Chapter 37: Ancient Campione
The Celts, former masters of Transalpine Gaul, believed that building cities was a lifetime impossibility; it was not until the Romans entered the region that cities began to rise from the ground. Since then, the history of fortification in Western Europe began. Cities famous in later generations, such as Lyon and Vienna, originally came from the hands of the Romans.
However, the population distribution of Roman cities was uneven. While the city of Rome had approximately one million residents, eastern metropolises like Alexandria, Antioch, and later Constantinople only totaled a few hundred thousand combined. In the West, especially in Transalpine Gaul, the numbers were even smaller; most Western cities did not exceed five thousand residents.
A system of fully functional cities built the administrative structure of the Roman Empire. These cities executed orders from Rome locally, emulated Roman traditions culturally, and collected taxes for Rome economically. Meanwhile, the peasant class holding citizenship was the foundation of the Roman army's strength. When the cities began to crumble and the peasants decreased until they vanished, Rome declined.
The city named Lauriacum was one of the frontier cities built by the Romans during the Imperial era. Its full name was Augusta Lauriacum, a name representing the Celtic Lauraci tribe and the Roman Emperor. At its peak, it had a population of about twenty thousand and a vast administrative reach; it was a major city in the Transalpine Gaul region.
Hikigaya was on horseback, traveling the road toward this great Western city. Before departing, he had accepted several "gifts" from the old man. Though called gifts, they were essentially protection money; for these people, if Hikigaya didn't accept them, they probably wouldn't dare sleep at night. For some reason, the old man was convinced that even if Hikigaya wasn't Uldin, he was at least a Hunnic chieftain.
Thus, at dusk, Hikigaya once again saw the Rhine River and the Roman city built alongside it. Hundreds upon thousands of houses lined the riverbank; workshops, inns, temples, and public baths were tightly clustered together, and the entire city was enclosed by thick, high walls.
The road led directly into the city, but at the entrance, the area had been fortified into a bastion with watchtowers. No one was on the bastion itself, but there were people on the watchtowers—judging by their dress, they were Roman soldiers. They were easy to recognize; unlike the Eastern Roman Empire, which actively reformed its military system and equipment, the West remained entirely traditional in style.
Even without using the Eye of Horus, Hikigaya could see the current dilapidation of this city. The Roman Empire relied on cities for administration, but its economy was rooted in the rural areas surrounding them. An agrarian economy was not only the cornerstone of the Roman economy but also the greatest asset that allowed Rome to defeat Carthage. Historically, it
was the Roman peasants—hailing from the countryside and possessing citizenship—who formed the Roman legions that could face any formidable foe until victory was achieved.
Yet, as Hikigaya traveled along, he hardly saw any decent family farms near Lauriacum. They were all massive estates (latifundia). Those working there were not citizens, but slaves and tenant farmers. These places were filled with violence and personal abuse unimaginable to later generations, and the overseers managing the estates for the wealthy cared nothing for it.
At the same time, Hikigaya saw many traces of destruction along the way. Needless to say, these were the results of barbarian raids. This was a city that was not only isolated and helpless but also unable to ensure the safety of its surrounding countryside. It likely lacked even necessary resource reserves. From a purely military perspective, it still belonged to Rome only because the European barbarians of this era lacked both the ability to capture a large city and the patience to conduct a long-term siege.
As Hikigaya, mounted on his horse, appeared not far from the front of the bastion, he saw the Roman soldiers on the watchtowers display expressions of horror. But this expression was not directed at Hikigaya.
A massive dark shadow blanketed the ground where Hikigaya stood. The cause of this shadow was the first creature Hikigaya had seen upon arriving in this world: a dragon. Or rather, a Divine Beast that looked like an evil dragon; Hikigaya felt calling them "Wyverns" was the simplest and clearest term. These giant creatures swept over Hikigaya's head and flew toward the bastion.
Atop the largest Wyvern, a person sat astride the dragon's back. It was a black-haired young man with a very typical Asian appearance. As this person flew near the bastion on his dragon, he threw small white objects toward the ground. They were objects resembling animal fangs.
The fangs hit the ground and immediately underwent a transformation, beginning to swell and take shape. Finally, they turned into seven creatures identical to the "dinosaurs" Hikigaya had seen before crossing the "Cave," though they were much smaller in size. Hikigaya silently gave them the name "Earth Dragons."
Incidentally, during this process, he recognized that this was the power of an Authority. Without a doubt, that dragon-rider fellow in the sky was a Campione. He just didn't know if this dragon rider was the "Uldin" the Roman elder had mentioned earlier.
The Earth Dragons were agile, their running posture similar to the velociraptors in movies, and their speed comparable to horses. They soon reached the city gates and began ramming the closed wooden gates under the terrified gazes of the Roman soldiers. The wooden gates shook violently under the impact, the thick timber gradually splintering. If no one stopped them, the gates would likely be breached soon.
Roman soldiers appeared on the bastion, shouting as they aimed ballistae at the Earth Dragons below. Even during the peak of the Roman legions, bows and arrows were not
standard equipment for Roman soldiers; that task was handled by auxiliary troops (auxilia). Projectile weapons belonging to the regular Roman army generally consisted of three types: the verutum (light javelin), the pilum (heavy javelin), and the ballista. The first two were for anti-personnel use, while the latter was used mainly for large targets—enemy fortifications, chariots, or ships.
When attacking fortifications or ships, they generally used stone projectiles; for chariots, they used massive bolts. In the current scene, the Roman soldiers intended to treat the Earth Dragons like chariots. Most of the bolts fired from above successfully hit the Earth Dragons, sending blood splattering and causing them to roar in pain. One Earth Dragon was particularly unlucky, taking a bolt directly through the eyeball. It was in agony, struggling and running wild, even knocking over its kin, before finally collapsing a long distance away from the gate.
Unlike the Earth Dragon Hikigaya had killed previously, this one reverted back to the form of a fang after death. The Roman soldiers defending the city erupted in cheers, expressing their delight at killing an Earth Dragon on their first volley.
However, this kind of morale was abnormal for the Roman army of this era. To put it bluntly, the Roman soldiers of now and their counterparts from the early Empire were practically two different species—let alone being just local garrison troops. "Useless cowards" would be a more fitting term for them. Garrison troops, even at the height of Roman military power, were only used for maintaining public order; taking them out for a real military engagement would only lead to embarrassment.
And Hikigaya knew the reason, because he sensed another power of an Authority. But unlike the dragon rider, this power acted upon the spirit.
Hikigaya dismounted, took his horse by the lead, and walked leisurely toward the city gate.
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