Augustus Road

"Be smart and cooperate with the four gates below!" On the platform of Eye Fort in the center, Heibrida called on the artillery crew to use the flame flag, whistle and bugle to indicate the target. .

Under the cover of the shields of the surrounding soldiers, the artillery crew first raised the tongue of fire flag in the dusk. Suddenly, the entire Roman siege camp fell silent. No one shouted loudly, and half of the people dug along the newly captured eye fort. In the trench, half of the people protected the cavalry artillery and archer brigade and fired suppressively at the fortress.

Then the artillery crew began to stand on the commanding heights, constantly blowing whistles and bugles, and released "Juditia's Eyes" to illuminate the target at the fortress. The defenders were soon horrified. They felt that the enemy's shelling was too heavy. These ballistae were so outstanding that they were within the killing range of the fortress, but the infantrymen who covered them were very calm. Even under the impact of stones, they formed a shield array and desperately protected the ballistae, and their own side was hidden from behind. The several groups of surprise troops who rushed out of the door were all under the cold side fire of the enemy's archers behind the wooden fence, and under the mysterious lights that hung in the air. They had no concealment at all, leaving behind numerous corpses, and all suffered defeat. fate.

The stone bullets fired from these ballistae were first fired cross-fire, specifically to kill the defenders on the battlements. Many people were beheaded as soon as they poked their heads out, or their intestines flew straight to the tower behind, and then miraculously, if there was any As if by induction, the firing of the ballista began to slowly focus on a certain section of the city wall again, continuously.

Debris of bricks and stones continued to fall, indicating that under the enemy's concentrated fire, this section of the city wall had reached a very dangerous situation. The defenders in the fortress began to reinforce and support it in sections with wooden planks and long wooden poles. Under the bonfire, Figures of people kept screaming and falling from above, and the top commander of the fortress, "Head of the Asia Portal" Otu Aarons (he was a standard Macedonian) also began to patrol everywhere under the rain of bullets, calling for an interpreter. Use Egyptian dialect and Nubian to cheer loudly, "Don't be afraid of the enemy's temporary arrogance. They have no water source and no stable supplies in this desert. As long as we persist for two or three days, we can easily survive the pursuit." Annihilate them."

"Sir, we have consumed more than half of our stone bullets, bows and arrows, drinking water and food!" After midnight, a scale officer accompanying the army ran up to the Eye Fort and reported to the bloodshot eyes of Highbury Dahui.

"At the third outpost, all the remaining supplies will be distributed to everyone, and everyone will take turns to rest." At this time, the four eye forts were completely connected by the newly dug trenches, as was the case with High Brida Said, "Petnaeus will deliver the supplies probably before noon tomorrow, and the cavalry cannon will make the momentum even greater!"

At this time, Petnaeus was almost exhausted before escorting the baggage convoy to the relay point set up by Hebrida. Seeing the flag planted here, this somewhat elderly general With a hoarse voice, he begged the armed slaves and soldiers:

"Perhaps someone should say, isn't this just for us to rest? But I say no, dear boys, my more than thirty years of military experience tells us that the key to the victory or defeat of this battle is not the Commander-in-Chief. On the Rangers, it is not on the siege of the Thirteenth Army, but on us. As long as we transport a bushel of wheat, or water, or javelins and stone bullets to our brothers in the front, I dare to bet you that you They have such a wish, that is, they hope to see the wheat you sent being cooked and eaten by them, or to see the stone bullets you sent being stuffed into the chute of the ballista. How about that? We must fight into the enemy's city wall. Therefore, we must not be tired at all. Everyone must follow their own mules, horses and camels, and rely on the people in the camp. Food and drinking water are sufficient, but we cannot stop. Military slaves fight for rewards and land, and soldiers fight for generous spoils. At this age, I understand. What were we originally? We were all regarded as poor slugs in the corner by those arrogant guys, but today our fate changed. The time has come, as His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief always said to us, show them with a lot of money in three years' time!"

In the starry night, Petheneus' team endured the same great suffering and moved forward to support regardless of the cost. Many people even used the wine brought from the military camp to continuously scrub the bodies of the pack horses, in order to restore their energy. Petnaeus also dismounted himself and started running with everyone.

At this time, Lepidus' men and horses had arrived at the nostrils of Taifeng Evil God. Many of them were so tired that they could no longer stand straight. Lepidus also hugged the owl's neck and was so tired that he retched downwards with big mouthfuls. His eyes were filled with stars. It was shaking and the eardrums were about to burst. Dusonville waved and said, "Immediately, all the attached cavalry brigade will also dismount. Each horse will lead two people and rush over to me."

Afterwards, both war horses and pack horses (nearly one-third of whom were injured or even died on the way) were tied up with cloth strips and ropes, and soldiers from the Thousand-man Brigade and the Cavalry Brigade were led hand in hand to follow them. Behind them, these horses followed the breath left by Antony's troops, leading their comrades on the battlefield to move forward slowly through the terrifying Evil God Swamp.

Around noon of the next day, they finally came out. On the outer hillside, many people were lying upside down on the ground. Yes, it was the ground, the ground of solid soil. Although it was still so hot - it should have been already here. It is a precious small oasis on the back side of the Perusim Fortress. Just seeing the scattered palms, and the vague water source and greenery, for many people, has the magical effect of resurrecting the dead.

Lepidus ordered the soldiers who could still sit up to eat on the spot. This time they ate not only wheat cakes, but also dates purchased from the Red Sea tribes and King Herod the Great. Those who could still stand were sent to Step on the calves that are lying down to prevent these people from having their tendons twisted in the upcoming battle.

"Take a rest for a day and then continue heading towards the inside of the oasis."

Lepidus, who was half lying down, looked at the black smoke burning everywhere in the distance several miles away from Rome, and knew that Antony, the bastard, must still be alive, and was facing the rear of Perusium, wreaking havoc on the weakly defended villages, so we There can be no delay, not only to ensure the safety of the Silver Evil Plague and the deputy general of the Thirteenth Legion, but also to shake the will of the defenders from behind and force them to surrender as soon as possible.

After resting, Lepidus's Rangers gathered the injured personnel and horses to the hidden back of a certain hill to stand by, and then the rest who still had fighting power and energy formed two battle columns and headed towards the place where the black smoke was rising. , marching away in a meandering way. (To be continued.)