Rome Must Perish-Chapter 249: Revised - 160 Inconsistency

Flanitnus’s answer left Maximus stunned. Soon, he understood: At the beginning of the rebel army’s defensive formation, when the enemy launched a large-scale attack, heavily injured soldiers found it difficult to retreat safely to the rear of the formation on their own, and the warriors, under immense pressure from the enemy, struggled to provide timely rescue. They were either finished off by the enemy or died from being trampled. By the time the rebel army counterattacked, the enemy was already in decline, and it was hard for them to inflict more casualties on the rebel soldiers.

Maximus touched his chin, hiding a pang of pain rising from his heart, then asked, "How many of the casualties were new recruits?"

"The new recruits only suffered 103 casualties." Flanitnus, of course, understood who Maximus referred to as "new recruits." He glanced at Quintus and added, "Half of the veteran casualties came after the feigned defeat on the left wing."

Quintus showed no expression.

Maximus was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "We owe the Third Legion too much!"

"What about the casualties among the Segestica people?" Quintus took over the conversation.

"Time has been too tight; we haven’t yet had the chance to tally the Segestica casualties. However, the number of captives we have now exceeds 3,000, and there are still many Segestica people in the marshes. We have stationed personnel around the marsh, and if those Segestica routed soldiers can’t traverse the marsh or swim across the Kupa River, they will eventually return to surrender..."

Flanitnus paused, then said, "If it weren’t for the Skodisqi slaves responsible for intercepting on the eastern side who disobeyed commands and split up to pursue the enemy, leading to insufficient forces on the east and allowing some Segestica routed soldiers to escape that way, our victory would have been even greater."

"This has already been a glorious victory, enough to deter our enemies and allies!" Maximus displayed a smile, loudly praising, "This is all thanks to your efforts!"

Quintus immediately responded modestly, "It’s all thanks to the brave efforts of our soldiers, the full support of our leader, and the decisive decisions at critical moments. Without these, such a risky military plan would have been impossible to achieve!"

Flanitnus moved his lips but said nothing.

Maximus laughed heartily and said, "There is much to do post-battle, so I won’t take up more of your time. I’ll go to the Medical Camp to check on the wounded soldiers."

Flanitnus immediately rallied his subordinates and led them to the battlefield.

Quintus, however, caught up to Maximus again and asked, "Leader, how do you plan to deal with this batch of new captives?"

Maximus pinched his chin. The question Quintus raised was exactly the issue he was pondering. After this battle, the number of young Segestica captives in the rebel army’s hands was probably on par with the number of veteran soldiers in the rebel army. He thought for a moment and, instead of answering, asked, "Do you think the Segestica people, after this crushing defeat, will be willing to make peace with us?"

"Leader, you’re thinking of negotiating peace with the Segestica people?!" Quintus was somewhat surprised.

"We only defeated the Segestica Tribe among the Pannonians. There are six more large tribes like this one! Although we achieved victory in this battle, our casualties reached a tenth of the entire army. If we were to have several more battles like this, even if we were victorious in all, our elite forces might be depleted. Then what would victory mean for us?"

Maximus sighed deeply; this battle made him reassess his previously dismissive attitude towards the Pannonians. It brought feelings reminiscent of Pyrrhus’s victory over the Roman Army centuries ago.

He said ruefully, "We are still too weak! Otherwise, we could completely capitalize on this victory and lead an army straight to attack the Segestica Main Camp. What we need most now is time! We need time to gradually turn the fruits of these victories into tangible strength so we can truly establish ourselves here!"

Having heard this, Quintus paused in silence, inwardly admiring: the victory of this battle had left even himself feeling elated, yet this leader, decades younger than him, remained calm, seeing the crisis within the victory and considering the long-term prospects for the rebel army, just as he had always done!

"Leader!" Quintus’s call contained a special emotion, sounding very sincere: "I agree with your idea to use this grand victory to negotiate a truce with the Segestica people. It’s just a pity we didn’t capture the Great Chief of the Segestica. It’s said that he is a strong-willed and brave warrior. It was he who personally destroyed the Skodisqi Tribe upstream of the Sava River in the past... I’m worried that even after suffering defeat, he might continue waging war against us."

Maximus pondered and said, "I also heard that this Andres is indeed such a man, but we have to try."

............

After visiting the wounded, Maximus emerged, feeling somewhat fatigued, intending to return to his tent to rest, when he saw Emmerich leading a group over.

"Leader Maximus," Emmerich called out, waving his hand. The two joyous events of rescuing over 2,000 compatriots and the Segestica army’s crushing defeat left him in high spirits, joy visible on his face: "Please allow me to introduce these warriors who have just joined your tribe and led their compatriots in assisting the army in defeating the Segestica people!"

"That’s wonderful; I was just about to go see the warriors who recently joined the tribe!" Maximus roused himself and said with a smile.

"This is Gowes, once a renowned warrior in the Skodisqi Tribe. This time, it was mainly due to him leading other compatriots to retreat smoothly from the front lines. He then organized them to complete the interception task you assigned..." Emmerich showered Gomes with praise, hoping to catch Maximus’s attention for his potential utilization.

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