Page 5 (1/2)

The tang of blood and brine filled the air The turquoise sea was streaked with gore The clash of ar screams drowned out the sound of the sea breeze The Tenth had landed upon the beach, but it not captured it

"Teucer, cli some arrows into so the field of battle The Tenth had landed upon the right side of the beach and upon the left the Seventh were taking casualties, but advancing nevertheless Their ene ferociously, but they were ill disciplined Their light arions were used to fighting against similar foes in Gaul (albeit the Britons seemed to have more spirit, perhaps fuelled by more wine) The standard bearer noticed an island of resistance foriant Briton who appeared to be wielding a huge haionaries like flies, with shields buckling under the weight of his heavy blows

"Roscius, bring down that fat bastard with the ha , whilst Oppius was heartened to see how a group of Roman infantry had formed a square at the other end of the beach A line of shields surrounded a group of legionaries, ere unleashing their pilums into a mass of enemy cavalry

"What would you liketo dispel the fear from his voice and features

"Just stay close to et yourself killed"

Roscius assessed his enee brute was strong, but overweight and predictable A half a dozen men from the Seventh formed a se in having witnessed their coiant down

"Hey, shithead, why don&039;t you pick on so down his shield The scutuionary had planned

The wild-eyed Briton stood even taller and wider than Roscius, a mix of flab and muscle Blood - that of his foes rather than his own - flecked his face He growled and ran towards the Ro the fearsome hammer above his head Roscius e iron head of the ionary swiftly lifted his foot up and brought it down upon the shaft of the weapon, splitting it in two The Briton, his face twisted in even greater rage, sas left of the shaft at Roscius&039; head but the Roladius truncated the oak shaft even further The blade of the sworda punch His blood flecked the legionary&039;s face and he howled in pain - before the savage fell to his knees and Roscius buried the gladius in his chest

"Never send the Seventh in to do a job that only the Tenth can do," Roscius declared with relish at the end

Oppius glanced across the beach and nodded in approval at Rocius having defeated the troublesome barbarian He was also pleased to see that his friend had coain surveyed the battlefield The tide was turning Ro as reinforcements now landed upon the beach without opposition Caesar hi hisdown a couple of the cavalry horses ere escaping up a narrow track that led up to the top of the cliffs Should he fell the animals then they would hinder the retreat of the rest of the cavalry and infantry retreating up the path A number of enemy archers and peltists still lined the tops of the cliffs and covered the retreating forces however

One such archer drew back his boith the standard bearer in his sights The Briton had watched both his courageous leap into the water and his ionaries as they arrived upon the beach Both had been crucial to the imminent victory At least he would stop the standard bearer invading Briton His ared with muscle as he drew the bow back, yet despite the tension in the string his body remained calm, composed He took a deep breath and then released the arrow His skill and technique as an archer were not dissimilar to Teucer&039;s