Twenty kilometers from the city of Capua, thousands of Roman soldiers were marching.
The army of the Consul Lucius Scipio was less than half a day away from the city of Capua.
A dozen horsemen, following the orders of Lucius, headed toward Septimus's military camp.
Consul Lucius intended to use the camp built by Septimus to accommodate his army. Afterwards, he would recruit all of Septimus's legions.
The Senate granted the consuls the right to forcibly recruit citizens from various regions. Although Roman citizens obtained the right to be exempt from military service after the reforms of Marius, Roman officials could still forcibly recruit citizens once authorized by the Senate.
Just as when Pompey later launched his expedition to suppress the pirates, the Senate granted him immense power.
Lucius's dozen horsemen were intercepted by Septimus's scouts.
When the Roman horseman who was in the front row was about to reveal his identity, a sharp crossbow bolt pierced his neck, taking his life quickly.
Before the other horsemen could react, a dozen crossbow bolts pierced their necks or various parts of their bodies, killing them instantly.
Rome had the technology to manufacture simple crossbows, and Septimus had contributed his modern knowledge to optimize the crafting of crossbows and equip his soldiers with them in large quantities. Crossbows were not very popular in Rome, but after Septimus's optimization it was likely that they would become well known.
After the wave of crossbow bolts, only four severely wounded soldiers remained alive.
The clone horsemen approached and stabbed them with their swords.
On the other hand, Septimus's five legions left the military camp and formed up in a valley near the city of Capua.
Septimus planned to intercept Scipio's army outside Capua and annihilate it.
The five legions spread out in square formations like a great black tide, waiting patiently.
Time moved forward slowly.
The prefect of the city of Capua also knew about the arrival of Consul Lucius Scipio, but the strange movements of Septimus made him uneasy.
It did not seem like a cordial welcome; the movements of Septimus's army indicated preparations for a great war.
The scouts of Consul Lucius soon arrived near the city of Capua.
The small skirmishes between scouts began with the attack of Septimus's light cavalry.
More than 20 Roman cavalry soldiers of Rome were killed by the cavalry in black armor.
The light cavalry soldiers who served as scouts were the first to realize that they were facing an enemy.
A captain of the scouts informed Consul Lucius Scipio about the strange situation.
"Lord Consul, my subordinates have reported an urgent situation near the city of Capua," said the cavalry captain with a serious expression.
Consul Lucius frowned. Since he had sent a delegation to Septimus's camp and received no response, he had begun to suspect something. Now Septimus's scouts were attacking his scouts.
"Gather all the Legion commanders immediately," Lucius shouted with a somber expression.
In a short time, the legion commanders gathered with gloomy expressions.
From Septimus's movements, it could be analyzed that they would face a great war.
"We must stop five kilometers away and form battle formations to face that traitor," said one of the commanders with a cold expression.
"I agree, everyone must prepare," Lucius said with fury.
Lucius was very angry about Septimus's blatant betrayal and the serious consequences it would have on the morale of the army of Rome.
After observing all the legion commanders, Lucius gave a small motivational speech. All nobles were excellent orators; they had received training in rhetoric since childhood and were experienced veterans. Giving a speech was as natural for them as eating and drinking.
The legion commanders dispersed to organize and give orders to their centurions and soldiers.
The skirmishes between the scouts of both sides intensified.
The prefect of Capua and the nobles also noticed the oppressive atmosphere and hid within the city walls.
Septimus had a total of 2,000 light cavalry soldiers that he used as scouts and 1,000 that he used as reserves.
On the other hand, Lucius's army had almost ten thousand cavalry soldiers who served as scouts or messengers.
The numerical difference between the number of scouts was enormous.
As the two armies approached, the scouts of both sides fought in quick small skirmishes, leaving behind corpses and agonizing wounded.
The clones who served as scouts had better skill on the battlefield but were outnumbered.
Soon the two armies were less than five kilometers apart.
Lucius was still angry, but now the priority was to defeat Septimus and give him an exemplary punishment so that all traitors who support Sulla would know the consequences of their actions.
The betrayal of Septimus and his soldiers deserved an exemplary punishment. His wealth would not be able to save Septimus from betraying Rome.
The punishments of ancient Rome were exceptionally cruel. In ancient times, Rome had only one form of punishment: the death penalty.
This was used to physically eliminate criminals for their violation of the social order.
However, the methods of executing criminals had a sacred character. During the execution, their hands were tied behind their backs, they were chained to a stake, stripped naked, tortured, and then laid on the ground before their heads were cut off with an axe. This practice was identical to the slaughter of animals for sacrifices, similar to offering sacrifices to the gods.
The Romans had the deeply rooted belief that execution was an insufficient punishment; torture was necessary before execution. The prisoner was subjected to severe torture in order to experience death beforehand; torture was a legally mandatory preparatory procedure for the death penalty, designed to prevent others from committing crimes again.
Caesar agreed with this opinion, believing that the death penalty was not a true punishment and that the real punishment for those facing death should begin with torture.
Rome had many forms of execution, such as crucifixion, the most common and ancient method.
Crucifixion here did not simply mean being nailed to a cross; it meant being crucified and whipped until death.
Many could not endure such torture before a crowd; death was, in fact, a release.
In addition to these, there are many other examples. For instance, arsonists are burned alive, and murderers—especially those who kill their relatives—are first brutally beaten, then placed inside a cowhide sack together with a snake, a rooster, a dog, or a monkey, sewn shut, and finally submerged in a river or in the sea.
Cicero, the father of lawyers, highly praised this method of executing a murderer of his own family, considering it a demonstration of exceptional wisdom.
The actions of Septimus are equivalent to the worst crime committed by a Roman: "treason against Rome."
The two armies slowly approached to three kilometers.
Lucius's army was twice as large as Septimus's army.
The scouts of both armies had withdrawn to the rear.
The skirmishes between scouts had been bloody.
Lucius had more scouts, but Septimus's scouts were true elites who could face multiple opponents.
The result of the clash between scouts was a draw.