Rome Must Fall

"You didn't understand what I just said, did you? Cough! Cough!" Akupagos coughed angrily again: "...A Segestika has almost caused our genocide, and now you are preparing to do it again Go and provoke Broch! Don’t you think our tribe has suffered enough?”

"This can't be done! That can't be done either! Our tribe has become what it is now precisely because of your cowardice! Huh!" Aristakas left angrily.

Akupagos looked at his leaving son and shook his head helplessly, with disappointment and worry in his eyes. He said softly: "Hey, look, this is the future leader of Ardei... Bro Tas, if I’m not here tomorrow, I’ll still have to rely on you to support the tribe!”

Cleobrotus quickly comforted him: "Big Chief, what are you talking about! You are in good health, and you can at least lead us for another ten years!"

Akupagos shook his head and said calmly: "I know my body, and it will be good if I can live for one more year. Aristakas is still doing things recklessly now. When he sits in my seat, He will be able to understand the hardships of being a big leader, and you, as an uncle, should help him more when the time comes!"

Facing Acoupagos's expectant gaze, Cleobrotus replied without hesitation: "Don't worry, Chief, I have watched Takas grow up, and I will do my best to help him." !”

"Hey. Brotus, you read that right. Judging from the performance of the outsiders during this period, Maximus is indeed an amazing figure. The Nyx tribe he established is likely to become the most popular tribe in the great river plain. A fierce beast, but it’s a pity that I can’t see that day...”

Akupagos squinted his eyes, looked up at the sun in the sky, and said sadly: "But fortunately, Ardei has formed an alliance with them, and you are friendly to Maximus. I believe you are here." , the two parties will always maintain a good relationship. If one day the Knicks really become strong, it would be good for Aldee to follow behind it..."

…………………………………………………………………………

Maximus received the reward from the spies: the Pannoni coalition retreated eastward without stopping, and even the garrisons of the two eastern villages also left, and all the food and other supplies inside were also moved away...

The leaders of the Nyx tribe could finally confirm that the Pannoni coalition had really retreated.

Although he missed the opportunity to counterattack, Maximus did not regret it too much. After all, the Pannonians stormed the camp twice and caused more than 1,000 casualties to the team. Many battles have exhausted the Pannoni warriors, and so are the Nyx soldiers. Even if they win a risky attack, the casualties will increase greatly. Being able to win without increasing casualties is a great thing for the Nyx tribe, which is currently short of manpower. Good thing.

When the Knicks came out of the inner camp, the first thing they had to do was clean up the battlefield: eliminating the remaining traps and avoiding unintentional injuries to their own people was only second, and the most important thing was to clean up the corpses. The Pannoni took away the bodies of their companions. What remained on the battlefield were the soldiers of Nix who died. A few of them fell from the wooden walls and fell into the ditch when the Pannoni coalition first attacked the camp. Because They were outside the camp and could not collect the bodies. Now the bodies have started to rot and are covered with maggots...

Maximus asked the soldiers to cover their mouths and noses with clean linen to prevent mosquito bites. After carrying the bodies to the pyre and burning them, they also sprinkled lime powder obtained from the Ardeis throughout the camp.

Cleaning the battlefield, re-erecting tents, repairing damaged wooden walls... At dusk, the teams led by Carminus and Oros returned to the camp. All the Nyxians in the camp had a peaceful sleep that night.

In the next few days, the Nyx people were still actively rebuilding the camp, because Maximus and others were not sure whether the eager leader of Segestica would soon lead his troops to fight back?

Until news came back from Segostika: Andres was injured and fell into a coma. Now, Cabudes, who was once captured by the Nyx, temporarily acts as the chief leader of the tribe.

This news made Maximus happy: Although Andres was not a famous general with superb tactics, his personality of never giving up until he achieved his goal, coupled with the strong strength of the entire Pannoni tribe, But he is a difficult opponent, giving the Knicks leaders a headache. So far they have not dared to move the team to the vacant village in the east. Now that he is injured and bedridden, Segostika will not be able to play in the short term. Then attack the Knicks within the time limit.

Therefore, Maximus immediately sent people to find Budokaribas to get back the thousands of Segostika family members who had previously entrusted the Ardi people to help take care of them. As for the nearly 10,000 Pannoni warriors, The captives have been generously given to the Ardei tribe and turned into coolies and tools to vent their anger.

However, the political hall had a heated debate on whether to immediately abandon the temporary camp and move the entire team to the stockade by the Kupa River, but failed to reach a consensus.

Many department chiefs have this worry: Although the Segestica people may not attack in the short term due to Andres' injury, if one day he recovers from his illness, they will learn from the failure of this attack. , went to the Pannoni Tribal Alliance again to seek assistance, bringing more troops than this time. And Nix has moved to the east side of the village, far away from the Ardie tribe. Fighting alone under the heavy siege of the Pannoni coalition, the situation will undoubtedly be more difficult than this time.

Since Maximus also had this concern, he did not express his position clearly, and the issue remained undecided.

"Chief, Captain Pecot is back!" Akguo rushed into the military tent excitedly.

"Oh, where?!"

"Just outside the camp, he brought many people with him!"

Maximus rushed to the gate of the camp. A lot of people had gathered here, blocking the passage in and out. He heard the voice of Pheasalus coming from the front: "Pecote, you are worrying us to death." Yes! The leader asked you to lead a team hidden in the mountains to plunder the Pannoni's food roads. As a result, after the Pannoni army retreated, we searched for you for several days and failed to find you. We thought you and the soldiers you led were They have all been killed by the Pannoni! I...I almost built a wooden monument for you to pray for you!"

"Well, you Pecot, I really don't see it usually. You are so brave, with such a small number of soldiers, you actually dare to go to Broch's territory to cause such a big stir, and still That’s awesome!” This is Torrelugo’s praise.

"A few days ago, we led a team to attack the Pannoni camp at night. We thought we did a good job. You have stolen our limelight this time!" This was Carminus' self-effacement.

"Pecote, it was not easy for you to bring these people back safely. How did you do it?" This was Aulus asking for advice.

"...Chief Maximus is here, please give way!" As soon as Akago shouted, the soldiers and team officers blocking the door all made way.

When Maximus saw Pecot standing outside the camp gate for the first time, he almost didn't recognize him: he was wearing a short robe made of rough animal skins, his hair was long and unkempt, and his thick beard on his chin reached his chest. , there are wrinkles on his face, his eyes are more calm, and the shadow of the ferocious face and cruel eyes can no longer be seen.

"Chief, I'm back!" As soon as Pecot saw Maximus, he immediately gave a military salute.

Oh, even his voice became deep and hoarse... Maximus showed a happy smile on his face, strode forward, and didn't care about the dust on the other person's body and the strong smell of sweat, and gave him a tight hug. Hug: "Welcome back, Pecot! We have been worried about you, and now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"

Although Pecot was a little uncomfortable with Maximus's way of welcoming him, he felt the excitement and enthusiasm conveyed by the other party, so he hugged back stiffly, then quietly took a small step back, and then said: "Chief, I'm really sorry! It took me a while to bring them all back safely."

Following Pecot's gaze, Maximus saw the swarming crowd behind him. These people were dressed in strange costumes. Most of them were young and middle-aged men, but there were also old people, women and children...

The men, like Pecot, were unshaven, disheveled, and had a dusty appearance. If you look closely, you can still see that they are all Skordisqi. Many of them were holding shields and spears, and they were heading towards the camp. Looking around, his face showed excitement and curiosity, but at the same time he was also a little wary...

With so many people gathered in front of the trench of the camp, the noise was no less than the previous Pannonian army's attack on the camp. It's no wonder that the previous patrol mistakenly believed that there was an enemy attack, and the soldiers rushed to the wall to defend themselves.

"How many people did you bring?" Maximus asked hurriedly.

"There are 5,300 people here, and one or two thousand more may be brought back by my team officers in the next few days." Pecot replied.

"Are they all Skordiszi slaves?"

"Except for the 500 people I led before, the others are all Skodisci slaves from Broch. They all decided to join our team and become our Knicks people!" Pecot said with emphasis. Finish the last two sentences.

Maximus nodded, thought for a moment, and immediately issued an order: "Argo, Cassius, you two hurry up and call Volenus and Capito, and ask them to be responsible for adding these new people to our Nick." The Sri Lankan people must be resettled as soon as possible.

Mainus, go and call Emmerich—"

"Chief, I'm already here!" Emmerich's voice came from behind Maximus, who was struggling to squeeze through the crowd.

"You are here at the right time. It is your responsibility to appease your compatriots. Pecot, please assist Volenus and Capito and the others. After making simple arrangements for the people you brought, come to my military tent immediately. , tell about your experience during this time.”

"Yes, chief."

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"... Chief, after I robbed Segestica's transport convoy, I realized that I could no longer carry out your previous plan - to fight guerrillas with the Pannoni coalition in the mountains and continue to threaten their rear.

Because too many Skodisci slaves joined the team, the team became huge, it was difficult to escape the enemy's tracking, and the food was not enough... But I was unwilling to play a big role in this war. Returning in such a hurry, that’s why I decided to go to Broch’s territory——”

When Maximus heard this, he corrected him sternly: "Who said you just robbed a Pannonian transport team and didn't play a big role. You broke the Pannonians' attempt to use Skodisci slaves Come and attack the camp plan!

Think about it, if these Skodisci slaves successfully reach the headquarters of the Pannoni coalition, and then serve as their vanguard and rush to our camp as before, our soldiers dare to throw javelins, fire short spears, Throwing wood and rocks? "

"I'm afraid it's not possible. At that time, each of our armies had added a lot of new Skordisqi recruits. They would definitely not allow others to shoot down their compatriots mercilessly." Pheasalus took over and explained. .

Since these legion commanders were all curious about Pecot's experience during this period, they all came to the military tent to observe with Maximus's permission.

"Even if we have to attack these slaves in the end, those Skordisqi recruits will probably be dissatisfied with us. This will greatly affect the fighting spirit of the soldiers, and even shake the morale of the army in the end!" Aulus looked serious. Interjected: "But if we let it go, the Pannoni can use them to easily fill in the traps and trenches we have constructed without any damage. By then, not only will we not be able to kill a large number of enemies, we may even suffer ourselves. Huge casualties!”

"You heard it, you decisively raided that transport team, which can be said to have saved our entire team! It is far greater than your contribution to plundering ten Pannoni grain transport teams!" Maximus pointed out Looking at the other people in the military tent, he praised loudly: "I decided... well, you continue to talk about your experience in Broch's territory to satisfy everyone's curiosity first."

After receiving praise from Maximus, Pecot became more confident and spoke louder: "...I led the team to the Kupa River, and sure enough I saw a Broch village by the river, just like that According to the newly joined Skodisci slaves, the stockade only has partial wooden walls and the people inside are completely defenseless.

I immediately led my team to attack and quickly captured the stronghold. Not only were our food, food and accommodation problems solved, but all the Skodisci slaves in the stronghold joined us. I also looted some weapons from the stronghold. Shield, to equip them.

On the next day, we continued eastward along the Kupa River, captured another Broch tribe, and were joined by some slaves... Then the spies I sent came back to report, "There is a Broch tribe with more than 2,000 people." The strange army is coming from the east...'"