Rome Must Perish-Chapter 236 - 153: Segestica Army Attacks_2

The women of Segestica also had to work, equally engaged in constructing the camp, though their workload was less than the men’s. The task of supervising them was eagerly sought by each unit, as merely watching the scene of women with sweat-soaked thin clothes laboring under the scorching sun was a beautiful sight.

But they could only indulge in this view for now, because Maximus had issued an order, "No one is allowed to violate the female captives, or else face severe punishment!"

The rebel soldiers, accustomed to obeying orders, didn’t dare to defy them.

The children of Segestica were supervised by the people from the Female Camp, while the elderly were placed under the jurisdiction of Capito’s Supply Camp.

The Skodisqi slaves were easily managed, as Maximus gathered them together and had Emmerich persuade them publicly.

Emmerich held considerable prestige among the slaves, and the rebels’ previous efforts to desperately save the wounded Skodisqi hadn’t gone unnoticed, instilling a feeling of goodwill among many Skodisqi slaves, who readily expressed their willingness to serve the rebel army.

Thus, the Skodisqi women went to work in the kitchen or Female Camp, the elderly were sent to work in the Supply Camp, while the young and robust were spared from work to undergo urgent military drills led by a group of team officers and soldiers of Illyrian birth, headed by Pequot.

There weren’t many women among the Skodisqi slaves, as the Segestica people didn’t kindly allow Skodisqi slaves to form families; most of them were female slaves of Segestica nobles;

There weren’t many elderly either, most possessing some skill, such as horse breeding, pig feeding, fishing, or blacksmithing...

The young and robust accounted for over 4,000, making up the majority of the slaves. They usually tilled the land, herded, and labored for the Skodisqi, serving as fodder charges during wartime; such a composition of slaves fits well with the Segestica Tribe’s pioneering pursuits.

This greatly delighted the rebel army, not only significantly replenishing the desperately needed military force but also increasing the labor availability throughout the ranks.

Yet, when heads of various departments arrived at the gathering place to collect people, Maximus loudly reminded them: these newly joined brothers and sisters, having been oppressed for years, were physically weak, and they needed to have ample rest with minimal work. Moreover, they were to be fed meat at every meal, three times a day, to ensure their quick recovery.

The Skodisqi heard this and felt even more favorable towards the rebel army.

Despite the strict supervision over the Segestica prisoners by the rebels, some prisoners contemplated escape by night, but they couldn’t escape the patrol’s pursuit.

In this regard, Maximus didn’t go soft; with a single order, the fugitives and their families, amounting to a dozen or so people, were beheaded in public, their bodies thrown into the Murenica River, and no more escape attempts occurred the next day.

Unfortunately, this bustling labor scene had to be halted on the third day as the Segestica army appeared along the banks of the Kupa River.

"According to my repeated reconnaissance with the subordinates, the enemy force arriving this time numbers around 15,000 people..." Hagux reported inside the military tent to Maximus and the army’s leaders.

As the Cavalry Captain, he was in a bit of a bind. The horses were precious; during the previous lengthy mountain crossings, they lost most of them due to broken legs, cracked hooves, illness, and losing weight... The few surviving horses were given to Maximus and others for use, so in the last battle, his cavalry merely watched as spectators.

Fortunately, after the rebels captured two stockades, they seized a few horses, allowing him to barely perform the reconnaissance duties he initially took on upon joining the rebel army.

"The majority in the enemy’s force are light infantry armed with wooden shields and spears, about 1,000 are armored with large shields and longswords as heavy infantry, and there are more than 2,000 Skodisqi male slaves wearing only single-layer inner garments..."

After Hagux finished speaking, Maximus asked: "No cavalry?"

"Just under a hundred cavalry." Hagux seemed a bit dejected.

"Fewer cavalry is a good thing; at least we don’t have to worry about sudden flank attacks." Maximus understood why he seemed so disappointed and comforted him: "I inquired among the prisoners, and the reason the Segestica people have few horses isn’t that they don’t breed them, but because their northern Pannonian tribes were at war with the Boyi.

The Boyi cavalry are formidable, so the Pannonian Tribe Alliance gathered horses from various major tribes and sent them to the northern tribe to form a strong cavalry to counter the Boyi... So don’t expect to capture many horses from them for now; let’s raise them ourselves after we defeat them."

"It seems this Pannonian Tribe Alliance is quite united, being able to transfer horses in large quantities between tribes; it seems lending soldiers extensively among each other isn’t a problem at all." Flanitnus expressed some concern.

"Such a possibility does exist. But it seems the Aldean Great Chief was right; while the Pannonians are indeed at war with the Boyi in the north, they have simultaneously invaded the Illyrian in the south, their internally united tribes might have difficulty lending many soldiers to the Segestica tribe while dealing with multiple enemies." Quintus countered.

Maximus coughed lightly: "The matter of whether the Pannonian Tribe Alliance will lend soldiers, we shall discuss later. Let’s concentrate on the enemies in front of us first. It seems this Segestica Great Leader has a rather impatient temper, arriving with the army so quickly."

"Perhaps... he’s already investigated our situation and doesn’t want to wait until our camp is built to attack..." Quintus pondered and looked at Hagux, asking: "Did the enemy bring supplies?"

"Over 50 carriages, escorted by more than 1,000 Pannonian civilians." Hagux mentioned, adding: "These civilians are relatively young."

"Over 50 carriages needing more than 1,000 to escort? Do they take us for fools? These civilians are soldiers as soon as they take up weapons; they’re learning from us!" Torrelugo sneered.

"Over 50 carriages of food can supply more than 16,000 people for five or six days at most." Capito reminded, having served as the temporary Supply Camp manager during the rebels’ march, with ample experience.

"That means the enemy intends to fight a quick battle this time." Quintus mused.

"That might not necessarily be the case." Flanitnus argued: "Don’t forget they still have two stockades along the eastern banks of the Kupa River, and their Seg... Segestica Main Camp isn’t far; they can fully camp there and have their Supply Team continuously transport food across."

Quintus shook his head: "I asked several elders of the Alde tribe, and neither they nor the Aldeans have dedicated entities responsible for military logistics; they gather food before combat, and if provisions run out, they must withdraw."

Flanitnus froze for a moment; he indeed hadn’t inquired as thoroughly as Quintus did about the enemy, so he said: "Since the Segestica don’t plan to engage us in a prolonged battle, as long as we secure our camp’s defenses, they will have to withdraw once their supplies are depleted. Hagux, roughly when can the Segestica army arrive?"

Hagux replied: "Though they are cautious, sending many scouts to inspect the mountains along the Kupa River’s banks meticulously, their marching speed is quite fast. I estimate they can reach the eastern stockade by tonight, and here by tomorrow morning."

"If I had known, we should have burnt that stockade while retreating, forcing the Segestica to set up camp themselves, lose sleep tonight, and lack the energy to fight us tomorrow." Torrelugo muttered softly.

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