Chapter 126: Commence Fire

The consequences of admitting defeat for the commoners were not too bad; they would only change their tax title from subjects of Rome to subjects of the Syndicate, which, for the plebeians, did not matter much...

But it would become a lethal problem for the patricians if this new industrial empire stripped away their ancestral wealth, interfering in their slaving businesses and their aristocratic way of life, which they had no way of guaranteeing would survive under the Forge Master’s laws.

Finally, the senior Julii magistrate came up with a solution.

"Then we will not admit defeat. Let us see if we can secure any military help from the neighboring fortress of Segusio. At the same time, the rebels will have to bleed to break through our city wall. Maybe by the time the masonry is breached, the Senate’s reinforcements will arrive."

Hearing the solution given by the Julii, everyone nodded their heads in grim acceptance and got back on top of the wall.

With serious and stern faces, they loudly revealed the decision they had made after deliberation to the Syndicate messenger.

"We entirely refuse your offer to admit defeat," they declared.

The messenger, who had already been expecting this arrogant reply, still felt a little disappointed.

As usual, he wished them good luck surviving the night and returned safely to the army camp.

...

"They rejected it, Commander," the messenger reported the exact result to Valerius.

Upon hearing the expected reply, Valerius’s scarred face showed absolutely little to no fluctuation.

"Commence fire."

With his lethal orders passing through the trench ranks, the artillerymen immediately acted.

With the chemical grenades already armed and resting in the leather pouches, they pulled the release triggers.

Six consecutive hollow sounds, similar to siege ballistae being launched, echoed as the clay grenades whizzed through the air in a parabolic trajectory and cleanly landed behind the city wall.

With incredibly loud explosions superimposed on one another, the inner courtyard of the city was instantly engulfed by this explosive onslaught...

However, this did not stop, as the earth-shattering explosions continued every single minute.

The Roman magistrates were startled by the concussive sound of the explosions, as they had never seen or even heard of such a terrifying, explosive weapon.

The same went for the auxiliary soldiers, who were now literally kneeling on the parapets, praying to Jupiter, as they genuinely felt like this was a divine weapon of the gods explicitly made to punish them.

However, the patricians were the first to intellectually recover...

Even though the damage done by the weapon was catastrophically great, it could not be something truly divine in nature, since they were not instantly disintegrated into ash, which in their opinion could only be possible for a weapon truly divine in origin.

However, even after confirming that the explosive weapon was entirely mortal and alchemical in nature due to them not disintegrating, they couldn’t help but deeply regret their arrogant choices after witnessing the constant, unending firepower of the enemy.

Unfortunately, they realized the truth far too late, and now could only pin their desperate hopes on reinforcements...

***

January 11, 222 AD.

"What is it? Did the garrison at Segusio agree to reinforce us?" The senior Julii magistrate asked with anticipation.

It had been four days since they had sent riders through the southern mountain goat paths to request reinforcements from the neighboring fortress.

In the meantime, the explosive bombardment had been continuous and ongoing, and he could easily tell that the shattered city wall would not last much longer...

As for fighting back, their arrows had no effect on these enemy weapons, which were guarded by thick sandbags, and the Syndicate army was stationed too far back to cause any true damage.

When the Romans desperately tried to lay a nighttime ambush or flank the enemy trench, they were hit with a new weapon that made them tremble:

The chemical firestick, similar to the repeating arbalests used by the Syndicate in Gaul but vastly more deadly at close range.

So, the hope of getting near to the enemy artillery was dashed.

The Roman scout who returned after visiting the nearest fortress of Segusio to request reinforcements had freezing sweat covering his face.

Seeing this terror, the Julii magistrate felt a sense of foreboding, but still, he continued to ask, holding onto a glimmer of hope.

The scout, after regaining his breath and composure, explained with horror, "Dominus, as I was about to enter the valley of Segusio, what I saw greatly shocked me."

"An army no less than the enemy army outside our own city wall was waiting to brutally attack the fortress of Segusio. The banners, although slightly different from the ones here, bore the exact same industrial symbol of the anvil, so I think they both are from the same empire. They were cloaked in gray wool. I didn’t go forward anymore and ran back immediately to inform you," the scout reported, his voice cracking.

All four magistrates who heard this specific information were greatly shocked.

It was only now that they truly realized, what the true industrial might of a power capable of going against the Roman Empire was actually like...

"Julius, do you genuinely think there are more such armies attacking different cities all over the Alpine passes simultaneously?" the Fabii magistrate asked.

The Julii magistrate, upon hearing this strategic possibility, was greatly taken aback.

He was already unable to cope with the fact that even their closest neighbor was under heavy attack.

Now, with the Fabii introducing another tactical idea that was very much a statistical possibility, he knew in his bones that they had no chance of winning this war.

After a brief discussion among the patricians, they unanimously agreed to consider defeat.

It was just that they were highly hesitant because they could clearly see that in defeat, they would lose a massive amount of political power to the enemy.

They were also not so sure that the initial generous offer made by the Syndicate messenger at the beginning of the battle would still stand.

However, they were entirely out of options; it was either this or fighting the mechanized enemy until their absolute last breath.

Even if they somehow miraculously managed to repel the enemy at their doorsteps, more would follow like an endless, industrial tide of zombies, so their cowardly choice was actually in the best interest of the civilian majority.

Valerius, who was routinely inspecting the trench battlefield, suddenly had a smile on his face as he saw multiple pristine white flags rising up on top of the city wall, signifying the acceptance of defeat by the Roman garrison.

The gates were opened, and the *Custodes* heavy infantry entered the city with extreme caution.

The military operation was successful, and as the patricians expected, they were arrested and put into custody while the security and vast grain resources of the city were taken into the Syndicate’s control.

Fortunately, there wasn’t anything beyond this like raping or pillaging by the disciplined soldiers, so the terrified hearts of the plebeians were finally let down...