Chapter 196 : Blitzkrieg

Around twenty people were gathered in the atrium.

Every single one of them was a prominent figure in Rome—Pompey and Crassus, along with leading senators and sitting magistrates.

They hadn’t gathered at Caesar’s domus today to indulge in wine and delicacies.

They were here to bear witness to a binding contract.

"Does Gaius Caesar swear before the immortal gods to faithfully abide by every term set forth in this document for the sake of his daughter, Julia?"

"I so swear."

Father nodded firmly.

The scribe read aloud the final clause of the agreement.

"Then the remaining balance of the dowry shall be paid in full according to the agreed schedule following the formal wedding."

I watched quietly as the scribe recited the contract.

The Romans were terrifyingly pragmatic when it came to marriage.

The dowry, in particular, was treated with great seriousness.

The sheer ferocity of the battle of wills between Mother and Servilia over the dowry was enough to leave everyone around them exhausted.

Whether it should be paid in land or hard coin, how many installments there should be, and over what exact period...

Looking at the exhaustive clauses, one could easily mistake it for a corporate merger rather than a marriage.

At least the negotiations wrapped up far faster once Brutus published his open love letter to the public.

"Julia. Brutus."

At Father’s call, Julia stepped forward with a nervous expression.

Opposite her stood Brutus, looking every bit as tense.

"Do you accept this union?"

Julia stole a quick glance at Brutus before giving a slow nod.

"I accept."

"I accept as well."

Only then did the stifling tension in the atrium melt away. Antony slapped Brutus on the shoulder with a wide grin.

"Congratulations. It’s too late to run now."

Laughter erupted across the room. While Father engaged Brutus in conversation, amphorae of wine, fresh bread, cheese, olives, and pasta were set upon the tables.

I smirked, watching Crassus and Pompey bickering over some petty matter as they always did.

Those two would never change. Well, on a celebratory day like this, there was no need for me to step in and play mediator.

I strode over to my younger sister, who looked radiant in an elegant stola.

"Congratulations, Julia. I’d originally wanted to throw you a much grander celebration than this, but..."

"This is more than enough, Brother."

Julia replied with a bright smile.

"Besides, today is merely our betrothal, not the wedding itself."

"It’s the betrothal of my only sister, after all."

Truth be told, I had planned a magnificent fireworks display to commemorate today’s betrothal. I intended to repurpose defective batches of black powder that were unfit for military application.

However, Julia had adamantly turned down the idea.

Above all, putting on a fireworks show would publicly reveal the existence of gunpowder to the entire populace, which carried far too many military risks to be taken lightly.

"I’ll be eagerly waiting for your letters from Gaul."

"Of course. You’ll be needing fresh material if you’re going to illustrate that story of yours."

Julia had been pouring her heart into the comic project she had proposed earlier. With her this invested in the project, there was no way I wouldn’t support her.

Right then, Brutus approached us.

"Lucius, are you truly certain I shouldn’t accompany you to Gaul? Antony and all the other lads are marching, yet I’m the only one left behind..."

"I can’t drag a man who just got betrothed today off to Gaul. I am hardly that heartless."

"Still..."

"Besides, you have a mountain of duties that require your presence here in Rome, Brutus." I said in a firm tone. "While I am away on campaign, Father will need someone he can trust by his side."

Entrusting Father to Brutus, huh.

Considering the events of the original timeline, a chill ran down my spine.

"If you insist so strongly..."

Brutus nodded, though reluctance still lingered on his face.

"Now then, I still have other guests I must greet."

I excused myself so the two of them could share a private moment.

Julia leaned in and whispered something into Brutus’s ear, causing both of them to burst into joyful laughter.

On a side table loaded with refreshments sat a cake.

A cake I had painstakingly baked with my own hands the day before.

I had even forged a makeshift whisk to whip the batter for what felt like an eternity.

Made from fine flour, fresh soft cheese, pure honey, and eggs...

Yet surprisingly few guests were touching it.

A few guests took a single polite bite before discreetly abandoning their plates on side tables.

Hmm. It was impossible for that combination to taste bad.

Roman tastes truly were an enigma.

Just then, catching sight of a familiar figure, I walked over.

"Senator Cato!"

Hearing my voice, Cato almost jumped.

"Great Jupiter above! Could you not approach like a normal human being for once in your life?!"

"How could I simply walk past an esteemed guest like you, Senator? Ah, I see you’ve tried the cake. How does it taste? I baked it with my own hands."

"Contrary to what your notorious reputation led me to expect, it is... surprisingly edible. Though the flavor and texture are exceedingly peculiar."

"Isn’t it remarkably fluffy? Oddly enough, the other guests don’t seem to appreciate it. I’m relieved to see at least you enjoy it, Senator."

"I merely said it was edible, not that I enjoyed it... The texture is far too bizarre for me to..."

"I’ll pack up the leftovers for you to take home. Your family will undoubtedly love it."

"No, that won’t be necessary! The other guests should eat it, so you really don’t need to—"

Just as Cato let out a sigh, several figures approached us—Father, flanked by Pompey and Crassus.

"Lucius."

All three men wore grave expressions.

Had something happened?

"We have an urgent matter we must discuss."

***

"The Helvetii have already begun their migration?!"

We sat in a tight circle inside a private study deep within the domus.

"According to our latest intelligence, were they not still months away from completing their preparations?"

I asked. Concealing the massive logistical preparations required to move hundreds of thousands of people was practically impossible.

Ever since we confirmed the presence of black powder, we had expanded our intelligence apparatus to monitor every move the Helvetii made.

"It appears they accelerated their plans. They must have cut their preparations short," Pompey said. "Pomptinus, the governor of Transalpine Gaul, will mobilize a response, but his forces are woefully inadequate. He commands merely a single legion on the frontier..."

"Roughly five thousand men, then."

"I fell into deep thought. According to Father’s campaign records, the Helvetii commanded an armed host of nearly seventy thousand seasoned warriors.

Their total migrating population numbered nearly three hundred thousand souls.

Add black powder to that equation, and a single isolated Roman legion had no chance of survival.

Why had they moved so abruptly? Had they caught wind of our preparations?

"We must convene an emergency session tomorrow and pass the decree granting you supreme command over Gaul," Crassus said, turning to Pompey.

"If the Helvetii have begun a full-scale migration, this is no longer a localized crisis for a single province. The entirety of northern Italy is under direct threat. Once the Senate receives this intelligence, they will not dare drag their feet."

"However, securing ratification through the Citizen Assembly will take additional time. If it is not a standard proconsular appointment, but an overarching imperium spanning all of Gaul..."

"The formal vote alone will take several days to arrange. And raising the legions and marching them north after the vote will take far longer," I finished the thought for him.

If this were merely a standard provincial command, the Senate could handle it alone.

Yet what we required went far beyond that.

What we needed was an extraordinary imperium uniting the fragmented commands in Gaul under a single authority, one that would take precedence over every provincial governor.

To ensure that Pompey’s authority could withstand any future legal challenge, we needed to secure a formal law through the Citizen Assembly.

The assembly would pass it without issue, of course, but procedure had to be observed.

"Even if the bill is promulgated tomorrow, it must undergo three market days—the trinundinum—before a formal vote can take place in the assembly."

"Which means the vote cannot take place for seventeen days at the earliest."

Amidst the heavy silence, Father finally opened his mouth.

"What matters most right now is speed. The Helvetii are moving an entire tribe of hundreds of thousands. For their baggage wagons to reach the vicinity of the Rhodanus(Rh?ne) River, it will take them roughly sixteen days."

"Even if we march from Rome now, reaching the Rhodanus will take at least twenty-five days. They will have crossed the river long before our legions arrive on the frontier."

While the three statesmen engaged in heated tactical debate, my mind raced.

A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.

I had seen a nearly identical situation in the original timeline.

It was the civil war between Caesar and Pompey.

Caesar had advanced through Italy with terrifying speed, catching Pompey and the Senate completely off guard and forcing them to abandon Rome in sheer panic.

"Eight days."

The moment I spoke, all three men abruptly fell silent and turned toward me.

"What are you talking about, Lucius?"

"It is possible to arrive within eight days," I continued.

"If we move with a small cavalry vanguard, we can reach Genava from Rome within eight days."

"Nonsense. Not even the chariot of Apollo could achieve such speed! Even if you take only horsemen..."

Father raised a hand, cutting Crassus off.

"Explain your plan, Lucius."

"We’ll use the signal towers. We’ll send dispatches down the line immediately, ordering every major town along the route to prepare relay horses in advance."

"Constantly swapping exhausted mounts for fresh ones and riding at full speed day and night?"

"Precisely. It will be far faster than sailing."

Boarding transports at Ostia and sailing for Massilia in southern Gaul was an option, of course.

However, this season was notoriously treacherous for Mediterranean navigation.

A single storm could delay a fleet for days, making the journey far slower than riding overland.

"Yet such a small cavalry vanguard will hardly make a difference against the whole Helvetian migration," Crassus argued.

"A few dozen horsemen cannot alter the tide of war."

"With the Powder of Vesta, the equation changes entirely. Furthermore, I can advise Pomptinus on the ground."

The Roman legions on the frontier had no experience dealing with gunpowder.

If I were there in person to advise them, I could make a considerable difference.

"And at every city we pass through, I will recruit local veterans and volunteers willing to march to Transalpine Gaul. Once we arrive on the frontier, we can formally muster them under Governor Pomptinus’s command."

"Just like you did during the bandit campaign," Father noted.

"You intend to buy time until Pompey secures his imperium and raises the legions."

"Yes. But just as you said, what matters most right now is time."

Every single day—no, every single hour—was precious.

We didn’t have time to sit around hesitating.

I rose from my seat and met the gazes of the three statesmen in turn.

"I’ll depart tomorrow morning."

***

Rain began to fall late that night. As the streets turned slick with mud, horses had gathered before our domus by dawn.

"I managed to scrape together roughly two hundred men on short notice. They are all waiting for you on the Campus Martius."

"Two hundred..."

"Mostly young patricians and equites currently in Rome. Lads who participated in the recent Troy Games," Antony said, dismounting his steed.

"It’s not a large force, but they’re much better than some hastily levied rabble who don’t even know how to hold a spear."

"I agree. However, two hundred is far too many for our vanguard. Regional relay posts cannot supply two hundred fresh mounts at every stop on such short notice. We shall split the vanguard: sixty will ride with me first, while the remainder follow at a normal forced-march pace. Keep sending any new volunteers after us along the same route."

I said. Sixty cavalrymen.

It was hardly a massive host...

Yet they were elite horsemen who had trained extensively with me, many of them veterans of the bandit campaign.

"Still, is it truly legal for you to lead an armed company when you hold no formal imperium?"

"They are not an army. They are merely companions accompanying me on a private journey."

"Armed with spears and the Powder of Vesta?"

"One can never be too careful when traveling along roads infested with bandits, can one?"

The two of us shared a wry grin.

Still, I hadn’t expected to be leaving so suddenly.

Just as I let out a quiet sigh, the heavy oak doors of the domus opened, and my family emerged into the courtyard. Felix, Pompeia, Father, Mother, and Julia.

Every one of them watched me with anxious eyes.

"Young Master..."

"Don’t slack off on your duties just because I’m away, Felix."

"You have nothing to worry about on that front. Slacking off only creates more work for me later anyway."

After exchanging a firm embrace with Felix, I turned to face Pompeia.

"Pompeia..."

"Take this little one with you, Lucius."

She placed Faustus into my arms. Just like the day we met, the young Molossian pup wagged his tail furiously, panting softly as he licked my knuckles.

"Just remember one thing. There are people here in Rome who will be waiting for your return every single day."

"I will return as quickly as I can."

After bidding her farewell, I embraced Father, Mother, and Julia in turn.

"I shall eagerly await your letters."

"I will send them the moment we reach each outpost, Father."

Standing behind me, Antony cleared his throat softly.

"It’s time we got moving, Lucius."

"Let’s ride."

I swung up into the saddle. Riding down the paved street alongside my men, I turned my head back one last time.

My family remained standing before the entrance of our home, watching me disappear into the gloom.

Beneath the pouring rain, I turned my gaze forward.

Yes. I was no longer alone in this world.

I now had a home to return to.

That was the most important thing.

***

Gallia Transalpina

"How far have the Helvetii advanced?"

Governor Pomptinus demanded, inspecting the forward encampment.

The legionaries, mobilized under emergency orders, were hurriedly checking their arms and armor.

While centurions marched between the tents barking orders, the men inspected their pila, scuta, and gladii.

"Scouts report they will reach the banks of the Rhodanus River shortly, sir."

"Tear down the bridge over the river. Ensure they cannot cross to our bank with ease."

"Orders have already been dispatched, Governor."

Pomptinus watched his legionaries mobilize, weighing the situation.

For such a massive crisis to erupt just as his term as governor of Transalpine Gaul was drawing to an end...

Whether this would prove a disaster or a golden opportunity remained to be seen. If he successfully repelled the barbarian horde invading his province, his political standing in Rome would rise considerably.

With luck, he might even be awarded a triumph.

Yet the mortal peril could not be ignored.

According to recent intelligence—and dispatches forwarded by Caesar—the Helvetii possessed a devastating, mysterious new weapon.

Could it truly be real?

A few years ago, when the Allobroges rebelled, all sorts of wild, exaggerated rumors had swept through Rome as well.

Yet in the end, it was his legion that had decisively crushed their rebellion.

He saw no reason this campaign should be any different.

"Whether barbarians who cannot even construct a proper bathhouse could truly wield such a weapon..."

Just as he muttered to himself, an officer hurried over and came to him.

"What is it?"

"An urgent dispatch just arrived via the signal tower, sir!"

Pomptinus took the paper from the officer’s hand and began reading.

"Sent by Lucius Caesar... Word reached me that he was riding north from Rome."

Reaching this frontier from Rome would naturally take weeks. When he first heard the news of his departure, Pomptinus had paid it little mind.

The governor casually read the remainder of the dispatch.

His eyebrows rose higher and higher until his eyes widened in disbelief.

"He’s already reached WHERE?!"