The man leading the group, dressed differently from the imperial guards following him, wore a snow-white Lieutenant Colonel uniform, adorned with exquisite golden dragon embroidery at the collar and cuffs.
"Deputy Captain of the Roman Imperial Guard, in charge of searching all passersby and merchants about to enter Rome City." The words of the male soldier startled both Number Zero and Klaao seated in the carriage.
Here they were, Octavian’s inspection soldiers, arriving faster and more unexpectedly than anticipated.
Behind the curtains designed to shield from the sun and dust, the two blue and red venomous snakes in Klaao’s hands flicked their tongues. Tongue flicking, like cocking a gun, was a signal of readiness to attack. Klaao wished she could immediately burst out of the curtains, as the indifferent voice of that man had caused Antony’s death.
Under normal historical progression, Antony and Cleopatra’s romantic days should have continued for at least three more years. The forces Octavian secretly amassed were not yet strong enough to destroy the Roman Conservative Forces that Antony had built over many years.
But forty-five days ago, the man who appeared and was hailed as "Octavian’s Blade" assassinated Antony with unimaginable speed, killing the man who had conquered the world with Caesar, using just one move.
(Listening to rumors, that "Octavian’s Blade" is also a player, though it’s unknown how he gained official recognition from the Roman Church.) Little Eight muttered, but she knew Number Zero was not interested in listening to her now.
"Who is in the carriage?" The deputy captain of the imperial guard ordered his men to immediately surround the carriage.
"It’s a client of mine," Number Zero remained calm when facing NPCs, answering without any change in her expression.
"Your client?" The deputy captain tried to find some clues on Number Zero, thinking that for an ordinary player like Number Zero, accepting tasks and escorting people into the city was a normal activity. However, this player seemed too weak; what kind of client would spend money and take risks to hire someone like her?
Number Zero gripped the whip tighter, shivering a bit, and quickly noticed the deputy captain’s concerns.
How should she explain her client? If she said Klaao was a civilian, then how could a civilian afford to hire her? And if she said Klaao was a noblewoman, her identity would surely raise suspicions.
"Giggle," a crisp laugh of a woman came from behind the curtain, the laugh alone made the bones of the leading soldiers turn soft.
Then a hand pulled back the curtain, and Klaao jumped down from the carriage, her demeanor nothing like her prior elegance, because she was no longer a queen, but merely a...
"I’ve heard that Roman soldiers are all exceptionally valiant, and seeing you today proves it true. After I settle in Rome, you must all come to visit me," Klaao had already taken off her long robe, wearing only an outfit that barely covered her modesty likened to that of a prostitute. This was the identity she had chosen for herself: an ordinary-looking yet seductive prostitute from the outer city rushing to Babylon City to make a living.
A great disguise, Number Zero immediately coordinated with Klaao’s actions, saying discontentedly: "Gentlemen, as you see, someone like me doesn’t get good jobs. I wanted to travel from Babylon City to Rome, but unfortunately, I’m not good on foot, so I agreed only because of her carriage and a hundred Military Road Coins."
The deputy captain still had a portrait commissioned by Octavian depicting the "Queen of Egypt," where the painter portrayed the queen as a woman full of allure in every gaze and gesture, striking a stark contrast to this vulgar-talking, promiscuous foreign prostitute.
"Let’s move on," the deputy captain scolded the soldiers who were still trying to flirt with Klaao. Gathering his men, they moved forward, but before leaving, he looked back once more.
He saw the "coachman" urging the frivolous woman onto the carriage, then leisurely boarding himself, wielding the whip in an unhurried manner. Everything seemed normal.
The deputy captain led his troops back along the road; the search for the Queen of Egypt had been a directive given personally by the captain of the imperial guard days earlier.
However, the imperial guard had not found the "Queen of Egypt" who was said by the captain to be a scourge to the nation.
The captain of the imperial guard was none other than Bai Tuo. After leaving Babylon City, he hurried to Rome City, where he had earned the position of captain of Octavian’s imperial guard. One day, a woman named Apoli came to seek an audience.