Sorry for the late update.

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"The bravest people must be able to see the road ahead, whether they are facing honor or danger, they will face the people who will not flinch." -- Thucydides

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In addition, for this expedition, Calabis formed a separate hundred-man detachment of about fifty veterans of the former Seventh Army recruited at Helispont, which was used as a valuable reserve. The equipment of this group of new veterans, Calabis also did his best, because they were not in the establishment of the Thirteenth Army in advance, and things could only be raised by themselves, but fortunately, because he was willing to carry out Marcha's plan, the governor also did a refreshing atmosphere, each of them had a Macedonian curved helmet, a Greek-style broad-bladed sword, and Ifeclat boots with leggings, and sharp heavy spears, which were really Hellenized from head to toe, which was also the place where the Hybrida who went out with the army was most resentful.

"Brother is here to kill the Greeks, not to celebrate Saturnalia with them!"

But the strangest thing was that Marcha arranged for a group of tax collectors with round hats to go out together. When they reached a village where the embers were still burning, the tax collectors were of great significance, and they were able to pull out a copper from the houses that had been looted by the Pontic cavalry and from the hands of the people, and put them in the money box.

The whole village, the people who are still alive, and the corpses of their dead relatives, sit together with each other, staring blankly at the smoking ruins. This was their home. Now there is nothing. The tax collectors also snatched all the dogs and poultry that survived.

"Go ahead and look for traces of the enemy's cavalry." Calabis, whose armor was wrapped in cold leather and debris, stood on the small slope at the entrance of the village to the officers of Hebrida, Horttensius, and Arminius, and instructed: "Sixty horsemen belonging to the brigade, divided into five groups, fanned out in a semicircle, remain at the front of the procession ten stadia as scouts. Do not engage the enemy at will. Arminius, it is your turn to march with the hundred-man as the advance guard, the hundred-man team of Hortensius as the rearguard, and Hebrida and the rest of the centurions as the rearguard, and march with me with the baggage and the tax collector in the middle, and the whole army in columns, wearing all the equipment, and maintaining a fighting posture at all times. As for the servant army of the Bosphorus, call their clan chiefs to attention. Move on our flanks and in the rear, so that they do not disrupt our position as they flee. ”

A herald. Holding on to his swaying helmet, he ran up the hill and reported, "The manure tank at the head of the village is full of urine from people and horses." ”

"The Pontic cavalry that attacked this village alone will not be less than thirty people." Highbrida took a white breath and judged.

"Very much in line with the size of the Pontic cavalry detachment." Arminius looked into the distance, "The big one is nearby." "Beforehand, they received information that the cavalry of the Taksile, which stormed the peninsula of Ponticabion, would not be less than a thousand people.

The low overcast sky, the slightly fluttering snow, and the patches of weeds and fields were connected, and the detachments of the Thirteenth Legion, formed a long marching column, and under the "cover" of the servants of the Bosphorus, they began to march towards the next market town designated by the tax collector.

But the tax collectors had the advantage of being familiar with the terrain and the cities and villages of the whole peninsula, and even knew that there were many trails, which was a valuable experience accumulated over a long period of "Latin peeling" - they had to know these roads and stop the people before they could flee and avoid taxes, but the two-legged ones could not compete with the four-legged ones, and the next market town had already been plundered by cavalry. After questioning the survivors, Calabis learned that the Pontic cavalry numbered about fifty men, and that he had come from the southwest, and he asked very carefully, and scribbled on a piece of papyrus with lead ink, and two soldiers who knew how to make drawings were using simple instruments to draw something on a medium-sized wooden board.

In the afternoon, as they were preparing to camp outside the market town, a group of scouts came galloping and told the "temporary battalion officer" that a group of Pontic cavalry was galloping toward us to the northeast, followed by two more scouts to verify the former's judgment.

"Ready for battle!" With a wave of his hand, the flag bearer beside him planted the flag of the Tenth Brigade with two medal rings in the dirt beside him, and the hundred-man team quickly changed from a marching column to a horizontal team for battle, and the military flags were unfurled one by one. After the 10th Brigade had made some moves, the remaining two brigades soon followed the two flanks of the 10th Brigade left and right in a dense column, and the three brigades formed a flat "gate" shape - this was the haode formation that Calabis had consulted with the centurions in advance. As for the army of Bosphorus's servants, one remained in the rear to guard the baggage, while the other, armed with bows and arrows and slings, ran to the second line of the Roman legionary brigade and took its position.

The dozens of cavalrymen who returned to the team, all loose, were placed in the front position and the rear baggage between the 100-man veteran team, and were responsible for responding to emergencies.

In the midst of the noise, in front of the scout on horseback who came to report, Haybrida Company, which was on the left flank of the horizontal line, made a gesture, meaning to ask him the number of enemy cavalry, and the scout also opened his mouth and gestured back a few times, "The enemy cavalry marches in columns, and it is impossible to judge the actual number. ”

"Skirmishers, dig a trench immediately!" Calabis was under the team flag, blowing a whistle and waving a gesture.

Arminius, beside him, shouted, "It's too late! It's the oven cavalry! ”

On the opposite ridge of the hills, several flags were quickly raised, and dust rose in the evening sky, and the cavalry of Pontus quickly turned over from the back of the hill, apparently following the scouts and catching the trail of the army of Calabis. This group of cavalry raised dust in the sky, but from the front, only six or seven cavalry could be seen in the front column, and it was really impossible to see how many real troops there were, but Calabis really saw that the cavalry in front of him was indeed what the Romans called "oven cavalry" - this group of cavalry, the whole body and the horse were covered with fish scale armor made of stainless steel, and under the helmet was the same steel face relief armor, they could charge into battle with the horses in this heavy armor in the summer heat of 40 degrees, which is also the origin of the nickname "oven cavalry".

Like a thunderclap, the Pontic cavalry soon launched a rapid charge against the Roman army under the hillside in the form of a column, and Calabis, who was standing next to the team flag, felt that the mud under his feet was trembling, "Skirmishers, disrupt their charge!" (To be continued......)