Heir of Aurelian

Chapter 64 Constantine Reacts

Constantine stood perfectly still, as if he was completely lifeless. In his hands was a letter that his spies in Ravenna had sent to him. The news contained within the document was shocking, to say the least. Though Marcellus had done his best to prevent the spread of news pertaining to his successful rebellion. It was not something he could hide forever.

Finally, weeks after taking the throne, butchering the senate, and declaring himself Emperor. The enemies of the newly crowned Western Roman Emperor found out about his successful rebellion against the previous emperor. Constantine could not believe that Honorius had been deposed, and by the man who nearly defeated him in Gaul just a year prior. A cruel smile curved itself upon the man’s lips as he muttered the name of his new rival for the throne.

“Titus Claudius Marcellus…”

The nearby Frankish chieftain gazed up at Constantine’s troubled state while sharpening his knife. He cared for the briefest of moments before returning his sight back to the task he was performing. Ultimately, his gesture was interrupted by the mad laughter of Constantine, who had clearly gone insane.

“Hahaha That bastard has usurped the Throne, while I’m stuck here in Hispania taking care of Honorius’ loyalists. What madness is this? Is it so easy to take Ravenna? It is no matter, I am the true emperor of Rome, and this incident has given me just what I need to compel these damned rebels to cease their hostilities. Honorius is dead, and the man responsible for his death now sits on the Western Throne. If that doesn’t get these bastards’ blood boiling, then I don’t know what would!”

Constantine’s mind worked quickly, and he realized he could make use of this information to forge a new alliance. His intention was to inform the Theodosian loyalists about this recent occurrence and persuade them to join his side. After all, he believed that Marcellus’ actions would outrage the men of Hispania, and compel them to align with himself, so that they could march on Ravenna together in an attempt to remove this new usurper._.

With this in mind, Constantine got off his ass and began marching through his siege camp, without saying a word to anyone else. This was not uncommon, as he was a man who rarely interacted with his soldiers. He slowly approached the gates of the city he was besieging with a white flag in hand.

When the garrison gazed upon the sight of the self-proclaimed emperor so boldly approaching their gates, they considered whether they should open fire. After all, it was unlikely for a better opportunity to permanently remove the usurper to appear in the future.

However, as the arrows were strung, and pulled back, the Garrison’s commander held up his hand, halting the archers from taking the shot. Instead, he quickly gave a shocking command to his men.

“Open the gates!”

It surprised the soldiers to see their commander not take advantage of the current situation. However, they did not disobey. The gates were slowly raised, and the leaders of the revolt were alerted of the strange actions undertaken by the enemy commander.

A delegation soon arrived in front of the city’s gates where Constantine stood with a shit-eating grin on his face. He quickly called out to the man who was in charge of the Theodosian Loyalists while tossing him the letter he held in his hands.

“Tasius, my old friend, Honorius, is dead. It would appear that one of his generals rebelled against him and usurped his position. Tell me, knowing this, do you still desire to fight me until the very end?”

The man named Tasius gazed at the usurper with a vicious look on his face as he read the words written on the paper.

“The words of your spies mean nothing to me. I refuse to believe that the Emperor is dead. If this is your grand scheme to get us to surrender, you will have to do better than that!”

Despite these harsh words, Constantine was not willing to admit defeat. He knew this news was accurate, and it was only a matter of time before it reached the Theodosian rebels from a source they trusted. Thus, he put his arms up in defense as he called for a ceasefire.

“There is no reason for us to fight anymore. I’m willing to end these hostilities, and allow you to send men who can find out the truth. When they report to you what I have told you, then we can discuss things further, like proper Romans. After all, I doubt you would support the man who is responsible for the death of your emperor…”

Constantine did not know that Marcellus was engaged to Placidia, or the fact that he had dispatched men to contact the Theodosian Loyalists and inform them of what had happened. Though he had acted first, the rebels did not trust him in the slightest.  As for the man named Tasius, he crumpled the letter and threw it back at Constantine before fiercely rebuking the man.

“I will find out the truth myself, as for you and your barbarian allies. You are not welcome here in Hispania. If you truly desire to end hostilities, leave these lands, or the fighting shall continue!”

It outraged Constantine when he heard the man was so willing to continue fighting, even after hearing about the death of his emperor. He quickly scolded the man for his foolishness.

“Did you not hear me? Honorius is dead and has been deposed by a tyrant. The man has even butchered the senate! He alone rules in Italia. You should align with me to end his reign of terror once and for all! Yet, you spit on my kindness, and demand I leave the borders of my own Empire!”

Tasius, who was walking back to his own city gates when he heard this, turned around and glared at the man. He pointed up to the archers above and mocked Constantine for his own stupidity.

“At any moment, I can give these men a command and have you riddled with arrows. I suggest you think twice before cursing me, Constantine. You may have a white flag, but disrespect me, and I will end you before your armies can save your pitiful existence. Even if this Marcellus has done as you claim, we here in Hispania will still not support you.

The atrocities you have committed in your campaign against my people are enough to determine your character. Whether it is you or this alleged tyrant in Ravenna, I swear the people of Hispania will resist the both of you until the bloody end!

I suggest you return to your encampment Constantine, because if you are still standing here by the time I have passed through my city’s gates, I will give the order to open fire upon you. I assure you that you will not survive such a thing!”

After saying this, the man turned around once more and headed back towards his city. Seeing that his attempts at diplomacy had failed, Constantine was enraged, as he spat on the ground in displeasure before turning back towards his own encampment. The moment he crossed into his camp, an officer questioned him.

“Your majesty, are you alright?”

Constantine was too angry to be bothered answering the man, and barked orders at his army like a wild hound.

“That damned Tasius. If he wants to spit upon my kindness so badly, then I will show him who the true emperor is. Ready the ladders. We assault the city at dawn!”

The soldiers in Constantine’s army did not slack off. The moment the command was given to ready the ladders, the engineers were quickly set to task. They had been waiting outside this city for weeks, and had besieged it three times thus far.

Each time, the city’s defenders repelled them. It was reckless to attack so soon after suffering a major loss, but Constantine was outraged, and needed something or someone to vent his frustrations upon.

Thus, the Usurper’s army did not get a wink of sleep that night. Instead, they were too busy preparing for the battle that would occur the next day. As for the Theodosian Loyalists, they had immediately dispatched a rider to head to Italia to confirm whether Honorius was truly dead.

They did not care in the slightest about Constantine’s attempt at a siege, knowing full well that they had the means to repel his attack yet again. Though it may take weeks, or even months to hear a response from the heartland of the Empire, the men who were loyal to the Theodosian Dynasty were prepared to fight Constantine to the bitter end.

While Constantine was trying to make use of the news of Marcellus’ rise to power to compel the Theodosian loyalists to side with him. The Eastern Roman Empire would also learn of these recent events and would have to face a tough decision about how to respond.