Chapter 2426: Encounter

Sheni Pei’s face was solemn as he covered the rear and retreated. The Trajan Legion indeed had no intention of counterattacking, but maintained a fifty-step distance, which made Sheni Pei noticeably uncomfortable.

For the Trajan Legion with the Thrust Charge among its Three Talents, this distance can be traversed almost instantly. At this distance, even Sheni Pei’s currently awakened Vanguard can only fire three waves of arrow rain at most.

And with the past Trajan Legion, one legion challenge, Li Jue’s reorganized Xiliang Iron Cavalry plus Gao Lan’s Heavy Infantry, along with the incomplete Divine Iron Cavalry and Sheni Pei’s summoned Vanguard Death Squad, the situation appears easily manageable. If the opposing side charges into the main formation, it would definitely be disastrous for the retreating people right now.

[We need to come up with a plan. The Romans are indeed exceptionally strong, even when reserving some tricks, they exceed expectations. Too bad we haven’t witnessed the Flying Bear; otherwise, a battlefield like this would be perfect to summon Flying Bear.]Sheni Pei stared solemnly at Camillo, knowing exactly what was on the opponent’s mind, but sometimes, even knowing the situation, one must move forward.

After all, going all out against the Romans here doesn’t align with the interests of the Han Dynasty; they came to assist, not to die.

Likewise, when Sheni Pei previously verbally chided Camillo and conceded defeat, Camillo allowed the Han Dynasty to leave almost without a second thought, and this is the reason.

It’s not that Rome feared the Han Dynasty, but Rome didn’t see any sense in a life-and-death struggle with the Han Dynasty here.

Even if they managed to annihilate this wave of Military Spirit Legion from the Han Dynasty here, regardless of whether they could achieve it, even if they could, they themselves would suffer severely; as Sheni Pei said, I trust you have the ability to swallow me, but in doing so, you would also be seriously harmed, and this is the collateral for self-preservation.

Moreover, whether it’s the Imperial Guard Officer Legion, the Council Guard, or the Trajan Legion, they are essentially Roman Citizen Legions.

Although the Roman Empire is an empire, the true Romans within the empire are fewer than foreign clans. Roman population composition is clearly outlined in the history of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

Barbarians, slaves, immigrants, and freemen, with freemen divided into two types: Roman Commoners and Roman Citizens. Commoners and citizens are different, and their laws are different too; commoners are subject to Roman Universal Law, while citizens are subject to Roman Citizen Law.

Barbarians are a special case and depending on the type of barbarian, they can be classified as slaves, immigrants, or freemen. As for immigrants, after several generations and gaining Roman recognition, they become freemen.

In summary, the identity of a Roman Citizen is somewhat equivalent to National People during the Central Plains Spring and Autumn Era, enjoying many privileges, and many non-Romans aspire to become Roman Citizens.

But in reality, there are only over six million true Roman Citizens, and others can only be said to enjoy the privileges of Roman Citizens. These six million Roman Citizens range from eighteen to thirty-five years old and are truly the essence of Rome.

If forming a core legion, it would be recruited from these people. Other legions can be used as cannon fodder, but a legion composed purely of Roman Citizens would never be used in meaningless consumption.

Romans previously went on diplomacy to the Han Dynasty, so they know exactly how far apart they are, so far that Romans could only drool over Eastern silk; it was indeed too far.

In such circumstances, even if they defeated the Han Dynasty, at most they could save face, but gain nothing tangible, as this literal distance is calculated in tens of thousands of miles. If one considers bypassing desert danger zones, the distance is simply overwhelming.

In a war where nothing is gained afterwards, Rome has no interest. From the beginning, the Romans aimed to teach the Han Army a lesson, like crippling a Military Spirit Legion of the Han Dynasty or completely annihilating a Dual Talent.

In the end, Camillo led the Trajan Legion to engage four sides, and although it seemed to fight with ease, the Han Dynasty’s desperate efforts could also cause significant damage to him. Therefore, after some consideration, Camillo found it worthless and maintained lukewarm engagement, bearing the responsibility for Roman Citizens, which is why the Trajan Legion suppressed Li Jue and others without having Li Jue’s side too miserable.

As for the Roman Emperor Guard Legion confronted by the Trap Formation, after probing it a bit, there was no motivation left. The Trap Formation is a tough nut to crack, even if they could win, completely annihilating the Vanguard Camp would require at least half their number.

This is because the Roman Emperor Guard Legion has witnessed the rise and fall of the empire, growing with the empire, climbing to the pinnacle from hardship, growing alongside the empire. Their Military Spirit is inherently part of the Will of the Empire, otherwise a single Military Spirit Legion countering another reorganized Military Spirit Legion, as long as they have conventional attributes and no severe constraints, would lead to neither a win nor a decisive retreat.

That’s why Perennius previously told Sulinarari that he was going to pressure them and force out the Celestial God. But when Gao Shun retreated, there was no chase. Although Perennius confirmed the issue with the Trap Formation, he didn’t want to use people to fill it; the Trap Formation, even after one burst, would enter a weakened state, and Perennius didn’t want to risk it.

Using dependent abilities in such legion battles, deploying Barbarians, baiting for skills, having Barbarians slaughtered and opponents entering weakened state is the King’s Way. No need for a life-and-death struggle; Roman Citizens are the foundation of Rome.

“This is a bit worrisome, it seems the Han Army has all run away.” Perennius, dangling behind the Trap Formation, said with some headache, as the Han Army collectively retreated following the Trap Formation’s escape.

Adding that the thoughts of all Roman Legion Commanders are quite similar; none see any practical significance in engaging with the Han Army. Death of Barbarians and slaves is insignificant, but the death of Roman Citizens is somewhat unworthy.

As a result, with all the generals not exerting their full force, the Han army easily gathered together, alternately covering and retreating.

Oh, no, Zhang Liao hasn’t escaped yet. Tacitus was caught by Zhang Liao at a critical moment, losing several hundred men and igniting true anger. Now having a chance for revenge, naturally, he is fixated on the Wolf Cavalry, seemingly intending to annihilate Zhang Liao’s main forces here.

Other legions, after the Han army they were fighting retreated, saw there was only one Han legion left and didn’t need further thought — they directly attacked, leading troops to surge forward.

Earlier, there was an agreement to teach the Han army a lesson, but other legions were somewhat difficult to deal with. Now, with hands freed, they could strike down and capture this legion, forcing the Han to pay for their ransom, thus fulfilling their mission.

Zhang Liao is no fool. Seeing the crowd approaching, he knew it was dire. His legion’s talent and recovery power were strong, but facing the attacks from the Three Talents and Military Spirit legions, there was only one path — death.

Without any hesitation, Zhang Liao decisively invoked Lyu Bu’s will left to him. Unlike the windstorm when Gao Shun had it, this time, the response from Lyu Bu’s will was obviously somewhat sluggish.

However, despite the sluggishness, after a while, when it reacted, a kind of berserk will rose from Zhang Liao.

Before Lyu Bu appeared, Sulinarari noticed the sudden will appearing in the sky and immediately flew towards Severus with his sword drawn.

“Your Majesty, the one we were waiting for has appeared,” Sulinarari spoke respectfully.

“What are your thoughts?” Severus asked, gazing straight ahead with unchanged expression.

“After a battle, we have no blood feud with the Han army. The distance between us is indeed too far, rendering the war meaningless,” Sulinarari said concisely.

Severus nodded indifferently, “I leave it to you.”

Sulinarari bowed respectfully to Severus, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for tolerating my personal sentiments.”

“You are Rome’s Supreme Being, go ahead.” Severus calmly gazed ahead, having brought six demigods to witness the Han Dynasty’s supreme being.

“Thank you for your tolerance, Your Majesty,” Sulinarari bowed, then swiftly flew towards the front of the army, while the commander began maneuvering the army to make space for Sulinarari, to eradicate the Parthian army.

As the Cloud Qi opened, Romans and Wolf Cavalry quickly distanced themselves, and the immense will condensed in the sky accelerated its manifestation once the Cloud Qi dissipated.

“What is this?” The moment Lyu Bu emerged in complete form, he saw the imposing army before him, and among them stood a middle-aged man in white silk with a slightly melancholic expression, quietly observing his position, with a kind of fatal threat lurking in his calm demeanor.

“Celestial God Lyu Bu?” Sulinarari stared at Lyu Bu, and at that moment, both sides’ Cloud Qi had been torn apart, since at the instant Lyu Bu appeared, Sulinarari gracefully appeared opposite him.

For reasons he couldn’t fathom, upon seeing this man, Lyu Bu instinctively surged with a feeling of disgust — this elegance, this indifference, those pure white garments, made him intensely loathe.

“Seems it’s indeed so.” Sulinarari didn’t wait for Lyu Bu to answer, but self-answered, “My name is quite long; most people call me Sulinarari, or simply, you can call me ‘Su’!”

“Guardian of the Roman Empire?” Lyu Bu squinted at his opponent. For reasons unknown, as the other approached, he felt a chilling sense of danger.

“That’s unimportant; what matters is I wish to fight you. Unfortunately, you’re merely an avatar, even if it’s just a divine will avatar.” Sulinarari expressed disappointment.

“Wen Yuan, you should retreat first.” As the Halberd Spirit projected over, the weapon condensed from Heaven and Earth Essence Qi radiated a brilliant metallic radiance, yet Sulinarari’s expression remained unchanged. The Roman elite showed no intention to pursue, allowing the Han army to withdraw, as numerous Inner Qi Manifestation, Breakthrough level experts appeared before the army.

“So, what do you think?” Sulinarari calmly faced Lyu Bu, trusting he understood his meaning.