Three days passed quickly.
In the middle of the night, more than 500 men in black armor advanced slowly toward the estate of the Licinius family.
Licinius had underestimated the resentful Septimus and quickly forgot about the matter, immersing himself in the pleasures of wine and women, leaving for another day the task entrusted by his sick father.
On the other hand, Lucius's health had worsened after arguing with his son and feeling deeply disappointed; Lucius hoped to recover a little in order to ask his friend Marcus to mediate in the dispute with Septimus.
The dispute between Licinius and Septimus, for the experienced Lucius, was just child's play that was not worth escalating unnecessarily into a bloody conflict.
Both father and son did not consider the idea of being attacked in the middle of the night by Septimus. They were nobles and had unwritten rules, and the small dispute with Septimus did not deserve a bloody revenge.
The 500 men in black armor were dispersed while they slowly surrounded the villa; they were clone soldiers and part of Septimus's will.
Advancing slowly toward the mansion, the clone soldiers divided as they surrounded the place.
In the middle of the night, the slaves slept deeply, and only a few trusted men of the family were in charge of watching the slaves and were responsible for the security of the mansion.
The estate of Licinius had only 30 guards fully equipped with classic Roman military gear, along with 60 trusted slaves in charge of various tasks, who only carried swords, daggers, and whips.
The black-armored soldiers, like wolves lying in wait, easily killed the few peripheral sentinels without making much noise.
The black-armored soldiers silently entered the wooden houses of the slaves, beginning a clean slaughter of the sleeping slaves, sparing no one.
As the black-armored soldiers advanced along their bloody path, the restless dogs were the first to notice, and the barking began to wake the people sleeping in the mansion.
The screams in the middle of the night became increasingly clear, and the slaves were the first to realize the attack of the black-armored soldiers.
Suddenly, cries and pleas erupted that alarmed Lucius and Licinius, who were in the main residence.
"What is happening, why is there so much noise?" shouted Lucius at the slaves with an impatient expression for being awakened.
"Master, we are being attacked," said a slave with panic in his voice while trying to carry Lucius.
"Damn it," roared Lucius angrily while the slaves carried him hurriedly to escape.
Lucius did not know who the enemy was; now the highest priority was to flee. The slaves also hurriedly took Licinius out of his room.
The estate of the Licinius family turned into a slaughterhouse, with cries of lament everywhere.
Five black-armored soldiers intercepted Lucius and his son, who were trying to escape with a group of slaves.
Of the seven slaves protecting the father and son, only three dropped their weapons and began to beg, while the other four advanced and were easily killed.
The slaves, with simple daggers or low-quality short swords, were no match for the clone soldiers.
A clone guard in black armor recognized Licinius and approached to take him hostage. Another clone guard dodged a spear while his sword cut the neck of a slave.
The father and son were defenseless against the clone soldiers and were easily subdued.
Septimus recognized Licinius but did not recognize his father.
The slaves protected Lucius with ferocity, and Septimus decided to take him hostage.
While Lucius and Licinius were carried like packages and taken out of the mansion, they could see the hellish scene outside.
The black-armored soldiers had begun a massacre and were cutting off the heads of all the corpses while stacking them, forming a small mound.
On the other hand, there were black-armored soldiers in charge of searching for spears or wooden poles within the estate.
Finally, a group of black-armored soldiers was responsible for driving the heads of the dead onto spears into the ground, forming a forest of human heads.
The scene was chilling.
Lucius and Licinius, completely terrified, forgot to ask questions or scream.
The cleanup of the battlefield took two hours, and the black-armored soldiers silently left the estate before sunrise.
The estate suddenly became silent, and a small forest of spears with human heads adorned the place.
The assault on the estate began quickly and silently and ended in the same way.
Lucius and Licinius were taken as guests to the newly built torture dungeon.
Septimus observed that arrogant young man who had insulted him at the banquet. He had promised Cornelia that he would not kill him, and as a man who keeps his word, he would only imprison him and torture him.
The clone soldiers threw cold water on the father and son, who were terrified, waking them from their stupor.
"Who are you? Bandit, you will be pursued by Rome," shouted Lucius hysterically, forgetting his weakness from illness. All his slaves and guards were dead, and hatred was evident in his eyes.
"Hahaha, ask your son," replied Septimus with amusement.
Licinius, awakened from fear, also looked at Septimus, unable to believe what had happened.
Lucius realized that this young man was Septimus. His state of mind became complicated, unable to process the recent events, shedding tears of hatred and despair.
"Kill us at once to avoid humiliation," said Lucius with a resentful look in his eyes, recovering quickly from the shock and wishing that everything were a nightmare.
"Kill you? Why? You are my guests, and it would be very discourteous not to show you my torture room," said Septimus with a mocking grimace on his face.
Lucius's expression showed panic; he was an elderly noble who could not bear the idea of being tortured.
The clone guards tied Lucius and Licinius into the torture devices.
Ten minutes passed, and the screams of the two men were shrill and unbearable, like music to Septimus's ears.
Septimus withdrew to amuse himself with his women while the clones tortured Lucius and Licinius.
Enjoying the screams of pain of the people he disliked would become a new pleasure for Septimus.
After two days, the news of the attack on the mansion of the Licinius family was known throughout Capua.
The nobility of Capua knew that Septimus was the culprit, but no one dared to accuse him, and the evidence was not sufficient.
Offending Septimus for the sake of an extinguished family was not worth it for the pragmatic nobles of the city of Capua.
Hundreds of heads impaled on poles or spears were found within the estate of the Licinius family, as if it were a forest, leaving people with ill intentions completely terrified.
Marcus did not dare to seek answers from Septimus for fear of irritating him.
The council of Capua did not insist on investigating the matter and tacitly agreed that the attack on the Licinius family was committed by bandits or ruthless pirates.
The situation in Capua calmed quickly, and many nobles who had malicious intentions against Septimus changed their attitude.
Fabius was in Capua gathering information about the nobles who planned to attack Septimus's caravans when he learned the news of the destruction of the Licinius family and began to break out in a cold sweat.
With such a ruthless and unscrupulous master, Fabius was afraid of failing him and being killed.
The investigation into the nobles who planned to attack Septimus was blocked after the incident of the Licinius family; very few nobles had the courage to offend a madman.
Two days passed, and Cornelia visited Septimus's villa to ask.
Cornelia and Septimus did not need words and kissed directly upon finding themselves alone.
After having sexual relations, Cornelia, completely naked, lay on Septimus's chest while pretending to be angry.
"You promised me that you would not kill Licinius," said Cornelia with feigned anger while pinching Septimus.
"I kept my promise and did not kill him," replied Septimus indifferently while his hands played with Cornelia's breasts.
"All of Capua, the upper class, knows that you have destroyed the Licinius family," said Cornelia angrily.
Cornelia and her husband Marcus knew Licinius's father and considered him an ally and a friend.
"I promised that I would not kill Licinius; I said nothing about capturing him and torturing him," replied Septimus indifferently.
"Where are Licinius and Lucius?" asked Cornelia. It would be good to be able to rescue Lucius.
"Lucius unfortunately did not endure the torture and died last night; on the other hand, Licinius has become a good pet," replied Septimus with a smile.
"It is a pity about Lucius," said Cornelia with regret.
Cornelia only valued Lucius; she did not care about the life or death of Licinius, the arrogant and stupid son.