Chapter 6: Defeat (Part 2)

The javelin pierced the elephant's eye socket, and it bled, but it was also furious. The two soldiers saw with their own eyes that the elephant rushed over from a long distance and used its long trunk to wrap up the commander of Laibrus and his team. Although the commander tried to break free and was ready to bravely draw out a dagger to stab the elephant's trunk, the huge beast did not give him a chance. It threw Laibrus into the air and then slammed him heavily to the ground. When Laibrus was about to get up, a shadow enveloped him and fell rapidly. With an indescribable sound, the Roman lieutenant was trampled into a pulp by the elephant's legs, and his internal organs and flesh and blood were splattered everywhere.

After King Juba sent in the elephants, the front team of Lebrus, about 2,000 soldiers, were all driven to the foot of a cliff. The cavalry surrounded the group of people like driving animals, and then the war elephants rushed over and trampled them cruelly, because King Juba thought it was a very meaningful thing. He liked to see the prisoners of war screaming miserably in a helpless situation and being killed by his army.

When it was close to night, the mountain where Curio fled to was also captured by King Juba's cavalry, which had an absolute advantage in numbers. The soldiers under Curio died in large numbers, and the bodies were piled up like wheat that had just been harvested. The body of the Roman commander-in-chief was unknown, and many cavalry were looking for him with torches, whether he was alive or dead. As soon as Quintus and Rufus ran to Cornelius' old camp, they asked Marcellus and Maximus to mobilize all the warships and merchant ships, take them away and run back to Sicily, because they couldn't stay here.

"No!" Marcellus refused flatly, and then asked the two refugees. The enemy is now three miles away. How many pursuers are there. As a result, Cicero's brother was full of shame. He hesitated for a long time and couldn't explain clearly.

Then, Maximus took the initiative to ask the two to hand over all the soldiers to him, plus some armed oarsmen, and continue to approach Utica along the camp. "You can't abandon the governor at will!" It's hard to believe that this came from the mouth of a fleet commander.

Fortunately, they were not attacked, and there was no trace of Pompey's army within three miles-they all received orders. Go to Utica to gather and attack another Massi legion.

The battle under the city of Utica ended even faster. With 40,000 men from King Juba and the cooperation of two legions from Pompey, the rear of the 17th Legion of the Massi was abandoned by friendly forces. They could neither win nor retreat, so they could only surrender. As a result, most of them were unlucky and went to King Juba's army. Then, under the order of the king, Mago and Tharp took all the surrendered soldiers to the blockade wall they had built a few days ago and slaughtered them all. When Pompey learned about this, he was very angry, but he could do nothing. The current King Juba could despise the authority of Rome in Africa. He did whatever he wanted. He could not tell the difference between the Massi and the Romans. In his eyes, they were all bad guys from Italy and had to be killed.

They searched until dawn, but failed to find the rest of Curio's generals. They could only board the ships and retreat as soon as possible. Some ships were overloaded and capsized. In the end, the 22nd Legion, which was full of new recruits, had the most survivors when they returned to Sicily.

About a month later, the news that Curio's four African legions were "almost annihilated" officially reached Rome, and rumors of Pompey's counterattack on Sicily followed. The city was in chaos, with some people terrified and some excited.

"The young general Curio, because of his extreme loyalty to the dictator, could not restrain his courage, or was too impulsive, and was ambushed by the enemy and suffered a tragic defeat." In the mansion in Seville, Caesar, who was inviting many powerful people to a banquet, pressed the tablet thoughtfully, but he did not mean to hide it, but sighed and said, "But General Curio, and the equally brave Massi allied legions, still dealt a terrible blow to the enemy. However, I still have to do everything myself. I will soon take all the legions in Italy to fight Pompey in the suitable sailing season!"...

After hearing Caesar's words, the guests seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. It seems that the dictator still has enough strength to make up for the impact of the tragic defeat in Africa.

So the music continued. On the other couch, Lepidus was talking happily with Atia and her new husband Philips. Philips had served as a consul and was also a well-known orator. Now he was telling a pun to the cavalry commander.

"I think I should be asked to participate in the upcoming war in Africa, so that Pompey will not take any resistance measures and will surrender directly." Philips said slowly, and then looked around at the guests. The surprised expressions on their faces made him very proud.

"Then I must ask you to bring it with you, and live in the same tent, otherwise the credit will be taken away by others." Lepidus seemed to be in a good mood.

"You know, Pompey regards himself as Alexander, and I am Philips. Would Alexander the Great refuse the request of his father Philip?" Philips announced the answer playfully in a tone imitating his father. Then many guests, including Lepidus, understood the meaning of this pun and laughed happily.

Later, Atiya changed the subject. She asked Lepidus about the wedding date of Turinus and Corinna, but Lepidus opposed his daughter's early marriage. He obviously thought it would be harmful to Corinna's health. However, Atiya seemed to be very concerned about this matter. There are always some things that give Roman ladies the same satisfaction as men fighting in the world of fame and fortune, and arranging their children's weddings is one of them.

"Dear Philips, I don't think what you said just now to Pompey, or that he is still the great Pompey in the hearts of the Romans, is a polite word that a respectable person can say." The one who made such a statement was Brutus, who was holding a wine glass and had a serious face.

Philips was obviously embarrassed, and Atiya's questioning about the marriage of his children was interrupted. The orator immediately explained to Brutus that he was just making a pun and had no bad intentions in it, because many people present were about to rush to the battlefield of life and death, and he just wanted to adjust the atmosphere.

But Brutus seemed to ignore him, and just stared at Lepidus who was still sitting on the couch.

Lepidus also looked back at him a few times, but there was no provocation in his eyes. But then he didn't say anything, but stood up and said goodbye to everyone politely,

"Vercingetorix of Gaul and General Itasus of Liguria have both sent a legion to help the dictator's expedition. I still need to handle the delivery matters."