Chapter 28 - 27 Defeat
Seeing the rebel soldiers all rushing down the mountain, Maximus stopped extinguishing the fire and focused intently on the battle downhill: the javelin attack from the Romans filled him with anxiety, the charge of the gladiators excited him, and the deadlock between the two sides made him tense... Then he saw the Roman formation at the back split in two, beginning a flanking maneuver towards the rebel wings, causing the new recruits, armed with farming tools and never having fought before, to collapse at the sight of the enemy attacking from behind...
It's over! ...Although Maximus had anticipated this from his past life's memory, witnessing the scene of rebel soldiers crying and fleeing up the mountain made his scalp tingle, and his hands and feet turn cold. It took him a while to regain his senses, and he urgently shouted, "Acronis! Gaius! Take your people and quickly run to the back of the mountain!..."
"Pigeris! Have your transport team hurry and harness the horses, follow them to the back of the mountain!..."
"Vorenus! Kids! Follow me!..." Maximus shouted loudly as he ran back.
Acronis, Pigeris, and Gaius's responses were heard in the camp, but were accompanied by panicked screams from the other members of the supply team, with some running directly towards Maximus.
Time was pressing, and Maximus couldn't look carefully, so he led them in a hurried retreat towards the back mountain...
............
Seeing the enemy collapse across the line, Grabo was overjoyed and immediately ordered, "Send the cavalry out, chase the enemy for me!"
"Yes!"
"Legion soldiers—" Grabo hesitated and said, "Keep the formation and press towards the enemy camp at a normal pace. Leave the task of pursuing the routing soldiers to the cavalry and auxiliary soldiers."
Grabo was cautious because he didn't trust the combat abilities of these new Roman recruits. The gladiators' charge had him on edge, worrying that if they dispersed Roma soldiers in pursuit of routing rebels who retaliated when cornered, things could go awry...