Shut your mouth when you are angry, lest you increase your anger. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

- Socrates (famous ancient Greek thinker, philosopher, and educator)

Marcus's evacuation did not go as smoothly as expected, and in addition to the javelinmen who were sent out to launch a decisive charge, Marcus had only 2,000 hoplites left.

Coupled with the more than 1,000 light and heavy infantry rescued by the Javelin Cavalry near the gate of the barracks, the army that Marcus could command was only 3,000 people; Relying on these more than 3,000 troops, how could they escape the pursuit of the Spanish army?

In order to strengthen the strength of their own evacuation army, and in order not to leave behind any of the robes that are still fighting; Marcus immediately ordered his army to divide into three and perform different tasks.

The task of the infantrymen who had just been evacuated from the battle was to quickly bring some food, grass, supplies and weapons and equipment in the barracks for use on the way out; The rest of the hoplites were to support the battle on the left and right flanks.

Of course, Marcus didn't give them the task of defending the left and right flank walls; With the capture of the frontal wall of the barracks, the attack on the left and right flanks of the Spanish army has completely reduced to a feint, and the intensity of the battle has greatly decreased.

Marcus gave these hoplites the task of quickly climbing the walls on the left and right flanks, and helping the defenders on the walls to defeat all the Spanish troops who climbed the walls; After that, retreat with the defenders.

The decisive assault of the javelinmen could not be delayed for too long; In the cramped barracks environment, light cavalry such as the Javelinmen simply could not hold out for long in a large infantry group, and Marcus had to race against time to complete the operation quickly.

The officers and men of the Third Army also burst out with unprecedented combat effectiveness at such a critical moment, and they fought to the death against the Spanish army regardless of casualties and at all costs, in order to quickly complete their respective tasks and evacuate this war-torn barracks.

Tecomin's First Legion and Gezka's Second Legion, after all, were both newly formed legions; How can recruits who have not experienced war and who do not have sufficient time to undergo adequate training be strong in combat?

It is also commendable that the soldiers of these two legions were able to insist on attacking the wall under the personal supervision of Tecomin and Gazka; It would be unrealistic to expect them to take down the wall.

In fact, as the hoplites organized by Marcus climbed the walls on the left and right flanks, the defenders on the walls were already pressing the Spanish attacking forces; The Spanish troops, who were still insisting on the offensive, were becoming more and more weak.

This is not to say that the Spanish army, which numbered 20,000 men, had been frightened by the defenders of the Third Legion of one or two thousand; However, the Spanish army had already broken through the main gate of the Augustus family camp, and now the attack on both flanks regardless of casualties seemed to be worth the loss.

The battle between the Spanish army and the Third Legion was nothing more than the first battle between the Kingdom of Spain and the House of Augustus; Next, the Spanish army had to deal with the Fourth and Fifth Legions of the House of Augustus.

If the price is too heavy in this battle against the Third Army, then how will the next battle be fought? Therefore, Tecomin and Gezka deliberately slowed down the pace of their respective legions' attacks in order to reduce the cost of casualties.

The deliberate slowing down of the Spanish offensive was a desirable good thing for the officers and men of the Third Army, who were in a hurry to retreat; In addition, Marcus sent reinforcements again, and the defenders on the left and right flank walls were strengthened again, and in an instant, the defenders on the left and right flank walls completely suppressed the Spanish attacking army.

After annihilating or expelling all the Spanish troops on the wall, the defenders of the wall immediately took the initiative to set fire to the wooden wall to prevent the Spanish army from continuing to attack; Then, they quickly withdrew in the direction of Marcus.

When the armies on both flanks had withdrawn, the soldiers who had been ordered by Marcus to collect weapons, equipment, food and grass also rushed back; At this time, Marcus's command finally gathered more than 4,000 light and heavy infantry, and they were about to start withdrawing from the barracks.

However, at this time, another problem arose helplessly, that is, among the more than 4,000 soldiers in Marcus's hands, there were still a lot of wounded soldiers; The injuries of some of the wounded soldiers were simply not enough for them to march quickly.

Judging from the current situation, the officers and men of the Third Army wanted to quickly evacuate the barracks and evacuate in the direction of Córdoba; It was necessary to completely get rid of the pursuit of the Spanish army, which was simply impossible if the wounded were to be brought with them.

Do you want to abandon these warriors who were wounded for the House of Augustus? Marcus asked himself if he could not make such a decision, perhaps as Oscar said in the past: the warriors of the House of Augustus must not be allowed to shed blood and tears!

Marcus was never an indecisive man, and such struggles were only fleeting in his mind; After that, he made a determined decision to evacuate the barracks with the injured robes!

Even if the Third Legion would eventually be wiped out due to the slow pace of its march, Marcus would not leave any warriors wounded for the Augustus family; This is the insistence of Marcus, and it is the will of the Augustus family!

Unfortunately, it was not only Marcus who could think of the wounded delaying the march; When Marcus ordered more than 4,000 soldiers to immediately turn around and evacuate the barracks from the rear of the barracks, he was refuted by the chief captain under his command.

I saw that the chief captain of the Third Legion, Ba'ans, who had been severely wounded twice in the fierce battle; He limped up to Marcus, limping with his short sword, and pointed to his bloody armor and said to Marcus:

"General Marcus, look at my blood and limping appearance, can I still walk? Now that our Third Army has come to this point, there are only two options left.

First, like those brave javelinmen, sacrifice themselves for the retreat of the main army; Such a choice, which may seem difficult, is actually very easy to do.

The second is to leave the burden of evacuation to you, not only in the desperate pursuit of the Spanish army, but also in a race against time to get back to Córdoba and pass back the news of the Spanish attack on us.

More importantly, even if you escape back to Córdoba; Soon, there will also be a large-scale attack by the Spanish army, and that time may be the most difficult time.

Although, I would love to continue the struggle for the House of Augustus with the brethren of the Third Legion; However, my injury meant that I would not have this opportunity.

For the survival of the Third Legion, for the glory of the House of Augustus, I have decided to stay and make the final contribution to the Third Legion; The Javelinmen will not be able to resist for long, so let me lead my wounded brethren to stay behind and fight for the legion one more time! ”

After speaking, Baans did not wait for Marcus to answer, but turned to the wounded of the Third Legion in the midst of the battle and said loudly:

"Brethren of the Third Legion, as wounded, I have decided to stay and buy time for the remaining brethren to hold back the enemy forces; If you are willing to follow me and stay, stand up and we will fight this last battle together! ”

Baans's words did not provoke much reaction, and the officers and men of the Third Legion remained absolutely quiet; But the wounded who came out one after another made Marcus can't help but wet his eyes.

When Baans saw that all the wounded had come out, he turned around again, looked at Marcus, who was silent by default, and said with a smile:

"General Marcus, we all stayed of our own free will, and I just hope that you will convey a message to the leader and his family on our behalf: tell the leader that I have done my best, and tell my father that I still love him; Even if we all die, Augustus will exist! ”

"Even if we all die in battle, Augustus will exist!"

This time, Ba'ans's words resonated strongly with all the wounded, and they shouted out Ba'ans's last words in unison, and Marcus's heart was painful to listen to, but he had nothing to say.

After shouting these words together, Baans turned around without hesitation and limped with his short sword in the direction of the Javelins fighting the Spanish army; He was followed by more than a thousand lightly and seriously wounded men.

Looking at these distant backs, Marcus didn't say anything, resolutely turned around, and evacuated from the rear of the barracks with the remaining three thousand soldiers; In the direction of Córdoba, march at full speed.

The hand-to-hand combat effectiveness of the javelinmen cavalry is not very strong, and they have been able to fight against the Spanish army until now, all relying on the blood in their hearts to fight; As the battle lasted longer, their will to fight gradually decreased.

Although they all stood up for the main army without hesitation, they were more ordered than willing; These herdsmen from the kingdom of Numidia always have a trace of helplessness in their hearts.

As the casualty count skyrocketed, just as their will to fight was rapidly declining, Baans led more than a thousand wounded soldiers of the Third Legion, singing the passionate Augustus family anthem; At this moment, the two sides are real brothers!

After all the troops withdrew from the barracks, Marcus listened to the military songs of the Augustus family and the raging fire that burned more and more in the barracks; No one knew that in the back of Marcus's silent departure, several tears finally flowed out of his eyes.

This war, initiated by the Kingdom of Spain, will eventually end with the blood of the Spanish army; Marcus will always remember everything tonight in his heart, and he will make the Kingdom of Spain pay for it with blood! (To be continued.) )