“Of course, Tribune,” Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera assured him.
“Senior Centurion, I have two fears,” exclaimed Tribune Gaius Claudius as he caught sight of the Qart Hadasht cavalrymen trotting towards the River Longanus and the King of Syracuse. “By capturing Messina, we have united two adversaries against the Republic.”
“And the other fear, Tribune?” inquired Senior Centurion Valerian.
“We may have started a war that will either make or break the Republic.”
The End
A note from J. Clifton Slater,
I appreciate you reading Brutal Diplomacy. The Clay Warrior Stories are a passion project for me and the success of the series tells me I’m not alone in my fascination with the Roman Republic.
Hopefully the tension between Hanno and Claudius came through in this book. The actual events, which I attempted to reenact, gave me the bones for this story. And yes, Hanno was crucified by Carthage for surrendering Messina.
The other event I found interesting was the first public gladiator contest held as funeral games in 264 B.C. They took place in the stockyards between captured Etruscan warriors.
Alerio Sisera will fight again. But I have a lot of research to do on the First Punic War before writing the next installment of Clay Warrior Stories.
My readers are amazing. To you, I send a cross chest salute and say, Euge! Well Done!
Sincerely,
J. Clifton Slater
Military Adventure both Future & Ancient
Other books by J. Clifton Slater
Clay Warrior Stories
Clay Legionary
Spilled Blood
Bloody Water
Reluctant Siege
Brutal Diplomacy
Galactic Council Realm
On Station
On Duty
On Guard
On Point
I like chatting with readers and I do read reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com. If you have comments or want to reach me, I am available.
Thank you, J. Clifton Slater
E-Mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @GalacticCRealm
FB: facebook.com/Galactic Council Realm & Clay Warrior Stories
Brutal Diplomacy Page 22