Mythical Three Kingdoms

Zhuge Liang’s spiritual capacity fluctuated, and the southeast wind came just as expected, allowing the fire ships to cross the other half of the Tigris River. With flammable liquids and a bit of wind, the ships ran faster and steadier.

The foul-smelling flames directly covered the other half of the Tigris River, forcing the Romans who were originally rowing boats in the water to siege Parthia either to retreat to the shore or be driven to the Parthian side. The kerosene carried by Zhuge Liang’s gust of wind rose steadily into a line of fire, blocking the Romans.

Taking advantage of the flames on the opposite side, preventing them from attacking, the Sassanid of Fars happily ordered the entire army to cross the river, build pontoon bridges, and drew all the Romans’ attention.

However, across the distorted flames, even if the Romans were eager to strike against the Parthians, they could do nothing.

As for Ardashir, who had been hiding downstream, taking advantage of the flames above and the Romans being distracted, managed to sneak across under the cover of night.

As Zhuge Liang and others had estimated, such a big movement indeed drew the Romans’ attention. Benito even personally came to the front lines and re-adjusted the defenses.

After a busy night, the Parthians worked hard to build the pontoon bridge, but it was ultimately not completed. However, being able to build it to two-thirds was already beyond Zhuge Liang’s expectations.

At this point, the Sassanid of Fars was very satisfied, for Ardashir’s messenger had already reported that they had crossed the Tigris River smoothly while the Parthians attracted all attention upstream with a forced crossing.

Talking about it, Rome’s manpower was indeed insufficient, and their experience was lacking. If Sheni Pei were guarding, he would definitely build a beacon tower every three miles, without needing many guards, just three people would suffice, and then concentrate cavalry as a mobile unit for rescue.

After all, the forces sneaking across couldn’t be many, and to cover the sneaking, not having enough numbers at the front wouldn’t work.

In other words, a force of mounted archers would suffice, though if what was sneaking was something like the Military Spirit Iron Cavalry, nothing would make sense.

But speaking of which, if the Military Spirit Legion sneaked across, having more mobile forces would still be useless. With the combat power of the Military Spirit Legion, turning a sneak into a forced crossing wouldn’t be an unsolvable issue for them; they aren’t weak at all.

Once the flames on the opposite side diminished, the pontoon bridge had already been built to two-thirds amidst the chaos. Up to this point, due to the earlier flames, it couldn’t be continued, but now as the fire lessened, the Sassanid of Fars decisively ordered more rafts into the Tigris River, preparing to seize the favorable situation to cross the river in one go.

However, that was before, now, no matter how furious the Sassanid of Fars was, they wouldn’t make such pointless struggles anymore.

In fact, this old Parthian general truly had a heart of stone. It’s worth noting that Parthia had lost nearly a thousand troops since the crossing began.

More importantly, after Ardashir’s strategy of sneaking across the Tigris River succeeded, the reason for the loss of over two thousand more was due to the rafts being launched for a forced crossing even after the fire had lessened.

Though because of these actions, the Romans had no suspicions at all.

Yet, it wasn’t just the Romans who had no doubts about Parthia, even Zhuge Liang himself, when questioning his own heart, wondered if he would have been suspicious standing on the other side.

In fact, Zhuge Liang would not have been suspicious. Although he would have prepared, he wouldn’t have any doubts based on Fars’ Sasanian performance thus far.

Sometimes, the best way to deceive others is by being genuine, and right now, the actions of the Sassanid of Fars were exactly recreating that reality.

During the recent forced crossing amid the burning kerosene, the Parthians almost reached the opposite bank.

Now that the pontoon bridge was two-thirds complete, it was much easier for the Parthians to launch rafts. Thus, when the fire on the Tigris River disappeared earlier, and the Romans were careless, the Parthians nearly succeeded in their forced crossing.

It was at that moment that Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were utterly stunned; under Benito’s leadership, the Roman 14th Combination Legion, seeing the Parthians about to land, jumped into the Tigris River and attacked the Parthians rowing rafts from the river.

It was precisely this unbelievable attack method that defeated the Parthians; otherwise, during the last time the flames died out, the Sassanid of Fars had almost successfully crossed the Tigris River.

"This is completely irrational," Zhuge Liang nudged Sima Yi with his elbow, snapping out of his earlier shock.

"There’s absolutely no way the forced crossing could succeed!" Sima Yi stated firmly, "We need to stop these foolish tactics now; the legion across can operate on the water. Without needing any assistance, they just run across the water. Tell me, how do you fight that?"

"General of Fars, did you not know that the other side had such an ability?" Zhuge Liang, seeing Sima Yi’s crazed expression, immediately turned his head to the Sassanid of Fars and asked.

The Sassanid of Fars took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration in his heart, and looked solemnly at Zhuge Liang and said, "If I had known the opponent had such a power, I would never have chosen a forced crossing. Although I’ve heard people say Roman 14th Combination Legion was a relic of Roman Emperor Nero, not a super elite, but in many situations, it surpasses that. I had just listened to tales before."

Zhuge Liang gazed at the Roman 14th Combination Legion on the opposite side; he could hear the cheering of the Romans clearly. It was evident they had been waiting for this moment.

After listening to the Sassanid Fars’ very detailed explanation, including some rumored legends, Zhuge Liang thoroughly understood.

This legion wasn’t a super elite, but in some situations, more terrifying than a super elite. A legion like this, in the hands of someone who knows how to use it, causes destruction far exceeding that of a super elite.

Li Youu told Zhuge Liang that the effects of all military formations would always have corresponding legion talents, and similarly, they would have corresponding elite talents, which implies that such a super elite legion is incredibly terrifying if utilized properly.

"Looks like we can only wait and see," the Sassanid of Fars said with slight resentment. If the Fourteen Combined Legion could walk on water, then not even the Xiliang Iron Cavalry or Vanguard Camp, legion spirits though they may be, could stand to gain aboard ships.

As long as you’re required to row, it means you absolutely cannot defeat enemies with their hands free. As long as you’re bound to a specific range, facing a flexible attack makes it difficult to exert your inherent advantages.