Chapter 766
At this time, the legion commanders issued an order: the soldiers could temporarily take off their armor, put down their weapons, then sit on the ground to rest, eat some rations, and recover their strength.
As soon as the order was given, the entire four-kilometer-long army formation fell like dominoes. In the blink of an eye, all the soldiers fell. It was a spectacular scene.
Amyntas, Lizaru, and the rest did not dare to be careless at this time. Ledes sent out all the cavalry to scout the surroundings and ensure the safety of the formation.
The Dionysian Army on the coast did not have to wait for long. When the sun moved to the west, the soldiers furthest south of the formation were the first to cheer. "Our fleet! Our fleet is here!! The army led by His Majesty is coming!!! … "
In order to carry out this difficult mission and let the soldiers march long and deep behind the enemy's lines, the legion commanders had told the team officers in detail the plan and purpose of this operation. Then, the team officers of different levels of the legion informed all the soldiers. That was why the soldiers were so enthusiastic and tired to carry out the long-distance march. Therefore, when they saw the black warships in the distance, they immediately thought that behind the Dionysian fleet, there must be a huge fleet full of soldiers.
… …
The soldiers' guess was not wrong. The Third Fleet of Diónia continued to sail forward, followed by fleets that covered the sea. They all turned around and headed for the beach.
Adoris sat in the middle of the ship, looking at the beach in the distance. From here, he could not see the fully armed soldiers on the shore clearly. He could only see a thick black line extending infinitely to both sides of the coast, and among the black line, there were flashes of golden light … Adoris knew that it was the military flag flashing.
On this military transport ship, the captain directed the helmsman to adjust the course. 50 soldiers sat on both sides of the ship, assisting the sailors to row the oars together. In the middle of the ship, the captain of the division, Timamanras, was loudly emphasizing the various things that the soldiers had to abide by after they went ashore.
After that, he emphasized with a serious expression, "Do you all remember?!"
"Yes!!" The soldiers responded in unison.
Timamanras looked at Adoris, and Adoris immediately said loudly, "I'll remember, captain, don't worry!" His buttocks ached when he thought of the flogging he received last time, and he almost missed the battle in the north. So, he did not dare to disobey the order and violate the military law.
It was high tide, and the ship was moving very fast with the help of the tide. Not long after, Adoris could see the soldiers on the shore clearly. Most of them were sitting on the ground, taking off their armor and only wearing the black lining. They were drinking water and eating rations while looking at the sea. A few were waving their arms and shouting excitedly …
While Adoris was watching, he heard Timamanras shouting, "Get ready to go ashore!"
Adoris was instantly excited. He and his comrades immediately picked up their belongings and quickly put on their armor, swords, rations, shields, javelins, and bayonets. They watched as the ship approached the white beach. Suddenly, the hull of the ship stopped abruptly. The smooth bottom of the ship had touched the land. The helmsman immediately locked the rudder, pulled out a long pole from the ship, and plunged it into the sand to support it, preventing the ship from moving backward.
There was no need for the captain to give the order. The soldiers who were ready jumped off the ship, stepped on the cool water, and quickly came ashore. The captain, Timamanras, quickly gathered the soldiers, and then led them to the other units …
The beach was full of transport ships, and soon the long stretch of beach was filled with soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia in black helmets and armor. The military flags were also raised, and the officers led their soldiers to find the companies and battalions to which they belonged. The beach was bustling with noise and excitement, but it was not very chaotic, because the soldiers carried by the ships that came ashore belonged to the Second Legion. Considering that in the entire Dionysian Army, besides the First Legion, the Second Legion was better trained and more disciplined, the Devers allowed the ships carrying the Second Legion to be the first to disembark, so that they could complete the assembly as soon as possible and clear the obstacles for the follow-up troops.
Then, the ships that came ashore began to leave the beach to make room for the following ships to disembark.
… …
Less than 400 meters away from the beach, Amyntas, Lizaru, Ledes, and Kucias were also closely watching the Second Legion's disembarkation. They watched as the troops that came ashore went from being scattered and disorderly at first to gathering into small columns, then into eight or nine large columns, and finally, with the sound of bugles, these columns quickly gathered from all over the beach, forming a large square formation …
Amyntas and the rest heaved a sigh of relief. Although their troops were already in formation to protect the landing, it was still their first time embarking on such a large scale, and it was the King of Devers personally leading the troops. If there were any accidents … Everyone would still be under a lot of pressure, but it seemed that everything was going smoothly.
"Well done, Matonis!" Amyntas praised. Only a veteran high-ranking general like him, who had participated in the expedition to Persia, would dare to publicly comment on a legion commander of the same level.
At this moment, a cavalry scout galloped over. "Reporting to Legion Commander, five miles to the south, there are about 7,000 Roman troops marching this way!"
"Reporting to Legion Commander, there are nearly 8,000 Roman troops approaching from six to seven miles to the southeast!"
"The Roman troops are finally here!" Lizaru said, his voice full of excitement.
"They came at the right time!" Amyntas glanced at the second fleet that was approaching the coast. "Inform our brothers immediately to prepare for battle!"
"Woo! Woo! Woo! " The bugles sounded, and the resting soldiers hurriedly put on their armor under the supervision of their officers. The Second Legion that was lining up on the beach immediately gathered at the sound of the bugles …
… …
After receiving the report from the cavalry scout, Paulus felt extremely uneasy. His sense of responsibility prompted him to immediately lead 7,500 soldiers to the north. After more than two hours of rapid marching, the army had reached Lavinium. He slowed down because he knew that the Diónia troops were not far ahead. The cavalry scout that he sent previously was driven away by the enemy. At the same time, he also wanted to wait for the troops from Saturnicum and Villette.
This time, the Diónia cavalry did not obstruct the Roman troops at the front. The Roman troops marched smoothly. Paulus, who was riding in front of the troops, could already see hundreds of thousands of ships floating on the sea. Some of them followed the tide to the coast, while some left the coast and rowed into the distant sea. The ships were so densely packed that they completely covered the blue sea …
Paulus became anxious again. At this time, the cavalry scout that he sent out quickly returned. "General, the enemy is lining up two miles away. There are no less than 20,000 people!"
Paulus was shocked. The Dionysian Army in Wolsey did not have so many people. Did some of their soldiers land from the sea and join the army?!
Thinking of this, Paulus became even more anxious. He regretted coming late, but he did not dare to immediately lead less than 10,000 troops to attack. He ordered the troops to stop and began to line up in place.
Not long after, the troops of Saturnicum arrived. The commander of the army was also the city's garrison general, Mejus. His full name was Mejus Saint Polonius Asilio. He was an old general over 50 years old. He was born in the noble family of Saint Polonius. After the Celts occupied Rome, he stayed behind to defend Mount Capitoline. The Senate appointed him to be the garrison general of Saturnicum precisely because of his rich war experience and tenacity.
At this moment, he, who had always been steady, was trying his best to stop the War Horse that was galloping to Paulus. At the same time, he asked eagerly, "Where are the Diónia troops?! How many of them?! "
Paulus pointed to the front and said, "The Diónia fleet is landing on the coast in front of us. Their troops in Wolsey are also in formation to protect them. According to the scouts, they have about 20,000 soldiers. You and I both know that their reinforcements in Wolsey are less than 10,000, so …"
Mejus looked at the busy Diónia fleet in the distance. His face was gloomy. He said in a low voice, "We have less than 20,000 soldiers in total. As time passes, the number of Diónia soldiers will only increase. If we fight them recklessly and lose … the army in the west of Rome that can hold back the Diónia will be greatly weakened. The situation will become very bad …"
"I think so too." Paulus was also worried. He hesitated and reminded Mejus, "But … if we let the Diónia land here successfully, they will invade our territory and the Latin Alliance's territory, poison our people, and even threaten Rome … I'm afraid the Senate and the people of Rome will not forgive us!"
Mecius was stunned for a moment, then sighed. "Let's wait for Pantius to come and discuss it together … When I led my team out of Saturnicum, I received news from his messenger that he would be arriving with ten thousand soldiers."
"10,000 soldiers?! He is too bold. What if the Wolsey attack Villeti?! " Paulus was shocked. But then he thought: Villeti was deep in the interior and was located northeast of Saturnicum. Not everyone had the courage like Camillus to go around Antium and Saturnicum and attack Villeti directly. Moreover, the Diónia army was in front of them. Most of the Wolsey soldiers had gone to help the Hernici, so they had no extra soldiers to harass the cities of Rome.
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