//------------------------------// // Chapter XXVI: The War Hymn of Mars. // Story: Lightning Bolt of Rome // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// On the ground, Spear Head was leading behind a wall of shields, his horn still concentrating on the cloud’s direction. Although, he took the General’s advice and tried to stick to high ground whenever possible. The Legion marched over bushes and shrubs and flowed around the trees like a living river moving through the expansive forest. In the air, Lightning Bolt kept his eyes out for anything unusual. It was at times like this that he wished he’d had a spyglass or a pair of binoculars to help comb the forest from his vantage point. However, with the overcast above him, he was thankful that even if something went wrong, he would have plenty of material to fight with. The only thing Bolt could see was the legion sticking together as it slowly moved through the trees with the cavalry surrounding them. As for the legion itself, every soldier was as tense as could be. The paranoia caused even the archers to draw arrows in preparation. “It’s nearly sunset,” General Cato commanded, looking behind his horse at his line of men. “Mars, do you think we ought to rest for a moment?” The unicorn sighed. “How long has it been since we last rested?” “Several hours ago, I think.” Humming, the Drill Sergeant peered through the shields and spotted a row of hills ahead. “I think we should rest there,” he said as he pointed forward to the mounds of dirt. “We’ll stop for about fifteen minutes before we move on. If nothing happens by nightfall, we’ll need to find a place to make our camp.” “Agreed.” Cato turned to his near-exhausted men and gave them the order to go rest near the forest knolls. But then, before the First Legion of the Gods could take a step towards the foot of the hills, thunder was heard. Everyone looked up at the cloud that had been following them and saw the pegasus urgently pointing towards their resting grounds. Soon after, an arrow flew across the skies and just narrowly missed the pegasus. Soon after that, a shower of arrows took to the skies. “Shields up!” Cato cried as he and the legion quickly created a roof of shields over themselves to protect from the downpour. Without the legion’s protection, Lightning Bolt had to think quickly as a flock of sharpened points made their way to him. That’s not to say that his armor didn’t protect him, but he was thankful that he didn’t feel anything penetrating him. Taking a look down, he could barely see his own under the cover of pines. He quickly looked back towards the hills and spotted several hundred soldiers, as well as some cavalry of their own. When the second wave of arrows fired, the pegasus took to the skies to gather more clouds. On the ground, Spear Head’s heart was beating rapidly. His horn was glowing as brightly as a star, trying to recall every important spell for combat that he ever knew. He suddenly heard a battle cry coming from the hills. Once the attackers were in sight, the remaining Romans took their javelins and tossed them toward the enemy lines. Thin spears and skinny arrows from the First Legion came down like rain, some landing in the ground or impaling the trees, but some managed to find their targets, striking the aggressors and their horses down. Among the battle cries, there was a quick pizzicato of javelins that buckled and snapped in the forest. The unicorn fired several stun spells from his horn into the enemies, but he could only do a few at a time. “Form the testudo!” the General cried while the Roman cavalry charged at the hill. All around the Drill Sergeant, the shields began to overlap on all sides, hiding their army in a protective shell of red shields. All around him, experienced soldiers drew their short swords and poked them through the thin cracks between the shields. From Bolt’s perspective, they almost looked like a porcupine. Officers up and down the legion were giving out orders and blowing their whistles once their assailants came through the Roman cavalry. Amongst the chaos, while men thrust their swords overhead and pushed with their shields, the legion shifted exhausted soldiers from the outer layers, allowing the soldiers from further inside the shell to take their place. Spear made sure to contribute where he could. He conjured up shield spells to knock enemy riders off their galloping horses, disintegrated their weapons, and even stunned them until they fell to the ground, unable to fight. In the sky, Bolt quickly pushed the clouds overhead and positioned them behind or close to where the enemy was coming from. Once he placed the final cloud in the right place, he gave it a swift buck, causing a chain of lightning to strike the ground. Not only did it startle the attackers, but some of the tree branches caught fire and began to spread. Another buck caused more bolts of light to rain down, electrocuting a good chunk of the next wave of assailants before they could even make a move. With the attackers caught by surprise from the lightning bolts and swiftly-spreading fire, the legion sang out a war cry of their own. “Magnanimous, unconquered, boisterous Mars! “In darts rejoicing, and in bloody wars! “Fierce and untamed, whose mighty power can make, “The strongest walls from their foundations shake! “Mortal-destroying king, defiled with gore, “Pleased with war’s dreadful and tumultuous roar! “Thee, human blood, and swords, and spears delight, “And the dire ruin of mad savage fight!” With every line, confidence was building among the army. The determination to survive swelled along with their pride, with every stab after bloodied cut of their swords. “Stay, furious contents, and avenging strife, “Whose works with hoe, embitter human life! “To lovely Venus, and to Bacchus yield, “To Ceres give the weapons of the field! “Encourage peace, to gentle worked inclined, “And give abundance, with benignant mind!” Spear Head knew that he was only pretending to be their living incarnation of Mars, but at that moment, as each soldier praised his name with every kill, he started to fall into the delusion that he really was the God of War. This bloody choir, among the snapping of spears, the clanging of metal, the roar of thunder, and the screams of dying men towards the heavens, revealed the intense horrors of wars that neither stallion had ever seen before in their militaristic lives. _*_ “Spear Head!” the pegasus cried as he flew back down to the ground. “Drill Sergeant, report!” After spending some time putting out the fires he started and made the final push that eventually caused their assailants to retreat, the Solar Captain had been looking among the carnage for his fellow guard. “Captain?” This got his attention and he was relieved that his fellow Equestrian was still alive. That’s not to say that he was completely fine, as his golden armor was battered and bloodied. “Sir, are you alright?” “I’m okay. What about you?” “I’m exhausted,” he said,” but still alive… I do have one question.” “Yes?” “What happened? Did we win?” Looking around, Bolt saw that it was already sunset. The wild grass, trees, and bushes were all stained with a dark brownish-red color. Bodies, both human and equine, laid about with broken arrows and javelins. Nevertheless, there were many Romans that were still organizing the corpses and collecting anything valuable or useful. “I have no clue,” Lightning confessed. “I’m going to find the General. Go get yourself cleaned.” “Sir, yes, sir.” He didn’t stay around for his officer to salute him, already trotting towards the new campsite that had sprung up. Military doctors were moving around and treating as many soldiers as they could, using all kinds of plants, herbs, ointments, honey, paste, and even wine. The stallion heard the occasional muffled scream coming from the soldiers that were being treated to surgery underneath the cover of the tents. He finally managed to find the General’s tent. As he opened the flap, he saw a tired Senator Cato sitting on his makeshift bed. “There you are,” the pegasus said as he entered. “I was hoping I could get some answers.” Felix sighed. “Ask away, Jupiter.” “How many did we lose in the ambush?” “Out of the six-thousand we had, not including the cavalry, we lost some two-hundred-and-seventy. From our body counts of the enemy’s forces, it seems that we were attacked by a smaller force. We were lucky you two were here to aid us. In fact, if neither of you was here… there’s no telling how today would have ended.” Bolt seemed to finally take in Cato’s appearance. “Are you alright?” “I’m an old man,” he said while knocking back a flask. “Naturally, I’m not in the same shape as I was in my youth.” “Understandable,” Bolt nodded. “What about the cavalry?” “That is where we suffered the most. We’ve lost half of our riders and horses, either slain or captured. I do not know if we will manage to survive another attack like that, but I don’t think that the legion is too worried.” “How come?” The old man chuckled. “Because of you and Mars, of course! Besides, I’m not too downtrodden. This was a victory, after all.” “Perhaps, but we’re not quite done yet. We still need to find that cloud,” Lightning pointed out as he went over to the jugs of wine. He sighed. “Besides, after today, I could really use a drink.”