A Most Dangerous Weapon

Chapter 68: Silence Before Dawn

It was an earie sight to behold.

The Romallian army fanned out in front of the treeline with the plains and farmland before them. Dozens of factions with over a hundred perfectly parallel lines awaited their designated general's command. Archers made up the front lines of the foot soldiers, followed by spear men and blade wielders. Behind the soldiers were five catapults with a pile of ammunition ready to be ignited and thrown. Banner men stood around the contraptions to proudly display the Romallian colours and sigil. The horsemen flanked the sides and were dispersed between groupings of foot soldiers in preparation to ride in first. The Commander and a handful of other high ranking officers were perched on their steeds in front of it all, and Maximus was nestled between them. This was the first time I'd seen him in battle armour with a frighteningly large blade at his side. His crown was shimmering gold as the sun rose into the lavender sky.

Gaius' troop was quite impressive and frightful in its own way. He had dozens of rows of foot soldiers with blades and eclectic weapons spanning along the city wall. Their numbers might have been a tad lower after so many recent defeats, but they had the homeland advantage of outnumbering Maximus' horses. They must have acquired every stead from every stable across Galacia in preparation for this moment. About a third of Gaius' army was mounted, creating the frontline of attack with their spears, throwing axes, maces and blades. They were fearsome beasts, seething through their helmets as angrily and heavily as their horse's laboured breath, exhaling puffs of smoke into the cool night air. On top of their imposing walls were hundreds of archers with dozens of arrows each and bowls of oil with a flame to bathe the morning sky in orange starbursts. Close combat weapons were also at their disposal in case the Romallians managed to fight past the foot soldiers to attempt to climb the wall. Catapults also lined the wall, built many years ago into the structural integrity of the wall as a warning against intruders. They were smaller than Maximus' contraptions in order to snugly fit along the wall, but Gaius once again had a greater number of them at his disposal. Lieutenants and generals were distinguished by their armour as they too mounted their horses. Banners were hung along the wall swaying gently in the breeze. Beyond the wall there were hundreds of soldiers lining the streets as backup. They were going to do everything in their power to ensure that this fight didn't reach the palace, even if that meant coating their beautiful, pristine streets with blood.

Gaius was nowhere to be seen. It was another mental warfare tactic: taunting his brother with his absence to declare that Maximus wasn't worth his time, for he was confident that his army would defeat the Romallians before they made it past the wall. If he was proven wrong, then he would deign to leave the palace and face his brother.

Despite the thousands of soldiers and dozens of horses that had come to take part in this momentous occasion, the entire scene that spanned out before me was unnaturally quiet. Everyone was waiting for the sun to emerge along the horizon. The bloodbath was imminent; dawn was approaching.

Our force remained hidden on higher ground and far back in the treeline. Quintus, Newt, Theo and Brutus each took about twenty gladiators to their designated positions. They were meant to wait for my various signals to proceed. Evander and Camilla had about fifteen gladiators spread out along the ridge that overlooked the battlefield. Once our ground teams were active, they would also be put into play as aerial cover. I made sure to check Marcus' restraints carefully before joining the infiltration teams. We had the best visual of the whole landscape so we could provide instruction to the others before taking off ourselves.

My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. All this waiting was making me nervous, but I did my best to hide it from the others. I needed to show them how confident I was; any shred of doubt could bring our plan crashing down.

Even though we were far enough away from prying eyes and ears, none of us dared to speak. It was like some unspoken rule to keep the unnervingly tranquil atmosphere going. The first voice to break the silence belonged to the man who was laying siege.