Crazy! This man is absolutely crazy!
The elders never dreamed that today's situation would come to pass.
They used to be so untouchable, like the Five Elder Stars of the Celestial Dragons, standing at the top of the empire and doing whatever they wanted, enjoying great glory.
They had the power to veto even the opinions of Rome's highest consuls.
Countless wealthy businessmen and landlords knelt before them and kissed the backs of their feet, while the common people were not even qualified to kiss them.
But today, they were being forcibly subdued by a group of civilian soldiers and dragged out of the sacred conference hall like prisoners?
Their noble manners, pride, and dignity seemed to have disappeared in an instant.
They were held by the soldiers, struggling and roaring with red faces! Due to their backgrounds, they couldn't even utter a few vulgar words.
But for retired soldiers who had been scraping by on the streets for years after retirement, this level of insult was nothing more than a drizzle.
They didn't care at all, and were even excited at the chance to use force against the top nobles with their own hands.
Grass—!!!
It's so satisfying, isn't it?!
These were the senators of the Senate.
In the past, just looking at them from afar would make them nervous, for fear of offending the high-ranking nobles.
If they dared to so much as harm them a little, civilians would likely be so scared they would consider suicide on the spot.
But now, these nobles were being picked up and captured like chickens.
After following Night, seeing blood all along the way, and even personally executing a "young noble," many soldiers had become much braver, as if they had released the devils in their hearts.
The once supreme Roman aristocrats before them now looked impotent and furious, and to the soldiers, it seemed that this was just the natural order of things.
The image of "gods" in their minds had collapsed—
It turned out that when the senators of the Senate faced the riots of thousands of Roman people, they could be reduced to such an embarrassing situation.
One soldier who enjoyed humiliating others even looked at a well-preserved elderly nobleman with delicate skin and just went up and slapped the other man's butt. The elder, who had been shouting that these evil soldiers should be punished by law, widened his eyes and his neck turned even redder.
This naked humiliation—! How could he tolerate it?!
"You dirty pariah!!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Unknown Elder, my friend was just playing a little joke on you.
But—did I hear you call him a pariah?
What vulgar words! It's hard to believe that such language would come from the mouth of a senator in the democratic and republican Roman Senate.
In your eyes, are all the civilians present here the untouchables you mentioned?"
Suddenly, the people who had been waiting outside for so long became even more excited and angry at Night's words.
Some of the higher-ups even shouted that the elder should be executed...
It seemed the rumors were true. These Roman upper-class senators had long been corrupt.
They enjoyed the wealth their husbands, brothers, and nephews earned by fighting on the front lines, bred corruption, and made the people pay for it, forcing them to endure miserable lives.
The poor's hatred of the rich, coupled with the influence of rumors, led many civilians dissatisfied with their lives to blame all their suffering on the Senate.
Even civilians with relatively normal lives couldn't help but blame the Senate for trivial dissatisfactions.
If the Senate had not embezzled a large amount of wealth, surely their lives would be much better than they are now, right?!
As expected—it was all the Senate's fault!
As the situation escalated, it seemed likely that this could turn into a full-blown Roman uprising.
The elders looked at the surging crowd before them, and even the old-time senators who had kept their composure until now began to panic.
Suddenly, a powerful senator spotted a group of Roman soldiers maintaining public order.
He noticed these soldiers were not retired but were clearly dressed as Roman defenders.
He shouted, "What are you still doing?!
Soldier—!!
Come and protect us and get us out of here!"
When the other elders saw the city's defending army, a hint of hope flashed in their eyes.
That was a relief… There had been no one to help them until now.
When the Roman regular army arrived, they would surely capture and punish this devil, Lista Night.
At the very least, they could help the senators escape before these people turned violent…
The senators never imagined they would be blocked by the people in their own stronghold, the Roman capital.
If they could just return to their families and mobilize their private armies, they had a hundred ways to make Lista Night's life miserable.
However—
When the elders called for help, the soldiers outside seemed to have heard something, but only glanced back briefly before pretending not to see anything and continuing to maintain public order.
This scene immediately gave the elders a bad feeling.
One of the senators had an idea and immediately offered a large sum as a reward for anyone willing to help him escape.
But no one took him up on the offer.
It turned out that long before this popular riot, Night had already contacted the defense forces in the Roman city and brought their current leader into his camp.
Roman soldiers' salaries were notoriously low, and they were not treated as people at all.
Night had sent people to find the relatives of civilian officers, who weren't living well, and persuaded them to support him. He then informed the soldiers of the benefits they would receive in the future after the reforms were completed with him.
It was like forming unions in later times, uniting soldiers and giving them a voice.
The soldiers were not foolish; they knew who to support.
As for the bribes offered by the elders at this moment—
There were always greedy individuals, but who would dare to help the Senate in this tense atmosphere?
With rioting people, retired soldiers, and even their comrades watching closely, who would dare to risk disgrace and side with the Senate?
Even if a Greek hero were resurrected, he would be unable to help these elders.
When they realized the soldiers seemed to have been "won over" and were no longer on their side,
The elders' expressions became ferocious.
Crazy!
So crazy!
These lunatics!
The people were crazy, the soldiers were crazy! Even the elders themselves were going mad.
They saw at least a thousand people glaring at them, their eyes wild with anger, roaring and shouting as though they wanted to tear the elders to pieces.
The intensity of the crowd's fury even caused these seasoned leaders to feel a chill.