BXBX NOVEL Chapter 164 Victory Over The Picts
The Roman Army, under Primus\' commands, gazed upon the Caledonian hillfort with a hint of disdain in their eyes. They had come all this way to avenge the raids that these barbarians had inflicted upon their efforts to restore Antonine\'s wall. There was no way they would turn back now, even if they had to siege a fortress ten times more defensible than this minor stronghold.
Primus quickly gave the command to begin the siege. Against such paltry defenses, they only needed a few days to bring them down.
"Establish a siege camp and begin immediate construction of trebuchets and battery rams. We will take this damn fortress within a week at the most!"
With this order given, the Roman Legion beneath the command of their Legate began to establish a proper siege. One that would be relatively uneventful for a period of five days. After five days and nights had passed, the Roman siege weapons were fully constructed, and Primus had adorned his helmet. With a sadistic grin on his face, he gave the order to assault the city.
"Break down the city\'s gates!"
Having heard these commands, the Roman army rushed towards the wooden palisade, which defended the hillfort with ladders in hand. While the Trebuchets loaded their 92kg projectiles and fired them over the walls and into the village within.
As for the men holding the battering ram, they advanced forward and to the gates without the slightest bit of hesitation. Though the Caledonians attempted to fire their arrows upon the men carrying these siege devices, it was no use. They were too heavily armored for the iron arrows to cause any meaningful damage to the Roman legionaries.
As for the Roman Legion, their crossbowmen hid behind large pavises and fired their bolts up towards the archers on the ramparts above the hillfort timber barricade. The hardened iron bodkin bolts easily pierced through the unarmored flesh of the Picts, who fell to the wayside with lifeless eyes.
The Caledonian defenders tried their best to eliminate the Roman invaders, but to little success. The most damage they could deal was the throwing of large rocks down upon their enemies\' skulls, which is successful in their attempt would cause significant damage to the men below.
In the end, the ladders were raised with little effort, while the battering ram pounded through the flimsy wooden gate which protected the barbarians from the Roman Legion. As the Romans scaled the palisade, and onto the earthen fortifications behind them, they unleashed their blades upon the enemy who hid behind their oval shields, desperately attempting to protect their town from the enemy.
Iron ripped through flesh with little resistance. Only the most battle hardened Picts wore body armor, and because of this, it was a relatively easy task to bypass their shields, and pierced through their hearts.
As the first wave of Romans overcame the Pict\'s barriers, the gate was broken open, allowing a river of Roman swords to flood through its entrance. Though the Picts desperately tried to block the Romans from entry, it was not an easy task to pierce through their heavy armor.
Primus stood at the rear of his army\'s formation, watching as his legion cut through the Pictish defenders like wheat to the scythe. His men had suffered few casualties as they advanced from the entry of the gate into the interior of the village.
The screams of women and children as they watched their husbands die in a vain attempt to defend them filled the air. However, the Romans did not care in the slightest, and continued to stab through the bodies of their enemies with vicious intent.
Step by step, meter by meter, the Romans swarmed the Picts, until all that was left were a few dozen able-bodied men backed against the wall. The Romans, knowing their victory was near, began to play with these poor souls, throwing their plumbatae into the air with wild abandon. Some of these weighted darts fell upon their own shields, while others skewered the unarmored flesh of their enemies.
In the end, Primus entered the city and gazed upon this disgraceful display, where he quickly ordered the death of the last Pictish defenders.
"Stop playing with your prey and kill them already!"
After such a verbal lashing, two dozen blades rushed forward and pierced the flesh of the last defenders that remained in the hillfort. Having successfully avenged their losses, Primus gave a command that would deter the Pictish tribes from attacking their reconstruction efforts.
"Raise the city to the ground. Crucify all the men that remain! As for the women and children, enslave them!"
With this order given, the Roman Army began to violently capture every woman and child. They would be taken back to Roman Britannia, where they would be sold in the slave markets. Meanwhile, the Roman Legions began to gather every adult male who stood breathed and crucified them outside the hillfort\'s walls.
After finishing this task, the Romans looted everything of value that the town had to offer before lighting it ablaze. With this, they escorted their newly conquered slaves back to Antonine\'s wall, where they would await their fates.
The other Pictish tribes would soon learn of what had happened, causing many of them to think twice before attacking the Roman\'s attempts to rebuild Antonine\'s wall. Though they would be losing significant ground if they allowed this wall to be built, it was better than losing everything.
Still, some Pictish tribes would remain defiant, and would increase the intensity of their raids. Their fate would be the same as the Venicones. For every time the Romans were attacked, Primus would march north and invade the Pictish lands, lighting another hillfort ablaze, crucifying its men, and enslaving its women and children.
When Marcellus learned of Primus\' many victories over the Picts, he would bestow upon him the Victory Title of Britannicus for his great victories over the Brythonic Caledonians. He would also give the man a substantial raise in pay.