For the Glory of Rome: Chronicles of an Isekai'd Legion
B2 Chapter 23: Best Laid Plans

Tiberius watched the ambush begin from afar, his [Keen Eye] skill allowing him to observe the action from several miles back. Getting the skill to this point had been… interesting, to say the least. Tiberius had never thought that looking at faraway things was something one could train in, but here he was. And he certainly wasn’t going to complain about the results.

The somewhat messy snake of the enemy column halted suddenly, then began to writhe in panic as a hail of throwing spears filled the sky above them from either side. Commanders’ faces twisted in surprise, then horror as they shouted commands that didn’t reach Tiberius’s ears. Given the terror writ plain on most of the obviously green soldiers’ faces, he doubted the words reached them, either.

The spears slammed into the opposition’s forces with the wrath of an angry god. Wooden hafts protruded from the ground and torsos alike as the weapons tore through the ranks indiscriminately. A decent number of men were able to dodge the incoming projectiles or defend themselves with shields. These spears did not have quite the same piercing power as a pila did, unfortunately.

Still, the opening salvo left a swath of desolation in its wake. It was as though a deadly forest had suddenly sprung from the ground.

Then, all at once, it disappeared.

Blood rushed from the now open wounds of men who had been pierced through with the spears, watering the ground below. Nourishing it for the second wave of spears to take root.

Tiberius watched on impassively as another volley of spears slammed into the reeling army from both sides. What commanders still remained continued to scream, but the soldiers were slow to obey. The ones that didn’t flee outright turned toward the lines of Legionnaires that had appeared atop the hills and charged. Yet their charge was not a cohesive one. Each man fought his own private battle among a sea of others.

The “charge” crashed against the Legion’s shield wall like a wave breaking against rock. The second and third ranks layered their shields over those of the first to completely encase their men in a shell, its gaps filled by the long spears that they’d once more recalled to their hands. Even as the enemy drew near, their numbers continued to be culled by additional waves of spears and even sling stones from those men whose spears had broken or failed to return.

As the enemy finally gathered enough men against the shield wall, the shield-bearing Legionnaires stepped forward as one, slamming their shields into the attackers. They slid their gladii in and out of the stunned men, taking out the first rank in an instant all along their line.

If the enemy wasn’t already panicked, they certainly were now. Seeing their comrades run through, the second wave skidded to a halt and tried to retreat, unwilling to feed themselves to the Legion’s meat grinder. Yet the men behind them continued forward and left them nowhere to go.

The two groups of enemy forces, those pressing forward in a disorganized mob and those fleeing with similar levels of coordination, formed a chaotic riptide that continued to suck attackers into the slowly advancing blades of the Legion as the two flanking walls slowly began to close in. The press of bodies made it difficult for the enemies to even find space to swing their swords

Tiberius nodded in approval. Everything was going according to plan. The weaker, more inexperienced forces were being taken care of with brutal efficiency. Soon, they’d pull back to regroup, then wipe out the more experienced ones with the full force of their numbers.

Things were moving along just as they’d hoped.

Until they weren’t.

***

Sharath saw what was coming an instant before the first spear flew. It was earlier than the others, but not by enough. Her focus had been so completely on the road before her that they had walked into the ambush completely blind.

She screamed a warning, calling for the men to take cover or dodge or do what they could to avoid the attack. The sound of creaking armor reached her ears as the soldiers arrayed across the hills stood and readied themselves.

And then, it was too late.

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The commanders bolstered the conscripts’ morale and confidence as best they could, meaning the results were better than they potentially could have been. After all, they could have all turned tail and ran immediately. But these “soldiers” had never done more than basic drills as part of a militia to defend a small city or town, and it showed.

The inexperienced men flailed as the stone-faced Legionnaires moved like automatons. Their practiced assault slaughtered ten or twenty percent of the baron’s forces in an instant. And then they kept going.

“Well, that’s interesting.”

Sharath whirled to find Lenny standing behind her, fingers laced casually behind his head. He watched the slaughter of the baron’s forces with an almost amused expression.

“I thought for sure they were just gonna charge or something boring like that. But this?” He continued, gesturing toward the lines of armored warriors clad in red tunics and metal armor. “This is way better. And where did they get that many enchanted spears? There isn’t even an enchanter’s academy on this side of the country.”

“Is this really the time to be asking that?” Sharath scowled, scanning her surroundings for threats. “We need to handle this.”

“Do we? But we’re learning so much by watching.”

Sharath stared at the [Scout], who simply shrugged. “What? That’s what the peasants are for, right? The longer they fight, the more info we get, and the better prepared we are to handle things.

In a way, the man was right. The conscripts weren’t here for their fighting ability, as much as the baron seemed to think they’d be able to actually do something against the Legion. No, they were the rank-and-file meant to stand in the way while the real fighters did their work. But still…

“So you just want to, what? Sit back and watch as they get massacred?”

“It’s called intel gathering. You should try it sometime. Besides, it’s only practical. It’s the most useful thing they can really do. I mean, look at them. Not like any of them are accomplishing much as fighters, even against level twos.”

Her expression darkened. “Whose side are you even on?”

“Mine, obviously. Who else’s?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but paused as she realized something. Level twos? Last time she’d checked, the army was level one.

The realization shouldn’t have phased her. What difference did it make at? But for some reason, it sent a spike of cold fear through her gut. Not that she’d admit it to the [Scout].

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the matter at hand. “Well, I’m going to fight. Even if just to hurt these fuckers.”

“Yeah? Seems like they’re wiling to accommodate.”

Lenny nodded over her shoulder, where a group of the soldiers were peeling off to form a wall between the pair and the vanguard. Even as Sharath looked, she saw a streak whistle through the air to pierce through a pair of soldiers, sending them to the ground in heaps.

Lenny casually hefted a small crossbow over his shoulder. “I suppose I can join you. I should probably get back to my party, anyway.”

Sharath nodded, drawing her daggers as the [Scout] leaped into the air. His bolts rocketed forward in a deadly arc, each one’s impact accompanied by an explosion. The assault tossed a dozen Legionnaires into the air and onto their backs, tearing a hole in their line.

Sharath smiled with grim satisfaction. These fools didn’t know what they’d gotten themselves into.

***

Quintus heard rather than saw the instant that the Legion’s fortunes changed. That single individual’s attack left the line of Legionnaires looking like a collection of trebuchets had fired on them. Yet it had come so suddenly and without warning. There had been no time to prepare or do anything more than brace.

He could feel the rising fear of his men, the sensation exacerbated by the cold lances of death that pierced their guts with every fallen Legionnaire. But despite that, the remainder of the line held. Quintus felt his heart swell with pride at that. Though it could not last for much longer. Which meant it was time to leave.

“Pull back!” He shouted, disseminating the order all the way down the line. He signalled across the valley and saw that the other officer followed suit. All of the men responsible for strengthening the men with auras and buffs immediately acted, switching from a focus on constitution and strength to ones granting agility and movement speed. As quickly as they had appeared, the Legion had disengaged, leaving nearly half of the opposing force down in their wake.

They crested the hills and disappeared behind them before the enemy could reengage and quickly followed their paths of retreat, regrouping as they did. Quintus saw a few men hurrying along with wounded as others covered their backs.

A quick glance behind him revealed that they needn’t be worried about the army regrouping. More than half of them were already sprinting down the road from where they’d come, many having left their weapons behind in their hurry.

However, Not everyone had fled. Five figures in particular were approaching the Legion where it was regrouping. They moved almost lazily, seemingly unconcerned about the vast difference in numbers.

Quintus grimaced, recognizing one as the man that had launched the overwhelming attack earlier. These were the elite troops they had been warned about. It seemed that they were about to learn what a high-level individual was capable of, for better or for worse.