Augustus Road

"Sir, the past was the past and the present is the present. Since the advent of firearms, warfare has changed so much. △￠," - a 17th-century British captain's answer to a gentleman who still cherishes the memory of the sword The Age of the Spear

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Then, Lepidus, who was galloping on horseback, stretched out one hand in a victory gesture, his black hair leaping in the air, "Pray, soldiers, to all the gods you believe in, to King Numa, Pray to Mars, pray to Phaethon, and pray to Lius, because in the subsequent wars, there will never be a more glorious victory than today, which is worthy of encouragement and luck for you and all the people of the Republic!”

The soldiers in the front were the first to kneel, followed by the cavalry from behind. The priests held various statues of gods and chanted sacrificial songs loudly. On the entire position, the soldiers prostrated themselves densely. Soon a ray of sunshine fell, and then the strong wind stopped. Now, the sand and dust are no longer raging randomly, and bits of light have torn through the clouds and are constantly projected on the surface of the Tumul River, coating the surging river with a layer of gold.

At this time, seven foraging vultures screamed and circled above everyone's heads, and soon they landed on the flags of the flag bearers of the Lepidus Legion.

"It's a miracle. We have received the blessing of the God of War. Even Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother will protect us, and that vulture is the messenger of God!" Hebrida, the chief centurion of the Sixth Army, was the first to jump out of the battle formation and pull out the Jianlai shouted to all the elite soldiers behind him, "Today is a great day for us to win personal glory and commander's glory. It will become a grand celebration in Rome in the future. It will definitely be."

"For the glory of the high priest. Kill all the enemies. Kill them all and let them all become food for the vultures!" All the soldiers of the legion, whether they are Lusitanians, Nubians, or Illyrians, Standing up again, like a dense forest, we began to move slowly towards the Tumul River.

"My comrades. I am waiting for the news of your victory in the camp on the hills. I will loot all the enemy camps. They are all yours!" Lepidah rode his horse and slowly walked across the long confrontation line. , the soldiers were marching forward like the wind, holding portraits and flags, the sound of trumpets, bugles and flutes were melodious and exciting, the friction of weapons and armor was orderly, and then the high priest was accompanied by his retinue . Returned to the camp on the hills to provide unified command.

The other side of the river. Rabinus also stationed himself at the front of the central combat group and gave a speech to the formation of the three legions. He was wearing a red cloak and a shiny copper breastplate, which was lined with bands and embellished with Tasseled enamel, engraved with a pair of red pythons snaking up, "Comrades, allies, I understand that many people did not need to participate in this war, risking revenge from the enemy, but you all come Well worthy of the title of the bravest tribe in Iberia, and worthy of the reputation of the great Crean of Pompey. Now let us practice the career of a warrior with blood. Although it is shameful to say, the Republic finally Our hope depends on you and me. I promise everyone that when this battle is over, citizenship will be granted to everyone who fought bloody battles. You are all fellow Romans, and in this battle, friendship is the most important thing. Made of blood, use the dirty blood of the enemy to wash our swords and witness the greatest victory! Everyone stick to their posts, we have strong barriers, deadly crossbows and Stick throwers, and the bravest and best cavalry, face the enemy and die with your back to your comrades. There is no more glorious thing than this!"

Then, following Rabinus's wave, all the light cavalry and skirmishers in the front line, including the Spanish allies of the two legions on the right, surged like a tide, waving various weapons, and also moved towards Tumul. The river rushed towards the river, where Lepidus' left-wing army had just stepped into the fast-flowing river.

Under the sun, various projectile weapons were thrown at each other rapidly in the air. The bravest warriors encouraged their companions around them. The two sides were like the most experienced farmers, advancing face to face, and then using the swords and shields in their hands, Row after row, they cut the "crops" in front of them - torsos, heads, limbs. You kill me, saw back and forth, the winner runs forward, the loser falls to the ground and dies, but no one is willing to retreat, because retreat means The eternal destruction of reputation and fate. In the terrain here, it is difficult to build fortifications, and wood is more precious than human life. Therefore, in this situation, hand-to-hand combat has become the mainstream method to determine victory or defeat.

"Come on, Spanish barbarians, I am very good at killing you." In the center of the sixth legion, Hebrida and the other centurions of the other chief battalions advanced side by side, constantly cutting down the opponents who rushed to fight on the opposite side. , his Amira armbands have all been dyed red, and now he has passed over the mutilated corpses and stepped onto the land on the other side of the Tumul River.

"Hybrida, you are standing there, have you forgotten the oath you made before the war?" Several centurions behind him shouted in unison.

It turned out that before the decisive battle, all the soldiers in the Sixth Legion camp complained that the high priest should not rashly initiate the attack, because crossing the river would require huge and tragic sacrifices. At this time, Hebrida was furious and said to the soldiers, "You have heard that the most difficult things in battle are crossing the river and attacking the city, but I tell you that these two battles are determined by the gods. For example, when attacking a city, I was the first to climb the enemy's wall when I was in Asia Minor, and then I stood on the "vital point" of the city. As long as I defended that place, the enemy's city defense would be completely useless, because this The guardian god of the city was sealed by me, and we will be invincible. Of course, six Mithridates warriors besieged me, trying to drive me away from my vital point or kill me, but I am such a person. I killed two of those cowardly Greeks and Asians, and the rest fled in panic. The city was instantly captured by our army. The same is true for crossing the river. As long as I stand on the other side first tomorrow, the Tumur River will stop surging, and you can just walk over and kill all the enemies as if you were walking on flat ground. "

So, now everyone's eyes are fixed on Hebrida.

And the chief centurion really stood upright on a small raised mound, holding a sword and discarding a shield, like a sword slave.

"Oh, the river god blesses us!" Seeing this scene, the soldiers of the other battalions of the Sixth Legion were inspired with great courage and rushed over in the face of arrows.

A dozen Spanish barbarian warriors, wearing bronze helmets and bronze armor, howled and rushed towards Hebrida. The first one raised a battle axe and chopped down from the air, cutting Hebrida's helmet in one fell swoop. Blood stained the horse's mane, and fragments fell in all directions. Hebrida also waved his sword horizontally, slashing the opponent's throat and making him fall at his feet.

Blood was gushing down Hebrida's forehead, but he still stood straight, motionless. (To be continued...)

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