Chapter 32 - 31: Victory and Sorrow
Inside the farm, Grabo, upon witnessing the situation, hurriedly dispatched the few soldiers he had left at his disposal. The pincer attack caught the rebel soldiers in a predicament. Just as the Romans were about to regroup and strengthen the farm’s defenses, Hamilcar arrived in time with hundreds of men. Although they lacked weapons, these rebels, mostly thin and born of slaves, harbored hatred against the Romans. They charged with their bodies, pounded with their fists, and even bit with their teeth, appearing grotesque and frenzied.
The Roman soldiers collapsed completely amidst the screams.
"Fight your way in! Follow me into the farm!..." Hamilcar shouted, brandishing his sword high.
The Roman soldiers inside the farm, wanting to close the doors, were too late. First, the routed soldiers fled inside. The soldiers hesitated, failing to stab these comrades with their short swords in time, and were quickly thrown into disarray, disrupting the thin defensive array.
The rebel soldiers then flooded in, launching a frenzied attack on the chaotic Romans within the courtyard.
If these Roman recruits fought in formation, they might have, with their superior equipment, withstood the enemy. However, surrounded by chaos, the rebel soldiers’ fierce shouts rang in their ears like death omens. Terrified and jittery, they lost all fighting spirit, kneeling down to surrender.
Grabo, standing on the main building’s balcony, quickly diverted his gaze upon seeing this scene. Yet outside the farm, flames raged in the Roman Camp. Those damned slaves, like beasts, madly pursued and slaughtered the escaping Roman soldiers, their screams echoed throughout the camp...
Grabo closed his eyes in agony, then sighed deeply, straightened his uniform, picked up his short sword, and descended the stairs: "I am the Legal Officer of Rome, the Commander of this army, Gaius Claudius Grabo, I am willing to surrender, hoping to—"
Before he finished speaking, someone rushed forward and punched him heavily, knocking him to the ground: "Damn it, you’re a captive now, why so much nonsense!"