Rome Must Perish-Chapter 239 - 155: Army 2 Confrontation

On the second morning, after the warriors had breakfasted, Andres led the army to set out.

Strangely enough, while the weather was quite hot the previous days, today was crisp and cool, making the march light and brisk. This reminded Andres of the divination performed by Priest Hemijias before departing from the Segestica Main Camp.

Hemijias used Horse Divination, gathering the few warhorses of the tribe together and observing their movements without disturbing them. The horse that Andres often rode neighed first, and the other horses followed in joyful cries. Hemijias immediately concluded: this was a great omen, and the Great Chief’s expedition this time would certainly be a great victory.

Considering today’s favorable weather, the omen seems to be gradually coming true... Andres became pleased.

At this moment, the reconnoitre rushed back from the front: "Report to the Great Chief, the enemy is assembling in front of their camp!" ƒreewebɳovel.com

What? They are not holding their camp?!... This situation was somewhat unexpected for Andres; he had already thoroughly investigated and found that this enemy force numbers around ten thousand.

"Keep closely observing the enemy’s movements and report to me at any time!"

"Yes, Great Chief." The reconnoitre rode off to the front again.

If the enemy does not hold the camp, it is indeed a good thing. Although some measures have been prepared in advance, attacking a camp always causes more casualties than field battles, and victory is harder to seize... But the enemy’s numbers are far fewer than mine, yet they dare come out to meet me in battle; are they overconfident? Or do they have other plans?... Andres looked at the hills ahead and the plain by the river, where Wallis was defeated before, and a sudden alertness struck him: Could the enemy be aiming to ambush me on the west bank of the Kolana River?!

"Have Pulikas lead the warriors to speed up and cross the Kolana River as soon as possible!" Andres urgently ordered.

By now, at the end of September, the river’s water level had further decreased, especially this section of the Kolana River, where the deepest part barely reached the knees.

Andres had already received another report from the reconnoitre, stating that the enemy was marching in a formation in this direction. However, upon arriving at the river crossing, he did not see any traces of the enemy on the opposite bank, and his tension eased significantly.

Just after the main force crossed the river, the reconnoitre rushed back again: "Great Chief, the enemy is beginning to form a line a mile ahead!"

Riding on his horse, Andres stretched his neck to look forward, his gaze sweeping over the heads of the warriors, spotting only a distant rising dust cloud...

It seems the enemy wants to engage me in battle here! Thinking of this, Andres felt a bit anxious. He did not want the enemy to complete their formation and charge while his side was still in disarray, so he issued the order: "Pass the word down, quickly form ranks here!"

After speaking, he personally began to direct his main force to form a formation.

This main force consisted of more than 6,000 warriors from the Segestica Western Village and the riverbank plains tribes where the West Village was located. These tribes occupied the fertile lands along the Sava River, rich in resources and relatively populous. Since Anderes took office, he had annually gathered tribesmen from surrounding tribes during the abundant and leisurely post-harvest September for military training, gradually making them his most reliable force.

Originally, this main force numbered nearly 20,000. A few years ago, Andres split off more than half of them to expand westward. Although there were some losses, as long as the Kupa River’s riverside lands were captured and attract refugees from other Pannonian tribes, his strength would greatly increase within five or six years. But who would have expected, this enemy appeared suddenly and within a day swallowed his finest 7,000 warriors, making him how can he not hate!

Andres personally led the main force from the central command, while his other trusted subordinate, Glicus, commanded over 5,000 warriors from the Segestica East Camp and the riverbank plains tribes of the East Village, serving as his left-wing. These tribes’ warriors also lived on flat, fertile lands, many of whom were blood relatives of the Great Chief’s clan. But precisely because of this, their lives had been relatively peaceful in recent years, with less warfare, and their combat effectiveness was somewhat weaker.

Andres also dispatched his uncle, Cabdes, to command his right-wing of 5,000 men. These right-wing warriors hailed from the upstream Sava River tribes. While not as prosperous as other tribes, the environment they resided in was not very safe (with the Yabod people and Noric), thus their combat effectiveness was not weak. Since they only sent about 3,500 men, Andres further deployed 1,500 from his main force to join the right-wing.

Counting the 2,200 Skodisqi male slaves driven to the front by Segestica warriors, the army led by Andres numbered approximately 18,500, exceeding the previous estimate made by Hagux by over 3,500 men.

This was partly owing to reconnaissance errors and partly because Andres indeed incorporated more than 1,000 civilians responsible for transporting supplies into the ranks. The 600 warriors, dispatched urgently by Anrotas chief to defend the nearby settlements and guard the supplies, were now stationed.

Andres intended to concentrate all his strength on this battle.

However, while he appointed two subordinates to lead the left and right wings, it was actually more of a coordination role.

As each of these Segestica warriors was commanded by their respective tribal chief or the chief’s appointed agent, and these chiefs further divided command rights among their Nobles, each noble commanded differing numbers of warriors. Thus, one could witness them shouting, berating, and exerting all their efforts to ensure the warriors formed a proper line.

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