Rome Must Fall

The person who spoke was Musades. His words extinguished Volris's anger and made him sober instantly: You are right, I was just fooled by these enemies this time. It doesn't matter if I lose, I can win again next time, but the village must not be lost!

Thinking of this, he shouted again: "Retreat! Retreat! Go back to our village!——"

"Woo!...Woo!...Ma!..." The deep and heavy sound of the copper trumpet suddenly resounded through the battlefield. The soldiers of the First Legion, who were originally hiding behind the shield wall, received the order to attack. The previous frustration turned into a thunderous roar. They held square shields and short swords and charged at the fleeing enemies.

The Segestica people were completely defeated, but because the Second Legion wanted to completely surround nearly 4,000 Segestica people with 2,000 people, the encirclement formed was inevitably a little thin. Vollis led the guards to break out from behind. Some Segestica warriors followed their brave leader. Under their desperate charge, the interception line of the Second Legion was broken...

Cassius rode a donkey, crossed the Corana River to the west, and passed through the open space between two swamps. As soon as he turned southwest, he saw the large army coming towards him. Before he could open his mouth to report the victory, Maximus, who was riding at the front of the team, smiled and said, "Look at your happy look, we must have won!"

"Leader, our army has won a great victory, and the enemy has been defeated!" Cassius cheered excitedly.

"Leader, it seems that we don't have to worry about being discovered by the Segestica people anymore, and we can speed up the march!" Frontinus rushed forward and said.

Maximus nodded.

Frontinus turned his horse back and urged the troops to speed up the march.

This was a complex team, with more than 5,000 soldiers in the front, followed by more than 2,000 people from the baggage camp, including hundreds of women, who were mainly responsible for rescue work. Behind them were more than a dozen carts that were urgently assembled, and even four or five bulls were driven... Maximus led the army on the road and arrived at the battlefield in less than an hour. The flat area between the Kupa River and the hills was full of people lying in all directions, broken spears and broken shields were thrown all over the ground, and groans and wailing were heard... On the east side of the battlefield, hundreds of fully armed rebel soldiers were guarding a large group of captives who raised their hands and knelt on the ground. More than 200 baggage camp personnel who had originally stayed here gathered by the river not far from the west side of the battlefield, taking care of the wounded. Maximus ran towards the wounded without hesitation, and then saw a man coming up and saluting him. It turned out to be Toleruge. Maximus first noticed that his right arm was wrapped in layers of linen and stained with blood. He asked with concern: "Are you injured? Is it serious?!"

"It was just a cut by the enemy. There was no damage to the blood vessels and muscles. It's nothing serious." Toleruge shook his right hand pretending to be relaxed.

"It's good that it's nothing serious." Maximus said, and immediately frowned: "So you went to the battlefield to kill the enemy yourself?"

"Uh... this..." Facing Maximus's stern eyes, Toleruge actually became nervous. This would never have happened a year ago. It can only be said that Maximus' prestige in the team is growing, and even an old rebel like Toleruge is in awe.

"After this war is over, you will go to the military judge Sidonius to accept the punishment yourself." Maximus said lightly.

"Yes." Toleruge responded obediently with his head down.

"What are the casualties of the soldiers?"

"A total of 9 people were killed and 87 were injured, of which only three were seriously injured."

"What about the enemy?"

"The casualties must have exceeded a thousand, but the specific number is not yet clear." Toleruge pointed to the battlefield not far away and said in a deep voice: "Some of the enemy's bodies were trampled to pieces. The people who went to count the battlefield vomited when they saw it... Oh, by the way, we also captured more than 800 people!"

This is indeed a great victory! ... Maximus smiled happily, without a trace of pity for the enemy's miserable state.

In fact, the reason why the two sides had such a disparity in casualties was not because the rebels had a strong offensive power. Except for the risky charge of the Scodischi male slaves at the beginning and suffered a heavy setback, the two sides did not cause any major casualties in the battle afterwards. The turning point came when the soldiers of the Second Legion surrounded the Segestica people and attacked them from both sides, causing a rout, which caused a sharp increase in casualties, at least half of which came from the panic of their companions killing and trampling.

"Did Phesalus lead the army to chase the rout?" Maximus asked.

"Yes, his soldiers were not wearing armor and were able to catch up with the enemy. More than 100 soldiers from the Second Legion followed behind. Maybe now Phesalus has reached the Segestica camp and has begun to attack!" Torrelugo said enviously.

Maximus glanced at him and praised: "You personally led the army and defeated the Segestica army, but you have made the first contribution!" Torrelugo grinned.

So Maximus continued: "Torrelugo, now I will give you another task."

"Leader, you say." Torrelugo responded immediately.

Maximus said seriously: "Keep these prisoners and the wounded on the battlefield. When the people from the baggage camp arrive, tie them all up and take them back to the temporary camp. Don't let anything go wrong."

"Chief, don't worry, leave it all to me!" Brother Toleru assured him, patting his chest.

Maximus then turned to Horace, who was waiting aside: "How are the conditions of the wounded?"

"There are not many wounded, their wounds have been bandaged, and their conditions are all stable." Horace answered concisely.

Maximus said: "Since your medical team is rich in manpower, let's also treat the enemy's wounded soldiers over there."

"Okay." Horace agreed without hesitation. Having been the captain of the medical team for more than a year, saving lives and healing the wounded has almost become his instinct. He originally felt pitiful for the enemies lying on the ground, wailing and crying, but now he has Mark. Sims nodded, and he couldn't wait to take people there immediately.

It was Tolerugo who objected: "Chief, those are our enemies. Don't look at how pitiful they are now. When they attacked us before, they were very fierce. Our people go to rescue them, so don't get hurt by them!"

"So you have to protect the members of the medical team. If one of them is injured, I will come back to you to settle the score." Maximus said half-jokingly, half-seriously.

Torrelugo was just about to continue to object, but he saw Maximus reminding him with a serious face: "Don't think they are enemies now, maybe they will be our people in the future. If you give more goodwill now, you will gain more in the future." People’s hearts!”

Torreluco was stunned on the spot.

Maximus walked straight back to the team and shouted loudly: "Brothers, the brothers who fought here have won a big victory, now it's your turn! Do you have the confidence to win a bigger victory?! "

"Yes!!!" The soldiers who had seen the situation on the battlefield shouted in unison, their fighting spirit rising sharply.

"Let's go!" Maximus waved his hand vigorously, and the army crossed the battlefield and marched eastward.

Along the way, wounded Segostika soldiers lying on the ground could be seen from time to time, and occasionally a group of rebel soldiers could be seen walking back holding captives...

The soldiers were more eager to fight and kept accelerating their pace.

Quintus rode up to catch up.

"Have you asked Torrelugo about the battle?" Maximus asked with a relaxed look.

Quintus nodded and briefly told him the entire battle.

After listening to this, Maximus asked: "What do you think of the Segestica army?"

"There is no strict organization, no strict discipline, no strict training, no meticulous command, only some rough and simple tactics, and once they fight, it becomes chaotic. This is still an ignorant and backward tribal team, and it is not even considered It's the army." Quintus commented harshly.

"But the Ardeans say they are very powerful." Maximus said leisurely.

"It can be seen that the combat effectiveness of the Aldi people is even worse." Quintus made this evaluation unceremoniously.

"Listening to what you said, I have a little more confidence in defeating the Pannonians!" Maximus smiled softly.

Quintus quickly reminded: "Chief, after all, the Pannoni are much stronger than us, and their population is many times ours. If the war continues, no one can predict the outcome."

"I understand that it is not easy for a snake to swallow an elephant. The war has just begun." Maximus suppressed his smile, looked ahead and murmured: "We can't do it without taking risks. Let's hurry up... "

"Chief, what did you say?" Quintus didn't hear clearly.

Maximus did not respond, but instead asked: "Where did Frontinus stay?"

"Yes, he has to lead people to clean up the battlefield and deal with some post-war affairs."

"I'm afraid it won't be long before he will be called to the front again." Maximus showed a confident smile again and pointed forward: "Let's go and see how the Segestica people are defending the city. What’s the ability?”

…………………………………………………………………………

Voorhees ran away all the way. In extreme panic, he ran down more than eight miles in one go.

By the time he arrived at the village, the gate in front of him was already blocked by panicked soldiers. After all, he was wearing armor (his helmet had been thrown away), so it was impossible for him to outrun the lightly-armed infantry. As a result, he fell behind. If the guards hadn't fought to protect him, he would have almost become a prisoner of the pursuing rebel soldiers.

"Asshole! Get out of the way, the leader is going in!..." The guards shouted while roughly pushing away the defeated soldiers in front.

Voorhees turned around and saw the enemy chasing after him not far behind him. His heart beat violently. He shouted in a hissing voice: "Quick! Let's go in through the east gate!"

The group of people hurried around to the east gate. There were also broken troops here, but it was far less crowded than the west gate.

Just as the guards were pushing and pulling to clear the way for Wollis to enter the stronghold, without the pressure of the enemy's pursuit, Wollris regained some consciousness. He eagerly shouted to his brother: "Clay Lis, go and ask for help from the leader of Kabdus! Otherwise our stronghold will be destroyed!”

Krellis nodded heavily and continued running eastward dragging his tired body.

Wallis entered the stockade. The people in the stockade had already heard the bad news of the army's defeat, and were very panicked. They rushed up to ask Walris about the situation.

"Get out of here! Get out of here!..." Wallis usually has a pretty good attitude towards his people, but now he was shouting curses.

The guards had to carry out his orders and drive the people away.

Voorhees called to his equally trusted guard captain: "Musendes, the situation is urgent now. You should immediately reorganize the soldiers who entered the village and guard the gates on both sides! Then send people to arrest the other tribesmen." Organize them all and ask them to take up arms and guard the wall! You tell them that as long as we hold on for a while, the reinforcements from Chief Kabdus will arrive and our village will be saved. Do you understand?"

The guard captain nodded repeatedly, and suddenly realized something: "Chief, what about you?"

"I have to drink some goat's milk, I'm so thirsty!" Voorhees gasped.

Every time Wallis gets too excited, he will feel thirsty... This is something everyone close to him knows. The situation is urgent, and the captain of the guard has no choice but to do his best without the backbone of the leader. Gather the defeated troops.

Wallis kicked open the door of the master bedroom, and the young woman who was busy in the room was startled.

"Go and bring me a can of goat's milk! Go!" Voorhees roared.

The woman quickly ran towards the kitchen like a frightened deer.

Wallis sat down on the wooden chair. He was sweating profusely, and the lining was completely soaked, causing the hard breastplate to rub against his skin as if unimpeded. It was a little uncomfortable; what was even more uncomfortable was his lungs. , I ran for eight or nine miles without stopping. My lungs were like broken bellows. Every time I took a breath, I felt like I had to use all my strength, and it was swollen and painful.

Voorhees took a deep breath and leaned back on his chair. Just as he was about to relax a little, he saw the red iron wall composed of countless thick shields, the capable soldiers armed from head to toe... that scene on the battlefield. A terrifying picture immediately came to mind again, making him feel even more irritable and restless.

At this time, a jar of goat's milk was held in front of him.

Wallis grabbed it, raised his head and drank: "Well, it's not bad, I added honey...

After drinking most of the can in one go, he felt better and began to curse in a low voice: "Damn enemy, no matter where you come from, no matter how powerful you are, after I get through this time, I will bring you Thousands of warriors, destroy your tribe, and let your women moan naked at my feet..."