Soldier of Rome: Journey to Judea (The Artorian Chronicles) Read Online Free

his cohort commander, Artorius understood the need to teach the raiding barbarians, as well as the indigenous peoples, a lesson in Roman power.
    “Then centurion enjoys killing, does he?” the legionary asked once he felt Artorius was out of earshot. The young man had only been in the legions for six months and was barely out of recruit training. Like most, he’d stumbled many times when learning weapons drill and marching; as a result suffering centurion’s wrath, along with that of his training officers. It was something every young man who joined the Roman army went through, but the legionary still caught himself cringing when his centurion approached.
    “No,” his squad leader replied, shaking h is head. “He hates it. Many days he curses the gods that he is so damned efficient at it.”
    Though the legionary only saw his commanding officer perhaps twice a week during battle drills, his reputation was legendary. Despite being the youngest centurion within the Twentieth Legion, Artorius had held his command for six years. Given how quickly he accelerated through the ranks, it surprised many of his men that he was not on the short list for promotion to cohort commander.
     
    Artorius reckoned he would get the chance soon to prove his killing efficiency, as well as testing that of his men. It was their second night at this settlement, and he knew that sooner or later the raiders would strike.
    “They have to return,” he told his optio, Gaius Praxus. “That last raid was just a reconnaissance mission. Were it not, I doubt they would have fled in the face of less than a dozen auxiliaries.”
    Praxus remained silent. The two senior leaders of the Second Century were feeling the same agitation as their men.
    “With such a large supply of grain,” Praxus at last replied, “to say nothing of the handful of cattle and goats, it is too ripe of a target to be ignored. I wonder how Magnus and the Fourth Cohort are faring.”
    “His men are still fairly raw and inexperienced,” Artorius noted. “I think a clash with the chance to bloody their weapons will do them some good.”
    Centurion Magnus Flavianus was a close friend of both men. He’d come up through the ranks with Artorius. After the legion’s Fourth Cohort met disaster at the Battle of Braduhenna, Magnus had been selected as one of the centurions to lead the reconstituted unit.
    “The pickets have been instructed not to engage the enemy directly,” the decanus from the patrol squad said as he joined the two senior leaders.
    The men assigned this duty had the most difficult task of all, particularly regarding their need to remain hidden in the dense undergrowth along the river, unable to move about freely. Artorius made certain only the best disciplined men were posted here, with the previous pickets being relieved just before the predawn cast its glow through the dense mass of trees.
    “Have designated runners been assigned to notify us when the enemy is spotted?” the centurion asked.
    “Yes , sir,” the decanus confirmed. “They also know they are to provide the blocking force to prevent any raiders from escaping back across the river.”
    Aside from the pickets he posted to watch for movement on the far side of the river, his men had remained mostly hidden , encamped in the small defilade just on the other side of the road that ran past the settlement. Though the farmers had wished to send their wives and children away, Artorius had forbidden it, as he wanted everything to have the appearance of normality. The Roman governor made it clear to the legions that he wanted the raiders wiped out, not scared away. Artorius’ men mostly slept during the day, and their chief enemy proved to be boredom. Two of his men had already felt the lash of his vine stick for fighting amongst themselves. The sooner they had an actual enemy to battle, the better.
    As the day wore on, Artorius elected to take another walk through the settlement. As he reasoned that a