August 28th, on the border of Anxi, ten miles outside Linma Pass.

At the garrison of the various provincial legions, a dozen legion commanders gathered in a large tent, all with gloomy expressions on their faces.

An officer from the Egyptian legion gritted his teeth and said, "What exactly is going on? When did the Parthian reinforcements arrive here? And how did they know we were coming to launch a surprise attack on Linma Pass?"

It turned out that just the day before, after the group led their troops to Linma Pass, they launched an attack on the pass directly. At first, it went smoothly, as the defending troops inside the pass numbered less than 20,000, and the Roman army had climbed the pass many times.

Just as everyone was ordering their army to advance and prepare to break through the pass in one fell swoop, the reinforcements led by Cemorin suddenly arrived, catching everyone off guard. As a result, nearly 10,000 Roman soldiers were killed and nearly 30,000 were wounded, losing nearly 30% of their strength.

Such a significant loss has caused distress to many, but it has also raised suspicions.

Their division of forces to seize the pass was a secret plan, and they marched here under cover of night. Even if the Parthians had learned of it later, it would have been impossible for them to arrive so quickly.

"Hmph~, that goes without saying. Either someone is afraid that our army will gain merit by capturing the pass, or someone deliberately wants to use the Parthians to weaken the strength of our various provinces, which is why they leaked the information to the Parthians!"

Kulik, the governor of the Arab province, spoke coldly, directly targeting Marcus Aurelius and the noble leaders under the Senate.

The governor of the Egyptian province said in a deep voice, "I think it's more likely that the guys in the Senate."

After all, His Majesty spearheaded this war, and victory would benefit him the most. Besides, His Majesty previously joined forces with us against the Senate; surely he wouldn't resort to any underhanded tactics at this time?

“That makes sense. Those selfish bastards in the Senate are the most motivated to do this!”

The other legion commanders nodded in agreement. In their view, although Marcus Aurelius and the Senate were both their opponents, they disliked the latter more.

After all, as fellow nobles, those aloof and bossy fellows in the Senate were indeed hard to like.

The noble leaders never expected that their schemes, stemming from past grievances, would not only fail to create discord between the provinces and Marcus Aurelius, but would instead make them even more disliked.

"So what do we do next?" another legion commander asked.

Kurik thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "There are only two paths now: either retreat to the main camp, or continue the attack on Linma Pass."

"If we retreat, what will happen to the wounded? Even if they are only lightly wounded, they can't keep up with the march. Once they fall behind, they're doomed."

"Yes, so many wounded soldiers. If we just abandon them, we'll lose not only manpower, but also morale!"

"But if we take them along, how will they withstand the bumpy journey?"

Regarding the retreat, everyone expressed their attitude with hesitation.

Kurik glanced at everyone: "In that case, we have no choice but to continue attacking Linma Pass?"

The governor of the Egyptian province nodded: "Indeed, although we have suffered heavy losses, the Parthians have also suffered considerable losses. Now they have less than 20,000 men left who can fight. We have no need to be afraid of them."

Most importantly, we can ask Zhang Tianshi for help and request him to send military doctors to treat our wounded soldiers. So it doesn't matter if we have more wounded soldiers.

The Parthians, however, did not have this advantage; for them, each wounded soldier was equivalent to one less person.

Therefore, continuing the attack on Linma Pass is the most appropriate course of action!

"Well said, continue the attack; the advantages outweigh the disadvantages!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement and unanimously agreed to continue the attack on Linma Pass.

"Report!"

Just then, the guard on duty outside the tent strode in: "Reporting to the officers, the commanders of the main camp have sent messengers, saying that there is an important matter to report!"

Kurik raised an eyebrow: "Bring him in!"

"yes!"

The guard agreed and turned to walk out of the tent.

Soon, a messenger followed the guards into the tent.

"I have been ordered by Commander Hanis to deliver an urgent secret letter to all of you officers!"

After exchanging greetings, the messenger took out a piece of white cloth from his pocket and respectfully handed it to the guard.

"Alright, you must be tired from your journey. Let's go and rest first!"

Kulik did not rush to read the contents of the letter, but instead ordered his men to take the messenger away first.

After the messenger left, Kulik picked up the secret letter and began to read it.

The letter didn't contain much; it simply informed the noble leaders that Marcus Aurelius had returned with his troops and captured Xilin Pass, and concluded by expressing their desire to unite against Marcus Aurelius.

Kurik then shared the contents of the letter with everyone present.

"So, it wasn't those nobles who leaked our army's movements, but His Majesty?"

Upon hearing the contents of the letter, everyone present couldn't help but change their expressions.

Kurik shook his head: "While I can't rule out that possibility, I'm more inclined to believe that His Majesty used those guys in the Senate, which led to the leak."

After all, anyone could collude with the Parthians, but His Majesty, the Roman Emperor, would absolutely not collude with a hostile nation, unless he no longer wanted to be the Roman Emperor!

"Hmph, those guys in the Senate are definitely up to no good!"

Upon hearing Kuric's analysis, everyone present immediately understood and turned their attention back to the Senate.

The governor of the Egyptian province frowned and said, "Then what do we do? Should we contact His Majesty and wipe out those hateful fellows?"

“No!” Kurik shook his head and said solemnly, “There is a saying among the Han people: ‘If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.’”

Although we previously viewed the Senate as a common enemy, just like His Majesty, in His Majesty's eyes, both we and the Senate are stumbling blocks for him, and both are targets he wants to deal with; it's just a matter of who comes first.

Now that the credit for breaking through the pass has been awarded to His Majesty, and his power is at its peak, after he deals with the Senate, his next target will be us…!

Upon hearing this, everyone present nodded solemnly.

After some discussion, they decided to temporarily unite with the noble leaders and report the situation in detail to their respective governors.

Kulik then conveyed his desire for alliance to the messenger and sent him out of the camp.

After dealing with the matter, while sending people to ask Zhang Bao for help, everyone also reorganized the soldiers to prepare to continue the attack on Linma Pass.

At this time, Kemorin, the Parthian commander who was in control of the city, also received news that Silin had fallen.

Seeing the Romans' movements in the distance, Camerin sighed, then gave a helpless order to leave the wounded soldiers inside the pass and lead the remaining 20,000 combat-ready troops to evacuate the area.