Chapter 854
Suddenly, the adjutant hurried into the tent. "Lord Dictator, Labicum has sent a messenger, saying that thousands of Volsci have invaded their territory, and they hope that we can send reinforcements to chase them away!"
"How could the Volsci appear there?!" Quintus and Lucius shouted almost in unison.
It was no wonder that they were confused. Labicum was located not far to the east of Tustron, and the Volsci were far to the southwest of the Latin region. There were many Latin city-states between them. How could they suddenly appear here?!
Camillus, who had fought in the Latin region for decades, had completely imprinted the terrain and landscape of the land in his mind, was also lost in thought. He said with some uncertainty, "Prinister? Could it be Prinister?! … "
Hearing Camillus's words, Lucius said with some disbelief, "Father, this is not possible!"
"Even our colonial city can betray us, why can't it do the same!" Quintus shouted angrily, "It was Prinister who joined forces with the Helniki and the Walshis to start a rebellion, and we executed many of the Prinisters who participated in the rebellion. Originally, someone in the Senate had proposed that 'after we conquer the Walshis, we will turn Prinister into our colony'. And this time, Prinister did not send reinforcements to join us! "
"That's because Prinister has fewer people. We still need him to have enough troops to defend against the Helniki in the Tulerus Valley!" Lucius immediately retorted.
"Stop arguing! The situation is urgent! Quintus, immediately lead the troops that returned from Cigna to Gabi and help Titus stop the Volsci from rushing from Labicum! " Just as the two were arguing, Camillus's expression changed. He shouted with all his might, "Make sure that our troops can retreat smoothly! Cough, cough, cough … "
Quintus was stunned for a moment, but immediately replied with strength, "Yes, Lord Dictator!"
The moment he heard the news, he was so focused on how the Volsci could appear there that he forgot that the reason they were there was most likely to be for Titus's army. The Diónia wanted to surround the Roman coalition that was going to rescue Gabi! Thinking of this, Quintus walked out of the tent with an anxious look on his face.
Lucius saw that Camillus, who was lying on the wooden chair, looked even worse, and his hands were trembling. He quickly held his father's body and comforted him, "Father, Titus is so smart. He will definitely withdraw the troops smoothly!"
"… This is a conspiracy that Diónia had planned long ago! The Volsci did not retreat to Satya at all. They went east through Mount Lepini and hid in the Tulerus Valley … They have been waiting for this day! … We only paid attention to the city of Rome, and we trusted our allies too much. We neglected the defense of the south … This is all my fault! "
Camillus's murmur of self-blame made Lucius's heart ache, but he did not know how to comfort his old father. He just held his father's arm tightly to express his support and encouragement.
"Lucius … May Jupiter bless us and let us return to Saturnicum smoothly!" There was hope in Camillus's old voice, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes, "… I hope the elders and people in Rome can always defend Capitoline Mountain like they did in the past! … "
… …
Titus was shocked when he received the news that there were six to seven thousand Volsci and Helniki warriors attacking from the south.
He did not have time to think about why the enemy would appear there like Camillus. Instead, he immediately gave an order, "Mejus, immediately withdraw the troops that are attacking the enemy camp!"
"Pass the order to our allies immediately. More than twenty thousand Diónia troops have come out of Rome and are attacking us from the north! More than seven thousand Volsci and Helniki warriors are attacking us from the south! We must retreat to the west immediately, or we will be surrounded by them! "
… …
"Commander, the enemy is retreating!" The adjutant, who was standing on the sentry tower and observing the battle, shouted.
"It must be the army led by His Majesty and the Volsci and Helniki reinforcements attacking the enemy." Printos nodded and said, "Blow the bugle and let the soldiers attack the retreating enemy!"
"Yes!" The adjutant shouted excitedly toward the sentry tower, "Blow the bugle! Attack! "
"Woo! … "
As the bugle sounded, the Diónia soldiers, who could not wait any longer, rushed out of the camp under the command of the officers.
Sextus also commanded the Roman reserve soldiers to give chase.
Although Printos had opened an extra gate on the west side of the camp in advance, it would take time for the troops to rush out of the camp. The Roman allied forces, who were well-prepared, retreated very quickly. In the blink of an eye, they were more than a hundred meters away from the attacking Diónia soldiers.
However, the Volsci allied forces charging straight from the southwest were even faster. Although the majority of these lightly armored soldiers were still more than four miles away from the Roman army, they had almost changed from the southwest to the west of the Roman army. It was very likely that they would block the retreat route of the Roman army.
"Inform Licinius immediately. Let him lead the allied forces to block the Volsci and protect the retreat of the Roman army!" Titus was a little anxious. Fortunately, when he was in formation to attack the camp, he arranged the allied forces on the right flank. His original idea was that when the Dionysian Army of Rome came out, it would be convenient for the allied forces to retreat to the south (the Latin city-states were in the south). But now, they could be used to block the enemy. As for whether the allied forces would suffer heavy losses, he did not care.
He shouted in a hoarse voice, "Order the entire army to speed up the retreat!"
… …
Licinius led about ten thousand Latin soldiers, separated from the main force, and marched straight to the southwest.
When he learned from the cavalry that they were still more than a mile away from the enemy, Licinius began to form the formation.
He arranged the allied heavy infantry at the front and the light infantry at the back. Titus hoped that he could block the incoming enemy, but he also hoped to quickly defeat the enemy in front of him and open the way for the army to retreat to the south.
However, before he could wait for the allied generals to order the soldiers to form a phalanx, the Volsci and Helniki soldiers were already less than five hundred meters away. They adopted a very loose formation, so they could move forward and spread out their formation more smoothly.
The messengers sent by Licinius urged again and again, and the soldiers of the Latin Alliance hurriedly got into formation.
The Volsci soldiers, filled with resentment towards the Roman people, had already charged to the front of the formation, and immediately crashed into the Latin formation.
Licinius hurriedly ordered the soldiers to continue the attack, hoping to encourage the allied soldiers to block the enemy's charge and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
The shields and spears of both sides clashed, and the sound of battle shook the sky, stirring up dust and sand.
Under the fierce attack of the Volsci and Helniki soldiers, the unprepared allied soldiers slowly retreated.
Licinius was not in a hurry. He knew that the long-distance attack of the enemy could not last long. When the line was stabilized, the heavy infantry could show their power.
However, in the midst of the battle, he heard a panicked cry from the right wing of the formation, "We have lost, run!"
"Run for your lives, we are almost surrounded!"
…
"What happened?!" Licinius suddenly became nervous and immediately sent guards to the right wing to check.
At this time, the Roman general in charge of the right wing had already sent a messenger, who shouted in panic, "General Licinius, more than 400 Bonese suddenly collapsed after meeting the enemy, and they deliberately shouted to shake the army's morale. Now the entire right wing is in chaos and has lost control!"
"What?! Damn Bonese! "Licinius was dumbfounded when he heard the bad news.
It turned out that after listening carefully to Publius' detailed introduction of the Latin city-states, the Devers secretly had a rough plan in mind. He first sent Publius quietly to Prinister, which both of them thought was the easiest to persuade to surrender. The result was that Prinister was the first to reach a secret alliance with Diónia.
Then, Publius turned the goal of persuading Bonese to surrender.
This small Latin city, located to the west of Prinister and less than eight or nine miles away, had been breached during the Prinister rebellion and the joint attack of the Volsci, Helniki, and Ecquis. It survived only because of the rescue of the army led by Camillus. Logically, it should be grateful and loyal to Rome.
But Publius thought that was not the case. Since the city was breached and plundered, the Bonese seemed to be full of fear of the Helniki, Volsci, and other races to the south. Whether it was Rome's attack on Volsci or Helniki, it was very active in expressing support and providing a large number of supplies and personnel. Now, the city of Rome had fallen, and the Romans had retreated to the west of the Latin region. Its power had greatly declined, and the Helniki had risen again …
Therefore, when Publius hinted to the Bonese that "Prinister has surrendered" and made a guarantee that "Diónia will completely guarantee the safety of the Bonese territory", Bonese became the second Latin city-state to ally with Diónia.
When Gabi City refused Diónia's persuasion to surrender, the Devers' plan in advance had already taken shape. The Woch coalition was actually quietly stationed between the cities of Prinister and Bonese.
Comments