Chapter 123 Agrippina
Andrew actually slowly opened his eyes and looked at me, although he said nothing. This was really an exciting move! It proved that he was still alive and he was fine.
Andrew looked even paler at this moment. It seemed that letting him suffer in the cold on the boat was the stupidest decision I had ever made.
"Well, are you sure it's him?"
The soldier next to the carriage asked me and took the rough cloth from my hand. I nodded, and at the same time, I saw him quickly covering Andrew's back with the rough cloth and complaining unhappily: "He is a seriously injured person, and the air here may infect his wound at any time."
I deeply agree with what he said, but I still feel a little bit unbelievable because I didn't expect to meet Andrew in this place.
"Well, now you shouldn't be perfunctory anymore."
The mercenary leader came up behind me and asked me, I turned around and said nothing, just nodded. The mercenary secretly raised his mouth slightly and waved his hand, and the soldier behind me who was originally responsible for escorting me immediately understood and stepped forward to grab the rope between my hands.
Now I have no complaints when they lead the way for a walk. I follow them obediently. Although I am tied up, I feel much more secure when I walk.
The group was silent. The only sounds along the way were the sounds of horse hooves, wheels and people's footsteps. No one was willing to bring up a topic for everyone present to discuss. Perhaps, they had been together for too long and there was nothing much to talk about.
Walking along the bumpy path, within 400-500 meters, we came out of the forest which seemed very large. In the sunshine, we followed the path to the end, where there was curling smoke from cooking. When we got closer, we saw a town surrounded by the forest.
"We are almost there. Agrippina is the last town in the Belgian Gaul province of the Empire that has not yet fallen."
Standing on the abrupt mound, the mercenary looked at the town within his sight, and his words became heavier. This place was far enough from the battlefield, and it might be because the wind was against him, so the stench would not drift over. He also proudly pulled down the cloth covering his mouth and nose and took a deep breath of fresh air.
"How long have you been guarding?"
I stood behind him and asked him, it is really hard to imagine that they are in such an isolated place with no one coming to rescue them. Maybe the country has forgotten them. But it doesn’t matter. They only work for money, so it is the same no matter where they are.
"How long? A long time."
This guy looked like he had lost his soul, especially after hearing my question. He supported himself with his lance on the ground, stroked his forehead, was absent-minded for a moment, and then straightened the round leather hat on his head.
"Let's go. It's not safe outside. The Bagoda elements may attack us at any time."
The mercenary leader didn't seem to want to say a word to me about them. He carried my lance and asked the soldier who was in charge of leading me to follow. The team only stopped for a short time and immediately got on the road. The bumpy dirt road under my feet hurt my feet. Fortunately, the town was not like a mirage that was always far away in the sky.
As the distance got closer, Agrippina, located on the border of the empire, became larger and larger, and the details became clearer and clearer.
As expected of the Empire's last fortress in the Belgian province of Gaul, after having experienced successive attacks by the Bagaudaeans, the traces of fire and the ruins destroyed by stones on the city walls were displayed before me without reservation.
"No one knows how long we can hold out, and no one knows how much patience the Bagaudas will have with us."
The elderly mercenary leader always spoke out before I asked any questions. Maybe he just wanted to talk to someone, but he didn't want to listen to others asking him questions. People are contradictory. They hate to answer questions, but they also want to talk.
This time I was smart and didn't ask him questions consciously. Instead, I listened quietly to what he wanted to say next.
"Well, stranger, let me ask you a question."
For the first time, this guy clearly didn't want to talk to me, but he turned around and asked me, and before I could nod my head, he said, "You said you were an officer of the Empire, so why are you here? Also, your Marshal Aetius once claimed that he would recover all the lands lost by the Empire in Gaul, so why haven't they come yet?"
"You're scared? Am I right?"
“Answer my question!”
Seeing that this guy was about to get angry again, I had to reach out and try to calm this grumpy guy. I really couldn't understand it. This guy was almost a grandfather, and I had no choice but to obey.
"Okay, okay, I'll answer, I'll answer!"
I lowered my head to organize my thoughts, and slowly replied, "First, my origins. To be honest, you may not believe it. My companions and I were thrown into the river and then drifted here. Second, Marshal Aetius is indeed trying hard, but you also understand that the enemy is not just a group of ignorant barbarians as you think. They are more difficult to deal with than we thought. It was only a few days ago that we defeated the Burgundians who blocked our way."
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
"What? Defeated the Burgundians!"
The mercenary leader's eyes lit up after hearing this, like a man trapped in a quagmire of despair who suddenly saw a hand reaching out to him. At this moment, he approached me like this, and his voice began to tremble with excitement: "Are you saying that the Burgundians who stood between us were really defeated by Aetius? Do you swear?"
"It wasn't Aetius who defeated them!" I said righteously, "It was thousands of Roman soldiers who defeated them, and I was also involved in it. Together with my soldiers, I kicked those damn Burgundians into the river."
"Great! Great!"
This old guy was as happy as a child at the moment. He paced happily on the spot, and kept repeating in his mouth like a repeater: "It's saved, it's saved, it's saved!"
"You're scared!"
He ignored me. After hearing this seemingly great news, he ordered the team to speed up.
Approaching the dilapidated gate of Agrippina, the soldiers guarding the city were as tattered and exhausted as the city walls.
There is no signal on the train. Sorry, I'm too busy at work.
(End of this chapter)