Gaius stood out in front of his army, chewing on a piece of journey bread as he watched the swarm of madmen charge on, whipped on from behind by the massive, armored figures. His men were nervous, but they seemed to take comfort in the fact that their senior centurion didn't seem worried in the slightest.
He WAS worried a bit, there were an awful damn lot of them, but he wasn't going to let that show. He finished his snack, wiped his hand off, and then turned to his troops. His deep bellow cut through the cries of the cultists with little difficulty. They were still a distance off, after all. "Alright men, this isn't anything we haven't trained for. There's a lot of the bastards, sure, but most of them are disorganized, poorly equipped, and short on brains. Even more important than that though, they're going to lose because they're not legionaires, and if any legionaire dies without permission, I am going to march down to the underworld myself, pull your head off, and piss in the stump!"
The men laughed, if a bit nervously. Gaius stuffed his helmet back on his head, his crimson horsehair plume making him seems taller than he was, and shook his sword in the air, "Let's show these bastards what happens when you mess with the best troops in Dagaria!"
THAT got a cheer. Gaius took his position behind the front rank, from where he could better keep an eye on the battlefield and order troops around or respond to a breach in the line himself if he needed to. The enemy line was getting close. "Pilum at the ready, men!"
Over a thousand iron spears appeared as they were prepared to throw, waiting for the order, showing no fear of the army of madmen came closer and closer.
At Rome's southern border
He WAS worried a bit, there were an awful damn lot of them, but he wasn't going to let that show. He finished his snack, wiped his hand off, and then turned to his troops. His deep bellow cut through the cries of the cultists with little difficulty. They were still a distance off, after all. "Alright men, this isn't anything we haven't trained for. There's a lot of the bastards, sure, but most of them are disorganized, poorly equipped, and short on brains. Even more important than that though, they're going to lose because they're not legionaires, and if any legionaire dies without permission, I am going to march down to the underworld myself, pull your head off, and piss in the stump!"
The men laughed, if a bit nervously. Gaius stuffed his helmet back on his head, his crimson horsehair plume making him seems taller than he was, and shook his sword in the air, "Let's show these bastards what happens when you mess with the best troops in Dagaria!"
THAT got a cheer. Gaius took his position behind the front rank, from where he could better keep an eye on the battlefield and order troops around or respond to a breach in the line himself if he needed to. The enemy line was getting close. "Pilum at the ready, men!"
Over a thousand iron spears appeared as they were prepared to throw, waiting for the order, showing no fear of the army of madmen came closer and closer.