"You always retort with that line now," Acoupaigos pointed at the other man helplessly, then spoke in a low voice, "I can see that young man is just humoring us. He wants to turn those Skodisqi slaves into his people, and maybe he hopes to make those Segestica prisoners submit too. That way, his forces can quickly grow."
"I have the same feeling," Cleobrotas acknowledged. Maximus' act couldn't fool their experienced eyes, but Cleobrotas had a different thought: "Perhaps the Skodisqi slaves can be won over, but the Segestica people will be tough. If he can really achieve that, it would actually be a good thing, because then our northern side would be completely safe."
"With the threat from the Segestica people gone, a new threat might arise—" Acoupaigos stopped midway, clutching his chest to suppress a coughing urge, resting for a moment before murmuring, "The future is hard to predict, let's just see how it goes for now..."
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