The aroma of wine was mixed with seriousness while the gentlemen kept discussing about the tactics for hours. Afterall, it was about Rome and everything needed to be taken care of without missing out on any point.

After sipping his expensive wine, King Atticus asked, " Now that we know that war is about to start in full force, when should we take our army out? "

" You see, father, this war is a bit different. Every army's sole purpose is to conquer Rome with ease. Our strong enemies like Naples, Latina and Sicily are located in South side. If estimated, then Naples and Sicily would fight against each other. The best out of them would step closer to Rome. Therefore, we don't need to worry about them. Now talking about Latina, which is closest to Rome, has most of the advantages. "

( though it's a modern map, I used it to give a clear cut picture to you guys. As you can see, Naples , Latina and Sicily are in South side of Rome with Latina being closest to it. Florence lies in completely North side. I hope it helps. )

There was pin drop silence in the room as Aurelius and Atticus were solemnly listening to the information provided by Augustus.

Finding everyone's focus on the map, Augustus continued, " we should first focus on Latina and should defeat them first. After conquering them, real battle would start because then out of Naples or Sicily, we would meet our strongest enemy in the battlefield. On top of it, King Victor's army would also pose as a threat to us. Now coming to the answer of your question, we would start our voyage after two days. "

" What? " king Atticus asked or more like screamed at last piece of information.

"Two days? But the war hasn't even begun yet! We have just got the news that Britishers have removed the army from Mare Nostrum. It would take at least two weeks for the war to officially start. " spoke King Atticus.

Sighing heavily, Augustus spoke, " So, should we wait for the war to start? Distance between Rome and Florence is way too much than other kingdoms. If we would march our army after a week, our soldiers would be tired during the journey. If we would start before hand, our soldiers would get ample amount of time to rest. "

" Yes ,your highness! Majesty Augustus is stating truth over here. " added Aurelius.

Looking away from young lads, King Atticus pondered over it and nodded because whatever his son said was true but he asked, " will our army follow phalanx pattern? "

( Phalanx was Greek style of arranging army which Romans adapted. Formations were based on Military rank. The lines consisted of least experienced men , the hastate, at the front followed by the principles and then the triarli , or most experienced soldiers. In front, least experience (velites) soldiers were kept.)

Chucking lightly at his father's question, Augustus denied, " As Phalanx tactic is followed by almost everyone because of it's effectiveness, we wouldn't do it because we can't protect ourselves with a sword against a sword , instead, we need to use shield. "

Aurelius was appalled with Augustus's logic while King Atticus was utterly confused. Before he could ask anything, Aurelius beat him to it and spoke in a bedazzlement, " Your highness! Phalanx is the most effective way to win or else, we would lose! "

Smirking at his friend, " we wouldn't follow traditional phalanx, we would do it with a slight change..."

Before he could complete his sentence, Atticus scolded him, " Have you lost it Augustus? This isn't the time to try something new ! Stick to old formation! "

" Father, hear me out first. There would be only be a slight change. Instead of putting forward our weakest soldiers on the front line, we would put hastati maniples first followed by principes maniples and then velites skirmishers ( weakest one) "

" And why would we do that? " barked Atticus.

Rolling his eyes at Atticus, Augustus spoke, " father! Trust me, it's more effective. It would be matter of seconds for our hastiti and principes maniples to destroy their velites skirmishers penetrating opponent's army fast and when they would be tired, our velites would have their back. "

Listening to his friend's words, Aurelius was in awe and spoke, "I'm impressed. "

His mouth shut when Atticus gave him a pointed look. He was still not in the favour of new formation.

Seeing his father in dilemma, Augustus knelt down and took his hands in his own and spoke in assurance, " Do you trust me, Father? "

" I do Augustus and you know that but this is not settling with me.. "

" If you trust me, then leave the rest in my hand and sit back. Your old form is in dire need of it. " spoke Augustus in a bit playful note at the end.

Slapping lightly on his son's head, Atticus spoke, " Young man! Careful there, I am still the king. "

Laughing heartily, Augustus hugged his father and then turned towards Aurelius and spoke to him, " War time, Amigo ( friend) "

🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

Sun rays were illuminating Ritha's face with intensity after striking on the mirror. Silence of the room was snatched once in a while by Justus's innocent questions but soon, it stopped. He hadn't slept well last night fretting over his mother which resulted him yawning into fits and starts ( regular interval). His drowsy form slipped into deep slumber when Ritha caressed his head softly.

Though her pain hadn't subsided down, she tried to put it at bay for her son. She hissed in pain when sleeping Justus's hands brushed her wounds unconsciously. Marcus was fast enough to help her. Passing her a glass of water, he again sat back on the chair. He could feel Ritha's scrutinizing gaze on him and in order to subside it, he shifted on his chair uncomfortably.

While Marcus was adjusting his wrist button, he heard Rithambara asking a dreadful question, " Tell me something about your mother, Marcus. "

🙂