Chapter 202: The Vanguard
Chapter 202: The Vanguard
The march was swift.
Following Marcus’s order, eight legions headed to the Kingdom of Karen.
They had trained for this situation for a long time, so there was no problem with the soldiers’ marching.
Of course, the original plan was not to mobilize the entire army.
If all the supply units responsible for the eight legions were deployed, only one legion would remain in Syria.
But since they had pacified Nabatea and Arabia, they did not feel any threat.
Rather, the situation seemed to be that the other allied countries of Rome were also anxious about the news that 40,000 nomads had invaded.
So it was the best decision to show Rome’s power by mobilizing all the available troops.
The Kingdom of Karen, which had been in a desperate crisis, welcomed the Roman army led by Surenas as if they were saviors.
“Welcome!”
“What is the situation?”
Surenas skipped all the steps and listened to the report first.
The king of Karen, who seemed to have expected this, handed over the prepared data.
“First of all, the enemy’s momentum is unbearable. Most of the bases that did not have strong walls fell into the enemy’s hands, and we were fortifying our defense in the capital and waiting for Rome’s reinforcements.”
“Have you figured out the exact size of the enemy?”
“Yes. They said at least 30,000, but it’s definitely more than that. Our staff estimated that it would be over 40,000 but not 50,000.”
“That’s a lot.”
Surenas lightly clicked his tongue and frowned.
“We did our best to resist, but…”
Even if they mobilized all the troops that the Kingdom of Karen had, they could only match the number of invaders who had invaded.
Most of them were infantry and their armament was poor, so they had no chance.
Surenas had no intention of blaming Karen for breaking through the defense line from the beginning.
It was no different from blaming someone for not stopping a landslide.
It was enough for Karen to have accurately identified the size of the enemy and investigated their movement and current location while being pushed back unilaterally.
“There is no point in fighting rashly since the enemy is mobile. It would be better to focus on thickening the defense line and driving out the enemy. How many troops are left?”
“We suffered too much damage in the early battles with them. Excluding the defensive troops guarding the bases, we can only support you with about 10,000 troops.”
“That’s not bad. That’s enough.”
“But isn’t Marcus coming?”
“Marcus will join us as soon as five more legions are formed. Until then, I will temporarily command the legion.”
Karen’s eyes widened at the words that a naturalized Parthian nobleman would command the Roman army.
He guessed how highly Marcus valued Surenas.
At the same time, he realized once again the greatness of Rome and Marcus’s policy of tolerance that entrusted such a heavy responsibility to a naturalized person.
Marcus had sent Surenas first to give this impression to the Kingdom of Karen and Suren in the south.
And he was confident that Surenas’s ability would be enough to suppress Scythia’s offensive.
Surenas did not betray his lord’s expectations.
He first sent out scouts to grasp the situation in the conflict area and did not miss any small movements of Scythia’s army.
The current number of Roman troops was about 50,000.
With 10,000 reinforcements from Karen Kingdom added, it was 60,000.
They had increased the proportion of cavalry especially for fighting nomads, but there were only about 15,000 cavalry units.
They were ahead of their enemies in numbers, but it was hard to start a fight rashly when there was such a difference in cavalry numbers.
But after clashing with them a few times, he was confident that this would be no problem.
The enemy’s military spirit was fierce but their movements lacked organization and their strength did not seem very loyal.
Surenas decided not to hesitate as soon as he got a clear estimate.
A good commander is careful in judgment and quick in action.
The eight legions approached Scythia’s camp with a thunderous sound.
There was no reason to drag out this war when they saw roughly what their enemies were like.
“If Scythia responds with a rotation, this war will end in three days. But don’t be complacent even if they are cornered rats that bite cats. You have to prepare thoroughly and intercept them.”
Antonius, who was attached to Surenas by Marcus, did not have any different opinions either.
“I think they are trying to make us impatient. They probably think they have no chance of winning if they just fight us head-on, so they want to confuse us as much as possible and then fight us.”
“That’s probably the only way to see it.”
If they had just come in to plunder, they wouldn’t have brought 40,000 troops.
From Scythia’s point of view, they had to annihilate the Roman army and drag them to the negotiating table.
And they had to get recognition for their rule over Karen Kingdom.
To do that, they had to fight Surenas’s legion right now.
If they drag on time, reinforcements will arrive and Scythia’s chances of winning will be close to zero.
It was a simple flow that even a child could understand.
Did they not understand such a simple fact and show such a movement?
Surenas did not think that the enemies were that stupid.
He just thought that they were in a situation where they had to be extremely cautious because they were pushed to the edge of the cliff.
‘If this goes on, I’ll have to expect a long war until Marcus arrives.’
If Scythia had no intention of fighting a frontal battle, all he had to do was take a strategy that suited them.
And this was rather bad for Surenas.
The damage to Karen Kingdom would be severe, but for Rome, it would be easier to neutralize the enemy while minimizing the loss of the legion.
“Move all the food to the rear so that it does not fall into the enemy’s hands. Burn the food that cannot be moved and prevent the enemy from obtaining it locally.”
Surenas did not chase the enemies recklessly, but slowly pushed Scythia’s army and forced the direction of their retreat.
The Scythia troops, unaware that they had fallen into a trap, moved along the route that Surenas had set up and focused on ravaging the borderlands.
However, the expected attack points had already been evacuated of civilians, so the actual damage was not very significant.
‘One month, it’s only one month left.’
Right now, their numerical advantage was not that great, but once Marcus’s legion arrived, would they be able to move around as they did now?
Probably not.
He would start his operation as soon as that happened.
Their days of roaming around like wild colts were coming to an end in a month.
The Scythia cavalry raised dust clouds in the far distance, running without fear of the world.
Surenas’s eyes sparkled sharper than ever.
※※※
The legion led by Marcus arrived in the Kingdom of Karen exactly one month later, as Surenas had predicted.
He had made all the preparations to last even if the war dragged on, so there was nothing to worry about.
Surenas reported the current situation and returned the command to Marcus.
He praised his subordinate who had performed his mission excellently and launched a full-scale campaign to subjugate the enemy.
He had spent a month to reorganize the additional legion because almost half of the soldiers he had gathered were cavalry.
Thanks to that, the number of soldiers that Marcus led now exceeded 90,000, and the number of cavalry alone was over 30,000.
This was enough to spread a siege net and pressure the Scythia army.
“Where have the enemies reached?”
“They are holding their positions at the edge of the eastern forest. They seem to have replenished their water supply there.”
“They have nowhere else to go now, so they either have to flee outside the border or fight us.”
The west and north routes that the Scythia could move were completely blocked by Marcus’s legion.
The southern border leading to the Kingdom of Suren was not suitable for cavalry to break through quickly.
If they tried to force their way through, they would be hit by Marcus’s legion from behind and face annihilation.
Then, the only choices left were to give up on the Kingdom of Karen and run away, or to engage in a battle with the Roman army.
The prediction was not wrong.
The Scythia army, who had decided that there was no more way out, started moving at dawn.
Thud thud thud.
The sound of horse hooves shaking the ground came from the other side of the east.
“Form up! Make them pay for facing us!”
The Roman army in the east had been training only for fighting against nomads since they pacified the east until now.
The reason was simple.
If they had any enemies to face in the future, it would be none other than the nomads who would push in from the east.
The Roman army formed up with machine-like precision and coordinated with their cavalry to steadily reduce the Scythia’s forces.
Their cavalry power was also superior to that of Rome, so they were able to gain an advantage easily.
At this rate, they thought they could easily neutralize the enemy.
But an unexpected situation unfolded.
As soon as the Scythia cavalry realized that they were losing ground, they retreated without looking back.
And then they sprinted away to the east like arrows.
The Roman army, whose main force was infantry, had a hard time chasing after the fleeing nomads.
It was too risky to send only cavalry after them, as there were too many enemies running away.
Marcus, who suspected that it might be a trap, ordered his cavalry to keep a certain distance and observe the enemy’s movements.
The report from the cavalry who returned after chasing them for half a day was unbelievable even after hearing it with his own ears.
“The Scythia army fled all the way outside the border. They didn’t seem to hesitate or regret at all, as if they planned it from the beginning.”
“Strange. Weren’t they pushed out of their territory and came here? They shouldn’t give up so easily.”
It was common sense that a surprise attack would have a miserable success rate if it failed.
If they fled outside the border without any achievements, it would be almost impossible for Scythia to try again on Karen Kingdom.
“Let’s build a defensive line anyway. They might be trying to trick us into letting our guard down and then attack us again.”
He was suspicious of their inexplicable behavior, but Marcus had done what he had to do.
If Scythia pretended to retreat to make Rome relax and then attacked again, it was a perfect mistake.
Marcus did not let his guard down at all.
The 15 legions stayed in the Kingdom of Karen for a while and devoted all their efforts to building a thick defensive line.
With this level of defense, it would be impossible for Scythia to break through with their power, no matter what they did.
It would be more realistic to change their course and head down to India.
Marcus was building a defense line that seemed excessive not only because of Scythia.
He had various possibilities in mind, so he invested a lot of resources that might seem excessive.
‘I can’t just assume that Scythia was pushed by the Huns. There is a chance that they have joined them and are being used as vanguards.’
He had this thought because he felt a strange sense of incongruity in Scythia’s movements.
They avoided frontal battles and moved around as if they were buying time.
And when they were pushed back in battle, they retreated without hesitation.
He couldn’t feel the desperation of those who had lost their territory and had to find a new one.
Marcus knew this because he had fought against the Helvetii in the first year of the Gallic War, following Caesar.
Those who had abandoned their territory and came here had no choice but to die if they backed down here.
But no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t feel that kind of emotion from the Scythia soldiers.
If they were just scouts, there was a possibility that the main force of the Huns would push in later.
Scythia’s wandering around might have been to investigate the invasion route when the main force arrived.
But even while he was blocking the border perfectly for several months, no movement was detected.
The Scythia soldiers who fled to the west disappeared into thin air or into the ground, and no news came from them.
Was he overreacting?
Maybe Scythia was just too strong for Rome and ran away, and he gave too much meaning to it.
He began to have such thoughts as time passed.
It was then.
“Bi-big trouble, imperator!”
A desperate voice came to him.
The messenger who ran with his face completely pale looked very urgent.
He looked so urgent that the soldiers on guard stepped aside and opened the way for him.
The soldier who rummaged through his bosom without even a proper salute hastily placed a letter on the desk, almost throwing it.
“An urgent message has arrived from Rome!”
He had not run that far, but his breath was up to his chin.
It was not because his stamina was low, but because he was so anxious.
Wondering what was going on, Marcus opened the letter and read the contents, but before he could finish, the messenger’s despairing voice thundered in his ears.
“The legion that was stationed to defend the Elbe River has been annihilated! The Germania region… has been completely devastated!”