There was no scouting or probing between them.
“Haak!”
A fierce roar erupted from Bayatur’s mouth.
His ferocious strike that had terrified everyone on the grassland cut through the air of the plain.
Zweeng!
Spartacus did not dodge Bayatur’s scimitar.
He clashed his sword head-on with the blow aimed at his head and pushed back his opponent.
Kwang! Kakakak!
The swords of both sides collided, producing a loud metallic sound.
Neither of them faltered as they exchanged blows with a force beyond imagination.
Both warriors’ eyes sparkled at the same time, as they had never met anyone who could not be overpowered by their strength.
The cavalrymen who had been fighting fiercely around them also stopped their weapons and watched the fight between the two.
The attack and defense that continued at a speed that could not be followed by eyes.
But as time passed, Bayatur’s body swayed slightly.
“…!”
He was being pushed back little by little.
Their levels of strength and skill were similar.
The difference was only a sheet of paper between them.
The reason why Bayatur was being pushed back was because of the difference in armor.
Spartacus, who wore plate armor, did not have to worry about defending himself against attacks that were not very threatening. He could rely on the strength of his armor to block and deflect them.
On the other hand, Bayatur had to inevitably spend more concentration to fend off his opponent’s attacks.
Zweejung!
This time, Bayatur was pushed back enough for anyone to notice.
He did not miss the opportunity and swung his sword reflexively at Spartacus, who was rushing in.
‘This one is dangerous!’
He could not pierce Spartacus’ armor with an attack that was not properly powered.
As expected, Spartacus did not avoid the sword and knocked away Bayatur’s scimitar with his opposite hand holding the sword.
Bayatur, who sensed the danger a step faster, lowered his head and barely dodged Spartacus’ sword.
He felt a strong wind pressure above his head that made his spine shiver.
‘It was a mistake not to consider the difference in armor.’
He knew well that his sword would not penetrate properly, but he did not expect it to be this bad.
He was able to balance his weapon by using the equipment he had obtained from the Roman army, but he could not do so with his armor.
Even if he hit it with a weapon made of iron that was much harder than the original one, that monstrous armor hardly broke.
In front of Spartacus, who swung his sword without any hesitation, Bayatur could hardly find a chance to counterattack.
The Huns cavalrymen who had been watching the duel from a distance also noticed that Bayatur was being pushed back.
They thought he looked more and more dangerous as they watched him fight from the beginning.
They had refrained from interfering in their 1-on-1 fight, considering their high pride as warriors.
But the situation was getting worse.
In fact, this duel was not a fair one from the start. They had not agreed to fight 1-on-1 beforehand, nor had they received any orders not to interfere.
Moreover, if something went wrong with Bayatur here, the Huns would suffer unimaginable damage.
“Get Lord Bayatur out of there!”
Finally, some warriors who could not stand it anymore threw themselves into the fray.
Spartacus saw them coming and hesitated for a moment.
Should he take a risk and go for Bayatur’s life here or should he retreat?
The conclusion came quickly.
He had been dominant in the duel, but Bayatur was not an easy opponent to k**l outright.
If he hesitated too much, he might be surrounded by the incoming cavalrymen.
The Roman cavalrymen also realized the situation and were coming, but they were inevitably slower than the Huns who moved first.
Spartacus licked his lips with regret and backed away.
Bayatur also joined his subordinates who were coming towards him with an expression full of annoyance and frustration.
“Lord Bayatur! Are you alright?”
“Who told you to interfere in my duel?”
“It wasn’t a fair duel from the start anyway. Didn’t they have overwhelmingly better armor than us?”
It was an argument that it didn’t matter if they interfered because it wasn’t a proper duel anyway.
Bayatur was furious, but he did not show his anger at his subordinates here.
It was true that it was not a fair duel, and he thought it was natural for them to show this attitude considering that fact.
He was sorry that the duel he had been waiting for ended in an incomplete combustion, but he could not deny that he would have lost if it had continued like that.
Moreover, as the duel that attracted everyone’s attention ended like this, the atmosphere of the battlefield, which was already stagnant, became even colder.
As the situation calmed down completely, the armies of both sides stopped fighting for a moment and kept some distance from each other.
They exchanged sharp glances as if they would resume the battle at any moment, but the battle did not restart right away.
The commanders of both sides busily moved to reorganize their ranks and adjust their troops during this gap.
Marcus’s face was not too bad as he carefully observed the situation.
It would be best if he could annihilate the enemy here, but he could achieve his goal without doing so.
His plan was more than half successful as it was.
He seemed to have not inflicted much damage on the enemy, but the damage to his own side was also not great.
There was almost no damage to the cavalry, and the infantry were also intact.
The heavily armed cavalrymen, who had not been able to clash properly with the enemy, complained incessantly, but that was tolerable.
Marcus looked around at his legionnaires and shouted loudly.
“Don’t relax your mind and recover your strength wisely! We will resume the battle soon!”
While the soldiers took a brief rest in line, Spartacus left the ranks for a moment and found Marcus.
He had been feeling sorry for the duel that had ended in a mess earlier, and he suggested a way to settle it.
“I will settle it with a decisive one-on-one duel with the enemy’s leader.”
“Will they accept it? They were clearly pushed back in the duel earlier.”
“That was because of the difference in armor. If I change into a normal armor and request a duel, they will never refuse.”
Spartacus remembered clearly the regretful look that Bayatur had shown when he retreated.
He probably thought that he could have won if he had fought on equal terms.
He was sure that he would not refuse a duel that was close to a provocation.
“But from what I saw earlier, the enemy leader is not an easy level either. If it’s completely equal conditions, there might be unexpected variables involved. It would be troublesome if something like that happens.”
“Do you think there is such a possibility? I am Spartacus.”
Marcus did not say anything for a while at Spartacus’s firm answer.
The Roman army led by Marcus was in a situation where it was advantageous to drag on time.
If he stuck to a duel without rushing to a conclusion, he could reduce his own damage and also drag on time efficiently.
Moreover, if Spartacus defeated the enemy leader, he could try to annihilate the enemy here with that momentum.
The risk he had to bear if he lost was considerable, but Spartacus had never lost once so far.
He showed his trust generously when he had to trust his subordinates.
That was Marcus’s way.
Above all, he had never seen Spartacus burn with such enthusiasm since Crassus’s time.
He must have been ignited by the appearance of an opponent worthy of his name that he had never met before.
“Alright. I’ll respect your will. But remember that defeat is absolutely unacceptable.”
“Thank you. I will do my best to live up to your expectations with all my strength.”
As Marcus gave his permission, Spartacus exchanged his armor with a soldier of similar stature.
Then he volunteered to act as an interpreter and took a Scythian prisoner who had surrendered along with him to the front line and raised his voice loudly.
“Listen, you enemy monster! The Roman general Spartacus proposes a one-on-one duel for our pride! If you are afraid or unsure of yourself, you don’t have to answer.”
The interpreter quickly translated Spartacus’s words, which were almost arrogant, into Hunnic.
The faces of the Hunnic warriors twisted unpleasantly at his remark.
It was an offer that Bayatur, who had been longing for a rematch, would gladly welcome with applause.
He had been worried about the tactics after the Roman resistance turned out to be stronger than expected.
If he pushed too hard, he might win, but his own side might also suffer so much damage that they would not be able to fight afterwards.
But if he defeated Spartacus here and used that momentum to drive them away, he might be able to subjugate them all at once.
Of course, this was just an excuse to rationalize his act of going into a duel himself.
The fundamental reason was that he did not want to miss this exhilarating moment of dueling that would never come again.
“Hahaha! I like your arrogant attitude! Fine! Let me make you regret bitterly with your own skills!”
Bayatur raised his voice loudly as if everyone could hear him and accepted the duel by drawing his sword and stepping forward.
The two men left their soldiers behind and slowly moved forward and crossed swords.
A one-on-one duel under completely equal conditions.
In this moment when no one’s interference was allowed, a strange ecstasy appeared in the eyes of both generals.
They immediately clashed their swords without any awkward conversation.
Kwang! Kwagakak! The situation was clearly different from the previous duel.
Spartacus and Bayatur, both of them exchanged swords without a single inch of retreat.
They swung their swords without any preparation, but the force in their swords was so heavy that it exceeded imagination.
If they were ordinary warriors, they would have trouble receiving even one blow.
They exchanged dozens of blows in an instant.
Shugak!
Spartacus did not even glance at the sword that grazed his hair and passed by.
It was too late to see and react.
The movement of the sword was the result of experience that had honed his reaction and foresight to the limit.
And the same was true for his opponent.
Spartacus could confirm that Bayatur was a swordsman of his level as their swords clashed.
His smile on the corner of his mouth naturally deepened.
There was not a single person who could make his heart beat like this since Crixus.
And unlike Crixus, Bayatur did not hesitate to face Spartacus head-on.
This was the first time he met an equal opponent in a contest of strength.
He could not help but feel a special admiration as a warrior.
Kwang!
The sound of weapons colliding echoed fiercely.
The soldiers on both sides who were watching from a distance clenched their hands with sweat as they witnessed the fight between the two warriors.
The faces of the Hunnic warriors, who knew well the strength of Bayatur, gradually turned to horror.
They thought that the reason why Bayatur was pushed back earlier was solely because of the difference in equipment.
If it was an equal duel, they were confident that the sword of Cheontae Sunwoo, who no one in the plains could match, would pierce through the heart of the Roman general.
The Roman army also thought similarly.
They had never seen Spartacus struggle in a confrontation with an enemy before.
They naturally expected him to take the enemy commander’s neck and triumphantly cross the river as he always did.
But the battle did not end even after tens of minutes passed.
The two people who exchanged blows without hesitation slightly distanced themselves and measured each other.
They had enough understanding of each other’s level through the previous clashes.
If they let their guard down for even a moment, they would immediately head to defeat. The skills of both sides were equal.
Their strength was almost identical, Bayatur had more stamina, and Spartacus had slightly higher technique.
If the duel continued like this, it would not be strange for both sides to fall bleeding.
Even those who were watching the duel seemed to sense that fact and unconsciously swallowed their breaths.
Among them, there was one person who showed unwavering faith in Spartacus.
Marcus’s eyes looked towards the eastern sky.
‘It should be about time now.’
The air that had been filled with the weather of the plains began to change slowly.
The wind that was blowing answered his question.
※※※
Altan, who was ordered to defend Thessalonica, led 15,000 soldiers and held his position firmly.
But the atmosphere in the area was not favorable to the Huns at all.
Unlike Thrace, which was far away, Thessalonica had already heard all the news of Marcus’s northward march.
The residents of Thessalonica, who had surrendered to the Huns, were eagerly waiting for Marcus to defeat the Hunnic army and save them.
Altan could not help but feel their expectations and desires.
He mobilized all his troops to monitor the city and prevent any rebellion from happening.
As a result, his attention to the port side was relatively weak.
And as if they had been waiting for that moment, a fleet carrying 50,000 troops led by Antonius appeared proudly.
At that very moment when Spartacus and Bayatur were having a historic duel,
The Roman army that landed at Thessalonica’s port began their landing operation.
“In the name of great Rome and Marcus, I Antonius command! Hear me, Greece. Rise up, Thessalonica. This is the promised time!”
Altan, who had been paying attention only to the city, was suddenly confused when he heard that an enemy army had appeared in the sea.
Where did 50,000 troops suddenly pop up from?
‘They must have left some troops behind pretending to defend Athens and secretly sent them this way. I fell for it!’
Marcus’s main force moved slowly northward not to lure Bayatur’s army in,
But to buy time for Antonius’s army to reach Thessalonica by boat.
‘Damn it… I should have deployed all my troops to the port and blocked their landing.’
Once the Roman army started landing, Thessalonica’s residents would naturally join them and rise up together.
He did not have much time left.
Should he retreat or fight thoroughly here?
A moment of urgency flashed in Altan’s eyes as he faced a dilemma between two choices.
End
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