The Enemy Strikes

Alaric leaned against the ramparts of a watchtower. He was currently on the border of the Eastern Roman Empire, investigating the military buildup that Yazdegerd had begun not long ago. A total of eight legions consisting of roughly sixteen thousand men were currently standing by on this section of the border, waiting for the inevitable war to break out.

Thousands of Sassanids troops supported these eight legions. If Alaric had to guess, there were roughly twenty-five thousand men sitting across from him, waiting for their chance to pounce on the Goths as if they were tigers eying their prey. 

In the barbarian king's hands was a crossbow which he was playing with. The weapon was designed by Marcellus and had been issued to soldiers in the Western Roman Army, specifically those who acted as defenders of military structures.