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

dark in the thicket that we can’t see a thing. However, we could hear them. They’re not making any attempts at being quiet. There must be a lot of them. The sounds of the river would mask the approach of a smaller force. They’ll be on the settlement in a matter of minutes.”
    “Whatever their numbers, we will stop them,” Artorius asserted. He then turned to his optio. “Praxus, get our flanking forces set.”
    “I still don’t agree with you only taking two squads with you,” the optio remarked as he signaled for decanii to have their men make ready.
    Most of the century would fan out in either direction in order to envelope the raiders and prevent them from escaping. With another squad still on picket duty and providing their blocking force, that left Artorius with only sixteen men.
    “When I’m a bloodied corpse, you can say you were right,” the centurion retorted. “Now move!” It was rare for him to give such a biting rebuke to his second-in-command, who was also a close friend. However, he was facing an enemy of unknown strength, with many of his own men having never seen combat. This was not the time for indecisiveness.
    The raiding force proved to be far larger than Artorius had anticipated. At first all he could see was a handful of shadows moving amongst the homesteads , some heading for the kraal, the rest for the grain silo. He took a deep breath and squeezed the upper arm of the soldier lying to his left. This noiseless signal was passed down the line and everyone stood with shields and javelins ready.
    As his men quickly stepped off and advanced towards the settlement they heard the sounds of doors being smashed and screams coming from within. There were now numerous shadows rushing about and the flash of torches was glaring in the blackness.
    “Impudent bastards,” Artorius growled. He had hoped to get as close as possible to the enemy before making his presence known, but now he had no choice but to distract the raiders, lest they wipe out the settlement. “Advance!”
    Though his shouted order would alert his men moving to flank the enemy that the situation now called for speed, it also let the enemy know he was coming. Shouts in a foreign tongue echoed in the night , and it was only when those bearing torches came into view that the light cast on the field let Artorius know just how badly he was outnumbered. There was nothing for it. As a horde of what he figured were at least a hundred men bore down on them, he quickened his step and shouted his next order. “Javelins…throw!”
    His men unleashed their heavy javelins, which tore into the bodies of the oncoming raiders. Some managed to block the incoming missiles, though their shields were rendered useless as a result. Others fell with their guts ran through, tumbling to the ground in overwhelming agony. There was no time for further orders and without waiting for the centurion’s command, every legionary quickly drew his gladius.
    “Orb formation!” Artorius shouted.
    With only sixteen men , he knew he had no chance of holding a battle line against the mass of barbarians whose clubs and spears were already slamming into the wall of legionary shields. His men quickly formed a circle, keeping their shields together as they suddenly found themselves in a fight for their lives. In the flashes of torchlight, he could see the looks of glee on the faces of the barbarians as they hoped to add nearly a score of legionaries, not mention a centurion, to their trophies of plunder.
    One man swung a club w hich banged repeatedly off Artorius’ shield. The barbarian’s one eye was clouded and white, the other red as he howled in a berserker rage. The centurion tilted his shield and hammered the raider in the gut with the bottom edge, causing him to double over. Before he could finish the man, a spear caught him in the cheek guard of his helmet, knocking him back. Artorius regained his footing and brought his shield up as the spearman thrust