Chapter 17: Catiline's Head (I)

"Let me add that Carthage must perish." -- Every time Cato the Elder finished his speech in the Senate, he would add this sentence at the end of his speech, no matter what the topic was.

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Here, in front of Neruda's legion position, the soldiers have also set up their positions, waiting for the commander's lecture, the two brigades of Calabis that have just been established, because of their excellent performance in the previous battle, were lined up at the front of the left flank of the team, Calabis was fully uniformed, standing next to the flag bearer, the first column of the team, the wind kept blowing down and blowing the feather feather he had inserted in his helmet.

Because it was no surprise that the consul Neruda was still lying in the tent due to gout, and the supreme commander of this battle was the deputy commander Petronius, and the deputy general Claudius was in charge of the command of the left flank where Calabis was located.

Petnius rode on a white horse, accompanied by a scepter and a rod, from one end of the array to the other, "Soldiers, you are fighting today not only to protect the noble republic, but also to protect the shrines and stoves of your own families. The enemy is a bunch of unarmed bandits, they are dissatisfied with the Republic, and want to seize your property and your family through riots and bloodshed, they are the dirtiest and dirtiest bugs in the sewers, and they have no power but to increase your military merits and rewards, and they are born with this value. Pyrrhus, my closest centurion, we fought together twenty years ago - Hortensius, you and your child are standing in the same queue today, and perhaps you can talk to the little one about how we fought side by side against the barbarians - Milou, when I heard that you were in Spain. It made Sulla's soldiers tremble. Today they can put an end to these painful days. For their minds will soon stop thinking - Calabis, I have heard that before this war you were a wealthy freeman in the city of Rome, and now your battle in front of the valley pass proves that you can fight not only for money, but also for your sword. "Petneus had clearly done a lot of preparation in advance, and he said the names of the heroes he knew or knew one by one to cheer everyone up." Many of you, as veterans, have spent 30 years with me in the barracks, supporting me step by step from military protectors, battalion officers, adjutant generals, commanders, and adjutant marshals, and many of you are still back here after exceeding the age of service, acting as my strong arms, all of you can enjoy the salary of a senior centurion, and today we are still fighting together, and we will still win! ”

"God bless Rome!" All array soldiers. In the deafening sound of the horn, the weapon was raised. In the pattern of a column of hundreds, they marched towards the rebels with a pace that would make the entire Pistorian wasteland tremble.

The rebels on that side also formed a horizontal engagement formation with eight selected centurions, with Catiline in the center, Manius on the right, and a veteran centurion from FersulΓ© commanding the left flank. The same steps are in unison, coming from each other. Pistoria is a long and narrow battlefield sandwiched between rocky hills and barren mountains, because of this terrain restrictions, the front-line troops on both sides are not open, so Catiline deliberately added dense reserve troops behind the front line.

After entering the firing distance, the lightly armed skirmishers on both sides jumped out of the formation like wolves, throwing hunting spears and flying stones at each other, and there were people around Calabis who were constantly attacked, and here and there were some who shook twice, and held back to continue to move forward in formation, and some of them fell silently after being hit in the vital point, and drowned in the ranks of their successors, and could not be found in retrospect-Petronius deliberately mixed the ranks of recruits and veterans, and detained each other, just to prevent the recruits from retreating timidly in the battle.

"Fellow comrades, isn't the previous war in the River Valley Pass enough to prove that we are a strong team? Although you have not been on the battlefield for a long time, the blood of the Roman warriors in your body has awakened, don't be afraid of the old fellows, who have only eaten barley rice mixed with sand for a few years longer than you, and have lost their minds in the country, but you are different, you are bold, nimble and fearless, and you can't stab an adversary about your grandfather's age! Calabis stood at the far left front of the line, brandishing a money box and shouted, "After victory, two hundred owls per person, kill the enemy, go to the battlefield alive, and make money, this is your task today!" ”

The dust stirred up obscured the daylight, but the formation of the two sides was still getting closer and closer, and you could see the same hateful and bloodthirsty eyes of the other side under the helmets, rows of heavy javelins, gradually leaning together, briefly swaying and touching, and in a battle cry, frantically staggering and piercing each other.

Everywhere there were figures of people raising their swords and slashing at each other, because the lines of engagement were too short and the formations were too dense, the traditional tactics of legional stabbing had been abandoned, and it entered a great melee in which we were intertwined, and Calabis and Tagus stood shoulder to shoulder, screaming, constantly cutting down the enemy, charging into the depths of the enemy.

A recruit of his own side was stabbed to death by an old guy with gray hair on the other side, and before he died, he ripped off the helmet of the old guy, Calabis screamed, jumped over the corpse of his companion, and hit the old guy from the side, the old guy backhanded, but the sword of Calabis was swung away, and then slammed Calabis with his shield, and the weighing officer was beaten a few Roman feet away from the side, and the helmet was also knocked off, it seems that the opponent is definitely a ruthless corner.

He decisively grabbed a small shield on the ground, rolled over, blocked the old guy's flying spurt, and then kicked the man with his foot, hitting the man's knee, the opponent's center of gravity was unbalanced, and the upper body smashed straight on the small shield, slammed hard, and then bounced back to the ground.

Calabis held a small shield and flew forward, and the old man who fell to the ground was worthy of a veteran with many years of experience, although he was bleeding profusely, he still tried to struggle to his feet, fumbling with his dagger, ready to fight back. Calabis didn't give him a chance, he used the ruthless move of fighting fists, without a sword, quickly came over, first stepped on the opponent's chest with his left foot, and then raised his right foot, and with a crisp sound, directly stepped on the opponent's throat, the old guy's head, grunted, and fell to the side weakly, and his short gray hair danced in the wave of shouting and killing.

"Gaius. "Manius" - When Carabis peeled off the other party's gold ring, he learned that this guy was the commander of Catiline's right wing, Mannius.

The right flank of Catiline, which had lost its commander, began to be afraid of battle, and many veterans began to break away from the ranks, causing their formations to become more and more dispersed, and the Neruda legion, which had been following behind the two brigades of Calabis, suddenly shouted, overtook the front, and slashed into the right flank of the rebels, which was already weak. (To be continued......)