A week passed quickly.
Inside a dilapidated hut, the sailor clone got up from his straw bed.
The dilapidated hut looked as though it could collapse at any moment.
The sailor clone showed no change in expression and put on the leather-and-cloth armor that was nearby.
Dionysius was an opportunistic noble, and without being able to confirm the Roman slave's identity, he did not want to mistreat him.
The dilapidated hut was a luxury compared to the communal residences of the other slaves.
The sailor clone was not demanding and showed no displeasure with the living conditions.
Each passing day meant the arrival of reinforcements.
The sailor clone could easily escape from Dionysius' villa, but it was unnecessary.
The city of Crocodilopolis was a typical city full of filth and constant crime.
The sailor clone had excellent combat skills, but he was also a human being with basic needs for food and rest in order to maintain an optimal combat condition.
Regardless of the sailor clone's abilities, the chances of dying would be very high if he faced various opponents while hungry and exhausted.
On the other hand, the sailor clone could live in Dionysius' villa and serve as a location anchor for the clone riders who were approaching.
Although Dionysius had inadvertently revealed his location, nothing was certain until the city could be fully recognized and the location confirmed with certainty.
The sailor clone put on the simple armor and followed a group of militiamen.
The work of the militia group was simple and consisted of protecting a wine shop or guarding grain fields.
Egypt was considered an agricultural nation, and before rampant piracy in the Mediterranean, Egyptian nobles exported grain to Rome and other kingdoms.
The work of protecting the shop and the fields could be considered very simple, but the climate and the long hours of meaningless watch duty were extremely exhausting for the guards.
The militiamen rested or gambled with games of chance while standing guard.
Bandit groups did not operate frequently near the city, and attacking a great noble was not very profitable due to the security.
The peaceful life and routine did not weaken Septimus' determination for revenge.
Far from the city of Crocodilopolis.
The 30 clone riders stopped in front of a road surrounded by trees on both sides.
The small forest crossing the road was not very large, but it offered excellent cover for launching an ambush.
The clone riders dismounted from their horses in unison.
The light leather armor beneath the clones' clothing created a misleading impression.
The clone riders looked like experienced bandits, and during the journey, small and medium-sized groups of bandits did not dare provoke them.
But there are always exceptions, and Septimus had learned to be cautious and not underestimate the audacity and cunning of the people of this era.
The 20 clones slowly approached the small forest with their weapons drawn.
The remaining 10 clones were tasked with taking care of and watching the horses.
The clones could easily supplement their numbers through replication, but the horses were valuable assets, and losing them would cause major losses to the group.
The 20 clones advanced in an attack formation.
The closer the clones got to the forest, the more they could sense figures clumsily hidden behind trees or in the bushes.
Suddenly, a swift arrow was fired and pierced the eye of a clone warrior, killing him instantly.
Dozens of armed men emerged from the forest and ran to confront the clone warriors.
The clone warriors did not lose momentum and also charged to confront the enemy.
After 30 minutes.
Half of the clone warriors died, and the bandits lost dozens of men before finally retreating.
The bandits were numerous, but in the end they were still a mob with little combat effectiveness and little will to fight.
On the other hand, the clone warriors, with their incredible determination in battle, did not fear death and, consequently, were more fearless when facing the enemy.
The confrontation was brief, but dozens of corpses lay on the ground.
The surviving clone warriors cleaned the battlefield with expressionless faces.
14 clone warriors were lost during the brief confrontation.
9 clone warriors died directly during the battle, and the remaining 5 were left severely wounded with no possibility of continuing the journey.
After a quick cleanup, the clone warriors advanced until they found a safe place to camp.
In a wasteland filled with dry trees, the group of clone warriors stopped and began activating their replication ability.
16 new clone warriors joined the journey and quickly dressed in leather armor and took simple weapons.
One clone warrior gathered the coins looted from the bandits' corpses.
Gold and silver were strong currencies throughout all the kingdoms around the Mediterranean.
The group of clone warriors did not carry many supplies in order to avoid slowing down the journey, but they had enough money to buy provisions along the way.
Egypt was a dynasty with a highly developed noble social class, and relying on looting would be very inefficient.
After a day of rest, the group of clone riders broke camp and continued advancing.
Two days passed quickly, and the group of clone warriors finally arrived at the city of Crocodilopolis.
Inside Dionysius' villa, the sailor clone was teaching combat to a group of militiamen.
The sailor clone's combat experience and skills earned him recognition among the most capable bodyguards of the villa, and consequently, he became a combat instructor.
The sailor clone paused briefly and observed the area surrounding the villa for two minutes.
Time passed slowly, and a group of riders approached the villa gate at a gallop.
The alarm sounded, and the villa sentries beat drums or used flutes to alert all the soldiers protecting the villa.
The militiamen training in the courtyard under the sailor clone's instruction also stopped and ran directly to the armory.
At the villa gate, soldiers and militiamen gradually gathered.
The dark-skinned, sturdy man was shouting orders and organizing the defending soldiers who kept arriving.
The group of intruding riders stopped 100 meters from the villa while they waited for the defending soldiers to form up.
Thirty minutes passed, and finally the villa guards outnumbered the intruding riders by three to one.
The dark-skinned man, with a serious expression, walked 20 steps forward.
"This is the property of a great noble, and any attempt at looting will be considered an atrocious crime!" shouted the dark-skinned man in a language unknown to the clone riders.
A clone rider advanced while mounted on his horse.
"Do you speak Latin?"
The sudden words surprised the dark-skinned man.
"Are you Romans?" the dark-skinned man asked in Latin with a strong local accent.
"We are legionaries of General Septimus Novius the Decapitator, and we came for the purpose of retrieving a legion captain and noble of Rome," said the rider, repeating each word slowly.
The dark-skinned man understood most of the words, and his expression became surprised as he remembered the Roman slave with excellent combat skills.
The supposed identity of the Roman slave had spread among the servants and guards throughout the villa.
When the sailor clone revealed his identity to Dionysius, there had been half a dozen slaves inside the room.
Most of the slaves and guards were indifferent, and the news about the true identity of the newly purchased slave became a joke and a desperate attempt to attract the master's attention.