"Look, Antony, you are fighting not only the Italian army, but also the Egyptian army, and your beloved Queen Cleopatra herself sat in Alexandria and sent a steady stream of grain and grain along the Nile to my barracks. And she is also the bed warmer next to my pillow, with a gentle whisper and silky skin, which makes many men dream. ”

On the eve of the duel between the two armies, Apis had a final meeting with Antony. However, this meeting was full of gunpowder. Appis lightly recounts how he conquered Egypt and how he conquered Queen Cleopatra, and as a result, it offends Antony's most sensitive nerves, as if mocking the great Roman general. Anthony was furious, he was like a roaring lion who woke up from his sleep. On the spot, he was about to draw his sword and stab at Appis on the opposite side, but was stopped by his own subordinate Domitius.

"Calm down, General, he is provoking you, not using force during the meeting, this is etiquette and tradition!"

Domitius protected Antony, and persuaded sensibly.

Antony's face was full of anger and hatred, and he hated Apis for taking everything from him, but he sneered at the other side.

"Appis, if you're a man, see you on the battlefield, I want to see you in armor and duel with me, weren't you once a gladiator? Brave in battle, I want to smell if the gladiator's blood has become rancid, full of intrigue and evil. ”

In the morning light, Anthony asked aggressively.

However, Appis remained indifferent to such a provocation......

"It used to be, but not now, General Mark Anthony, if you want to duel with me, then you have to see how I feel."

With that, Apis mounted his white horse and left with a look of disdain. Leave behind the lonely figure of Anthony and the knights around him. Obviously, since the defeat of the Greek Battle of Apollonia, Antony's military superiority has ceased to be there, and Apis does have the capital to ridicule and despise him. However, this legion still has a chance to take on Appis, and it is today that on this coast of Syria. On one side is the rolling waves, and on the other side is the horn that shook the sky.

Two Roman legions, once again began a brutal and bloody civil war......

"Brothers, to-day, standing opposite us is not a Roman legion, not even a Roman legion, but a foreign land, and when the Parthians threatened the borders of the Republic, this army, the master of this army, did not send a single soldier to resist the Parthian cavalry. They only look out for their own interests. Such an army is simply a bandit and a ruffian. Remember, brothers, do not show mercy, for those on the other side do not deserve mercy from us, they have long since lost their morals and beliefs and have become wild beasts. What we have to do today is to spread the civilization of Rome to this land again, and the glory of the legions to this land again! ”

With the battle imminent, Apis, dressed in splendid armor, leaped through the crowd on horseback and gave his usual high-pitched and inspiring speech. Of course, the soldiers knew in their hearts that this battle was more important than any previous battle, not only because it would decide the fate of Asia Minor, but more importantly, because it brought together the assets of thousands of Roman civilians. Many of them were investments from the families and relatives of these soldiers.

"For Appis!"

After speaking, tens of thousands of soldiers shouted a warm and prolonged cry, and Appis stood in front of the phalanx, and the crowd in front of him was like a burning red ocean, erupting with the most powerful roar. The morale of the soldiers was high and they were eager to try.

…………

"Crane, you know, according to what we said before, we must not attack until then."

After his speech, Appis walked over to the crowd of infantry and explained to Klein the final precautions. This was the most crucial part of the battle, as the armies of Apis and Antony lined up on the plains, and the legion's battle line was very long, which resulted in the infantry lines on both sides not looking thick and deep enough. And Anthony was very confident in his cavalry strength. Because his heavy cavalry also adopted the stirrups and Takahashi saddles invented by Appis, his combat effectiveness surged. As a result, Appis tried to take advantage of Antony's psychology to lure his cavalry troops to attack him. How much Antony hated himself, Apis knew very well that once the battle began, the Roman man who was as strong as an ox would definitely find his position and rush at him with great courage, just as Alexander had defeated Darius. Appis's plan was to thicken the phalanx in the center of the legion, thicken the original three-column front to six-column front, and increase the number of men to conceal it through a squatting position, just to conceal the whereabouts of the soldiers because the battlefield was overgrown with wild grass. In order to prevent the enemy from discovering it, Apis also asked each hidden soldier to wrap his helmet tightly with a black cloth in advance, so as not to be spotted by the sharp-eyed Anthony when he arrived on the battlefield, when the shiny helmet reflected the sunlight.

After preparing everything, Apis confidently stayed in the center of the infantry phalanx, commanding the main army to defend against the enemy. The cavalry was given to Maximus and Crassus the Younger under command.

Crane nodded, and everything was ready.

The long procession was completed at noon, when the war equipment of both sides began to play a role in deterring the enemy.

All the catapults and ballistas were pushed to the front line, and under the scorching sun, a flint wrapped in tar flames was thrown, leaving a billowing black flue in the sky between the two armies.

In the face of the flint, the recruits were obviously trembling with fear, they saw a lit boulder like an eye, pounced on a Roman legion phalanx, the soldiers standing in the phalanx suddenly disappeared, not even a human figure, directly pressed by the boulder without a trace, and around the flint, the ignited crowd fled frantically, the flames on their bodies were like the tentacles of the devil, entwined and devoured the living ......

Of course, such hits must be in the minority, most of the artillery and flint are landed in front of or behind the legion's phalanx, and the long-range weapons of this era, especially ultra-long-range weapons, have an accuracy of almost zero, and it is by luck to shoot the enemy.

The real killing and wounding of the enemy army still depends on hand-to-hand combat and close combat.

So, after a bit of bluffing, the infantry phalanxes of both sides began to approach each other, walking with neat and powerful steps, and the armor on their bodies made a heavy vibration sound, like two tides of steel, constantly approaching each other.

Appis, on the other hand, stood at the back of the phalanx, staring nervously at the progress of the battle in front of him.