Augustus Road

"Why am I always like this? The enemies of the republic are also my personal enemies." - Cicero

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There are actually enemy flags on the hillside here! This shocked all the Pompeian soldiers, and the already low morale was even worse. However, those who were not determined enough to run had already surrendered with Afranius. The rest, although tired, Although there were heavy casualties and heavy losses in weapons and equipment, they all followed the great Pompey and survived hundreds of battles in the East.

Sometimes, why do mortals need leaders and why do they have a savior complex? Because they always subconsciously believe that personal power is extremely small, but the significance of a leader and a great man is that he is like a torch, able to bring together all the small forces and use his own unique courage and belief Infecting anyone who follows him, he uses various means such as honor, ideals and even money to gather into an indestructible force. Not only the leader himself, but also all the people who follow him believe that they possess this power. They believe that "Under the inspiration of the great Pompey, or the great Caesar, or any great person, we are definitely out of the realm of ordinary people. Even if we do not reach the power of gods, we can definitely be between humans and gods—— That’s what is commonly called a ‘hero’.”

Therefore, what surprised and horrified Combano was that the thousands of Pompey troops standing at the front, serving as the vanguard, seemed to be unable to walk steadily, even amid the sound of bugles. Holding the military flag in hand, he launched a charge attack on the hillside he occupied!

"Are these Pompey's elite warriors? I have seen them at Corfinium. Since we have a defensive advantage, there is nothing to be polite about." On the hillside, surrounded by generals, Lepidus stood there, looking at the vanguard of Pompey's army rushing over the mountains and plains below, and whispered, "Cavalry artillery, speed up. Shoot across the wings."

Under such clear instructions, Kang Bano, who was standing on the front line, was even more horrified - from somewhere, anyway, from both sides, a stream of things roared and flew, throwing guns and stone bullets, anyway, at Kang Bano Before he could distinguish them with his sight, a "wave" of blood was set off in the phalanx of Pompeii soldiers. You must know that this Malaysian bandit is proud of his excellent archery skills and eyes like an eagle, "My When my eyes see you, your throat will hurt." But he didn't understand. In this era, there were tactics that were just like those in fairy tales. Ballistas were used together for field battles instead of just attacking the city, but they were so powerful. He watched with his own eyes Pompey's elite soldiers at the foot of the mountain. The stubble was silent, and even before it could make a scream, it lost its limbs, head and internal organs, and flopped down on the still moist ground, blending with flesh and blood, becoming one with the weeds and mud.

The trumpet sounded, which was a signal from the command center at the top of the mountain to launch an attack. Without thinking much, Combano shouted to all the horse bandits and indigenous leather shield soldiers who were also eager to try, "Go forward and kill a hundred Roman rulers. The enemy's vanguard is wiped out!"

This group of cruel green forest horse bandits did not pay attention to formation and order. When it came to Spanish dog-leg knives, under the leadership of Combano, they rushed towards the vanguard position of Pompey's army with numerous casualties! Swords flew across the sky, and Pompey's vanguard was blinded by cavalry cannons. Their arms and intestines were flying everywhere. Even if they were injured and fell to the ground, their heads would be cut off without hesitation by the opponent. In addition, they were tired from many days in a row. They were not the same as Lepidus' army, so even if their pride was unwilling to admit it, the pain of death and injuries still forced them to retreat like a wave.

"Call the cavalry to attack and push Pompey's army to the foot of the mountain over there." Lepidus' tone was like cast iron.

The Mattians rushed down one after another from another hillside passage. When they were on horseback, they fired arrows and shot down the scattered Pompeian soldiers who were still running. Then they took up their spears and circled around. Behind and behind the retreating formation of Pompey's army, like a shepherd herding sheep, he drove them toward the place designated by the commander-in-chief.

About two days later, at the foot of the hillside where Lepidus' army was located, apart from more than a thousand Pompeian army corpses, there were no more living things. The Mattian cavalry did not pursue them in depth because they already knew in advance that what was in front of them was nothing more than a corpse. He was just the vanguard of Pompey's army. If the pursuit distance was too far, he would be counterattacked by the superior force and would be unable to escape.

Therefore, the Mattian cavalry just occupied the passage in the open area and cooperated with Combano's infantry to consolidate their position. Then Lepidus ordered: "Advance the cavalry cannon a yardage distance."

After all this was completed, all the cavalry returned to the hillside formation. In plenty of time, the simple camp behind them was mostly completed, but at this time the Pompey army behind them also knew that their way of survival had been blocked. A Caesar's mobile army has sealed the enemy. If you want to break out, you have to defeat the opponent and step on the opponent's corpse.

"I led the cavalry and rushed over to compete with them." Sextus' whole body turned "red" again, but Peletauus dissuaded him, "The soldiers were already close to the edge of destruction, both front and rear. The Allied forces have completely surrendered due to the obstruction of the tenacious enemy, and the chief groups of all legions have been captured by Caesar. We only have about 20,000 men left to fight, so we must not be reckless again. "

Then, the experienced Peletaus advised Sextus: Don't be frightened by the momentum of the enemy blocking the way. They came in a hurry, and their numbers and preparations would not be sufficient. We should set up camp at the foot of the mountain for the time being. After we have recovered our strength, we can select several battalions from each legion and rush forward in one go.

Therefore, Sextus finally agreed out of respect for his predecessors.

But the suffering of the Pompeii army was not over. After they set up camp, they understood the purpose of Lepidus driving them here - only the stream water in the mountain stream could be used, and the large river was completely in the open land, which was locked by Lepidus's cavalry cannons and lightly armed soldiers' projectiles.

Not only that, from the mountain to the river, there was an extremely narrow and long river sand land, which meant that the horses could not be grazed at all, so 20,000 to 30,000 Pompeii soldiers just stayed in the camp, and Caesar's cavalry had already chased them to their tail.

"Distribute all the remaining provisions, food and money in the camp. It's time for a decisive battle." Sextus said with his hands on his waist in front of the campfire. Then he hesitated for a while, but soon said in a sad tone, "This is our last chance. Tell the centurions and soldiers to have a good meal in the early morning, otherwise they will have to go to Hades to eat. As for the remaining pack horses, they are of no use, so kill them all!" (To be continued...)