THE PREFACE: It's been long overdue but Round 6 is finally here!
Pitting the fabled Roman Centurions, who conquered a quarter of the world under
the rule of the great Caesars, against the Mongolian Raiders, who conquered
over half of the world under the leadership of the legendary Genghis Khan.
Soldiers fighting for the glory of Rome. Nomads fighting for a greater destiny.
Here’s what 96 of my fellow coworkers had to say:
ROUND 6
ROMAN CENTURION VS MONGOL RAIDER
ROMAN CENTURION MONGOL RAIDER MICKEY MOUSE
31
64 1
STORE MANAGER CHOICE:
ROMAN CENTURION
ADVANTAGE: MONGOL RAIDER
I’m not sure what
happened here. Maybe it was a bad match up? Or maybe it was due time for a blow
out. It seems for every one vote for the Romans I received two votes for the
Mongols. This is by far the biggest spread we’ve had yet! Most everybody
believes in the ferocity of the Mongols!
THE STORY
From the account of Daxus Meridias – Roman Centurion
April 3th
The
sixth night of festivities celebrating Rome’s victory of Germania. It has been
nearly a month since the battle’s end and has taken several weeks but finally
my men and I have returned to Rome. The city somehow seems more wonderful now
than last I saw her. The citizens greet us as heroes of war. The Emperor showers
us with royal food and wine and the finest courtesans in all the empire. I am
ashamed to admit but for the last 72 hours I have been lost in a realm of
senses. My great Caesar, how I missed Rome.
Even amidst endless pleasures the
senators whisper and conspire about the next battlefield, the next conquest of
the empire. Rumors have spread of a dark power in the East. Monsters. Demons
from Hades itself. Bah. It is nothing but a story to frighten children and the feeble
minded. I have fought against many enemies from distant lands as well as fellow
neighboring Greeks. I have seen the very devil himself on the battlefield. But
in the end they are just men.
But a
power is rising in the East nonetheless. My Emperor Cicero grows concerned. He
has ordered a contingent of soldiers to confirm the rumors. To see if this
power in the East is a threat to the Empire. Myself and 5 other centurions
commanding 480 men have been dispatched. Fully armed and with light cavalry. A
glorified scouting party. More than enough to slay a rabble of savages in masks
wielding rocks and sticks. We deploy in the morning. I should be getting much
needed rest yet I insist on keeping this foolish record. That and the heavenly
woman by my side.
April 22th
The
cohort (480 men) led by myself and fellow centurions have traveled north and
far to the east above the African tribes. Our march has gone swiftly and
without resistance. The villages and nations we pass have been welcoming and
hospitable. We ask only for that which we need to survive. They have all been
gracious enough to allow us to resupply.
I have asked each of the sovereign
lords about the demons in the east. I wish to learn as much about my enemy as
possible. At first they laughed insisting that my men and I were chasing
ghosts. But the farther from home we traveled the stranger the answers to my
inquiries became. At first they laughed. Now they don’t speak at all. Not a
word or even a whisper. The farther east we travel the greater the fear in the
locals eyes.
Still I asked them what they knew.
Finally I managed to pry some words from a local farmer’s mouth: “Wolves
wearing the skins of men.” I have never seen a man so scared.
April 29th
We have
continued our march deeper into the east. We have not yet beheld the demons of
the east, but we have seen the aftermath of what their kind has wrought.
Villages burned. Crops decimated. Women and children ravaged. Their bodies lay
face down in the dirt, charred earth surrounding them. The corpses of the men
lay strewn about in pieces, feral dogs and other animals eating their fill.
I have
seen barbarism. I have beheld the deeds of evil men. None of that has prepared
me for any of this. The looks on the faces of my men fill me with doubt. An
undercurrent of dread makes its way through the troops. They look at us
centurions just as the frightened villagers did. Looking at the smoldering
ruins and bloody carnage around us it is impossible not to feel shaken.
I still don’t believe in monsters.
But whatever did this to these people… was not human.
May 1st
This
morning the men and I marched on a hillside spanning the horizon, the sun
rising above the ridge. The air was cold and the wind bitter, stinging the
skin. A darkness set deep within the men’s hearts. A whispered fear… Mongol.
Something
resembling a man stood on the hilltop. He stood alone, hooded and dressed in
rags. A spear in one hand, a sword in the other. He paced back and forth along
the ridge, not like a man does when he’s nervous. He paced the way a wolf does
just before it moves in for the kill. There was only one of them, but what
happened next gave my men pause.
As we
ascended the slope the wolf attacked. He ran down the hillside at an alarming
speed. My soldiers knew not whether to form ranks or remain marching. How
foolish it would sound back in Rome to hear of 480 men forming ranks against a
single adversary. I shouted the order. The senators and Emperor can laugh all
they want. I saw the fear in my men’s eyes from this one opponent. Whatever our
enemy was, I would not underestimate him.
The men
fell quickly in line, shields together, spears by their sides. My men formed an
impregnable wall, one which has withstood the onslaught of countless barbarian
hordes. We marched in form up the side of the hill. But the enemy did not stop.
He stabbed the tip of his spear in the ground beneath our shields and vaulted
over our heads. He landed in the center of our ranks fighting with all the
ferocity of a cornered animal.
Shocked
and confused, many of the men were taken by surprise. In moments four men lay
face down on the ground, their blood soaking the earth. Our men moved in from
all sides. The enemy never kept his attention in one area for long. For several
minutes he mounted an impressive offense. Roman spears eventually pierced his
flesh. And our swords cut the rabid beast to pieces.
What
was it trying to achieve with such a suicidal maneuver? My fellow centurions
wondered this too. In the end a single enemy managed to fell ten men and wound
seven others. Many laughed at the hopeless task our enemy had tried to achieve.
Others waivered, spirits shaken, for if only one was able to inflict such
damage, imagine what an army could do? While the rest of the men stared at the
slain body my eyes looked to ridge. Three men on horseback watched us from
above. It was then that I realized what this attack had been about. They were
gauging our ability.
I
feared what the following days would bring…
May 2nd
The
events of yesterday have left the men shaken. The weather has grown cold. Three
men were attacked and killed by wolves while they slept. The animals howling
prevented many from resting. In the morning we continued northeast into our
enemy’s territory. We came yet upon another hillside. It was here that our
enemy chose to attack us. While we climbed the slope the enemy created a
rockslide. Smaller rocks loosened larger ones. The large rocks jarred free yet
greater boulders, all cascading towards our troops.
Centurion
Maximus rallied the troops into formation. While the first line of men knelt
down with their shield at the ground, the second line of men raised their
shields above covering everything from foot to skull. The larger rocks crashed
through our shields crushing and scattering the troops. 100 enemies on
horseback followed the rocks down the hillside riding right through our ranks.
They wielded
swords, spears, maces, hammers, all manner of edged weaponry and heavy
bludgeoning objects. Each one of these horsemen were as feral and beastly as
the lone enemy from yesterday. Some were big. Some were smaller. Each fought
with reckless abandon and savagery. The brutality with which they fought caused
the men to break rank, likely out of fear. This enabled them to inflict
terrible damage to our numbers. Centurion Criksus and Delios were felled by a
beast fighting with two curved razor sharp swords. The loss of two centurions
sent the men into a panic.
Maximus
and I rode in and rallied the men as best we could. Our horses collided with
two of the enemies. All four of us were knocked to the ground. I could feel the
pounding of the horses hooves centimeters from my head as I lay on the ground.
Never have I felt so afraid. But my fear propelled me forward. Maximus and I
fought side by side like we never have before. Together we felled twenty of
these monsters.
By mid-morning the battle was done.
We had survived, but the damage done was lethal. Our men numbered less than
200. Only three centurions remained to lead. Everyone was left wounded and
shaken. I knew we would not survive another incursion such as this. And the men
knew it too. I gave the order to turn back. We traveled well into the night,
only now stopping to rest. If I could keep the men going I would, were that
they had any strength left to give. I fear what the night will bring.
May 3rd
Wolves
attacked us yet again in the night, claiming twenty-seven men, all too
exhausted and wounded to defend themselves. The howling kept us all awake till
morning. The night grew colder too. What rest we managed was little. It is this
place. Since coming here I have felt it infect us, debilitate us.
Once
dawn approached we headed farther south. Our supplies are running low. Only now
do I see the terrible trap we had marched head long into. The decimated
villages. The burnt crops. Poisoned wells. We had been completely cut off from
the essential resources we needed to survive. If these Mongols attacked us now
we would be easy prey.
Our
only salvation lay further south beyond these lands. I pushed the men as hard
as they could. Many grew sick as the day wore on. What water we found induced
vomiting and foul discharge from both ends. It is hard to believe that only
five days ago the men were healthy and strong. Now we are pale shells of our
former selves.
May 4th
It was like waking to a nightmare. The Mongols attack us at night. Wolves
attacked with them. All I could hear were the screams of my men and pounding
hooves and the snarling of animals. Clouds covered the sky for not a single
light shone in the night.
Maximus
and I decided it best if we flee, taking what men were able with us. As we ran
we were picked off one by one by wolves and horsemen. I witnessed my friend
Maximus’s head loped from his shoulders. He was standing right next to me. I
truly believed I was next. As I ran I felt the cold breath of Hades on my neck.
I did not look back. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me well into the
dawn.
Fifteen
men and myself are all that remain. One soldier, a young man by the name of
Marcus appears in remarkable health given everything he has been through. I know
he could continue running if it were not for loyalty to the rest of us. I know
I will not make it back to Rome. The Mongols will chase us to eternity to claim
our lives. I will give this letter to Marcus and impress upon him the
importance of it, that he reach Rome, and tell everyone of the horrors and
monsters in the east. So that no Roman may suffer what we here have suffered.
I have
little left to give. These final words are all that I can give my Emperor. This
is a godforsaken land filled with devils. The empire need not come here. For
all it will find is death.
Check out the first five rounds of the "What If" World Warrior Battles!
Round 5: SPARTAN VS SAMURAI
Round 4: VALKYRIE VS AMAZON
Round 3: COWBOY VS PIRATE
Round 2: SHAOLIN MONK VS APACHE WARRIOR
Round 1: VIKING VS NINJA
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