Augustus Road

Several groups of legions and Bosphorus' light-shielded javelinmen had just ran outside the formation, preparing to throw their javelins to disrupt the charge of the Pontic cavalry. The column of the Pontic cavalry was one and a half furlongs away from the formation, and suddenly it looked like a crocodile. Like a long mouth, it opened in two directions, left and right, and moved towards the two wings of the Roman legion to outflank it!

At this time, the skirmishers happened to be at the core of the "Crocodile's Mouth". The Scythian light cavalry following the oven heavy armored cavalry fired rapidly towards the skirmishers in a semi-arc shape. A wave of bows and arrows.

The skirmishers who were shot down completely lost their basic fighting spirit amidst the thunderous sound of horse hooves. They turned their backs to the enemy and ran towards their own formation. The Scythian light horsemen were like lightning. They had held three arrows on their fingers in advance to achieve the purpose of shooting continuously, so the second wave of arrows arrived immediately. Almost all the remaining skirmishers were hit by arrows in the back and were killed. Falling on the grass, "Shield wall, shield wall!" The first two rows of Roman soldiers in the horizontal line, one half kneeling, the other standing, stacked up a shield wall, and the third wave of arrows crisscrossed from both sides, many of which were Amidst the screams, the bodies of Roman soldiers fell in twos and threes in front of the shield wall.

The flag officer next to Calabis was also shot in the shoulder. Calabis felt that at least seven arrows flew over his head at once, but he still lowered his body and supported the shaking flag officer and team flag. , several companions rushed up and helped him drag back the people and the team flag. Although the flag officer was injured, he still gritted his teeth and raised the eye-catching team flag high, hoping that all the soldiers present would Everyone could see their own flags flying on the battlefield, not only losing their morale.

Good guy, there are at least three hundred people in this group of Pontic cavalry, no wonder they dare to attack so wildly.

A rapid and high-pitched trumpet sounded, and Hebrida on the left and a senior centurion on the right howled together. They took the lead and held up their heavy spears. The cavalry in Pontus spread their wings and rushed through the legion's "gate" formation. Halfway to the side, the Scythian Qingqiu, on the galloping horse, stretched out his hand on his "golitos" (a special box that the Scythians used to hold arrows and bows to prevent them from getting wet, hanging on the saddle) (above) When the arrows were attached to the strings, they rushed out diagonally to the left and right with long deep columns on both wings and launched a countercharge.

At this time, the two crocodile mouths bit together instantly. The Pontic cavalry, who originally wanted to outflank the Romans on both wings, was confused - they did not see the Romans arranged in columns on both wings! This formation is the "culmination" accumulated by Hybrida and Arminius from long-term battles with enemy cavalry in Asia Minor. As a result, the arrogant Pontic and Scythian cavalry were severely beaten and had no choice but to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Romans. The result was almost self-evident. After the handover of weapons, the Romans ruled the world, and the Pontic cavalry and horses The abdomen and neck were stabbed with swords and spears, and the riders were pulled down, especially the oven heavy cavalry. They had almost nothing to do under the horseback. Many people fell to the ground lumberingly, with their arms and legs spread out, and were even beaten by the soldiers who rushed up. The slaves were beaten to death with stones and axes.

Not long after, the cavalry of Pontus fled in all directions. Each centurion blew his whistle and waved his cane, signaling to all the soldiers not to disrupt their formation, to pursue the enemy, and to maintain a restrained victory.

Several military slaves and servants failed to stop in time. As a result, they were all shot down by Scythian arrows from a few dozen Roman feet away from the formation.

In the dusk, Roman soldiers and military slaves gathered together the dead bodies of people and horses. The rest of the troops were building fortifications and camps without moving. A Pontic oven cavalry who had been stripped of his armor and helmet was pulled to On the hill, Calabis, holding papyrus in his hand, stood in front of the centurions, "Excuse me, where is your baggage?" Calabis asked politely in Greek.

The cavalry stubbornly shook his head. Calabis said nothing. The papyrus in his hand was blown by the wind. Then several soldiers began to beat the unfortunate cavalry with sticks with thorns, shouting Calabis waved, and several tax collectors came up, "Look at this map I sketched. It marked the markets where we just went to collect taxes. Is that right?" Calabis put the paper on the map. The grass was pulled away, and two or three soldiers each carried a lamp under a glass cover and shined it on. The tax collectors studied for a while, nodded, and said that it was generally reliable. Calabis called the cartographers over. These were all disciples of Pope, and their craftsmanship was no problem. He pointed to the wooden board with the map engraved on it. , Calabis asked the tax collector, "Based on the several market towns we have visited, please list all the big market towns on Ponti Kabiang Island from east to west, which can collect taxes. Those that are not drawn on the map Mark them out in the blank spaces, no need to be precise.”

The tax collectors were chirping, reminding each other, and quickly completed the task under the light. They marked the signs one by one from one end of the sea to the other end of the sea - which made Calabis even afraid. If these gangsters come out, I will definitely regret it.

Then, the old guys Hebrida, Arminius, and Hortensius began to draw the Pontic cavalry they encountered in the past two days on the map board with lead and ink. The direction and route of plundering and attacking - in the end, all routes, roughly like the hands of a clock, point to a certain "center of the circle" in the northwest of the island.

"Don't hit my hand!" Below, the captured Pontic cavalry, when the Roman soldiers held down his hand and prepared to hit it with sharp stones, he finally couldn't help but screamed, " Our baggage was all drawn by ponies and mules, and we moved with the cavalry, staying put only when we scattered."

"Yes, they have to stay. The cavalry all use the baggage train as a gathering point, because all the looted supplies have to be brought back. There are no big rivers here, and there are dense mountains and forests in the south. Their The active area is in the northwest and west areas where there is groundwater," Hortenhuis said, pointing to the map board.

Calabis nodded, pointed to the center of the circle, and said to the tax collector: "Think about the terrain around here." Then he took a large piece of meat roasted by the soldiers and filled with sesame oil, and squatted in front of the captured cavalry with a smile. Say, "Eat, and when you've finished, tell me everything you know."

The next day, when breaking camp, Calabis handed the flag of the 10th Battalion into the hands of Hebrida, "You are responsible for commanding and walking along the foot of the mountains that traverse the east and west. This can effectively prevent surprise attacks by enemy cavalry. "

"What a shame, you didn't even become a slave during the war." Hebrida took over the team flag unceremoniously, "Leave some scouts and cavalry for me and contact me when the time comes." (To be continued.)