Maximus had some knowledge of Matthiad, as he was the one who took the letter written by Kefisofon and sailed a pirate ship to deliver the message to several City States in Greece. Among the invited figures, only the destitute Matthiad accepted the invitation. Despite his disheveled appearance and eccentric demeanor, Maximus dared not underestimate him, for Matthiad was a renowned scholar in Alexandria, highly respected by many. Yet, he never imagined that his own child would ultimately become his student.

In fact, over the past few years, as Maximus spent more time at the iron mines, frequently traveling to the Nix Tribe, he no longer allowed Rochemnix to serve as the liaison.

Thinking of his son's well-being, he also did not have him return to the mountains, and both parties tacitly ignored this matter, allowing Rochemnix, who was not a Nix tribesman, to stay in Ophelia…

"Father, you wouldn't come here this late just to see me, right? Is there something happening with the tribe?" Rochemnix's question interrupted Maximus's musings.

Gathering his thoughts, he told Rochemnix about the situation—"due to the Roman siege, the inability to continue raiding at sea, Budocaribas and others persuading him to lead the tribesmen to relocate to the Nix Territory"—and then asked, "My child, do you think I should follow their suggestion?"

Rochemnix thought for a moment and instead of answering directly, asked, "Father, what was your reason for becoming a pirate back then?"

"At that time, our tribesmen couldn't even eat their fill, and I had to become a pirate so they could have a better life," Maximus replied without hesitation.

"So, relocating the tribesmen to the Nix Territory—will it make their lives better or worse?" Rochemnix continued to ask.

"I've visited Budocaribas's tribe a few times, and the lives of all his tribesmen were even better than before the Segestica people invaded the Kupa River. If I lead our tribesmen to migrate here, the situation should be the same," Maximus replied honestly, with an involuntary trace of excitement in his voice.

"Then what are you hesitating for!" Rochemnix taunted, "Is it because you value the leader's power more than the improvement in your tribesmen's lives?!"

"Nonsense!" Maximus immediately cursed, "If I valued the leader's position, I wouldn't spend more than half the year roaming the sea! Not only do I have to risk being chased by Roman warships and having my ships destroyed by storms, but I also worry from time to time about whether there will be problems in the tribe due to the long periods without news from you—"

Maximus abruptly closed his mouth, his features relaxing. Those few words of venting cleared the block in his heart: since he did not care about the leader's power and wanted the tribesmen's lives to improve, relocating the tribe to Nix was the best choice!

"Thank you for the reminder, my good child. I'll start preparing for the tribe's relocation once I return!" Maximus said with determination.

"Father," Rochemnix said with equal determination, "I want to join the Nix Tribe!"

Maximus was not surprised. Over the years, Rochemnix had stayed in Nix and never expressed a desire to return to the tribe. Every time they reunited, his son talked mostly about his studies and life in Nix. Maximus had long known what was on his child's mind.

"If you want to join, then join!" Maximus looked at his second son: He had not only come of age but also possessed wisdom far beyond his own, and he would surely excel more than himself in the future!

.....................

In early September, the Nix Tribe had another bountiful harvest, but the tribesmen did not celebrate extensively. They hurriedly completed the wheat harvest, quickly threshed the wheat, paid their land taxes to the Commerce Department, and then focused all their energy on the upcoming war.

By the end of September, the Political Affairs Hall issued a "military mobilization" decree, and the responsible personnel in the Military Department of each Nix Tribal region began summoning soldiers according to the previous plan…

In early October, Maximus personally led the First Legion, Third Legion, Fourth Legion, and the cavalry brigade totaling twenty thousand men.

In the previous war with the Pannonians, the crossbowmen demonstrated great power. Later, after discussing with the Chief of the Ministry of War, Maximus decided to add a crossbow unit of five hundred men to each legion. In addition, through the accumulation over the years, the number of warhorses increased significantly, temporally organized into a brigade of five hundred men.

The army set out from Ophelia East Village, marching south along the east bank of the Sava River.

At the same time, two hundred warships of the Nix Fleet, under the command of Anfeltaas, also left the Ophelia River Port, heading downstream.

Accompanying the fleet were several hundred ships organized by Arms Officer Lebilus, carrying not only military provisions and supplies but also auxiliary personnel like the Engineering Camp, as well as parts for various siege weapons they brought along.

On the same day, the Second Legion and Fourth Legion, assembled in Westeni, under the command of Legion Commander Torrelugo, advanced downstream along the south bank of the Kupa River.

Meanwhile, twenty warships and several hundred supply ships also departed from the Snowdonia River Port, sailing downstream along the Kupa River.

This time, the Nix Tribe mobilized a total of thirty thousand troops (excluding auxiliary personnel). But after the main force left, the defense within the tribe was not empty. The number of reserve soldiers from the tribesmen in the Kupa River area was enough to form at least one legion, and in the Ophelia area, they could, if necessary, form two more legions. Adding Budocaribas's and Xisaites's tribal armies, securing the territory was not an issue at all.

Moreover, the Nix Tribe maintained friendly relations with all its neighboring regions, even with Desitia, which was part of the Pannonian Tribe Alliance east of the Nix Territory; they had signed a truce agreement with Nix and had not harassed the territory for many years.

Just like last time, Maximus entrusted Nexia to take charge at the center, with Volenus as the main figure working together with the other Chief Officers of the Political Affairs Hall to handle tribal affairs.

Without any worries about the rear, he led the army out of the territory. As soon as they entered the Gonami Lake Region, Adatis came forward with the tribal leaders and tribesmen around Gonami Lake, all bowing to welcome them and jointly announced joining the Nix Tribe.

The powerful and majestic Nix Tribal army and fleet thoroughly extinguished the glimmers of hope in the few people from Gonami Lake.

Lebilus incorporated the fleet and personnel provided by Adatis and other leaders into the logistics team, appointing several experienced veterans to manage this team at various levels as team officers, ensuring strict and consistent management.

In the fall, the weather was dry with little rain. The soil on the east bank of Gonami Lake dried up, and the roads hardened, making marching on land easier. The Nix army smoothly left Gonami Lake and entered the Brochi Territory.

Not far south of Gonami Lake is the confluence of the Sava and Kupa Rivers. The sediments carried by the river from upstream have formed a fertile plain here, though also creating expansive mudflats. Over the past ten years, Bricks led his tribesmen in continually transforming and cultivating this area, turning it into the granary of Brochi Territory, with villages clustered at the confluence of the two rivers.

However, when the Nix army stepped onto this land, the villages had all become ruins, while a large camp towered on the west bank at the confluence of the two rivers.

Initially, Bricks convinced the Pannonian Tribe Alliance to form a large army, attempting to obliterate the newly risen Nix Tribe, only to suffer a crushing defeat. Especially in the battle at the Kolana River Hills, the Brochi army lost over ten thousand of their young tribesmen (either perished in battle or were captured), severely weakening their strength.

The Nix army soon eradicated Segestica, which further alarmed Bricks. He once attempted to create chaos in the north, hoping to trap the Nix people in endless conflict with the Segestica people, weakening their strength and preventing them from focusing on other concerns. Yet, Nix quickly stabilized the Segestica Territory's order and easily thwarted the teams he sent to disrupt them.

To make matters worse, following that defeat, the Panoni Alliance Army, following the Boyi people, engaged in battle with the Dacians and suffered another defeat. The Boyi people blamed the Pannonians for their lack of effort in the war, believing: that it was due to the Pannonian army retreating without a fight that the Boyi Alliance Army's flank was exposed. The Pannonians were the culprits of the war failure and demanded compensation.

The Boyi demanded that the Pannonians cede the land north of the Delaware River to them, to accommodate the Boyi people from east of the Danube River, displaced by the Dacian victory.

Needless to say, the Pannonian Tribe Alliance rejected such an unreasonable demand, refusing flatly.

Subsequently, the brief alliance between the two sides fractured within a year, and war erupted.

Previously, the Boyi and Pannonians had numerous conflicts, with the Boyi being considerably stronger overall, but focusing most of their efforts on expanding the territory east of the Danube River. Meanwhile, the Pannonian Tribe Alliance was united as one force, dedicated entirely to resisting them, maintaining a balance between the two.

This time, however, the Boyi's desire to expand into the east of the Danube Plains was utterly shattered by the Dacians. To ensure that their fellow tribesmen who had lost their homes could find new lands successfully, they shifted their full attention to war against the Pannonians. Due to the severe depletion of their strength in the previous war with Nix, the Pannonian Tribe Alliance struggled to resist the Boyi onslaught under such unfavorable conditions.

Ultimately, the tribesmen of the three major Pannonian tribes—Desitia, Disone, and Perustai—living on the east bank of the Delaware River, painfully abandoned their homes, fleeing disgracefully back to the west bank. The Boyi people seized all the land east of the Delaware River.

However, the events did not end there. Through this war, the Boyi discovered that the Pannonians' strength was far from what it had been, which spurred a new desire: conquering the east Danube Plains was no longer feasible, but perhaps they could move south and defeat the Pannonians, seizing the land south of the Delaware River to strengthen their tribe's power, with hopes of one day combating the Dacians again…

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