Rome Must Perish-Chapter 285 - 178: Capturing the Outer Camp

At first, Pequot considered leading the troops around the mountains with the Pannonians, engaging in guerrilla warfare. But the 2,000 newly enlisted, untrained slaves were undoubtedly a huge burden. More importantly, the provisions in the camp were insufficient to sustain so many people...

So Pequot had no choice but to retreat reluctantly. However, having finally seized an opportunity to lead an independent force and achieve merit, how could he allow himself to return to Maximus so soon?

Indeed, as Pulikas had judged, Pequot withdrew from the mountains to the southwest of the camp. But rather than continuing west to reach the Kolana River and enter Alde Tribe territory, he led the troops eastward instead.

"Adobag, how far is it to the Pannonian tribe you mentioned?" Pequot asked.

Melobudam was one of the 2,000 newly enlisted Scott slaves, like Adobag, responsible for herding cattle and sheep for the Segestica people. He belonged to the easternmost of the four Segestica villages along the Kupa River.

"Leader——" Melobudam had just started to speak but was interrupted by Pequot: "I’ve said it many times, don’t call me leader, call me Great Captain!"

"Yes, Great Captain." Melobudam promptly corrected himself, pointing to a nearby small river, "This is a tributary of the Kupa River. If we follow it eastward, we can reach the Kupa River in half a day. The Pannonian tribe I mentioned is by the river."

"I remember you saying that the Pannonian tribe belongs to the Brochi Tribe, and it’s really relatively weak?" Pequot asked solemnly.

"It’s true!" Melobudam explained anxiously, "When I was herding, I saw several times that there really aren’t many people in that tribe. They also haven’t surrounded the entire village with wood like our own. That tribe has some of our people too...

I’ve heard others say that these places originally belonged to the Aldeans. Later, the Pannonian’s Segestica Tribe declared war on the Aldeans and won several times.

Then the Brochi Tribe also declared war on the Aldeans, and the Aldeans suffered another crushing defeat, leading to the original Alde Tribe here being forced to migrate west of the Codona River.

The Brochi people easily occupied this land abandoned by the Aldeans, but disliked the mountainous terrain, settling only along the downstream banks of the Kupa River and some flatlands near the original Brochi territory... To date, the Brochi have not engaged in any battles with the Aldeans, so they should have little defense on the west."

So all these belonged to the Aldeans... Pequot looked toward the south at the low rolling hills, feeling a sense of sorrow for the Aldeans as the Pannonians didn’t even want such a good land.

Pequot looked up at the sky, then raised his arm and shouted, "Brothers, we need to pick up the pace and strive to reach the Kupa River by dusk. Tonight, we not only need to capture the Pannonian’s village but also slaughter pigs and sheep there, have a good meal, and rest well!"

"Good!!!..." Pequot’s subordinates cheered in unison, boosting the morale of the newly recruited slaves. They also shouted excitedly. Even though most of them were unarmed, holding only wooden sticks, the power of hatred could make them forget exhaustion and fear.

Thus, Pequot led the troops eastward at high speed. He had decided to capture that Brochi village to the east first, resolving the issue of feeding his 2,000 men, and then see if further chaos in Brochi’s territory was warranted.

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

During the Pannonian Alliance Army’s rest period, Andres did not let the warriors idle. They were dispatched in batches to fill the traps and trenches in front of the camp with earth.

The Nix people sent troops out several times to try to stop this, but Andres was well-prepared. He first used cavalry to engage the Nix forces in the sortie, then quickly mobilized waiting warriors inside the camp to sever the enemy’s path back to camp and implement a pincer movement...

After suffering one setback, the Nix Camp no longer made rash attempts to sortie, allowing the enemy to act outside their camp.

Three days later, the traps outside the Nix Camp were cleared, most of the trenches were filled, and new siege weapons were ready. The Pannonian Army launched a comprehensive assault on the Nix Camp once more.

The Nix people’s javelins, short spears, stones, and wooden blocks had mostly been consumed in previous siege battles, so the Pannonian soldiers advanced to the wooden walls with minimal casualties.

At this moment, the Nix people resorted to their new defensive weaponry — boiling water and fire oil.

Every twenty meters along the wooden wall walkways, a fire pan was set up, with wooden racks on either side and a copper pot filled with water hanging in the middle. Once the water boiled, it was immediately lifted and poured on the climbing enemies. Even the most well-armored Heavy Warrior would scream from burns and be temporarily incapacitated.

During the Pannonians’ rest, the Nix people were not idle either. Following Quintus’s advice, Maximus had the soldiers slaughter most of the pigs and sheep acquired from two Segestica villages several days prior, extract the fat, and refine it into liquid to use as fire oil.

Watching Pannonian warriors getting turned into human torches, screaming and running chaotically under the wooden walls, unnerved their surrounding comrades.