Rome Must Perish
Chapter 65 - 64: Anecdotes from the Barracks

Chapter 65: Chapter 64: Anecdotes from the Barracks

The sun was setting in the west, and the sunset cast a golden hue over the now quiet training ground, while the evening breeze rustled the green trees, bringing a refreshing coolness.

Most of the new recruits, who had been training for most of the day, were lying on the grass, enjoying the rare tranquility.

Tierks felt that every part of his body was sore and aching. He thought that having been a soldier before, he would be familiar with military training, but he realized it was a different story once the training began.

In the Pontus army, Tierks was a phalanx spearman, where formation was the most crucial aspect. Therefore, during his initial training, he spent long hours standing in formation and holding a spear, only later advancing with the team with the spear... He didn’t even need to practice thrusting because the spear wall formed by the phalanx was the most powerful weapon to block enemy attacks. As long as he knew how to maintain the formation and hold the spear for a long time, he was considered a qualified phalanx spearman.

But the military training here was different, as the rebel army completely imitated the Roman military system. The soldiers were trained following the model of the Roman Legion Soldier. Although formation was emphasized, it wasn’t as strict. Due to the requirement for close combat, there was a higher demand for individual combat ability. The first day’s training involved chopping wooden stakes and shield collision exercises, interspersed with small team formations and shield holding stances (which actually helped soldiers recover their strength).

The chopping wooden stakes exercise seemed simple, as it just involved striking the stakes with a stick. However, under Tierks’ supervision, the recruits had to make a loud noise with each strike, which required them to use all their strength. These stakes were quite solid, and the greater the force used, the greater the counter-shock, causing the recruits’ hands to go numb and their arms to ache. At the start of the training, they couldn’t hit many times before their palms couldn’t grip the stick anymore, and they had to rest before starting again.

If chopping wooden stakes only made hands ache and waist sore, then shield collision training made the whole body hurt. This was because they had to tense all their muscles and root their feet to withstand the opponent’s violent collision or exert all their strength to knock the opponent down...

Having been a soldier, Tierks understood without Tierks explaining that soldiers who hadn’t undergone such training would struggle to hold their swords during battle and drop them when weapons clashed, and shields would fail to hold up against collisions, losing their lives in a flash... However, understanding it didn’t make it any less excruciating... Tierks lay on the ground, not wanting to move.

"Don’t just lie there, get up, I’ll take you somewhere." Tierks’ voice sounded in their ears.

Tierks didn’t want to respond, but he couldn’t help asking, "Where to?"

"You’ll know when you get there." Tierks urged mysteriously, "We have to be quick before other squads beat us to it!"

The new recruits struggled to get up and saw that other squads were already assembling and heading towards the north of the training ground one after another.

After walking some way, Tierks and the others saw a small river ahead. Seeing soldiers from other squads jumping into the river with splashes, Tierks and his sweat-drenched companions got excited.

"Wait a minute!" Tierks shouted loudly, "Before you go down to bathe, remember two things! First, don’t drink the river water; it might make you sick. Second, scrub your dirty body clean, and wash your hair thoroughly. You’re soldiers now, not slaves, so you must look like soldiers, understand?!"

"Understood!!"

The new recruits jumped into the river, the icy water washing away the heat and soreness, bringing an unprecedented comfort, causing someone to exclaim, "So refre—aah!"

A splash of water hit his face; it was Tierks, the last one down the river, playing tricks.

Soon, with Tierks intentionally stirring things up, the new recruits forgot about the rank distinctions, laughing and mingling together.

After getting ashore, Tierks said seriously, "Those rags you’re wearing are all torn, stinky, and dirty. Don’t wear them anymore, leave them here. When we get back, put on the waistcoat issued to you; that’s what a soldier of the first squad of our Fifth Hundred-man Team should look like."

The new recruits had no objections and were not resistant to returning to camp bare-chested, as they often did this while working on the farm.

The new recruits followed Tierks back to the camp, changed into waistcoats, and then sat on the grass in their squad area to rest.

"Technically, we should be setting up the tent, the large tent for ten people that you saw upon entering the camp." Tierks sighed, "But unfortunately, with so many joining us lately, those leather tents are all gone, even the linen tents we made ourselves are gone. So we’ll have to make do for a few days, sleeping under the open sky; at any rate, it’s still quite warm now, so it’s actually cooler this way, right?"

As he finished speaking, Tierks broke in, "Captain, there’s no problem sleeping under the open sky. As slaves, we’ve always slept like this, but the issue now is that we’re hungry, when can we eat?"

"Yes, Captain, my stomach is growling, and I don’t have any strength left." Samoras added weakly.

"At this time, the kitchen should have already sent the food to the camp, but we have to wait for the soldiers in the squads ahead to get theirs first. We’ll just sit here and wait; it shouldn’t take long." Tierks reassured them.

"If we let the other squads take theirs first, will there be any food left for us by the time it’s our turn?" Samoras said worriedly. When it comes to food, his seemingly dull mind suddenly becomes sharp.

"Don’t worry; there might be shortages of other things, but not food here. Besides, the kitchen belongs to our Supply Camp and is so close; there’s no way you’ll go hungry." Seeing the new recruits sitting down imitating Samoras, clutching their stomachs and lying on the ground, Tierks couldn’t help but laugh and scold, "You guys drank a bowl of oily soup and ate a piece of bread at noon, surely you can’t be this hungry now!"

Tierks remained silent: indeed, he didn’t expect the Supply Camp to send food at noon as well. When he was in the Pontus army, it was always two meals a day; in this respect, a slave-formed army is actually doing better than a regular army of a kingdom!

"It’s because we ate at noon that we feel even hungrier now." Samoras replied gruffly.

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted, "The food delivery is here!"

The new recruits, previously groaning, immediately turned over, got up, and looked towards the west. They saw the camp gates open, allowing a cart to enter, followed by another, parking on the avenue in the First Hundred-man Team’s area. Then, the soldiers of the First Hundred-man Team quickly emerged from their tents, forming a long line orderly and proceeded to the cart one by one to collect dinner.

"See that, when it’s our turn, we need to line up like those veterans. Otherwise, if you don’t follow the rules and snatch recklessly, it would be a violation of the decree. Not only will you miss out on food, but you’ll also face punishment, so don’t do anything foolish!" As Tierks warned everyone, his eyes were on Samoras, not trusting this foolish boy much.

Samoras shook his head quickly in fright.

"But we are the first squad, when it comes to receiving dinner, we’ll be at the front of the line." Tierks reassured them again.

Due to the repeated reminders from the officers, whether they were soldiers of the newly formed Fourth or Fifth Hundred-man Teams, they were able to queue up automatically to receive food.

"Acronis Auntie, why did you come in person today?!" Tierks was surprised to see Acronis, the supply camp kitchen chief, standing by the cart.

"Today, so many new brothers joined our Supply Camp, and we had to prepare double the amount of food as before, making manpower a bit tight. Of course, I had to lend a hand, and also take a look; our camp is getting more lively!" Acronis said with a smile; she spoke lightly, but was actually concerned that the large number of new recruits might disrupt the order during food distribution, so she came personally to maintain order.