Chapter 104: The Empire’s Frontier (Part 1)

After a short rest of three days, the assembly horn sounded early in the morning, meaning that they would gather again and rush to the battlefield.

I really couldn't explain how much I hated that damn horn sound. I stood up slowly, and the stretch of my muscles made the wound on my chest appear to be healed on the surface, but it still hurt inside.

Using a wooden stick as a crutch, I slowly walked out of the tent. The first person I saw was Bliss, who was holding a set of chain mail in his hand. It should be my set, but it was cleaned very carefully.

"Put it on, sir, we're about to take action!"

Brice whispered, and I obeyed him and opened my arms. At the same time, he carefully put the mail on me. The restraint on my body caused a pain in my wound at first, but I gritted my teeth and it passed.

Andrew is indeed a very good soldier, at least much better than me. The lazy soldiers under my command became well-organized in just three days under his command. I went to take a look. Well, the Romans did not pay attention to the neat arrangement of the big and small. Their ranks can be described as "the mountains are different when viewed from the side, and the heights are different when viewed from far and near." They were busy, wrapping their shields in cloth bags and carrying them on their backs. This was to prepare for the expedition.

"Luka."

With the help of Briss, I came to Andrew's side. Andrew turned his head and called my name, saying, "We are about to set off, but you are still injured."

"So I don't have to go, right?"

I was very excited when I heard that they knew I was a wounded soldier.

"No!"

Andrew replied quietly, "I'll find you a carriage, you can sit in it and follow us!"

I saw a small carriage swaying in front of me. The old driver with a white beard looked at me and took off his hat to salute me. Then he laughed, revealing his mouth with only a few teeth. I looked down along the reins in his hand. Oh, the poor old horse, the skinny bones were obviously under the fur, wrinkled and looked weak. I really couldn't understand where this guy Andrew came from. I was too lazy to ask in detail. It was better to face this horrible fact directly.

"Well, I hope the old guy can see the way ahead."

I climbed onto the carriage sadly with the help of Brice, but it wasn't over yet. Next up were bags of cabbage, green onions, and oatmeal. Damn! It was then that I suddenly realized that this was a food cart. Andrew had found me a broken food cart! As the barrels and sacks piled up, I was soon squeezed to the front of the cart and sat next to the old coachman.

"Good morning, my Lord!"

The old coachman showed his yellow teeth, which were as yellow and long as the old horse he was riding. He smiled at me and took off his old straw hat to face me. When he spoke, there was a smell of air that was enough to suffocate me. I could only smile and nod at him, then turn my head away. If I exchanged a few more words with him, I was afraid I would fall off the carriage.

"Okay, Luka, why are you looking at me like that? Here!"

Andrew said as he handed over a centurion horned helmet.

"Andrew, let me ask you, are there any trees ahead?"

"Yes?" Andrew answered, looking at me puzzledly and asked, "What's wrong, Luca?"

"Then do you feel that I died too late?"

I pushed the horned helmet away and scolded Andrew, "I'm already sitting in the car. If you give me another horned helmet with such a big target, what will the Burgundians think if they are ambushing in the woods? If I put it on, will I shout to them again: Come on, hit me, I'm a centurion!"

Andrew took back the horned helmet thoughtfully, looked back, and then turned to ask me: "How about I give it to Fermiou?"

"Fumeo!"

I immediately thought of the guy who peed his pants, and I couldn't help but ask, "Is this guy still alive? Damn, this kid is really lucky!"

As I was talking, I saw that kid Fermiou in the crowd. He had no idea what I was talking about with Andrew and was looking around in a daze. It was obvious that the news of this departure was a bolt from the blue for him.

"Okay then! That's him!"

When I thought about the fact that this guy would run away if he encountered real trouble, I handed my helmet to him without any worries. Anyway, I was worried about my helmet. As for this guy, I thought that he had gone through so many storms and would not capsize in a small ditch.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Everything seemed to be ready. I steadied myself in the carriage. The team set off slowly under Andrew's command. I did the same, swaying in the carriage and following behind the troops.

In front of us, it was the first battalion of the 14th Twin Legion, because we had lost our flag. The remaining two centuries (the one with the Iron Cross, and mine and Andrew's) followed behind the main force of the Twin Legion.

This is indeed a frustrating thing, because when the Chief Centurion Guy was still here, we have always been the leader of this legion, but now, I am afraid I am not even worthy of carrying his shoes.

It's strange. Since Guy's whereabouts were unknown, Andrew and I, two centurions, lost half of our men three days ago, but there was still no replacement. This is totally different from his usual style. Could it be because of Anthony's pressure? I asked myself, sitting alone in a shaking carriage that seemed to fall apart at any time, trying desperately to guess the thoughts of Aetius and other high-level officials. After all, those who are in the government worry about their people, and those who are far away worry about their rulers. In different positions, there are different thoughts and worries, which cannot be synchronized, so I am so clueless.

It is not only exhausting to speculate on other people's thoughts, but it is also impossible to think of anything. The wound on my chest is already tormenting me enough. I don't want to have a headache again, because the pain will overwhelm me. I leaned on the cloth bags behind me with my hands on my head. The old coachman beside me was silent, lowering his head and quietly driving his old friend, the old horse that had experienced countless hard work. We moved forward slowly on this winding and rugged dirt road, keeping the same speed as the soldiers in front.

“Gugugugu…”

The trumpeter Brice blew the horn to regulate the pace of the march. Andrew and the centurions beside him couldn't help but tighten their bags and belongings when they heard the horn sound, quickened their pace, and followed the footsteps closely.

(End of this chapter)