Enobarbus had practically completed his preparations, commanding six legions of Roman soldiers.
These soldiers included legionaries from Italy itself and Carthaginians from the province.
However, after the surrender of Manlius and the city of Utica, Enobarbus lost one legion.
Septimus' only concern was that King Hiarbas of Numidia was allied with Enobarbus. Facing the agile and elusive Numidian cavalry would be very, very troublesome.
Furthermore, the King of Numidia was actively recruiting light cavalry soldiers from the tribes to help Enobarbus, which indicated that a swift victory was necessary to avoid greater problems during the campaign.
"How many troops have you brought?" Manlius asked cautiously while observing Septimus distracted by his thoughts.
A clone soldier stepped forward and slapped Manlius across the face with force, causing him to fall to the ground.
"I brought six legions as the vanguard; my remaining four legions will arrive in a week," Septimus replied coldly while looking at Manlius on the ground.
The other officers looked at Septimus with fear. The young general seemed to be an inaccessible person and easily irritated.
"Really? How wonderful!" said Manlius with a fake smile while hiding his anger and restrained humiliation as he slowly stood up from the ground.
"Don't worry, I will write to Sulla and speak well of you," Septimus said indifferently, not caring about Manlius' fake smile.
On the other hand, the humiliation and anger Manlius felt because of the strong slap from the clone guard caused Septimus to reflect on his rapid adaptation to this period of ancient history.
Septimus' adaptation could be summarized as follows: an introverted academic with nothing special about him who was influenced by the experiences of the clones while committing massacres in large or small cities and thousands of killings during battle, causing slaughter to become his second nature.
Manlius did not dare direct an angry look at the clone guard, and his words toward Septimus were filled with effusive gratitude.
Meanwhile, the clone legions marched into the city of Utica at a slow pace while maintaining discipline.
"You know the province very well. Your mission will be to send people everywhere to spread the news that Septimus the Head Impaler leads ten legions and is in Africa. From the moment we landed in Africa, anyone who dares help Enobarbus will be an enemy of Rome. Whoever kills him will keep half of his property," Septimus said with a serious expression to the surrounding generals and nobles of Utica.
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
It was a ruthless move. Some people would probably lose sleep over it, and even those who wanted to help Enobarbus would have to think twice.
Septimus sent Manlius' officers onto a transport ship bound for Rome, as a small gift to Rome and at the same time to inform the Romans of the situation.
He then reorganized Manlius' legion, disarming them and leaving fewer than 3,000 men to help Manlius spread the news among the tribes.
On the other hand, Manlius' defection surprised many people; they had not expected one of Enobarbus' legions to surrender before the war had even begun.
Meanwhile, the news spread by Septimus — the enormous number of ten Roman legions — was terrifying, and almost no one had a favorable opinion of Enobarbus.
Some who had initially been dissatisfied with Rome immediately abandoned their plans and began loudly praising Septimus, fearing that someone else would kill them and seize their property.
Some even offered food and supplies to demonstrate their goodwill toward Rome.
"Truly impressive," even as an enemy, Enobarbus could not help but praise Septimus. A simple strategy had maximized his influence while simultaneously causing Enobarbus enormous problems.
The locals and tribes that had been friendly with Enobarbus disappeared, avoiding him like the plague, terrified of any association with him. Even buying supplies became difficult; either they refused to sell him grain or they inflated the prices.
Inside a military camp, a group of Roman generals gathered around a table with Enobarbus seated at the head.
"Those damned bastards are afraid of Sulla's lackey, but they're not afraid of us?" said one lieutenant indignantly.
"We should also spread the same message: anyone who helps Septimus will have their property confiscated," said another lieutenant with an angry expression.
Enobarbus shook his head with a bitter smile. Septimus only dared speak with such confidence because he had the backing of Rome and ten legions at his disposal. They had nothing more than the support of the King of Numidia.
If they dared say something like that, many people would probably betray them and defect to the enemy.
"I think we should confront them in a decisive battle as soon as possible, before they join forces with the four legions coming from Italy," said a Roman general with a determined expression.
"We must fight!" another general said angrily.
"But the army of the King of Numidia has not arrived yet. Should we wait for his army to arrive before confronting Sulla's lackeys?" another general said while frowning.
Enobarbus watched the discussion among his military officers with a tired expression.
Inside the city of Utica, after making intense preparations for controlling the city and maintaining a logistical point for the campaign, the clone army began preparing to confront the enemy.
Rest was necessary because crossing the Mediterranean Sea with ancient rowing ships represented enormous fatigue for Septimus and his clones.
On the fifth day, Septimus' army departed with six legions and another 4,000 auxiliary horsemen from various surrounding tribes.
It was already winter, and fighting was not advisable, but the area was near the equator and the Mediterranean Sea, so the weather was not cold; sometimes the temperature exceeded 20 degrees Celsius, which did not affect combat.
On the other hand, Enobarbus' military camp was located on the other side of a mountain stream; in order to attack, they would have to cross it.
The six clone legions advanced in formation while preparing for battle.
Septimus sent several clone scouts accompanied by local guides with the intention of searching for the best place to cross the river.
Soon the clone scouts discovered that the only two wooden bridges had also been destroyed. It seemed that Enobarbus did not want an immediate decisive battle, but was instead waiting for reinforcements from the Kingdom of Numidia.
Septimus' soldiers quickly arrived at the stream, with the two armies facing each other from opposite sides of the river.
Septimus made a gesture with his arm, and dozens of clone scouts entered the stream with the objective of checking the hydrographic conditions. Soon Septimus understood the terrain near the river better.
The stream was fordable, but the current was quite strong. If Enobarbus' army attacked while the clone soldiers were crossing it, it was possible that the battle would become a failure.
Worst of all, Septimus would not be able to recover the weapons and military equipment of the dead clone soldiers, and as a consequence his strength would be reduced in the following battles.
Septimus frowned, and the only solution he could think of was to find another crossing point and send the clone soldiers to the other side of the river in small groups.
Mobilizing the entire army would alert the scouts of Enobarbus' army.