Ch. 9: Loyalty falters
The Greeks from Corinth foolishly attacked the Brutii army head on. Marcylus quickly ordered his archers to advance and shoot three volleys of arrows at the wall of spears approaching. Marcylus had never personally encountered this formation before. He then told his skirmishers to advance and throw all of their spears at the wall. The orders were carried out fast and effectively executed. The Greeks began to fall but kept coming. Marcylus pulled back his archers and left the Velites to fight the spearmen.
" My lord I think if we hit this formation with cavalry from the side of the rear I think we can easily break it and cause them confusion," Rexell told Marcylus after seeing the Velites engage the spear wall. They were cut through slowly but surely while the spearmen were unharmed. The Greeks reformed the formation after dealing with the Velites. Marcylus then called out to his cavalry.
" All Equites draw the spear wall away while we hit them from behind, go! " called the general. The Equites obediently moved to the left of the spears. The formation moved and faced them. Marcylus smiled as his cavalry charged. They were so intent on getting the Equites that they didn't turn to face him. He smashed through their line. Men flew into the air as horses trampled them and spears became red with blood. Sooner than Marcylus could order another charge the formation broke and the spearmen ran.
The Greeks then launched a counter attack. A hail of arrows rained down on the cavalry. Horses whined as they fell and men cried out for aid. Marcylus quickly ordered his men to fall back.
" Hastati shields up! " called the general. The infantry raised their shields as a second wave of arrows fell among them. Only a few men were wounded. The Romans then waited as the other houses annihilated Corinth's defenders. Immediately afterwards, Marcylus moved his army East towards Athens. They set up camp and waited for the Greeks to make the first move. During this time Marcylus' army trained for battle. Unfortunatley morale was not perfect in the army.
" Why should we follow a man much younger than ourselves?" asked one of the veteran troops. The others in his group nodded. They then formulated a plan to overthrow Marcylus. Fortunately Phylus was listening in on them. He quickly told Marcylus what had transpired. Marcylus then thought of a way to deal with the problem. The next morning Marcylus walked from his tent with his sword drawn. He called out to his army.
" I know some of you think I am not the leader you should be following " he began. The men were still as he continued to tell them that if any of his men wanted to challenge his authority they could face him in armed combat. He then raised his sword and stared at his men, daring them to come forward. After a few moments of tense silence one man stepped forward. It was the same man who was speaking of mutiny.
" I challenge you Marcylus! " called the Roman. Marcylus then knelt to the ground and prayed to Mars for strength. He stood and crossed blades with the mutinous man, his name was Judius. They then began fighting one another. Marcylus swung his sword forward straight down onto Judius' sword. Judius countered with a sweeping slash at the general's legs. The army was captivated. A series of parrying and lunges gave way to all out slashes as each man tried to cut a gash in the other's arm.
Marcylus quickly kicked dirt into Judius' eyes, the man stumbled off balance before falling to the ground. Marcylus put his sword inches from his throat. The army cheered. Marcylus turned and walked a few steps before kneeling again to thank Mars.
" I will not be beaten by such a man! " screamed Judius. He stood and raised his sword arm. Marcylus was a blur as he stood and shuffled backwards, driving his sword into the Roman's heart. Judius' face took on a stunned look that reflected his overconfidence. He fell to the ground, dead. The army did not move as Marcylus raised his sword. One by one, the men raised their swords in turn. They cheered as the mutinous thoughts were driven from their heads.
" My brothers, let us go forth and destroy the Greeks!" called their General. The Romans fell into formation and marched on towards Athens. Ladders and siege towers slowly led the way. The Greeks hastily organized a defence force of mostly milita. They could see many flags over their walls. Some green, some blue, and some red. The Romans had finally cornered the Greeks and if all went according to plan, were about to take them over for good.
Marcylus quickly thought of a plan. His ladders would follow the siege towers closely and set up right beside the arrow towers in order to be safe from the archers inside. Then the siege towers would quickly deploy and destroy the wall guards. Once they did that they could open the gate, allowing the cavalry to rush inside and quickly destroy all resistance.
A Scipii general and his guards addressed Marcylus before the battle.
" Ahh the great Marcylus, I have a proposition for you. I would like to form a secret alliance with you, the senate is going to overthrow us soon so I suggest you take it." Marcylus knew he was speaking the truth. He had already received orders to take his own life. He shook hands with the general, sealing the agreement. He then put on his helmet and waved the men forward. The battle for athens was about to begin.