Chapter 223: Marcus’s Fury 1
Chapter 223: Marcus’s Fury 1
The retreat of Bayatur’s army had an impact on the morale of the Hunnic army that was attacking Dalmatia.
The three Senior Warriors, who were already unable to break through the Roman army’s swift defensive posture, were bewildered by the withdrawal of Supreme Senior Warrior.
“Are you giving up the Greek region completely?”
“There was no way to defend Greece and Macedonia.”
Bayatur’s subordinate, Bartzar Gal, took this situation more seriously than anyone else.
Giving up Greece at the point of trying to enter the Roman mainland through Dalmatia was not just a matter of handing over one region.
“Supreme Senior Warrior, if we lose Greece, we won’t be able to keep Epirus either. And it’s dangerous to keep attacking the Roman army in front of us when our rear is completely blocked. If the Romans send up about 30,000 cavalry to Cenega Char right now, we’ll have no choice but to move our base to the north or east.”
Altan snorted as if it was not a problem.
“Then let’s just move it. Fighting in a castle is not our style anyway. We can just retreat for a while and then reclaim our position after driving out the Romans. What’s the problem?”
“Sigh… Think, you fool. To drive out the Romans, we have to either pull back our troops or at least divide our forces here. How can we continue to attack Dalmatia then? It’s meaningless to continue the operation when we’re sandwiched between hundreds of thousands of Roman troops on both sides.”
“So you want us to just go back to Cenega Char?”
“That’s the best option. We have no more time left since we lost everything up to Thrace and the Black Sea is also under the enemy’s influence. We can’t take away the naval supremacy from Rome with something like Bosporus.”
When Thrace was mentioned, Altan’s face darkened as if he was stung.
This time, even Bayatur did not side with Altan.
Losing a battle was rather tolerable as long as they did not suffer a one-sided defeat.
But if they were completely outmatched in strategy, they had a high chance of being annihilated without putting up a decent resistance.
Even if they tried to counterattack with tactics, it was useless if the enemy did not budge from their advantageous position.
Bartzar Gal’s voice, which calmly analyzed the situation, became increasingly bitter.
“Supreme Senior Warrior, if we had held on to Thrace a little longer, we could have bought some time to break through the way to the Roman mainland with our full strength. But now that we’ve lost Thrace like this because of the ridiculous decisions of the local chiefs, there’s no point in continuing this expedition. It would be… wise to retreat.”
“You mean we have to retreat from here as well as Greece…”
Bayatur muttered emptily.
He didn’t even have the energy to be angry because of the report that came yesterday.
Bartzar Gal was right.
The moment Thessalonica fell, it was a foregone conclusion that they could not hold Macedonia.
The fall of Thrace was also inevitable sooner or later.
That’s why he pulled his army out and headed west to Dalmatia.
But he expected that at least the cities of Thrace would pretend to buy some time.
If they could buy him some time there, he could have achieved something meaningful with his main force.
But the report from the messenger who arrived yesterday was shocking.
The tribes that were defending the port cities of Thrace ran away north without even fighting the Roman army.
They thought they would be surrounded by the Romans advancing northward, or they were not confident in defending themselves.
He didn’t understand either.
Maybe it was both.
“If only they had fought and died gloriously, I wouldn’t have been so dumbfounded…”
It was pathetic that such words came out of Bayatur’s mouth, who cared more about his subordinates’ losses than anything else.
The other Senior Warriors bowed their heads as if they were ashamed even though it was not their story.
Altan, who did not show any different judgment from the other chiefs, looked like he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
The story behind the incident that made Bayatur’s blood pressure soar beyond its limit was this:
As Thessalonica fell and Hunnic army withdrew westward, the Roman army naturally began to recapture the eastern cities.
The first target was Cavala, the port city closest to Thessalonica.
The Hunnic chief who was defending Cavala had never fought a siege in his life.
He glared at the Romans landing at the port and decided that it was too many enemies to fight inside the city.
“Fighting in the city, which we are not familiar with, can cause too much damage to our allies. We will abandon the defense and fight the enemy outside. We will retreat after inflicting enough damage.”
The soldiers, who had never defended themselves in their lives, followed the chief’s decision without any objection to leaving the city.
They did not think about what would happen if the Romans did not come out and fight.
They confidently went out to the wide open space outside the city and waited for the Romans to follow.
“Come on, let’s sweep away all the Romans who come out!”
Publius, the commander of the Cavala recapture army, tilted his head and asked his adjutant as he glanced at the Hunnic army that was roaring outside.
“Why are they going out and doing that?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone who runs away from a city and shouts like that.”
“Maybe they were so angry that they gave up the city for free? So they have to vent their feelings by yelling like that?”
“…Maybe.”
Publius did not forget what he had to do while being dumbfounded.
At his command, the Roman army closed all the gates of Cavala and placed archers on the walls.
The face of the Hunnic chieftain, who finally realized the situation, turned pale.
“Damn it! They’re not going to follow us outside!”
“Cowardly Romans! Don’t you have the guts to come out and fight instead of hiding in the fortress!”
No matter how loud the Hunnic cavalry shouted, the only thing that came back was arrows from the Roman army.
In the end, the chieftain, who had practically handed over the city to Rome, turned his horse around awkwardly.
“Th-then, let’s go back to Lord Tianwu! If we say that we tried to fight, but the Romans were too many to handle, we won’t be blamed, right?”
When Bayatur first heard this report, he thought his subordinates were doing a bad play without reading the mood.
But the report from Caliopolis was not much different from that.
At least, the chieftain here did not try to abandon the city recklessly like the one who defended Cabala.
He was determined to defend the city and experience the siege warfare that the Han people had been longing for.
“Hey, that wall over there looks a bit weak. Reinforce it.”
“Yes. But how do we reinforce the wall?”
“···Just stack some stones on it, right? That’s how the Han people seemed to do it.”
“Is that so?”
The soldiers, who had never built a wall before, just casually piled up some heavy-looking stones near the wall.
Meanwhile, Antonius’ troops appeared at the port of Caliopolis.
“Ch-chieftain! They’re trying to land. They look like several times more than us.”
“Don’t panic, you fools! In that case, you just have to block the port with chains and prevent them from landing!”
“Ah, okay! Right away··· But how do we block the port?”
“You just put some chains under······! I heard you just do it roughly like that?”
The subordinates who only rode horses and shot arrows could not know what their commander did not know.
The frustrated chieftain beat his chest and shouted for some Greeks to be brought over while Antonius’ legion began to land at the port.
In the end, the chieftain who defended Caliopolis also made a desperate choice.
“Since this has happened, let’s all go outside and lure the Romans out. If they have any pride, they’ll come out and fight us.”
But what greeted the Hunnic army that came out after regrouping was the merciless sight of the city gate closing in front of their noses and arrows raining down from above.
This was what Bayatur had expected.
This was a tragedy caused by Altan’s terrible personnel placement, which told people who had never experienced siege warfare to defend a city.
The problem was Byzantium, where Bayatur himself had appointed a general to defend it.
He saw through its strategic value and entrusted its defense to one of his chieftains who had been hired as a mercenary by the ruler of Zhongyuan.
He was a rare talent who had experienced several sieges in mountainous terrain as a mercenary of Han Dynasty.
He seemed to not betray Bayatur’s expectations and defended Byzantium with confidence.
He had already received a report that Cabala had fallen into Roman hands, but he was not flustered at all.
“Fools. The charm of siege warfare is to face a large army with a small force. With my 5,000 troops, I can easily stop 50,000 enemies. Don’t be afraid. We’ll hold them off as long as we can and wait for reinforcements.”
“Chieftain! The enemy is here! The enemy has appeared!”
“Don’t panic. As I told you before, archers go to your positions and wait! If we are proud Hunnic warriors who are skilled in archery, we can form an iron wall of defense even better than those stupid Zhongyuan people.”
“Yes! But what about the enemies coming from the sea?”
“···The sea?”
The chieftain’s eyes slowly turned to the back of the city.
Over the vast space that did not fit in his sight like a grassland on a plain, he saw Roman fleets pouring in like water.
“They’re landing at the port with ships. Then······.”
His head, which had been confident until a moment ago, turned blank.
No matter how hard he thought, he had never fought a battle involving water in Zhongyuan.
“They’re getting off their ships soon. What should we do?”
“···Uh, um······.”
“Chieftain! They’re starting to get off. Give us an order quickly!”
“Why do these damn Greeks and Romans build their major cities by the sea and drown themselves!”
The chieftain spat on the front wall that he had repaired with great care and gritted his teeth at his subordinates who were waiting for his command.
“How the He'll do you expect me to stop the sea when I’ve spent my whole life fighting in the mountains. Listen up, everyone! This is not our fault. Grab your horses and treasures. We’re retreating to the north!”
That’s how the major cities with ports were all retreated without firing a single arrow at the Roman army.
Bayatur’s feelings when he heard this long report yesterday were indescribable.
Anger, disbelief, absurdity, anxiety, guilt, killing intent, and various emotions that could not be expressed by any combination of words swirled in his chest.
It was a confusing feeling, but contrary to that, what he had to do now was clear.
Bartzar Gal was right.
It was time to give up on the failure of the expedition and retreat.
He had still annihilated the Roman army, so he decided to wrap it up as a successful expedition on the surface.
Bayatur admitted his mistake in choosing people.
He vowed to show his results through battles from now on.
※※※
As the Hunnic army retreated, Caesar enjoyed the most satisfying feeling he ever had.
He had a headache from Sextus’ army being annihilated in the middle of the war, but he liked the final finish very much.
Not only did he push back the Hunnic army, but he also secured the defensive line on the Dalmatian side as his territory.
Politically, he also succeeded in perfectly unifying the populist senators under his faction.
Moreover, it was a great news that Marcus had absorbed all of Pompey’s foundations.
If the war ended like this, Rome’s power would be perfectly divided between Caesar and Marcus.
The balance of power would favor Marcus by 60 to 65 percent, but that was not important.
Anyway, it was just an excuse to oppose each other politically, and one grand plan was going smoothly.
At that moment, Surenas, Marcus’ confidant, came to Caesar himself on the Dalmatian side.
It was to share the grand strategy for the next move and coordinate their actions.
Caesar read the proposal and did not hide his honest admiration for the flawless plan.
“I like it. Is this your idea?”
“Marcus came up with the big picture. I just added some details to it.”
“A picture is not only about the sketch, but also about the colors. Depending on the colors, a masterpiece can become a failure. I’ve heard stories, but seeing it for myself makes me realize how good you are.”
“You flatter me.”
Surenas was confident even in front of Caesar, the ruler of the world.
He had I'm peccable manners and dignity, and more than that, he had a noticeable quality as a grand strategist.
Even for Caesar, he was a tempting talent.
If he had not been Marcus’ subordinate, he might have tried to capture him right away.
“But I have no complaints about this plan, but isn’t this a bit too much? It would be more politically useful to just hit them enough and draw a border.”
“Marcus thought so too. But he said he wouldn’t be satisfied unless he paid them back as much as he received. He gave us 200,000 blood, so we’ll give them at least twice as much damage. That’s the core of this operation. What do you say?”
If you make someone cry, you should be prepared to shed blood tears yourself.
It was a simple but effective slogan to incite people.
Caesar weighed the benefits and the situation before and after the action and nodded satisfactorily.
“Good, I’ll gladly join. Let’s make them pay for what they’ve done.”