Chapter 1012 Back Home
New Brittania
Right on top of the hill overlooking the vast southern border of the newly formed kingdom, a group of eight thousand people could be seen gathering in a formation. They were lined up in an orderly manner, ready for any battle that came their way.
Most of them wore leather armor, with swords on their waist, and a longbow strapped on their backs. Moreover, great determination could be seen flashing across their eyes.
On the other hand, a thousand of them donned heavy metal armor that arrows couldn’t penetrate. What’s more, the attention of these people who were sitting atop their armored horses were on the distance.
Half a dozen men in the middle of the formation wore special, gleaming golden armor that shimmered slightly in the light of the sun. Among them, a man with the same golden armor stood, his head adorned with an intricate crown.
These particular people are the famous Knights of the Round Table, coming to battle the new threat alongside their king, Arthur Pendragon.
The noon sun bore down on them, creating an oppressing heat that threatened to wear down even the most gallant. Yet, the great Brittania armies stood still as if the heat didn’t exist, eyes focused on facing the Earth’s greatest military force – the Roman Legions.
Two legions, an army 10 thousand strong, all wearing red armor that contrasted greatly to the green landscape. They stood in a formation that spanned one mile across the border. Even though the front soldiers seemed composed still as if nothing could unnerve them, in the middle, the Britannian great army was nervous facing the gargantuan foe before them.
Moments after. a dozen Roman riders came forward to the middle of the fields with their eagle standard raised high.
Knowing their intention, the king of Brittania, Arthur Pendragon, looked at them and said.
“Gawain, Percival, both of you, come with me.”
The king himself rode down the hill to meet the Roman riders, only accompanied by his two knights.
“I am Arthur Pendragon,” he announced, his bold voice reaching even onto the farthest soldiers. “State your intentions of coming into our border.”
The man in the red-feathered helmet spoke in Latin.
“Rex Brittaniae, Respublica Romana…”
The two knights looked at each other in confusion, as they had absolutely no idea what the other party said. Arthur, however, understood all of it easily.
“King of Brittania, the Roman Republic demands the New Brittania to open their land to us. Lay down your weapon, and accept the Roman republic as your sovereign. With us, you will have forever peace and order in this land.”
Arthur shook his head. With a gaze as calm as ever, he answered, “Your Legatus, Julian Kaesar, has given his words that the Roman will not cross the border of Cantiaci. What do you say about this?”
The man answered with an arrogant smirk, “Our order came straight from the Senate, and we do not have any reason to honor the words of a missing Legatus.”
As if he had already expected the answer, Arthur heaved a sigh. Then, he stared at the man and continued.
“You dare speak of order, while your Roman soldiers have pillaged our villages. You speak of peace, yet that rings hollow, as here you are, coming to our door bearing weapons. My answer is no, we do not accept Roman rule. Go back to where you came from!”
Despite the threat, the man bearing the mantle of Roman only smiled, his words full of pride, “King Arthur, listen to reason, for your farmers would not stand against the might of Roman soldiers. This is your last chance.”
Arthur calmly stared at the man back, clearly unprovoked, “You take one more step into our land, and you will have a chance to see firsthand how the great Roman army was beaten by farmers.” After saying those words, Arthur paid the man no more heed and turned around, returning to his army, and the Romans did the same.
Upon returning, Sir Bor welcomed his King with a smile full of excitement “So are we going to war? Are we?” Anticipation was apparent in his voice.
Arthur ignored the man for a moment. He turned his head around and stared at the looming Roman army before he replied, “I really hope not, but we shall prepare for the worst.”
He grasped the legendary sword strapped to his thigh until his knuckles turned white. In his heart, he was hoping that the Romans would not advance.
Unfortunately, the Romans made good of their threats and really did make their move. In the distance, the thousands of Roman soldiers raised the shields they rested on the ground and started marching up the hills.
“Here they come! Archers, get ready!’
“Archers!” one of the knights shouted.
Thousands of the Briton-trained longbowmen raised their bows, took and nocked their arrows from the quiver, and aimed them up high into the air. Now, they were waiting for the signal to finally release the drawn arrows.
The thump of war drums resounded, and by this point both forces were only a few meters away from clashing. However, all of a sudden, Arthur’s eyes caught the sight of a rider dashing from the eastern side, marching towards the Romans’ lines moments after the horns were blown.
Thanks to the sudden surprise arrival, the marching Roman soldiers have abruptly stopped.
Arthur quickly heaved a sigh of relief, apparently, the trump card he was hoping for had finally arrived.
From the eastern side of the hill, thousands of men ran into the hill. Though most of them wore no armor, all of them without exception have painted bodies and scars, showing that they were all coming for battle.
They are the Danes. Led by Jarl Haraldson, they had come forward to help the Briton to fight off the Romans’ invasion. The Jarl wore an attire of intricate combination between fur and leather ripped from various beasts, giving off a sense of wildness.
“We the Danes came to fulfill the pact with the Britons, today we will fight with hope god will take us to see Valhalla!”
There were at least 3000 Danes who came to help and join to defend from the hill. The sudden increase in the number of opponents forced the two Roman Legions to stop marching. Once again, the two forces stood still opposite each other, and it seemed that no one was willing to start the battle.
Sir Borr shouted, jovial laughter in his voice, “Hahaha, those Romans are nothing more than cowards! Strongest military forces? Haha, what a joke!”
The two forces just stared at each other for an hour before suddenly a messenger bird came flying into Arthur’s camp. The sudden arrival of a message made him anxious, and the mark the bird bore only made him even more anxious.
It bore the mark of the Lioness.
“My king, this is coming from the Queen.”
Arthur quickly opened the letter and saw a short message. From the handwriting, it seems that the message was written in a hurry.
[The Romans’ army has another legion secretly marching towards the Venta city, I am heading there as soon as possible]
Arthur reread the message over, seemingly unable to believe what he saw. For the Roman able to send a legion secretly meant that they came with some important mission.
It suddenly occurred to him that the Roman legions in front of him were here only to serve as a distraction – a bait even. However, not only would it take hours for them to reach Venta city, but with the two legions still standing in front of him, Arthur was unable to move from his position.
———————————-
Join the discussion on discord through my website