Night arrived, and the battle between the two armies had been suspended.
Inside the city of Capua, the commanders and centurions of the Roman army tried by every means to maintain the basic order of the Roman army.
Chaos reigned within the city, and as a consequence it became almost impossible for the commanders to count the exact number of casualties.
The city of Capua could not provide lodging for thousands of soldiers in a short time.
The tired Roman soldiers looked for places to stay in the houses of freedmen and citizens of the city. Conflicts began to arise between the population of the city and the Roman soldiers.
Thousands of completely exhausted Roman soldiers chose to rest in the streets of the city. The city of Capua presented a scene of soldiers sleeping in the middle of the street or dozens of soldiers sleeping in a small dilapidated house.
On the other hand, the centurions tried to maintain order within the Roman army.
Lucius rested in a noble house while waiting for the result of the losses of his army. His original troops totaled 10 legions and 10,000 light cavalry soldiers, a total of 60,000 soldiers.
After an intense confrontation and the large number of soldiers who died on the battlefield, the number of soldiers who had died should be considerable.
Lucius was angry about the result of the battle and the heavy losses; regardless of victory or defeat, the battle would represent a hard blow to the morale of Cinna's faction.
While Lucius observed a map of the region of Campania, the sound of footsteps slowly approached.
The legion commanders gathered to discuss strategy with Lucius and report the losses.
After a few minutes of silence, a young noble slowly stood up.
The young noble was called Marcus Junius Brutus, the father of Brutus (one of the assassins of Julius Caesar). The young Marcus, as tribune of the plebs, raised troops for the Marian faction with the purpose of confronting Sulla.
"Consul, we have not been able to determine the exact number of losses, but we suppose that we have lost almost 15,000 soldiers and between 4,000 and 5,000 cavalry scouts," Marcus said with a solemn expression.
The battle had been very intense, and the subsequent strategic withdrawal prevented the wounded soldiers from being transported to the city of Capua.
Many wounded soldiers who could not walk were directly abandoned to their fate.
Lucius frowned after hearing the number of Roman soldiers lost. The amount exceeded his expectations.
The commanders were also slightly surprised by the cruelty of the battle.
"Organize the lodging and rest of the soldiers. Tomorrow we will regroup the soldiers and assault the camp of those traitorous scum," Lucius said while grinding his teeth with resentment.
The legion commanders slowly withdrew.
Lucius made a gesture to his personal assistant.
"Inform Septimus that I wish to negotiate and reach an agreement. We are family and commercial allies, and confronting each other will bring no benefits," Lucius said with a calculating expression.
After the battle, Consul Lucius suspected the alliance between Septimus and Sulla.
On the other hand, if Lucius and Septimus joined Sulla, the chances of conquering Rome would be very high. Lucius could maintain his position as consul by taking advantage of his family legacy and the support of Septimus as a relative.
Although Septimus also had an army, he could not become consul. Following Lucius's reasoning, the only option Septimus had to maximize his benefits was to support him as consul.
Lucius was very confident about the negotiations because there was no irreconcilable hatred between Septimus and the Scipio family, and with years of commercial collaboration and marital union, it could be said that the Scipio family and Septimus had solid foundations for cooperation.
While the Roman soldiers rested chaotically inside the city of Capua, the situation inside Septimus's camp was different.
The clone soldiers, as if they were machines, quickly organized themselves and occupied their places of rest and watch.
Septimus did not need to gather centurions or commanders to know the situation of his own army.
The casualties of the clone army were 3,845 soldiers dead and 1,345 wounded, a total of 5,190 soldiers considered casualties, with the wounded incapable of participating in the subsequent battle.
The battle eliminated a complete legion from Septimus's army.
The night passed quickly, and the first rays of the morning sun began to illuminate the battlefield.
The crows, like messengers of death, flew around the battlefield.
Septimus's army and the Roman army did not have time to clean the battlefield, resulting in a hellish scene that became a feast for the crows.
The clone soldiers, like programmed machines, organized themselves into groups to have breakfast and equip themselves.
The clone army, like a black tide, was ready to finish the battle from the previous day.
The gates of the city of Capua opened slightly, and a rider on horseback approached Septimus's camp at full speed.
The rider approached to within 100 meters of the camp when he was met by a dozen crossbow bolts. It was Lucius's personal assistant carrying an important message for Septimus.
Septimus had no intention of negotiating; the entire region of Campania had to be conquered and purified. It was not necessary to engage in negotiations with the nobles of the city or with a consul of Rome.
Over the years, Septimus's personality had become irascible and bloodthirsty, like a volcano about to erupt.
The connection of experiences between the clones resulted in every trace of kindness that Septimus had as a modern person being eliminated.
From the walls of the city of Capua, Lucius's expression became ugly as he witnessed the death of his messenger.
On the other hand, the prefect and the nobles of the city of Capua organized the food for the Roman legionaries.
Time passed slowly without Lucius attempting to send more messengers.
The gates of Septimus's camp opened, and nearly 20,000 soldiers in black armor, following an orderly formation, began to come out.
Hundreds of soldiers in black armor separated from the formation and began to clean the battlefield while large bonfires were lit and the corpses were burned in small piles.
Lucius observed the situation on the battlefield with a somber expression and gave the order for the Roman soldiers to leave the city.
It would be a disgrace for a Consul of Rome to be besieged by an enemy with inferior numbers.
As a member of the Scipio family, Lucius would rather die than be stigmatized as a coward by all of Rome.
The Roman army began to regroup inside the city of Capua and slowly march out.
Many soldiers and nobles of the army also contemplated the idea of surrendering, but Septimus's reputation was not comparable to that of Sulla.
In the original history, Lucius's army mutinied and surrendered to Sulla without offering resistance.
Adding to this that Lucius's army outnumbered Septimus's army.
Almost 20,000 soldiers of Septimus against nearly 35,000 Roman soldiers. The difference was almost double.
The Roman army slowly began to regroup on the battlefield, and with the shouts of the centurions the formation began to solidify.
A new day began with the continuation of a bloody battle.