My XX deal with Sister Nero

Feeling the fierce pressure from her opponent, Jie Luo's heart trembled. She stepped back half a step and turned her right wrist. With the blade of the sword in her hand facing upward, she hit the spear shaft hard, causing it to stab upward at an angle.

After missing the first strike, Kennis immediately changed his tactics, changing the stabbing motion of his spear into a sweeping motion, with the spear barrel sweeping directly towards Zero's head!

If this hit really happened, then basically half of Jie Luo's head would be gone.

There was no time to think. After taking two steps back, Zero leaned back and dodged the shot with a standard iron bridge posture. Then, she raised her left leg and kicked it towards Kenis's head.

At this moment, Katniss was in a situation where her old strength was exhausted and her new strength was not yet generated. At this moment, she could only pull back and barely avoided Zero's kick.

"You... are very powerful." Gently wiping the mud marks on his nose left by Zero's feet, Katniss distanced himself from Zero, staring at the sword in Zero's hand.

After a brief trial, Katniss realized that the girl in front of him was very powerful, so powerful that even if he used all his strength to fight her, the final result would probably be a 50-50 chance.

After he was resurrected, he killed many Greek priests. So now the Greek gods are furious and let the demigod Atalanta hunt him down. But now he no longer has Poseidon's blessing and has lost his passive skill of invulnerability. If he stays here for too long, then... Atalanta is likely to catch up and join forces with this guy to kill him!

It seems that we have no choice but to retreat.

Katniss had a gloomy face and planned to rush forward, make a feint and then retreat.

However, just as Katniss was about to rush forward, she suddenly felt a chill on her back. Katniss subconsciously rolled on the ground, and a long arrow almost grazed her scalp and was nailed to the ground.

"Atalanta." Turning his head to look at the girl in green standing on the roof behind him, Katniss frowned.

If it was just that unknown white-haired girl, Katniss would still have a chance of escaping from her, but now with the addition of Atalanta...this is a bit troublesome.

"Two against one, isn't that a bit unfair?" Katniss said as he slowly backed away, trying to find an opportunity to escape.

"There is no such thing as fairness in this battle." Atalanta said as she drew her bow, ready to nail this blasphemous guy to the ground.

Watching Atalanta drawing the bow, Caenis became extremely anxious. What a joke, if he was hit by this arrow, how could he still be alive?

Just as Katniss was looking around for a reasonable escape route, suddenly, the gate of the yard was opened, and a group of officers and soldiers walked in, surrounding a child in a gorgeous robe.

Ok?

Although it is unclear what the specific identity of this child is, but looking at the guards around him and the gorgeous robe he is wearing, one can guess with one's big toe that this guy's identity is not simple.

It's him!

Katniss raised the corner of his mouth, exerted force suddenly, and rushed towards the direction where the child was!

???

Looking at the manly-looking Katniss, who was wearing white armor, black leather, and two donkey ears, suddenly rushing towards him, Tony was stunned for a moment, then he reacted.

Oh my god, catch the leader first!

"Protect His Highness!" Seeing the enemy rushing towards His Highness, Mary pulled out the dagger hanging at her waist, and while blocking Tony in front of him, she directed the guards to build a human wall in the shortest time possible to protect Tony.

"Asshole!" Atalanta's face changed. She knew that Katniss was going after Tony. If someone else was caught, it would be fine. Atalanta could ignore the life and death of the hostage. But the problem was... Tony was still a child! She couldn't tolerate a child's life being threatened!

Without time to think, Atalanta slightly turned sideways, loosened her right hand, and the arrow flew out of the air and shot straight towards the back of Kenis!

Feeling the sound of wind coming from behind him, Kennis subconsciously turned his body to the side. With a "puff" sound, the arrow pierced Kennis' left arm and nailed it to the stone ground.

"Bastard!" After missing the first shot, Atalanta pulled out a new arrow from the quiver at her waist, ready to bend the bow and shoot at Caenis again.

"Form a formation!" Seeing that Kennis was getting closer and closer, under Mary's order, more than forty guards surrounded Tony, and then a standard Roman tortoise shell formation appeared in front of Kennis.

"What is this?" Looking at the strange behavior of the soldiers in front of him, Kennis subconsciously stopped and felt a little at a loss.

There's no way. In his previous life, Kennis lived in the Homeric era. There was no such thing as tactics in the wars of that era. To fight, people either rushed forward in a rush or dispersed in a hurry. They relied on their own individual combat capabilities. Therefore, heroes emerged in large numbers in that era, and their fundamental purpose was... War was like a group fight, relying on personal bravery rather than teamwork.

That's why Alexander the Great was able to sweep across Europe and Asia with the Macedonian Phalanx.

Katniss had never seen a battle formation. When the militiamen captured her, they only surrounded her. Who would set up a tortoise shell formation for her to see?

PS: My computer is almost broken, my graphics card has a problem... So could you guys give me some tips so I can get a new graphics card?

Chapter 107 Intelligence from the Front

The tortoise shell formation is easy to break. At least, with Kennis's strength, breaking the tortoise shell formation is a piece of cake.

But the problem was that she had never seen the Tortoise Shell Formation before, so when the guards laid out the Tortoise Shell Formation, Katniss subconsciously stopped and stood there in a daze.

Then, Atalanta seized the opportunity.

With a "whoosh", the arrow broke through the air and attacked Kenis's back again.

"Damn it." Katniss snorted coldly, turned around and deflected the arrow shot at him. Almost at the same time, Zero had already rushed over from the main hall gate. While bending down to avoid Katniss's spear, she stabbed Katniss's lower abdomen with the sword in her hand!

There was Zero in front, the Roman tortoise shell formation behind, and Atalanta in the distance. He was in a situation where his old strength was exhausted and his new strength was not yet generated. In this desperate situation, Kenis could only withdraw half a step and slightly turn to the side to avoid Zero's dagger.

However, although Katniss avoided Zero's attack, he failed to avoid the arrows from a distance.

With a "puff" sound, the arrow pierced through Katniss's thigh. Katniss lost his balance and fell to the ground on the spot.

"You lose." Taking advantage of the moment when Katniss fell to the ground, Zero stepped forward and put the sword in her hand on Katniss' neck.

"Tsk." Looking at the sword on her neck, Katniss wisely dropped the spear in her hand and allowed several soldiers to come around and tie her up with ropes.

"Kennis...right." Inside the Chief Executive's residence, Tony sat upright on the chair in the middle, feeling a bit of a headache as he looked at Kennis, who was kneeling in front of him and tied up like a dumpling.

Now that Katniss has been captured alive, Tony is having a headache as to what to do with her next.

Logically speaking, Caenis killed so many Greek temple priests. According to Roman law, she should be beheaded, but considering that she was a mythical being, and... and according to mythology, the blame should have been put on Poseidon and Zeus. What should we do? We can't send people to capture Mount Olympus and capture Poseidon and Zeus alive, right?

Besides, there is a more critical issue...

"Katniss, I want to ask you, have you... really seen Poseidon?" Tony sat upright in the chair, frowned, looked at Katniss with a serious face and asked.

"Oh?" Katniss raised his eyebrows and looked at Tony with interest, a little surprised: "From your tone, it seems that you don't think God exists? It's as if you are asking me for confirmation, asking me if I have seen God."

Tony glanced at Atalanta standing next to him and nodded: "To be honest, you and Atalanta are both characters from mythology. According to my intelligence, there are other demigods active in this world, but... I still can't believe that there are gods in this world."

What a joke! I have received more than 20 years of atheist education. It is okay for me to travel back to ancient times and into the worldview of FATE inexplicably. After all, the concept of time travel still exists in scientific hypothesis. But the existence of God... If it is placed in the worldview of FATE, it is really possible that God exists. After all, there are several heroic spirits... who are all gods.

Tsk, things are becoming more and more troublesome.

Although Tony had been prepared for the existence of gods in this world after hearing about the appearance of Atalanta and Cu Chulainn, but now... looking at Katniss's teasing expression, Poseidon or something might really exist.

Moreover, these gods should not have become heroes yet, and have not become thugs of restraining force, so to some extent, it should be possible... to solve it?

"Your Highness." Just when Tony was having a headache, Atalanta suddenly took two steps forward to Tony, looked at him with a smile and said, "I wonder... Your Highness, can you hand over this Katniss to me? After all, she killed so many Greek priests, and the Greek gods... are very dissatisfied with her."

Tony looked at Atalanta and said nothing.

When he left Rome, Nero gave him full authority to deal with the matter. In other words, Tony could decide whether to kill or let go. But if he killed him, Tony would feel guilty. After all, Katniss was forced to sleep on the beach by Poseidon and then turned into a man. He was also raped by the Centaurs under the order of Zeus. Any normal person would probably think of revenge, right?

But if Kenis were not punished for this, it would be too unfair to the Greek priests.

Although Poseidon and Zeus had instigated this incident, the Greek priests were innocent! What did it have to do with them? Why did they have to be stabbed?

Atalanta also saw the embarrassment on Tony's face... and that she was indeed ordered to bring this guy back to Mount Olympus to accept God's punishment.

That's it!

Tony sighed and let Tamiao take the person away. Although he felt a little bit reluctant, it would be awkward to keep her here. It would be better to let someone take her to a place where he couldn't see her. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Okay, Sister Atalanta, you can take her away." Tony waved at Atalanta and said weakly.

"Okay, then I'll take her back later." Atalanta nodded and said with a smile.

"Okay." Tony nodded. Now that Katniss has been caught, it is indeed time for Tamao to return to Mount Olympus.

However, just as Atalanta was about to take Caenis away from the main hall, a soldier in silver armor suddenly rushed in and knelt on one knee in front of Tony: "Your Highness, there is a tip from Rome that the Pontic rebels raided Ephesus and took control of it, and most of the soldiers on the front line of the Asia Minor Peninsula are concentrated at the border between the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Armenia. The Senate and His Majesty hope that Your Highness will be careful and return to Rome immediately after dealing with the matter on Crete!"

"Are you kidding?" Tony stood up subconsciously. Maybe he didn't know which city Ephesus was in his previous life, but if he still didn't know in this life, then he would not be a qualified Roman.

Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, was the largest city in the Roman Empire's territory in Asia, with a population of approximately 400,000 to 500,000 people. How could such a huge city fall into the hands of the Pontic rebels?

What do the generals who defend the city eat? !

Now the Thracian Kingdom has basically been defeated, and the barbarians in the north have not become a force to be reckoned with, so according to the empire's combat plan, after the beginning of next spring, the empire will mainly face the Armenian Kingdom and the Parthian Empire.

According to the previous plan, Byzantium will become the first important strategic node of the Roman Empire. This time, all combat troops and food supplies will be assembled in Byzantium first, and then transported to Ephesus, which will become the second important strategic node on the empire's front line!

How on earth did the Pontic rebels manage to dig through the Anatolian Peninsula almost diagonally? !

Chapter 108: So, Ta Miao was tricked again

"Map." Tony frowned and shouted to a female guard beside him.

"Yes." The guard responded, took out a rolled sheepskin map from the long tube on his waist, and placed it on the table in front of Tony.

Spreading out the map, Tony first focused his attention on the west coast of the Anatolian Peninsula, that is, the occupied city of Ephesus.

"This city... is too close to the Aegean Sea! Can anyone tell me if there are any warships in this city?" Tony looked up, glanced at the soldiers in the room, and asked.

"Your Highness, when Augustus ruled Rome, he ordered a disarmament, and the navy was reduced to two fleets. After that, successive heads of state slowly expanded the army, and now the navy has seven fleets. The one closest to the rebels should be the Black Sea Fleet, right? But I heard that when the rebellion broke out in the Pontus region, the Black Sea Fleet originally stationed nearby had already retreated to Byzantium."

Hearing Tony's question, a guard spoke up.

"I don't care about the Black Sea Fleet. What I want to know now is whether there are any warships in the ports near Ephesus!" Tony frowned and interrupted the guard.

"The city of Ephesus... shouldn't there be any? But the nearby city of Miletus should have a small number of warships." The guard said uncertainly.

"Miletus..." Tony quickly found the location of this city on the map: "How many troops are stationed in this city now? How many Pontic rebels are there? How many warships are there in the nearby ports? The location of this city is too strategic. If the enemy occupies it, then the enemy is likely to command the Miletus Navy to attack all ports along the Mediterranean coast of the empire!"

"This... I don't know." The guard broke out in a cold sweat.

Although I have already overestimated this little prince, I didn't expect that I still underestimated him a little. I could infer so many things based on just one piece of not very detailed information!

"Check! I need detailed intelligence, including the strength of the Pontic rebels, the number of troops and warships stationed in Miletus, and how they got here from the Pontic region! I want to know all this information!" Tony patted the table anxiously and said in a deep voice.

According to what he had learned before, there were at least 60,000 field troops stationed on the entire Anatolian Peninsula, as well as more than 200,000 temporarily recruited national troops, 260,000 troops, not to mention the militias who were responsible for guarding the rear cities and not participating in the front-line battles! With so many troops and so many people, how did the Pontic rebels manage to sneak past them and attack Ephesus?

Seeing Tony's gloomy face, Atalanta scratched his head, a little embarrassed: "So...sister is leaving first?"

"Wait a moment." It would have been better if Atalanta hadn't said anything. When she spoke, Tony realized that Tamiao was still here and hadn't left.

"What's wrong?" Atalanta looked at Tony in confusion, wondering why he asked her to wait.

"Sister Ata, you may... not be able to leave." Tony rolled his eyes and put on an expression as if he had suddenly thought of something important: "Sister Ata, near the city of Ephesus... I don't know if you know, but I heard that there is the most magnificent Temple of Artemis in the world. If the temple was in the hands of the Romans, the Romans would definitely protect it well. After all, Roman mythology and Greek mythology have the same origin. But the Pontic people... I'm worried that they will damage the temple."

"What did you say?!" Of course she knew about the Temple of Artemis. It was rumored that this temple was built by the Amazon tribe. When she followed Jason, in order to prevent unnecessary trouble, the Argo basically sailed around the Amazon tribe.

But speaking of Amazons, Tony suddenly remembered something that was...he was not sure how to describe it.

Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazon tribe, is said to be a descendant of the Greek god of war Ares, and the Roman god of war Mars... is the god of war Ares in Greek mythology.

So in a way, Penthesilea was actually Romulus' sister?

After a light cough and pulling his thoughts back, Tony continued to deceive Tamiao: "Sister Ata, think about it, the Pontic people did not belong to the Roman Empire at the beginning. They originally had a country, the Kingdom of Pontus. At its peak, this country almost controlled the entire Asia Minor Peninsula. So from a legal point of view, they have a strong claim to the Asia Minor Peninsula. Moreover, Pontus was a vassal state of the Roman Empire and was abolished and designated as an imperial province only a few years ago. If they rebel... they will definitely destroy something."

"How dare they!" Atalanta snorted coldly and said to a soldier not far away: "You, go find some chains. I want to tie up this woman first."

...chain starfish.

After fooling Atalanta, Tony sent someone to find Adlans and said to him, "Mr. Archon, please send someone to replenish the fresh water and food on my ship. I will sail to Byzantium in the afternoon."

"Eh? What happened?" Hearing that Tony was leaving, Adlans was stunned for a moment and began to reflect on whether he had offended His Royal Highness the Prince in some way.

"The Pontic attacked the rear of the Roman army on the Asia Minor Peninsula and occupied the city of Ephesus. Now we are not sure whether there are Roman warships in the port near Ephesus. If there are... I suggest that the soldiers on the lighthouse at the port pay more attention, because... if they have warships, then the entire Aegean Sea, and even the entire Mediterranean Sea, are within their attack range!"

"What?" Adlans was shocked. If it was really as His Royal Highness said, then... the entire province of Crete would be in danger!

Are you kidding? In addition to the seven fleets of the Roman Empire, other cities may have some patrol fleets to maintain coastal security, but such patrol teams simply cannot form effective combat power!

Hit a hammer!

"Don't worry, I will go to Byzantium to gather the army first, and then recapture Ephesus." Tony sighed and said seriously.

"Well...thank you, Your Highness." Adlans bowed his head respectfully and said to Tony.

"Sister Mary, can you estimate how long it will take for the 50,000 troops sent by Rome to reach Byzantium after we arrive there?" Tony asked in a deep voice, turning his head to look at Mary who was standing beside him.

"Your Highness, it is said that these 50,000 troops are almost all infantry, so it will take at least a month for them to arrive." Mary replied with her head lowered.

"A month?" Tony frowned. It took him more than a week to reach Crete, and that was because he walked slowly due to seasickness. It would take at most three days to cross the Aegean Sea from Crete to Byzantium. So after arriving in Byzantium, he would have to wait for nearly half a month for the reinforcements sent by Rome?

PS1: Today I asked the editor Orange about the recommendation position. Orange said that the competition is fierce now. The previous three recommendation opportunities without applying are gone. Now everyone has to rely on their strength to grab the recommendation position. Well, with my updates and the quality of the book... I'd better stay in my own circle. So after the two chapters are updated today, I will open a new category to put all the rewards, including the latest January rewards. You can check it out then! (Zhensheng)

PS2: FGO maintenance will end at o'clock. I don't have money to spend on in-game purchases, so please lend me some luck. I want to... get Abby!

Chapter 109 The Real Situation on the Front Line

Never mind, let’s go to Byzantium City first to see the situation!

Tony tapped his fingers on the table a few times, and a general idea came to his mind.

No matter what happens in the end, I have to collect intelligence first. Besides, I have to go to Byzantium City anyway, so I might as well stay there now. And... forget it, now is not the time to deal with the Imperial Guards.