Chapter 91: The Son of Vulcanus

Chapter 91: The Son of Vulcanus

The region that Rome called Gaul was vast.

Even excluding the northern part of Italy, known as Gallia Cisalpina, it encompassed the entire area of modern France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany west of the Rhine.

This immense land was naturally home to many tribes and people.

An exact estimate is impossible, but most scholars agree that there were more than five or six million inhabitants.

There were large tribes with over a hundred thousand members, such as the Haedui and the Nervii, scattered throughout Gaul, and if the smaller tribes were included, there were nearly a hundred tribes in various places.

The Romans divided the tribes living in Gaul into three categories.

The first was Gallia Comata, meaning “long-haired Gauls”, the second was Aquitani, and the third was Belgae.

During the Republic era, most of Gaul was uncultivated land, with more forests and marshes than farmland.

But as befitting a region that would later become Europe’s largest grain producer, it had a mild climate and abundant water sources, making it a good place for people to live.

On the other hand, Germania, located east of Gaul, had an unfavorable climate and terrain, making it difficult to obtain food easily.

Therefore, whenever they lacked food, the Germans frequently crossed the Rhine and plundered Gaul.

If the Gallic tribes had united as one, they would not have been easily overrun by the Germans, but Gaul never had such unity.

Rather, they tended to attack other tribes suffering from the Germans and expand their own power.

And the other Gallic tribes that lost in the power struggle appealed to the Germans for help and sought to regain their territory.

In this situation, the Germans were able to expand their influence in eastern Gaul without any hindrance.

Especially Ariovistus, who received the title of friend of Rome from Caesar, became stronger day by day.

Originally, the title of friend of Rome meant “you are under Rome’s control, so don’t behave recklessly”.

But Ariovistus took this title as a recognition of his power by Rome.

With no fear, he continued to attack the Gauls, and eventually the Gallic peoples who could not bear it began to flee westward.

Even the Sequani tribe that had initially invited him was overwhelmed by his momentum and became subordinate to him.

The Helvetii tribe that lived in present-day Switzerland was no different.

Their territory was originally surrounded by the Alps and Roman provinces, making it difficult to expand their territory.

When they faced a powerful branch of the Germans, the Suebi tribe, they found it hard to even maintain their existing territory.

Finally, they decided to invade Brittany in western Gaul and take over that area.

Of course, this area was not ownerless. The Santones and Pictones tribes had been living there for a long time.

But the Helvetii did not care and diligently prepared for invasion.

To strengthen their resolve, they burned down all 12 cities and 400 villages where they had originally lived.

Finally, they finished their preparations and started their migration by gathering some minor tribes nearby.

The total number of people including non-combatants was over 350 thousand.

The number of warriors who could fight exceeded 90 thousand.

When Caesar and Marcus arrived at the scene after receiving this news, the Helvetii had already reached near the Roman province.

But Marcus knew this situation would happen and had already finished assembling his legion.

Caesar thought this was not enough and immediately gave an order.

“We need to form two more legions urgently. As soon as they are formed, order them to come up north.”

“Do we need permission from the Senate?”

“In case of emergency, a commander can decide on his own and get permission later. This is one of those urgent situations.”

Caesar did not wait for the new legions to be formed and headed for the Rhone valley with four legions already prepared.

Marcus followed behind him with one legion he had formed with his own money.

The Helvetii were confused when they saw 30 thousand Roman soldiers in total with five legions.

They outnumbered them by three times in terms of combatants only, but their opponents were regular Roman legions.

They could not predict how much damage they would suffer if they faced them directly.

And their goal was not to fight with Rome but to migrate to western Gaul.

They became desperate and sent an envoy to Caesar first to request mediation.

“Our goal is simply to migrate eastward to avoid the Suebi tribe. O merciful governor of Rome, we will never cause any trouble. Please allow us to pass through your province. We will return south after passing through here.”

“Well... You know that the place you are going to already has an owner, right? Did the Santones or Pictones tribes beg you to come and live with them?”

“No, but...”

“Then you are planning to attack them and take their land.”

“Isn’t it natural for tribes to fight each other? Rome has not been actively involved in these issues so far, as far as we know.”

“That would be true for ordinary fights. But it’s a different story if you try to drive out the original inhabitants and take their place. If the tribes that are driven out by you are pushed to other places, there will naturally be chaos there, and this chain could spread throughout Gaul.”

The envoy’s face darkened. If they could not pass through the Roman province, they had no choice but to block their way westward.

It was a short distance, but this route had the strongest tribes in Gaul, the Haedui and the Sequani.

“Is your answer a refusal, Governor?”

“Normally, it would be, but I’ll consider your plight this time. However, even as a governor, I can’t make such a grave decision on my own. I’ll hold a meeting to decide, so come back in two weeks.”

“Thank you. We’ll leave with hope for a positive answer.”

As the Helvetii envoy left the camp, Marcus, who had been watching from the side, chuckled and asked.

“Shall I order the army to build a fortress?”

“As expected, you’re quick to understand. It saves me the trouble of explaining, which is very convenient.”

Caesar had no intention of holding a meeting.

No sane person would allow an immigrant tribe’s army to roam their territory.

The meeting was nothing but an excuse to buy time to prepare for the Helvetii invasion.

Marcus, who accurately read Caesar’s mind, immediately suggested a course of action.

“I’ll order them to build ramparts along the river and dig trenches. As soon as the two additional legions arrive, we’ll put them to work as well.”

There was almost no chance of being attacked on the arms due to the use of large shields by the Roman army.

The parts that were most hit by the Roman army were the shoulders that were exposed when attacking, the face, and the chest, which had the largest area on the body.

If they could protect these places perfectly, they would reduce their chances of falling on the battlefield by more than 90%.

Marcus pointed out one of the centurions who always showed distrust towards him.

“You there, your name is Rabius, right? Show us an example yourself.”

“Me? What should I do?”

“Just use your weapon with all your strength and hit that armor. If you can pierce it, I’ll give you 100 denarii as a prize.”

“Really? You’ll give me 100 denarii just for breaking that armor?”

“Of course.”

Rabius didn’t hesitate and drew his weapon. No matter how strong the armor was, it would be pierced if he put his weight on it and swung his weapon with full force.

He thought he had made an easy 100 denarii and charged forward.

He put all his weight on his favorite gladius and struck with all his might.

Clang!

“Ouch!”

He lost his balance and staggered with a dull pain in his wrist. He couldn’t believe it.

The other soldiers and centurions who watched this scene also opened their mouths wide.

Sometimes they couldn’t cut through lorica hamata with a sword.

But they never saw a sword bounce off like this.

Rabius’s beloved gladius was broken as if it had hit a huge rock.

On the other hand, the armor he hit was intact without even a scratch.

“What, what is this...”

“Are you giving up on 100 denarii?”

Rabius shook his head vigorously and pulled out a javelin.

He threw it hard after running with full force. The javelin hit the chest of the plate armor precisely.

Clang!

This time too, a sharp metallic sound echoed and the javelin bounced off helplessly.

The steel plate on the chest was not scratched at all.

Instead, only the blade part of the javelin that flew away was shattered.

Rabius opened his mouth wide with a haunted expression.

“How is this possible? What did you make that armor out of...”

“Do you believe me now? Well, if anyone else can break that armor, I’ll keep my promise and give them a reward. Any volunteers?”

As soon as Marcus finished speaking, the soldiers raised their hands.

“I’ll do it!”

“Me too!”

“Please give me a chance!”

Many soldiers had tried to pierce the iron plate, but none of them succeeded.

Marcus brought a new type of gladius made of steel.

He had considered using a longer spatha at first, but he decided that changing to an unfamiliar weapon without proper training was too risky.

Marcus detached the iron plate armor and slashed the lorica hamata, the chainmail armor that the Roman soldiers usually wore, with the new gladius.

With a crisp sound, the chains of the lorica hamata were torn apart like strings.

It was a phenomenon caused by the significant difference in the basic strength of iron and steel.

The expressions of the soldiers and the centurions who witnessed this amazing sight changed completely from before.

Especially the faces of the centurions who had been to the battlefield several times were filled with horror and shock.

Marcus, who enjoyed the soldiers’ reactions with satisfaction, closed the distance between him and them by one step.

“Now, do you believe what I said?”

Lucius, who recovered from the shock first, stuttered and opened his mouth.

“Sir, legion commander. Do you mean that we can wear that armor in this campaign?”

“Of course. Why else would I show you this demonstration? I haven’t secured enough quantity to supply to the entire legion, but I plan to provide new armor and weapons to all the soldiers who are deployed in the front line.”

A murmur spread among the soldiers who were lined up.

Especially the legionaries who stood in the front line cheered and clapped openly.

“Hooray for Marcus, the legion commander!”

“The son of Vulcan!”

The Romans thought that armor that could not be broken by swords or spears was a weapon that only appeared in myths they heard when they were young.

But such a weapon appeared in reality, and they thought they could wear it, so they couldn’t help but get excited.

In the eyes of the soldiers, Marcus looked like a descendant of Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking who made weapons for the gods.

The most competent commander on the battlefield is someone who can reliably take responsibility for the lives of his soldiers.

And Marcus presented that means in a concrete form in front of his legionaries.

There was no more convincing evidence than armor that could prevent them from dying even if they were stabbed by a sword.

Not only ordinary soldiers, but even centurions put away their doubts about Marcus.

There was no way that someone who had prepared so thoroughly would drive his legion into a dead end.

Marcus succeeded in winning over the hearts of his legion in just one day out of the two weeks that Caesar had given him.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he listened to the enthusiastic cheers of his spirited soldiers.

<End of Chapter 91. The Son of Vulcan>