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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Hooves pounded the earth in unison, and the sharp blasts of trumpets roused the spirits of the riders.
As they had been trained, the Roman horsemen wheeled around in a wide arc, crashing into the fleeing enemy infantry. The rearguard, tasked with stopping the cavalry charge… where was the reserve force that should have appeared by now?
“Signal the 1st and 2nd Droungos! Let the fleeing enemy go, and immediately reinforce our flanks!”
“Yes, Domestikos (Domestikos) Basiliskianos!”
[Pam pam pa- Parapara bam- Parapara bam-]
A somewhat frivolous yet catchy tune rippled outward from the center, and the cavalry, who had been pursuing the enemy with gusto, turned their horses and headed back towards their commander.
Their tactics honed through years of fighting nomadic horsemen.
The Roman cavalry, wielding a blend of discipline and organic movement, was a sight to behold.
“The 3rd Droungos will strike directly at the enemy’s main camp! Hurry! The emperor awaits!”
“Tagma-ta! Move out! Follow the Domestikos of the Scholae!”
“To His Majesty the Emperor-! God is with us!”
“God is with us!”
[Pam- Pam pam pam- Pam- -]
Following the signal for a trot, the snorting and pounding of hooves from the already heated horses behind him fell into a steady rhythm.
[Dug- Dug- Dug- Dug- Dug-]
The cavalry advanced, their pace gradually converging into a steady beat. The breathing of horse and rider, blending seamlessly.
A signal from the battlefield, only perceptible to those who had ridden in a cavalry formation.
‘Is Basileios facing heavier resistance?’
At the head of the formation, slowly picking up speed, Basiliskianos, who had already trampled through the enemy’s rearguard and was now charging forward unopposed, had other thoughts in mind.
‘Or, is he deliberately stalling…?’
He wasn’t so naive as to miss the chill in the co-emperor’s eyes, despite his perpetually gentle smile. Although they were now facing each other as enemies in the worst possible way, a part of Basiliskianos sympathized with Symbatios. And within him, ambition stirred.
‘Basileios. If a farmer’s son could rise to the position of co-emperor, what could I not achieve?’
He didn’t know the co-emperor’s ulterior motives, but he had been the first to break through the enemy’s rear. Now, all that remained was to reap the glory of finishing off the rebels.
As the horses’ breathing grew ragged and the riders gripped their reins tighter, the enemy’s backs came into view.
Their backs, standing there so invitingly.
‘Wait, something’s not right.’
Basiliskianos, who had caught the eye of Emperor Michael early on and started his career in the cavalry, sensed something strange about the enemy’s formation.
‘They’re not being pushed back in disarray, they’re actually…’
Advancing?
The enemy infantry, outnumbering the imperial infantry even excluding the small contingent of cavalry and infantry left behind, were pushing forward?
How was that possible?
“Domestikos! The enemy is in sight! What are your orders?!”
There was no time to ponder the anomaly. After all, the battlefield was a place where unexplainable things happened. Basiliskianos, after taking another look at the enemy, issued an order befitting a young commander.
“Charge! Raise your lances! Sound the horns! Forward-! Long live Rome! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
“Long live Rome-!”
“God is with us!”
“Long live the Emperor!”
[Pam pam pa- Pam-!]
With Basiliskianos, who had briefly glanced at the rebels hastily turning to form a spear wall, leading the charge, the brute force of their heavy, simple mass crashed into the fragile human bodies.
[Dug dug dug dug-!]
“Raise your spears! Raise your spears!”
[Crash! Crack-! Thump!]
Men, trampled by horses and pierced by lances, died instantly without a scream. Sheer willpower could not stop the oncoming wave.
Numerous horsemen fell in the initial impact, but the infantry line before them was decimated.
Unfortunately for the enemy, a cavalry charge didn’t end with a single wave.
The second rank, who had been charging relentlessly, crashed into the enemy without pause, as the first rank threw their lances and pulled away.
[Thump-! Crack-! Crash!]
Sounds that should never come from a human body erupted one after another, and the line that had withstood two charges crumbled instantly, their backs turning as they started to flee.
Basiliskianos, who had charged at the forefront, piercing through the enemy shields with his lance, continued to circle around the enemy formation. And beyond them, he spotted a giant, seemingly drenched in blood, standing motionless.
‘What is that…’
Among the Northmen, who were already a head taller than the Romans around them, stood a warrior who stood out even more. That blood-soaked figure, whose original color was no longer discernible, surveyed their every move with chilling calmness, a gaze that didn’t belong on a battlefield.
‘Konungr Helgi…’
Surprisingly, the moment he saw the Northmen Konungr, the presence of Basileios, which had occupied a corner of his mind, vanished instantly, replaced entirely by those deep green eyes. The eyes of a predator, barely human.
Basiliskianos, a skilled soldier, instinctively understood: he must not fight that man.
[Dug dug-! Thump! Crash!]
‘Excellent.’
The imperial infantry held firm as the anvil, and the cavalry, having successfully flanked the enemy, struck hard at the enemy infantry, who were preoccupied with facing us.
The textbook hammer and anvil tactic.
Of course, the main contributor to the success of this charge was the Varangian assault, which had overcome the enemy’s terrain advantage and numerical superiority…
But the impact of the cavalry was truly shocking.
“By the gods of Hellas.”
My lieutenants, witnessing such a sight for the first time, all stood there with their mouths agape, staring at the carnage before them.
There were no more enemies to fight nearby, as their morale had been shattered by our breakthrough and the cavalry charge. And the sight of such a large-scale heavy cavalry charge was overwhelming, even from our position a little distance away.
Storolf, in particular, stood there dumbfounded, oblivious to the blood splattering into his mouth.
“By Hella. I’m glad we’re not standing over there.”
Even Refil, who always strived to maintain his composure, had wide eyes. Oleg and Djur seemed relatively less shocked.
Well, the warriors of Rus would have had plenty of experience facing cavalry. Of course, they were still shocked, just less so than the others.
‘How would you even stop that?’
As my warriors, who had been fiercely cutting down and fending off enemies, suddenly turned into tourists, my rational mind continued to work.
‘Impact comes from speed, so they are useless in mud and swamps. Block them with much longer spears, or avoid fighting them on open plains altogether. And…’
Having witnessed it once, I couldn’t let myself be caught off guard by that tactic again. As my sharp mind presented various solutions, a desire for cavalry grew within me.
‘Change of plans. In addition to engineering techniques, I need to get a few horses and some tack.’
I wasn’t sure if those horses could survive the Scandinavian climate, but I could at least get the tack. If I could even imitate that level of impact…!
“Konungr Helgi-! Konungr Helgi!”
As my desire grew stronger, a familiar voice approached from behind our lines, accompanied by the sound of hooves.
The Varangians wouldn’t normally make way for just anyone, but when the golden-armored figure on a golden saddle came galloping towards us with a face full of joy, they had no choice but to open the path. He was our employer, after all.
“Konungr Helgi!”
Michael, urging his steed Bucephalus, arrived before me and leaped off, almost stumbling, extending his arm.
“Your Majesty. My arm is covered in enemy blood.”
“What are you talking about…!”
[Slap!]
The emperor, without hesitation, grasped my right arm, dripping with blood.
Looking up at me due to the height difference, Michael, seemingly unconcerned, exclaimed with a bright smile.
“None of the heroes I’ve heard of in all my life could have achieved such a feat…! Konungr Helgi! Are you an angel sent by God? You are a true hero worthy of legends…!”
The emperor’s gaze, which had been friendly at the Hippodrome, now seemed to have reached a level of admiration.
Embarrassed, I turned my gaze away from the emperor, who was excitedly shaking my right arm, and looked around. As if it were a signal, the Romans and Northmen surrounding us erupted in a triumphant roar.
“We won-!”
“Helgi Sterk! Helgi Sterk!”
“God bless Rome! Protect the emperor! Bless the Konungr of the Rus!”
“Long live Rome! Long live the emperor-!”
“Helgi Helgason! Helgi Ragnarsson!”
The sound filling the vast hillside was not so much human voices, but the roar of a beast, satiated with blood and satisfied with its kill. The emperor, raising my arm high, joined his soldiers in their victory cry.
“Louder! Louder! Proud soldiers of Rome! We have won! Sing of our victory!”
The Battle of Adramyttion ended with the victory of the imperial army.
The thrill of victory energized the soldiers, but they soon had to move on to their next task: cleaning up the battlefield and setting up camp.
Of course, the frontline units moved to the rear with the emperor to rest. The relatively fresh third rank and the supply units were mainly involved…
Moving the bodies of comrades and enemies, inspecting their equipment, sorting and recording the usable and unusable items. Recording the number of allied casualties and enemy losses.
‘Yes, that habit of recording. I need to take that too… Make everyone record everything. Would I need paper for that? Did Rome have papermaking technology?’
The Roman officers were carrying wooden tablets, diligently recording. Unlike us, who carved letters into wood, they seemed to have filled the wooden boards with wax, making it easy to write and erase.
‘That’s worth learning. Paper is expensive.’
Another piece of knowledge looted.
“Konungr Helgi.”
I had come to the rear with the emperor, who had insisted on it, but even the emperor couldn’t bathe right away, so I had roughly cleaned myself with some rough cloths. Basiliskianos’s voice reached me.
“Ah, Basiliskianos. The hero of our victory has arrived.”
His timing and force in the charge were truly exceptional. How much would it cost to train a cavalry commander like him?
As I unconsciously thought like a ruler of a nation, Basiliskianos laughed heartily.
“For you, Konungr, who performed a feat worthy of myths, to say such a thing… It makes me blush. Haha!”
“Myths…? It wasn’t that much.”
“Is that so? Then the Roman soldiers must have lied to me, and I find that hard to believe! Konungr. They say you leaped over the Scholae and cleaved the man aiming for the emperor in a single blow? If that’s not a myth, what is?”
“I’m quite good at long jump.”
“That’s not the point… Konungr.”
Uncomfortable with Basiliskianos’s gaze, which resembled Michael’s, I grabbed a cup from the emperor’s luxurious table and poured him some wine.
[Glug glug glug-]
“Here, I’ve never seen a cavalry commander like you. Please accept this cup, hero of Rome.”
Basiliskianos, with a mischievous grin, accepted the cup and drained it in one gulp, then returned it to me, pouring me some wine in return.
[Glug glug glug-]
“Many in the crowd are already calling you Heracles, why do you hide yourself?”
“Heracles. Huh, really.”
“Hahaha! I also heard you kicked a man and sent him flying, is that true?!”
I liked Basiliskianos’s cheerful laughter. He, like me, hadn’t cleaned all the blood off his armor yet. I drained the cup he had given me in one gulp.
As he was about to say something else, watching me, Basiliskianos suddenly stopped. At the same time, the gentle sound of hooves approaching the emperor’s tent reached our ears.
[Clack- Clack- Clack clack- Clack-]
Another golden-armored figure, surrounded by white cloaks.
‘Basileios…’
Basileios, who had led the left flank, had also returned. Now, all the main players of this battle were gathered.
But the look in Basiliskianos’s eyes as he watched Basileios was strange.
Well, it wasn’t my concern.
I poured another glass of wine into the ornate golden cup.
This cup was for Basileios, who was striding in confidently.
[Glug glug glug-]
After all, we were still on the same side, weren’t we?
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[and anotha one]
