The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 205. The Beginning of the War >

It seemed like the outcome was decided in an instant, but it took longer than expected for the Huns to annihilate the Roman army.

The reason was that the Roman army did not show any fear and continued to fight until the end, even though the tide had already turned against them.

But Bayatur did not spare any effort to prevent any possible damage and launched a thorough offensive until the last moment.

As a result, the Huns suffered minimal losses despite the fierce resistance of the Roman army.

It was a natural consequence, considering that they faced a cavalry force that was several times larger than their three legions.

Rather, it was a miracle that they lasted this long.

“They are more stubborn than I thought.”

Kublai, who had successfully executed the baiting strategy, shook his head as if he was bored.

The warriors who had initially scoffed at the Roman army also felt tense.

There were no living Roman soldiers in this scene of horrific tragedy.

Not even those who tried to flee with their backs turned.

They had no intention of taking prisoners from the start, but they did not expect them to cling so hard.

Bayatur looked down at the mountain of corpses and bit his tongue softly.

“I guess we have to give up chasing the enemy general who ran away in the beginning.”

“It’s amazing that their formation did not collapse even though their commander fled. I don’t know if they are foolish or brave.”

“He didn’t abandon his subordinates and run away. They knew that, so they desperately tried to hold us back and didn’t let us go. Don’t let your guard down just because we won this time. You must have felt it, but the ones we have to conquer are different from before.”

The warriors who stood behind Bayatur also regained their composure.

They were a little excited right after their great victory.

But Bayatur did not tolerate even such a small lapse.

It was understandable for ordinary soldiers to be elated, but commanders should not be like that.

This battle was essentially a preliminary skirmish.

Unlike the Huns who had prepared everything and ambushed them, Rome had entered the battle without any preparation.

They did not even know how large or how well-armed the Hunnic cavalry was.

On top of that, they were clearly overconfident in their situation.

In other words, all conditions favored the Huns.

A fight that they could not lose even if they wanted to.

Bayatur secretly wished that there were more Roman troops in Germania.

He wanted to inflict as much damage as possible in the early battles where he could surely win.

Of course, wiping out three legions was not a small feat at all.

But it was also true that it was not enough to make Rome waver completely.

The next Roman army they would face would surely be much more prepared and ready for battle than now.

The more time they gave them, the more advantageous it was for Rome, not for the Huns.

To maintain 200,000 cavalrymen, they needed a huge amount of food and a vast pastureland as well.

Generally speaking, the supply line of nomads was different from that of sedentary nations in concept.

Of course, thanks to their thorough preparation beforehand, there was no problem with the supplies coming from various routes, but they had to secure as much as possible locally as well as the distance from their newly established base increased.

But Germania, covered with dense forests, had almost no pastureland.

So even if they ransacked every corner and plundered food, it did not make much difference.

Fortunately, according to the information they had collected in advance, Gaul was quite prosperous unlike Germania.

They expected that they could secure a considerable amount of military supplies if they conquered and looted there.

In other words, the Huns could not afford to waste or stop for a moment.

Bayatur, who had reorganized his troops, mounted his horse and led his army forward.

“We will advance like this and take Gaul into our hands. Batzargal will collect all the undamaged armor and weapons from the corpses of the Roman army and join us.”

“Yes sir.”

“Kill anyone who gets in our way and take everything away. We will use Gaul and Germania as stepping stones to conquer Rome.”

The slowly setting evening sun dyed the earth with a bloody hue that seemed like fire.

The sound of hooves of horses that did not stop advancing covered Germania like a nightmare.

The slaughter that did not stop.

With an ambition to burn everything in their hearts, the wolves of the plains marched on.

When did they start to swarm in?

The dark clouds that covered the sky blocked even the moonlight of the night sky.

The natives who had hoped to live a stable life after a long war were faced with a nightmare-like day.

For them, the time when the sun would rise seemed too far away.

※※※

Rabienus, who had fled from the battlefield, and a dozen cavalrymen who had left with him to escort him.

They did not rest for a moment and changed horses as they crossed the Rhine and entered Gaul.

When they arrived at Massilia, where Caesar was staying, none of them looked normal.

Even the ordinary soldiers could guess how the situation in Germania had turned out just by looking at them.

The entire army gathered in Massilia was restless.

They were the invincible legion, Caesar’s soldiers, who had never lost a single battle until now. But they had just suffered their first defeat in a war.

That was why the atmosphere was tense.

When Labienus knelt before Caesar with a half-crazed face, no one was surprised.

Caesar listened attentively to the report of his trusted lieutenant, with a stern face from beginning to end.

“Three legions were annihilated…”

Caesar did not blame Labienus.

His heart was rotting with rage, but he had to calmly deal with the situation first.

He wanted to scream like a madman to get his men back.

Who were the soldiers he had stationed in Germania?

They were his subordinates who had shared joys and sorrows under Caesar’s command, and built up countless bonds.

Caesar knew the names of all the centurions who followed him.

Not only that, but he also memorized the names of the ordinary soldiers who showed impressive feats on the battlefield.

That was Caesar’s way.

He did not just claim to care for his soldiers.

If he really valued his subordinates as individuals, it was natural to remember their names.

His beloved soldiers had died miserably in the faraway land of Germania.

He felt his throat choked with sorrow and his fists trembling with anger.

He did not make a meaningless complaint about why they did not wait for his order.

He already guessed the whole situation from Labienus’ report.

The enemy was faster than expected, and his order was delayed by a hair’s breadth.

That was all there was to it.

It was more important to prepare for the future response than to blame an irreversible mistake.

Caesar withdrew his gaze from Labienus, who was kneeling, and gave orders to the other legion commanders.

“With three legions wiped out in Germania, we don’t have enough troops left to stop the enemy cavalry of 200,000. We retreat our defense line.”

“What do you mean… are you saying you will give up Gaul?”

Caesar had immediately gathered his legions scattered in Gaul as soon as he received the report that the Huns had invaded.

But excluding the two legions stationed in Britannia, Caesar only had eight legions.

It was a large army of nearly 50,000, but considering the size of the enemy cavalry, a frontal battle was impossible.

His original plan was to wage a thorough siege war with eight legions, and summon the two legions from Britannia in the meantime.

He hoped that he could resist the enemy’s offensive by mobilizing troops from Gaul and Hispania as much as possible.

But with three legions annihilated in Germania, the absolute number of troops available was too low.

If Caesar’s main force were to lose while trying to stop them half-heartedly, Rome would be in danger.

He was reluctant to ignore the safety of Gaul and Hispania, but he had to coldly determine the priorities he had to protect now.

“We can’t stop them right now. We have to retreat all our troops to Italy and form a defense line there. Then we can at least keep Rome safe. They are all cavalry, they can’t cross the Alps.”

“Then what about Gaul and Hispania…”

“I’m not going to pretend I don’t know. Send messengers right away. Tell the tribes in southern Gaul and northern Hispania to build defenses in the Pyrenees and hold on. And tell those near the coast to flee by boat to Britannia, North Africa, or Italy. What we need now is time. We have to buy time somehow and replenish our troops.”

“···Understood.”

The legion commanders, who realized the seriousness of the situation, ran out immediately and sent couriers to each region.

Labienus asked for punishment for himself, who had destroyed the legion, but Caesar did not do so.

“If you want death so much, die on the battlefield. Killing one more enemy is the best atonement you can do right now.”

“But…”

Labienus tried to plead with Caesar again, but he couldn’t.

He met Caesar’s eyes directly.

A gaze burning with anger and killing intent.

Labienus had never seen Caesar show such emotion before.

He was always relaxed and calm commander-in-chief.

He had served him for almost ten years, but he had never seen him express such emotion that made his heart cold.

“Just endure the humiliation for a while. I will surely kill all those invaders and avenge our dead soldiers and allies.”

Soon Caesar suppressed his emotions as usual and looked at the northeast where the Rhine was located.

In his head, instead of overflowing anger, countermeasures to overcome this situation were constantly emerging.

※※※

Marcus immediately grasped the situation when he heard the shocking news of the annihilation in Germania.

The Scythian cavalry that invaded the Kingdom of Karen was nothing but a bait to distract his attention.

And from the fact that they poured out an enormous force of 40,000 just for the role of bait, he guessed the size of the enemy.

“It seems that they timed their attack very carefully, considering that they came in before the aftermath of the civil war was over.”

Surenas also saw the situation similarly to Marcus.

Even by looking at the series of events that were happening, the enemy was not a simple barbarian.

They showed a systematic movement with solid evidence.

There must have been someone who had the ability to draw the whole picture, whoever they were.

‘Well, it would be strange to think that the one who united the nomads did not have such ability.’

Seeing that Scythia had fallen under Hun’s control, it was hard to see the enemy as just one Hun faction.

It was not only that the Huns were united as one, but also that a considerable number of other nomads were absorbed by them.

Maybe even the northern Kingdom of Bosporus was already under Hun’s influence.

And the power of the united nomads was stronger than imagined.

Even the unified dynasty of China, which was so powerful, did not dare to confront them when the northern nomads were united as one.

This was a fact proven by thousands of years of accumulated history.

“Even if it’s Caesar, he can’t handle the power of the united nomads alone. And he has lost a significant amount of troops due to the surprise attack. We need to leave some defensive troops here and send the rest to where the enemy’s main force is.”

“I agree. That’s the best option. Let’s leave enough troops to defend the Kingdom of Karen and retreat our forces to Ctesiphon for now.”

Marcus decided to leave 30,000 soldiers in the Kingdom of Karen and withdraw the rest of his troops to Ctesiphon, following Surenas’ advice.

He had already built a fortress, and he had also reinforced the defensive troops of the Kingdom of Karen besides the Roman army.

This should be enough to defend against the Scythian cavalry if they attacked again.

But as soon as he tried to withdraw his troops, he felt a strange sense of uneasiness in his chest.

‘Is the force left by Hun really all of Scythia’s cavalry?’

He thought about what he would have done if he were Hun’s commander-in-chief.

Even if Scythia had surrendered to Hun, it was not plausible that they trusted their loyalty enough to entrust them with important tasks.

He would never do that.

He would have left at least some troops to control Scythia and told them to carry out their mission.

But in the previous brief battle, there were no signs of those who were suspected to be Huns.

If their purpose was to hold Marcus’ ankle and drag him down, they would not just sit and watch like this.

Even if Marcus turned back, they would not fight properly.

Their role was to keep Marcus from going to where Hun’s main force was until the end.

But he could not leave his rear unsecured and recklessly vacate his position either.

It was a dilemma, but Marcus did not panic.

He might have to drag on some more time, but Caesar would not fall so easily.

He had to secure his rear first.

The combined force of Scythia and Hun’s detachment was about 50,000 to 60,000.

“Fine. Since it has come to this, I have no choice but to show them what I can do.”

Marcus’ troops started moving as if they had been waiting for this moment.

They would make them realize how much of a grave mistake it was to think that they could hold his ankle with just that much.

< 205. The Beginning of War > End