The night passed quickly and the clone army built a makeshift camp in the middle of a mountainous and forested area.
The snakes and insects caused great annoyance to the clones and many clone soldiers were harmed.
More than a hundred clone soldiers were bitten by snakes or stung by poisonous and strange insects.
The three clone legions faced nature and suffered a small loss.
With the first rays of sun, the soldiers of the clone army, who were completely prepared, resumed their rapid march.
Septimus underestimated the complexity of the mountainous terrain and the difficulty of deployment.
The clone army had a shared will and their perseverance allowed them to overcome the emotional obstacles that would affect a normal army.
The clone soldiers advanced silently with hundreds of scouts ahead guiding the way.
On the other hand, inside the camp of the Samnite and Lucanian army, the morale of the army recovered slightly after a night of rest.
Inside the Samnite camp, Pontius's eyes were red while a pile of papers, glasses, and wine jars were scattered on the ground.
The Samnite and Lucanian armies had refused to continue with the attack on Rome.
The tribal leaders of the Samnites had the concern of suffering great losses and subsequently facing Sulla's reprisals.
The concerns of the Lucanian tribal leaders were also the same as the Samnite leaders, and their concern was being used as cannon fodder by the Samni tribe.
Without strong warriors, the Lucanian tribes would be annexed by the Lucanians.
The ferocity of the black-armored army also influenced the decisions of the tribal leaders of both tribes.
The symbol on the shields of the black-armored soldiers of three decapitated heads nailed on spears caused fear among the Samnite and Lucanian warriors.
Pontius could not convince the demoralized tribal leaders of both tribes no matter how many arguments he presented.
Unlike the enthusiasm of the clone army for pursuing the enemy, the camp of the Samnites and Lucanians was a scene of disorder.
The Lucanian and Samnite soldiers obeyed the orders of their respective tribal leaders without maintaining a basic cooperation as an army.
Pontius was the leader of a large Samnite tribe but his warriors could barely form a full legion.
Three hours passed and the disordered camp of the two tribes showed no signs of preparing to depart.
The Samnites and Lucanians had imitated the Roman military style but they did not copy the logistical system of a Roman army.
In great battles between Romans and Samnites, experienced Roman generals frequently took advantage of the logistical deficiencies of the Samnite armies to cause them great losses.
A Samnite scout ran nervously while jumping with agility through the steep mountainous terrain.
Ten minutes later, the Samnite scout with sweat on his forehead stood before Pontius.
"Are you sure that the enemy army is 6 kilometers away?" Pontius said with a serious expression.
"General, I can affirm that I saw the enemy with my own eyes from a distance," the scout said with a slight panic in his voice.
The Samnite soldiers had faced the black-armored army and knew the ferocity of the enemy.
"The enemy is too close, General; the only option is to face them," Papio Mutilo said with determination in his eyes.
Papio Mutilo was a trusted general for Pontius and his military talent was also notable.
"It is too late to retreat and the only option left is to face the enemy," Pontius responded with a serious expression, confirming Mutilo's strategy.
The Samnite and Lucanian soldiers had an advantage in battles with mountainous terrain.
Unlike the Roman army that inhabited mainly the valleys and the plains.
Pontius sent messengers to the tribal leaders of both tribes and the news of an imminent battle spread quickly.
The Samnite and Lucanian soldiers were like ants running everywhere preparing basic defenses to resist the enemy.
A pile of rocks was accumulated to prevent the clone army from having a fluid mobilization.
It was too late to plan an ambush and the black-armored army was just a few kilometers away.
The scouts of the clone army were the first to make contact with the Samnite and Lucanian scouts.
Dozens of soldiers with black armor faced the enemy scouts.
The experienced Samnite and Lucanian scouts, relying on their familiarity with the mountainous terrain, were more skillful in taking advantage of the terrain but attacking the unprepared clone soldiers.
On the other hand, the clone soldiers also made use of their combat skills to face the sudden enemy that attacked them.
The clone scouts were outnumbered and had the disadvantage of the terrain, but they fought without showing signs of surrender or retreat, managing to surprise the Samnite and Lucanian soldiers.
A clone soldier cornered by a dozen Lucanian scouts held his short sword firmly while dodging spears and swords, managing to cut the throat of a Lucanian soldier with a thick beard.
The clone scout killed two more scouts before being killed by the enraged Lucanian soldiers.
The scouts of both armies faced each other in small skirmishes; although the army of the Lucanian and Samnite alliance won, the result of the victory was tragic.
The clone soldiers proved to be tough men and killing them caused great losses among the Samnite and Lucanian scouts.
Septimus was indifferent to the loss of the clone scouts.
Forging a veteran and highly combative army in all types of environments required a great number of sacrifices.
Since his beginnings in this era, Septimus, through countless sacrifices and fierce combat, has felt the benefits of the rapid increase of his combat skills, will, and determination.
The former academic who was incapable of killing a chicken became a warrior with exquisite combat skills.
An hour passed quickly and the clone army approached the defensive camp of the Samnite-Lucanian alliance.
Pontius and the tribal generals of the Samnites had organized basic defenses taking advantage of the mountainous terrain.
The scouts of both tribes had retreated, managing to alert about the arrival of the clone army.
The soldiers with black armor began to appear slowly in front of the Samnite and Lucanian soldiers.
On the other hand, the clone army advanced rapidly against the enemy defenses.
Small rocks accumulated, causing obstacles and preventing the fluid advance of the clone soldiers, but their determination to keep attacking did not diminish.
Taking advantage of the terrain advantage, the Samnite soldiers launched javelins against the soldiers of the clone army.
The impact of javelins at close range became a very lethal attack, causing deaths and wounded quickly.
The clone soldiers also counterattacked and the javelins took the lives of many Samnite and Lucanian soldiers.
The previous rapid retreat of the Samnite and Lucanian army caused many soldiers to abandon their heavy and cumbersome shields.
The Lucanian soldiers suffered the main number of casualties from the javelin attack of the clone army.
The clone soldiers attacked as if they were a zombie horde without considering their own casualties.
Almost 15,000 soldiers with black armor separated into small or large groups, advancing through the steep stone paths with a relentless attack.
The Samnite and Lucanian soldiers were astonished by the relentless enemy attack and the memories of the previous day's battle returned to their minds.
The ferocity of the army with black armor left a strong impression on all the Samnite and Lucanian legionnaires.