"They're coming down the mountain!"
"Just as we expected. They're trying to cross the plains to the neighboring mountain range. Launch the kite! Signal the other cavalry units!" Aquillius roared, waving his arm.
Immediately, a vibrant blue kite soared high into the sky.
"Riders equipped with telescopes, to the vanguard! The rest of you, follow your commanders' orders!"
The cavalry split into several divisions, each galloping toward their assigned positions.
Other cavalry units were already stationed at various points across the sprawling plains.
Their sole objective was to intercept the bandits attempting to flee from the Aurunci Mountains.
"Follow the kites! The moment you spot the enemy, launch the designated kites!"
And so, a chase across the plains began.
***
"They're on our tail!"
"How many?!"
"Not many! Maybe six or seven riders!"
"They won't attack us with those numbers. They're probably trying to draw in reinforcements. We break through before that happens!"
Seleucus bellowed, violently swinging his heavy axe.
Now that they had abandoned the mountain, there was no turning back.
Their only chance at survival was to cross the plains as fast as possible and disappear into the next mountain range.
The bandits had fractured into several smaller groups, just as they had planned, and were currently sprinting across the open ground.
"It'll take time for the other riders to converge! We can make it across before they do!"
Seleucus calculated that even if the Romans spotted them, alerting the other units and regrouping would take too long.
They had enough of a head start to reach the safety of the trees.
However, the Roman cavalry that had spotted them didn't disperse to fetch help.
Instead, they merely trailed behind them, maintaining a safe distance.
"Are they seriously planning to attack us with that handful of men?"
"Boss! Look up there!"
Following his man's pointed finger, Seleucus scowled.
Something colorful was fluttering high in the sky above the Roman riders.
"That's no bird... what the hell is that?"
It took him a moment to realize there was a thin string attached to the object.
The string trailed all the way down to the Roman cavalrymen leisurely pursuing them.
"Don't tell me..." Seleucus gasped.
"Damn it! They're marking our position!"
The red-and-blue object bobbed in the sky, serving as a giant beacon marking their exact position.
"What do we do, boss? If this keeps up, the rest of their cavalry will be swarming us any second!"
At his subordinate's panicked question, Seleucus bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
They couldn't exactly turn around and chase down men on horseback to stop them.
The Roman riders were deliberately keeping their distance, doing nothing but keeping that strange object airborne.
If Seleucus tried to charge them, they would simply retreat and maintain the gap.
They were perfectly content to keep them marked until the main force arrived.
"If this is how you want to play it, I'll play along!"
Seleucus swung his axe in the air.
"Send the cargo out first! Scatter their pursuit and buy us some time!"
***
"That makes three confirmed kites so far. Looks like everything is going according to plan."
Brutus lowered his telescope.
We sat on horseback, observing the plains from a distance.
"Spot the enemy, launch a kite, and the surrounding cavalry converges on the signal. A simple, yet effective strategy."
"I have Julia to thank for the idea," I replied, gently stroking my horse's mane.
Historically, kites had been used for military signaling in China for centuries.
Combined with telescopes that allowed for long-distance observation, this kind of coordinated strategy was entirely feasible.
Now, all that remained was for the cavalry to run down the fleeing bandits and finish them off.
My orders were simple: capture them if possible, kill them if they resist.
"No matter how many groups they split into, they can't outrun cavalry on an open plain. At this rate..."
It was then.
More than five new kites shot up into the sky almost simultaneously.
Adding the ones already in the air, there were now eight kites flying high above the plains.
"Wait, eight kites? Did they splinter even further?"
"We need to see this for ourselves."
I suddenly had a very bad feeling.
I tapped my horse's flanks with my stirrups, and we surged forward.
A short while later, we arrived at the location of one of the newly launched kites.
But there were no signs of a fierce battle.
Instead, a few dozen figures draped in oversized leather cloaks sat huddled together in a tight circle, surrounded by a handful of Roman cavalrymen.
"What's going on here?"
"Imperator, please look at this."
A rider dismounted and approached the huddled group.
He pulled back one of the leather cloaks, revealing the face of a woman.
And it wasn't just her.
Every single one of the dozens of figures was a woman.
Most looked to be in their twenties or thirties.
They stared up at us with dirt-smudged, terrified faces.
"What the..."
Are they bandits?
No, they certainly don't look the part.
One of the women crawled forward on her knees, sobbing.
"W-We were all captured by the bandits and forced into slavery. They suddenly dragged us up to the mountain, and then told us to run across this plain..."
The other women stared at me—some trembling in stark terror, others with hollow eyes.
It was the look of people who had suffered terrible trauma.
"Everyone, please stay calm."
I could piece together what had happened.
These were women the bandits had kidnapped to use as slaves for their camp chores... and God knows what else.
I didn't even want to imagine the horrors they had been put through.
Brutus muttered from beside me.
"But why would they just send these women out..."
"To throw off our pursuit," I answered.
"They used them as decoys."
They had deliberately unleashed the women they no longer needed to scatter our cavalry and create confusion.
"You have nothing to fear. I have been granted imperium to eradicate the bandits. I give you my word, I will see every single one of you safely returned to your homes."
At my words, several women broke down into heaving sobs.
"What do we do now?" Brutus asked, riding closer.
"Even with the kites, tracking that many groups is..."
"We join the hunt. They need every rider they can get."
Just as I spoke, a thunderous roar echoed from behind us, followed by the frantic pounding of hooves.
I turned to see a lone cavalryman tearing across the plain.
He had several long javelins strapped to the side of his saddle.
It was Antony. What in the world was that madman doing?
Antony closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
"Imperator! We just have to chase down the kites, right?!"
Before I could even nod, he spurred his horse forward again.
"Then what are you waiting for?! Let's go!"
Brutus and I sat there in stunned silence, watching Antony vanish into the distance.
I didn't know he could already ride, let alone fight like that.
Well, I can't let him show me up.
"So..."
I looked at Brutus with a smirk.
"Are you ready to ride?"
***
"Today is my lucky day!"
Antony roared, waving his lance at the scattered Roman riders nearby.
"What are you all doing standing around?! Follow me!"
"Sir! Is your rear fully healed yet?!" someone shouted back.
"Do you think a real man would stay in bed over a little scratch like this?!" Antony bellowed back.
His wound was certainly not fully healed.
But with daily bandage changes and herbal salves, it didn't hamper his riding too badly.
Ignoring the throbbing pain, Antony let out a wild laugh.
"Everyone, ride! Look at all those kites!"
Antony quickly reached the first signal.
Dozens of bandits were sprinting madly across the plain, keeping a nervous distance from the Roman cavalry tailing them.
The tree line of the neighboring mountain was already visible just ahead of them.
"Charge! Do not stop, ride them down!"
Antony tucked the shaft of his lance tightly under his armpit.
Thanks to the stirrups, charging with a heavy lance was now much easier.
He braced the lance firmly against his body, letting the sheer momentum of his galloping horse do all the devastating work.
The key was keeping the lance perfectly rigid against the body.
If a rider tried to thrust or swing the weapon during a charge, the impact would either throw off their aim or snap their wrists.
"They're charging at us!"
"Fire arrows! Shoot the bastards!"
A few panicked bandits turned and loosed their bows, but Antony didn't flinch.
Several arrows thudded into the dirt around his horse.
The distance closed rapidly, their terrified faces coming into sharp focus...
With a sickeningly heavy impact, Antony's lance impaled a bandit right through the chest.
"Surrender, you foolish bastards!"
Antony roared as he burst straight through the center of their formation.
Without missing a beat, he drew a fresh lance strapped to his saddle.
"Today really is my lucky day!"
The remaining bandits stared in horror at their comrade, pinned to the ground with a broken shaft sticking out of his back.
Moments later, they dropped their weapons one by one and raised their hands.
"W-We surrender!"
Antony pointed his lance at the riders following him.
"You! Stay here, confiscate their weapons, and make sure they don't try anything funny."
He yanked his reins and spun his horse around.
There were still plenty of kites dancing in the sky.
"The rest of you, with me! No time to rest! Forward!"
Shortly after resuming his hunt, he spotted a familiar face.
It was the hulking bandit boss wielding the massive axe.
Antony screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
As the bandits spun around and readied their weapons, Antony tucked his lance under his arm again.
"Let's see if you can run away this time!"
***
"Seriously, how fast is he going?"
Brutus and I were galloping at full speed, yet we still couldn't catch up to Antony.
Given his injury, he shouldn't be riding at a breakneck pace like this.
Anyone watching would think we were in the middle of a chariot race.
Following the trail of kites, we only found groups of bandits tightly bound in ropes.
Like Hansel and Gretel leaving breadcrumbs, Antony had left a trail of bound bandits and discarded weapons in his wake.
"It seems he hasn't caught their leader yet," I noted, glancing at the tied-up prisoners.
Some of them were wearing armor that looked suspiciously like standard Roman military gear, and their weapons were all of a considerably high quality.
It was hard to believe they were mere bandits.
If we had tried to drive them out in the mountains, we would've taken massive casualties.
Just as we passed another group of prisoners, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from ahead.
Brutus and I spurred our horses into a full sprint.
Please don't tell me that was Antony.
After a few minutes of relentless riding, we finally discovered the source of the bizarre screams.
"You dare shoot an arrow into my arse?! I'll give you the death you deserve!"
Antony was galloping while dragging something—or rather, someone—behind his horse.
It was a scene straight out of a Spaghetti Western.
A massive man was being dragged across the dirt, a lasso tightly cinched around his neck.
He was desperately clutching the rope with both hands, struggling just to breathe as he bounced over the uneven terrain.
"Don't tell me that's..."
"Looks like their leader," Brutus finished.
"We better stop him before he kills the guy."
A corpse was of no use to me. Even a bandit boss could still be useful alive.
Just then, a cavalry officer rode up to me and saluted.
"Imperator, the surrounding bandit forces have been completely captured. Not a single one managed to cross the plains."
"Excellent work. Do you have anything else to report?"
"Yes, sir. We got some new information from the rescued women."
New information?
What could it be?
The officer continued.
"There were multiple bandit factions hiding in that forest. According to the women, they maintain several strongholds scattered across the surrounding region, where they stockpile their loot and keep hostages. We've secured the locations of those camps."
"Hostages? Did they say exactly how many?"
"We don't have an exact count yet, sir, but based on what they said, there are at least three hundred."
"Over three hundred?!" Brutus and I exclaimed in unison.
Three hundred victims kidnapped off the roads and locked away.
I immediately pulled on the reins and turned my horse.
"I need to see this for myself. Put the cavalry on standby."
It felt like this campaign was far from over.