choked with dying men as more of Hannibal’s soldiers had joined him, fighting up and down the length of the narrow walkway that was set between two forty-foot stone towers.
A spear came in high towards Hannibal’s head, but he managed to raise his shield just in time to parry the blow away. Striking low, Hannibal counter by jabbing his sword into his opponent's right knee. Blood and bone jetted out from the wide wound as the man bellowed in agony before Hannibal rose back to his feet and rammed his shield as hard as he could against the man’s broad chest.
As the defender fell to the ground, Hannibal stood over the lying man and rammed the bottom of his shield into the defender’s mouth, shattering teeth as the layers of wood sliced all the way through the man’s cheeks, nearly cleaving his head in two.
Hannibal winced in pain for a moment as he bore down on his teeth. A sword slashed across his exposed flank, cutting deep in the fat of his back. Already he could feel his own blood gushing out, but thankfully, his chain mail armor had saved his life, or otherwise, he would have been dead.
Turning sharply Hannibal drove his sword into the man’s face that had just attacked him. His sword lodged between the defender’s skull and the back of his head for a moment, causing Hannibal a great deal of difficulty in trying to pry his weapon free. It was then that he heard several heavily armed men come rushing behind him. He glanced back for a moment and saw infantry charging up a set of stone steps, hoping they could repel the attackers before the walls fell.
Hannibal was trapped. He was forced to release his attempts to retake his sword from the man he killed and turn to face the charging infantry. Raising his shield while holding it firmly against his shoulder, Hannibal screamed a battle cry before he charged. He threw all two-hundred and thirty pounds of weight, plus armor against the collection of infantry, driving his shield into the first man who gasped as the air was knocked out from his lungs on impact. Hannibal cursed under his breath as he was cut once, twice, and then three more times across the arm and legs — not deep enough to slow him down, but painful enough to sap what strength he had left.
With one final burst of energy, Hannibal bellowed and murderous roar and pushed against his shield, throwing the dozen men who stood against him back, but in the process, he lost hold of his only defense as it was stripped from his grip and cast aside.
Hannibal, his head dripping with crimson blood bore his teeth as he raised his fists. He would not fall so easily he vowed, but then before the first foot soldier could charge him, he was struck dead-center by a well-aimed spear throw.
The soldier staggered back as he fell into his comrades as several more spears were thrown from behind Hannibal easily found their mark.
Hannibal turned and saw his bodyguards, and several Carthaginian soldiers rushing towards him, crying out, “Save Hannibal! Defend the General!”
Ordax, one of Hannibal’s Spanish-born bodyguards handed him a new sword as the remaining groups of infantry and archers on the wall were easily dealt with. Soon after, the only men on the south wall were Hannibal’s, who raised their weapons to the sky and roared his name in one thunderous body, HANNIBAL! HANNIBAL! HANNIBAL!
“Do you want this city?!' Hannibal bellowed joyfully.
“Yes!” Everyone roared.
“Then open the gates and take what is rightfully ours!”
Hannibal, with his bodyguards and a dozen other men charged down the stone steps. Most of Saguntum’s defenders were in a blind panic at this point as they ran once it became clear the walls had fallen. A few officers, however, tried to form a phalanx and repel the invaders, but their efforts were not enough as Hannibal charged forward, his destination the southern gatehouse.
Most of the men Hannibal cut down, he did so as they turned and fled, dropping their swords or spears, and even more foolish, their shields. Those that stood their ground died just as easily. As brave as these men might have been, they weren’t warriors. The wealth that poured into Saguntum made its people fat and lazy, much like Romans. If this had been a Gallic stronghold, Hannibal knew he would have to fight to the last man to claim victory.
Hannibal’s eyes open wide with surprise as a small trickle of a smile cracked in the corner of his mouth once he saw a well-dressed — well armored and armed officer he knew by the name of Ballista. What made this captain of the guard valuable beyond his rank, as it was Ballista that had marshaled Saguntum defense over the past eight months, was that he was also a Roman citizen, sent by his Senate when Saguntum declared its loyalty to the Republic some years ago. The man had been a constant annoyance for Hannibal as he had represented the city elders during the various negotiations. Stubbornly, Ballista had been confident in his defiance’s, which had now collapsed all around him.
“Hannibal, you shit-eating dog, face me yourself, if you have the courage!” Ballista sneered with bitterness as he held his ground, sword and shield at the ready with a dozen trusted men standing before the gatehouse, each refusing to move.
Hannibal grinned, “Finally, a Roman,” he said under his breath. “The Roman is mine! Gut the rest,” Hannibal then demanded as his men roared their excitement before they charged in a mad fury towards the waiting defenders.
Ballista squared himself as Hannibal neared him, yet not attacking. Hannibal could see not just from the man’s age and many scars to his arms, but too from his form that the Roman was seasoned from many battles hard fought and won. A worthy adversary, or so Hannibal expected.
“I always knew you were a cunt, you barbarous dog,” Ballista barked as he obviously hoped to break Hannibal’s concentration and force him to attack ill-rationally, but Hannibal would not allow himself to be baited.
“You should have given me the city when you had the chance. It would have spared you a lot of pain, Roman,” Hannibal added as he slowly advanced. He held no shield but wielded a heavier sword than Ballista, which placed him on the offensive as Ballista remained fixed behind the thick wooden layers of his blue painted shield, his gladius held low to the side — the tip just barely visible.
“Even if Saguntum falls, Rome will make you — “
The Roman captain barely managed to hold his ground. He did not seem used to such savagery in combat as Hannibal fought like a caged bear set loose upon the population, swinging his large iron sword as if it weighed nothing, causing thick chunks of wood to splinter free from Ballista’s shield with each violent bash.
Ballista was driven back off of his feet as he tried desperately to keep his shield held firm. To lose it now would put him at a serious disadvantage as his shorter sword, good for thrusting, was not ideal against Hannibal’s longer cavalry blade. However, after a dozen devastating blows that made Ballista’s arm feel as if every bone in it had been broken, he could not bear the onslaught further as his shield was finally knocked free.
Ballista screamed in agony as a bone in his wrist did indeed snap. His shield, now broken into three pieces splintered to the ground as it dropped into the mud-soaked ground. Before he could react, Ballista only saw the blur of Hannibal’s blade come racing toward his face. A moment later he felt the sharp sting as his flesh unzipped as the tip of the iron blade was drawn across his brow, down his nose, and tearing out a chunk of his right cheek.
Hannibal’s strike was done purposely. He did not attend to kill Ballista, not yet.
“You filthy whore!” Ballista spat a mouthful of blood, which landed against Hannibal’s broad leg as he stood poised over him. “You think you’ve won a great victory here? You’ve accomplished nothing! Rome will see you crucified at the stake for this crime. I only hope you live long enough to see Carthage burn, and its people sold into slavery before your end comes, dog!”
Hannibal smiled as drizzles of Ballista’s blood dripped from his sword tip.
“It is Rome that will burn, and it is your Senate that will lick the
The heavy iron blade sliced into Ballista’s head, splitting his skull like a burning stone drenched with water. Brain and bone mixed with hair, and blood gushed over Hannibal as he held his sword firm for a long moment as he
