Chapter 432: Battle on the Hills: Part Three

Octavius heard the horn sound once again and spun to face the west. His heart sank as he realised what had happened.’A feint.’Nervously smiling, he looked south at what had already begun its charge on the western front. It was too late to call them back.

Looking down at the northern assault, his men held the road firmly, as his force attacked the enemy’s left flank. He didn’t know who was leading the northern attack, but Octavius was impressed with how well they held. The casualties were heavy on both sides, and with friendly cavalry being blocked by Cyril, Magnus’s forces were slowly being whittled away at. It was unsustainable, Octavius knew that whoever led the northern assault must have aswell.

Despite the desperate struggle his forces were enduring, Octavius knew that all it took was one wrong move for his men to break and provide Magnus a sigh of relief. "Order Commander Sergius to scale the southwestern hill and get behind the western flank."

"General?" The messenger with Octavius questioned, wondering what his plan was. Sergius was the man in charge of the main reserve force. He was needed in case any of the fronts broke.

"Just do it." Octavius didn’t have time to be questioned as he focused on Sergius and his Battalion. To use them was a risk, but if he could destroy the western flank, then it didn’t matter if the northern front broke. Octavius took a deep breath. It was all a gamble now, to see who would win. If he failed to break the West, Octavius saw his chance of victory crumble to near nothingness. If it broke, he battle would be won; he would ensure it.

Looking at the force that held the Eastern gap, an idea ran through his mind. Cassius had already thrown a lot of his troops to pierce the West, weakening the northern front. Octavius smiled and pulled aside another messenger from the small number of troops with him.

"Tell Commander Tribunas to charge his entire Battalion over the North-Western hill and surround the right side of the Northern front." Octavius pushed the soldiers away before he could question him. He could see the man’s confused eyes and didn’t have time for it. He needed things to happen quickly. He was leaving the rear open for Magnus’ cavalry to charge through and disrupt each front he currently held.

’No risk. No reward.’The messenger ran down the hill and approached Tribunas, relaying the order. Octavius watched Tribunas not understand the order initially, but suddenly realsie what Octavius wanted. Not even a second after realising, he rallied his men and had them jog towards the NorthWestern hill.

Octavius took a deep breath and stopped his shaking fist. Looking to the far right, he saw the dust cloud kicking up in the sky that hid the battle Cyril and the enemy cavalry were in. Catching glimpses, it could hardly be called a fight, but rather a chase, as Magnus’ cavalry desperately tried to break free from Cyril, only to be quickly cut off from returning to the battlefield. A trail of corpses, both men and beasts alike, followed after each short engagement.

’Tch. Once this is over, we will have to train a new cavalry.’Despite not knowing if victory was his, Octavius couldn’t help but complain. It was an expensive and time-consuming process.’Civil wars are so pointless.’Shaking his head, he refocused on the north, waiting for the moment his enemy realised they were about to be encircled.

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Magnus stood at the rear of the Northern flank, surrounded by troops in a square formation. Around him, a few other rmen stood watching the battle and receiving real-time updates from their men.

"Cassius’ flank will spread them thin. This is our only chance right now. Throw everything at the shield wall on the main road." Magnus calmly ordered. His men didn’t hesitate to call their messengers over to deliver their orders to the front line. It was a sound order; they all knew that. "Where is Livius?" Magnus quickly asked, noticing that the one who stuck out the most was missing.

"He claims he was given orders to head to the front." One of the commanders said, his voice getting quieter with each word and trailing. Magnus curled his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Idiot." Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. There was no point in getting mad when he couldn’t afford to. "Make sure he does-" Magns paused and looked at the hill. A large force was rushing over. It was obvious they were tired from how quickly they had climbed up, but that didn’t stop them. Without resting and giving themselves time to regain their energy, they charged around to flank his forces.

"IGNORE ALL PREVIOUS ORDERS! INTERCEPT THE FLANKING FORCE!" Magnus gritted his teeth and watched. "MOBALISE HALF A BATTALION FROM THE LEFT TO REINFORCE THE RIGHT!" Screaming out the order, Magnus tried to keep calm. His voice didn’t shake, and he stood straight and proud, but everyone who heard the order could tell he was worried.

’They are still tired. We just have to react quickly.’Watching as Octavius’ forces slammed into the right, the lines shook in panic as some of his men broke away. Magnus ground his teeth and took another deep breath. ’As long as it isn’t a total collapse, we will be fine.’

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Octavius watched as the force slammed into the right, bulldozing all in its path. Magnus forces shook as some broke off, unable to hold the line any more. Octavius’ forces felt the pressure lift and increased the pressure, attacking from all sides. The noose was around their necks, and all of them could feel it. Desperately, they tried to hold their position, but the idea that they were surrounded was already in their minds.

Their morale was quickly plummeting, and Octavius saw that ripple throughout. Magnus men, despite being desperately reinforced, didn’t wish to continue, their desire to live surpassing their duty.

Octavius smiled and stepped to the edge of the hill, pushing past the shield wall that still held the vital position. Out in the open, he took a deep breath, bringing as much air into his lungs. "ALL WHO WISH TO SURRENDER WILL BE GRANTED HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE!" Crying at the top of his lungs, his words were drowned out by the fighting below. Few heard it, but when they did, all smiled and quickly repeated what he said.

"ALL WHO WISH TO SURRENDER WILL BE GRANTED HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE!"

"ALL WHO WISH TO SURRENDER WILL BE GRANTED HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE!"

"ALL WHO WISH TO SURRENDER WILL BE GRANTED HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE!"

The phrase spread like wildfire. All soldiers knew the beauty the word surrender held when in a terrible position. They all believed they would follow their oath to the end, but in the face of death, their true colours would show. With a lifeline dangling in front of them, Magnus’s men stumbled, many wishing to take up the offer and others wishing to fight on. Even if no one accepted his offer, Octavius didn’t care. He had already achieved his result by giving the order.

He watched and watched. Some gave up fighting, breaking off. Rushing back deeper into friendly territory. Happy, he looked to the west; his men held firm. It was a shock that they hadn’t dislodged Cassius from his position on the west, but Octavius wasn’t completely surprised. Even if Magnus had given him his place due to his blood ties, Casisus was still one of the main rivals he would have had if the civil war had never happened and the position of General had been open.

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Cassius watched the men rushing down from the hill. He had been quick to use his forces that he had pulled from his failed seizure of the hill to intercept, stopping the encirclement. Although he couldn’t push, holding the men on the hill, it was enough. Watching everything, he clicked his tongue and could tell it was coming to an end. He needed to take the west quickly, but now that it had failed, the situation had already turned unfavourable.

Clicking his tongue, he ran idea after idea through his mind to try and find a way to break the deadlock. Each one failed in the end. He couldn’t see a path to victory without one side collapsing. Cassius watched his men slowly be whittled down. Although they took down their enemy with them, it wasn’t sustainable.

’It’s over.’It was all he could tell himself. The battle was lost, that much he knew, maybe the war. All he could do was to think ahead, past the war. Being a General didn’t just mean leading the war, but achieving a favourable outcome, whether it was a win or a loss.

"RETREAT!" He had one final card he could play. If his enemy chased him in his retreat, he could maybe reverse the situation, but if they held their positions, then all he could do was try to surrender in hopes of protecting the Maximus family. It would betray his cousin, but the family outweighed the desires of its patriarch. "RETREAT!"

Casisus called again and pulled out the hron tied to his waist. Blowing into it, he didn’t stop for five seconds, signalling his intent across the battlefield. He didn’t know if it was because they were happy to break out of the stalemate or they also realised how unwinnable the situation had become; his men happily fell back in an organised mess.

Cassius fell back and watched his enemy. They watched Cassius for a minute, trying to see what he would do, and after a few minutes, they slowly moved. A large number of troops scaled the hill and watched from above, ready to intercept if Cassius returned to Magnus’s side whilst also in place to rejoin the western front.

Cassius clicked his tongue. His best bet would have been to join Magnus again, but with the soldiers waiting on the hill, he knew that chance was gone.’Surrendering is the only choice. Isn’t it?’It was an annoying thing to admit, but he knew when he was beat.

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Octavius led his men down the hill. His enemy had utterly broken. The encirclement had started it, and with his promise to live, he shattered their resolve. Charging in, Octavius swung his sword, killing a man who refused to give up. The battle was over, but Octavius knew the war wouldn’t end if he didn’t get Magnus.

His men were fresh and charging against the tired enemy; they easily tore through the broken lines. In the distance, he could see Magnus surrounded by a small square formation.