Lilybaeum

Chapter 7

Amellius positioned himself in front of his men on the ship, his crimson cape fluttered in the wind like the sails above, the sunlight glinting off his crested helmet. “Today, we make history, today we protect our wives, children and our homes, do not fail them!” he called out to his men “You are of Rome the greatest city in the world, it was built on the blood of Romans and enemies alike, let us set an example for those who follow us and to those who remember this day!” A small cheer went up from the younger legionaries and marines, while the veterans remained impassive for the battle to come.

Several sailors prepared the Corvus Bridge which would be lowered onto the deck of an enemy ship, the iron spike on the Corvus would attach the two ships together so the legionaries could board, and it was devastating to the Carthaginians as their soldiers could not match those of Rome. And once aboard there was little the Carthaginians could do to stop them.

Despite the wishes of the Captains, Amellius insisted on fighting alongside the legionaries. He turned to his men and told them no mercy would be shown, as those that sail against them would show them no mercy either. He sent the order for five ships from the fleet to break off and attempt to flank the enemy, so even if the enemy was far bigger in numbers they would still have a fighting chance. Enemy sails crept in from the distance, as the drums built up to ready the oarsmen for ramming speed, their grunting increased as their arm muscles burned with the inhuman effort that they were exerting from their bodies.

The Carthaginian ships were much like their own apart from the recent invention of the Corvus Bridge which the Carthaginians had yet to discover, this should hopefully give them the edge in the oncoming battle. If they failed Sicily would be open to attack and countless lives would be lost, Amellius felt the weight of pressure on his shoulders but quickly shrugged it off knowing that he needed his mind clear for the events to come. The blood pounded in his head as the prows of the Carthaginian warships swam into reality. His thoughts were interrupted as the prow of the Roman Quinquereme smashed into the side of a much larger Carthaginian warship; screams came from below as the Carthaginian galley slaves were turned into a bloody pulp by the Roman prow. The Roman archers fired volley after volley of fire arrows down onto the scurrying figures on the Carthaginian deck, one man bawled as three arrows pierced through his blood stained chest severing an artery, the man twitched on the floor as he was trampled on by his comrades. Several Roman archers fell from the platforms on the mast and plummeted screaming to their deaths as their heads cracked onto the deck below, blood trickled from the ruined bodies of the archers, pooling on the wooden planks before seeping down through the cracks and into the levels below.

Saturnius gave the order for shields up as the Carthaginians released their own volley deadly missiles, he felt an arrow glance of his helmet as he turned around a saw a marine without as shield trying to find cover. Saturnius dived and covered the marine with his shield and swore as some of the stitches in his cheek snap as the caught on the marine’s scaled armour. He looked down at the marine and called another man to take the man to the stores to get him a shield. Saturnius heard a scream from above and threw himself across the deck to dodge an archer that hurtled into the deck with a sickening snap, Saturnius swore as looked at the gory mess that had once been a man lay crumpled on the wooden boards. An arrow stuck out from the body just below what appeared to be the man’s elbow, Saturnius cursed as realised the real reason the man had died was because of a small flesh wound. The archer must have slipped when the barb hit him, causing the man to slip from his narrow perch and hurtle onto the solid planks of the deck below.

Amellius roared over to the men at the Corvus Bridge to release it onto the deck of the Carthaginian ship the men positioned it and dropped it onto the enemy deck. A Carthaginian man screamed as the bridge’s spike smashed through his shoulder pinning his writhing body to the deck. As the legionaries pounded over the bridge the man shrieked in agony as the spike was pushed further through his body, the Carthaginian was quickly silenced by a blow to the neck from a gladius. Amellius pounded over the bridge after his men as Centurion Saturnius joined him in the charge. Amellius faced a tall brawny Carthaginian; the man had bloody and beaten face showing he wasn’t a favourite of the Carthaginian Captain. The man wielded a large hammer which he smashed down onto Amellius’ shield, the weapon left a large dent on the rim of the praetor’s shield, the blow’s energy travelled up Amellius’ arm numbing it. The Carthaginian ripped the shield from Amellius’ grasp and threw it at another legionary, the legionary was momently stunted and his opponent ripped open the man’s stomach in reaction, intestines and blood erupted from the dying man’s abdomen as he desperately tried to hold onto life, before collapsing with the other bodies strewn over the deck. Amellius roared and thrust his sword deep into the Carthaginian’s neck blood spurted out hitting Amellius in the eyes, he was momentarily blinded. When his vision cleared he looked up and saw a sword coming down in an arc towards his head, a figure threw itself into Amellius’ attacker giving him time to get up.

Saturnius smashed the boss of his shield up into the face of the short Carthaginian sailor, he grunted in satisfaction as he heard the nose break under the solid impact, he pushed the sailor away and moved towards the helm of the ship. The Carthaginian Trierarch stood at the helm issuing orders to his men, Saturnius knew that many lives would be saved if he took out the Trierarch, he ordered three men to follow him and together they charged up the stairs pushing past sailors and soldiers alike. Saturnius reached the helm and swore when he saw that the Trierarch was guarded by five other men, they weren’t good odds but Saturnius knew that his men were fair fighters. The four of them raised shields and stampeded towards their adversaries, Saturnius braced his shoulder for impact and grunted as he hit home, he immediately thrust his gladius forward and it was met by the resounding ring of sword on sword. His opponent was a skilled swordsman and the man’s well-muscled arms shone with sweat, his arms showed several scars and showed that this man must once have been in the Carthaginian army. The Carthaginian met Saturnius’ blows with parries every time he struck, his opponent nimbly went for a smooth counter balance that sent Saturnius sprawling. The Carthaginian looked down on him and raised his sword to deliver the death blow, but a look of surprise spread across the man’s face as he looked down to see the sharp point of a gladius protruding from his stomach. The body collapsed taking its killer with it as the gladius caught and snagged on the rib cage.

 Amellius withdrew his sword from the bloody wreckage of the enemy's chest, several ribs cracking as the sword scraped and snagged its way out. He reached down to help Saturnius up “Thank you sir” Saturnius grunted in response. All four of the enemy Trierarch’s guards had been dispatched and the Trierarch looked in horror at the men who stood before them, drenched in the blood of his troops. The legionaries teeth shone white through the red and black grime that clung to their bodies, Amellius stepped forward the Trierarch who stumbled backwards in fear, suddenly the Carthaginian drew a small knife and charged at Amellius. Amellius grabbed the arm with the knife and started to prise the blade from him; in a smooth motion Amellius forced the blade into the man’s stomach. The Carthaginian cried out as Amellius tipped his squirming body over the rail and into the sea; Saturnius shrugged his shoulders as if to ask why, Amellius just pointed to the foreboding fins that protruded from the water’s glassy surface. A shrill scream was heard from below the ship before it was cut horribly short; the legionaries looked at each other and grinned wolfishly.

Amellius turned to see the progress of the other ships in the Roman fleet, several of the other Quinqueremes had sunk two of the enemy ships, with the help of a pair of Biremes each. The screams of the rowers on both the Carthaginian ships could be heard well over the sound of the battle, it was when death was closest the men screamed louder before being dragged down into the murky gloom that lay below the shining surface of the sea.