CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 56 DEFEATING FURRIUS

The speed of advancement on both wings of the rebel army was the fastest, and their formation was more chaotic, as most of them were soldiers who joined the rebel army later, so they wore less armor and had been trained for a shorter period. The soldiers in the middle of the rebel army were fully armed. After two months of rigorous training, they could control their advance speed better and maintain a good formation... Therefore, when the rebel army was about to approach the Roman Formation, their entire front line, which was more than three times longer than the Roman Formation, turned into a winding semicircle. The middle of the rebel army faced the Roman Formation, with both wings extending like arms, ready to embrace the Roman Formation...

The Roman Soldiers, who had been bolstered by Furrius and prepared to face the enemy’s attack, looked at the increasingly close long enemy formation and listened to the thunderous roars from the opposite side, especially when they saw the fully armed enemies marching towards them face-first with terrifying faces and angry eyes... The Roman Soldiers felt apprehensive. After all, they had only been trained for two months and were still new recruits.

But before they could fully understand this first battle of their lives, the wings of the rebel army quickly closed in within thirty meters of the flanks of the Roman Formation.

Should the javelins be thrown or not?... Furrius was somewhat hesitant because if they threw them, then the enemies attacking from the front could charge without any scruples.

In fact, before he could give the order, the soldiers had already thrown their heavy spears one after another. Although their targets were too scattered, the rebel soldiers on both wings, due to their poor equipment, suffered certain casualties, achieving a considerable deterrent effect.

But immediately, the soldiers in the middle of the rebel army, led by Spartacus, launched a charge. They held their square shields at an angle, wielded short swords, and lunged forward with large strides... This fierce momentum frightened the Roman Soldiers, who still had heavy spears, into hurriedly throwing them out, but it was like a stone thrown into a torrent, making no splash at all.

This time, Spartacus concentrated the over 1,000 gladiators he had freed in Capua at the very front of the middle line. They were strong and ferocious, like tigers descending the mountain, holding shields, crashing their bodies, and swiftly stabbing with their swords through gaps. Their killing movements were skillful and smooth. As soon as the two armies made contact, the screams of the Roman Soldiers resounded one after another.

Subsequently, they pushed forward with the combined efforts of the soldiers behind them, and gaps soon appeared in the tightly arranged Roman Formation. The rebel soldiers pressed forward like a stream of water, trying to expand these gaps...

Furrius never imagined that the attack of these rebellious slaves, whom he hadn’t taken seriously, would be so fierce, disrupting his military formation as soon as they engaged.

But what shocked him even more was that the enemy’s wings also swiftly circled from the flank and from behind, creating a momentum as if to encircle and devour the entire Roman Army. Despite their poor equipment and weak combat power, could the Roman recruits, whose morale was floating, still have the courage to fight on when facing encirclement?

Thinking of this, he anxiously shouted loudly, "Soldiers, hold your ground! Hold your ground! The reinforcements led by Cassinius will soon arrive! The reinforcements are coming soon!..."

However, his shouting didn’t have much effect on the bustling battlefield. Instead, another voice quickly spread through the Roman Formation: "We’ve been surrounded!!!... Run!!!..."

The Roman Formation collapsed. The soldiers dropped their shields and armor, scrambling to escape through the unclosed gap of the rebel army...

Furrius was bewilderedly swept along by the routing soldiers towards the rear when suddenly someone grabbed him, pulling him off his horse. Before he could get up, he was trampled by countless feet...

In just half an hour, the entire battle had ended. Except for a few Roman Soldiers who managed to escape and were still being pursued by the rebel soldiers, most had either died in battle or been captured.

Spartacus had anticipated winning, but he hadn’t expected the battle to end so quickly. So when several leaders gathered to discuss the next steps, he said without hesitation, "Stick to our original plan; continue north, and look for opportunities to eliminate Rome’s main force."

"I agree!" Cross immediately responded loudly, "In this battle, we suffered minimal casualties and won easily. This Roman Army’s combat power isn’t much, we can definitely win another fight!"

"It’s not that the Roman Army’s combat power is lacking, but that we’ve become stronger!" Antonix said with a smile, as victory also made him more confident.

"We must continue to advance north and seek out the Roman main force for a decisive battle. Otherwise, if they hear of our victory, they’re likely to retreat back to Rome, and we would miss a great opportunity!" Attutmus cautioned.

Upon hearing this, Enomai hurriedly urged, "We have to act quickly and not let them escape!"

Seeing everyone agreed to fight again, Spartacus continued, "Attutmus, detach four hundred soldiers from your battalion to be temporarily led by Hamilcar, responsible for cleaning the battlefield and caring for the wounded brothers. The rest, gather your soldiers and march north along the main road."

"Alright!" Attutmus responded promptly.

"Spartacus, don’t forget about the Roman prisoners!" Antonix reminded.

"Kill them all. We don’t have the manpower to look after these guys now." Cross said first.

"That’s what we’ll do." Spartacus said calmly, his words sealing the fate of those Roman prisoners, then he turned and walked to the other side of the battlefield: "Okmar! Okmar!"

Cavalry Captain Okmar, holding his warhorse, which was munching on wheat in the fields, heard the call and hurried over, "Leader Spartacus, what do you need?"

"Where are your cavalry on alert?"

"Up to Capua, we haven’t received any news of another Roman Army coming to aid. Since the battle is over, should I let them come back?"

"No, let your cavalry continue to scout north. Once you spot any Roman Army traces, hurry back and inform us!"

Okmar’s spirits immediately lifted, "Are we preparing to attack another Roman Army?!"

"Whether we can defeat them depends on whether you can find them in time!"

"Rest assured, leave it to us!" Okmar replied confidently, turning to his warhorse. But when he mounted his horse, it was so engrossed in its meal that it didn’t want to leave, prompting him to raise his arm and slap the horse’s haunch hard. The warhorse neighed sharply and suddenly sprinted away.

Having been prepared, Okmar tightened his legs around the horse’s belly, gripped the reins firmly, controlled the direction, and led the horse onto the main road. He then blew a sharp whistle.

Soon, more than a dozen cavalry gathered around and together galloped north.

Despite the rebel soldiers being somewhat fatigued after the battle, a brilliant victory made them very excited. Having been accustomed to enduring hardships during their time as slaves, they complied with the leaders’ order to "continue northward" without complaint, marching on under the hot sun, albeit at a slower pace than before.

In the afternoon, the troops arrived outside of Capua city.

The Capua People hid within the city, trembling.

Vibias stood on the city wall, silently watching the rebel army outside that stretched out like a long dragon. The memory of the defeat a few months ago surfaced again, and only after a long while did he squeeze out a sentence: "Bring Batiatus up here and give him a severe beating!"

This time, Spartacus, leading the First Battalion, marched at the forefront of the troops, considering that if they encountered a larger Roman main army, the First Battalion soldiers, with the highest armor rate, wouldn’t be easily defeated, thus winning time for the subsequent troops to deploy.

Spartacus led the troops to bypass Capua and continue forward, but saw Okmar speeding over from the front, exclaiming excitedly, "Leader Spartacus, we found traces of the Roman Army!"

"Where?!"

"By the Volturno River, the Romans are resting and drinking there!"