After half a month's long journey, the huge navy of the Eastern Empire appeared in the eastern part of Sicily, and the Sicily in front of him was only a small point on the horizon because the distance was only a small point, and the first thing Luga saw was the black smoke that rushed into the sky on the island.

It was too far away to see what was going on there, so Luga stood alone in the bow of the ship, feeling the refreshing sea breeze lapping his face, listening to the slaves below deck trumpeting one after another, and hundreds of oars flapping back and forth on the sea, driving the huge battleship forward. But the black smoke ahead was still too far away, and Luga could only look at it with his eyes wide open at the bow of the ship.

"There's Syracuse."

A cold voice from behind him made Luga turn around, and it was Berialiu, the bastard boy.

"How do you know?" Luga's tone was visibly disbelieving, of course, how could he believe that the kid in front of him, who was only over twenty, would be so familiar with this place.

"It's my job!" Berialiu pointed to his somewhat rough face, which had been blown by the sea breeze. "I don't know how many times I've traveled this route, but most of it was patrolling to deal with lazy pirates. From the spring of this year, however, I followed my father on a mission to deliver supplies to Sicily, helping to fortify the city's walls and expand its army. Berialiu looked sullen He didn't seem to have much interest in his current job, after half a month of looking up and not looking down, Luga felt that he was not a rude bastard, at least strong enough, I saw him look at Luga and ask, "Is it fun to fight?" ”

"War? Interesting? Very interesting question. ”

Luga smiled at him, and Luga couldn't answer Berialiu's question for a while.

"You're not fighting pirates, aren't you fighting them head-on? I've heard that pirates are vicious. ”

"Not really." Berialiu let out a long sigh and looked at the black smoke that was far away on the horizon, and there was an indescribable longing in his eyes, yes, this is the desire expressed by people who have never experienced real war, just like Luga at the beginning, eager to express himself.

"The battlefield was really brutal, it was a living hell." Luga put his hands on the railing of the warship, looking at the burning city from afar, and at this time, he thought of the thrilling wars that had indeed been fought at the beginning, and the interweaving of iron and blood had become the eternal nightmare of those who survived.

"Your Excellency Luga."

Behind him came a herald, who saluted Luga respectfully, and then said, "The commander of the navy is looking for you to discuss the next landing operation. ”

"That's so important!" Luga said, turning and walking briskly on the rickety hull, and went straight into the cabin, which was now full of heralds, and Andrew, a tall Germanic man who seemed to hate the sea and ships, and who was so seasick that he had to spend every day vomiting, and he looked like he had lost a lot of weight, and was about to get out of the way.

Hermanus stood at his desk and looked down at the map in thought, and when he heard movement, he looked up and saw Luga.

"You've come just in time, Your Excellency, and next, it's going to be your home field!" Hermanus said, beckoning Luga to come forward, only to see him pointing to the map of Greater Sicily, which was obviously different from the one when he boarded the ship, and the black flag representing the Vandals had spread all over the southern part of Sicily, and only the northern and eastern parts of Sicily, where Syracuse had approached Rome proper, were still struggling to support the Romans.

"As you can see, Lord Luga." Hermanus pointed to the part of the black flag of Nasicily and said: "We also did not expect that Gaisaric would have such a rapid offensive, at this time they are already attacking Syracuse in Sicily, if they let them capture Syracuse this time, then the whole of Sicily will be finished." ”

"But there's room for redemption, right?" Luga looked at Hermanus and said.

"Yes, but I hope Lord Luga will forgive me." Hermanus said, pointing to the sea east of Syracuse, "This is where we are now, yes, we are close to Syracuse. Originally, we were going to land at a safe enough distance north of Syracuse, near the south of the Apennines, but we didn't have that much time given the tension. ”

"And what's your battle plan?"

"South of Syracuse, that is, in the rear of Gaisarik's army, landed there, and attacked directly towards Gaisarik." Hermanus said, his finger sliding from the circled sea on the map to the black flag south of Syracuse.

"It's an absolutely risky plan." Luga looked at the map and said solemnly, "If we land there, then there will be no help, and you don't know how many Vandals there are, do you?" ”

Hermanus kept silent, presumably he was only asking for Luga's opinion, and of course, Luga was also carefully considering this question, because if he was to land in his original position, safety could be guaranteed, but it would be delayed for two days, and he did not know what these precious forty-eight hours meant to the defenders of Syracuse.

"If I fail, then there is an endless sea behind me, and no one can save me." Luga also spoke out about the shortcomings of the operation, and it was undeniable that the audience was silent when he said so, and Hermanus knew that he was asking for his opinion rather than ordering him. For the order, Hermanus knew that he was not yet qualified for it.

"If you can succeed, then it must be a brilliant enough to walk under the triumphal arch, whether you want to seize such an opportunity, it is entirely up to you." Hermanus said cautiously, of course, he also understood that it was still unknown whether Luga had the ability to command the large army, and it was only said that such a vigorous pounce from the sea would inevitably arouse Gaisarik's alarm and transfer his troops to turn back, so Luga landed at this time, and he must have encountered a frantic counterattack by the Vandals. Looking at Luga's tightly knit brows, Hermanus hoped that the young man in front of him would choose to refuse, after all, the lives of these fifteen thousand people were not child's play, if they were gone, then they would really be powerless to stop the Vandals!

"Then choose your plan!" To Hermanus's surprise, Luga agreed.

"Your Excellency, why don't you think about it again?"

Hermanus was too nervous to speak, he was afraid of being attacked after Luga's landing, and he would not be able to help him on the sea, and if Luga's army was in disarray, he would see the most spectacular slaughter. He couldn't afford such a responsibility, and after decades of struggle, he finally climbed to such a position, and if Augustus learned that his adopted son was wiped out under Hermanus's strategy, then the first person responsible must be that he couldn't hide.

"No, I think you've got a great idea!" Luga smiled and looked up at Hermanus who was blue and red, at this time Hermanus secretly complained in his heart, he really wanted to slap his mouth and let himself say so much, but he forgot that Luga was so young.