When Anthony had just reached the high ground, he saw that on the plain battlefield, his huge coalition army was retreating. The distance was too far to tell whether it was the main army or those Eastern mercenaries. The cavalry had not yet sent the information, and for a while, Anthony did not know what was happening, but the situation in front of him was terrible, and the rout of the legion must be prevented, but in such a large-scale battle, Anthony himself could not turn the tide. After all, he is not Caesar.

"Sumirtius, where is he? Find him! ”

Antony was furious and anxious to find his cavalry commander, but he did not know that Sumirtius had been killed, and he had been stabbed in the chest by Appis's Germanic cavalry in the previous battle, and he had fallen to the ground tragically. Now, the murderous Germanic cavalry was on the run, chasing the fleeing Roman infantry and the Eastern Auxiliaries.

As Cicero famously said, a soldier who loses his courage is like an unarmed civilian, who flees in a hurry, completely forgetting his glory and duty. At this moment, these fleeing soldiers were like animals, driven by a barbarian cavalry of a few thousand people. Appis knew that victory was at hand.

At this time, Anthony rushed down from the high ground with the only remaining cavalry guards around him, trying to reorganize his legion. Alexander's legions held their ground firmly, they were experienced and tenacious, and the eagle banner, a symbol of glory, inspired the legion's infantry to never retreat. But the willpower of the other legions was not so tenacious, and they kept losing ground, especially when they saw the soldiers around them who kept fleeing, and they had no confidence. and fled with the main army.

The entire battlefield has become a scene of great animal migration.

"Anthony, we can't fight any longer, the enemy has already surrounded, if we continue to fight, we will be annihilated!"

At this moment, Domitius, with his face covered in blood and dirt, rode over, and he saw the flank, which seemed to have been turned into a slaughterhouse. The morale of Appis's soldiers was high, and the Egyptian allies had been defeated. The three hoplite legions brought from Alexandria would soon be besieged from three sides if they continued to resist hard.

Of course, Antony quickly understood what Domitius meant.

"Retreat."

Then, I had to accept such a tragic reality.

Led by the clarion call to withdraw, Alexander's corps fought and retreated. The highlands that have been won so hard have become meaningless at this moment. That used to be the key to the whole battle, after all, whoever mastered the high ground occupied the initiative on the battlefield. But at this moment, when the large army is scattered, it is useless to occupy another hundred heights, because the soldiers have no intention of fighting.

……

"Catch up with them! Can't let any of them go! ”

At the rear of the battlefield, Appis, already exhausted, continued to shout with all his might, allowing his Germanic cavalry to keep chasing the fleeing Eastern militia. Don't give Anthony a chance to regroup.

The pursuit lasted a whole day, and the next day, Apis ordered the large force to continue the pursuit......

"I know you are tired and want to count the spoils of yesterday's battle, but brothers, it is not time for us to rest, we have no food, and Rome has no food, but Capua does, and we must drive Antony out of the land while he is still on his feet. The grain harvest in Campania is about to begin, and we can take advantage of the situation to drive out Antony and occupy it. I promise you that each of the spoils of this battle will receive a twenty percent more share. ”

Faced with the exhausted soldiers, Apis tried to motivate them. It is also true that although Antony was defeated, the main army was still there, and as long as he was given a few days to regroup, he could still fight the Gallic legions. Then the previous battles were pointless, except for the death and capture of some Allied troops and soldiers. That's something that can be added in time. There are many bustling cities on the entire east coast of the Mediterranean, and with Anthony's wealth accumulation over the years, mercenaries can continue to sail from the east coast.

"Victory is never easy to come by, cheer up again, brothers, we are tired, Anthony and his defeated generals are also tired, and this is the time to test our willpower!"

Apis shouted. At this time, the soldiers reluctantly picked up heavy weapons and shields and continued on their way.

At the same time, Appis ordered Maximus, with a small number of cavalry, to rush to Capua as fast as possible. Tell the defenders of the city that if they help Anthony defend the city, it will be the time when the city is broken, and it will be when their heads fall to the ground. If, on the other hand, Antony had returned to the city with the gates closed, they would have been rewarded handsomely when Capua was "liberated" and would have become a hero to the Roman people.

Capua's defenders, mostly made up of the city's permanent legions, were dissatisfied with Antony's alliance with the Queen of Egypt, and now that Antony had lost the battle, they did not intend to aid Antony without Apis sending men. So, under the persuasion of Maximus's admonition and threat, the defenders of the city said that when Antony returned to the city, the city gates would be closed and not opened. In order to monitor the words and deeds of these soldiers, Maximus simply stationed himself with five hundred legionary cavalry.

Two days later, Antony appeared outside Capua with his ruined army, but what awaited him was a massive fortified wall and grim-faced guards.

"Damn it, a bunch of traitors! I should have left the Fourth Corps in the city, these people are not trustworthy at all! ”

Seeing this, Anthony was helpless but to scold the Capuas for not keeping their promises and seeing the wind steer.

In the rear, Appis's legions were always in high morale and relentless, and Anthony didn't know where they got their physical strength, like a pack of mad dogs, they couldn't shake them off.

"General, perhaps we should turn back and meet Appis. Appis and his legions had been pursuing us at a rapid pace for five days, and the soldiers had reached their limits of physical strength. We're tired, and they're tired. Moreover, to pursue us at such a speed, they must have no baggage to follow, and the soldiers carried only enough rations for three days at most. It's now the fifth day, and I guess our pursuers are already suffering from hunger. and fleeing all the way to Brindisi, it is better to regroup the legions and fight them again. ”

Domitius suggested.

"Regrouping the Legion? Don't you see that our allies are already dying of exhaustion and hunger? Even if my legions are still fighting, look at the Egyptian soldiers, the Syrians, the Greeks, they are like frightened birds, at the slightest movement, they will turn into birds and beasts, and they will break up again. ”

Anthony was panting and indignant. 1.