Chapter 314
The preparations for battle were complete.
Neither army had any intention of dragging things out.
The Roman army believed they could crush the enemy at a moment’s notice, while the Satavahana Army feared any delay might bring more Roman reinforcements.
The Roman army was outnumbered.
The thirty thousand soldiers led by Swati were poorly equipped and exhausted from continuous defeat.
Although their morale had risen with the Roman army joining them, their base combat strength remained far too low.
The opposing Satavahana Army, having frantically gathered more troops upon hearing of the Roman landing, had swelled to roughly one hundred twenty thousand.
Though their equipment was similarly poor, they had brought war elephants and readied pikemen to check the Roman cavalry.
In their own way, they had prepared thoroughly.
However, as Trajan scanned the distant enemy encampment, he showed no signs of tension.
“Will we truly be alright?”
Swati, the only person present unable to suppress his anxiety, asked in a fretful voice.
If they lost here, everything was over.
“Do not worry. It will all be over soon. Did you relay everything we discussed?”
“Yes. I instructed them not to panic, no matter what happens, and to hold their ground.”
Trajan gave a slight nod and looked away.
Sophia, looking just as composed as him, and Octavian, who looked slightly uncomfortable for some reason, came into view.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“No... my stomach just hurts a little.”
“He is always like this, so do not mind him. The tense atmosphere of a battlefield just doesn’t agree with him.”
Octavian offered an embarrassed, bitter smile.
It was already a well-known fact that, unlike his political brilliance, he possessed no military talent whatsoever.
He was different from Caesar or Marcus.
Even knowing this, seeing a face so completely at odds with his usual calm and collected demeanor was enough to elicit a faint chuckle.
“Sister, as discussed, I will take command of the left wing. I’ll leave the center and the right wing to you. I’m sure Agrippa will do fine on his own, but please keep an eye on Achilles too.”
“Understood. Don’t worry.”
Both of their gazes shifted almost simultaneously to the far end of the right wing.
Achilles stood out, clad in Plate Armor and skillfully issuing orders to his centurions.
The changes in her younger brother, whom she had reunited with after several years, felt deeply unfamiliar even to Sophia.
Though exceptionally talented in both the scholarly and martial arts, he used to be a boy who emanated a certain frailty due to his innate issues.
She had put in a lot of effort to help ease his resulting emotional instability.
But in the Achilles she had just met again, not a single trace of his childhood frailty remained.
Even when formulating strategies, he would coldly say his piece and leave.
It felt a bit too businesslike, but since he now seemed brimming with the confidence he had previously lacked, she did not say much about it.
That was enough idle thought.
They could catch up on all their missed conversations once the war was over.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Sophia slowly spurred her horse forward.
Achilles and Trajan would handle the actual combat command, but boosting morale was her role.
“Listen, proud soldiers of Rome!”
Her resounding voice naturally drew the soldiers’ attention.
“The time has come to show the results of the training you have built with blood and sweat. You all know that the enemy’s numbers mean absolutely nothing. If any soldier harbors fear, cast it away right here and now. The protection of the great Augustus
and the war god Mars will be with you!”
“Units, forward!”
At Agrippa’s command, soldiers stepped forward hauling massive chunks of iron.
They were strangely shaped iron cylinders, the likes of which Swati had never seen.
He could not even begin to guess what such elongated, bulky iron tubes could be used for.
According to his investigations thus far, no intelligence suggested the Roman army carried such things.
‘Do they shoot arrows out of them?’
They had wheels attached and were being dragged around, but they looked far too heavy to possess any real mobility.
Seeing them align the open muzzles toward the enemy lines, it certainly seemed they were going to shoot something, but he had no clue what that could be.
While the soldiers who had stepped forward busily engaged in their peculiar tasks, the rest of the troops finalized their battle preparations.
However, unlike their usual tactics, the Roman army did not immediately charge forward.
They made no move, as if simply waiting for the slowly approaching enemy.
‘Why? If the enemy gets too close, the cavalry won’t be able to build up speed, will they?’
The only instruction Swati had received was to attack when the signal fell.
Wondering if he had missed the signal, he looked around, but the Roman army still seemed to have no intention of moving.
The massive enemy army inching closer was truly formidable.
The approach of over one hundred thousand soldiers imparted a tremendous sense of pressure all on its own.
Even so, the Roman army waited with perfect composure.
Sophia and Agrippa in the center, and Trajan who had moved to the left, all looked as serene as could be.
Was it because they lacked experience in war?
Perhaps he should step forward right now and suggest they make their move.
Just as he made up his mind and opened his mouth to speak...
“Unleash the Wrath of Mars upon the enemies of Rome!”
BOOOOOOM!
Thunderbolts erupted from the row of massive iron chunks.
“U-Uwaaaah!”
Mistaking it for a lightning bolt from a clear sky, Swati nearly fell off his horse.
Instinctively ducking and covering his head with both hands, he only managed to open his eyes and look forward several seconds later.
The soldiers under Swati’s command fared no better.
Startled by the sudden deafening roar, some soldiers collapsed right where they stood.
Quite a few cavalrymen were thrown from their mounts.
Unlike the well-trained Roman cavalry, the horses in Swati’s unit snorted wildly and even tried to bolt.
The billowing black smoke thickly obscured their vision.
What in the world had just happened?
The scene on the other side became visible through the smoke.
“Hiiiiek!”
One of the soldiers in the front ranks let out a terrified shriek.
Swati, his eyes wide with shock, could not tear his gaze away from the front.
It was a massacre.
A scene that could only be described as such unfolded before him.
If Swati, an ally, felt this way, there was no need to even mention the state of mind of the enemy who had actually been bombarded.
As they struggled to comprehend what had occurred, a second explosion crashed down upon them.
KABOOOOM!
It was fundamentally different from the clash of swords and spears or the thud of arrows piercing flesh.
It was a deafening roar accompanied by acrid smoke, blinding flashes, and violent explosions.
A terrifying tremor and boom swept through the surroundings.
It was a sound far too surreal for the people of this era.
It felt as though someone had artificially dragged lightning from the heavens and driven it into the earth.
In truth, no matter how many shells they fired, it was absolutely impossible to wipe out an army of over one hundred thousand with cannons using the technology of this era.
The range, projectile speed, and explosive power were all still vastly insufficient.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was the fact that this was a weapon that had never existed before, one they could not have even imagined.
Humans inherently fear the unknown.
Every time something flashed and roared, their bodies and their comrades’ bodies were torn to shreds, and the earth ruptured beneath them.
The sheer terror brought about by this reality was not something even the most brilliant commander could salvage.
In fact, the commanders who were supposed to rally the troops were themselves plunged into chaos, completely at a loss.
Their slow advance while maintaining a tight formation had become the worst possible move.
If they had just spread out and charged as fast as possible, it would not have ended up like this, but the damage was already done.
After a few more explosions, the Satavahana Army could no longer hold their ranks and descended into total pandemonium.
The startled war elephants lost control, running amok and trampling their own allies.
“Aaaaaah! Save me!”
“You idiot! Where are you going?! Get away! We’ll die if we clump together!”
Realizing that the bombardment prioritized densely packed areas, the soldiers ignored their orders and scattered in every direction.
At this point, formations were completely out the window.
This was the extent of the cannons’ role.
From the very beginning, there had been no intent to wipe out the enemy with these early-model cannons.
They were merely a tool to break the enemy’s spirit, shatter their ranks, and boost Roman morale.
Agrippa drew his weapon, pointing it at the scrambling enemy, and shouted.
“Behold! The protection of Mars and Augustus is with us. All forces, wipe out the enemy!”
“For Augustus!”
Unleashing the fighting spirit they had been suppressing, the soldiers surged forward like a flood.
Even amidst that rush, one unit shot out ahead of the rest.
Refusing to fall behind even a step, the cavalry charged in with tremendous momentum.
The sickening sounds of flesh being shredded erupted one after another.
“Guaaaaah!”
“Run away!”
It was the left-wing legion led by Achilles.
Unlike the other legion commanders, he led his soldiers from the absolute vanguard, slaughtering the enemy.
Wherever his units swept through, a literal rain of blood fell.
The crunch of spears and swords shattering bone and flesh echoed relentlessly.
“Isn’t that kid... pushing way too far ahead?”
Trajan, having grasped the rough situation from the opposite side, urgently ordered his soldiers to advance.
No matter how scattered the enemy’s ranks were, diving in too deep could be dangerous.
That was the thought running through Trajan’s head, for Achilles’s legion was grinding through the enemy like madmen, advancing again and again.
They were even more ferocious and overflowing with killing intent than the Aquilanus Unit under Trajan’s command.
At a glance, the charge seemed reckless, but the results proved otherwise.
As naturally as breathing, Achilles slaughtered the enemy while constantly checking his allies’ positions and signaling the centurions following him.
Shifting positions organically, they pierced and chipped away only at the enemy’s weakest points.
Smoothly carving through the enemy’s right flank, Achilles was already penetrating into their rear.
That sight brought astonishment to his allies and bottomless terror to the enemy.
“W-What the hell is that lunatic?! What gives him the nerve to rampage all the way back here?! What are you all doing?! Focus your attacks on his troops immediately—”
The minister positioned at the very rear of the Satavahana Army’s right wing felt as if he were trapped in a nightmare.
He had deliberately taken this spot so that even if the battle turned grim, he could easily escape.
But before the battle had even properly begun, those Roman bastards fired lightning bolts, and some absolute madman tore all the way back here, ripping their forces apart.
Plunged into chaos, the soldiers barely registered his orders.
They had no leeway to do so anyway.
The spear of the enemy commander, who wore a helmet reminiscent of an eagle, impaled a soldier right through the solar plexus.
Gripping the shaft with both hands, the bastard drove forward just like that.
It was a charge combining absurd physical strength with the momentum of a warhorse.
Two soldiers standing in front of the minister were skewered onto the spear blade like meat on a stick.
“N-No...! Is no one there?! Someone stop that—!”
He could not finish his sentence.
With a sickening crunch, the minister’s body was launched into the air, left dangling from the tip of the spear.
The front lines had already collapsed, and the enemy had blocked the rear’s retreat path.
Whenever they tried to concentrate their forces for a counterattack, the enemy shrewdly turned their horses around and opened the distance.
Then they would exploit openings elsewhere, dealing massive damage.
It was a method so efficient and cowardly it made them tremble with rage.
Taking repeated hits like that, the right wing of the Satavahana Army was naturally reduced to tatters.
Since they were being pushed back by the Roman army on the opposite side as well, there was no hope of reinforcements arriving.
The eagle-helmeted enemy commander who had carried out the massacre stayed his hand for the first time.
A hint of relief washed over the faces of the Satavahana soldiers.
Was that monster finally going to lower his spear?
As if mocking their hopes, Achilles issued an order in a dry, emotionless voice.
“First and Second Battalions, follow me. We will circle around the enemy’s rear and strike the center. And as for the Third through Sixth Battalions...”
The chilling gaze behind the visor swept over the trembling Satavahana soldiers.
“Kill them all, then follow.”
Leaving those words behind, Achilles spurred his horse and vanished from their sight.
It was a waste of time for him to keep cutting down enemies who had already lost their will to fight.
The bleak reality strangled the bodies of the Satavahana soldiers, who had already lost their fighting spirit.
Fortunately, the Roman army did not prioritize chasing those who threw down their weapons and fled.
However, those who failed to discard their weapons in time were mercilessly met with flying spears and blades.
The option to fight was no longer left to them.
Only an overwhelming despair filled their faces.