Nemicocadaveripiacevoleatmosfera (the breath of the enemy's corpse is pleasant)

—Areth Vitirus

In the face of Scorey and his Ninth Team, Oscar was not in the mood for a pleasantry; It was a simple order for Skori to signal to Shixiu's convoy to prepare to board the ship. More than 800 soldiers who escaped death and traveled all night finally let go of the tension and worries in their hearts at this moment, and one by one they collapsed exhausted and began to rest and eat at the rest point prepared by the Ninth Brigade in advance.

About twenty minutes after the signal was given, numerous small boats with torches paddled towards the shore; Seeing so many torches on the sea at night, the remnants of the army were not surprised or rejoiced. They all knew that once they boarded these boats; They would really be completely free from the threat of Hannibal's army. The Mediterranean was now the Mediterranean for the Romans, and the Carthaginian navy was no longer capable of launching landing operations other than maintaining its own basic links with overseas territories; Therefore, as long as they crossed the ocean, no matter how strong Hannibal's army was, it would be impossible for them to cross the Mediterranean to find them.

However, Oscar didn't think about it as much as they did; Seeing this dense torch boat, Oscar's heart was as bitter as it was. Originally, Oscar felt that if this decisive battle failed; With the numerical superiority of the Roman Combined Legion, no matter how bad it is, most of the army can escape. So, in order to prevent a rout, the army was too numerous; Oscar added fourteen more transports to the six transports in the transport fleet itself, just in case.

The result? Nearly 40,000 troops escaped, and only a little more than 800 escaped! This also includes nearly 500 people left behind in the barracks, and only about 300 people escaped from the battlefield; 40,000 troops, only 300 remnants of the army were killed and wounded! It's simply appalling! Hannibal himself will once again ascend to the altar of the Carthaginians because of this world-famous Armageddon; While terrifying his enemies, he became the idol and god of countless Carthaginians.

And Hanno, the Carthaginian consul who had died in battle, and Theagos, the governor of Lower Sicilia, would also be forgotten in the light of Hannibal; Even, the entire decaying Carthage will once again burst out with strong vitality under the strong leadership of Hannibal. As for Rome, which was the losing side of this war, the entire Latin province was filial piety, and it was inevitable that the city of Rome would be silent. Thirty-two thousand Romans lost their lives in this decisive battle, that is, thirty-two thousand families lost their sons, husbands, fathers, brothers; That is, hundreds of thousands of Romans lost their loved ones.

Five years earlier, in the Second Punic War, Hannibal had for the first time cloned the families of Rome with linen and filial piety; Twenty thousand Roman families lost their loved ones. Three years earlier, in the Cannaic War, Hannibal made the families of Rome wear linen and filial piety for the second time; Twelve thousand Roman families lost their loved ones. Now, for the third time, Hannibal has made the families of Rome clothed in linen and filial piety; Thirty-two thousand Roman families lost their loved ones.

If it were calculated according to the normal Roman routine of five legions, Hannibal had already bloodied the army of the Roman Republic three times in just five years. All the veterans of a hundred battles, all the good generals; They were all wiped out by Hannibal again and again. Just today during the day, Rome's last four famous generals, the six most capable army commanders, and the most elite seven legions; Once again, it was completely wiped out by Hannibal.

Could it be that the Hannibal of this world is really so invincible, so invincible? Could it be that the Roman legions of this world are destined to always be white bones at Hannibal's feet? In the first battle with Hannibal, Rome lost its four most elite legions; In the second battle with Hannibal, Rome lost its most elite cavalry legions; In this battle with Hannibal, Rome lost its five most elite legions, two legions of recruits, and all its cavalry; Roma has lost all of their hole cards.

The only thing that remains is naval superiority; But what was the use of a strong navy without the cooperation of a strong Roman legion on land? Is Rome really out of chance? Is there really no chance of revenge for the blood feud between the Augustan family and Hannibal? Thinking of this, Oscar clenched his fists tightly; He didn't even know that his nails had pierced his palms.

Suddenly, a smooth, delicate palm grabbed Oscar's tightly held right hand; Oscar looked back and saw that it was Mary coming. Mary didn't explain anything to Oscar, just stood quietly beside Oscar; Looking at the dense torch boats that were getting closer and closer in the distance, Mary said to Oscar with a firm expression:

"I know you can't let go of everything in House Augustus; You can't let go of the blood feud between the Augustus family and Hannibal. You are exactly the same as I was back then, with the only difference: you fought for revenge and expansion, and I fought for the expulsion of the invaders. Oscar, I don't want to interfere with anything about you; But can you promise me one thing? ”

Oscar didn't ask Mary what was the matter, and immediately agreed, "Good! As long as it does not violate the established policy of the House of Augustus, I promise you anything! Mary smiled and said, "Naturally, it will not go against your Augustus family's expansion policy." I hope you will promise me that wherever the house of Augustus will expand in your hands in the future, even in the territory of the Carthaginians, with whom you have a vendetta against your father; After you occupy every new piece of land, don't embarrass the ordinary people there.

I won't ask what you do with the nobles and the lords, I just hope; Whether it is the Romans, or the Carthaginians, or the Numidians, the Gauls, or the Spaniards, they can live together in harmony without discrimination or exclusion within the territory of your House of Augustus. I also hope that there will be no more slaves and gladiators in the Augustus domain; Everyone is a person of flesh and blood, so why let someone else be a slave and a gladiator? Oscar, can you promise me? “

After saying that, Mary looked at Oscar with a wistful expression; Hopefully, Oscar can give her a reason to stay with Oscar willingly. Looking at Mary with a look of hope, Oscar said calmly: "I promise you." Henceforth, in the realm of the House of Augustus, no one shall be of any colour, of any nation or nation; As long as he is a member of my Augustan family, he can live here without oppression and discrimination.

Later, whether slaves or gladiators; As long as he comes to the territory of the Augustan family, then he belongs to the Augustan family. He is free to choose to receive a piece of land sufficient to support himself, or he can choose to join the army of my family Augustus; I'm not going to force anyone. Even if I have taken prisoners who have fought my army on the battlefield, I will let them go through a period of hard labor; Let them choose to stay and live, or join my army. This is my promise to you, and the rules of my realm as the leader of House Augustus. “

Oscar's words completely touched Mary, who only smiled lightly on the surface; But the left hand that held Oscar's right hand tightly betrayed her, and Oscar sensed the excitement of the beauty beside him. Of course, Oscar didn't break her either; Since Mary likes to pretend to be calm and calm at all times, Oscar naturally won't distract Mary's careful thoughts.

However, Mary's next words surprised Oscar a little. I saw Mary say to Oscar with a proud face: "I'm not a stingy person; Since you promised me such a big thing and sacrificed so much for me, I can't let you suffer. So be it, after returning to Sardinia; Let Licinius and his Guards slowly transform into a main battle legion.

Otherwise, it would be a waste of Licinius's talent and the great role of an elite division on the battlefield. As for your safety, leave it to me! I'll help you build a new small elite army to keep you safe, whether you want men or women, and what size; If you tell me, I'll be sure I can help you build a more elite escort army than the Guards! “

Oscar naturally did not question the words of the invincible marshal Joan of Arc, who was on the battlefield in Spain and fought Hannibal's father and brother-in-law without a temper at all. Thinking about it this way, the Augustan family not only has a young super commander; Oscar himself can justifiably run around with beautiful women. Moreover, a family leader guard, composed entirely of female soldiers, was too tempting for Oscar; Oscar drools just thinking about it!

As if Oscar's crooked thoughts were seen from Oscar's lewd smile, Mary tilted her head, squinted at Oscar and said, "You don't really plan to form a women's guard, do you?" Are you sure your generals won't be talking behind your back? Oscar immediately blushed, and hurriedly said with a dead duck's mouth:

"How is that possible?! How could I have such obscene thoughts! My guards are naturally composed of elite divisions with high military strength and proficient battle formations, so how can they recruit female soldiers? You're thinking too much! Oscar said as he walked to the landing site by himself; Mary looked at the gray Oscar from behind, and once again showed a touching sweet smile!

Oscar, who was still concerned about the fiasco of this decisive battle, has been made a little embarrassed by Mary's sudden surrender. As the saying goes, a thousand troops are easy to get, and one general is hard to find, as long as the Augustus family can always have a large number of high-quality generals; Then no matter how big the army losses are, they can be made up for by time. Needless to say, Mary was such an unusually good commander.

Moreover, Oscar is only paying for policies that have been prepared for a long time; In general, Oscar didn't pay anything and got a battlefield general! Of course, the general's role may simply be to train the guards and advise Oscar; But this is also commendable, maybe someone is a female Zhuge ?

As soon as he thought of the role of an excellent general, Oscar thought of Commander Baylis, who died today, and the two generals Etis and Agrippa. Coupled with the basic annihilation of the Wolf Legion and the Guards, Oscar began to feel heartache again.