Chapter 788 Marcus’s Gift

"So you also have an opponent who is also an assassin organization?" Zhang Heng asked.

"Yes, and because they were created by the traitors of the Balanced Blade, the organizational structure is very similar to the Balanced Blade. No, it should be said that except that there are no priests, they are almost a replica of the Balanced Blade, even the number of core members It's just like us." The old trainer said helplessly.

"Ah."

"Although they only have a history of two hundred years, they were supported by the ruler at that time, developed very quickly, and have always been against us. I should have waited for you to pass the test and join the Balance Blade before telling you these things, but In view of the current situation, you may indeed encounter them in the future, so I will give you an understanding in advance." Dadatis said, "In short, for your safety, it is best not to make public comments at any time. occasion to discuss the Blade of Balance.”

"Understood." Zhang Heng said.

"Very good, now I'll teach you how to hide in the crowd, so you know how to deal with the situation after going out." Dadatis said.

…………

For more than a month after that, Zhang Heng's life was very simple. The old trainer would come to him from time to time late at night and continue to teach him the assassin's fighting skills. During the day, he would go out and meet with several other gladiator schools. Play hide-and-seek with a free sparring partner you pay.

Because the old trainer had set a requirement for him not to do anything, Zhang Heng still spent a lot of effort to deal with the people who were following him at first. As he said himself, his appearance was very special in Rome, and he wanted to It is not easy to hide in the crowd, but Zhang Heng has another killer trick besides the stealth skills Dadatis gave him, which is his lv2 makeup technique. What surprised the old trainer is that Zhang Heng has no A self-taught teacher, under huge external pressure, he began to try to combine makeup and stealth to better help him hide his figure.

In addition, Zhang Heng also participated in four more gladiatorial performances, and won all four without exception, because each victory was very clean and neat, and coupled with Mark Rus's packaging methods, his The popularity has increased significantly in a short period of time.

Now almost the whole city of Rome knew that there was a very powerful orientalist coming to Victory Arena.

Zhang Heng also got the nickname Black Lightning. He has received more than a hundred love letters these days. Marcus watched the arena, whose attendance had been declining since Sisnates, fill up again. Everyone was so happy that they couldn’t open their mouths from ear to ear.

But soon, another thing took over everyone's attention.

That is when the new emperor of Rome, His Majesty Commodus, finally returned from the front.

The Antoninus dynasty, starting from Nevaval, experienced five virtuous kings, but what is interesting is that the first four of these five emperors had no heirs to inherit the throne, so they all chose to adopt adopted sons with outstanding moral character and ability to inherit the throne. It was passed down to his adopted son, and it was not until Aurelius that he had a son named Commodus.

Strictly speaking, Commodus was not Aurelius's first son. Aurelius had had four sons before Commodus, but unfortunately the eldest only lived to be 11 years old, so Furstin Na gave birth to a pair of twins for Aurelius. The elder brother died at the age of 4, and the younger brother was Commodus.

After that, Aurelius welcomed his seventh son Marcus. Marcus was appointed as his heir at the age of 4 and died of illness at the age of 7. In the end, Commodus became Aurelius' only living son.

This may sound a bit miserable, but considering that none of Aurelius's four predecessors ended up having sons to succeed him, Aurelius was in pretty good shape.

Moreover, the philosopher emperor had already sensed that his end was coming before he died of illness, and began to train his only heir. When he went to conquer the Germans, he took Commodus with him and personally taught Commodus how to handle government affairs and leadership. He went to war with the army to gain military support, and also arranged a marriage between Commodus and Crispina. The latter came from a famous family in Rome. Her father had served as consul twice and was in the Senate. Possessing considerable influence, Aurelius envisioned that Crispina would become the link between Commodus and the Senate, and this marriage would also help Commodus further consolidate his rule.

However, Aurelius did not expect that his illness was more serious than imagined. In the end, he was not able to teach Commodus for a longer time. Commodus was only nineteen years old when he died.

And now, this young man who was just about to start his sophomore year in college took over the scepter from his father and became the new ruler of the entire Roman Empire.

With his almost saint-like father in front, and the four previous heroes, people are looking forward to how the new emperor will perform, especially when he returns to the center of imperial power.

Commodus did not disappoint his people. On the second day after returning to Rome, he announced at the coronation ceremony that a grand gladiatorial performance would be held to reward the army and gain the support of the people.

The young man, who had just turned twenty, had not forgotten his father's teachings that bread and circus performances were essential to a king's rule, and his generous move immediately welcomed the cheers and support of the people. .

At the same time, the Senate, which was responsible for preparing for this gladiatorial performance, also began to take action. Relevant notices and documents were distributed to various gladiator schools. Not only gladiator schools in Rome, but also gladiator schools in other cities also received invitations.

There is no doubt that this will be a feast for everyone to participate in gladiator performances.

"Look, this is a new weapon that I got specially for you."

That afternoon, Marcus suddenly came to visit and brought a gift, which were two Persian swords. However, rather than being said to be swords, their shapes were actually closer to knives. They were considered the originators of the Damascus sword in later generations.

The two knives brought by Marcus were obviously much more sophisticated than the traditional weapons. Roman weapons in this era had begun to use a large amount of iron and steel. However, because it was difficult to control the carbon content, the quality of the swords was generally inferior. Difference.

However, the two Persian swords brought by Marcus this time can indeed be regarded as high-quality products. Not only are they sharp enough, but what is even more rare is that they do not have the shortcomings of other sharp weapons. They are also very hard. The craftsmanship is somewhat similar to This is the practice of later samurai swords, using high carbon steel to wrap low carbon steel, which can perfectly combine the advantages of both.

I just don’t know if the caster came up with it randomly or if he really mastered some magical casting method.

Zhang Heng prefers the former, otherwise the quality of weapons in Rome could be improved to a higher level.