Chapter 194 Head-on Confrontation
Seeing the blood and the wounded lying on the ground struggling and wailing, the soldiers naturally could not bear the fear of being so close to death.
"Don't panic, hold on! Hold on!" The centurions were all hoarse from shouting, and all of them clenched their teeth, curled up, and hid their entire bodies behind their shields. The archers were now at the back of the first formation, fighting back under the rain of arrows, but the horse archers were too agile, they were like ghosts running back and forth in the dust, and unless they were hit by dense arrows, they really couldn't hurt them at all.
"For the glory of the empire! Do not retreat, hold on! Hold on!"
Shouting again and again, all the officers tried to stabilize the soldiers who were struggling to hold on. But shouting alone was useless, as they were severely suppressed behind their shields by the crossbows of the Sassanid cavalry archers.
"Hoo, hoo, safe, safe!"
Andrew collapsed on the chariot as if he had fainted. He curled up and leaned his head on a solid iron railing in front of the chariot, breathing heavily. Theodosius II lay on the floor of the chariot, motionless, staring blankly at the arrow stuck in front of his eyes. If it weren't for the fact that his breathing was rising and falling, one would really think that he was dying! Now he was still in shock and hadn't recovered. Andrew was still worried, so he reached out and lifted the shield that was still on Theodosius II, and then looked up and down at Theodosius's whole body.
"It's okay! There's not a single wound!"
Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that if Augustus was injured at this time, he might face the crime of dereliction of duty for failing to provide timely protection.
Theodosius II was indeed terrified. He lay on the floor motionless, letting the shouts of killing fill his ears. The right half of his face pressed against the floor felt sticky and a little warm. What was that? Theodosius II was actually struggling with this. He didn't dare to move, fearing that the liquid was flowing from his face. Augustus had hurt his face in a hurry, which was indeed a shame. Moreover, he had never felt the taste of being stained with blood. He was lying in a pool of blood, but why didn't he feel any pain at all? Could it be that his soul was slowly leaving his body? The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. He trembled all over, and not a single tear came out of his eyes.
"Marcus, what's wrong with you?"
Suddenly, Theodosius II heard Andrew's startled question. He turned his eyes and saw Andrew squatting beside him. Andrew stared at the back of his head, his eyes wide open in surprise, his mouth wide open. He didn't seem to be joking. Was he serious? Did Marcus really have an accident? Theodosius II didn't care about the blood on his face and turned around quickly. Unexpectedly, he finally didn't have to worry about the "wound" on his face at this time, because the blood was not his at all.
Theodosius II found the source of the pool of blood, which was Marcus. He held the crossbar of the chariot tightly with his left hand to support himself from falling, and covered his neck with his left hand, but the blood kept flowing down through his fingers, forming a pool of blood at his feet. The face of Theodosius II was stained with this pool of blood.
Marcus turned his head away, so Theodosius II and Andrew could not see his face.
"Marcus!" Theodosius II realized the seriousness of the situation. He could not just sit back and watch his loyal servant being so seriously injured. He got up from the floor and patted Marcus on the back. But who would have thought that just that light touch would have a far more powerful effect. Marcus, the strong and tough man, fell to the ground and lay beside Theodosius!
"ah!"
Theodosius II was terrified. The moment Marcus fell, the blood from his wound splashed on Theodosius' face. Only then did Theodosius II see Marcus' face and the arrow stuck in his neck. Marcus lost the strength to stand, but he still held the arrow on his neck tightly with his hand, trying to keep it stable so that the iron arrowhead deeply inserted into his neck would not stir and further increase his pain.
"Marcus! Marcus!"
Theodosius called out his faithful servant's name over and over again and placed his hands on Marcus' chest. Marcus' wound was still bleeding bright red. He was at a loss and looked around, but could not think of any way to treat him.
Marcus lay on the ground, his eyes filled with tears, clearly filled with fear, the fear of death! He looked at Theodosius II, grabbed his sleeve with his right hand, as if he was about to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, bright red blood gushed out of his mouth like hot magma, instantly dyeing Marcus a bloody man.
"Andrew, Andrew, you are the personal bodyguard appointed by Augustus of the Western Empire. Tell me, tell me how I can save him. Tell me, tell me quickly!" Theodosius II was very anxious. He turned around and yelled at Andrew, but Marcus was so seriously injured that he was helpless. He watched Marcus' blood gushing out from the wound on his neck and mouth. Theodosius II was completely panicked. He was Augustus, who was high above everyone else. How could he know folk medicine?
"He is doomed, Caesar!" Andrew showed surprising calmness at this time. He silently looked at Marcus lying in a pool of blood, and spoke to Theodosius II word by word.
"Where is Caesar? Where is our Caesar?" This was the question in the hearts of every officer and soldier in the Roman army. They were struggling to hold on, and people were constantly shot and fell. The Roman cavalry could only stay put without the emperor's order. Although their cavalry commander led them, Augustus was the supreme commander. Without his order, they dared not act rashly and could only watch the Roman infantry struggling to hold on under the ravages of the archers. Similarly, the Sassanid archers were not much better. The archers of the Eastern Empire were aiming arrows at them without caring about the losses. But at this moment, the sound of horse hooves in the dust gradually faded away, and the arrows stopped.
"Woo woo woo"
A series of short and rapid trumpet sounds rang out on the other side of the dust, not giving the Roman soldiers of the first array a chance to breathe, or even to think about what was going on.
The Sassanid attack horn, although no one knew what the attack horn was, it was just that more and more horse hoof sounds appeared in the gradually dispersing dust, like a rushing flood, getting closer and closer.
"Defense! Defense! Shield wall, shield wall formation!"
The battle-hardened centurions immediately sensed the danger and called on the soldiers behind them to gather together.
The dust seemed to be blown away by a strong wind. What appeared in front of them was the Sassanid armored cavalry, hundreds and thousands of them, like a black torrent, roaring forward! The Romans were too late. In a blink of an eye, a large number of Sassanid armored cavalry formed a diamond formation that had existed in the Parthian era, and used their sharp spears to try to break through and tear apart the imperial army. They kicked the horses fiercely, and the horses neighed and sped up. They stood in front of the horses with their guns in both hands, and the guns pointed directly at the Romans in formation.
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"defense!!!"
"Boom boom boom"
I thought being shot at like raindrops of arrows was the most painful thing, but when the collision sounded at this moment, everyone realized that this was the real nightmare. Who would be willing to be hit hard by a weight of nearly 200 kilograms at a speed of 40 kilometers?
At that moment, countless soldiers were knocked down and trampled by horses, the neighing of horses, the screams of the wounded, the roars of soldiers. The sounds that should have been heard on the battlefield intertwined together, accompanied by bloodshed and sacrifice. The cavalrymen on horseback dropped their broken lances and drew out their maces and swords, spurring their horses forward, waving their weapons and mercilessly killing the Romans below.
"Go for it! Stick to them and don't let them get away! Quick!"
The sword-wielding field legion infantry spontaneously joined the fierce battle. Their goal was clear, which was to use human wave tactics to delay the Sassanid armored cavalry who were trapped in the crowd and had no way to charge forward.
"Our Caesar, what is he doing!" Everyone still had this question. At this time, they still had not heard the instructions from Theodosius II!
(End of this chapter)