The rebel soldiers saw the camp behind them catch fire and began to panic. Even Hamilcar felt nervous and asked Spartacus urgently, "The Romans are very cunning, trying to burn our camp and undermine our morale. If this continues, I'm worried... Should we change our plans and launch a preemptive attack?!"
"Don't panic, we stick to the original plan and continue to wait," Spartacus said calmly and gravely, "Send soone to inform Maximus imdiately, telling him to take the supply team and be responsible for putting out the fire."
"Alright!" Hamilcar felt a bit more settled inside. Although he had experienced so battles, he found it hard to stay as composed as Spartacus during critical monts, which is the main reason he willingly assisted Spartacus.
"Keep firing, don't stop!" Grabo ordered loudly, looking up at the firelight on the hillside ahead. Although he was permitted to bring only half a legion, his cautious nature led him to insist on having more crossbow cannons and cavalry. Initially intended to intimidate the enemies of slave origin during battle, he formulated this battle plan after the cavalry scouted the enemy camp's layout, and it turned out to be effective.
Fire bombs flew overhead from ti to ti, while the constant shouts from the supply team ca from behind. The rebel soldiers kept turning their heads back to look, feeling like they were on a roller coaster, with their initially high morale now gone. The formation, which was originally quite dense, gradually loosened, and the clamor grew louder.
Spartacus remained standing still, intently overlooking the Roman crossbow gun position down the hill. Suddenly, he spoke, "That crossbow cannon hasn't fired a fireball for two rounds!... Oh, the one next to it seems to have stopped as well!"
Hamilcar looked attentively and found it true, imdiately rejoicing, "Looks like it's broken!"
"With the crossbow cannon being roasted by fire, it's no wonder it's broken!" Spartacus unfolded his brows and shouted back, "Brothers, hold on a little longer! The Romans' crossbow cannons will soon all break down, and then they will have to co up the hill to fight us!"
He shouted, Hamilcar followed suit, and the nearby gladiators joined in as well. The soldiers in the center gradually regained their composure. But then, suddenly, a roar erupted from the left flank, where the rebel soldiers charged down towards the Roman Army, like a roaring mountain flood.
Hamilcar was taken aback upon seeing this.
Spartacus shouted angrily, "What's happening?! What is Enomai doing?!"
Just as he finished speaking, another roar erupted from the right wing, and then the soldiers on that side also charged down the hill.
"Damn Cross—" Spartacus's curse was cut short. He raised the short sword in his hand and shouted with all his might, "Brothers, avenge against the Romans, charge with !" After speaking, he took the sword and shield and was the first to charge down the hill. With such a situation, Spartacus certainly couldn't stand by and watch the left and right wings fight the Roman Army alone.
The soldiers shouted "Revenge!!! Revenge!!!..." and rushed down eagerly.
The phalanx led by Antonix also followed closely from the center route.
The rebel army successively charged downhill, catching Maximus's attention. The sudden change in battle plans of the rebel army made him uneasy.
He looked around: people from the supply team were scattered throughout the camp fighting the fire...
He hesitated briefly and made a decision, "Everyone, hurry and gather! Quickly!"
.....................
Grabo felt inevitably nervous seeing the imposing charge of the rebel army from the hill.
However, Vidnius, the camp commander, remained calm, directing the legion's officers to shout loudly. They swiftly combined the three-line centurion's small square formations into a large phalanx about 300 ters long and 10 columns deep. Behind the phalanx were about 1,000 auxiliary soldiers (with another 300 auxiliary soldiers stationed to defend the camp). Grabo did not send these auxiliary soldiers to the front to hinder the rebel army's charge initially because he lacked confidence in the hastily conscripted City Guards from Napolet and surrounding towns, fearing these poorly performing Campagnians would beco a burden instead of being helpful in a direct confrontation.
When the Roman Legion completed their formation rger, the rebel army's left and right wings had nearly reached the front line.
"Javelins!... Javelins!..." The Roman officers' loud shouts urged the soldiers to quickly assu a throwing stance, and following the officers, they launched their heavy spears towards the enemy. Though the ti was short and their actions not standard, the concentrated volley of thousands of heavy spears inflicted disaster upon the inexperienced and poorly protected rebel soldiers.
Amid screams, countless rebel soldiers were pierced by heavy spears, collapsing abruptly. The once compact formation instantly beca sparse; so fortunate rebel soldiers managed to escape the javelin attack, turning to flee in fear. So continued moving forward, though their speed visibly slowed, with only the gladiators at the forefront maintaining their charge montum.
If it were a mature Roman legion, seeing such significant results from the javelin attack, they would inevitably seize the opportunity to charge, completely disrupting the enemy's formation. However, the Roman Army had no such intention this ti. Instead, under the officers' leadership, they raised the shield wall and drew their short swords in a defensive posture. Despite dealing a heavy blow to the enemy, they couldn't help but feel nervous facing the fiercely attacking gladiators.
The gladiators did not flinch from the heavy spear attack and the reduction in comrades; instead, the dire battlefield situation ignited their bloodlust. They roared loudly, with faces twisted like fierce beasts. Battle and death were their destiny, just like in the arena.
Enomai and Cross were the kings of these beasts, charging at the forefront. They wielded the large square shield with heavy spears embedded in it as if easily handling a rag, using montum to forcefully press against the Roman soldiers holding shields defensively. The imnse power shook the opponents, and then the short sword in their right hand swiftly pierced through the gaps in the shields, injuring the opponents...
Following that, the central army of the rebel forces, led by Spartacus and Antonix, also reached the Roman formation, inflicting similar damage on the frontline Roman soldiers.
The Roman Formation experienced so disorder, making Grabo, who was in the rear, a bit anxious. He couldn't help but shout, "Quickly send the Campagnian soldiers—"
"No rush, Legion Commander," Vidnius loudly reassured, "Rest assured, our soldiers can hold on!"
"Is... is that so?" Vidnius's words slightly settled Grabo's emotions. He watched attentively from horseback: amid the officers' shouts, so panicked soldiers instinctively followed the orders, closing ranks more tightly, with so soldiers at the front line abandoning their short swords to hold their shields with both hands for all-out defense... This caused the entire formation to contract inward, becoming more dense.
The gladiators' advance was halted, as they were too few in number. Once caught in a pitched battle, their lack of overall coordination significantly diminished their attack power. The Roman soldiers began to recover...
Not until this point did Grabo finally let out a sigh of relief and asked in an inquiring tone, "When can we let the Campagnians go up?"
"Wait a little longer, let them exhaust the slaves' strength. Then they won't have the energy to run away," Vidnius replied.
"Let's do it that way," Grabo agreed.
Spartacus repeatedly gathered all his strength to crash into the Roman soldiers before him, but the opponents guarded their bodies with square shields, focusing solely on defense without counterattacking. This left Spartacus struggling to find an opening to wound his foes. With the rebel formation being relatively loose and the opponent forced to retreat, he gradually beca embedded in the enemy ranks with enemies on both his left and right sides. This made him cautious and restrained from attacking with full force, growing anxious: These damned Romans are like turtles, making it hard to quickly break through their formation. What now?! The brothers on the flanks suffered losses from the javelin attack and are weakened; how long can they hold on?!...
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