But now they were shocked to find that the male slaves not only failed to throw the enemy formation into chaos but were instead fleeing in panic.
So, they mercilessly cut down the fleeing Skodisqi male slaves.
Wallis was no fool like the Skodisqi male slaves. He noticed the enemy ahead had changed their equipment and adopted a dense shield formation he had never seen before. He immediately realized these enemies were likely not the Aldeans they had been fighting all along.
But the two armies were already within close range, and he couldn’t have the troops retreat first to learn about this new enemy and then continue fighting. Even if he gave the order from within the formation, the warriors who were about to engage in combat wouldn’t be able to hear it. So he decided to defeat the enemy in front first before considering other matters.
He quickened his pace, strode forward two large steps, swung up his longsword with both hands, and shouted as he fiercely slashed at the enemy.
Facing Wallis was none other than Stags, the Centurion of the First Legion in the rebel army. He was not intimidated by the opponent’s overwhelming momentum. Mustering all his arm strength, he quickly raised the square shield while lowering his head.
The longsword struck the edge of the square shield, surprisingly cutting through the iron trim and slicing in. Fortunately, although the Roman Square Shield was mainly made of wood, it had an iron core in the center that served as the framework, preventing the longsword from splitting the square shield in half but embedding within it instead.
Stags glanced at the sharp blade only five fingers away from his left arm wrapped in the shield, breaking into a cold sweat. But this did not affect his next move as he forcefully pulled the square shield back.
Due to inertia, Wallis, still holding the longsword, stumbled forward a step.
Seizing the opportunity, Stags stabbed out with his short sword.
With a "clang," a large shield timely extended from the side, blocking the fatal thrust; it was Wallis’s guard who saved his leader’s life.
But immediately, a First Legion Soldier facing the guard took a small step forward, simultaneously thrusting his square shield forward.
The guard, who was originally protecting his leader with a sidelong shield, was knocked backward, while the soldier’s short sword reached out diagonally downward.
With a scream, the guard’s unprotected left foot was pierced through.
"Captain, I took one down!" the soldier exclaimed excitedly, a youthful face under his helmet, yet it was Casaridaoa. The long march and battles had quickly transformed this young man from Sarabia into a competent Legion Soldier in just four months.
"Fool, focus on fighting!" Stags reprimanded, feeling a strong pulling force coming from the square shield. He immediately exerted force to rotate the square shield back and forth while stabbing out with his short sword again.
Unable to retrieve the longsword deeply embedded in the square shield, Wallis was forced to retreat to dodge the attack.
The Segestica Light Infantry behind had already surged forward. Burning with anger, Wallis grabbed one of them and shouted, "Give me your shield and long spear!"
The warrior, seeing it was the leader, dared not oppose and obediently offered his weapons.
Wallis, holding the shield spear, shouted loudly, "Segestica warriors, follow me, kill all the enemies!..."
He charged forward again, the Segestica Warriors around him yelling as they followed him into battle.
"The enemy is closing in, they’re starting to encircle your legion’s flanks!" Torrelugo reminded from a high vantage point.
"Don’t worry, even if the Segestica people completely surround my First Legion, we can hold our ground!" Fesaros confidently replied, "Are you just going to watch, Second Legion?"
Torrelugo said nothing, picked up armor and weapons hidden in the grass, and turned to head toward the riverbank.
Fesaros, who had fought alongside him for a year, immediately shouted, "Are you personally going into battle? The army has a decree that the Legion Commander must stay at the command post in the rear!"
"You’re here, aren’t you! Besides, does 2,000 men count as a legion? I’m not breaking orders, it’s been too long since I fought, today I’m going to enjoy a good battle!" Torrelugo laughed heartily, running to the already pit-dotted construction site where the Second Legion soldiers were waiting.
"Brothers, can’t wait any longer, can you? Quickly get your armor and weapons on, it’s our turn!" Torrelugo said spiritedly.
The soldiers waited for this, immediately fetching their armor and weapons hidden in the dirt piles and wooden baskets. Although putting on segmented armor was cumbersome, with mutual help, not long after, two battalions of 2,000 fully armed Legion Soldiers were ready.
A few hundred members of the Supply Team remained on the construction site, not only to confuse the enemy but also charged with bandaging and transporting the wounded, now offering blessings to the soldiers.
Torrelugo said loudly, "I won’t say much more. According to the deployment before departure, we’ll circle the flanks of the First Legion, don’t engage yet, widen the formation, and try to surround the enemy before launching an attack! Move out!"
After saying this, Torrelugo led a battalion in a column formation toward the left flank of the First Legion Phalanx, while another battalion headed to the right flank.
The two battalions of the Second Legion moved like two outstretched arms, ready to encircle the enemy with an iron grip.
Among the Segestica warriors who had already circled the First Legion’s flanks, those on the outside noticed something amiss and shouted loudly, trying to catch the leader and the Nobles’ attention. However, on a battlefield a mile long, filled with the clamorous sounds of battle, they couldn’t create a ripple.
Some Segestica warriors bravely confronted them, trying to stop the enemy’s advance, but an individual’s strength could not stop the advancement of a well-trained Heavy Infantry army.
The Segestica people were confident before departure, during the march, and even while advancing in formation, believing they would easily rout the enemy as before.
However, once they began to fight, they discovered they were facing enemies wielding very solid large shields, forming an iron wall with a highly compact formation in front of them. The Skodisqi male slaves’ charge failed entirely, almost annihilated, their most trusted Heavy Infantry could not break through the opponent’s shields with sharp longswords, the numerous Light Infantry could not crush the array, and they had to constantly be wary of short swords thrusting through the gaps in the shields...
The Segestica people found themselves in a tough battle, the key being the leader and Nobles were enmeshed in the formation, with no one able to step forward to reorganize the slightly chaotic army and show them a path to victory.
In reality, it was impossible. It was their first encounter with such a powerful enemy, and everyone’s minds were blank when past tactics proved ineffective, including Wallis. His voice hoarse, he no longer shouted, only relentlessly used his shield to batter the enemy’s shield formation, determined to break through it.
At this moment, he heard deafening shouts from behind, but they quickly faded, replaced by the familiar din of battle. He didn’t pay much attention, not that it mattered. Surrounded densely by Segestica warriors, he could only focus on the enemy ahead.
But as time passed, the cacophony beside him turned into panicked cries, "We’re surrounded!... We’ve lost, run away!..."
Wallis was startled and quickly turned to look back, seeing the warriors already starting to flee...
"Stop! All of you, stop!—" He disregarded his sore throat, instinctively attempting a stern halt, but suddenly his arms were seized by guards on either side, dragging him to retreat, an urgent voice sounding in his ear: "Leader, we’ve lost, we must hurry back to defend the camp!"