The weather had turned against them.
Winter had truly set in, blanketing the land in knee-deep snow, while fog clung to the valley floor like a shroud, pooling low between the pine-draped hills that bordered the Iron Corridor.
The mist dulled the light and muffled the world, painting everything in shades of grey and silence.
But inside the fog, the war was far from still.
It had evolved.
And it was Julius who shaped it using tactics he'd first introduced during his Greecian Campaign.
~
Romanus Forward Command – Two Days Later
Sabellus's boot crunched frost as he entered the operations tent.
A map stretched across the central table had been updated again — fresh pins marked new skirmishes, enemy routes, and Imperial traps.
Julius stood over it, his back straight, his breath fogging the chill air despite the brazier crackling nearby.
"They've taken the bait,"
Sabellus said, peeling off his gloves.
"All three fronts?"
Julius didn't look up.
"Yes,"
Sabellus replied.
