Previously, the land hundreds of meters around Animusfia was scorched black, and only Caesar, a servant, was still standing in the center of the battlefield.
Even as a Saber with [Anti-Magic Power], Caesar suffered a lot of trauma when faced with Animusfia's sudden attack.
There were a lot of black scorch marks on the red tribune uniform, half of the olive laurel wreath on his head was missing, and even the luster on the golden sword had dimmed a lot.
"General!"
The centurions on the battlefield in the rear heard the thunderous sound and hurried to Caesar's side.
"I'm fine. Let's go and count the losses first. We have to continue marching to Florence. We have been delayed here for too long. We can't waste any more time."
Caesar looked at the sword blades and shields around him that were directly melted and shattered, as well as the soldiers who turned into charred corpses and gritted his teeth.
From his visual inspection alone, Caesar deduced that at least three cohorts had been lost to Animusphia's final attack.
An ordinary centurion actually does not have as many as one hundred people, but only about sixty to eighty people. It is spread out as a hundred people, which is also part of the tactics.
Six such centuries formed a large army. After Marius' reform, an additional centurion was added, with twice the strength of the ordinary centurions.
Ten of these groups eventually formed a legion.
The previous resistance of more than a hundred men in the mountains had been until just now, and Caesar's actual loss of troops did not even exceed twenty men.
But just Animusfia's last magic trick caused Caesar to lose nearly three armies.
Caesar only brought three legions on this expedition. Apart from the one legion that stayed at the seaside to ensure supplies, there were also two more that fought with him.
After fighting with this crushing force until now, Caesar's results were only half a centurion and a clone of Animus Fei.
But he lost half of his army and a good opportunity to attack Florence.
Caesar had a chance to avoid this by simply keeping his soldiers away from the battle between himself and Animusphia.
But Caesar, who had long been accustomed to being surrounded by stars, still followed the style of his life and did not make any changes because of his status as a servant.
Even when he was assassinated in the Senate, Caesar still stood in the center of the crowd.
Now that Caesar's whereabouts and purpose have been exposed, the soldiers who had previously evacuated from Animusfia should also have arrived in Florence.
Caesar was prepared for a tough battle.
Although he was still sure of taking Florence, facing this city that had prepared strong walls, the loss of the legions who lacked siege equipment would not be too small.
Even if Caesar himself could break through the city wall, the battlefield width for his legions would not be too wide.
All the follow-up tactics that Caesar had arranged before were also invalidated.
The only thing that can be done now is to gain a foothold in Florence first, and then consider the next strategy.
*******
Animusfia, who was standing on the observation deck with Nero, suddenly swayed, and her body fell backwards. She quickly took a few steps back to stabilize herself, and Animusfia escaped the fate of falling.
"Governor, what's wrong with you?"
Nero looked anxiously and asked Animusfia, who was leaning against the wall and stroking her forehead.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"....No, Your Majesty. I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."
After regaining her composure, Animusfia stood up straight again and said to Nero.
"What are you doing?"
"It can be regarded as a side effect of magic...it's just a short-term pain, and its effectiveness is negligible compared to it."
Just the experience of dying once was exchanged for the results of three brigades. Such a transaction was not unprofitable.
Animusfia's eyes looked towards the east where Florence was located through the sky that had turned fish belly white as the sun had set.
"If nothing happens, we can wait for the enemy tonight."
Through the memories transmitted back, Animusfia also learned who the opponent's coach was.
Is it actually Julius Caesar...
I'm afraid that after this time, using simple tactics against Caesar, who has learned his lesson, will no longer work.
However, Animusfia never expected that Caesar's body shape was so... bloated.
This is so unexpected.
Would the famous Cleopatra really like Caesar like this?
Animusfia was skeptical.
*********
Caesar looked in disbelief at Florence, whose city gates were wide open and not at all garrisoned.
The city still seemed to be at peace, with citizens constantly coming in and out of the city gates, and there was no atmosphere of war at all.
Only a few city guards stood symbolically in front of the city gate and observation tower.
Even if Nero really did not garrison in Florence, the soldiers who had escaped from Caesar before would have brought the news to Florence.
There was no way the city gates were still wide open.
Caesar, who has realized that Animusfia is not an ordinary person, will never think that there is no trap in this.
But such a trap is too obvious.
Caesar really couldn't realize whether Animusfia was on the second floor or the fourth floor.
If he were on the second level, Caesar, who now chose to enter the city, might have stepped directly into the trap, and there was no telling what kind of ambush he would have encountered.
But if Animusfia was bluffing due to lack of troops and deliberately made such a trap for Caesar, Caesar who chose to avoid it would have lost the opportunity in vain.
By then, losses will be inevitable after the opponent's troops rush to reinforce them.
The citizens who saw the large number of troops arriving in front of the city began to rush home, and the city guards began to close the city gates.
"General, what should we do now?"
The sergeant beside Caesar asked him.
"..."
Caesar pondered for a few seconds, looked at the city gates that kept closing, and finally gritted his teeth and ordered:
"Leave one legion stationed outside the city, and all the rest will attack. We must attack Florence before the city gate closes!"
In the end, he chose to attack directly.
Leaving a legion outside was the final compromise made by Caesar. Even if there was an ambush in the city, Caesar still had room for maneuver.
...
Effortlessly, just the soldiers rushed into the city. The Florence city guards did not even have a chance to resist and were killed by well-trained soldiers.
Caesar marched through the city with a complex look on his face.
He preferred to take the city after a strong attack, so that Caesar would feel more at ease.
The soldiers who entered the city had already begun looting everywhere, and Caesar found no more strange signs.
Maybe it was really Nero's servant who was bluffing.
Marching in the square in the center of the city, Caesar comforted himself like this.
But there was a strange smell floating in the air that made it difficult for Caesar to relax.
Just like a natural hot spring.
"Is this... sulfur?"
Caesar's expression changed.
As if to confirm Caesar's thoughts, a burning feeling came from his back.
