Chapter 2424: The Second Battle of Two Rivers

“If these are your petty tricks, then go to hell!” Lyu Bu was truly enraged this time. Before he even made his move, someone had already tried to clear the battlefield with a legion attack. If he hadn’t deftly dodged left and right to avoid the attacks, things could have been dangerous.

The furious Lyu Bu whirled the Sky Piercer, directly entering his peak effort mode. Earlier, he thought about holding back, but now he was utterly done with that idea. Today, he would kill this bastard, kill him!

At the moment Lyu Bu struck out in rage, the very skies seemed to change color. A group of military generals pursuing from afar witnessed this scene of heavenly transformation, yet it quickly dissipated.

“…” With a dark expression, Lyu Bu glanced at Zhao Yun and retracted his Sky Piercer. “Count yourself lucky!”

As he spoke, Lyu Bu descended to the ground. Just as he was about to make a move and kill Zhao Yun, he hesitated as Zhang Liao and Gao Shun were calling for him. Compared to this situation with a son-in-law, which he could deal with anytime, helping out his brothers was more important.

In fact, Lyu Bu’s judgment was correct, as Zhang Liao and Gao Shun in Western Asia indeed encountered significant trouble. Severus arrived, not that his arrival directly mattered, but importantly, he came with two Military Spirit Legions, one elite of three Talents, six Breakthrough Level experts, over thirty Inner Qi Manifestation generals, nine Eagle Banner Legions, seventeen Barbarian Corps, and numerous auxiliary legions.

Among these forces, there were six legions capable of dual Talents, including the Barbarians. What does such a massive military force intend to do? Obviously, it’s here to destroy nations!

As Jian Yong had anticipated, Severus deliberately avoided addressing the Western Asia issue just to resolve it now.

Unlike the Central Plains, the Mediterranean climate sees twelve months in a year mostly suitable for warfare, except for the few rainy months. Hence, at year-end, Severus directly brought the army that had conquered Britannia from Italy.

One must admit that the Mediterranean bathwater largely alleviated the Romans’ logistics and troop deployment difficulties. Without the Mediterranean, transporting Roman troops to Western Asia would take about half a year due to their terrible road conditions, but with the Mediterranean, they transported men, weapons, and supplies to Judea Province in a month.

At this time, Vologases V had returned to Parthia. He needed to use his victorious prestige to integrate domestic situations and allow Parthia to be reborn from the ashes.

Consequently, at present in Judea Province, the spot delineated for control was occupied by the Sassanid Fars people, with a strength of over seventy thousand troops, totaling about one hundred ten thousand when including Han Dynasty forces.

Romans were known for having short legs on land, and thus were quickly discovered by Parthian Light Cavalry; but honestly, Severus made no attempt to hide.

That formidable military momentum made the Parthians once again feel the fear from Roman rule, while the Han forces had no special thoughts, figuring everyone could ride horses—if defeated, they’d just retreat. Their hard strength was reliable, and cutting through and charging out was undoubtedly achievable. Therefore, under the consideration of Sheni Pei and Chen Gong, they decided to test the waters.

Ultimately, if defeated, they could always retreat—who were they afraid of?

Regardless, neither Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, nor Chen Gong and Sheni Pei considered that the Romans would come relying on such assets, like Military Spirit Legions or Breakthrough Level experts, but no one imagined the Romans would bring forth such resources.

Or perhaps due to their vision being restricted by previous circumstances, they couldn’t possibly imagine that the opposing side would bring three strong legions equivalent to Military Spirit Legions, six Breakthrough Level experts, and over thirty Inner Qi Manifestation generals—clearly an unfair operation!

Moreover, factoring in Ganasis’s legion already stationed in the Eastern Border County and Inner Qi Manifestation generals, the Romans came with over forty Inner Qi Manifestation generals this time, which seemed like cheating.

Consequently, the ensuing battle was practically a replay of the Northern Frontier Battle, with Romans openly flaunting their stance, and every individual and legion targeted.

The obliteration of Thirteen Roses shamed the Julius Family, so upon seeing Ardashir, the future founder of the Sasanian Dynasty and Empire, this generation’s patriarch of the Julius Family personally came to deal with him. Unfortunately for Ardashir, though he had the potential to achieve Ultimate Form, he was ultimately just in Perfect Form and was nearly battered.

Atlatome, Vologases V’s right-hand man, who broke through on the battlefield to attain dual talents as a trusted aide, supposedly possessed extreme offensive ability, but against the likes of Fifth Skylark, a battlefield bully, accomplishing anything was futile.

Gao Shun’s Vanguard Camp faced off against the Roman Emperor Guard, both sides clearly apprehensive and refraining from deadly strikes. However, both were Military Spirit Legions, so without deadly strikes, results were unattainable—so far, neither side had casualties.

Trajan Legion facing off against Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Sheni Pei also refrained from deadly strikes. Naturally, they made similar judgments to Ganasis—that the opposing side had brought two incomplete Military Spirit Legions—so the battlefield appeared to have a lukewarm tension here.

Conversely, Zhang Liao leading the Wolf Cavalry clashed truly fiercely with Tacitus’s Ninth Spanish Legion, boosted by the Council Guard with stirrups and saddles. Combining these advancements, the Ninth Spanish Legion firmly suppressed Wolf Cavalry, driving them into chaos.

Fortunately, Zhang Liao’s legion talent inherently allowed for large-scale recovery of his soldiers’ injuries, and the wolf cavalry that could come to Western Asia to participate in the Two Rivers War were almost all elites among elites. With the same decathlon talent, they performed far beyond the level of normal mastery.

It is precisely because they have no shortcomings that, although the wolf cavalry were beaten to a sorry state, the distance for the Spanish Legion to completely defeat the wolf cavalry is still very far away.

“Wen Yuan, have the soldiers use the backward thrust technique. The dual talents of these Roman heavy cavalry in their reinforced defense only apply to facing the enemy head-on!” Chengg Lian shouted, swinging his great sword in anger. After fighting for so long, relying on the decathlon ability of the wolf cavalry, they finally discovered the enemy’s weakness.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao immediately roared and issued orders to all the wolf cavalry. After fighting for so long, Zhang Liao had already noticed something was wrong. The defense capability of the Ninth Spanish Legion under Tacitus’ command was almost catching up with the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. Also, the opponent had an evident talent called the instant charge, which didn’t make any sense.

With Chengg Lian pointing out the weakness of the Ninth Legion, the wolf cavalry, which had been somewhat beaten messily, seized the opportunity to deliver a classic combat tactic with a backward stab. It’s said that only a legion like the wolf cavalry could execute classic tactics and strategies while in close combat.

At the same time, Wei Yan, who was following the wolf cavalry, also forcefully switched formations under Zhuge Liang’s command, preparing for the possible retreat. Similarly, Sima Yi also maneuvered Cao Zhen’s army, ready to activate the spiritual talent and cloud qi formation for a counter-charge in preparation for the retreat.

“They’ve noticed, huh? It seems the elite of the Han Empire is indeed very outstanding. Have the young men of the Julius Family deal with the Parthians and deploy the Teutonic Axemen over here,” Severus stood amidst the Council Guard, gazing from afar at Tacitus, who was seized upon by the Han Empire for a countercharge, with a smile curving at his mouth.

“The situation looks a bit grim!” Yuan Tan said with a somewhat grim expression, genuinely not expecting the Roman military might to be so terrifying.

“Was the one who summoned the Celestial God last time the legion leader of that Military Spirit Legion?” Sulinarari said with a calm demeanor, observing the battle ahead.

“Su, are you thinking of engaging with him?” Perennius raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Of course, besides a god, I no longer know how to validate my own strength,” Sulinarari replied with a casual tone.

“In that case, how about I take the Imperial Guard as auxiliaries to exert some pressure?” Perennius, having some interest in Celestial God Lyu Bu, responded with a bright smile.

“Perennius, His Majesty the Emperor has instructed you to take over the Emperor’s Guard Unit and inflict heavy damage on the Han Empire’s Military Spirit Legion. Whether to utterly destroy them or inflict heavy damage is for you to decide,” Laetas came over at this moment, respectfully saluting Perennius and said.

“It seems His Majesty also cannot wait,” Perennius smiled, then rode towards the position of the Roman Emperor Guard Legion.

The battle between the Vanguard Camp and the Roman Emperor Guard Legion wasn’t intense at all, it was more like a violent spar. As a result, Perennius had no trouble charging to the position, separating the two sides.

“I suppose you are the Han General Gao Shun mentioned by Duke Ganasis.” Perennius, also having the Telepathy Bead from Kushan, found no obstacle in their communication.

As soon as Gao Shun saw Perennius, he felt a tremendous terror. As an Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation expert, he could clearly sense the level of Inner Qi that Perennius possessed.

“Han General, Gao Shun, may I know who you are, General?” Gao Shun did not sense any malice from Perennius; instead, with a command, the Roman Emperor Guard Legion and the Vanguard Camp quickly split into two groups, with no further conflict.

“The legion you see, I have also once led for a time,” Perennius smiled and said, “The Roman Empire and the Han Empire have never had any conflicts, nor do we wish to wage war far from home. We permit you to retreat.”

“If you want to fight, then fight!” Gao Shun’s simple words were sonorous and forceful.

“The legion you lead is strong, a complete Military Spirit Legion, but compared with us, there is still a long way to go. However, as the legion leader of a Military Spirit Legion, you are already qualified to look us in the eye,” Perennius spoke with arrogance.

“If the Council Guard symbolizes the Roman Parliament’s support for the country, then the Roman Emperor Guard Legion symbolizes the steps of Roman conquest. From the Roman Monarchy to the Roman Parliament, and to the Roman Empire System, it has followed countless renowned generals, changed countless names, defeated Carthage, crossed Ancient Greece, conquered Ancient Egypt, and traversed Mesopotamia,” Perennius slowly recounted the achievements of this legion. As Perennius narrated, the momentum of every soldier in the legion behind him climbed continuously!

“And now it is known as the Roman Emperor Guard Legion. All that I conquer shall become my strength! Show all your power, or die!” Perennius pointed his cross sword spear directly at Gao Shun, and the legion of the Roman Emperor Guard behind him erupted with an almost unmatched force.

Those opponents I have defeated will all become the bones upon which I build my throne higher, and the power you once possessed will become part of me. We are the chariot of royal conquest!