Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1326: Chapter 1279: The Curtain Call After the Five Good Emperors

The roaring in the Roman Parliament did not affect the peace of the Central Plains at all, nor could the slaughters in the Roman Arena change the current situation where swords and spears face each other in the Central Plains.

Empires equally invincible, both began to fall into decline because they had no more opponents, both having risen to thrones by treading upon the corpses of other powerful empires, are not hindered by distance, but by their own invincibility.

As long as the steps of conquest continue, the dividends of war can keep the nation going, and all contradictions can be shifted away. Such is the empire’s confidence: as long as they remain undefeated, every problem can be solved through war.

Not enough land? Let us launch a war. Lacking resources? Let us launch a war. Too many internal troubles? Let us launch a war. As long as we win, everything is not a problem. And victory for these two currently colossal empires is never a problem!

Not fearing an enemy that’s too strong, but fearing having no enemy at all, the Han and Huns war lasted over a century, and the Han Dynasty did not perish; Rome’s wars with Parthia spanned centuries and did not lead to Rome’s ruin. Instead, it was the death of great enemies that brought them down from their peaks and into internal strife!

”Boom!” Severus slammed his fist onto the stone platform, the dull sound immediately silencing all the council elders’ speeches.

”What Rome needs is not your bickering here; our Rome needs a unified voice. This is the Senate, not a marketplace!” Severus coldly surveyed everyone. Before this, Severus had never acted so decisively, nor had his gaze ever been so sharp.

”The Han Empire is so far away, how could we possibly have a conflict with them?” one elder dressed in silk with gold buttons questioned.

”Seven hundred years ago, while still on the Roman Peninsula, did we ever conceive of ruling the entire Mediterranean, or getting into a century-long war with Parthia, let alone of that distant land? But now!” Severus’ eyes sharply swept over all the elders.

”If we halt our steps now, the Han Empire will still advance toward us. On that day, how will we handle it?” Severus looked sternly at all the elders of the assembly.

If Severus had been biding his time before Ganasis’ arrival, then after the news from Ganasis, Severus, who had always been extraordinary, no longer hesitated in the slightest. He wanted to truly be crowned emperor, not be hindered like now!

”However, the territory we govern now is already too vast, and we are unable to administer it well,” one noble, seeing Severus’s imposing expression, asked with a hint of reverence.

”Problems will always arise, but as long as we keep moving forward, they will eventually be solved. Otherwise, had we fixated on such issues, Rome would have never left the peninsula, let alone possessed the entire Mediterranean!” Severus arrogantly responded.

”I don’t care what private desires you have, or any dissatisfaction you have with me, but as I stand here today, I am responsible for Rome’s future. Once we only possessed the Roman Peninsula; now we have the entire Mediterranean. The future will be opened by me, Septimius Severus!” Severus’ eyes sharply swept over all the elders, and at this moment, no one dared to meet his gaze!

If the Era of the Five Wise Emperors marked Rome’s last glory, then Septimius Severus was the Roman Empire’s curtain call. He quelled the internal chaos caused by Commodus’s death and pushed Rome’s military might to the extreme, extinguishing the Parthian Empire.

At this time, the Parthian Monarch was Vologases V, who, although somewhat a rebel, forcibly suppressed the Seven Great Parthian Nobles, pulling Parthia out of the deep pit of treachery.

Reliant on Parthia’s imperial foundation, he restored some vitality within years, and during Rome’s internal turmoil, he secured Mesopotamia, the Two Rivers Region, and reclaimed parts of the territory originally belonging to Parthia.

The Parthian reign, almost on the brink of extinction, seemed to ignite once more under Vologases V, though divine skills could not defy fate. After solidifying Rome’s internal forces, Severus personally led his troops to cut off Parthia’s last strand of destiny.

Young Vologases V tried to resist, but with little room to maneuver, he lost the entire Two Rivers Region to Rome, and Taysi Sealed, the capital, was also lost to Severus, leading to the final downfall of Parthia’s last bit of destiny.

Though there was Vologases VI afterward, his actual control extended only over a small area, and even so, the country was in chaos.

By then, Severus had also died, and Rome was in turmoil, unable to further reach Parthia. Otherwise, this era of coexistence wouldn’t be recorded in history, as soon the Sasanian Dynasty rose, and Parthia dissolved completely into history.

Overall, if Vologases V had not encountered Severus, Parthia’s last strand of fate would not have perished. Under Vologases’ rule, a Parthia that regained the Two Rivers Region could have resumed its imperial demeanor after several years of recuperation.

Similarly, for Rome, having Severus as the Empire’s curtain call was not disgraceful. Regardless of Severus’ arrogance or how proud he was, during his time as Roman Emperor, Rome decisively cut the destiny of its great enemies!

In this era of Rome’s curtain call, no matter how much bloodshed, whatever number of Senate elders were slain by Severus, he ensured the Roman Army’s strength, and even upon his death, the Emperor who marked the conclusion of Rome’s strong period remembered to instruct his heirs to protect the interests of Roman soldiers!

One can say it wasn’t Severus, who quelled Rome’s internal chaos and almost obliterated the Parthian Empire, providing the most generous rewards for Roman soldiers, that drew the cessation line for Rome’s flourishing era. While not Rome’s best emperor ever, his time may have been the most militarily formidable era in Roman history!

He was an emperor of the frontlines, possessing all the shortcomings of a general; however, such shortcomings may still have been a good thing for an empire on the verge of division, as even when trampling the law and violating the republic, the carriage of the empire had to proceed according to his will!

Even if pointed at by thousands, with over half the Senate nobles not recognizing him, or his decrees not passed by the People’s Assembly, his army would turn his decrees into reality!

And fortunately, this time, the situation of half the nobles rejecting Severus did not occur. Though his narrative did not meet the assembly’s demands, he made everything clear; Rome indeed could not continue in turmoil. They needed a united goal!