Chapter 785
After Terentus touched the iron gate once, he had an idea. He untied the rope around his waist and tied it firmly to the iron gate. Then, he pulled the rope with force. After getting the response from his teammates, he grabbed the iron pole with one hand and squatted down. He untied the tools on his body, took out the saw, and used it to saw the iron pole below.
Just as he was busy, Y 'zam held back his excitement and immediately sent out another scout team member. The scout grabbed onto the rope that was already connected and successfully reached the bottom of the sewer from the broken bridge. He easily climbed to the exit and gestured at Terrentus. Without saying a word, he took off his tools and did the same thing as his teammate — saw the metal pole and used a pair of pliers to break it.
This went on for more than twenty minutes. Finally, there was an opening at the bottom of the iron bars.
Terentus took off the items on his body and threw them into the hole through the gap between the iron rods. He then crouched down and stuck close to the slippery moss and smelly dirty water. He crawled into the hole with great effort. He then leaned his sore and numb body against the stone wall as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He was so tired that he could no longer care about the filthy garbage stuck to the waterway.
His teammate quickly crawled in and pulled the rope that was tied to the iron bars.
Y 'zam, who was originally at the riverbank, could not hold back his excitement. He said in a low voice, "We did it! We did it! Brothers, follow me. Let's enter Rome together! "
… …
In the morning, the Devers were woken up by Cloto Catax.
Last night, Dyvers had been busy thinking about today's siege. It was only late at night when he received a message from Y 'zam's messenger that he felt relieved. He couldn't resist the urge to sleep and slept until now.
When they were woken up, the Devers were still in a daze. He blurted out, "What happened?!"
"No, father. The commanders are waiting for you to give the order to attack!" Cloto Catax quickly replied.
The Devers realized that he had lost his composure. He patted his face and felt more awake. He then stood up and said, "Bring me armor!"
The servant immediately brought the armor and helped the Devers put it on. Cloto Catax also helped.
"Don't worry! Don't panic! "Devers comforted his son and asked," How's the weather? "
"Father, it's a sunny day!" Cloto Catax answered briskly.
"This is a good sign!" Devers smiled and took the helmet from the servant. After putting it on, he calmly adjusted it and said: "Let's go and meet the main characters of today's siege!"
As he spoke, he strode towards the big tent next to him.
"Your Majesty!" The generals in the tent immediately stood up and saluted. They then looked at the Devers with bright eyes as he walked to the main seat.
First Legion Commander Amyntas, Second Legion Commander Martonis, Legio III Commander Lizaru, Legio IV Commander Olivers, Fifth Legion Commander Giogris, Legio VI Commander Trotiras, First Cavalry Commander Ledes, Second Cavalry Commander Kuzius, Third Fleet Navy Commander Midolades … The Devers's gaze slowly swept across them. Every face that was rough and scarred from years of battle was now filled with excitement and anticipation.
At this moment, in the eyes of the Devers, the shining stars in the big tent gave him more confidence. He smiled and said, "It seems that everyone is very confident. What are you waiting for? Get ready to attack!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The generals also responded with a smile.
"Lizaru and Midolades, you lead the Third Fleet and Legio III to attack half an hour after the other legions attack!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Devers specifically gave this one sentence and then said resolutely: "Everyone, you must attack Rome before dark! I will wait here for the news of your victory! "
… …
On Capitoline Hill in Rome, in the magnificent temple of Jupiter, the High Priest Cato Julius Jurus was praying to the god devoutly. Behind them were many elders of Rome, as well as some senior officers led by Scipio The Great, the chief of the city guards.
The sacrificial ceremony in Rome was relatively simple. After the prayer ended, the Divination Priests appeared. They were holding a rooster with a red crown on its head and mostly red feathers. A priest scattered a handful of black beans on the ground and then let go of the rooster.
The rooster, who was originally listless (it had not been fed since yesterday afternoon), saw the black beans on the ground. Its eyes suddenly widened, and its legs moved quickly. Its wings kept flapping, and it pounced on the black beans like lightning. Then, it kept pecking at the black beans with its head, making the people around it dizzy.
In the blink of an eye, the black beans were eaten clean by the rooster. Not a single one was left. The rooster was still not satisfied and wandered around the temple, looking for new food.
Seeing the performance of the Holy Rooster, the people watching were all happy. There was no need for the priest to make a final conclusion. Everyone was happy: this was a good omen!
At this time, the Divination Priests outside the temple had also completed their task (the most important divination method for the Rome priests was to divide the sky into four parts, and then see which part of the sky had abnormalities, such as dark clouds, flocks of birds, showers … they would decide whether these abnormalities were good or bad omens). After entering the temple, they announced loudly, "Good omen! Good omen! "
Cheers immediately rang out inside and outside the temple.
When the people and soldiers at the foot of the mountain heard the cheers coming from the top of the mountain, they immediately felt confident.
At this moment, "Woo!" A loud bugle call came from outside the city. The people on Capitoline Hill suddenly had a change of expression. The Diónia's attack had begun?!
Scipio The Great hurried to the edge of the cliff and looked northwest. In the distance, many figures had appeared in front of the enemy's camp (it was the camp of the First Legion of Diónia), and they had begun to line up.
Scipio The Great maintained a calm expression and turned to the generals and said, "The Diónia has begun to attack. All of you return to your respective defense areas and command the people to defend Rome!"
"Yes!" The generals answered with vigor.
Scipio The Great led them down the mountain in a hurry. Most of the people crowded at the foot of the mountain were women and children. They took the initiative to make way for the generals and wished them victory and drive away the enemy.
After the emergency mobilization the night before and yesterday, the city of Rome had recruited about 25000 soldiers. Scipio The Great divided the troops into four parts according to the situation of the Diónia camp outside the city. 5,000 soldiers defended the northeast wall, 5,000 soldiers defended the west wall, 10,000 soldiers defended the south wall, which corresponded to the huge Diónia camp outside the city, and the remaining less than 5,000 soldiers defended the Bridge of Rome in the north.
The one in charge of the defense of the northeast wall was Marcus Atilius. He was originally the chief of the cavalry among the 3,000 elite soldiers who stayed in Rome. He was born into a prominent Roman family and was a veteran general who had been on the battlefield for a long time. Therefore, Scipio Africanus entrusted him with the responsibility of defending the northeast wall, which had the longest range of defense and was the farthest from the center of Rome. So after going down the mountain, he did not need to walk far and immediately went to the top of the wall next to Capitoline Hill.
Some Rome soldiers immediately surrounded him. "General, the enemy has begun to attack!"
The people surrounding him were all teenagers who were not even 18 years old. Their childish faces were intertwined with excitement and nervousness. They had long since held their spears and leather shields in their hands. The way they looked at Marcus was like how a child would look at its parent with admiration.
"Don't panic. Our walls are so high, and the trenches are so deep. The enemy can't attack us! Jupiter has given us a good omen. The holy chicken has eaten all the fodder, and the Diónia will be defeated! Jupiter will protect Rome! "
After listening to Marcus' words of encouragement, the soldiers cheered.
Marcus squeezed out of the crowd and found his adjutant. With a solemn expression, he said in a deep voice, "Go and inform the platoon leaders to control their soldiers and hold their positions. No one is allowed to run around. Otherwise, they will be punished by military law!"
The adjutant immediately went to carry out the military order.
Marcus saw a row of soldiers sitting against the outer wall. Their weapons and even helmets were placed on the ground beside their hands. At a glance, almost all of them had gray hair. They were talking to each other in a relaxed manner, as if they did not know that a battle was coming.
These were all Roman citizens above the age of 50. Although their strength had faded due to old age, and their bones were no longer as strong as before, almost all of them were battle-hardened. Therefore, compared to the young soldiers who had yet to experience battle, Marcus trusted these real veterans more. This was also his helplessness. In his team, other than the old and young, there were only some civilians and slaves. In his heart, these people who almost caused a big mess yesterday were not worthy of his complete trust.
Marcus placed his hands on the battlements and looked into the distance.
The Diónia's siege troops had advanced to a distance where he could see them clearly. The Diónia's siege troops were divided into groups of a dozen heavy infantry. They carried a long and wide wooden board on their heads and lined up in loose columns. The columns were spaced apart, and they approached the wall at a steady pace.
"Blow the bugle and get the soldiers ready for battle!" Marcus ordered.
The bugle was soon blown. Under the command of the platoon leaders, the Rome soldiers quickly put on their armor, picked up their weapons, and stood in a defensive position. They watched the approaching enemy and were ready to attack at any time. The older citizens acted as auxiliary soldiers, carrying bundles of javelins, arrows, cans of tar, and even stones and wood. They placed them on the designated walkways.
The frontline Dionian soldiers were less than 150 meters away from the city walls, which was within the firing range of the archers on top of the city walls. Marcus did not give the order to attack, but there were still sparse arrows being fired from the city walls.
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