Septimus's fury threatened to erupt like a volcano.
Septimus felt as if he had been treated like a circus clown, being deceived by a bunch of tribal leaders whom he had previously not taken seriously.
Ever since acquiring his replication ability, although he did not display an arrogant attitude, Septimus felt a certain sense of superiority when dealing with the historical figures of this period in history.
Having knowledge from the modern era fed Septimus's sense of superiority when facing other opponents, making him believe he could almost always defeat any enemy through intelligence.
Although Lucullus defeated Septimus in the city of Rome, the disadvantages of the clone army were very clear when facing the entire Roman army protecting a large fortified city like Rome, and Lucullus was also a famous and capable general in Roman history.
On the other hand, the tribal leaders, with their humble and obsequious expressions, managed to deceive Septimus easily.
In reality, half of the tribal leaders were betting on both sides of the war without considering any kind of loyalty, and they treated Septimus like a naive fool.
Septimus gradually calmed down, and his expression returned to normal, but his eyes showed unmistakable killing intent.
Attacking the tribal leaders was not an option for the moment; the main problem was defeating Hiarbas's army and then dealing with the tribal leaders afterward.
With simple reasoning, Septimus abandoned the idea of massacring the traitorous tribes and torturing the main leaders; the timing was not right, and there would be many more opportunities later on.
The traitors represented half of the tribes, and Septimus decided to plan to eliminate all of them without leaving any possibility of escape for an undiscovered traitor.
Septimus could also take advantage of the opportunity and provide false information to the traitors in order to let the Numidian army take the initiative to attack.
Night arrived quickly, and the surveillance of the clone scouts against the tribal leaders returned to normal.
Just as Septimus had predicted, the tribal leaders, taking advantage of the nighttime surveillance, became locked in a competition to be the first to inform the king of Numidia about the critical situation of the clone army.
Inside the city of Thala, King Hiarbas of Numidia, upon receiving news of Septimus's retreat, immediately summoned his trusted generals and advisers.
One by one, the generals and advisers entered the king's hall and respectfully bowed as a sign of respect. Most of them were loyal confidants of Hiarbas and shared the same fate.
The fall of Hiarbas would mean the downfall of all the generals and advisers present.
Hiarbas observed the scene and nodded in greeting. The objective of everyone in the hall was to defeat the Romans, and Hiarbas also wished to prove that he was the most powerful king in the history of the Kingdom of Numidia in order to gain greater legitimacy to the throne.
Furthermore, Septimus's support for Hiempsal II as king was infuriating; he had to demand that the Romans kill Hiempsal II.
"What do you think about this news?"
Hiarbas ordered a slave to read the intelligence report aloud.
The hall grew quiet, and everyone present listened attentively.
"My king, perhaps this is a Roman trap?" said one adviser with a doubtful expression.
"Many tribal leaders have sent the same intelligence report. It is unlikely to be a Roman conspiracy," said Hiarbas with a calm expression.
Hiarbas had his own considerations for believing the intelligence reports from the Numidian tribes supporting the Romans.
In history, when Metellus the Elder attacked the region of Thala, he carried provisions for only ten days. It was very likely that Septimus had done the same. He began his return six days later, which proved it.
On the other hand, the Jugurthine War had a profound impact on Rome. When Rome was initially defeated, some even believed it would mark the beginning of a long and costly military confrontation similar to the Punic Wars.
Fortunately, Marius and Sulla rose to great prominence and achieved major victories in the Jugurthine War against the Numidian king.
As king of Numidia, Hiarbas had studied this battle thoroughly.
"So they really are running out of water," Hiarbas thought to himself with a smile on his face.
"Great king! Should we attack, or wait until they run low on water?" asked an elderly adviser with a humble expression.
"Bahh... nonsense. Of course we should attack. We cannot let such a good opportunity escape. I believe we should send all the cavalry, delay their retreat, and then choose a place to confront them in a decisive battle," said a robust general with a scar on his face and a determined expression.
Hiarbas nodded to the general and slowly rose from his chair to look at the crowd.
"General Lomar is right. This is a great opportunity that we must not lose," said Hiarbas with a fierce expression.
The generals and advisers in the hall nodded in approval and exclaimed in celebration of victory against Rome.
Shortly afterward, a large number of riders departed from the city of Thala and ventured deep into the Sahara Desert.
Septimus finally felt the pressure of the enemy cavalry, which harassed them relentlessly day and night.
Throughout the entire day, the Numidian cavalry attacked the clone soldiers, causing frustration for Septimus.
The allied Numidian cavalry argued that they lacked sufficient numbers when facing the enemy cavalry and used various excuses to pretend and disappear during critical moments of enemy raids.
Septimus understood their plans, and it was very likely that they were betting everything in favor of the Numidian army while avoiding any confrontation that would wear down their military strength.
The Numidian light cavalry attacked with their bows from a distance, aiming their arrows at the wooden barrels they saw on the wooden wagons.
Repeated battles against the black-armored Roman army demonstrated that the Numidian riders would face almost certain death if they fought face-to-face against the black Roman legionaries.
The Numidian generals adopted a safer and more profitable harassment tactic when facing the clone army.
Several incidents of harassment by Numidian cavalry against the wagons transporting water occurred.
Septimus increasingly detested the tribal leaders, and his determination to form a clone cavalry force grew stronger.
At first, Septimus did not deploy his light cavalry for the African campaign because transport by sea was very harmful to horses, and he did not have enough transport ships suitable for horses.
Another factor was the recovery time required for horses after being transported by sea.
A rest period was necessary for the horses to recover from the fatigue of the sea journey and return to optimal condition to be ridden.
The recovery time for horses ranged from days to weeks, and the African campaign would begin its main battles within the first days after landing.
After considering all the problems, Septimus decided not to bring cavalry from the region of Campania and instead rely on the support of the local Numidian tribes, just as Pompey had done in the original history.
On the other hand, the Numidian cavalry rode a type of very small native horse, without saddles. The Numidian riders rode directly on the backs of their horses, carrying two or three javelins, a small bow with a dozen arrows in an animal leather bag, and sometimes a shield.
With this simple equipment, the Numidian cavalry earned a great reputation throughout the Mediterranean, even gaining praise from the Romans.
They did not accelerate immediately; instead, they controlled their horses in order to approach the Roman army at a relatively slow pace.
At first, they carried a light spear, which they used to attack the clone army, but over time they realized the suicidal nature of those actions and began carrying short bows to harass the black leather-armored Romans.