Rome must fall.

Chapter 283 Attack on East Village

"Including me, there are seven people in total. There are six people who followed Gillicus to the East Village."

"How were you persuaded by Gillicus to work for me, Nyx?" Maximus asked with interest.

Silicis answered calmly: "Chief, Gilichus and I were originally from the Mazii tribe. Because we committed a serious mistake, we were expelled from the tribe and wandered together to Segestica.
Although Gillicus is younger than me, he is very smart. He helps me make decisions on everything. Not long after he escaped last year, he secretly found me and persuaded me to join the Nix tribe. I agreed... By the way, the other six companions who followed Gillicus to join the Nix tribe were also from Mazii. "

"Oh, so that's how it is." After listening, Maximus said seriously, "Gillicus did a great job! You did a great job too! When we conquer the East Village and you all come back, I will fulfill my previous promise and make you all official members of the Nix tribe. I will also record your great achievements. At that time, you can all be promoted to your tribe member level and get more land."

Of course, Silicius had heard Gilicus talk about meritorious service and promotion, and he immediately became very excited.

Maximus chatted with him for a few more words and made it clear that Gilichus did not say what method he would use to help the army capture the East Camp. Only then did he let the guards send him out and arrange for him to stay in the house.

Then he called Carminus and had a brief discussion with him about the existence of an accomplice in the eastern camp of Segestica.

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On the next day, just after dawn, Maximus arrived at the river bank. Carminus had already assembled three cohorts of the Third Legion to wait in line, and 83 ships were densely placed on the river beach. Beside each ship stood four soldiers without armor or weapons. They were all sailors and were responsible for rowing.

"Chief, we are ready to cross the river." Carminus saluted.

Maximus turned his head and looked: the sky was dim, the river was covered with white fog, and his vision was limited. He couldn't even see the flowing river, let alone the scenery on the other side...

Can the ship sail under such conditions? Maximus was worried, but he did not show it. He saluted solemnly and said, "Carminus, it's up to you, the Fourth Legion, to take charge!"

"Chief, don't worry!" Calmilus said confidently, turned and walked towards the team and gave orders.

Soon, two centurions helped the sailors push the boats into the river, and then they all got into the boats. There were about four sailors and two or three fully armed soldiers in each boat. The sailors began to row hard, and the boats left the river bank one after another. They were soon swallowed up by the thick fog and disappeared from sight. Only the faint sound of "clattering oars..." could be heard.

Maximus stood quietly on the shore, anxiously waiting with Carminus and the other soldiers.

Not long after, a series of clear bird calls were heard penetrating the thick fog and reaching everyone's ears.

The soldiers all looked excited, but did not dare to make any loud noise.

"Chief, they have successfully landed!" Carminus waved his fist and said excitedly. It seemed that he was not as confident as he appeared.

"Well done, Carminus!" Maximus encouraged.

The return of the ships was not as fast as their departure, because they did not go straight to the opposite bank, but instead went diagonally downward. This allowed the ships to reach the opposite bank faster by taking advantage of the speed of the water flow and make the voyage safer. At the same time, after reaching the shore, the distance from Dongzhai greatly reduced the possibility of being discovered by the enemy.

But when returning, the boat had to go upstream, which was relatively time-consuming and laborious. However, they finally arrived safely, and then two more centurions boarded the boat and sailed away from the river bank...

Just as the number of soldiers waiting on the west bank of the Sava River gradually decreased, Valerius arrived with hundreds of crossbowmen carrying six wooden ladders.

"Chief, last night I asked my men to find some wood from various houses, and asked the carpenters among the people of Segestica to find tools to build us a few wooden ladders..." Valerius said calmly, without boasting in his tone.

"Well done, Valerius!" Maximus praised sincerely. He was too tired last night and had too many things to pay attention to, so he forgot that he could make preparations in this regard. Thanks to the experienced Valerius who thought of it.

Carminus was even more delighted, and said gratefully: "Valerius, thank you! Thank you! Now we will be more confident in capturing the East Camp!" Most of the soldiers on the shore had been transported away, and Carminus was ready to board the ship. Before leaving, he said goodbye to Maximus.

"After taking down the East Village, you and the soldiers may have to stay there for a while. It's best not to attack everywhere. Focus on guarding and managing the village. Listen more to Gilicus's advice and try to let him and his men, as well as the Segestica recruits in your team, do more propaganda to the Segestica people over there and persuade them to join our tribe, just like last night..." Maximus warned.

"Yes, Chief, I remember everything!"

"May the goddess Danu bless you!" Maximus raised his right hand solemnly and uttered a word.

Carminus was stunned for a moment, then his brows relaxed and he saluted excitedly: "Thank you, Chief!"

As the number of soldiers preparing for battle on the shore decreased and they were about to be transported to the other side by boats, the sun had risen to the middle of the sky, the sky was bright, the fog became very thin, and the outline of the Segestica East Village on the opposite bank could be seen. The same was true for a large group of Nyx soldiers who were lining up on the shore more than a hundred meters away from the south gate of the East Village. Therefore, it was not long before the panicked shouts of the Segestica soldiers in the East Village could be clearly heard by Maximus.

Maximus became nervous. Although he had discussed with Carminus last night and felt that there was a great chance of success in taking the East Stronghold by surprise, the risk was also great. If they could not capture it in a short time and the leader of the East Stronghold of Sestica mobilized his people, stabilized their hearts and put up a tenacious resistance, then the team led by Carminus would be in trouble. After all, they lacked powerful siege equipment and only carried one day's rations. Once the other side organized a fleet to blockade and intercept the Sava River, Carminus and his soldiers would be in trouble.

Therefore, Maximus clenched his fists and stared at the progress of the battle on the other side without blinking...

What he didn't know was that the man who destroyed the pontoon bridge and prevented the Knicks army from capturing the East Village last night was in trouble at the moment.

Yesterday afternoon, Pulikas imprisoned the leader of the East Village and led his men to cut off the pontoon bridge, making the village temporarily safe.

But the people who fled into Dongzhai later were not grateful to him. Instead, they watched their relatives and friends on the other side of the river being unable to escape because the bridge was broken and were surrounded by the Knicks army. Many people burst into tears.

Instigated by some people with ulterior motives, they became resentful of Prikas and gathered together to seek an explanation from him.

Pricas hid in his own house in a panic, and only avoided being beaten thanks to the protection of his men. However, he was trapped in the house and unable to leave for a while. At the same time, the prestige he had accumulated over the years was also lost in this conflict.

In addition, he encountered another big trouble.

Although Kabudes personally led his army to attack Nix, he did not relax his vigilance against those who opposed him, led by Prikas. Therefore, most of the warriors of Prikas' tribe were withdrawn to fight, and Prikas himself was transferred to the East Camp and monitored nearby by Kabudes on the grounds that "he was needed to stay in the main camp and maintain order." Therefore, he did not bring many men with him.

The main armed force in the East Village is the tribal warriors from the chief Kashiks, who is temporarily in charge of the affairs of the entire tribe. They were previously panicked by the attack of the Nix army, which gave Pricas the opportunity to secretly imprison Kashiks.

Originally, Prikas planned to do his best to persuade these soldiers, bring them under his command, take control of the entire village, and thus better defend against the enemy after dismantling the pontoon bridge and ensuring the temporary safety of the East Village. However, he did not expect that the attack of the fleeing people interrupted his plan. The soldiers of the East Village also found clues in the process of searching for their leader, and came to Prikas angrily to ask for them.

Prikas had no choice but to find Kashiks who was locked in the house to negotiate.

He told Kashiks: Now that the Nix army was approaching, no matter whether Cabodes was drowned or captured, the position of chief was vacant. He hoped that Kashiks would join him in immediately supporting Andres' son Ancasus to be the chief, so as to stabilize people's hearts, boost morale, and summon the people in the village and the remaining warriors of the tribes on the east and west banks to fight the enemy together, and finally drive them out of the territory.

Kashiks is a cousin of Andres and a blood relative of the great chief Segestica. His tribe is not far from the East Village and is quite powerful. However, because he is not good at fighting, he was not valued during Andres' reign. Therefore, he is very resentful towards Andres and even hates his family. Kabudes has been good to him in the past, so he contributed a lot to Kabudes' election as the great chief.

Prikas imprisoned him, which hurt his prestige among his people. Naturally, he hated Prikas because he was a vengeful person. When he saw Prikas rushing to negotiate with him, he knew that the other party was in trouble. Therefore, no matter how the other party tried to persuade him, he kept silent.

It was not until Pricas half-knelt down to apologize that he was slightly moved. He pretended to hesitate for a long time before he put forward his request: Ancasus could be the chief, but he must be in charge of all the affairs of the tribe.

(End of this chapter)