Chapter 26 Before the War

Maximus strode to his side. Hamilcar turned to look at him, and then looked ahead again: "The Romans are coming." Although Hamilcar tried his best to appear calm, Maximus You can still hear the tension in his words.

Maximus raised his eyes and looked into the distance. In the near field of vision, he saw only a group of ten Roman cavalry distributed in a fan shape, advancing at a constant speed in the direction of the wine farm; and in the distance of the field of vision, a long dragon came meandering, headed by They were two flag bearers, wearing wolf skins, holding high the eagle emblem and the military flag, followed by several trumpeters carrying trombones, and then the Roman legionnaires, who were lined up in five columns, all wearing red. They wore a tunic, a Gallic helmet, and segmented armor. They carried a large red square shield in their left hand, a heavy javelin in their right hand, a Roman dagger on their left waist, and a dagger on their right waist... They held their heads high. Striding with majesty, this is not a simple march, but can be thrown into battle at any time; at the end of the long dragon, there are many auxiliary soldiers, they wear leather helmets and chain mail, holding spears and long shields, even if The equipment of the under-appreciated Roman auxiliary soldiers was far superior to that of the vast majority of the rebel soldiers. The entire team was followed by more than a dozen carriages and some army slaves.

The sun shines on the brightly armored Roman troops, emitting a dazzling light...

Hamilcar and Maximus stood there for a long time, squinting their eyes and holding their breath.

Hamilka said angrily: "There are more than two or three thousand people, there are already more than 4,000 people!"

"About 4,300 people." Maximus said in a positive tone.

"I have to tell Spartacus quickly!" Hamilka turned and ran towards the camp.

Maximus stood still and continued to observe the advancing Roman army. Their marching speed was not very fast. It took about half an hour before they approached the olive oil farm three miles away under the hillside. , and at this time the formation of the uprising team was almost complete.

Spartacus, Cross and other leaders also came to the vicinity of Maximus to observe the enemy's situation.

Hamilka grabbed Maximus and whispered in his ear: "As the captain of the baggage team, you should stay with your men at this time, rather than wandering around here!"

Maximus was alert. He was so curious about the Roman legions that he forgot his duties for a moment. He quickly apologized and humbly asked for advice: "Teacher, I was wrong! What should I do at this time?"

Hamilka said seriously: "There are mostly women, old people and children in the baggage train. You should gather them all and comfort them! And -"

He lowered his voice: "You need to prepare the carriage and load some food, just in case -"

Hamilka didn't say any more, but Maximus understood what he meant, nodded solemnly, turned around and ran back.

The formation of the uprising team was right behind him, and most of the first row were gladiators. They were all fully armed. Maximus heard several people shouting his name, but he had no time to pay attention to it at the moment.

Just as Maximus was running back to the farm, the Roman army passing by the olive oil farm had stopped advancing. They faced the rebel team and began to form a formation...

Spartacus on the hillside overlooked this scene and said solemnly: "The Romans are about to prepare to attack!"

"Brothers are ready, just waiting for them to die!" Enomyi said loudly and proudly.

The gladiators behind them took the opportunity to roar, leading the other insurrectionary soldiers: "Hoo!!! Hoo!!!..." The morale of the insurgent team increased greatly for a while.

The Roman army stood unmoved and took their time in formation. Originally, they were marching in armed formation. Their entire team crossed over, and each group gathered together, gradually forming a traditional Roman checkerboard array. The formation speed was much faster than the uprising team, but the strange thing was that the rear of the team However, the auxiliary soldiers broke away from the array, put down their weapons, walked to the carriage parked at the rear of the team, took out the shovels, hoes... and other digging tools that were placed inside, surrounded the olive oil farm, and began to dig earth.

This strange move puzzled Spartacus and others: because there were more than a thousand auxiliary soldiers in this Roman army, accounting for more than a quarter of the entire team, so many soldiers did not participate in the battle. Instead, dig the soil. What is this for?

Not long after, the Roman legions finished their formation, but they stood still. The sweating auxiliary soldiers had dug a shallow trench to surround the olive oil farm. At the same time, they dug out soil and put it on the inside of the trench. Build a fort...

"The Romans are building a camp!" Hamilka suddenly realized.

"Are they still attacking us?" Altonix asked immediately.

"The Roman army has the habit of building temporary camps on battlefields, so that once they are defeated, they can hide inside for defense to ensure safety. I really didn't expect them to be so cautious when facing us. Maybe when they are almost done, they will Attack us." Spartacus, who had fought with the Roman army in Asia Minor and had some knowledge of the Roman army's tactics, said at this moment he was not sure.

"Then how long do we have to wait?! It's better to take advantage of the fact that the Romans are few and attack them!" Enomui said impatiently.

"Since we have formulated a combat plan in advance, we should execute it according to the plan!" Spartacus said in a deep voice.

Even Cross, who usually prided himself on being brave, agreed with Spartacus at this moment. Seeing the well-organized Roman army at the foot of the mountain, he felt a little guilty.

As a result, the rebel army continued to wait quietly on the hillside, while the Roman legions stood still at the bottom of the mountain. Only the Roman auxiliaries were working hard.

As time went by, the noise in the uprising team became louder and louder, and the originally dense array gradually became sparse. The soldiers not only chatted and laughed to relieve tension, but some even lost their temper due to the sun exposure and prolonged standing. They simply squatted on the ground... Spartacus and the others had to rush to their respective brigades and try their best to encourage the soldiers in order to maintain the declining morale.

A similar situation also occurred in the Roman army, except that the officers who were veterans performed more effectively, and with their efforts, the soldiers performed better.

The two sides faced off against each other several miles apart until after noon, the trenches behind the Roman army had been basically dug, the earth walls were erected, and special access channels were left... The Roman army commander Grabo then With an order, the Roman soldiers gradually withdrew into the earth walls and olive oil manor.

The Roman army did not attack as Spartacus expected. He was disappointed, but when he saw the soldiers lying on the ground behind him, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief...

On this day, although there was no fighting between the two sides, the Roman army was already approaching, which could not help but make the rebel team nervous. Spartacus and the others held an emergency meeting again, and after discussion, they decided to continue to implement the original plan for the time being. Waiting for the Romans to take the initiative to attack. But at the same time, they must also strengthen the security of the camp to prevent enemy sneak attacks.

On the Roman army's side, Grabo was also afraid of sneak attacks by the rebels. He asked the auxiliary soldiers to continue to lay traps and set up deer villages outside the trenches, and arranged multiple sentries to patrol back and forth in the camp at night.

Although the day was uneventful, many people did not sleep well, including Maximus. After all, this was his first experience of war, whether in his previous life or in this life.

But when the rooster crowed, Maximus immediately got up and rushed to the kitchen.

Without any urging from him, Aconis has already led her men to get busy, because they know very well: once the rebel army is defeated, what will be the fate waiting for them, the only thing they can do is to make delicious food as soon as possible , let the soldiers have enough food and drink, and have enough strength to fight the enemy.