First give the stick, then the sweet treat.
Suppressing someone with sheer power isn't enough.
If you want your subordinates to devote themselves wholeheartedly, naturally you have to offer them something sweet.
To ordinary people, power and wealth may be the ultimate supreme goal they can imagine.
But for someone who already holds this world's pinnacle of power and wealth, what truly deserves pursuit is individual strength and long life—even if it means giving up everything else previously accumulated to obtain it.
Night painted a big dream for Lucius, and for someone as inexperienced as Lucius, who had just witnessed him demonstrate thunder, a divine authority supposedly only wielded by the king of gods—
It was already enough to stir a bit of fantasy and desire in Lucius.
Maybe Night really could bestow those things upon him.
If such power could be shared or granted…
Even if he couldn't wield military might or destroy a nation, or gain a long lifespan, just the feeling of commanding thunder was enough to make him infinitely crave it.
For someone who could attain the position of consul, especially in Rome, you either had ambition, or extreme ambition.
A truly ambitious person would never miss a chance to change their fate.
Once you've seen the truth of the world—there's no going back.
At this moment, without Night even needing to say it, Lucius was already thinking about boarding Night's warship, ready to fully commit himself. To anchor himself to this path of glory, Lucius even wanted to offer something of his own.
Suddenly, Lucius remembered his two beautiful young nieces;
He recalled that Lista Night had only just arrived in Rome and likely didn't have many attendants yet, right?
So why not offer a taste of local flavor to their new master—a bit of the Caesar family's unique "cultural charm"...
Fresh, top-tier noble girls just coming of age—this kind of "special gift" wasn't something one could find everywhere.
(Later, when young Caesar offers his daughter to Pompey, we'll give him a thumbs-up in retrospect.)
Lucius thought about many things—
Even whether other families, if they discovered Night's ability to wield thunder and his future promises, might also be tempted.
Maybe not all members of those families, but those old monsters who had already lived long enough would definitely go crazy.
And if that really happened, then future competition would be fierce.
What Lucius hadn't considered at this moment was—
Night wasn't planning on subjugating any other noble families at all.
Rather—
Most of those "noble leaders" now were also members of the Senate.
That kind of trash, he had already wiped out a batch in the simulated universe. Keeping them around in real Rome would just make them parasites on the body of the Republic.
If he hadn't purged them all at once, Rome would've already been in chaos.
Back in the simulated universe, Night had already sent that entire rotten bunch to the guillotine—not one left.
Now, the Senate's existence was just a tool, a puppet, for Night to quickly seize control of Rome.
At this very moment, the many Senators still enjoying their luxuries had no idea—
A devil they'd long forgotten was about to return.
And that devil was already baring his fangs in the shadows, watching them closely.
Meanwhile, they were still hopelessly caught up in the factional struggle between Marius and Sulla, torn apart by civil war.
And on the other side, just as Night had left the Caesar family's area not long ago, now having just arrived at the downtown district, suddenly, a pitiful, coy, and cute voice rang by his ear.
"This kind-hearted big brother, I'm selling matches, would you like to buy a box of matches? They're very cheap~."
Matches?
Something that only appeared in Rome in the early 18th century, has it already shown up in this world's Rome?
No, that kind of thing isn't really important.
In terms of major history, the information still matches what Night knows.
But what he focused on at this moment was something else—the voice sounded familiar.
Especially that adorable "big brother" tone.
When Night turned to look in the direction of the voice, and saw the match-selling girl's figure—suddenly——
His pupils shrank.
"…! Helena!"
"Heehee~ You recognized me in one glance? Ah~ I'm so happy, I'm really happy! Big brother!
Found you (caught you)——!
This time I won't let you escape again~"
Helena, now dressed in a Little Red Riding Hood outfit, had a delicate and pretty face with a trace of madness and joy.
It was none other than the dragon girl who had sensed Night's aura in this era and ran up from the underworld beneath Carthage.
And at this moment, Night's hairs were standing on end.
A monster among monsters, even in the simulated universe, under Rome's land-blessed stacking buffs and blue-flame burst mode, with "Battle Continuation EX," he still couldn't defeat her.
In his current state——
If he doesn't get the chance (or time) to undergo a wave of enhancements like before, he might be sent straight to the underworld in one hit.
Urgent——
Question: What's it like to just return to the newbie village and immediately get spawn-camped by the max-level final boss…
How do you fix this?
He had just used power and authority to intimidate and bully the Caesar family and turned around only to meet someone even more terrifying.
Is this what they call the wheel of fortune?
Night's face turned completely dark.
Wait——
How did this woman get out from underground?
Could it be that the simulated universe's influence even breaks seals in the real world?
In this era, he hasn't even gone to Carthage yet, and without this generation's Aeneas opening the door for her, how did she escape?
"Are you ready?" Helena showed an incomparably sweet smile on her face, her gaze burning as she stared at Night, that look seemingly sticky enough to melt, as if she was going to devour him whole—full of aggression.
"What?" Night instinctively responded.
"After centuries apart, our long-awaited battle——!
Do your best to please me——my beloved Aeneas!
This punch will be heavier than life itself!" As Helena's words fell——
Night instantly got goosebumps, feeling a huge sense of danger.
A battle—here?
In the Roman capital, and in the city center, no less.
Good grief——never mind whether he can even win, the twelve divine statues are right here, and if their fight gets even slightly intense, terrain destruction would be easy.
If they accidentally blew up a statue of the Twelve Olympian Gods, would those deities descend from Mount Olympus and come beat him into mush?!
Night took a deep breath…
He quickly calmed down.
He knew that in moments like this, staying calm was the most important.
"Not fighting."
"Eh? Why?" Helena's small face showed a confused look, her fighting spirit suddenly deflating.
Fights are only exciting when both parties are fully invested.
This obviously resistant attitude instantly made it less fun for Helena.
"I Can't win. I'm not your match right now.
If we fight here, I'll die."
Simple, direct——
Having experienced the girl's true nature in combat, Night knew exactly how to shut down her fighting intent.
One sentence sealed the deal.
And after hearing the reason, Helena suddenly recalled the memory of Night dying, and how she had cried miserably and looked pathetic.
She suddenly shivered, and when she now sensed hie aura, she realized how incredibly weak he currently was.
She immediately looked disappointed.
.
.
.