Chapter 1357 Hero
TANG! TANG! TANG!
“We are under attack!”
Loud sounds echoed through the air as hundreds of fierce Gaul warriors in the settlement came charging at the broken wall that spanned more than fifty meters in length. They were coming in droves to see the culprit of the commotion, but to their utter shock and disbelief, they saw only one Roman standing on the other side of the wall.
“Kill that crazy Roman!”
Unfortunately for the Gauls, the Roman they thought of as a lunatic possessed something beyond their knowledge that rendered all the weapons on Earth unable to penetrate his skin.
This caused a shocking scene for the Gauls as they watched how the arrows they shot hit their target but fell weakly to the ground without inflicting any kind of damage. Various expressions appeared on their faces, with most showing disbelief.
“Who is that Roman!? What kind of armor is he wearing?!”
Dashing towards the Gauls, Julian casually swung his gladius as he cut through their ranks with utmost ease. In a matter of minutes, the dead bodies of the Gauls began to pile up into a mound.
However, the fierce Gaul warriors were not so easily deterred by the bloody sight, especially when their chieftain Vercingetorix, who was considered the strongest warrior, decided to personally take action and jump into the fray.
It was also at this moment that the trees outside the settlement started to sway as hundreds of warriors clad in strange armor stepped out from the shadows.
Six centurias, each consisting of eighty men, made their advance toward the broken walls of the Gaul settlement in an orderly formation. The earth shook slightly as the soldiers marched in unison.
“There are only hundreds of them! Kill them all!”
The night sky lit up as a rain of fiery arrows filled the sky. It rained down upon the moving army, managing to hit and burn dozens of these warriors. However, they still continued to advance toward the wall with discipline.
Meanwhile, Julian jumped into the air and landed on top of the broken wall, “Brave Gaul warriors, you all will be the first to fight the greatest warriors this world would ever see, the Praetorians!”
As those words echoed through the air, the soldiers clad in strange armor finally arrived in front of the Gaul army. The situation quickly evolved into an all-out battle, with Julian giving orders for the 480 Praetorians to advance in offensive formation.
Each of the Praetorian Guard possessed 40 battle power, which was a strength comparable to that of 10 of the strongest Roman legionnaires. Added that to their unquestionably level of discipline and Julian’s tactics and strategy, the Gauls had no idea they were about to face their most terrifying nightmare.
It was 480 against 30,000 battles. However, Julian was confident as he knew that all he needed to do was kill the first five thousand. Once the Gauls started to feel hopeless, he immediately struck, charging in and blasting through hundreds of warriors to capture their chieftain.
“Brave warriors of Gaul! I have captured your leader! The confederation has lost!” Exuding the killing intent he had honed in his time at the academy, Julian said, “Turn around and return to your tribe before this place becomes your grave!”
Silence fell on the previously noisy battlefield of bloodbath as the Gauls fell into contemplation. Knowing there were still four Roman legions in the vicinity, all the tribe leaders decided to listen to Julian’s words and retreat.
Like a wave, the Gaul warriors quickly disengaged the Praetorian Guard and followed their brothers back. With that, before the first light of morning even arrived, the battle was over.
Along with the metal puppets [Praetorian Guards], Julian stood with a satisfied look as the morning sun washed over him. Out of the 480 he had unleashed, he lost twenty of them.
Coupled with the ones he lost during the tournament and the battle against the elves, he still had roughly 4,700 of them.
The twelve centurions Julian had brought along were assigned to these Praetorian Guards, to become their leader and speak on their behalf.
By this time, after seeing what Julian was capable of doing, the twelve centurions had already started to worship Julian, considering him a living god. They dared not question his actions and wholeheartedly followed the orders he gave them.
Wasting no time, Julian swiftly rounded up three thousand Gaul prisoners he had captured and marched towards Rome with his Praetorian Guard. Needless to say, his large entourage attracted attention even from afar.
As he entered the open gate of Rome, Julian could see tens of thousands of Romans gathering. They all cheered his name as he made his way down the road that led directly into the Senate building from the gate.
“Legatus Kaesar, hero of Rome!”
“Hail to the hero of Rome!”
With his previous renowned feat of bringing down Spartacus’ army of rebel slaves, coupled with this merit, Julian quickly became one of the most prominent figures in Rome. His rapid rise in fame and influence naturally caused much jealousy among the people in the Senate.
“Where the hell has he been the last year?!”
“I heard he was captured by the pirate and those men are actually pirates.”
“No way, I bet he had been building this secret army from those northern barbarians.”
While many held jealousy towards him, thanks to his rising popularity and frightening legionnaires, none dared to make a move on him. Instead, for his contributions to the Republic, Julian was appointed as the third consul of Rome, becoming one of the highest authorities in the Senate.
This new appointment put Julian on the same level as the two most prominent figures of Rome: the one considered the greatest military commander, Pompey Magnus, and the most affluent and rich politician in the Republic, Marcus Crassus. Both figures controlled a huge portion of the Senate and were constantly at odds with each other.
Naturally, his appointment rocked the political landscape of the Senate.
Unfortunately, when it came to politics, Julian couldn’t make things his way using strength without turning the Republic into a mess, nor did he have Klea’s extraordinary talent to affect their minds.
So, to make his plan a success, Julian held a meeting with the two influential figures, which fortunately was accepted by both parties. But to his surprise, when the day arrived, he found the famous old commander was accompanied by a young legionnaire, one who possessed strength comparable to a saint level warrior.
The name of said legionnaire was Mark Anthony.