Augustus Road

"I was thinking that Scipio also fought in these places a hundred years ago! I feel the same way as them now." Looking at the turbid waterfall rushing down the cliff opposite, Lepidus said on his mount, holding his wet sheepskin cloak with one hand and the horse's bit with the other.

"Excuse me, Mr. Treasurer, you are not like Scipio, you are more like Hannibal, who was like a barbarian, crossing the high mountains with elephants and appeared in front of Rome." Sabokemus took over the conversation from the side.

There was a small open area in front of them, which was also the fork in the road. Sabokemus talked with the herdsmen who led the way for a while, then pointed to the front and shouted to Lepidus: "Do you see the village in front? As long as you cross the pass adjacent to it, you can enter the Complanian Plain."

In the dense rain, the soldiers' cloaks and hair were wet. They stood in the puddle, waiting for the next order from Mr. Treasurer. Libida carefully observed the village in the rain. It should be abandoned by the Balantians. It has fences and wooden towers that have not been removed yet, densely packed thatched houses outside, and crisscrossing mud roads inside. After a while, Libida ordered a hundred-man team to enter the village in a square formation to search for fodder or other supplies, and detect whether there is any danger at the pass. Forty ala cavalrymen and another hundred-man team were on guard at a distance of one furlong outside the village. Most of the rest of the troops formed a rectangular formation around the baggage, artillery carts and elephants, and all the spears and swords were facing outward.

In the continuous rain, a hundred-man team quickly ran into the village. They asked the trumpeter and flag bearer to stand on a high place outside the village to observe the surroundings, and the rest of the people began to stir. The cavalry and infantry on the outer alert were all nestled in an isolated small forest outside the village to avoid the rain.

There seemed to be no enemies in the village, but there was nothing to plunder either. The 100-man team that entered the village soon headed to the pass to scout for any enemy ambushes.

"Tell those guys on guard outside to run. They are hiding there and can't find any enemy situation." Li Bi Da complained to the famous messenger, and the soldier rode his horse towards the village, ready to convey the financial officer's intention to the other party.

At this time, several thunderbolts seemed to rise in the valley beside the village, deafening, and shouts of killing shook the sky in the slopes and woods. A large number of Balantians who were ambushed there on horseback suddenly emerged from the ground and poured out from all directions. They skillfully wielded short swords and javelins, cut into the road outside the village, and instantly stabbed the unfortunate messenger off his horse. Then the horses kicked his body back and forth. The cavalry and infantry responsible for the alert outside the village were caught off guard and were beaten to a pulp. Many people panicked and fell into the water grass pool around the village, and were killed before they could get up. There were also a group of people who, encouraged by the centurions who were brave enough to die, leaned against the corner of the fence and still desperately resisted the siege of the Balantians.

At this time, the trumpeters and flag bearers who were originally on the high ground outside the village were frightened by the sudden arrival of the enemy. They did not blow the bugle, raise the flag, and send a timely warning signal to the centurion team that had already headed for the pass. Instead, they panicked and timidly climbed up the sentry tower on the high ground and hid. However, the Balantians did not find these people. Then they divided the cavalry into two teams. One team blocked the connection between most of Lepidus and the village, and the other team dismounted and rushed into the village, preparing to encircle and annihilate the centurion team. At this time, in the rain and angry wind, there were creepy shouts and women's screams everywhere in the cliffs and dense forests around the pass and the village. They should be the women of the Balantia tribe, who also came to help.

All of Lepidus's followers, even the Setrata warriors from Spain, were terrified. After all, they came from a more civilized region, and the bloodthirstiness and violence of the wild tribe of Barantia were enough to make the bravest soldiers in the world retreat in battle. Even the war elephants behind Lepidus began to stir restlessly. They would feel instinctively excited or afraid of the shouts and horns of battle.

"Sir, do you want to release the war elephants to defeat the enemy and then rush in?" Sabo beside him reminded loudly.

"No, the terrain here is too narrow - Little Hortensius, follow me to the village opposite - Sabo, you stay here to command the large army to keep moving forward!" Lepidus threw the sheepskin cloak to a squire next to him, and then Little Hortensius raised the flag. The treasurer, escorted by more than a dozen squire cavalrymen, crossed the large group of soldiers and horses and galloped towards the village together!

"Good owl, you have to work harder for me today!" Li Bi Da felt his ears were filled with violent wind and rain. He lowered his body, patted his mount's neck and requested softly. This time, Owl changed his usual obedient and cute image, and rushed forward neighing. It was as if a storm was brewing under the horse's hooves. The followers behind also shouted to encourage each other. They were able to keep their formation in order amid the flying arrows and stones, and maintain a coordinated posture among the enemy group. This was exactly what they had been training hard for in the Kimilla camp.

Many Balantia tribal cavalrymen discovered this small-scale Roman cavalry that had cut into their ranks, and they tried even more frantically to stop them. Everywhere there were shadows of people and horses circling and the sound of fierce swords colliding. "Don't stand there, follow your tent team and rush out with all your strength!" Amidst the cheers, Lepidus stood up on his horse and passed through, encouraging the tribesmen who were still fighting in the corners and behind the fences. The feathers on his helmet swayed in the wind and rain, which was very eye-catching. At this moment, Sabokemus also commanded the front-line combat team to collectively blow the military trumpet, constantly throwing hunting spears, approaching the Balantia cavalry group to divert the enemy's firepower on Lepidus.

"Owl, jump over!" Lepidar shouted while holding the horse's neck. He leaned against the saddle and squeezed his legs together, because he had not yet reached the level of riding skills of Biduita. As expected, Owl easily jumped over a broken wall and rushed into the muddy ground of the village. Behind Lepidar, little Hortensius and several followers who had not fallen behind also jumped over the short wall and followed him in.

Suddenly, Owl raised his front half of his body, stood in place, and suddenly stopped his steps. His hooves tumbled in place, almost knocking Lepidar down! Just as Lepidar was about to curse at the girl, a follower who followed him and did not stop riding was directly pierced by a Balantia warrior who rushed out of the hut on the side. He fell straight into the muddy ground under the broken wall with splattered blood. (To be continued.)