Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Deploy the Council Guard, the Imperial Guard Officer Legion, and the first three Eagle Banner Legions to England. I didn’t expect these three barbarians to be so strong. This time, we must take them down!” Severus roared with a hint of embarrassment.

After the three great barbarians of the north gathered, Severus originally thought it would be a breeze to eliminate all three in one fell swoop. As it turned out, Severus indeed won battle after battle and was about to defeat the three great barbarians in one go, but what happened next surprised everyone.

In the final battle set by Rome, the three great barbarians directly counterattacked Severus. If the Guard Officer hadn’t discovered the issue when reviewing the clay tablet beforehand, and hadn’t summoned the demigod Lakrilayke, the Fifth Eagle Banner Legion, and three heroes equivalent to the Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation from Mediolanum, this battle might have ended in a disastrous defeat.

With Severus’s order, the whole of Rome sprang into action. The three super elite legions originally guarding Rome, along with two Military Spirit Legions, were all dispatched to England. Clearly, the hidden trump card of the three great barbarians truly enraged Severus.

”Your Majesty, why don’t we directly attack Mesopotamia,” Atlatome asked as he looked at his emperor.

”You only see the three Roman legions stationed in Mesopotamia, but you overlook another issue. For us, each previous failure wasn’t merely because we were weaker than Rome,” Vologases V said calmly, looking at his beloved general.

This officer of humble origin had now achieved Inner Qi Manifestation and led his own Personal Guard Corps.

”But the King of Armenia is Your Majesty’s brother. Why do we want to attack Armenia?” Atlatome asked puzzledly.

Vologases V patiently explained to his beloved general, ”This is one of our unresolved issues with Rome. Our war with Rome has lasted for centuries. Why have we fared worse in recent hundred years? Besides the fact that our combat skills haven’t improved for over a century, it’s also due to the issues left over from our peace talks with Rome back then.”

A century ago, when both sides were equally matched, Rome occupied Armenia. But both were exhausted from fighting, so during negotiations, Rome agreed to Parthia’s demand that the emperor of Armenia must be an appointee of the Parthian Royal Family, possessing royal Parthian blood.

In some ways, Armenia became a buffer zone between Parthia and Rome, but this didn’t resolve their conflicts. Instead, it sowed the seeds for future wars.

For Parthia, Armenia had to be under its control, or else Rome could use Armenia to enter Parthia’s heartland, Media, at any time.

Similarly, for Rome, Armenia also had to be under its own control, or Parthia would revert to the Persian Empire stage, with Darius dominating the Mediterranean. With this buffer zone, the war became even more complicated.

However, as Parthia’s national strength declined, even though every king of Armenia had their royal blood, the pro-Roman faction within Armenia gradually overshadowed the pro-Parthian faction.

Therefore, now, if Parthia wants to attack Rome without worries, Vologases V’s first thought is to secure Armenia. As for his brother, forget it. Given the lengthy complexity of the situation, the brotherly relationship is completely unreliable.

”Hence, this time you follow me to attack Armenia. No need for negotiations or notifications, just take action. Don’t give Rome any chance to react. Capture Armenia, then we proceed south to attack Mesopotamia,” Vologases V stated calmly.

”Then who do you plan to have join the Han Army in heading to Mesopotamia, Your Majesty?” Atlatome asked curiously, but Vologases V just smiled silently.

”Remember to inform the Han Army in detail about the number of Roman troops stationed in Mesopotamia, Syria, Cappadocia, and Judea,” Vologases V instructed Atlatome. He had no intention of deceiving the Han Army. On the contrary, in his eyes, the Han Army was an extremely important ally.

When Zhuge Liang and others arrived in Media, they were warmly welcomed by the Parthian Nobles. However, Vologases V had already led an elite army to Armenia, so Zhuge Liang and others didn’t get the chance to meet the often-praised Vologases V whom Li Jue admired. Yet, from Parthia’s current performance, Zhuge Liang and others felt significantly reassured.

”Parthia indeed looks promising. Although we’ve not communicated much, they’ve immediately started replenishing our supplies,” Zhuge Liang remarked with slight admiration as he watched the goods being loaded onto the carts.

”What’s odd is that there’s no sense of Spiritual Talent or Legion Talent here,” Zhuge Liang commented, slightly puzzled.

”Their system is different from ours. I had Zidan investigate; they have powers similar to Legion Talents but not entirely the same,” Sima Yi noted calmly. ”Every region has its customs; it’s quite normal.”

”But even here, in my opinion, it’s inferior to Mount Tai,” Zhuge Liang said, frowning at the bustling Parthian civilians. ”Moreover, the nobles of this country are basically corrupt. Instead of nobles, they are better described as ruffians.”

Zhuge Liang conveyed the latter part in Han dialect to Sima Yi, who nodded. He thought the Parthian Nobles’ conduct was indeed lacking by more than a little.

”However, gathering intelligence here is quite troublesome. We don’t trust their people, our men are too conspicuous, and with our status, some places are beyond reach,” Zhuge Liang sighed.

”Indeed,” Sima Yi did not deny this fact. In reality, what they wanted was delivered to them by Parthia on their first day: maps of half of Rome’s eastern region, maps of Mesopotamia, and locations of Roman garrisons.

”I plan to head to Mesopotamia with the Parthian Army,” Zhuge Liang said, looking ahead slowly. ”After engaging with Rome, we’ll make our judgment.”

Sima Yi nodded silently. Although he rather disliked Zhuge Liang, out of all the people he had met, Zhuge Liang was the most suitable as a friend.

”There are only three central Roman legions. The other five are made up of conscripted barbarian soldiers, altogether not exceeding fifty thousand, and even among them, the majority are Barbarian Army,” Sima Yi said after a pause, as Parthian intelligence was exceptionally detailed.