"Sir, 'The past is the past, the present is the present, and war has changed so much since the advent of firearms.'" —The answer of a captain of the 17th-century English army to a gentleman who still reminisces about the years of swords and spears

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Then, riding on horseback, he stretched out one hand and made a triumphant gesture, his black hair fluttering in the air, "Pray, soldiers, to all the gods of your faith, to King Numa, to Mars, to Faeroton, to Leus, for in the ensuing war there will be no more glorious victory than today, which deserves your encouragement and good fortune and that of all the people of the Republic!" ”

The soldiers in the front were the first to kneel, followed by the cavalry behind, the priests held the statues of the gods, chanted the sacrificial songs loudly, and the whole position, the soldiers bowed down densely, and soon a ray of sunlight fell, and then the wind stopped, the sand and dust were no longer raging, and the light tore through the clouds, and constantly projected on the surface of the Tumr River, smearing the surging river with a layer of gold.

At this moment, seven foraging vultures chirped and circled over everyone's heads, and soon they landed on the flags of the standard-bearers of the Legion of Lypida.

"It's a miracle, we have been blessed by the god of war, even the Heavenly Father and the Heavenly Mother will protect us, and the vulture is the messenger of the gods!" Hybrida, the chief centurion of the Six Legions, was the first to leap into battle, drew his sword and shouted to all the elite soldiers behind him, "Today is the great day when we will win personal glory and the glory of our commander, and it will be a great celebration for Rome in the future." Definitely. ”

"For the glory of the High Priest. Kill all enemies. Kill them all and make them all food for vultures! "All the soldiers of the legion, Lusitanians, Nubians, and Illyrians, rose to their feet and, like a dense forest, began to advance slowly toward the Tumr River.

"My comrades-in-arms. I am in the camp on that hill, waiting for the news of your triumphant victory, and the sacking of all the enemy's camps, all yours! Li Bida rode his horse and slowly walked across the long line of confrontation, the soldiers were in full swing, holding portraits and flags, the sound of trumpets, trumpets and flutes was melodious and exciting, the friction of weapons and armor was orderly, and then the high priest was accompanied by his servants. Returned to the camp on the hills and took command as one.

On the other side of the river. Rabinus, who was also at the head of the Central Combat Group, made a speech in front of the three legions, and he was dressed in a red cloak, shining bronze cuirass, covered with hoops, decorated with tassel enamel, and engraved with a pair of red pythons winding upward, "Fellows, allies, I understand that many people in this war were originally uninvolved and risked reprisals by the enemy, but you have all come, worthy of the title of the bravest tribe of Iberia, and worthy of the honor of Krien of the great Pompey, Let's practice the life of a warrior with blood, although it is ashamed to say, but the last hope of the republic is tied to you and me. I assure you all that after the end of this battle, citizenship will be granted to everyone who fought bloodily, you are all comrades of the Romans, in this battle the friendship is condensed with blood, with the filthy blood of the enemy, to wash our sword and witness the greatest victory! All of us hold our posts, we have strong ramparts, deadly ballistas and club throwers, and the bravest and best cavalry, face the enemy, turn your back to your comrades and die, there is nothing more glorious than this! ”

Then, with the wave of Labinus's hand, all the light cavalry and skirmishers in the front, including the Spanish allies of the two legions on the right flank, surged like a tide, brandishing all kinds of weapons, and also rushed towards the Tumr River, where Lypida's left flank corps had just stepped into the rushing river.

Under the sun, all kinds of projectile weapons were rapidly thrown at each other in the air, and the bravest warriors encouraged their companions, and the two sides were like the most seasoned farmers, facing each other, and then urging the swords and shields in their hands, and cutting the "crops" in front of them in rows—torsos, heads, and limbs, you kill and I chop, back and forth, the victors run forward, and the losers fall to the ground and die, but no one wants to retreat, because retreat means the eternal doom of reputation and fate. In the terrain here, it was difficult to build fortifications, and wood was more precious than human life, so in this situation, hand-to-hand combat became the dominant way to determine victory or defeat.

"Come on, Spanish barbarian, my brother is a good hand at killing you." The Sixth Army in the center, Highbrida and the rest of the chief centurions, marched side by side, cutting down the opponents who rushed at the opposite side, his Amira armbands were all dyed red, and now he had crossed a mutilated corpse and stepped on the land on the other side of the Tumr River.

"Hebrida, you are standing there, have you forgotten that you made an oath before the war?" Several centurions behind him shouted in unison.

It turned out that before the decisive battle, all the soldiers in the camp of the Sixth Legion were complaining that the high priest should not take the initiative to attack, because crossing the river would require great and tragic sacrifices, and then Hebrida was furious and said to the soldiers, "You have heard that the most difficult things in the battle are the crossing of the river and the siege of the city, but I tell you that both battles are decided by the gods in the dark. For example, when he was in Minor, he was the first to climb the enemy's wall, and then he stood in that city. On the Gate of Life, as long as I hold that place, the enemy's city defense will be completely useless, because the patron saint of the city has been trampled on by me and sealed, and we will be invincible, of course, six warriors of Mithridates besieged my brother, trying to expel me from the gate of life, or kill me, but what kind of person is my brother, those cowardly Greeks and Asiatic Yankees, I hacked two to death at once, and the rest were hugged and ran, and the city was taken by our army in an instant. It's the same with crossing the river, as long as Brother Tomorrow is the first to stand on the other side, the Tumur River will stop surging, and you will then walk over and kill all the enemies as if you were walking on flat ground. ”

So, now everyone's eyes are on Hybrid.

And the chief centurion, sure enough, stood straight on a small bulging earthen bag, holding a fighting sword, discarding his shield, like a fighting sword slave.

"Oh-oh, the river god has blessed us!" The soldiers of the other brigades of the Sixth Legion, seeing this scene, were inspired by great courage, and rushed to brave the arrows.

More than a dozen Spanish barbarian warriors, with bronze helmets and bronze armor, howled and rushed towards Hybrida, the first one held a battle axe, volleyed down, and cut Haybrida's helmet at once, the blood stained the horse's mane, and the fragments fell in all directions, and Hybrida also waved a sword horizontally, slicing the throat of the other party, making him fall at his feet.

Blood was pouring down Hybrida's head, but he stood straight, motionless. (To be continued......)