Augustus Road

"The Athenians ran towards the invaders, and when the Persians saw the Athenians running towards them, they thought they were crazy." - Herodotus describing the Battle of Marathon

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No matter what, let's lift the siege of Iduka first, and then get the exact news of Caesar from the Roman scouts.

Iduka is a small settlement located on the high ground, between the Douro River and the Nemes River, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. Although the city is small, it is still the "allied city" of the Romans, so the Roman scouts who escaped in should have received the assistance of local residents to defend the city. In order to severely attack the Avasili, Lepidus hid the baggage and camp in a gorge, and then led three mixed infantry and cavalry brigades to rescue Iduka. There were 3,000 Avasili who surrounded the city. In the wilderness outside the city, amidst the flying grass, a cavalry squadron of the Thyme Legion suddenly rushed down from the high slope where they were ambushed, blocking an Avasili baggage train. Not long after, they killed almost all of the other side, only letting one person go back. Lepidus asked the other side to pass on a message: a new Roman legion appeared in the north of Lusitania, and now the general of this legion wanted to compete with the brave Avasili, just like he destroyed the equally brave and warlike Balantia tribe.

At the same time, Lepidus stripped the unique clothes on the dead bodies of the other side's baggage train - this was the most commonly worn jacket by Spanish natives, called "Sagem", and let a squadron of cavalry wear it, and quietly hid in the dense forest beside the battlefield.

Soon Lepidus led other soldiers and horses, blowing the military trumpet and approaching the Avasili position under the city of Iduka. Forced by this situation, the Avasili could only turn around and fight Lepidus.

Not surprisingly, the tactics adopted by this barbarian army were similar to those of Rome. They also wore bronze or iron helmets with three or four feathers on them, put breastplates on the outside of their tunics, held square shields, carried two or three javelins, and their main weapons were sharp Spanish short swords. They formed a loose three-horizon formation similar to the Romans' centuries to stop Lepidus' attack in the wilderness.

Lepidus ordered the infantry of the mixed infantry and cavalry brigade to line up forward, holding flags and flaming flags, which made them look no different from ordinary Roman legions. All the cavalry hid behind the infantry formation. They all dismounted and divided into left and right wings, with their horses' heads facing the oblique front of the formation, which confused the Avasili people on the opposite side and made them mistakenly believe that Lepidus lacked cavalry.

According to the old-fashioned rules of engagement, the Avasili light infantry wearing wolfskin cloaks rushed out first, ran to the front of the Romans and threw javelins. As expected, the first two rows of infantry of the Thyme Legion used Celtic oval shields wrapped in animal skins to form a wall and began to move forward. The Avasili light infantry advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, harassing the enemy and slowly moving towards the two wings, so that they could form crossfire and attack the protruding Roman ranks.

The bugle suddenly sounded, and dust rolled behind the Roman ranks. A large group of cavalry suddenly appeared from the side and rushed towards them fiercely. It was impossible for the light infantry to form a dense formation to fight against the cavalry. Whether it was training or weapons, the cavalry was their nemesis. They were soon chased around by Lepidus' cavalry and could not pose a threat to Lepidus' infantry. At this time, the Avasili people, who instinctively felt that they would be attacked from three sides by the enemy's infantry and cavalry, quickly gathered their formation and stretched their shields and heavy javelins densely outward, like a giant porcupine, and also like a replica of the early Roman legion.

At this time, the Avasili people who were closely together heard the sound of wheels rolling on the field. This was the sound of Celtic chariots that they were very familiar with. These warriors had no fear at all. As long as they formed a dense rectangular formation, the chariots and cavalry would not be able to do anything to them.

But this team of chariots looked very strange. Six four-wheeled carriages, almost the same number of two-wheeled carriages, and guards of cavalry and packhorses drove from the diagonal side of the opposing line of the two sides. The team stopped at a distance of one and a half furlongs. The soldiers who jumped off the two-wheeled carriages began to pull out a partition from the four-wheeled carriages that had also stopped, and built a slope with the carriages that opened outward. There were also two simple slides on the partitions, which were lubricated with olive oil. Then they untied the chains for fixing, and pushed down the double-armed crossbow that had the same overall shape as the Roman crossbow, but only had two sets of small iron hoop wheels at the bottom. Then three gunners began to install stone bullets and javelins and twist the bowstrings. The other two locked the gun position with ropes and nails to prevent it from shaking randomly under the force of the wheels.

This is the "Cavalry Cannon. Modified" that Lepidar has carefully improved: the shooting angle is no longer high, the mobility of getting on and off the vehicle is faster, and the cannonballs will no longer fly around the Roman rulers above people's heads. "Cavalry Cannon. Modified" - you deserve it.

Soon, the first wave of stone bullets and javelins flew diagonally towards the dense phalanx of the Avasili people, with terrifying penetrating power, piercing and killing the outermost group of barbarian warriors. The speed of Lepidar's gunners is unquestionable. The rapid-fire tactics they practiced are now in full swing. After a short period of time, the second wave of attacks, with the whistling of the god of death, pierced into the phalanx of the Avasili people, followed by the third and fourth waves...

Even the Titans of the Dark Ages of Ancient Greece could not endure the washing of flesh and blood by iron and stone. When the Avasili could not endure the cruelty of casualties and were ready to disperse their formation, Lepidus' cavalry approached from both sides, forcing them to shrink into a dense formation again. At this moment, six "Lepidus. Modified" cavalry guns came "booming" from the diagonal line on the other side. Not long after, a cross-type rain of projectiles from two sides sprinkled on the Avasili phalanx. Often, a lucky stone bullet could tortuously smash out several elegant angles, with broken limbs and heads flying everywhere.

Half a minute later, when the Avasili felt that it was better to be chased and killed during the retreat than to die in this whistling death, they completely abandoned their positions, carried their shields behind them, disbanded the phalanx, and fled desperately in the direction of Iduka.

The cavalry squadron wearing Sagem short coats in the dense forest also quickly followed the defeated soldiers of the Avasili and rushed to the city of Iduka, without arousing the suspicion of the barbarians. The position where they received the defeated soldiers was in chaos. Then the captain suddenly crossed the barbarian camp, took off his short coat, revealing the Roman military uniform, and circled the city of Iduka, shouting that he was a subordinate of Caesar's lieutenant general Lepidus. The people in the city lowered ropes and pulled him up alone.

After nightfall, the people in the city learned the news of the arrival of Lepidus' reinforcements. They raised lanterns and torches on the city walls in joy. On the next morning, the Avasili sent fifty messengers wearing olive branches and surrendered directly to Lepidus. (To be continued.)