Chapter 436: Defeat on the Eastern Route

Lucius, who was thought of by Antony at this moment, was shouting angrily under the city of Tulsa: "Sound the attack horn again, send the two reserve battalions! Push everyone up, I don't believe that we can't break this damned little city!..."

"General." The staff reminded on the side: "The siege troops have begun to retreat, I'm afraid it will be difficult to regroup them to attack in a short time!"

"Send the military law team, chop off those soldiers who escaped first! I don't see who dares to escape again!" Lucius waved his dagger, his voice was fierce, and the staff was scared and dared not persuade him anymore.

At this moment, a messenger came rushing in: "Report, Volosela City has been attacked by barbarians! I hope the general will come back to help as soon as possible!"

Lucius was shocked: "Barbarians raided Volosela City?! Where did they come from? Why didn't we find them?!"

"The barbarians ran out of the mountains. When we found them, they had already rushed to the city! General, there are more than 10,000 of them. If you can't come back to help in time, Volosela City will be finished!" The messenger pleaded anxiously.

Lucius was also panicked. He knew very well that Volosela City had been conquered by the barbarians before, causing several large gaps in the city wall. After he recovered it, he was eager to march forward and did not start repairing it. He only left a few hundred soldiers to guard the baggage stored in the city. He thought that with his continuous victories, Volosela City would be a very safe rear area. He didn't expect the barbarians to come down from the steep mountains. Once they were allowed to capture Volosela City again, there would be big trouble!

"Hurry up and blow the horn to retreat! I will lead these two brigades to rescue first, you gather the other teams and rush as soon as possible!" Lucius gave the order to his adjutant and looked at the city of Tulsa Tica unwillingly.

He thought that it would be as easy to capture this town as the previous ones, but after three days of continuous attack, the soldiers did not even reach the top of the city. The Roman army has always been accustomed to setting up camp defenses to let the reckless barbarians hit their heads and bleed, but this time it was completely reversed. Not only did many soldiers suffer casualties, but even the heavy crossbows specially used for siege were accurately hit by the big stones thrown from the city and most of them were lost...

Is it really a barbarian army stationed in this city? ! ...Lucius couldn't help but doubt it, but at this moment he didn't have time to think too much, so he could only hurriedly take the reserve team back to support the city of Volosela.

"...Lord Rufus, the Romans have retreated!" When a hurried military call was heard from the city, a captain of the Nix Kingdom shouted excitedly.

Rufus, the former commander of the Sixth Legion of the Nix Kingdom and a second-class viscount, retired from active military service three years ago due to old age, but he felt that he was still strong. This time when Nix launched a war against Rome, he took the initiative to volunteer.

Maximus considered it again and again and agreed to Rufus's request. He decided to let the mature and prudent Rufus lead most of the reserve legion drawn from the middle reaches of the Kupa River (that is, the reserve soldiers from the towns of Snotia, Westeni, and Todlido, which is closest to the Roman province of Illyria) with a total of nearly 5,000 people to guard the rear of the Nix army so that the main army can concentrate all its efforts to fight the Roman army.

Before Rufus led the reserve legion to enter Tulsa, the First Legion, which had captured the city, continued to capture several towns in the Illyrian province to the south under the order of Maximus. On the one hand, it was to obtain more food and supplies, and on the other hand, it was to free up a buffer zone for Tulsa. Not many troops were stationed in these cities, so Lucius recaptured it almost without fighting.

But in Tulsa, Rufus led the soldiers of the reserve legion to repair defense facilities day and night, strengthen city defense training, and be more fully prepared, so that the attacking Roman army would be hit and bloodied.

At this moment, Rufus looked at the Roman army retreating in panic under the city, and said with a happy face: "It seems that Chalcympas has succeeded in the raid!"

It turned out that it was not only the reserve legion of more than 4,000 people guarding the rear, but also the ally of the Kingdom of Nix, the Ardei tribe.

The reserve army resisted the attack of the Roman army head-on, while the Ardei tribe army hid in the mountains as a surprise force, seizing the opportunity to attack the Roman army's rear. This was a military plan made in advance.

"Sir, should we gather the soldiers out of the city to chase the defeated soldiers?!" the subordinate asked excitedly.

"We must gather the soldiers, but don't rush to pursue them." Rufus said in a deep voice: "Send a cavalry squad to explore the enemy's movements first, and we will follow them from a distance until we find that the fire in Volosela (referring to the Ardei tribe army burning the Roman army's baggage) and the demoralized Romans are attacked from both sides by the armies of Chalsipenpus and Budokaribas. Then we will launch a fierce attack from behind and completely annihilate the enemy!"

As a surprise force, there are not only the Ardei tribe warriors led by Chalsipenpus, but also the tribal armies of Budokaribas and Cicelytes that are about to be incorporated into the Kingdom of Nix. They did not participate in the raid on Volosela, but still hid in the mountains, waiting for the Roman army to return and fight with the Chalsipenpus army that captured the city, and then launch an attack from the enemy's flank.

Rufus considered that although the soldiers of the reserve legion fought well in the defensive battle, they still lacked field combat experience. If they launched an attack first and caused the Roman army to counterattack with all their strength, they might not be able to withstand it. Therefore, he decided to wait until the Roman army was caught in a pincer attack before giving it the final blow. The main point was to be steady!

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When the Roman army led by Lucius was defeated, Anthony, who was still unaware of it, had already led the army to Padua.

This important town in the eastern part of the northern Italian province is no longer as lively and prosperous as it used to be. The city is in a mess, and the streets are extremely deserted. There is no town citizen, let alone merchants and nobles. Instead, some uncontrolled slaves and refugees hide in the mansions that have lost their owners, secretly enjoying some supplies and food left by their owners...

Anthony angrily captured all these slaves and refugees, and then distributed the remaining supplies looted in the city as spoils to the stationed army. The soldiers cheered for Anthony's generosity again.

The cavalry who went out to explore still found no trace of the barbarian army in the vicinity, and the Roman army rested peacefully for a night.

The next morning, after breakfast, the Roman army continued to march eastward and arrived at Tarvisum (Treviso) two hours later. The situation in the city was similar to that in Padua.

Scouts came in a hurry: "Report to the general, the barbarians are attacking Aquileia!"

Antony's heart moved, and he asked anxiously: "Are you sure?! How many people did the enemy send to attack the city?!"

"The barbarians have cavalry patrolling outside. We dare not get too close, for fear of alarming the enemy. We can only watch from a distance. There are people everywhere on and off the city, and the sound of fighting is very loud!"

Antony no longer doubted, he raised his arms excitedly and shouted loudly: "Messenger! Messenger!!——"

"Anthony, don't be too anxious, wait a minute!" Trebonius hurriedly reminded loudly: "The soldiers have been marching for so long, they are a little tired, let them rest here for a while, restore their physical strength, and replenish water, so that they have enough physical strength to defeat the barbarians in the next battle!

And it's still early now, the barbarians' siege should have started soon, we can wait until they can't attack for a long time and are exhausted, and then rush to the city of Aquileia——" Trebonius' eyes flashed, and his right fist suddenly hit forward.

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Antony pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "Your suggestion is not bad, but we can't wait too long. What if the barbarians break through Aquileia because of our delay this time!

In addition, let the soldiers put on their armor when they rest, and we must arrange the army's formation in advance so that we can quickly start fighting when we arrive at the battlefield and won't miss the opportunity!"

Although Trebonius looked down on the rude and dissolute Antony, he had to admire the other party's more thoughtful thinking at this moment, so he nodded and said: "Then do as you say."

However, Antony's plan did not go smoothly, because half an hour later a group of Nix cavalry appeared near Tarvisum, and they hurriedly left before the Roman cavalry rushed up.

In order to prevent the barbarians from giving up the attack on Aquileia after learning that the Roman army had arrived, and retreating to their own camps to prepare for defense, so that Anthony would miss the best opportunity to defeat the barbarians in one fell swoop, he decisively ordered: "The whole army will march to Aquileia immediately!"

Under the shining sun at noon, the fully armed Roman soldiers formed six columns, each with at least 5,000 people, and the columns were about two or three miles apart. The captains of each column held high the golden eagle flag and the scarlet legion flag, and the six columns marched in unison to the east.

Despite the hot weather, the Roman soldiers marched firmly and excitedly, because this time they were not going to kill each other with their compatriots, but to be Roman heroes and repel the invading barbarians. At the same time, they were willing to fight bravely for the young general who rode a tall horse, walked at the front of the team, and kept shouting loudly, in return for his generosity.

These six columns are close to the foothills of the Alps in the north and the Adriatic Bay in the south. From south to north, they are:

Caesar's Ninth Legion and the Tenth Legion.