Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 765: Latium Landing (I)

“If the Theonians' strength doesn't change much once Pantheus arrives, we might be able to engage them in battle…” Paulus said with uncertainty.

Not long after, Velitrae's army also arrived.

After listening to Paulus' brief report, Pantheus, a former military tribune, said impatiently, “What are you still waiting for? Wait for the entire Theonian army to land on shore, destroy the surrounding towns and cities and attack Rome?! This is our only chance to defeat the Theonians, and we must not miss it! Attack! We must attack immediately!!”

Paulus and Maegius didn't object because this was their only opportunity to avoid taking on such a huge responsibility.

Although the Theonians had over twenty-five thousand troops lined up on the distant shore, the Roman army also had over twenty-five thousand. Seven thousand five hundred from Antium, eight thousand from Satricum and ten thousand from Velitrae, making them fully capable of fighting the Theonians.

‘We can't let the Theonians get more troops, so we must hurry up and engage them in battle!’ Once the three had come to an agreement, they set out immediately: Antium and Satricum's troops had long since gone into formation, and Velitrae's troops quickly formed up to Satricum's right… Soon, the massive Roman army formation began to advance.

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‘The Romans have finally come!’ Amintas, standing in front of the formation, smiled as he saw dust and dirt rising in the distance. Then he said jokingly, “If I had known the Romans would come so late, I wouldn't have let the Second Legion appear in the formation.”

Matonis retorted immediately, “Do you think the Romans were foolish? Everyone would know there must be ambushes here if less than twenty thousand troops were in formation, even though it had been a while since we disembarked!”

Litom, on the other hand, exclaimed with excitement, “We can finally engage the Romans in a proper battle!” He had always heard that the Ministry of Military attached great importance to this Latin city-state in Italia but felt nothing special about them when he led his army to launch a surprise attack from the coast. It was only in his conversations with Amintas over the past two days that he learned of the Romans' formidable military strength and tactics, which were quite similar to those of the Theonian legion and thus made him eagerly look forward to fighting the Romans.

“We should also go back and prepare for battle!” Ledes reminded them while gazing at the long red line emerging from the dust and dirt in the distance.

Amintas then saluted at the others and solemnly said, “With Hades' blessing, victory will be ours!”

“Victory belongs to Theonia!”

“We will win!”

The Legatus of the Second Legion – Matonis, the Legatus of the Third Legion – Litom, the Legatus of the First Cavalry Legion – Ledes, and the Legatus of the Second Cavalry Legion – Kurcius, returned the salute and responded. They then mounted their horses and returned to their respective formations, instructing their officers to regroup and prepare for battle.

Theonia's First Legion was in the centre, with the Second and Third Legions to the left and right. Meanwhile, the First and Second Cavalry Legions would be on the flanks and rear, respectively, with a total strength of around twenty-seven thousand men, and the whole formation was two kilometres long. They had chosen the most common formation to demonstrate the participating Legates’ confidence in their soldiers. They believed their side would overwhelm the enemy in numbers, morale and military strength and that no other action was needed to close the gap.

Amintas, in the rear of his legion, watched the soldiers prepare for the battle when a herald hurriedly arrived and said, “Legatus, His Majesty has come!”

Amintas turned around only to see over two hundred cavalries galloping towards him from behind. At the head was Davos, wearing golden armour and a black cloak with black plumes on his golden helmet.

Behind Davos, on either side, are two extremely strong cavalry riders, each holding a pole.

One of the poles is a silver-white bident wrapped with a black ribbon. At the top, between the two prongs of the bident, is a crown of white poplar branches cast in gold, symbolising King Davos' sceptre.

The other rider is holding a much larger pole. At the top of the pole is the golden statue of Hades; below it is a horizontal bar inlaid with small golden statues of the god of death – Thanatos, the three judges of the underworld, the goddess of vengeance, Cerberus, and Charon. They are all subordinates of Hades, and each symbolises the army. For example, the statue at the top of the military banner held by the legion brigade is the god of death, while the statue at the top of the centuriae flag is the goddess of vengeance. Further down the pole is another longer horizontal bar, but it no longer has any embedded statues. Instead, several small golden head-shaped pendants hang from it; all of them are the heroes of the Kingdom of Theonia who died in battle and were interred in the Hall of Valour of the Main Temple of Hades in Thurii, such as Drakos, Cid, Solikos, and so on. This military banner represents the army of the Kingdom of Theonia. It is like a small tree cast in gold, and the golden head-shaped pendants make a pleasant sound when they collide; it’s as if the heroes are saying something.

Amintas immediately drove his horse forward and saluted, “Your Majesty!”

Davos saluted back and said calmly, “We're just here to watch; we won't interfere with your command.”

Amintas thought he had heard wrong. But seeing Davos' serious expression, he immediately rejoiced and said, “Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty!” Before the battle, the several legates unanimously elected Amintas, the most experienced among them, to lead the army. And since this was the first time in over thirty years that Amintas had commanded a battle of several legions on his own, he was both excited and nervous, fearing that Davos wouldn't let him command.

Davos smiled as he had already heard Phryntor's report while coming here. After all, even with the influence of his past life's history, Davos didn't believe the Romans could win when they had more soldiers and cavalry than the opposing party.

Meanwhile, Matonis, Litom, Ledes and Kurcius all rushed to pay their respects when they heard that Davos and his team were at the back of the formation. Davos then encouraged them one by one.

The soldiers around them also became excited upon hearing the arrival of King Davos. However, they couldn’t leave their positions per the military protocol, so they instead turned around to salute and cheer loudly.

Soon, the cheers spread through the entire army, “All hail King Davos!!!”

“His Majesty will be victorious!!!”

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Amidst the crowd's cheering, the senior centurion of the First Legion, Patroclus, kept turning around. Even though he had been in many battles, he still had an impulse to start fighting immediately so that his esteemed father-in-law in the rear could see his skills with his own eyes.

But for Adoris, who was in the Second Legion and always eager to leap into battle, the arrival of his foster father made him nervous.

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A kilometre away, Paulus, Maegius and Pantheus were leading the Roman soldiers when they suddenly heard thunderous cheers break out in the enemy formation, making them concerned about the rising morale of the enemy.

As the distance drew nearer, Paulus, Maegius and Pantheus, who had learned Greek from childhood as Roman nobles, could vaguely understand the cheers of “All Hail King Davos…”

Everyone suddenly turned pale, ‘Has the king of Theonia here?!! The invincible king of Theonia?!!’

During the war between Rome and Theonia, the Romans began gaining a deep understanding of the Kingdom of Theonia, including their king. The mercenary king had arrived in Magna Graecia more than a decade ago with only a thousand mercenaries, but he had repeatedly defeated weaker enemies and won numerous battles. In just a decade, he had created the now-powerful Kingdom of Theonia, which was simply miraculous!

In particular, Maegius, who was in the centre of the military formation, could see the two towering golden poles behind the enemy line shining brightly in the sunlight, which made his legs feel weak.

But how could they retreat at this critical junction when the army was already advancing? Moreover, Theonia's previous victories were not against Rome, and these three Roman generals, who had yet to face Theonia's army, believed that the brave Roman soldiers were different from the warriors of the city-states and races who had previously lost to the Theonians.

So they sounded the horn again.

The high-pitched horn sound excited the soldiers and drove away the fear in the generals' hearts.

Although Davos stood quietly at the rear, he felt a slight ripple rising within him as he looked at the Roman army before him. Though they were different from the Roman army he had seen on television and in films in his previous life, this was the first time he had seen a genuine Roman army. Now, these Roman soldiers, who had conquered the entire Mediterranean in his previous life, held long shields and spears as the whole army charged rapidly towards the Theonian army like a burning flame. In contrast, the Theonian army remained motionless, like a lofty mountain with armour and shields as chilling as the bleak darkness of night. And soon, the distinct red and black colours would bloody and magnificently clash on the battlefield.

Davos instinctively rubbed his chin.

As the Romans approached, thunderous shouts rang out, and the ground trembled. Even Davos and his entourage's horses began to feel uneasy as they moved about and neighed incessantly.

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Crotokatax clenched his fist as he was about to witness the first massive battle of his life. Although he looked nervous, he tried to keep his eyes open and face the Roman army that was putting him under tremendous psychological pressure.