wanted to use to defend himself never had the chance to leave his mouth.
Crassus, standing nearby, was completely dumbfounded.
The head of the Pompey family was just taken down like that?
A chill ran down Crassus's spine.
Gnaeus Pompey could no longer sit still.
Even though he was extremely calm and believed everything happening was a trap laid by the Marius faction, waiting for him to fall into it, seeing his father humiliated like this was something he simply could not tolerate.
From this day on, the Pompey family would become a complete joke.
However, as Pompey stood up, a fierce aura surged toward him. In the next instant, a hand pressed down on his shoulder.
With a heavy thud, Gnaeus Pompey was forced straight back into his seat, completely unable to move.
He looked up in shock at the figure before him, finally realizing the vast gap between them.
Impossible.
How could someone have such strength?
He was exerting all his power, yet he could not move even a fraction.
Even against Spartacus, he was confident he would never be suppressed to this extent.
But now
Seeing the man, Night smiled.
"Your father is already down. That means the only one here who can still speak for the Pompey family is you, correct?"
"Gnaeus, could I trouble you to properly count this property for me?"
"Fine."
After staring at him for a long moment, Gnaeus Pompey spat out a single word through clenched teeth.
He was terrified that he might be slapped with some fabricated legal charge next and get pinned to the floor and beaten.
He had no desire to end up like that disgraceful father of his, lying unconscious on the ground in broad daylight.
That would be far too humiliating.
A brute with strength was not frightening.
A brute who understood the law and refused to play by its conventions was.
This powerless experience made Gnaeus Pompey suddenly realize that Roman law was riddled with contradictions and loopholes.
Damn it.
What kind of people had originally drafted such a mess of laws?
After that, Gnaeus Pompey personally led his subordinates and household servants in counting the gold, enduring the humiliation.
Throughout the entire process, he remained calm and focused on the task at hand, which earned him a few more approving glances.
A man who could control his emotions was someone capable of great things.
Compared to him, his father fell far short.
After witnessing this entire spectacle, Crassus was filled with shock and admiration and his attitude toward Night afterward became noticeably more enthusiastic.
This man was insane.
He absolutely could not afford to offend him.
He had no desire to end up like the Pompey father and son, in such a miserable state.
Not to mention that when Pompey had suddenly turned hostile earlier, Night had stepped forward at once and placed himself in front of him, suppressing Pompey completely.
Crassus had already concluded that his support of Marius had been discovered and that Sulla intended to have him killed.
That made his gratitude toward the one who protected him deepen even further.
After the gold was counted, Night separated the portion used to purchase the slaves and handed it to Crassus.
In the end, Crassus wore a dazzling smile as he personally saw him off, even sending men to help transport the remaining gold.
After he left, Crassus turned around and his smile instantly froze.
Because he saw Gnaeus Pompey slowly drawing the sword from his waist.
Damn it.
Could it be that now that Lista Night had left, with no one protecting him anymore, they were planning to kill him?
As Crassus's scalp tingled with dread and fear, Gnaeus Pompey walked up to him.
Crassus still looked calm and composed on the surface, but inwardly his heart was beating so heavily...
And just then, in front of his very eyes,
Pompey suddenly thrust his sword into the ground and then said coldly, "Today's matter is not over."
"Remember this well. Money taken from the Pompey family is not so easily kept, Crassus."
With that, Pompey directly had his men support his father and left.
Crassus was left standing there, utterly baffled.
'Wait a second. When did I ever take money from the Pompey family?
I conducted legitimate business and received payment from Lista Night. How did that suddenly become your money?'
Crassus's face instantly turned alternating shades of blue and red with anger.
Even if it was the Pompey family, they could not bully people like this.
If you have the guts, go look for the real person involved.
Why threaten a businessman like me?
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that Sulla had discovered something and was deliberately using Pompey to target him.
Realizing he could not afford to sit and wait for death, Crassus hardened his heart and a vicious look flashed across his face.
It had originally been nothing more than a political investment.
'But since you insist on dragging me into the fire, do not blame me for completely throwing my lot in with Marius, Sulla.'
.
.
.