Published at 21st of August 2023 8:30 am

Chapter 827: Crisis of Ostia

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Only after a continuous bombardment did Titus deploy the second wave of soldiers, who had managed to take some rest, to resume the assault on the city. On the other hand, the Theonian defenders, preoccupied with defending against attacks and evading stone projectiles, experienced a constant drain on their physical and mental energy. So as time passed, the Romans gradually reached a point where their stamina and energy became on par with the defenders.

And to make matters worse for the defenders, the Romans gave them another headache during the siege. Aside from the soldiers climbing the ladders, the Roman heavy infantry did not remain idle at the base of the city wall as they skillfully utilised their long shields to protect themselves and threw javelins towards the top of the wall.

Throwing javelins with heavy infantry – was originally a tactic of the Theonian legionaries. But after fighting the Theonians in Volscii and understanding its strength, Camillus began utilising it in his battles against the Hernicans, achieving some results. And when Camillus was discussing with Titus how to attack the city of Ostia, he once again mentioned using this tactic when attacking the city. Naturally, the Roman heavy infantry couldn't match the Theonian legionaries, who had undergone long-term training since throwing javelins needed not only accuracy and power but also gave new tactical variations. However, the low wall of Ostia had increased the lethality of the Roman javelin throws, and their heavy infantry were far more than the defenders atop the wall, which became the key to suppressing the Theonian defenders.

And once the Roman soldiers retreated, another wave of fierce attacks came, like the continuous impact of a surging tide. With the number of casualties of the Theonian defenders increasing, their strength decreased naturally, allowing the enemy to reach atop the wall several times.

Theris even needed to send in the reserves. But due to his inexperience, he failed to properly divide these newly assembled soldiers and integrate them under the command of the legion's reserve forces stationed atop the wall. Instead, he had them go in groups to occupy the vacant positions, leading to increased confusion rather than significantly strengthening the defence.

“General! The wall has collapsed!!” One of Titus’ attendants pointed and cheered, and even Titus couldn't restrain the ecstasy he felt.

Just a few days earlier, the wall of Ostia had experienced the Theonian ballistae's baptism. Despite getting patched up, only a few days had passed, and it wasn't enough to be fully repaired. So after receiving the Roman ballistae's continued bombardment, a section of the city wall finally let out a mournful sound as it collapsed.

With the exclamation of soldiers from both sides, a gap appeared after the dust and dirt dissipated.

After seeing this situation, how could Titus miss the opportunity of storming the city? So he immediately ordered, “Stop the bombardment and have the whole army immediately rush forward!”

Despite the army rushing forward, only the Roman soldiers had gone all out in storming the wall. After all, the soldiers were exhausted after the long march during the day and the continuous battles throughout the night, despite having intermittent rest in the middle. Moreover, the relentless and forceful attack that disregarded the casualties had inflicted significant damage on both their Latin and Etruscan allies. Despite the generals protesting against Titus many times and the allied soldiers fighting passively, the less than five thousand Roman colonial citizens that remained, supported by the belief in recapturing their homeland and under strict discipline, had gotten hope for success after the Wall of Ostia collapsed. Thus amidst the loud sound of the military horn, they roared and launched another fierce attack on Ostia.

And the Roman soldiers' high morale began to affect the allied soldiers, making them reluctantly follow behind…

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

With his cautious nature, Giorgris became even more careful now that he was travelling with Crotokatax. Thus he arranged four fast-sailing ships to lead the way ahead and for the other ships to be parallel with them, with a large gap between them. With all the ships having lit torches, they were like a dragon in the river that went downstream with the current.

Giorgris' cautiousness finally proved its worth when, during their journey, a ship in front encountered the fast-sailing vessel that was being pulled towards Rome to deliver a report. As a consequence, the ship lost control of its direction at a sharp bend in the river and collided with a reef, ultimately sinking…Meanwhile, the ships carrying troops remained unhindered and safely approached the Tiber's estuary. However, the soldiers on board were shocked by the sight of the distant shore. Despite currently late at night with the moon still hanging in the sky and the light of the day hadn't yet appeared, there was a fire in the direction of the city of Ostia, and they could hear the sound of battle shaking the sky…

‘Could the city of Ostia has fallen?!’ Giorgris and the officers and soldiers shared similar concerns in their hearts. With the distant flames and the lights from the port serving as their guide, Giorgris promptly issued the following order for fear of getting noticed by the enemy, “Extinguish the torches on all ships!”

Soon, the patrol ships of the port came out to welcome them. Then the fleet quickly sailed into the port after learning that Ostia hadn't fallen.

Upon docking, Giorgris was the first to disembark from the ship. But what took him aback was the sight of numerous individuals dressed in sailor attire, assembling and donning armour. Meanwhile, the sailors warmly greeted the arrival of the soldiers from the Fifth Legion.

Giorgris then learned after his inquiry that the Roman army had started attacking the city at dusk and never stopped. To aid their offensive, the Romans even set ablaze a large pile of flames outside the city, serving as illuminations for their soldiers. The continuous assault from the Romans inflicted significant casualties on the reserve forces led by Theris. Consequently, not only were the reserves, comprising of Latin refugees and slaves, sent to reinforce the wall, but also the sailors from the warships docked nearby were assembled and prepared for potential reinforcements at a moment's notice.

With the help of these sailors from the Third Fleet, all five brigades of the Fifth Legion quickly landed and, under the leadership of Giorgris, rushed towards the wall.

Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from ahead, “No good!! The wall has collapsed!!…”

Giorgris was startled at the urgent situation and immediately ordered, “All troops rush forwards!”

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

The continuous arduous battle, coupled with the collapse of the city wall, had already made the soldiers atop lost hope. Suddenly, the Romans launched a much larger attack.

Then before the majority of the Roman soldiers could even cross the trench, some liberated slaves atop the city wall, who had never seen such momentum, had turned around and fled.

Despite Theris quickly leading the guard to stop and decisively kill the slaves who led the desertion to stabilise the army's morale, the length of the city wall made him unable to take care of one end while taking care of the other. And as the enemy approached, the chaos atop the wall didn't subside but increased.

Theris was in a hurry and didn't even have time to dispatch troops to fill the gap. In the end, even he lost confidence in himself…

Just when he was at a loss and ready to surrender, the sound of a familiar salpinx rang out from within the city, followed by the sound of a neatly organised chanting, “O Hades, protector of the kingdom, the lord of the night, and the embodiment of justice!…”

Before Theris could react, the reserve soldiers atop the wall shouted, “Our reinforcements have arrived!! Our reinforcements have arrived!!!…”

Under the illumination of the flames* in the city, a black line rapidly advanced down the street towards the wall. (For the convenience of the soldiers, Thesis copied the Romans and also lit a fire inside the city.)

With the face of the tall soldier at the forefront becoming clear and recognisable, they could see that he wore thick dog fur while holding the legion flag high, with a shining statue of the god atop.

“The Fifth Legion! It's the Fifth Legion!!…” exclaimed a sharp-eyed soldier.

‘The city of Ostia is saved!’ The soldiers of the reserve legion gained confidence, and the flustered reserve Ostia that were fleeing in disorder and Theris had calmed down.

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

Despite also hearing the sound of salpinx and chanting in the city, Titus didn't even consider it was from the enemy reinforcements. Instead, he thought that the Theonian generals were using these to encourage their soldiers to defend with all their might. After all, his previous experience made him judge that no enemy reinforcements would arrive at this particular time. So after frowning, he muttered in a low voice, “The Theonians still have such morale even now! Just as the dictator said, we cannot underestimate the army of this kingdom!”

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Meanwhile, someone inside the city shouted, “Is Lord Theris here? Lord Theris!…”

Utilising the battlements as support, Theris leaned over and gazed downward, allowing him to see the young officer dressed in black armour with a red plume adorning his helmet. This officer was walking along the base of the city wall while shouting.

So he immediately responded, “I am Theris!”

The officer quickly saluted and said, “I am the adjutant of the legatus of the Fifth Legion, Giorgris. The Legatus has instructed me to convey his message: he will personally lead his soldiers to fill the gap so you can concentrate on defending the wall. Additionally, a reinforcement contingent composed of sailors from the Third Fleet will swiftly arrive at the wall to provide further reinforcement.”

After discussing with the adjutant of the Fifth Legion, Theris began urging the officers atop the wall to lead their men back to their respective position. At the same time, he began placing more light infantry above the gap while preparing enough burning oil because Giorgris was going to return to the Romans the suffering that the Fourth Legion had experienced while storming the city of Rome.

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

From a distance, Titus watched with exhilaration as the valiant Roman soldiers fearlessly charged into the breach on the wall, braving the relentless rain of arrows. His heart swelled with anticipation, believing victory was within their grasp.

Unexpectedly, the whole breach was blocked by Roman soldiers even after some time had passed. After the men who went to inquire about the situation had come back, he reported, “There is a Theonian army blocking inside the gap, resulting in our soldiers unable to break through their defence for the time being!”

At the same time, the messenger sent by Camillus also arrived outside the city of Ostia* and reported, “The Theonians have sent thousands of soldiers from Rome and are sailing down the river!” (Because the messenger didn't dare to gallop in the dark, he naturally fell behind the fleet)

Upon hearing the news, Titus was struck by a heavy blow, yet he still had a faint hope in his heart. Determined to inspire the soldiers to launch a courageous assault, he commanded the drums to beat and the horns to sound. Simultaneously, he dispatched his men to observe the battlefield closely from the base of the wall. Additionally, he summoned the Etruscan allies who were lagging behind and instructed them to form a defensive line in the rear in case of unforeseen circumstances.

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