Seeing the rebel soldiers all rushing down the mountain, Maximus stopped extinguishing the fire and focused intently on the battle downhill: the javelin attack from the Romans filled him with anxiety, the charge of the gladiators excited him, and the deadlock between the two sides made him tense... Then he saw the Roman formation at the back split in two, beginning a flanking maneuver towards the rebel wings, causing the new recruits, armed with farming tools and never having fought before, to collapse at the sight of the enemy attacking from behind...
It's over! ...Although Maximus had anticipated this from his past life's memory, witnessing the scene of rebel soldiers crying and fleeing up the mountain made his scalp tingle, and his hands and feet turn cold. It took him a while to regain his senses, and he urgently shouted, "Acronis! Gaius! Take your people and quickly run to the back of the mountain!..."
"Pigeris! Have your transport team hurry and harness the horses, follow them to the back of the mountain!..."
"Vorenus! Kids! Follow me!..." Maximus shouted loudly as he ran back.
Acronis, Pigeris, and Gaius's responses were heard in the camp, but were accompanied by panicked screams from the other members of the supply team, with some running directly towards Maximus.
Time was pressing, and Maximus couldn't look carefully, so he led them in a hurried retreat towards the back mountain...
............
Seeing the enemy collapse across the line, Grabo was overjoyed and immediately ordered, "Send the cavalry out, chase the enemy for me!"
"Yes!"
"Legion soldiers—" Grabo hesitated and said, "Keep the formation and press towards the enemy camp at a normal pace. Leave the task of pursuing the routing soldiers to the cavalry and auxiliary soldiers."
Grabo was cautious because he didn't trust the combat abilities of these new Roman recruits. The gladiators' charge had him on edge, worrying that if they dispersed Roma soldiers in pursuit of routing rebels who retaliated when cornered, things could go awry...
Vidnius had no objection to this.
The Roman cavalry and Campania auxiliary soldiers pursued from both wings, forcing the fugitives to flee up the mountain.
Because the supply team gave up extinguishing the fire, several outbreaks in the camp rekindled, causing the fugitives to panic even more, so when many saw the supply team's hundred people gathered and traversing the back mountain, they blindly fled towards it.
More and more people followed, making the back mountain the primary escape route for fugitives, naturally including the gladiators. Since they were at the front row during the charge start, they ended up at the rearguard while retreating. However, they were not frightened slaves; when the pursuers closed in, they dared to turn back and counterattack. The Roman cavalry and auxiliary soldiers, having suffered several setbacks, dared not fight them and simply bypassed them to pursue other fugitives.
By the time the gladiators passed the Putaojiao Farm and reached the rear mountain, the front fugitives were already scattered, and the Roman cavalry and auxiliary soldiers vaguely surrounded the gladiators.
At this point, during their escape, the gladiators regrouped, and although they were tense at the forming encirclement, they weren't panicked. Most had experience being surrounded during team competitions in the arena; thus, under the loud shouts of Spartacus and Cross, they quickly formed a circle of over a hundred, slowly advancing up the back mountain.
The weak Roman cavalry and Campania auxiliary soldiers couldn't stop them and had to cease blocking, trailing from three sides instead.
Initially flat, the slope of the Portuguese Manor's rear mountain became steeper the higher they climbed. The width also narrowed so that when the gladiators reached a certain height, the slope could no longer accommodate their people in a circular formation.
Spartacus immediately ordered the formation to switch into four columns and continue retreating upwards.
The trailing Campania auxiliary soldiers faced the ever-wary gladiators, dared not attack, and rapidly withdrew when a horn sounded from behind them.
It turned out that Grabo, following the Roman formation, arrived at the rebel camp. Observing the auxiliary soldiers confronting the gladiators on the rear mountain and to avoid losses, he ordered them to withdraw.
At the same time, he summoned a guide who had served as a guard for the wine farm but had escaped the turmoil due to shopping orders in Napolet that day.
"Is there another way down this rear mountain apart from this path?" Grabo asked, looking up at the rear mountain.
"Sir," the guard respectfully replied, "aside from this side's gentle slope that barely reaches the peak, the rest is extraordinarily steep, impossible to climb. Furthermore, the mountain path becomes narrower as you ascend, with just a small platform able to accommodate several hundred people near the mountaintop, where our steward once developed a small vineyard..."
Listening to this, Grabo suddenly asked, "Is there a water source on this rear mountain?"
"No water source," the guide understood Grabo's implication and shook his head, saying, "We built a reservoir in the mountain vineyard, but it's small and couldn't even supply enough water for so many people for one day..."
Grabo felt a sense of relief but wasn't entirely reassured. He pointed at the rear mountain and ordered Vidnius, "Immediately recall the Campania auxiliary soldiers, have them construct a new camp at the mountain side, seal off all paths down to trap the enemies. The legionaries are to keep watch. Send cavalry circling the mountain to survey the terrain for any possible descent routes."
"Not chasing the other fugitives?" Vidnius asked somewhat unwillingly.
"I saw with clarity earlier, those damned gladiators mostly escaped up the mountain. Once they're eliminated, the remaining runaway slaves mean little," Grabo responded with scorn.
"What about the slaves who surrendered?"
"Kill them all, no need to waste manpower guarding them," Grabo sighed, "It's a pity, this is just a minor slave uprising, no possibility of parading them victoriously down the Roman Road!"
Vidnius, who had once participated in a triumph with Sula, wasn't bothered by this regret and promptly said, "Legion Commander, I'll carry out the orders!"
............
Even after the enemy withdrew, Spartacus remained vigilant. He and Hamilcar, with twenty-some gladiators, stayed behind to defend a narrow pass on the mountain road.
After a short while, he saw Roman soldiers lined at the mountain base. When those auxiliary soldiers once again threw away their shields and armor to pick up shovels and digging tools, his heart skipped a beat.
"Not good, the Romans intend to trap us on the mountain to death!" Hamilcar voiced his concern.
The nearby gladiators' expressions changed, all looking towards Spartacus.
Spartacus, with a grim face, withdrew his gaze from the mountain base, telling everyone, "Let's go, return to the mountaintop. No need to guard here."
"What if the Romans attempt to storm the mountain?" a gladiator worriedly asked.
"Right now, I wish they would attempt to storm it," Spartacus replied before heading up the mountain.
Hamilcar understood his meaning, but others were bewildered yet followed along.
The mountain road twisted upwards, and as Spartacus walked, he suddenly stopped, seeing a row of carts without their pack animals parked against the cliff.
Spartacus approached to inspect them one by one, finding sacks of flour, smoked meat, sealed wine jars, and plenty of dry bread inside the wagons...
Feeling slightly relieved, Spartacus echoed back to Hamilcar, "This Maximus was well-prepared, but why abandon all of it here? If the Romans storm the mountain, these goods would fall into their hands!"