Chapter 147. The One Who Gazes at the Stars (6)
As dawn broke, I ordered the legion forward. The barbarians, unable to pass through the narrow canyon quickly, still had a significant number lingering inside. I placed one centuria at the front, with archers positioned behind them.
"Fire four incendiary arrows at ten-meter intervals. If the barbarians have buried any tricks in the ground, this will reveal them."
Fabius led the vanguard as ordered.
I then issued commands to the engineers.
"Engineers, fill the grain sacks we brought with soil, then mix in urine and water. If flames erupt from the ground, smother them with mud and push through."
"Yes, sir."
I prepared thoroughly for any traps Kariste might have set. If we could neutralize the barbarians' tricks, we could bite at their rear in the canyon. That would let us chop them up from the tail end.
It wouldn't be as grand a victory as planned, and our casualties would be higher, but triumph was certain.
Mounting my horse, I followed the soldiers into the canyon.
The first five minutes passed smoothly.
The barbarians had buried livestock dung and such in the ground, but the incendiary arrows exposed it quickly. Wherever flammable material was found, we immediately covered it with mud or churned up the soil.
The barbarians' petty schemes failed.
As expected.
There were few places to hide above the canyon, so at best they could station a handful of archers.
As we advanced firing incendiary arrows, the barbarian archers waiting atop the canyon panicked and fled in haste.
We pressed steadily deeper into the canyon.
After some distance, the tail of the barbarian column came into view.
Only then did Fabius halt the advance.
"They haven't gotten as far as I thought."
"Their asses are too heavy."
I eyed the wagons crammed into the narrow path, then decided to use a weapon that had once been turned against me.
"We found that livestock dung they buried earlier, right? Let's make balls out of it. Like dung beetles rolling their prizes."
"Pardon? Why dung?"
"Doesn't it pack a punch? Roll flaming balls ahead of us with poles—they'll panic. With luck, it might ignite their own buried dung and make them self-destruct."
"Not a bad idea."
"Right?"
Fabius nodded and gestured; an engineer officer hurried over.
"His Excellency wants dung balls made. Prepare as many as you can and bring them."
"Yes, sir."
While the engineers molded the dung balls, I scanned the barbarian lines. Then, a man bearing a white flag emerged from their camp.
I stopped the soldiers from nocking arrows.
"Let him approach for now."
I allowed the barbarian to draw near.
He stopped exactly fifty meters from our lines, planted the white flag in the ground, and shouted.
"I speak on behalf of the chieftains to the Empire's commander."
"Speak."
"If Your Excellency desires, we will abandon our spoils and withdraw. We are also willing to provide hostages to prevent unnecessary tension in the future. This way, the Empire and we can maintain peace for a long time."
What a joke.
The barbarians' idea of peace was always laced with lies and deception—a hypocritical facade. They begged for it when needed, but bared their teeth the moment the Empire showed weakness. I doubted that would change now.
And they'd already proven themselves untrustworthy by their actions. Kariste had tried to deceive us, and the others begged for peace from the Empire while hauling their battlefield loot all the way here. If you want peace, look for it in a pile of shit.
Sneering, I shouted back.
"I can't believe such words."
"Even so, Your Excellency must trust us."
"Do you have some assurance?"
He pointed behind us.
"Soon, the Hiberia army will enter the canyon from the rear. Your forces will be surrounded on both sides."
He spoke like a threat.
If true, our position was disadvantaged.
But the barbarians overlooked one fact: the Atillca legion trailed the Hiberia forces. All things considered, we weren't so badly off.
"So you'll give me a chance to retreat?"
"Isn't it a good deal? The Empire avoids a hard fight, preserves face and peace, and we return home safely. Satisfactory for both sides."
I shook my head.
"Wrong. The only satisfactory outcome for the Empire is severing all your heads."
The barbarian's face hardened.
"No room for compromise?"
"If there were, we wouldn't carry swords and shields. We came for your necks. What other business?"
"Very well. I'll watch until that confidence turns to regret."
The barbarian yanked up the white flag and walked back to his lines.
As I glared after him, the engineer officer reported.
"Ready, sir."
"Hand them to the First Centuria."
"Dung balls to the First Centuria!"
The officer shouted, and the engineers rolled the dung balls in scabbards to the troops. The soldiers grimaced but accepted them and positioned them upfront.
"Ignite."
At the command, engineers touched flames to the dung.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the dung balls became massive fireballs.
The barbarians murmured at the sight.
Fire tactics aren't just yours to use.
I drew my sword, pointed at the barbarians, and bellowed.
"Infantry, advance!"
"First Battalion, forward!"
With Fabius's roar, the infantry rolled the fireballs ahead. The barbarians loosed arrows in panic, but the soldiers raised shields to block them.
The fireballs advanced slowly but surely toward the enemy. As the barbarians, barricaded behind wagons, hesitated in confusion, the fireballs collided.
Boom!
Flames leaped to the wagons with ferocious intensity. Unlike wood, dried livestock dung burned with tremendous power, capable of incinerating most things in seconds.
"!!!"
As the blaze spread, belching thick black smoke, the barbarian ranks fell into chaos. Shouts of "Fire!" mixed with deserters breaking formation.
"Archers, advance too."
"Yes, sir. Archers forward!"
At Fabius's order, the archers moved up with bows ready. They might take hits if the barbarians fired back, but with vision obscured by smoke, it seemed unlikely.
The archers halted after about two hundred meters.
"Loose!"
Whirr!
The soldiers aimed beyond the flames and fired. Accuracy wasn't the goal—nor necessary. Just the knowledge that arrows were flying would suffice, hit or miss.
Thud thud!
"Kyaaak!"
Screams echoed from beyond the inferno as arrows rained down. I ordered the engineers to prepare soil sacks. With the barbarian rear neutralized, fire was no longer needed.
As engineers filled sacks, infantry formed up before the blaze.
"Douse the flames with soil. Time to show these barbarians the Empire's blade."
"Move the soil sacks!"
Engineers hurled the filled sacks onto the fire; dust billowed, momentarily checking the flames. Soldiers shielded faces with shields and leaped through.
"Charge!"
"Waaaaah!"
Warriors dashed in swinging swords; barbarians screamed. We'd blinded them with fire, peppered them with arrows, then struck before they could recover—they were defenseless.
Soldiers severed necks and weaved between wagons. Our lines weren't perfect, but we'd rested half a day longer.
Barbarians fell with every clash, offering their necks.
I covered my nose with my cloak and vaulted the flames.
"Archers, advance. Fire one incendiary arrow each, twenty meters ahead of our infantry."
We methodically sealed off the canyon's terrain advantages, slicing their tail.
Some barbarians torched their own wagons to block us, accepting losses, but it wasn't enough.
Soldiers extinguished flames with mud made from soil and urine.
Like monkeys caught by humans because they won't drop the beans in their fists, you'll die refusing to abandon your loot.
I figured we wouldn't catch them all, but we'd take enough heads. They'd be too crippled to threaten the Empire for years.
But the barbarians weren't pushovers.
"Excellency!"
As I directed the men, Rikius came running from the rear guard I'd left behind.
"What is it?"
"Report from the rearguard at the canyon entrance. A barbarian host appeared ten kilometers back."
"Already?"
I was momentarily stunned.
By the map, even if the Hiberians veered here midway, they shouldn't arrive for a full day. That implied an unknown bypass.
Briton's locals weren't Empire-friendly; unmapped hunters' paths weren't surprising.
They closed the distance via a secret trail we don't know?
If planned from the start, it was a decent gambit. They could pincer us before we finished the tail.
But I'd outplayed them in yesterday's skirmish. Their assumption we'd fall for the trap was shaken. And we'd taken minimal losses in the canyon so far.
Under these conditions, we could hold briefly even if Hiberians hit our rear.
That meant we could surely crush the Hiberians.
The problem is the ones fleeing ahead.
That nagged at me.
Kariste might have anticipated all this.
We couldn't let such a one escape.
Any barbarian threat to the Empire had to be nipped swiftly.
That alone secured the Empire's tomorrow.
I spoke calmly.
"No panic. I'll give you one legion—hold the canyon mouth. The terrain favors defenders; they won't rush in quickly."
"Yes, sir."
I sent Rikius off and raised the eagle standard.
"Kill every rat that plundered Briton today. Spare them, and tomorrow they'll cross the wall again, threatening your granaries and safety. Kill! Sever necks, rip hearts!"
"The legion will slaughter the Empire's foes today!"
Soldiers roared, stabbing and slaying. Resisters atop wagons fell to arrows from trailing archers.
From yesterday's clash and the canyon mouth, they'd failed to hurt us badly. With our stamina edge and favorable terrain, their victory was impossible from the start.
The fight's crux was one thing.
How many barbarians we could kill.
Ideally none would escape over the wall, but that seemed unlikely.
Clang!
Shields and weapons clashed sporadically, but barbarian wins were rare.
In one hour, we advanced nearly five hundred meters, slaughtering hordes and seizing wagons.
As we moved on their fourth group, an officer raced from the rear.
"Excellency! The canyon rear is breached."
"What?"
Before I could react, incendiary arrows soared from above the canyon.
Signal arrows?
Instantly, dozens of sacks plummeted from both sides.
Boom!
A massive cloud of ash exploded on impact. As our soldiers coughed in the acrid smoke, barbarians split left and right, revealing a wave of cavalry.
Cavalry in a canyon?
Coughing, I was stunned by their prepared counterstroke.
These bastards.
They remembered the tactic I'd used against them before.
Before I could command, the cavalry surged like a tidal wave.
(To be continued)