Chapter 2425: This Weight You Have Yet to Bear

Witnessed Rome from residing in a corner to conquering the world, witnessed Rome stumbling into a quagmire due to barbarian invasions, enduring with humiliation, witnessed the empire’s glorious sun, shining at its zenith.

“You might be the strongest Military Spirit Legion we’ve encountered, but as of now, you’re not yet perfect; your legion can only be said to be a personal weapon, while we can be called the empire’s chariot!” Perennius softly praised, “The glory you bear can only be called personal glory, while we bear the glory of this nation for hundreds of years!”

Perennius’s speech made Gao Shun’s face turn pale, leaving no room for hesitation, directly unleashing the power of Military Spirit, truly sensing the gap in faith!

“The Han Empire is indeed strong; a local legion can even birth a Military Spirit. However, without bearing the empire’s will and belief, you are still far off. Consider this as your tuition fee!” Perennius sighed softly, as the Roman Emperor Guard Legion behind him burst into radiant colors.

We witnessed the rise and fall of the empire; we crawled out from the mud, shouldering the empire to the peak. The heavy responsibility I bear, before you understand it, you cannot truly oppose me, for the weight of this glory you cannot afford to bear.

For the empire, even without those halos, even without those who fell under our swords, even without the abilities accumulated over these hundreds of years as numerous as stars, our thirst for victory would never lead to failure, because what we shoulder is this empire!

Accompanying Perennius’s explanation, the Roman Emperor Guard Legion unleashed their utmost force, before the Vanguard Camp could react, rapidly thrusting in front of them.

“This is the power we acquired over three hundred years ago from conquering the Carthaginians. Of course, this power was not like this before.” Perennius blocked Gao Shun. Although Severus had mentioned that the reorganized Military Spirit Legion of the Han Empire was to be dealt with at his discretion, Perennius still chose to avoid direct confrontation if unnecessary.

Forced together by the high-speed thrusts of the Roman Emperor Guard Legion, the Vanguard Camp instantly demonstrated their quality, using their round shields to deflect enemy attacks, then naturally advancing close. However, the Roman Emperor Guard Legion casually reversed their weapons, every individual appeared as if they had mastered this technique for decades.

“This is the capability once displayed by Hannibal’s legion, he was the strongest opponent we have ever faced. If not for the constraints of the situation back then, perhaps his legion would also have been a Military Spirit Legion.” Perennius calmly explained the attribute of his legion’s strength to Gao Shun.

Gao Shun coldly looked at Perennius, “I do have an interest in just how strong you are, bearing the empire forward?”

Seeing his own Vanguard Camp being suppressed in such a short time, even someone as cold as Gao Shun found it difficult to accept, immediately unleashing his own Military Spirit. Compared to those flashy techniques, Gao Shun’s breakthrough in pure strength seemed even more terrifying.

“Indeed a terrifying power,” Perennius admired, yet without much shock, “But, even without these powers, right now you cannot defeat us.”

As the Vanguard Camp erupted, the Roman Emperor Guard Legion also unleashed their power, from Europe, North Africa, to Western Asia, all the legions fallen under their swords, at this moment, their power fully manifested.

The formidable raw strength of the Vanguard Camp faced this situation, unable to achieve an overwhelming advantage, felt somewhat powerless, while the Roman Emperor Guard Legion began to probe the limits of the Vanguard Camp with their deeper foundation.

“Retreat!” Gao Shun saw that even fully unleashing the Military Spirit Legion, it was still impossible to open up an absolute advantage, and the effortless attack methods from the opponent were difficult for the Vanguard Camp to endure. Without further hesitation, he ordered a retreat.

With Gao Shun issuing the retreat order, the Vanguards near the edge quickly distanced themselves. Although Perennius spoke harshly, his mind was still intact, and he had no intention of genuinely settling the score with the Vanguard Camp. Even if the Roman Emperor Guard Legion could win, they would likely lose nearly half.

Gao Shun’s order to retreat indeed shocked Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, stationed in the rear. They had considered the possibility of other locations being unable to withstand the Romans’ attack and retreating, but never expected that the first to issue a retreat command would be Gao Shun, an unpredicted situation that cast some shadows on their minds.

“Wen Chang, form up, cooperate with Sima Zhongda to push back the Roman Infantry, prepare to retreat.” Although Zhuge Liang was startled by Gao Shun’s order, his expression remained steady.

Zhuge Liang had been considering how to retreat from the very beginning; after all, they had suspected that the Romans must have something to rely on in this expedition, but due to their limited perspective, they hadn’t guessed what resources the Romans would bring to bear.

With the actions of Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, the Han army’s rear troops underwent a transformation, an imposing formation directly appearing at the back of the army.

Another time being relentlessly pursued by the Teutonic Knights, Sun Quan, almost in a state of panic, could no longer endure such intense psychological pressure.

“Ziming, what should we do? Should we retreat too? The Romans are simply too strong. After the Romans’ latest maneuver, Parthia is on the verge of collapse!” Sun Quan said impatiently, “Once the Romans turn their attention to us, we definitely won’t be able to escape either!”

“Retreat is the most difficult part. If we don’t want to be chased to death, then we must prepare for the rear guard now!” At this moment, Lyu Meng’s eyes seemed to be shining with a certain radiance, incredibly bright. This terrible war had made him grow rapidly, and even his Spiritual Talent was near completion.

“Wen Gui! After the rain of arrows from the Elite Troops of Danyang suppress them, we retreat too, but not too fast, and protect the archers!” Lyu Meng felt psychological pressure as he watched the opposing side charge fiercely. After confirming the Han Army had begun retreating, Lyu Meng also started to retreat.

“Let’s retreat too!” Gao Lan said seriously, looking at the Trajan Legion, noting how few of them have been lost at this point.

“Notify Li Zhiran to get out of the way; we will cover the retreat!” Sheni Pei said coldly. If you dare to engage in such warfare without holding some reserves, isn’t that a path to destruction?

Accompanied by Sheni Pei’s order, the heavy crossbowmen protecting Yuan Tan, who hadn’t made a move, quickly formed into ranks. Sheni Pei also withdrew his previous empowerment to the vanguard, instead using his Spiritual Talent to fully recall the Vanguard Death Squad.

Sheni Pei hadn’t sat idle since his departure to the North over the past year. He’s been continually using his Spiritual Talent and validating it, roughly figuring out the most reasonable way to utilize his Spiritual Talent.

He only recalls the Vanguard, and its target is the heavy crossbowmen similar to the Vanguard. When the heavy crossbowmen rely on the Vanguard, they feel the power of the Vanguard, mimic it, and synchronize with it. As the synchronization level increases, the combat power of the heavy crossbowmen will continually rise, and the recalled Vanguard will be able to exert its maximum potential.

The closer he is to the Vanguard, the less power Sheni Pei uses to recall it, the longer it lasts, and during this extended period, the heavy crossbowmen will be able to comprehend more and synchronize more with the Vanguard, creating a virtuous cycle.

“Sheni Zhengnan, is he really letting us retreat? And they’re covering the retreat?” Li Jue was surprised when he received the message, but he didn’t hesitate, “Retreat!”

With Li Jue’s roar, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry naturally turned their horses around, while Duan Wei and others led a few Divine Iron Cavalry to guard the rear of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. Meanwhile, the Trajan Legion had no intention of deeply pursuing, instead turning their attention toward Gao Lan’s heavy infantry!

“Whee!” The air was pierced by arrows, emitting a sound like bird chirps, followed by dozens of sharp sounds. Soldiers of the Trajan Legion glancing at the small eyes underfoot raised their large shields in vigilance, but such actions were entirely meaningless.

Arrows completely nailed into the ground, even their feathers buried, this terrifying penetration power was beyond what heavy crossbows could possess; this effect was possible only with large crossbow mechanisms.

Seeing the Han Army holding heavy crossbows, with long knives on their backs, lined up in formation, the Legion Leader of the Trajan Legion looked solemn. Such attack power was beyond that of a normal legion.

“I know some of you can understand this; how about calling this battle your win?” Sheni Pei, unafraid of arrows, stepped out directly, addressing the Trajan Legion across the field.

“I admit you are stronger, but if this really comes to blows, even if you can win, it won’t be easy for you either!” Sheni Pei commanded his soldiers to shoot a wave of Cloud Qi Arrows onto the open ground where the Trajan Legion was retreating, “These are Zhirui Vanguard; simply put, defense against us is nonsense. If you want to fight, then step forward.”

The Legion Leader of the Trajan Legion, Camillo, watched Sheni Pei leading his soldiers with a heavy heart. Compared to the previous Xiliang Iron Cavalry, these people felt more dangerous to him.

Camillo thought about the orders from His Majesty the Emperor and felt no need to engage in desperate battle with the Han Dynasty, thus refrained from any rash actions. Sheni Pei exhaled deeply and decisively had Gao Lan protect Yuan Tan in retreat, while he led the remaining heavy crossbowmen backward to leave.

“Are we really letting them go like this?” Aristonos glanced at Camillo with curiosity, “Clearly we could hold them back.”

“No need. The Han General spoke quite sensibly; even if we can win against them, it won’t be easy for us either. If we defeat them, we might lose a third, whereas letting them go will disturb the minds of the Parthians, given they have lost over fifty thousand elite troops while the Han Army retreats virtually unscathed.” Camillo smiled, directed the Trajan Legion to advance slowly, not forcing Sheni Pei, merely following.