Mythical Three Kingdoms

Overall, in the Late Second Century to the Early Third Century Period, during that stretch of time, all the various dynasties inexplicably dug some vicious pits for their own descendants; the larger the empire, the bigger the pit it left, and the more miserably the later generations got screwed.

It kind of feels like this should be counted as a ”historical leftover problem.” Anyway, once the Second Century was over and they entered the Third Century, Parthia collapsed, Kushan collapsed, the Han Dynasty collapsed, and Rome went into the Dark Third Century—everyone slid straight into their most miserable state.

”Ardashir, my dear grandson, what are you trying to do this time?” Sassanid Fars looked at his grandson, who was charging over in high spirits, and asked with a smile.

”I’ve seen the Roman 13th Rose Legion and the Fourteenth Legion; I’ve always wanted to wipe them out.” Ardashir said excitedly, a certain heroic aura flowing between his brows and eyes. ”I’ve always felt that only by destroying these two legions can I prove my valor.”

Sassanid Fars looked at the slightly over‑lively grandson in front of him and chuckled; in his eyes, the twenty‑year‑old Ardashir was still a child.

Granted, this ”child” already possessed strength at the Inner Qi Manifestation Rank, and he also had decent ability to command troops; moreover, he had reflected the power of slaughter and war from the depths of his soul.

”You want to go cross blades with them? That’s fine. I hear the Legion Leader of the Thirteenth Rose Legion was just replaced by a young man named Gilea; he’s about the same age as you. It’s no bad thing for you to go test him.” Sassanid Fars looked at his grandson’s hopeful eyes and nodded with a smile.

In fact, even if Ardashir hadn’t come, Sassanid Fars would have sent someone else to probe them. Although he couldn’t be as certain of Rome’s intentions as the Han Dynasty side, he also knew that Rome didn’t seem to want to fight them to the bitter end.

Maybe in the eyes of the Romans, this was just another very routine counterattack from Parthia. But as the Commander-in-chief of the Parthian Army, Sassanid Fars knew that this time Parthia was almost going all‑out for a single battle with Rome!

”Many thanks, Grandfather!” Ardashir said excitedly.

”You should be calling me General, Legion Leader Ardashir!” Sassanid Fars looked at his grandson and spoke sternly. Ardashir, hearing this, felt a shock in his heart.

”Pass the word for everyone to come for council, and invite the Han Empire generals as well.” Sassanid Fars said to Ardashir.

With a single order from Sassanid Fars, the entire Parthian Camp sprang into motion. Very soon, the Parthian Officers and the various generals from the Han Dynasty all arrived at the main tent of the Parthian forces. Aside from some Generals who had to stay behind to guard the camp, everyone else came.

”I plan to launch a fierce assault on Rome this afternoon, with Ardashir conducting the vanguard attack. While the Romans have yet to fully secure their camp, we’ll drive them back first, going all out, holding nothing in reserve—full army assault.” After all the Parthian Officers had arrived, Sassanid Fars spoke.

At once, the main tent of the Parthian Army boiled over like a pot of water. All the Parthian Generals and the majority of the Han Army Military Officers grew excited; only Zhuge Liang and a few others remained calm.

”This move is good. Right now morale has already reached its peak; if we keep holding it down, it will start to leak away. Better to launch a fierce assault on Rome while our momentum is at its strongest, leaving no room and driving them straight back.” Sheni Pei used Voice Transmission to speak to Yuan Tan.

”We still haven’t confirmed the enemy’s strength. Going straight to a full‑on assault like this will deal a bit too much damage to us.” Zhang Liao used Voice Transmission to speak to Chen Gong.

”As far as Parthia is concerned, they absolutely know what the Romans are capable of. This old general looks like he’s indulging these people, but in reality he’s holding the situation firmly in hand—using contempt for the enemy to give everyone confidence, yet putting great weight on the actual strike.” Sima Yi slowly explained to Cao Zhen, instilling this into him.

Over this long stretch of time, Sima Yi had also discovered a problem: Cao Zhen, though a bit stupid, was aware of his own shortcomings, could endure, and was willing to learn.

Though he learned slowly, he made up for it by being steady and grounded. And since Sima Yi himself didn’t have any particularly good cards to play, when he was bored he simply started teaching Cao Zhen; whatever Cao Zhen could learn, he could learn—Sima treated it as passing the time. Of course, Sima Yi had never really thought Cao Zhen would one day reach that kind of level.

”A full army assault is indeed a fine move. Rome absolutely does not want to fight Parthia to the death; they have their own mission. And right now they haven’t even fully set up their camp. If Parthia does this, then no matter how many casualties they take in this battle, their strategic intent will definitely be achieved.” Zhuge Liang used Voice Transmission to speak to the group.

It was obvious that Sarsasan’s goal wasn’t to kill some particular number of enemies, but to clearly stabilize his own side’s situation, and to further raise their morale. Given Parthia’s current situation, as long as they held their morale steady and relied on their large number of high‑quality Generals and even larger number of Elite Soldiers, then just these legions from Eastern Rome would find it hard to stop them.

”General Sassan, I don’t know if you require our Han Army to sit in the rear as a stabilizing force. Also, in the information you previously provided, we still don’t know the strength of the Roman Legions, nor can we learn each legion’s area of emphasis.” Zhuge Liang rose and spoke gently.

”That is precisely what I was about to speak on. At that time, I must ask General to lead the Han Army to steady our lines. As for the strength of the Roman Legion, only three legions on the other side can be counted as Eagle Banner Legions: the Roman 13th Rose Legion, founded by the Roman Dictator Caesar; the Roman 14th Legion, founded by Roman Emperor Nero.” Sassan explained with a grave expression.

Listening to the other side’s explanation, Zhuge Liang gradually understood. These legions were said to have been founded by some Roman Emperor, but that didn’t mean every legion was equally strong. After all, too much time had passed; during certain eras, some emperor personally commanded a particular legion.

Just like the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Legions, when they were at their peak they suppressed the First, Second, and Third Legions, because back then they were roughly equivalent to the current Imperial Guard Officer Legion. And the Roman Era was very long, while the Eagle Banner Legions counted as inheritances—so long as their designation wasn’t retired, they would keep on existing.

This naturally led to certain legions becoming abnormally strong. The Thirteenth Legion counted as a clearly over‑spec legion, whereas the Fourteenth Legion, due to its complicated mix of troop types, could fight in any terrain and could assemble any sort of tactic at will, hence it was also called the ”Composite Legion.”

Although its Combat Power wasn’t necessarily over‑spec, its adaptability was definitely the strongest among all the legions; combined with its inherent Combat Power, the Fourteenth Legion was extremely hard to chew.

As for the Fifteenth Legion—fine, just an ordinary Elite Legion. Even if the legions under the command of those present here were weaker than it, they wouldn’t be weaker by much.

”Super‑strong Defense, rebound splash attacks?” After listening to Sassanid Fars’s explanation of the Roman Thirteenth Legion, Zhuge Liang inexplicably furrowed his brows. This was at least a Dual Talent Super Elite, right? Parthia apparently doesn’t have a legion at this level. Are you planning to get yourselves mowed down like vegetables?