Chapter 698: Both Parties Pre-War Preparation

Camillus gave a serious analysis, “More importantly, there’s not much difference in the equipment of our heavy infantry, and even the formation and tactics they use are similar to ours, except that their heavy infantry can attack with javelins. The enemy’s javelin attack had routed our young soldier centuriae at the start of the battle! Another thing I noticed was the Theonian army’s many flags, which they used in combination with the salpinx and drums to communicate orders. As a result, the Theonian centuriae were much more interconnected and could execute orders faster than we could…”

Furius remained dejected and slightly sceptical even after hearing that. Thus he said, “So it seems our army is inferior to the Theonians in every way?! Or…this army is probably Theonia’s strongest while their other army may…not be as powerful and courageous!”

Camillus was under no such illusions, so he frankly said, “I fear that the other Theonian armies are not too weak, judging by the organisation and level of fighting displayed by this army. Otherwise, Theonia wouldn’t have become a powerful kingdom in just a few years. And since they own the entire land of southern Italia, they have more soldiers than us… Provoking such a powerful opponent would be a massive trouble for Rome!” After saying that, worry shrouded Camillus’ face.

Furius suddenly thought of something and said it to encourage himself and Camillus, “Don’t forget about our powerful ally, Carthage! They promised they would declare war on Theonia if they dared to declare war on us! So with Carthage attacking in the south, Theonia wouldn’t be able to send more troops here. And we Romans have the advantage of fighting in our own land!”

Camillus wanted to say something when the adjutant entered the commander’s tent with a grave expression, “Esteemed military tribunals, the army’s casualty statistics are out. There are about 4,460 heavy infantry, four of our cavalry centuriae and 740 of our light infantry, who didn’t return to the camp for a total of 56 centuriae of men…”

“56 centuriae! That’s already half the number of people who left the camp!” Furius said with a slightly exaggerated look of surprise. Then realising Camillus was next to him, he hurriedly added, “In fact, there shouldn’t be that many casualties and captured soldiers. Some soldiers might have run further and would return once the enemy retreated, so we should have our sentries pay attention and arrange the troops to be ready to help them return to the camp…”

Even if he had expected such a result, the sheer size of the figure still made Camillus cough uncontrollably, prompting the adjutant to rush forward and pat him on the back.

It took some time for Camillus to recover. Then he said with a gloomy expression, “It was all because of the mistakes of my command that this battle caused so many casualties among the soldiers! I want to write to the Senate and ask for punishment!…and I will also remind them to be more vigilant and cautious against the Theonian army!”

Furius felt relieved hearing Camillus’ words. Although he respects Camillus, he doesn’t want to bear this defeat with him since he doesn’t want this fiasco to affect his future career. Still, he pretended to say righteously, “Camillus, how can this be your responsibility alone? You and I are both this army’s commanders, and we jointly decided the decision to leave the camp to rescue the soldiers-”

Camillus waved his hand, “Don’t say that; all of it is my fault! I had underestimated the Theonians. If I hadn’t, I would have led the troops back…immediately after securing the soldiers gathering provisions…”

“War isn’t something you can afford to take risks!” Camillus sighed in remorse. He then reminded, “Besides losing so many soldiers, some soldiers have been wounded to the point that they could no longer go into battle in a short time, thus greatly reducing the number of soldiers who can fight. Furius, I suggest you reinforce the camp’s defence tomorrow. And no matter how much the enemy provokes you, you absolutely must not leave the camp!”

The Theonian army’s performance truly shocked Furius. So even though he was young and vigorous, he wouldn’t dare risk his career and soldiers’ lives. Thus he nodded and said, “Camillus, you are right! We should defend the camp until Quintus and his men arrive with their troops!”

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

Although the Volscians weren’t the main combatants, this was still a rare victory over Rome in a decade. When the Romans finally surrendered to the Volscians after losing hope to break through, or when the Volscians captured the wounded and Romans that fell behind, the faces of the Volscians who escorted the Romans back were filled with the pride of victory.

But the Volscian’s higher-ups knew who brought this victory. Following consul Toulus of Circeii and consul Katamentalus of Privernumernum, they went to find Amintas, who was treating the wounded soldiers.

“General Amintas, I really didn’t expect you to give us a rare victory the day after you led your army into Volsci. It is evident how much effort Theonia has put into helping us! Thank you so much! Thank you so much!” Toulus repeatedly thanked him with a sincere expression.

Katamentalus immediately interjected and excitedly apologised, “I apologise for my previous prejudice. I complained when Toulus told me how Theonia had sent an army of ten thousand men and said, ‘What can reinforcements of only ten thousand me do when Rome invades with tens of thousands of soldiers!’ Yet you and your soldiers proved the might of the Theonian army with your valiant performance! Please accept my respect for you!”

Then each consul of the important Volscian towns immediately and respectfully offered Amintas the most honourable courtesy of Volsci.

Amintas hastily stopped them and said modestly, “I am only a warrior following the kingdom’s order to fight the enemy! If you want to thank us, you should thank his majesty Davos who sent us here!”

“Allying ourselves with the great Theonia was the best thing we Volscians have done in years, and fighting alongside the brave men of Theonia is a great honour to us! And together, we will defeat the Romans.” Keronus, the former consul of Antium, exclaimed.

“That’s right! That’s right!…” The other Volscian higher-ups agreed loudly.

Hearing their sincere words and seeing the excitement on their faces, Amintas realised that the First Legion’s victory at such a cost was of great significance.

Katamentalus then sincerely requested Theonia’s First Legion, “General Amintas, since the Romans have suffered this defeat and their forces in the camp are low, we have decided to attack the Roman camp and wipe them out once and for all. Thus we hope to count on your assistance!”

His words caught Amintas by surprise, who then shook his head and frankly said, “It is not a wise idea to attack the Roman camp now!”

Without caring about the Volscians’ expression, Amintas continued by seriously analysing, “After a careful examination, I found the Roman camp to be well defended. And after today’s battle, I learned how powerful the Romans were. Thus even if we rely on our numbers and eventually capture this camp, our losses are bound to be great! But can you afford such losses now?! There’s a report that the Romans have another army of even greater numbers that will be arriving soon, so what army will we use to defend ourselves if the constant fighting diminishes our numbers?!…”

Amintas’ words poured cold water on the Volscian higher-ups, calming them from the temporary excitement of winning a battle.

Toulouse disagreed with attacking the Roman camp, so he asked, “General Amintas, what do you suggest we should do for the next battle?”

Amintas thought for a while and said, “We should take a defensive strategy and rely on defending the towns to kill many Roman soldiers.”

“Defence?! That would only result in the Romans taking our towns one after another. The loss of Velitrae proves that the Romans had a strong offensive capability!” Katamentalus expressed his doubt and concern.

The easily irritated Amintas remained calm as he patiently explained, “As I marched through Setia, I saw that the city’s defences were indeed too simple that it would be easy to breach. So we should take advantage of this victory and the spare time we got before another Roman army arrives to quickly improve and fortify the town’s defences, which will cause great problems to the Roman army’s attack!”

“General Amintas, how should we improve the town’s defence?” Toulus asked again modestly.

“First of all, we need to dig a deep and wide trench and bury pointed stakes in the bottom of the trenches, making it difficult for the Roman soldiers to pass through. Then we need to place abatis between the trench and the wall so that even if the Romans get through the trench, it will take them quite a while to reach the city with their siege equipment. Meanwhile, our arrows, javelins and stones…would cause them the maximum casualties possible. We also have to set traps outside the trenches…” Amintas explained in detail as he carved it into the ground with his short sword while surrounded by a circle of Volscian higher-ups who listened intently.

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

While the First Legion was on their way to Latium by ship, Carthage, which had received the news, was, of course, going to send an army as promised and declare war on Theonia. But there was a heated debate regarding this issue in the Carthaginian Senate.

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