The battle for the temple
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As our advance into tribal territory continued to be a success, we were still dealing with many injured soldiers. I couldn't understand why our men were suffering so many wounds when facing an enemy that, in general terms, was inferior to us in both the quality and quantity of their weaponry.
The robots they controlled were slow and easy to flank, and their only strength, the amazons, didn't seem to know what they were doing. The tribe was a peaceful people, protected by their robots, and saw no need to understand warfare, focusing instead on agriculture and maintaining the temple of their goddess.
From a macro perspective of the war, it didn't make sense that such an inferior enemy could cause so much damage to a far superior unit, as every passing hour saw dozens of robots destroyed by our spearhead units that rapidly pierced deeper into the territory of the Twin Mothers.
However, while accompanying a centurion on a raid to a moderately fortified point, we swiftly disabled the robots by targeting their vulnerable spots and destroying their motor circuits. The forward patrols had plenty of anti-armor weapons, and once the robots were neutralized, the centurion sent his legionaries in their motorized chariots to cut off the amazons' retreat.
At first, everything seemed to be going well. We successfully cut off the disorganized and poorly coordinated retreat of the warrior women, using our motorized units to block their escape. What should have been a simple matter of shooting until they surrendered took an unexpected turn.
What I witnessed was entirely different from what I would have ordered. Instead of keeping their distance and taking them down, the legionaries began engaging the amazons in close combat, trying to capture as many as possible alive. It was clear they intended to make trophies of them, to use them as playthings later. Yet the amazons, though surrounded and trapped, were not willing to surrender easily. They fought back fiercely, repelling the attacks of the legionaries who charged at them with a mixture of arrogance and reckless abandon.
I turned to their commanding officer, who didn't seem to have the slightest intention of intervening. I was getting fed up with centurions only following my advice when Lanius was nearby.
I grabbed the centurion by his armor, using all the strength my servos allowed, lifting him off the ground.
"Centurion, I believe I recommended that close combat was to be used as a last resort. Explain immediately what's happening here before I have you crucified for disobeying the legate Lanius's direct orders," I said, letting my anger resonate through the loudspeakers.
The centurion looked at me with surprise and fear, his eyes desperately searching for a way to calm my fury. His body, rigid and trembling, made it clear he hadn't expected such a severe reaction. I could feel the pressure of my servos as I held him aloft, and the threat of crucifixion wasn't just rhetorical. I was seriously considering it—perhaps a centurion or two would have to be nailed until they started obeying orders.
"Decanus Gaius, I... I... my men have quotas to meet... you know this... Lord Caesar has decreed that all veteran legionaries must father at least three children with the camp slaves," the centurion stammered, clearly terrified of what might happen.
The centurion's confession echoed in my ears—it was the first time I had heard of this.
"That is no excuse to justify your insubordination, centurion. Do you think our mission here is to build a harem instead of conquering this damned territory? Caesar's orders are to subdue the profligates, and our commander's orders are to reduce our casualties. Next time, I won't be as merciful," I said, throwing the centurion to the ground.
Every centurion is a seasoned veteran who, without the power armor, could easily smash my skull with one blow. Then again, I could probably crush his skull too, so that would make us even. The power armor just gave me a huge advantage over him.
The centurion hit the ground with a dull thud, visibly embarrassed and terrified. His breathing was heavy, but he said nothing more. He knew he had crossed a line, and his life now hung by a thread as thin as my patience. As he recovered, my thoughts drifted back to the battle, which raged on between the legionaries and the amazons.
Physically, the legionaries were far superior to the amazons, but there was a difference: the women were trying to kill them, while the legionaries wanted them alive, to use them as breeding stock once this was all over. Though I wanted to give new orders, the battle was too far along, and any further commands would achieve nothing more than to let me observe the situation as it played out.
The amazons, though desperate, took advantage of the legionaries' desire to capture them alive, managing to wound several of the men with knives and makeshift weapons. The fighting became more fierce and chaotic. The screams of the wounded and the clash of metal filled the air as dust rose with every sharp movement. The legionaries, confident in their superiority, hadn't expected such fierce resistance from a group that had been fleeing not long ago.
Still, no matter how fiercely the amazons fought, they were surrounded and overwhelmed. Though they managed to injure several of the centurion's men, one by one, they were subdued, captured, or killed. The aftermath of the battle was a field of bodies, legionaries panting from their wounds, and a number of defeated amazons bound and led back to our vehicles, destined to become trophies when they arrived at the camp.
I returned to the camp after a long day of battles against both robots and amazons, which were becoming increasingly easier as we destroyed their robotic defenses.
All the captives of the day were handed over to the slave master, and the commanders began distributing trained slaves among the best legionaries of the day. I reported to the legate's forces about what had happened today, and he ordered us to continue in our current direction. By tomorrow, we should reach the Temple of Diana, where we had our meeting with the goddess, and if the people living in those villages haven't evacuated, there will be a large number of captives.
The next day, while it was still very early, I gathered my contubernium to head toward our objective: the Temple of Diana. I knew perfectly well that, due to the false goddess having satellites, a surprise attack was highly unlikely to succeed, as she could see us coming from kilometers away. But we could at least gauge how many forces the amazons were willing to dedicate to defending their sacred sites.
As we approached the settlement, we dismounted from our chariots and walked a few kilometers until we spotted the buildings in the distance.
"Decanus, you've got to see this… look at everything over there. There must be hundreds of robots and even more amazons ready to defend that temple," said Cato, who was the first to use his visor's enhancements.
"Well, it seems they plan to defend this area with everything they have. According to our intelligence, their capital is hundreds of kilometers to the north. We'll need to bring more explosives if we want to flush them out of there," I said as I observed the large force gathering.
Much of Lanius's legion began concentrating south of the Temple of Diana, preparing to launch an attack aimed at causing as much damage as possible to the amazons, since the robots were easy targets without their auxiliaries.
"What do you think, Legate? Would it be wise to surround them completely and take advantage of the high ground to attack? Alternatively, we could use all the explosives we've brought—grenade launchers and rocket cohorts—to cause as much panic as possible among the amazons, who have already shown to have very low morale," I said, handing Lanius a pair of binoculars as he observed the field from a small hill.
"What do you recommend, Decanus? You know best how to deal with the robots," Lanius asked, his tone seemingly kind.
"Do we have time?" I asked the legate.
"How much time do you need?" Lanius replied.
"One or two weeks. We can send a messenger back to my castra, and I'll request the creation of some specialized siege weapons for situations like this. They have no trenches, and they're sheltering in the locals' homes. With a dozen mortars, we could destroy their cover and have a clear shooting zone. Within a few hours of successful bombardment, we'd take the area with minimal casualties," I told the legate.
"Decanus Gaius, if you can make those weapons... why haven't you already? It's too much time. I'll send the messenger; I want those weapons for future battles, but we need to demonstrate that we're not reliant on our weapons and that our personal strength is what got us here. We'll use all the men who survived thanks to your recommendations because we can't delay the campaign against the Sundogs any longer," Lanius responded, his tone returning to normal.
"Very well, then. A multi-directional assault would be the most prudent approach. They won't be able to concentrate their fire, and their lack of fortifications will allow us to overwhelm them quickly," I said to the legate.
"Get to your position; the attack will begin soon," Lanius commanded.
A large number of legionaries began dispersing across the wide plains, taking positions on the hills of the area as they slowly advanced and surrounded the fortified positions of the tribals. There was no opposition to our tactics, nor any attempt to retreat, which spoke poorly of the tribal defense commander or simply showed his lack of military skill to grasp what was happening.
We got into position, but unlike usual, Lanius placed veteran legionaries on the front lines, equipped with a significant amount of explosives—either captured or manufactured by me.
When the attack began, dozens of rockets were fired to tear apart the tribal defenses, followed by immediate use of grenade launchers to clear the debris and any survivors.
The robots started to emerge to defend the amazons, but due to being clustered together amidst the rubble and the limited mobility of the Protectrons, they became easy targets for the legionaries' anti-tank rifles.
It took only a few minutes, but the legionaries had used their entire arsenal to destroy the amazon defenses, switching back to traditional equipment while simultaneously employing anti-tank weapons.
Lanius then ordered the second wave of legionaries, the more novice ones, to charge at the weakened defenses. We all obeyed. Most of the robots' fire concentrated on us, but the power armor seemed to be dissipating the laser fire from the robots effectively. On several occasions, they managed to hit me, but it only left black scorch marks on our power armor.
Waves of legionaries, armed with bolt-action rifles and machetes, threw themselves at the amazon defenses. The women struggled to fend off the sheer number of enemies coming from all directions with fanatical determination to tear them apart.
The veteran legionaries took advantage of their younger counterparts' distraction to continue attacking through the breaches created by the human tide of metal and pure determination—the legionaries without ranged weapons.
Minutes passed, and finally, the legionaries had managed to enter the few buildings still standing in the area after using large amounts of explosives. They fought hand-to-hand with the robots and amazons, who continued to retreat, but there was nowhere left to go. They were surrounded on all sides, having allowed us to corner them.
The dust was thick from all the chaos, but that didn't stop my contubernium and me from wreaking havoc among the defenders as we exploited the growing weaknesses in their defenses.
Slowly, the defenders gathered in pockets that were easily obliterated by machine-gun fire. But seeing that victory was near, many legionaries began rushing forward, eager to claim their trophies, as the remaining temple defenders offered no further resistance.
After an hour of intense combat, the sound of the conflict finally ceased. When the dust cleared, we could see a battlefield littered with the bodies of amazons, robots, and legionaries.
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