As the armies gathered in their formations, Liam marched forward to join the men at the front lines. He had been given temporary command over this division of the legion. Aurelius and his guard would supplement the rear until, if all went according to plan, the rest of the 37th joined them to battle the 10th. Once Liam reached the front lines, he shouted, “Form lines!” The legion locked their shields in the front, spears sliding through small slits in between. After this, just as expected, the entirety of Crassus’ cavalry advanced through the pass, and 3 centuries each ascended up the slopes of the mountains. Just over their heads, a shower of arrows began to rain down. “Testudo formation!” The Legionnaire commanded. Arrows in the hundreds upon hundreds struck the Republicans’ shields. All the lines rear of the vanguard locked shields overhead, as they did this, the legionnaires moved aside beneath the shields as their archers moved through the lines. As Liam held his shield facing the cavalry, they advanced at a rapid pace. “Nock!” Liam commanded, as he did this others throughout the ranks repeated his commands, the archers fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. The cavalry was gaining ground. “Draw!” The tug of bowstrings en masse underneath the shields could be heard. As the sound of hoofbeats grew louder, the Legionnaire ordered, “Break lines!” Every other row of soldiers sidestepped and withdrew their shields, revealing the archers to the approaching cavalry. Before the enemy could get any closer Liam, with a degree of satisfaction of the ingenuity of his plan, shouted, “Loose!” A volley of hundreds of arrows flew to their marks in the cavalry’s ranks. Many of the knights fell in the first shower of arrows. As they did, Crassus’ own arrows flew overhead. “Form lines!” Liam shouted again, arrows struck the shields and some of Crassus’ own men. “Nock! Draw! Break Lines! Loose! Form Lines!” These 7 words were repeated numerous times before as the cavalry charged through the pass. Before the enemy got too close, Liam ordered the archers to fall back before the remainder of the Imperial mounted soldiers hurled themselves at the Republican vanguard. As they did so, each half of the 37th’s cavalry descended down the slopes of the the mountains to the chagrin of their opposition. The cavalry ran down the imperial forces as they flanked the bulk of the 9th, which had joined their horsemen in attacking the lines. As planned, the majority of Crassus’ force was trapped in the pass as the Republican infantry and cavalry closed in. Despite the losses inflicted by their archers, there was still a notable portion of horsemen that Liam and the rest of the Republican infantry had to deal with. As a knight rode up and attempted to plunge his sword through the gap in the shield wall at the Legionnaire, Liam drove his spear beneath the man’s right arm. As the spearhead was withdrawn, blood dripping off the now warm steel, Liam shouted, “Second line, move forward!” The men just behind the first battle line took the place of the men in the vanguard, who now retreated to the rear. As Liam himself went back into his own lines, he removed his helmet briefly to speak with 5 of the centurions. “I need your best men, I’m going to create a wedge and meet our cavalry. Then I’m going out to capture Crassus. We’ve got to cut the head off the snake.” “Sir, the Imperial line is pressing our own. Even with your maneuver we’re still being pushed back.” One of the centurions replied. “Which is why it’s imperative we break their advance. If I get those men, I can do that and capture Crassus. Their cavalry will be broken and we can flank the tenth, doing the same thing we did here, only this time, we’ll have the numbers.” The centurions looked to each other before they voiced their agreement. Each of them retrieved their 5 best men from the lines. They were experienced veterans, despite their age, much like Liam himself. He then led the men and their commanding officers forward and as they got to the front of the lines, he commanded them to get into their shield formation. Spears weaved in and out of the slits between men as they found their mark in a knight’s armor or a horses heart. As the enemy cavalry was boxed in, the mobility of their horses was rendered useless. As Liam and his men pushed forward, they eventually ran into their own cavalry. “Legionnaire! Clear the area around me! My men and I will need to get to Crassus!” The knight rallied his men and broke between their infantry and the enemy cavalry. As he found a moment of respite from the fighting, he called out to one of the lieutenants. “I need thirty horses for my men and I, we’re taking the fight to their general!” “And how are we going to fight without our horses?” The lieutenant called out indignantly. “If I could fight them without horses, so can you! Now get off your damn horse!” “That’s an order lieutenant!” One of the centurions commanded. The lieutenant finally obeyed and found enough men to give up their horses and unmanned horses to take to the enemy. Before mounting, they dropped their spears and shields. As Liam and his men broke off from the fighting in the pass, a large portion of the men on horseback came with them so as to flank the 10th. Across an open field, Crassus sat on horseback with a guard of maybe fifty men. The glint of their swords being drawn met the eyes of the approaching party. “Draw swords!” Liam said to his own. The hooves of the horses, even as loud as they were, could not drown out the battle cry of the Republicans. When the two forces collided, Liam made a beeline straight for their commander, who still sat behind his men with one other guard. An Imperial legionnaire attempted to stop him, but was knocked off of his horse before he could stop his foe’s advance. Crassus drew his own blade, one of the best blades forged short of Eternal Steel, and charged towards Liam with his guard. The three engaged in a masterful display of swordsmanship. Parries, slashes, attempted stabs, and maneuvers only the most skilled warriors could utilize were performed by the three men. However, in an opening, Liam cracked Crassus’s guard in the head with the pommel of his sword, knocking the Knight off his horse. Crassus then tackled the Legionnaire off his horse, grounding the two men. When Liam and the Imperial General got up, the guard was still recovering from the hard blow he received. Crassus lunged toward Liam, aiming for his opponents leg. The other quickly parried the blade, giving himself an opening. Liam took the opportunity and kicked the man in the breastplate, knocking him to the ground. As Crassus attempted to raise the blade, Liam knocked it out of his hand with his own sword. The Legionnaire then kicked the General’s head, knocking his helmet off and bloodying him. Just after he did so, the Legionnaire heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw the guard he had struck running in his direction, sword in hand. The Imperial legionnaire charged the Republican in order to defend his general. Liam flipped the sword to where he was holding the blade, and as the enemy got close, he stepped out of the way and struck his back with cross-guard. With the soldier slowly attempting to regain his footing, Liam walked over to Crassus, who was crawling towards his sword. Before he could take hold of the hilt, Liam picked the man up off the ground, bringing the razor sharp sword to his hostage’s neck. Liam turned himself and the General to the now standing guardsman. “Drop the sword! Drop it or I’ll cut his throat!” Liam shouted. “He won’t do it, kill him!” Crassus said struggling. Once Liam regained his hold, he brought the cold Steel to the man’s neck, any slight movement could result in the sword being stained with fresh blood. “He seems to think I’m lying. I don’t blame him. But, I think you know that I will do it, drop the sword!” The guard looked his general in the eye before releasing his grip on the hilt, letting the weapon fall into the grass. Just after he did this, some of the Republican riders approached. Blood stained their armor, but there were no wound to suggest they were their own. One of the centurions who rode with them spoke. “Legionnaire, the enemy is broken and retreating. General Aurelius is regrouping the men.” As one of the riders was tying a rope around the wrists of the Imperial guardsman, Liam threw Crassus to the ground. “Tell General Aurelius we have a valuable prize, leave a couple of your men here to escort these two back with me.” The centurion obeyed and signaled his men to collect the prisoners while he returned to camp. After the Legion gathered, they set to crossing the river, which they completed in 3 days. After the 37th crossed, they marched toward Quirinius’ rally point. It was a not a short trip to reach the other Republicans, but they eventually arrived at the Republican camp. However, when the legion did so, the Republican army was under attack. As the Legion walked over the ridge, “Form Lines!” Was heard from Liam. The battlecry of the 37th roared through the fields and rang in the ears of their enemy and their brothers. [spoiler]I know it’s a shorter one, I’m not great at writing battles. Also, I would have had this up yesterday but maintenance prevented me from doing so.[/spoiler]