CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 48: MILITARY TRAINING

Crassus smiled faintly: "Sula, you have to understand, when buying a house, it’s best not to purchase it when the price is still decent. Wait until it hits rock bottom—then you’ll profit even more."

Little Sula immediately widened his eyes: "You... you think Valerius is going to fail?!"

"No one can predict the outcome of a war." Crassus glanced back at Valerius, who was passionately speaking with several Elders at the Senate’s gate, and said indifferently, "But when it comes to doing business, sometimes you need to dare to gamble. Even if I misjudge, it’s not like it’ll cost me anything."

Little Sula shrugged and said, "True. Spending time defeating a group of slaves that nobody cares much about is far less worthwhile than using that time to make more money."

Shifting the topic, he continued: "Have you heard? The Iberian campaign is progressing well. Pompey has already led his army to capture several rebel strongholds. That Sedulius isn’t as arrogant as he used to be."

Crassus’ expression changed momentarily but quickly reverted to normal. He sneered and said, "The Senate granted Pompey enormous support—he commands nearly a hundred thousand soldiers. To deal with the remnants of the Civilian Faction, it’s taken so long. What’s there to celebrate?"

After saying this, he continued walking forward, though a sense of urgency had begun to grow within him.

Little Sula deliberately lagged two steps behind, a smirk creeping onto his face: Haha, Crassus, for all your wealth, you still have things you can’t have your way with. After all, the land that you built your legacy upon has now become someone else’s training ground for cultivating followers and drilling troops—no one would feel comfortable about that!

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"Before you stands your enemy. They not only robbed you of your land, turning you into slaves, but now they also aim to take your lives! You must grip your swords tightly and slay them—only then will you avenge yourselves, understood?!" Flantinus barked loudly.

"Understood!!" The fully armed Guards shouted in unison as they struck the wooden stakes before them with wooden shields and clubs.

"Aim to strike the enemy’s exposed skin—hands and feet. Even the smallest injury can cause them pain and bleeding, weakening their strength and morale, giving you the upper hand... Always remember, when you wield your short sword, your long shield must cover you entirely. Otherwise, you’ll be struck down before you even land a blow on your enemy."

The Guards listened intently to Flantinus’ teachings. Their wooden clubs and shields were crudely crafted, yet heavier than real swords and shields. As they practiced stabbing, feinting, and charging against wooden stakes repeatedly, members of the military advisors group patrolled the training grounds, correcting their movements. Any soldier caught slacking off was immediately reprimanded and forced to do extra training, so hardly anyone dared to slack.

Flantinus watched the soldiers drenched in sweat. A trace of satisfaction flickered across his face. Over his decades-long career, he had trained countless recruits, and these soldiers’ dedication to training was by far the best he’d seen. Of course—it was no surprise. Slaves were always the most resilient and hardworking.

Flantinus’ gaze landed on Maximus, who was enduring the grueling exercises alongside the Guards. On the very first day of military training, this Supply Camp Captain (whose growing team prompted him to rename it from "Supply Team" to "Supply Camp") had requested to train just like an ordinary soldier. Initially, Flantinus had hesitated, worrying that Maximus might use favoritism and disrupt the discipline of the training.

But over the past three days, Maximus had consistently followed Flantinus’ commands and diligently fulfilled his requirements. His actions had a positive influence on the Guard soldiers, especially their captain, Fesaros, ensuring that every one of Flantinus’ orders was executed smoothly—a great relief for him.

For this, Flantinus felt grateful. He understood that Maximus was helping solidify his authority. In truth, Maximus didn’t need to train with the wooden stakes, as such exercises were fundamental skills for gladiators.

"Time’s up. Wooden stake training is over!" Flantinus shouted, "Fall into formation!"

At his command, the soldiers concluded their training and, gripping their wooden shields and clubs, gathered in formation, panting heavily. They lined up in two columns, with Maximus and Fesaros standing at the forefront. Achieving this deceptively simple formation had taken repeated practice to perfect.

"March around the camp at a steady pace." Flantinus took the lead immediately after speaking.

Maximus and Fesaros exchanged a glance and led the group, closely following behind him.

Since the rebel army had seized supplies from the Roman Army, their reserves were now plentiful. These past few days, they hadn’t needed to send out troops for raids, instead dedicating all their efforts to military training. The various battalions spread out around the camp, clearing trees and crops that obstructed the drills. Dust swirled as shouts filled the air everywhere.

As the Guards marched through the training grounds, they inevitably drew some peculiar looks: "Is it really necessary for such a small unit like the Guards to train?"

"I don’t think so. They should just keep those women in check. Battles are our job; we’re the ones protecting them."

"Hey, watch your mouth! Be careful! If they report back, those women in the Medical Team might refuse to tend to us if we get hurt."

"Right, right, you’re absolutely correct."

...

The murmurs reached the ears of the Guards, but despite their frustration, none of them argued back. They knew better than to waste energy on verbal disputes during this armed march. Maintaining neat formation was essential, and the pace, though slow, required focus. Falling out of step or lagging behind would incur punishment in the form of extra training from Flantinus, so even Maximus and Fesaros pressed on silently. By the time they returned to their initial training spot, the fatigue in their arms had mostly subsided.

"Start shield collision training!" Flantinus commanded. Paired soldiers faced off, gripping their wooden shields. They rammed into each other; whoever was forced backward would lose. Losing three consecutive rounds meant punishment, while winners gained precious rest time. The soldiers spared no effort in this exercise.

Both the wooden stake and shield collision training were aimed at honing individual combat skills for battles fought in formation. Prolonged use of the heavier wooden shields and clubs helped strengthen soldiers, ensuring ease and agility when wielding real swords and shields on the battlefield, thereby boosting their confidence.

After the collision training, another march around the camp ensued. This wasn’t just to prepare the soldiers for long-distance marches; it also taught them how to relax while marching, as the next item on the agenda was agility training, which demanded higher intensity.

In Flantinus’ initial training plan, the third stage of individual drills involved heavy spears. However, given the rebel army’s current situation, the battalions wouldn’t have sufficient heavy spear supplies for some time, not to mention the Guards. Hence, this stage was temporarily skipped.

The third individual drill focused on agility training, crucial for heavily armored soldiers needing to scale ladders and overcome barriers.

The military advisors constructed a training course, placing a wooden bar between two wooden stakes, at an adult’s knee height. Soldiers were required to leap over the bar while running. Though seemingly easy, wearing helmets and breastplates made it much harder. Even those who succeeded often lost their balance, falling to the ground. The uneven surfaces inside their armor left bruises in their wake. Over these past few training days, nearly every soldier except Maximus and Fesaros had developed significant bruising.

By now, the soldiers had grown accustomed to the drill. This time, none of them stumbled. Just as they began to feel relieved, the military advisors increased the number of wooden bars on the course, requiring the soldiers to leap continuously without interruption.