But the Roman rescue forces soon tasted the pain of the curved wall they had built, as they were unable to speed up.

Seeing this, the Dionian soldiers in the city also urged their comrades to speed up and go to the city.

Captain of the Sixth Legion Light Armor Brigade Kerkus is from Siritin, not a later immigrant, but a native of Siritin, more than ten years ago he was an ordinary citizen of Siritin, participated in the Battle of the Ramato River, after the defeat he was lucky not to flee back to Siritin, but fled to Crotone, fortunately survived the Southern Italian War, and then became a citizen of Dionia, and became one of the most hard-trained soldiers in the camp of the Sixth Legion, and repeatedly made meritorious achievements in the war to conquer the Apulia region.

After being promoted to captain, he wrote several letters to the Ministry of Military Affairs requesting a transfer to the Eighth Army, but the Ministry of Military Affairs never agreed, fearing that the general, who had a deep hatred for the Syracuses, would come into conflict with the Syracuse when he went to Sicily.

And this time, as the commander of the raid, he was not worried when he saw the Romans attacking from both sides, and he immediately ordered: the soldiers in the city each sent two detachments to form a dense formation and block the walkways at both ends of the city wall.

The aisles in Rome were not wide, so Scipio the Great was able to successfully block the Dionian soldiers who had passed through the siege towers and ascended to the top of the city, and now Kelchus also used this method to buy time for the follow-up troops to go up to the city, which is really a report and a report.

Even if more than a thousand men from the Light Armor Brigade and the Mountain Scout Brigade came up, Kerkus was not prepared to attack the city walls, because the walkway was narrow and long, and it would take a long time to break through the enemy, and he had a better option, because there was a stone staircase in front of him that led down to the city.

It was precisely because of the remoteness of the southeast corner that the Romans built an uphill ramp here to facilitate the soldiers to reach quickly, but they did not expect that it would become an Achilles' heel used by the enemy.

Magus and Balbes quickly realized this problem, but the First Army and the Sixth Army were attacking more urgently during this time, obviously to cooperate with the sneak attack of this army, so they had no troops to send.

Balbus had no choice but to immediately send someone to ask Scipio the Great for help.

At this time, the Roman soldiers, who had been fighting for a long time and were already exhausted, were inspired by the belief in "defending their homeland", and they marched along the aisle of the city wall towards the southeast corner.

But the Dionian soldiers, who had been recuperating in a dense formation, stood in their way like two boulders.

The other Ionian soldiers went up to the city very quickly, not only because of the 30 rope hooks, but also because the soldiers brought more ropes, after going to the city, they were untied from their bodies, tied to the battlements or pulled by their hands, and hung down to the city, and nearly a hundred soldiers climbed up to the city at one time, and soon the dense Dionian soldiers crowded the southeast corner of the city.

At the sound of Kelkus's order, a thousand light armor and reconnaissance soldiers quickly descended the stone stairs and finally entered the city of Rome.

In front of them there were three lines of attack: the first, along the northeastern wall, against the hill of Querrillno, all the way to the north, either to support the First Legion or to attack the Senate, the center of the city of Rome, but this road was long and narrow, and easily blocked; The second way, to the northwest, through the road between the hills of Quirillno and the Virgina, leads to the center of Rome, but it is also narrow and easily blocked, and it is forbidden to go alone without knowing the city; The third route, chosen by Kerkus, was to march rapidly west along the southern wall, first assisting the Sixth Army in defeating the defenders in front of it.

In fact, not far from the stone staircase is one of the gates of the Roman city, the Porta Quirillno, but the entire gate is filled with stones and earth. The Roman walls were winding and there were many gates (at least ten) and there were not enough soldiers in the city to defend them, so yesterday the Roman Senate decided to mobilize the population to block all the gates to prevent them from becoming a breach for the enemy.

It would take a lot of time to clear it and open the gates, but now time was the most precious thing for the Ionian army entering the city, so Kerkus did not stop and led his troops on a rapid march west.

The light armoured and scouting soldiers, who had always been in a supporting position in the war, rarely took the lead in this important battle, and everyone was very excited, full of strength, and soon passed by the Vimina Gate, and was bumped into the old man and the women and children carrying supplies to the defenders of the city, and the Dionian soldiers were like tigers into a flock, easily knocking them down with their leather shields, and the rest of the people fled in terror in all directions, throwing arrows, javelins, and oil cans to the ground.

And the defenders of the city saw this scene and cried out in the same horror: "Enemy! The enemy has entered the city!! ……”

There was immediately a great commotion at the head of the city, and the panicked soldiers could no longer fight in peace, and a few soldiers did not even stop the dissuasion of the officers, left their defensive positions, and wanted to run down the city.

At this time, someone shouted: "Reinforcements are coming!" Reinforcements are coming!! ……”

Scipio the Great urgently sent 300 heavy infantry, which he already had.

But this was not enough to pose a danger to the Ionian army entering the city, and Kerkus made a quick decision: let three companies quickly meet up and attack the enemy's reinforcements; The other two companies went up the stone stairs on either side of the Vimina Gate and attacked the defenders of the city.

……………………………………

“…… The enemy has entered the city! The enemy has invaded the city!! ......" The people in charge of transporting the supplies ran back to the square in a panic, shouting hoarsely, causing chaos in the square.

The patriarchs in the square also changed their faces.

"Go and detain them all for me, and don't let them shout and create chaos!" Marugineensis was so angry that he immediately gave orders to the captain of the guard who was responsible for maintaining order in the square.

Portitus, with whom he had always played against him, did not stop him, and he was in favor of the use of strong force in such a time of crisis.

"Could it be...... The enemy is really ...... Attacked?! Ambustus's voice trembled and asked about everyone's common concerns.

“…… Escort a person to come and ask in detail. Portitus looked composed, but his hand was on crutches and he was shaking slightly.

At this time, a messenger sent by Scipio the Great arrived in the square, and the cruel truth that came out of his mouth made the senators panic.

"Didn't Scipio the Great already send reinforcements?! These heroic citizens...... You will be able to kill all the enemies who are lucky enough to rush into the city! Prenius shouted, trying to dispel the fear in his own and his colleagues, but his tone was so unconfident.

"If Scipio the Great had been sure to repel the enemy, he would not have sent a messenger to tell us......" Marugineensis sighed, he and Scipio the Great came from the same clan, and he had been trying to promote this capable clansman, so he naturally knew him better: "And we don't have any extra soldiers......

In fact, the senators had been receiving reports from the city's defenders, and they knew very well that the situation was dire, and that Marugineensis' words had only tore apart the last remaining luck in their hearts, and plunged them into a terrible silence.

"Go Capitoline!" Portitus' face was no longer flustered, and he said in a firm tone: "Don't worry, just like when the Celts invaded, the Dioonians may be able to occupy the city of Rome, but it will definitely not be possible to capture our holy land!" Compared to the last time, the situation this time is even more favorable, Camillus is about to return with a large army, and this time the army is much larger than it was more than ten years ago, and it is also more well-trained! The Dioconians will be driven out faster, and the victory will eventually belong to Rome! ……”

Portitus' reassuring words made the senators no longer so flustered.

…………………………………

The Roman people in the square received instructions from the senators, and rushed back to their homes in panic, hurriedly packed up their furniture, carried food, and prepared to flee to the Capitoline Hill for refuge.

As the people who lived near the embankment hurried back to their neighborhoods, they saw a horrified scene: the stone slabs used to cover the sewers along the street had been lifted to reveal the black, smelly sewers, and hundreds of soldiers in black leather armor, armed with black shields and short swords, lined up with their backs to them and facing the Tiber River......

"It's the enemy!! They're in!! ......" The Romans screamed in terror, and some women even fainted from fear.

Lizaru heard the commotion behind him, and he didn't care about these old men, women and children at all, and didn't even look back, but pointed the short sword in his hand forward, and shouted loudly in an impassioned voice: "Warriors of the Mountain Brigade, the time has come to make great contributions, follow me to kill them!" ”

After saying that, he was the first to rush towards the head of the Roman vertebral bridge, followed by the soldiers.

The shouts of Hades alarmed the Roman soldiers who were in a bitter battle, and the ferocious attack of the first brigade of the Third Legion of Dionyas was already difficult for them to deal with, and seeing many soldiers in black helmets and black armor behind them fiercely killing them, the fighting spirit of these Roman reinforcements, who were mainly composed of slaves, immediately fell to the bottom, and they completely ignored Cassius's order to turn around and resist, and in an instant they scattered and fled.

Their escape also shook the morale of the Roman soldiers, who had been fighting so hard to this day.

At the bridge, the Dionian soldiers, who were already very tired from the constant attack, heard the shouts of Hades from the opposite side, and their spirits were greatly lifted, and their sore arms seemed to be re-injected, and the offensive resumed its ferocious momentum again, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

。 Museum of Literature