Rome Must Fall

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from the side, followed by multiple people's exclamations.

The enemy fired a short spear! ...Selysis was startled, turned around and ran back. His foot stepped on the straw bale and slipped. As soon as he stood up, he slipped again. He was so anxious that he simply pulled out the wooden board on the sole of his shoe and tried his best to Run back.

At this time, the tribal leader at the rear had changed his expression, waved his sword fiercely, and threatened: "You all continue to hold the straw bales and fill up the front of the camp! If anyone is afraid of death and hides, I will Tell the big leader to take away his land and drive him out of the tribe..."

His threats had an effect, and the Selicis and other people had to continue to carry out dangerous tasks.

Selicis and the others faced the east side of the camp. There were three towers in total. At this time, these three towers began to fire short spears.

Celysis deliberately slowed down and forced himself to calm down. After observation, he discovered that these three towers like to fire short spears at crowded places. Every time a short spear is fired, it will take a while before another one is fired. root.

Based on these two discoveries, Selicis immediately moved forward quickly toward a place with few people. Soon he completed the task without any danger, returned to the rear safely, and continued to hug the grass bundles...

Many experienced Pannoni warriors also adopt the same strategy as Selicis, but there are also some young warriors who are afraid and like to gather in groups to be brave and become the main target of crossbow sniping. Sometimes they even kill two or three people with one spear.

But there were only three towers, and there were more than 2,000 Pannoni warriors active in front of the camp. The number of people they shot was just a spray in the stream. It only made the Pannoni feel psychologically afraid and did not stop them. action.

But when the Pannoni warriors approached about 30 meters away from the camp, a rapid blast of brass horns sounded in the camp, a deafening roar erupted from the wooden walls, stones and javelins fell like raindrops, and screams immediately sounded, and the camp Many Pannoni warriors fell before them.

Because the Pannoni soldiers had to hold straw bales to fill the ground, they had no protection. Even if they were hit by rocks, they would still be injured. They were so frightened that they quickly retreated, leaving their injured teammates lying on the grass and wailing.

"It seems we can no longer send them up alone, otherwise the casualties will be huge!" Temagis, who was in the rear, saw this situation and suggested to Andres.

According to the prior arrangement, the troops of the two families attacked from the east, while the reinforcements of Broch and Maziyi attacked from the north.

"You're right, it looks like we are going to send what we have prepared for several days."

Not long after Andres finished speaking, a dozen very wide and long wooden rafts appeared at the forefront of Pannoni's attacking team. These wooden signs were made of pieces of wood spliced ​​vertically and horizontally and reinforced with iron nails. The wood was spliced ​​more closely and there were fewer gaps. Every seven or eight people held a wooden raft diagonally and marched slowly toward the camp side by side, like a long moving wooden wall.

Behind them are still the warriors holding straw bales, and also mixed with infantry armed with shields and spears. They want to prevent the enemy from suddenly bursting out of the camp gate. This is what Andres learned from the last small setback. lesson.

When the wooden wall advanced to about 30 meters away from the camp, it stopped advancing. The soldiers behind got down and stuffed the straw bales in front of the wooden wall...

During this period, the Nix soldiers stopped throwing javelins and stones. Although they were condescending, they could still let the javelins and stones pass over the wooden wall and attack the Pannoni in the rear, but the lethality would undoubtedly be much worse.

Only the crossbows were still firing, and the thick wooden rows were still penetrated by short spears, shooting the Pannoni warriors in the rear to death, but other warriors soon took his place. Although the three crossbows had a high hit rate at such a close distance, they could not stop the slow advancement of the wooden wall.

This tactic of the Pannonians was practiced not only in the east, but also in the north.

Maximus, who was supervising the battle in the north of the camp, felt helpless when he saw this situation: there were no bows, no archers, or even javelins in the Nyx tribe. They all used the Segestica spears captured before. There are not many modifications. At the same time, the Nyx tribe does not have a dedicated javelin thrower, and can only temporarily use soldiers with skills in this area. For example, some Celts and Illyrian mountain people are good at using javelins.

In addition, Quintusti's suggestion was adopted by everyone, which was to collect some smaller stones and let the soldiers throw them collectively, which could also cause a certain amount of damage. This could make up for the lack of medium and long-range firepower, but when Panno After the Nigerians used the wooden wall tactic, the Knick soldiers were condescending. Although they could still attack the enemies behind the wooden wall, the lethality would inevitably be weakened. In order to save javelins and stones, the team officers ordered to stop projection.

There was a well-defended camp in the air, but due to the lack of sufficient long-range firepower, it was unable to fully exert its defensive power. This made Maximus regretful and made him determined to improve the weakness of the Knicks' army's poor long-range attack as soon as possible.

When the wooden wall advanced to 15 meters away from the camp, it was forced to stop because the front was the deer village set up by the Knicks. Countless sharp wooden stakes half a man's height were densely interlaced and inserted diagonally in the narrow area in front. Even a single soldier They couldn't easily reach the trench through this area, let alone they had to carry rafts.

However, the Pannoni coalition forces have not lived in vain these days, they have ways to deal with it.

The soldiers carrying the wooden raft placed the wooden raft on the ground and supported it with their bodies to prevent it from falling. The soldiers holding weapons behind them raised their wooden shields at an angle, passed through the gaps between the wooden rafts, and walked carefully among the sharp wooden stakes. between. The warrior who was originally holding the straw bale bent down and followed them, using the protection of his shield, he began to pull out the sharp wooden stakes...

In order to defend against the attack of the Pannonian coalition, the Nyx tribe was built in strict accordance with the requirements of the Roman military camp. These sharp wooden stakes were dug deep into the soil and were not easy to pull out. It often took two people Only by exerting all your strength at the same time can you succeed.

It was impossible for the Nyx soldiers to allow the Pannoni warriors to do this, so javelins and stones poured down again.

But this time the Pannoni army began to fight back. Because they were attacking the camp, Andres recruited some harpooners, who were all hunters from the tribe. The Pannoni people live along the river and mainly make a living by farming and fishing. However, there are also a few ethnic groups who go to the mountains to hunt and obtain meat and furs for their livelihood.

These harpooners hid behind the wooden platoon and threw javelins at the Knick soldiers on the wooden walls of the camp. Although the hit rate was not high, they somewhat suppressed the enemy's long-range firepower.

The Knicks soldiers throw from a high position, and the distance is so close, the hit rate is much higher. Some strong soldiers even picked up larger stones and threw them vigorously. Hitting the shield was like a sledgehammer blow, causing the enemy to let go or fall. The effect was more powerful than a javelin.

While Selysis was pulling out a wooden stake, he was hit in the head by a stone. His eyes suddenly went black and he fell to the ground. When he regained consciousness, he found that his compatriots were already lying around him. He struggled to think When he was about to get up, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind, and he immediately fell down again, closing his eyes and pretending to be dead.

Although the casualties increased, the attack on the camp had progressed to a critical moment, and Andres could not retreat. The tribal leaders and patriarchs shouted loudly, forcing his soldiers to move forward and not retreat.

As a result, the distance from Luzhai to the trench was almost covered with fallen Pannoni warriors, who used their blood and lives to clear nearly ten passages.

The large wooden platoon was once again carried forward by the Pannoni warriors. The Nix soldiers realized their intentions and attacked more fiercely. As the distance got closer and closer, two or three of them picked up the prepared stones as big as millstones or short logs one meter long and as thick as a person's waist and threw them down.

The Pannoni soldiers, who had been carrying the raft for a long time, could not withstand the impact of such a heavy object. They immediately fell down, with the raft pressing on them, and there was a scream.

The Pannoni warriors behind them rushed forward, using one hand to protect themselves with a shield, and the other hand to push the raft forward. Someone fell, and someone else quickly took his place, and finally pushed the raft to the front of the trench.

The Nix soldiers' attack further intensified, causing the Pannoni soldiers to push the raft over in a hurry.

The raft fell headlong into the trench, completely failing to function as a bridge.

There were also Pannoni warriors who braved the rain of stones and turned the raft in the direction of the leader's screams (the rafts made by the Pannoni were generally three meters high and seven meters long), and then headed towards the trench. After pushing it over, it finally hit the root of the earth wall on the opposite side.

But before they could cheer, a big stone hit the wooden wall.

There is no extra open space on the other side of the three-meter-wide trench. It is directly a compacted earth wall with a certain angle. The bottom of the wooden raft has no stable support, and the stone was smashed directly into the trench.

Andres's attempt to use a wooden platoon as a bridge to allow the soldiers to cross the trench failed, but their attack continued.

This time, the soldiers who rushed in front were carrying a ten-meter-long ladder. They rushed to the trench, and several people took the risk to hold on to the long ladder and bring it down. One end of the long ladder was placed on the wooden wall stack, and before Nick could The Si soldiers pushed it away, and a Pannoni warrior immediately climbed on top of it and moved forward quickly.

The attack of the Knicks soldiers suddenly focused on him, and a stone hit him. The soldier fell into the trench. There were also many sharp wooden stakes buried at the bottom of the trench, and one wooden stake directly penetrated his chest...

At the moment he fell, two Pannoni warriors were already following him. They learned from their companions' lesson and simply threw away their spears, grabbed the long ladder with their hands, protected their heads with shields, and endured being beaten. The severe pain from the stone hit me, and I struggled to crawl forward...

Then, another Pannoni warrior climbed up the long ladder.

The Nyx soldier picked up a thick log, placed it on the head of the wooden ladder and pushed it down. The log rolled down the wooden ladder and hit the first Pannoni soldier's shield. The strong impact caused He couldn't hold on to the wooden ladder and rolled backwards, taking down his companions behind him...

Some long ladders were hit by big rocks and broke into two pieces. The soldiers on the wooden ladders screamed and fell into the trench...

This tragic scene replayed itself repeatedly on every long staircase...

Not only did the Pannonians use long ladders to climb up and attack the camp, but the javelin bearers also moved forward to the ditch and threw javelins at the city head when the attack of the Knick soldiers was dispersed. The shortening of the distance led to an increase in the hit rate. Knick Sri Lankan soldiers also began to suffer casualties...

Andres also asked the soldiers who were holding straw bales to continue their mission, but this time they were not holding straw bales, but straw bags filled with soil. They kept transporting them to the trench and threw the straw bags into In the trenches, people were constantly being hit by rocks and javelins, and fell directly into the trenches, becoming part of the process of filling up the trenches...

While the Nix soldiers were trying their best to defend against the Pannoni attack, other people in the camp were not idle either. They lined up in long lines, packed the stones and wood stored in the camp into wooden frames, and passed through Hand to hand, finally passed to the wooden wall walkway...

Seeing that the hill-like pile of stones was visibly shrinking downwards, Capito and Volenus obtained Maximus's permission and asked the soldiers to open the southern camp gate and lead the people down to the river to collect stones. …

The fighting continued until noon, and after unremitting efforts, the Pannonians finally filled part of the trench with the corpses of their own warriors and earth bags.

Another group of Pannoni warriors rushed up, crossed the ditch, stood the wooden ladder on top of the corpse and the earth bag, and leaned against the wooden wall. This time the wooden ladder was placed at a large inclination angle and had better stability. If you fall down, you will be protected by a soft body and earth bag, making it much safer than before.

Those who climbed the wooden ladder were no longer the light infantrymen before, but heavy infantrymen wearing armor. They were nobles and warriors from the Pannoni tribe.

Ordinary stones hitting them had no effect. There were not many javelins, big rocks, and logs left that could work due to the consumption of previous battles.

Therefore, the most common defensive method used by Knicks soldiers is to use forked sticks to hold up the ladder and push it out together.

One after another, the long ladders fell down with exclamations, but they were quickly put up again, and they were sawing again and again... At the bottom of the long ladders, more and more soldiers pressed down on the legs of the ladders, pulling the ladders together. The long ladder is stable...

Finally, a heavily armored warrior climbed to the top of the ladder, and immediately two or three spears were stabbed at him. While dodging left and right, he was stabbed hard in the chest by a spear, and he screamed and fell down in the air.

"I killed a Pannonian soldier!..." the young Skordischi recruit shouted excitedly, and then heard a "peng" sound next to his ears. When he looked back, he saw a square shield. Standing in front of him, there was a javelin stuck on the shield. He immediately understood what was going on: "Thank you... thank you for saving me!"

"If you don't want to die, just concentrate on me!" Casaridoa said coldly, and with a strong swing of the dagger in his hand, he chopped off the wooden shaft of the javelin.

"Oh... yes! Yes!" The new recruit Skordisqi looked at the face that was as young as his with respect and nodded repeatedly.