#144 Storm the City of Rome (16)

But Roman rescue forces soon got a taste of the crooked wall they had built because they couldn't speed up.

When the Dionian soldiers on the city saw this, they urged their comrades under the city to speed up the city.

The captain of the 6th Legion's Light Armor Brigade, Kelkus, is from Cilitin. He is not a later immigrant, but a native of Cilitin. More than ten years ago, he was an ordinary citizen of Cilitin and participated in the battle of Lamato River. , after the failure, he luckily did not escape back to Siriting, but fled to Crotone, survived the South-Italian War fortunately, and later became a citizen of Dionia, and became the most trained in the 6th Legion's barracks. One of the hard-working soldiers, who made many contributions in the conquest of Apulia.

After being promoted to captain, he wrote several times to the Ministry of Military Affairs, requesting that he be transferred to the Eighth Army. , would clash with the Syracuses.

This time, as the commander of the raid, he was not worried when he saw the Romans attacking from both sides. He immediately ordered: the soldiers on the city each sent two detachments to form a dense formation to block the passages at both ends of the city wall.

The passage on the city of Rome is not wide, so Scipio the Great can successfully block the Dionian soldiers who passed the siege tower and went up to the city head, and now Kercus is also using this method to protect the successor troops. It's really tit for tat for going uptown to buy time.

Even if more than 1,000 people from the Light Armor Brigade and the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade all came up, Kerkus was not ready to attack from the city wall, because the passage was narrow and long, and it would take a long time to break through the enemy. He had better The choice, because in front of him there is a stone ladder down to the city.

It is precisely because of the remoteness of the southeast corner that the Romans built the ramp to the upper city here so that the soldiers could reach it quickly, but they did not expect that it would become an Achilles heel for the enemy to use.

Marcus and Balbus quickly realized this problem, but the First Army and the Sixth Army were on the offensive during this period of time, obviously to cooperate with the sneak attack of this force, so they had no troops to send.

Balbus had no choice but to immediately send someone to Scipio the Great for help.

At this time, the Roman soldiers who had been fighting for a long time and were already exhausted, motivated by the belief of "defending their homeland", walked along the aisle of the city wall and attacked the southeast corner aggressively.

But the Dionian soldiers, who had been recharged in a dense formation, blocked their way like two boulders.

The other Dionian soldiers went up the city very quickly, not only because of the 30 rope hooks, but also because the soldiers brought more ropes. up or hold it by hand,

When they reached the bottom of the city, nearly a hundred soldiers climbed to the top of the city at one time, and soon the densely packed Dionian soldiers crowded the southeast corner of the city.

At the order of Kerkus, a thousand light armoured soldiers and scout soldiers quickly stepped down the stone stairs and finally entered the city of Rome.

There were three lines of attack in front of them: the first, along the northeastern wall, against Mount Quirilno, all the way to the north, either to support the First Legion, or directly to the center of the city of Rome - the Senate, but this One road is long and narrow and easily blocked; the second road is to the northwest, through the road between the Quirrino and Vimina hills, to the center of Rome, but the road is equally narrow and easy. Being blocked, and without knowing the inside of the city, it is taboo to go deep alone; the third way is the choice of Kerkus, along the southern city wall, march west quickly, and first assist the Sixth Army to defeat the guards in front of him. military.

In fact, not far from the stone ladder is a city gate of the city of Rome, the Quirilno Gate, but the entire gate hole is filled with stones and dirt. The Roman city wall is winding and winding, but there are many gates (at least ten), and there are not enough soldiers in the city to defend. Therefore, yesterday the Roman Senate made a decision to mobilize the people to block all the gates of the city to prevent it from becoming an enemy. breakthrough.

It will take a lot of time to clean it up and open the city gate, but now time is the most precious for the Dionysian army entering the city, so Kerkus did not stop and led the troops to the city quickly. Travel west.

The light armored soldiers and scout soldiers, who have always been in auxiliary positions in the war, rarely took the lead in this important battle. Everyone was very excited and full of strength. It didn’t take long for them to pass through the Vimina Gate. Seeing the old man, women and children transporting supplies to the defenders in the city, the Dionian soldiers easily knocked them down with their leather shields like a tiger entering a flock. The rest fled in panic, throwing arrows, javelins, oil The can was thrown on the floor.

The defenders on the city saw this scene and shouted in horror: "The enemy! The enemy has entered the city!!..."

There was a great commotion on the top of the city immediately, and the panicked soldiers could no longer fight with peace of mind. A few soldiers even left their defensive positions and wanted to run down the city without being dissuaded by their squad officers.

At this time, someone shouted: "The reinforcements are here! The reinforcements are here!!..."

Scipio the Great urgently dispatched 300 heavy infantry, which he already owned.

But this force was not enough to pose a danger to the Dionian army entering the city, and Kerkus made a decisive decision: let three companies quickly meet and attack the enemy reinforcements; Go up the stone ladder and attack the defenders on the city.

………………………………

"...The enemy is attacking the city! The enemy is attacking the city!!..." The people in charge of delivering the supplies ran back to the square in panic, shouting hoarsely, causing chaos in the square.

The elders in the square also changed their faces.

"Go and detain them all for me, don't let them shout and create chaos!" Malujinsis was so angry that he immediately issued an order to the captain of the guard responsible for maintaining order in the square.

Portitus, who has always played against him, did not stop him. In his heart, he was in favor of using tough measures at such a time of crisis.

"Could it be... the enemy really... attacked?!" Ambestus asked in a trembling voice, expressing the common concern of everyone.

"...Send someone to come over and ask in detail." Portitus looked calm, but he was leaning on crutches and swaying slightly.

At this time, the messenger sent by Scipio the Great rushed to the square, and the cruel facts spit out from his mouth made the elders panic.

"Didn't Scipio the Great already send reinforcements?! These heroic citizens... must be able to kill all the enemies who were lucky enough to rush into the city!" Plenius shouted loudly, he wanted to disperse himself and his colleagues Fear in his heart, but his tone seemed so unconfident.

"If Scipio the Great is sure to repel the enemy, he will not send a messenger to tell us..." Marugineensis sighed. He and Scipio the Great are from the same clan, and he has been striving to support him. The clansmen with excellent abilities naturally understand them better: "And we have no more soldiers..."

In fact, the elders had been continuously receiving reports from the defenders of the city before. They knew very well that the situation was very serious, and the words of Marugine Ensis just shredded the last bit of luck in their hearts. Let them fall into a terrible silence.

"Go to Capitoline!" Portitus said with a firm tone, his face no longer panicking: "Don't worry, just like when the Celts invaded, the Dionysians may be able to occupy the city of Rome, But it is absolutely impossible to capture our holy land! Compared with the last time, the situation this time is more favorable. Camelus is about to lead an army back, and this time the army is much larger than a dozen years ago, and it has been trained more. Well done! The Dionians will be driven out faster, and the victory will eventually belong to Rome!  …”

The calm words of Portitus made the elders less panicked.

………………………………

The Roman people in the square were instructed by the elders and rushed back to their homes in panic. They hurriedly packed their furniture, brought food, and prepared to flee to the Capitoline Mountain for refuge.

When the people who lived near the embankment hurried back to the block, they saw a terrifying scene: the stone slabs used to cover the sewers on the side of the street were lifted up, revealing the dark and smelly sewers, and on the street, hundreds of people wearing black leather A. Soldiers with black shields and short swords are lining up with their backs to them and the Tiber River...

"It's the enemy!! They're coming in!!..." The Roman people shouted in horror, and some women even fainted because of their fear.

Lizaru heard the noise behind him. He didn't care about these old people, women and children at all. He didn't even look back. Instead, he pointed the dagger in his hand to the front and shouted in a passionate voice: "Shanling Brigade. The warriors, the time has come to make great achievements, follow me to kill!"

After speaking, he was the first to charge towards the bridge head of the Roman Shibashi Bridge, followed by the soldiers.

Their shouts of Hades alarmed the Roman soldiers who were struggling. The soldiers rushed towards them aggressively, and the fighting spirit in the hearts of these Roman reinforcements, mainly composed of slaves, immediately dropped to the bottom. They completely ignored Cassius's order to turn around and resist, and they scattered and fled in an instant.

Their escape also shaken the fighting spirit of the Roman soldiers who have been fighting so hard to this day.

At the bridge head, the Dionian soldiers, who were already very tired from attacking all the time, heard Hades' cry coming from the opposite side. All of them were refreshed, their sore arms seemed to be reinjected with strength, and the offensive resumed fierce again. momentum, which became the straw that broke the camel's back.

. Literature Museum m.