Rome Must Fall

The kitchen was filled with a tense atmosphere. Maximus stayed inside for a while but had to step out to avoid getting in the way.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a little lost: He had come to this time period and decided to change the fate of his and Spartacus’ rebel army being ultimately destroyed. However, when it came time to fight the Roman army, he could only watch from the sidelines, waiting quietly for the outcome of the battle, unable to contribute in any way.

If only I could command an army into battle! This thought suddenly arose in Maximus’ mind.

Lost in his thoughts, Maximus saw a few figures passing by in front of him. He immediately snapped back to reality and shouted, “Akgo, Cassius, what are you doing?”

“T-Teacher, we wanted to help in the kitchen,” Akgo stammered in response.

The title “teacher” was what Maximus had them call him, and considering his efforts in teaching the children, he indeed deserved the title.

“Didn’t I tell you that you can’t wander around during this critical time? You must stay with Uncle Vorenus! This way, if something happens, I can find you at any time. Understand?” Maximus said sternly.

“We also wanted to contribute…” Cassius explained softly, but Maximus gave him a stern gaze, causing him to lower his head immediately.

“Teacher, we were wrong. We’ll go back now. Please don’t be angry!” Nasya quickly apologized, and the other children quickly agreed.

Maximus’ expression softened, and he nodded. “Since it’s your first offense, I’ll forgive you this time.”

The children held great respect for Maximus, and they didn’t want to make him angry, so they obediently turned and headed back to the main building. Maximus followed behind and arrived at the front courtyard, where he coincidentally met Pigres.

“Captain, should we still move everything into the wagons like we did yesterday?” Pigris asked eagerly upon seeing him.

“Of course,” Maximus replied without hesitation. Seeing Pigres’ slight confusion, he added, “We must prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

With Maximus’ words, Pigres’ emotions settled a bit, and he led his subordinates to carry the supplies.

Maximus then went up to the rooftop of the main building. After a while, he saw the kitchen staff pushing a cart loaded with steaming food, leaving through the main gate of the farm. In the past, soldiers would rush to grab the food, causing a chaotic scene at the entrance. However, this time, they were nowhere to be seen, and the food cart smoothly made its way towards the camp.

On the surface, this seemed like a good thing, but Maximus felt uneasy. He had actually hoped that today would be like any other day, indicating that the rebel soldiers were not affected by the arrival of the Roman army yesterday. However, he realized that he also hadn’t given his usual lectures to the Logistics Team last night. It seemed that everyone, himself included, was a novice to the anxiety and tension of the real war.

Realizing this, Maximus struggled to calm himself down because, as the leader of the Logistics Team, his every move would affect the morale of his subordinates.

After having breakfast, Maximus ordered Saxippus to herd the cattle and sheep to the back of the farm, and then gathered the rest of the Logistics Team inside the farm.

By this time, the sky was already bright, and the sun hung low in the clear sky.

“Woo! Woo! Woo!” The sound of trumpets urgently rang out in the camp.

Are the Romans finally attacking?! Maximus went up to the rooftop again and looked ahead.

In the distance, fully armed Roman soldiers were orderly marching out of the newly constructed camp from yesterday, directly lining up in the fields…

After about half an hour, the Roman legion had formed the traditional three-line formation, and behind this formation were auxiliary troops in a more dense formation. Following the auxiliary troops were ten wagons, with 50 cavalry on each flank.

The brass horn whistled.

The Roman army slowly began to advance towards the rebel camp.

It seems that this time the Romans are really going to attack! Maximus felt nervous, and he shifted his gaze to the nearby area.

As the Roman soldiers marched out of the camp, the rebel army also began to move. In fact, after finishing breakfast, the rebel soldiers had already been on standby in the camp. Though the formation still seemed noisy and chaotic, having experienced it once yesterday made the process faster. Just as the Roman army approached the foot of the mountain, the rebel army had already completed their formation… This relieved Maximus slightly.

Then he saw Spartacus, who was in the front row of the formation, walking to the front and speaking loudly. Then, the gladiators in the front row of the formation brandished their swords and spears, roaring in unison. The new recruits were also influenced and began to join in the shouting. Eventually, the entire rebel army’s formation resounded with roars…

Although most of the slaves who joined the rebel army were still dressed in simple clothes, holding hoes, pitchforks, and wooden sticks… their hatred for the Romans had been stirred, causing them to no longer tremble and fear when facing the well-equipped Roman army. Instead, their eyes were filled with anger.

Even Maximus, who was in the rear, felt the change in morale and couldn’t help but have a little more hope for victory.

However, at this moment, the Roman army stopped its advance. They began to adjust their somewhat disorderly formation at the foot of the mountain, and from each wagon, three or four soldiers jumped out. They each carried a wooden frame and placed them in the gaps of the formation, then started to busy themselves around the frames.

“What are those things they placed in front of their formation?!”

“Why aren’t these Roman bastards attacking?!”

The soldiers behind Spartacus whispered among themselves.

“That’s the Roman ballista!” Spartacus spoke loudly to clarify for the soldiers, dispelling their suspicions: “It’s like a slingshot children play with, but instead of small stones, it launches projectiles. However, its accuracy is not great, so hitting the target is difficult…”

Both in expression and tone, Spartacus appeared relaxed, but deep down, he started to feel uneasy: How could I forget that the Romans would use this tactic in a pitched battle?

“Report to the legatus, all ballistae are installed and awaiting your orders!” Vettinius saluted and reported to Glaber.

“I understand.” Glaber looked at the camp commander before him, a man in his 50s. He was a veteran he appointed against all objections. He was once a centurion under Sulla, with an outstanding record in the wars in Asia Minor. Since Vettinius’ appointment, everything from marching, training, camping, and military discipline had been meticulously arranged by him, rewarding Glaber’s trust in him.

“According to the previous plan, let these ignorant slaves witness the horrors of war!” Glaber disdainfully pointed towards the rebel army on the mountain.

The Roman ballistae operators, following the orders, began to turn the handles. The double-layered spring arms were pulled backward with the string and then secured onto the metal hook, then a lead ball was placed on the track.

This was a small lead ball that weighed only half a talent (a standard ballista projectile weighs about one Attic talent, approximately 26 kilograms). This was done to increase its flight distance. Unlike usual projectiles, it was wrapped in oiled cloth. Once ignited, the ballista operators quickly pulled the trigger. The sound of “whoosh, whoosh!” filled the air as ten fireball projectiles shot out, flying over 500 meters and soaring above the rebel army’s formation.

Most of the rebel soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, but Spartacus was suddenly startled. He hadn’t expected the ballistae to fire fireballs instead of lead projectiles. And these fireballs were landing not far from the rebel camp.

The rebel camp was not well-planned, with no clear spacing between the tents and no fire prevention measures. Moreover, it was early summer, hot weather, and the items were dry. As the fireballs fell into the camp, the tents immediately ignited…

Maximus saw five or six fires erupting around the farm and was momentarily stunned. He realized the danger and hurriedly rushed downstairs, shouting at Agnes, Pigres, and others in the front yard, “Quick! Take people to the camp and extinguish the fire! Go put out the fire!”

Maximus led the members of the Logistics Team hurriedly towards the camp but forgot to inform Spartacus.