Chapter 580 Attack
At dusk, along the southern bank of the Rhine, two riders were running along a secluded path all the way east, because they received a bridge over a branch of the Rhine that led to the north, where the soldiers stationed were attacked.
They were both dressed lightly, wearing green cloaks, with the hilts of the swords at their waists faintly visible. Yes, they were both from the garrison in Strasbourg southeast of the Rhine, serving as scouts. They came here just to find out whether the news was true or just groundless.
"Hurry up, young man. We must get real news as soon as possible to see if the rumored bridge was attacked is true." The two scouts were led by an elderly man.
"Oh my God, this thing is not far from us." The young scout who was following closely behind said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
It was late summer and approaching autumn, and the banks of the Rhine were still a bit hot, completely devoid of the murderous cold of previous years.
No matter how severe the weather is, it can never be a reason for them to be negligent. After all, border attacks are never a trivial matter. The bloody past always reminds the Romans living south of the Rhine that the barbarians in the wilderness will sooner or later come back.
They endured the heat and rushed along the way without daring to stop, until they arrived at the bridge marked on the map at noon the next day.
The smell of corruption in the air became increasingly strong, causing the scouts to cover their noses.
But at this moment, I saw a black shadow flashing before my eyes. It was so fast that I had no time to react. My eyes didn't see it clearly, but my ears could hear it clearly: "Tap, tap, tap..."
The warhorse was also frightened by the sudden move. Fortunately, the old scout had been a rider for many years and was best at staying on the frightened horse's back. He clamped his legs tightly around the horse's belly and held the reins tightly with both hands, as if he had merged with the warhorse that was constantly tossing and turning trying to break free, until the neighing warhorse calmed down a little.
“Calm down, calm down!”
The old scout kept stroking the horse's neck, trying to calm it down. Strangely enough, the warhorse seemed to understand what the old scout meant and actually stopped struggling after his comfort.
But the young scout was not so lucky. He was so shocked by the sudden flash of the black shadow that he could not even come to his senses, let alone control the horse under him.
The horse kept neighing and raising its front hooves frequently, throwing the young scout off its back. The scout, who fell to the ground, still held the horse's reins tightly in his hands, but it was of no avail. The frightened horse turned around and ran, dragging the poor guy for more than 20 meters.
The young man finally let go of the reins, unable to bear the pain. The horse shook its head and tried to run back the way it came. But a horseman appeared from behind, grabbed the reins and pulled them so hard that the horse had to admit that it could not escape.
At this time, the young scout stood up and looked carefully. It turned out that the person who helped him control the horse was the old scout.
"I say, young man, if you lose this horse, I'm afraid you will not only have to run back, but also get a good beating with the whip."
"What on earth is that?" The young scout brushed the dust off himself and pulled the other one beside him, cursing, "Damn it! This was knitted for me by my mother herself."
"It's a wolf, a hungry wolf." The old scout said, pointing to the horse's back and said to the young scout: "Hurry up and get on before you are pounced on and dragged away by the wolf ambushed in the grass. We have more important things to do. I don't want to act alone."
"Okay, okay, oh my God, this journey is really a nightmare." The young scout complained, and finally climbed onto the horse and followed the old scout to continue forward.
As they got closer to their destination, they saw a mess before them.
The overturned carriage and the hollowed-out horses that had been dead for a long time were now being feasted on by several wolves, enjoying this effortlessly obtained meal.
Seeing two humans riding horses along the road, they seemed to be full and had no desire to fight, so when they saw the two men, they kept retreating, and kept roaring at them, showing their bloody fangs.
"Watch out! Watch out, boy!"
The old scout shouted, and drew out the iron sword from his waist, tightly grasping it in his hand. He stared at the wolves in front of him, and said to the young scout beside him: "Don't be afraid, stare into their eyes, these beasts have tasted this guy, they are afraid of us!"
How could the young scout hear such absurd comfort? He also trembled and drew out the iron sword, holding it tightly in his hand and shaking. Such fear was also natural. No one would not feel fear when seeing the wolf pack eating raw meat and drinking blood, precisely because of their own weakness.
However, at the moment, the wolves did not seem to have the desire to fight. They must have been full, and since they had no intention of attacking, they stayed tightly in front of the food, not letting the two scouts get close.
"Let's go, these beasts have no intention of attacking us." The old scout said, holding the iron sword tightly, slapping the horse's back with the sword, and spurring the horse forward along the road. The young scout followed closely behind, and at this time he was trembling like the warhorse under his crotch.
The young scout looked at the wolves' food and couldn't help but widen his eyes, because this might be the bloodiest thing he had ever seen since he was born.
The road was littered with human bones, all red with blood. The young scout even saw a naked woman lying on the grass without any cover. She must have suffered unimaginable violations in her life. She turned her head to look at the road, especially when the young scout appeared in front of her. Her lifeless eyes met eyes full of fear. It was like an electric shock, especially when she saw a spear piercing the woman's abdomen and stuck in the hard soil beneath her body.
The two wolves were enjoying the woman's body as if no one was around. They kept digging and tearing along the wounds caused by the spears, dragging out all the woman's internal organs and feasting on them.
This poor woman, although she had died long ago, her slightly opened eyes were still lifelike, and she was torn apart and swallowed by a pack of wolves.
“Woo!”
The young scout finally couldn't bear it anymore and vomited. The sound scared the already nervous warhorse, causing it to neigh and speed up, taking the young scout away.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Fortunately, the wolves did not chase them, allowing the two scouts to reach their destination. This place had long become a paradise for scavengers from the surrounding villages, but the traces of the attack remained unchanged.
"Oh my God, look, this is all done by the barbarians."
The first thing they saw was the human heads stuck on spears on both sides of the road. These heads came from civilians, vendors, and soldiers stationed there who happened to pass by at the time.
"There are three teams of people here (twenty-four people, eight people in one team), did they die just like that?" the young scout asked in confusion.
"This only proves that the attacking barbarians are more numerous and faster than them!"
Going further, you can see ragged scavengers searching for valuable items among the corpses on the ground. They make a living from war, and sometimes even secretly follow the army on expeditions just to loot corpses or intact armor and weapons after the battle, which can be sold for a good price.
"Hey, come here, there are people here!" Just like wolves guarding their food, this group of scavengers also had to guard their "food". They drove the two scouts away very rudely.
"Damn beasts, we are soldiers of Strasbourg!" Seeing the despicable appearance of these scavengers, the old scout roared loudly and suddenly drew out his iron sword, looking eager to give it a try.
This trick really worked. When the scavengers heard that they were Roman troops, they were scared and fled in all directions.
"Oh, my God, damn it, look at all the footprints on the ground." The old scout dismounted and pointed at the mess of horse hooves on the ground. At this time, he was attracted by a headless corpse on the side of the road with an arrow stuck in the corpse. He walked forward, pulled out the arrow, and looked at it carefully in his hand.
"Who are they?" asked the young scout.
"Huns." The old scout said calmly, but his tone was heavy enough. Just that one word made the young scout behind him tremble. They all knew what it meant.
(End of this chapter)