Chapter 73 - 71: The Youngsters (Request for Subscription)
Maximus continued: "...Then, without stopping for a moment, march west along the road. Along the way, Pompeian soldiers who arrive one after another may already be chasing from behind, or they may be shooting arrows at you from the city walls not far from the road. If your actions are slow or your reactions dull, you might die under their arrows or be caught and surrounded by the enemy.
When you arrive at the Herculaneum Gate, you’ll still have to fight the enemy guarding the city gate. You must kill them as quickly as possible to seize control of the gate before the enemy’s main forces arrive. Only then can the main force of the Guard, lying in ambush outside the city, enter smoothly, allowing us to secure ultimate victory... Now tell me, can you do it?!"
The group fell into a silence. After a long while, a few soldiers hesitantly responded in low voices, "...We... can do it..."
Maximus sternly swept his gaze over everyone: "It seems you’re self-aware. If you can’t even successfully complete such a simple training, how can you carry out a surprise assault on Pompeii and return safely! As your leader, the thing I care about most is whether you can make it back alive. So, I hope you will repeat this training over and over, not just by day but also at night, until you master it to perfection—so much so that you can complete the entire simulated action in the shortest time even with your eyes closed. This is the only way to ensure that by sweating more in training, you bleed less in battle!
I sincerely hope—when the day comes that we take Pompeii, every one of you will still be alive to bask in the envious gazes of the other troops and to hear their heartfelt admiration as they say, ’The soldiers of the Supply Camp’s Guard are remarkable! They are heroes capable of creating miracles!’"
After hearing their leader’s deeply stirring words, the soldiers’ breathing steadied, their backs straightened, and they stood tall and energized.
Camillus seized the opportunity to shout out loud, "Brothers, should we continue training?!"
"Yes!!!" the soldiers shouted in unison.
Quintus watched the Guard soldiers resume their training and remarked softly, "Even among slaves, there are outstanding individuals."