Published at 2nd of November 2023 3:54 am

Chapter 853: Pursuit and Attack

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Despite being the commander of their allies' army, Licinius didn't actually have any troops under his command. So, when faced with such a desperate situation, the only way he could think of was to quickly notify Titus and ask him to send troops to stabilise the situation! Otherwise…

As soon as Licinius dispatched heralds, the speed of the Latin allies' defeat far exceeded his imagination. It began with a small phalanx on the right flank, but the chaos rapidly spread, first to the entire right flank and then swiftly to the centre, ultimately engulfing the whole formation…

Since the army of their Latin allies comprised a dozen or so Latin city-states and tribes, having them work together and follow orders completely became difficult. Furthermore, they were only fighting here to partly fulfil their agreement and partly for their own safety as they feared falling into danger, and they didn't have the determination to fight to the death. So when the soldiers of one city-state fled, the army near them, whether soldiers or generals, were unwilling to continue fighting and become a sacrificial lamb, resulting in the entire formation quickly crumbling.

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

The commander of the Volscian-Hernican forces was the archon of Privernum, Katamentalus (With the number of Volscians participating in the battle reaching five thousand men, more than the Hernicans, and that the Volscians had previously provided significant assistance to Hernici, the Hernicans didn't have any objection and appointed Katamentalus as the commander of this coalition, fully following his command.) Wielding a shield and spear, he charged towards the front of the formation while shouting recklessly. He felt an indescribable joy in his heart as he had never defeated the Latin as easily as he did today.

After defeating the Latin forces, the already exhausted Volscian-Hernican seemed to have been reinjected with strength as they shouted and pursued the fleeing enemies, forcing most of them to flee north desperately.

When Titus received Licinius' call for help, he was shocked. It was practically impossible to quickly detach a unit to support the Latin allies while the whole army was speeding up its retreat. So, the only thing left for him to do was to urge the Roman army to speed up its retreat once more.

Titus didn't expect the Latins to lose so quickly and for those Latin light infantries, who were only wearing thin armour, to throw away their weapons, armour, and other things as they ran ahead in panic, and then, like headless flies, crashed directly into the Roman army (the portion of Roman soldiers responsible for attacking the Theonian camp before) who were still lagging behind, and instantly disrupted the formation and impeded their retreat.

Behind these Latin light infantry were more routed soldiers fleeing while behind them were the relentless pursuit of the Theonian soldiers…

Titus didn't dare stop the retreating army with the situation already becoming terrible, “General Titus, hundreds of Theonian cavalry are charging from the northwest. General Aurus already led his cavalry to stop them!”

“Reporting to General Titus, over two thousand Theonian light infantry are coming from the north and are less than two hundred metres away!”

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

It was beyond Titus' expectation for the Theonian army from Rome to come quickly, and he certainly was aware that there were Theonian heavy infantries behind these light infantries. Currently around the Roman army were the Theonian army in the east, the Volscian-Hernican army in the south disrupting the rear of his army, the Theonian army from the city of Rome that would soon pounce on them in the north, and the Theonian cavalry in the northwest, which only left him the southwest where there was no enemy to stop them… Titus became extremely nervous and felt that the retreating speed of the Roman army, which was still maintaining order and formation, was still too slow and could fall in danger of getting completely encircled at any time. Therefore, while in a state of urgency, he ordered, “Inform all soldiers that there is no need to maintain formation, throw down unnecessary heavy objects and quickly retreat towards Velitrae!”

At the same time, he also ordered a messenger to immediately rush to the army camp in Tusculum and notify dictator Camillus to retreat to the west.

After giving his command, the Roman army soon turned into a pile of loose sand, with everyone throwing down their shields, spears, and even their helmets and armour as they fled desperately.

The Theonian soldiers, Volsci and Hernici, naturally pursued them, and their original plan to surround them quickly turned into a grand and chaotic chase.

So the battlefield had already become highly chaotic when Quintus led his army, with the Romans, Latins, Volscians, Hernicans, and Theonians mixed together amidst the deafening battle sound and rising dust…

For a moment, Quintus was unsure how to proceed to intercept the enemy and ensure the smooth retreat of the Roman army.

But he didn't have to make any decision as the soldiers under his command had quickly lost their morale when they faced such terrifying momentum and began following their fellow countrymen to flee together…

The Theonians pursued them for half an hour before sounding the retreat because the pursuing troops had already reached the southern part of Tuscolo Hill, with most of the soldiers already disorganised. With several Latin allies of Rome around them, they could launch a surprise attack against them…so Davos didn't dare take any further risks.

Thus, the soldiers began escorting the captured Romans and Latins while cleaning up the battlefield and gradually retreated…

Meanwhile, Davos went to meet a group of people on the battlefield, including the archon of Privernum, Katamentalus and the general of Hernici, Nemeri.

When these Volscian and Hernican leaders heard about the fairy-tale-like rumours about Theonia and their king, Davos, they only regarded it as a drinking topic and didn't pay much attention to it. But this time, with Davos leading the Theonian army to capture the city of Rome and ultimately defeating the Roman army, such a brilliant record has already made the neighbouring powers pay attention to them, not to mention that the Theonians, after occupying the city of Rome, consecutively conquered Caisra, Veii and Fidenae, and even forced the surrender of Praeneste…allowing them to put down their roots in the region and replacing Rome to become the new hegemon.

It was precisely with this awareness that Katamentalus and the others inevitably felt cautious when they met King Davos of Theonia.

But the one to smile and praise them first was Davos, “It's nice to meet you, Theonia's most friendly allies! I would like to thank you for your full cooperation. Because of it, we have achieved today's resounding victory!…”

Davos' words struck a chord with the leader of Volsci, prompting Katamentalus to bow respectfully and say, “O honourable king, it is because of your brilliant strategy, which we followed, that we are victorious today!”

“This is the archon of Privernum, Katamentalus, who is also the commander of this coalition army,” Tapirus quickly introduced Katamentalus.

After listening to the interpreter's translation, Davos said solemnly, “With you, Volsci, giving your full and unreserved trust in us, whether it was your previous efforts to prevent the Roman messengers from entering the Trerus Valley to notify Camillus' army, or your willingness to risk leaving your territory undefended to execute our plan with all your strength, made me feel that although Volsci and Theonia have only allied recently, we are already good allies who can trust each other and share our difficulties! So, put your worry at ease as Theonia will help Volsci gradually regain your lost territories and assist you in restoring their prosperity!”

Katamentalus was pleasantly surprised as he didn't expect to receive a promise from King Davos at this moment, so he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

Then, it was General Nemeri of the Hernican army's turn to approach and greet Davos.

Davos naturally gave his promise to this new ally as he said sincerely, “Although you Hernicans had already recovered the land you lost, I heard you suffered massive damage in this war and had a difficult time rebuilding your home. We deeply understand your pain as we, Theonians, have also suffered such a painful experience before! Thus, we will do everything we can to help restore prosperity to your territory as quickly as possible and keep you safe!…”

The leaders of Theonia's allies became thrilled upon hearing Davos' words.

Suddenly, Nemeri asked, “Your Majesty, with Theonia having defeated Rome and becoming the new owner of their city, some forces became worried that Theonia will become like Rome!”

Davos became serious upon hearing that and said, “I am grateful for your reminder. But which forces are you referring to?”

Nemeri hesitated a bit before finally saying, “I know that among them were the Marsians and Aequians. When I was gathering my men to participate in this battle, they had sent someone to dissuade me and expressed their concerns in this regard…”

Davos nodded and glanced at the crowd, realising everyone was looking at him. He immediately understood that it wasn't only the Aequians and Marsians concerned but all the forces around Rome, including Volsci and Hernici.

After pondering for a while, Davos exclaimed, “Theonia didn't border Rome and had no conflict of interest. Only because the Romans launched a massive invasion in your territories and made you fall into a crisis that would wipe out your existence that we, Theonians, decided we would have to go to war with Rome to fulfil our agreement. Until now, we had only fought Rome and its allies and captured only the towns and cities owned by them.

So whether it's Marsi, Aequi, Etruria, or the Sabini, as long as they are willing to coexist with Theonia in peace, we, Theonians, will never covet their land and go to war with them for no reason! On the contrary, we would gladly engage in friendly exchanges with them, conduct trade, deepen our friendship, and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in this region!…”

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