The Mad Tycoon of Rome - Chapter 272:

The vanguard of 70,000 led by Surenas landed on the shore through the strait before Satavahana could even react.

It was only three days after the declaration of war had been delivered and the envoy had returned to Rome that the Roman ships appeared on the coast.

This meant that they had mobilized their army almost at the same time as they had sent the envoy for the declaration of war.

Some people denounced it as a treacherous and cowardly surprise attack, but who could they complain to?

The enemy’s army had already entered the kingdom and there was not enough time to respond.

“How many are there in the enemy’s army?”

“We don’t have an exact number. But the common opinion of the witnesses was that it wouldn’t be more than 100,000.”

“That means we have to assume at least more than 50,000. How about our soldiers? Are they ready yet?”

“We are doing our best to organize them quickly. But it happened so suddenly…”

King Migaspati clicked his tongue at the pathetic sight of his flustered servant.

Satavahana, which possessed the strongest military power in India at the moment, was not a level that could be ignored.

If they mobilized their full strength, they could maintain a state with more than 100,000 infantry, thousands of cavalry, and hundreds of elephant corps.

But the problem was time.

It was not that they had no defense forces deployed in case of emergency, but most of them were concentrated on the northern border.

It was to conquer the Camba Kingdom that they were currently pushing hard.

Until now, Satavahana had hardly ever been invaded by foreign enemies through the western sea.

For them, the enemy always came down from the north or sometimes came up from the south.

So it was inevitable that they lacked a counter-strategy in case of an enemy invasion through the Arabian Sea.

“How can they do such a thing as declaring war in the first place? And what is this invasion speed? How can they push in so fast?”

There was no answer to the king’s annoyed muttering.

“Is there any additional report?”

“General Carnis is hurrying to form a defense force. But until then, it will be impossible to defend the southwest…”

“But we still have to buy some time there. Even if we have fewer defense forces, we can use the terrain to slow down and drag out a large army!”

“That, that’s the problem. The enemy’s army moves too fast to catch a gap. It’s as if they’ve been here several times before. They seem to be familiar with the geography of this area…”

The king’s head throbbed with pain as he heard one gloomy report after another.

‘Those Roman bastards must have been preparing for war from the beginning.’

He didn’t know that Marcus could see a much more precise map than the people of this era.

He had no choice but to think so as a king who didn’t know that fact.

‘They sent merchants to trade while making maps. Buying land to mine useless resources was a trick to deceive our eyes. They pretended to mine resources while scouting out routes for invasion.’

How efficient and wicked was this method?

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with an effective solution in this situation.

There was no way to buy time until the army fighting with Camba Kingdom came down and joined forces with General Carnis’ defense force.

“There’s no choice. Tell Carnis. If he can’t finish forming the defense force in time, send some soldiers anyway and buy some time.”

“Yes!”

The servant who received the order turned around and hurriedly left the royal palace.

He knew what this order meant.

It meant that since they were not ready to counterattack, they had to choose some people to sacrifice and buy time with their lives.

It was cruel but unavoidable.

Many people would die, but it would be better than losing their country.

In fact, if you think about it rationally, it was obvious that sending a few tens of thousands of defense forces wouldn’t stop Rome’s advance.

But unfortunately, Satavahana only knew that Rome was strong, but they never had a chance to compare their strength indirectly with them.

Satavahana had never fought against Parthia or the Huns, whom Rome had defeated.

They only knew that India-Scythia had been swept away by the Huns.

They thought that Rome must be strong to defeat such enemies, but that was all they knew.

They had heard that Rome’s cavalry was incomparably strong.

But they were proud that their elephant corps, which Satavahana boasted of, could not be matched by any cavalry.

No matter how well-armored and armed they were, they would all become flat pancakes when an elephant stepped on them.

They were confident that they would not lose if they organized a proper army and fought head-on.

This was the common thought of most of the Satavahana commanders who faced Rome.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it did not take long for them to realize how lax their judgment was, and how formidable their enemy was.

※※※

The Roman army, which pushed up with a fierce momentum, quickly crossed the coast and penetrated into the heart of the Deccan Plateau.

Thanks to the map that Marcus had made, they had no difficulty in choosing the route.

They felt grateful to Marcus in their hearts, but no one dared to say it out loud.

Rather, some of them thought that it was an understatement of their lord’s ability to admire him for such a thing.

While Surenas was discussing strategy with other legionnaires in the camp, a messenger rushed in from outside the tent.

“What is it? Is there any change in the enemy’s movement?”

“Yes. It’s a report from the scout. They detected an enemy army approaching us.”

“How big is it?”

“About 30,000. But there are also a considerable number of those creatures called elephants.”

Surenas’ vanguard of 70,000 did not move together in one lump.

The unit he led personally consisted of 30,000 cavalry who valued mobility.

And the unit composed of 5,000 cavalry and 35,000 infantry was led by Spartacus, who was conquering nearby strongholds.

“They must have decided to fight us because the numbers are similar. They probably think that we will join forces with the rear unit and attack them if they come this way.”

“According to the investigation, Satavahana’s army is currently rushing down from the north. The unit that is approaching us is trying to buy time, and in the meantime, they will gather more troops and join forces with the main force in the north.”

“That’s right. It’s a textbook move… That’s why it’s less exciting.”

The fact that they judged that they could buy time by facing them showed how ignorant they were of Rome.

If they knew exactly how powerful Rome was, they would not have dared to make such a decision.

On the other hand, Rome had already investigated everything from Satavahana’s military level to strategy and tactics.

To be precise, it was more like training according to Marcus’ policy, but the result was no different.

“Marcus will land in two weeks. Let’s change our policy to wipe out all of their armies before he arrives. I will grant Aquilinus permission to sortie. Destroy them all. There should be no one who bothers him when he enters Satavahana’s royal road.”

The legionnaires’ answers echoed.

And exactly one day later, the Satavahana force that had gone out with a desperate determination to buy time was thrown into a desperate slaughterhouse.

※※※

The earnest wish of King Migaspati, who hoped that the special unit would buy at least a week of time, came back with the worst answer.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

He didn’t want to hear what would come out of the mouth of the servant who ran in with a distorted face.

Contrary to the king’s wish, the servant fell to the floor and spat out his voice filled with grief.

“The special unit of 30,000 sent by General Carnis has been… annihilated.”

“What do you mean annihilated? Not defeated but annihilated?”

The king’s mouth gaped open and his hands trembled.

It was impossible.

How could they be annihilated after only a few days since they sent their army?

“Didn’t they say the enemy was divided into two groups and moving north? Could it be that they read our movements and regrouped for a surprise attack?”

“No, Your Majesty. According to the report, our army suffered a crushing defeat by the monstrous force of the enemy’s 30,000 cavalry.”

“But even if their cavalry was strong, they shouldn’t have been able to fight against our elephant corps head-on…”

“Well, that’s… It seemed like the enemy had already prepared countermeasures for our elephant corps. According to a soldier who barely escaped, they easily cleared the path for the elephant’s charge and provoked them with arrows or aimed at the riders to induce the elephant’s rampage. They even scattered spikes on the elephant’s charge route. And judging by how their horses didn’t fear the elephants, they must have been trained beforehand…”

A shock as if he had been hit hard by a hammer ran through the king’s body.

That’s right.

He should have guessed that these people who had planned and attacked so meticulously would have thought of a way to deal with the elephants.

In fact, Marcus had airlifted elephants from Africa in anticipation of India’s elephant corps and trained his cavalry with them.

If he had known that fact beforehand, he could have fought a little better with his army.

But he was already at a disadvantage in terms of basic military strength, and the asymmetry of information was even more apparent. What could he do?

“But how could our army be so easily disabled even if they neutralized the elephants? Was there such a big gap in combat power between our army and the Roman army? Or did we fall for the enemy commander’s tactics?”

“I think it’s both, Your Majesty. First of all, the Roman cavalry wore rare armor that we had never seen before, and none of our attacks could penetrate their armor. On the other hand, their cavalry’s charge attack was so powerful that our shields were meaningless and three or four of our soldiers were pierced through in one strike.”

“I’ve never heard of such cavalry before.”

“That’s why there was more fear and confusion. The sight of the enemy rushing at us was like an eagle swooping down to catch its prey with its wings spread out. Even the soldiers who barely escaped have completely lost their morale and I doubt they can go back to the battlefield.”

Only gloom surrounded the war room.

This defeat was not just a matter of failing to buy time.

The loss of faith in the elephant corps.

And the desperate gap in combat power between the enemy and us.

These two realities that he realized too late began to weigh down on everyone’s shoulders.

King Migaspati opened the letter that Surenas had sent him, which was full of arrogance.

He thought it was nonsense from a madman, but looking at the situation now, he felt uneasy that this might not be a bluff.

He might be able to hold out somehow if he gave up on frontal battle and locked up the city gates.

But what if Rome plundered several cities and left after losing a considerable amount of troops?

Rome would have achieved its purpose and suffered little damage, but Satavahana would lose its prestige as well as its growth momentum.

If only he could cut off Rome’s supply line, he could do something about it, but he couldn’t even do that because Rome had complete control over the sea.

In the end, fighting here would only accumulate losses for Satavahana.

“We have no choice but to accept their terms…and sign a treaty.”

“Your Majesty! How can you endure such humiliation!”

“We have no choice. We knew too little about Rome. We have to bow down for now and avoid this crisis, then plan for later. It will be a bitter result, but we have no choice.”

The loyal servants cried out as if they were shedding blood tears.

That was enough for him to confirm their hearts.

With such a foundation, there would be a day when he could strike back at Rome.

He wrote a letter saying that he would accept all the conditions and sighed deeply.

“It’s humiliating, but since we promised to pay them back several times for their reasons, they should send a delegation soon. Don’t neglect the preparations.”

A few days later.

A servant ran in a hurry and delivered a shocking news while gasping for breath.

“Your, Your Majesty!”

“What? Is the arrival of the delegation delayed?”

“No, the enemy…they refuse to negotiate!”

The king’s face, stained with disbelief and anger, twisted like a piece of tissue.

“Aaaaaah! What the hell do these bastards want from me!”

The End