Chapter 223: Marcus’s Fury

Chapter 223: Marcus’s Fury

< 223. Marcus’s Fury >

The retreat of Bayatur’s army had an impact on the morale of the Hunnic army that was attacking Dalmatia.

The three Senior Warriors, who were already unable to break through the Roman army’s swift defensive posture, were bewildered by the withdrawal of Supreme Senior Warrior.

“Are you giving up the Greek region completely?”

“There was no way to defend Greece and Macedonia.”

Bayatur’s subordinate, Bartzar Gal, took this situation more seriously than anyone else.

Giving up Greece at the point of trying to enter the Roman mainland through Dalmatia was not just a matter of handing over one region.

“Supreme Senior Warrior, if we lose Greece, we won’t be able to keep Epirus either. And it’s dangerous to keep attacking the Roman army in front of us when our rear is completely blocked. If the Romans send up about 30,000 cavalry to Cenega Char right now, we’ll have no choice but to move our base to the north or east.”

Altan snorted as if it was not a problem.

“Then let’s just move it. Fighting in a castle is not our style anyway. We can just retreat for a while and then reclaim our position after driving out the Romans. What’s the problem?”

“Sigh... Think, you fool. To drive out the Romans, we have to either pull back our troops or at least divide our forces here. How can we continue to attack Dalmatia then? It’s meaningless to continue the operation when we’re sandwiched between hundreds of thousands of Roman troops on both sides.”

“So you want us to just go back to Cenega Char?”

“That’s the best option. We have no more time left since we lost everything up to Thrace and the Black Sea is also under the enemy’s influence. We can’t take away the naval supremacy from Rome with something like Bosporus.”

When Thrace was mentioned, Altan’s face darkened as if he was stung.

This time, even Bayatur did not side with Altan.

Losing a battle was rather tolerable as long as they did not suffer a one-sided defeat.

But if they were completely outmatched in strategy, they had a high chance of being annihilated without putting up a decent resistance.

Even if they tried to counterattack with tactics, it was useless if the enemy did not budge from their advantageous position.

Bartzar Gal’s voice, which calmly analyzed the situation, became increasingly bitter.

“Supreme Senior Warrior, if we had held on to Thrace a little longer, we could have bought some time to break through the way to the Roman mainland with our full strength. But now that we’ve lost Thrace like this because of the ridiculous decisions of the local chiefs, there’s no point in continuing this expedition. It would be... wise to retreat.”

“You mean we have to retreat from here as well as Greece...”

Bayatur muttered emptily.

He didn’t even have the energy to be angry because of the report that came yesterday.

Bartzar Gal was right.

The moment Thessalonica fell, it was a foregone conclusion that they could not hold Macedonia.Finnd new chapters on nove/lbin(.)com

The fall of Thrace was also inevitable sooner or later.

That’s why he pulled his army out and headed west to Dalmatia.

But he expected that at least the cities of Thrace would pretend to buy some time.

If they could buy him some time there, he could have achieved something meaningful with his main force.

But the report from the messenger who arrived yesterday was shocking.

The tribes that were defending the port cities of Thrace ran away north without even fighting the Roman army.

They thought they would be surrounded by the Romans advancing northward, or they were not confident in defending themselves.

He didn’t understand either.

Maybe it was both.

“If only they had fought and died gloriously, I wouldn’t have been so dumbfounded...”

It was pathetic that such words came out of Bayatur’s mouth, who cared more about his subordinates’ losses than anything else.

The other Senior Warriors bowed their heads as if they were ashamed even though it was not their story.

Altan, who did not show any different judgment from the other chiefs, looked like he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.

The story behind the incident that made Bayatur’s blood pressure soar beyond its limit was this:

As Thessalonica fell and Hunnic army withdrew westward, the Roman army naturally began to recapture the eastern cities.

The first target was Cavala, the port city closest to Thessalonica.

The Hunnic chief who was defending Cavala had never fought a siege in his life.

He glared at the Romans landing at the port and decided that it was too many enemies to fight inside the city.

“Fighting in the city, which we are not familiar with, can cause too much damage to our allies. We will abandon the defense and fight the enemy outside. We will retreat after inflicting enough damage.”

The soldiers, who had never defended themselves in their lives, followed the chief’s decision without any objection to leaving the city.

They did not think about what would happen if the Romans did not come out and fight.

Over the vast space that did not fit in his sight like a grassland on a plain, he saw Roman fleets pouring in like water.

“They’re landing at the port with ships. Then······.”

His head, which had been confident until a moment ago, turned blank.

No matter how hard he thought, he had never fought a battle involving water in Zhongyuan.

“They’re getting off their ships soon. What should we do?”

“···Uh, um······.”

“Chieftain! They’re starting to get off. Give us an order quickly!”

“Why do these damn Greeks and Romans build their major cities by the sea and drown themselves!”

The chieftain spat on the front wall that he had repaired with great care and gritted his teeth at his subordinates who were waiting for his command.

“How the hell do you expect me to stop the sea when I’ve spent my whole life fighting in the mountains. Listen up, everyone! This is not our fault. Grab your horses and treasures. We’re retreating to the north!”

That’s how the major cities with ports were all retreated without firing a single arrow at the Roman army.

Bayatur’s feelings when he heard this long report yesterday were indescribable.

Anger, disbelief, absurdity, anxiety, guilt, killing intent, and various emotions that could not be expressed by any combination of words swirled in his chest.

It was a confusing feeling, but contrary to that, what he had to do now was clear.

Bartzar Gal was right.

It was time to give up on the failure of the expedition and retreat.

He had still annihilated the Roman army, so he decided to wrap it up as a successful expedition on the surface.

Bayatur admitted his mistake in choosing people.

He vowed to show his results through battles from now on.

※※※

As the Hunnic army retreated, Caesar enjoyed the most satisfying feeling he ever had.

He had a headache from Sextus’ army being annihilated in the middle of the war, but he liked the final finish very much.

Not only did he push back the Hunnic army, but he also secured the defensive line on the Dalmatian side as his territory.

Politically, he also succeeded in perfectly unifying the populist senators under his faction.

Moreover, it was a great news that Marcus had absorbed all of Pompey’s foundations.

If the war ended like this, Rome’s power would be perfectly divided between Caesar and Marcus.

The balance of power would favor Marcus by 60 to 65 percent, but that was not important.

Anyway, it was just an excuse to oppose each other politically, and one grand plan was going smoothly.

At that moment, Surenas, Marcus’ confidant, came to Caesar himself on the Dalmatian side.

It was to share the grand strategy for the next move and coordinate their actions.

Caesar read the proposal and did not hide his honest admiration for the flawless plan.

“I like it. Is this your idea?”

“Marcus came up with the big picture. I just added some details to it.”

“A picture is not only about the sketch, but also about the colors. Depending on the colors, a masterpiece can become a failure. I’ve heard stories, but seeing it for myself makes me realize how good you are.”

“You flatter me.”

Surenas was confident even in front of Caesar, the ruler of the world.

He had impeccable manners and dignity, and more than that, he had a noticeable quality as a grand strategist.

Even for Caesar, he was a tempting talent.

If he had not been Marcus’ subordinate, he might have tried to capture him right away.

“But I have no complaints about this plan, but isn’t this a bit too much? It would be more politically useful to just hit them enough and draw a border.”

“Marcus thought so too. But he said he wouldn’t be satisfied unless he paid them back as much as he received. He gave us 200,000 blood, so we’ll give them at least twice as much damage. That’s the core of this operation. What do you say?”

If you make someone cry, you should be prepared to shed blood tears yourself.

It was a simple but effective slogan to incite people.

Caesar weighed the benefits and the situation before and after the action and nodded satisfactorily.

“Good, I’ll gladly join. Let’s make them pay for what they’ve done.”

< 223. Marcus’ Rage > End