"I will relay all of your suggestions to the Governor, I am sure he will adopt your opinions. However, you must also—"
"Don’t worry, I will secure victory in this battle for the Governor!" Antonius threw away the stick in his hand, looked at the battlefield ahead, and said confidently.
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Oluus stood on the hillside, with the formation of the soldiers of the Third Legion arranged behind him.
After Maximus’s orders were issued, Camillus led the Third Legion to advance alongside the Second Legion. However, when the Second Legion engaged with the enemy, the Third Legion remained in place, maintaining its formation unchanged.
Over half an hour had passed, and the front line of the Second Legion, originally at the same level as the Third, had moved forward a considerable distance. The sight of the Second Legion soldiers pressing hard against the enemy gave a sense of reassurance to the previously anxious Third Legion soldiers, while their battle cries stirred the bystanding Third Legion soldiers into a state of fervor, their calls for action incessant, causing quite a headache for Camillus.
Fortunately, most of the officers in the Third Legion were Roman veterans (after the Maximus Army stationed in Sarabia, Oluus had sent people to Apulia and Calabria to recruit some former comrades who were leading hard lives and harbored resentment towards Rome into the ranks), and they worked hard to stabilize their troops’ emotions.
Camillus also had Oluus stand at the front of the line and issued an order: Anyone who dares to cross the position where Oluus stands will be punished according to Military Law!
As a seasoned veteran of many campaigns, if he spotted a chance for victory, Onis would have unhesitatingly suggested that Camillus command the army to attack the flank of the enemy engaged with the Second Legion. The reason the Third Legion remained inactive until now was not entirely due to Maximus’s orders but primarily because of another enemy army not far behind the Roman Army that was fighting.
At this moment, the Roman Army that Oluus was observing from a distance, previously seen only as a silhouette, was starting to become clearer...
Finally, they’re coming... What arose from the depths of Oluus’s heart was not tension but excitement, and he turned around to see that most of his soldiers were staring ahead with intense eyes.
He nodded secretly: The soldiers’ morale was good, and they held a certain geographical advantage (the Third Legion’s formation was slanted forward, extending to a height on the hill that was difficult to traverse on foot, giving them a commanding advantage over the enemy’s attack). Of course, there were also disadvantages: To occupy as much of the favorable terrain as possible and to prevent the enemy from easily outflanking them, the Third Legion had stretched its formation, resulting in a thinner formation, and the weapons and equipment of the soldiers in the rear were not as superior as the opposing side’s...
But Oluus knew that the approaching Roman Army was the same one that had previously defeated Attutmus’s army upstream. After long marches and continuous battles, how much energy would they have left?... Therefore, this battle, the Third Legion had a chance for victory!
This Roman Army had clearly learned the lesson from the punishment army; it had arranged its formation from afar, first advancing towards the hill, then beginning to turn left as a whole, facing the Third Legion of the rebel army to the east... The entire process was exceedingly slow and disordered, repeatedly stopping to reorganize the formation.
At last, this Roman Army began pressing towards the Third Legion.
Under Oluus’s keen observation: The phalanxes of the Roman divisions were out of step and disorganized, the Roman Soldiers appeared dispirited and slack, with people occasionally tripping over the mountain rocks... The cursing of the team officers within the military formation was incessant.
Oluus felt a surge of confidence, even more assured of victory, as he turned back to the rear of the formation.
Simultaneously, the shouts of "prepare for battle" from the team officers echoed throughout the entire array, and then the Third Legion soldiers sitting on the ground quickly stood up, raised their shields, gripped their short swords tightly, and, both nervous and excited, widened their eyes to watch the enemy approaching step by step.
There were no javelins to be hurled (the javelins of this Roman Army had already been thrown in the battles upstream), no charges (since the hills overgrown with wild grass and bushes were not conducive to charging), and the Roman Army slowly approached, then the sky filled with the sounds of battle cries, and soldiers from both sides raised long shields and thrust short swords, with the splattering of blood constantly appearing in the entwined formations...
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"Leader Maximus, the Roman Army that had just retreated across the river has started attacking again, with a Military Law Team following behind them. It seems they’re planning to go all out! Moreover, they’ve split a unit that’s preparing to march west along the river, likely just as we predicted—they intend to attack the left wing of the First Legion!" Flanitnus, who had gone to observe the enemy’s movements on the northern line, shouted loudly before he could reach Maximus’s side.
With prior preparations, Maximus remained relatively calm, turning to say, "Pequot, it’s your turn to take the field!"
"Leader Maximus, wait a moment!" Quintus advised, "If you send the entire Guard out, you’ll have no troops left. If any sudden incidents occur afterward, we won’t be able to handle it!"
Maximus hesitated slightly, then heard Pequot quietly say from behind, "Maximus, rest assured, I only need 500 men, and those Romans won’t set foot on the riverbank!"
"500 men might be too few, take 600 with you." Maximus gave Pequot’s shoulder a firm pat, "600 men to hold a gap over 200 meters wide... I’m counting on you!"
"Don’t worry!" Pequot nodded firmly towards Maximus, then looked at his comrades and shouted loudly, "Brothers, it’s our time to shine!"