The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 227. Marcus’s Fury 5 >

The standoff between Rome and the Huns ended abruptly.

It would not have been surprising if a battle had broken out right away.

Bayatur had expected the Roman army to accept the fight, since they had confidently entered the plain.

But Caesar had mobilized all his engineers to build a palisade and a trench, blocking the Huns’ charge.

Bayatur was puzzled by the enemy’s actions, which defied common sense.

He tried to scout the enemy’s situation, but they were holed up in their camp and did not come out, which was frustrating.

‘Could there be some problem?’

For the Huns, it was not too bad to stay here.

After all, it was the Romans who had come out on a long expedition.

Bayatur decided that he did not have to fight in a hurry.

If they kept the stalemate, the Roman army would have to crawl out of their camp sooner or later.

‘Do they think we will send our cavalry into that fortress? I don’t think the Northern Emperor and the Eastern Emperor would make such a foolish decision…’

The Huns kept a certain distance and poured out insults and taunts at the Roman camp every day, calling them cowards.

It seemed that this situation would continue indefinitely, unless the Romans came out.

That was when it happened.

Today, as usual, the Hunnic leaders who were supposed to incite their men to mock the Romans fell into a cold silence.

Four elders gathered in one place with faces full of panic, anger, anxiety, and horror.

Bayatur also greeted them with a pale expression that he had never shown before.

The Hunnic warriors waited in their camp, wondering what was going on, as no orders were given.

What could be so serious that they had to discuss it in this situation?

A boy who looked no older than his mid-teens told them about the massacre of the Romans in front of the elders, with trembling lips.

He detailed how the Roman army that had returned through the Black Sea was ravaging the Hunnic homeland.

It was like a bolt from the blue.

They had sneaked in while the main force was gone and were slaughtering civilians.

It was unthinkable.

Even Han China, which used to tremble at the Huns, did not use such methods.

No, it would be more appropriate to say that they could not use such methods.

Ugh!

The elders clenched their teeth in anger, loud enough for their voices to leak out.

Especially Altan, who was more enraged than anyone else.

The boy who had barely escaped belonged to his tribe.

His eyes naturally turned to Bayatur.

They were under a terrible misconception.

Time was never on the side of the Huns.

A decision had to be made right away.

Whether to attack and annihilate the Roman army here and then go north to chase after their rear guard, or to leave the Roman main force alone and withdraw their army as it is.

Bayatur came to a conclusion in less than a few seconds.

“…We have no choice but to retreat from here. Attacking the Romans who are stuck in their camp is close to suicide. Even if we win, our troops will not be left either. Even if we win, there is no point in this battle if our rear is completely destroyed.”

No one opposed him.

It was unfair that they had been fooled so badly, but they could not risk their children and wives’ lives for an adventure.

Bartazar also agreed with Bayatur’s opinion.

“If this news reaches the ears of the tribal chiefs, they will want us to withdraw immediately. There is no point in trying to fight forcibly. It will only lower the morale of our army and increase dissatisfaction. We have to drive out those who have entered our rear before we fight.”

If they gave the impression that they were ignoring their tribesmen’s lives, even the loyalty of the loyal tribal chiefs could be broken.

Of course, the other elders were also worried about their tribes’ safety as much as anyone else.

Once a decision was made, it was characteristic of the Hunnic army to move on to execution right away.

The order to return to Sinegachar was immediately handed down to the whole army.

“Everyone hurry up! We have to withdraw right now!”

At first, they were confused by what was going on, but then they heard the details of what had happened.

Naturally, their reaction was dramatic.

They mounted their horses and retreated without caring about order or formation.

Some even tried to desert their army, saying that they had to check on their families’ safety right away.

It was a shameful retreat for those who had been happily mocking the Roman army just moments ago.

Behind the backs of the retreating Huns, cheers erupted from the Roman camp.

“Stupid bastards! You didn’t even know your own homes were burning while you were having fun.”

“Serve you right, you bastards! Go and bury your families well and come back!”

The atmosphere in the Roman camp was the opposite of the Huns, who had been completely humiliated. 

They were confident that their strategy had worked perfectly.

The Roman army that came out of their camp resumed their march, following the retreating Huns.

They could not inflict any more damage on the Huns, who were all mounted, but they were able to advance to the terrain they wanted without any resistance.

That alone was enough to count as a success.

And Marcus, who was busy slaughtering the Huns in the black soil plain, soon withdrew, anticipating that Bayatur’s main force would arrive.

If he returned by boat as he had attacked, the Huns would not be able to catch him even if they died and came back to life.

“Imperator, there are still many Hunnic tribes in the northeast that we have not attacked yet. We have secured their locations, but wouldn’t it be better to attack them one last time before we leave?”

One of the commanders asked, unable to hide his regret.

He had only located the places where the Hunnic people lived, as Marcus had ordered, and had not attacked them directly.

It was a bit unfair to leave without doing anything, after finding their locations with difficulty in the vast plain.

Marcus chuckled and shook his head.

“Don’t worry. Your efforts were not in vain. Most of them will not survive the winter.”

Marcus arrived at the Black Sea coast and boarded the warships that he had left waiting, with all his troops except for 5,000 allied cavalry.

The 75,000 cavalry would leave the Black Sea to the west and join Caesar’s main force, which was moving north.

He left some ships and supplies for the 5,000 cavalry that he had separated.

Marcus reminded the general who would lead the allied cavalry of his plan once again.

“Move as I ordered. After we leave, wait for enough time and then resume your movement. Don’t be too early or too late.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I marked their locations on the map. They may not match exactly, since they keep moving around, but there shouldn’t be much error. Feel free to vent your anger.”

With that, Marcus’s warships sailed back along the Black Sea coast.

He would have liked to stay a little longer, but he had achieved enough results.

He had freed most of the prisoners who had been kidnapped, including the noble priestesses, and inflicted enough damage on the Huns to make their eyes roll back.

The soldiers’ faces were filled with bright smiles, as they had paid back all the humiliation they had received so far.

“I wonder what expression those Huns will have when they see this scene. I feel refreshed just thinking about it.”

“They will taste the same anger that we felt. Serves them right.”

The soldiers exchanged stories happily, imagining the reaction of the Huns who were running wild.

And although they did not say it out loud because of the generals’ eyes, there was one more thing that made them happier than anything else.

They did not have to eat meat anymore.

They could finally return to their original diet.

That was what they were most looking forward to right now.

※※※

The Hunnic army, unaware that the Romans had leisurely left by boat, rode day and night.

They scattered their cavalry in all directions to search for the Romans who had dared to attack them and show them their place.

But they never encountered the Roman army.

They had been completely fooled by the enemy’s sudden appearance and disappearance.

Unable to find an enemy to fight, the Hunnic army eventually had to head back to their devastated tribes.

The Hunnic warriors who returned to where they had stayed were once again enraged by what they saw.

There was nothing left.

All they could see was a complete ruin of destruction.

The grassland that had been greener than the sky was burned black by fire, and the livestock were slaughtered.

And the Romans were cruel enough to burn down the plain but leave behind the corpses and yurts of the people.

The reason was obvious.

It was to give a stronger psychological shock to the Huns.

They even crucified some corpses in a row.

The corpses were already decayed or eaten by wild animals, so they could not maintain their original shape.

The warriors wandered around in despair, calling out their families’ names and trying to recover their bodies if possible.

“…The damage is too great. It is hard to estimate the number of people and livestock killed.”

Bartazar reported in a voice soaked with grief.

Bayatur could not say anything.

The disaster of this raid did not spare even the families of the elders.

Two out of four elders. 

Bartazar and Altan had lost their wives and children.

Bayatur also had a hard time suppressing his boiling anger as he witnessed the corpses of his many relatives.

“Those bastards… How could they use such a savage method?”

“The morale of our warriors has dropped to the ground. How are we going to recover from this?”

“…For this battle alone, that won’t be hard. We have to fan their hatred. You and Altan will have to take care of that.”

If the elders who had lost their families as well as the ordinary warriors stepped up, they would surely be able to unite the warriors.

The power of the Huns, who were bound by hatred and revenge, would surely be stronger than before, not weaker.

The Huns, who were boiling with rage, would unleash all their emotions on the Roman army that was moving north.

Bartazar nodded slowly, understanding Bayatur’s intention.

But that did not mean that the problem was completely solved.

“Even if we get over the battle with the Romans… it won’t be easy to deal with the aftermath.”

“We have to be prepared for that.”

The damage to their rear was too severe, even if they defeated the Roman army.

And since they were going to engage in a frontal battle, they could not win against the Romans without any losses, so their future was not very bright even if they won the battle.

The victory of the battle might be possible, but the possibility of ending this war with a satisfactory result was almost gone.

Bayatur tried to shake off the cries of grief that came from all directions and continued his speech.

“But we have to win this battle no matter what. If we can’t do anything to the Romans who are coming up, the Huns will never be able to rise again.”

He had ambitions to unify the great plain and build an unprecedented empire of nomads. 

He could not let them be ruined like this.

Bayatur rallied the morale of his crumbling warriors once again, using Bartazar and Altan as examples.

They formed a consensus to denounce the Romans’ vile actions and make them pay for their revenge.

He also placed the warriors who had lost their families in this raid mainly at the forefront.

The impact was great, but their fighting spirit was even higher.

With a determination to win at all costs, the Hunnic army marched out again to strike at the Roman army that was moving north.

They did not have to wait long to face Caesar’s main force again, which had been joined by Marcus’s cavalry.

When he saw the enemy’s size increase by a notch more than before, Bayatur realized that it was true.

If he added up Caesar’s and Marcus’s armies, there were 350,000 infantry and 100,000 cavalry.

Even for the Huns, who had nearly 200,000 cavalry, it was enough to feel a lot of pressure.

And more than anything, he was worried about the equipment of the new cavalry that had joined them.

From a distance, Bayatur could tell that their equipment had improved a lot since he had fought them in Greece.

The number of cavalry wearing plate armor, which had not been very many before, had increased tremendously.

Not only that, but even the infantry’s equipment had been reinforced.

It was because they had been producing equipment non-stop for months preparing for the war.

And even now, new equipment was being supplied to the Roman camp through the Black Sea.

Bayatur’s eyes turned to the back.

He could feel the eagerness of his subordinates who wanted to rush at the Romans right away.

He had tried his best to keep his composure when he came here, but he had regained his reason.

Rushing into a fight with emotion ahead of time was a shortcut to defeat.

He had to keep his anger in his chest and have a cool reason in his head.

But his determination was shattered by a report that followed.

“Report to Lord Bayatur.”

A messenger ran up and almost fell off his horse as he reported.

“A small group of Roman cavalry has attacked our villages again and is slaughtering our people. They must have left behind a small detachment when they retreated.”

Bayatur bit his lip so hard that blood came out.

There was a limit to how low they could go.

This was too much even if they did it over and over again.

He could not suppress his rage any longer and it burst out of his lips.

“Those Roman bastards!”

< 227. Marcus’s Fury > End