Imperator: Resurrection of an Empire

The war council chamber buzzed with activity, after the king Julius had agreed to Serena's request.

Maps sprawled across the central war table, detailing every river, mountain, and stronghold of the Ramie Kingdom, created from information sent back by the tree operatives and previous maps from the Carthaginian kingdoms own wars in the region.

Pins marked Romanus' legions' positions, with fresh lines drawn to illustrate invasion routes.

Julius stood at the head of the table, his gaze cold and calculating.

The choice had been made.

Romanus would march.

"Serena's fleet will spearhead the coastal invasion,"

Julius began, his voice steady, echoing through the hall.

"We'll transport the fresh recruits and the newly integrated Parthian legions by sea. Let them taste blood and steel. Those who prove worthy will remain as Romans. The weak will be left on the sands, where they belong."

Elheat, standing to Julius' left, grinned.

"The perfect way to thin the herd. Those Parthians may have bent the knee, but blood is the only oath I trust and will give them the most appropriate ."

"Exactly,"

Julius replied.

"The Ramie coastlines are vulnerable. Their navy is crippled, and their armies are spread too thin trying to control Carthage. This will be their first lesson in Romanus shock combat, and help them settle old grudges of their own against the Ramie peoples."

Miri stepped forward, pointing to the map's northern border.

"And the rest?"

"They will march through Parthian territory, striking from the north,"

Julius said, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

"The regular forces will act as the hammer while the coastal invasion serves as the anvil. Ramie will be crushed between them, as we conquer the Ramie kingdom, and liberate Carthage."

Zeff tapped his fingers on the table.

"And what about Francia?"

Julius' gaze hardened.

"They will wait. Our Shades are still tracking Yuri. Our most veteran force will remain close to the Germania borders ready to act, and when the Greecian forces return they'll join, But once Ramie falls, we'll have new veterans that can be rested and ready to join in allowing us to send out a massive force of arms. Francia will not expect an army seasoned in war and fresh from victory to come knocking, certainly not from such a new kingdom as we are."

Zeff chuckled.

"Heh. Francia won't know what hit them."

Serena stepped forward, her crimson gown trailing behind her like spilled wine.

Her emerald eyes gleamed with determination—and something else—something personal.

"My fleet is ready,"

she said.

"Carthaginian sailors have been preparing for this day since we fled. Ramie stole our home. Now, we take it back."

Julius met her gaze.

"We will take everything back."

~

Within the week, the ports of Nova Carthago, and the other port cities roared to life with new activity.

Serena's fleet—once exiled, now reborn under Romanus banners—was loaded with soldiers.

While Romanus's own developing fleet was equally laden right alongside them.

The docks swarmed with men and women from all corners of the kingdom.

Veterans moved with discipline, making sure the army moved as they should, their armor gleaming, while fresh recruits from Parthia stood wide-eyed, realizing they were about to face their first true battle but had yet to know who their opponent was going to be.

Julius watched from a high balcony.

The Grand Fleet stretched across the horizon—dozens of warships armed to the teeth.

Siege engines were mounted on decks, ballistae and catapults were prepared for naval bombardment to aid with the landings.

Romanus' banners flapped in the ocean breeze aboard the ships, while the sails themselves still held the mark of The Carthaginian Kingdom.

Serena approached him, dressed in lightweight armour trimmed with Carthaginian gold.

"The ships are ready, Emperor."

Julius glanced at her, noting the subtle emphasis.

"Soon,"

he said, turning his gaze back to the sea.

"Let's see if Ramie is prepared for what comes next."

~

At dawn, the Grand Fleet and the Romanus Navy descended upon the Ramie coastline.

The sea burned red with the reflection of the rising sun.

The first wave of ships launched siege bolts and firepots into what had been rebuilt of the coastal defences.

Flaming arrows arched through the sky, crashing into hastily built barricades.

Ramie's defenders scrambled, unprepared for such a coordinated naval assault.

Then came the landing craft.

Romanus soldiers poured onto the beaches.

The roar of battle echoed across the shore.

Parthian recruits, eager to prove themselves, charged recklessly into enemy lines fighting like barbarians rather than using their training to fight as a single unit.

Many fell, but those who survived began to understand the rhythm of war—kill or die, and the efficiency that the properly trained Romanus legionnaires fought with.

Elheat barked orders from the front lines, having been one of the first to disembark from the ships onto the landing ground.

"Shields up! Advance together, you dogs! Fight like Romans!"

Romanus shock infantry moved in disciplined formations.

Waves of Ramie soldiers shattered against their iron wall.

Spears thrust forward in unison; shields locked tight.

Each step forward was relentless.

Serena even fought among them, her blade flashing as she cut down those who once ruled her homeland, even with her minimal stats protected as she was by the Romanus infantry she was allowed to gain her vengeance against those that had reduced her kingdom and people to slavery and death..

"Push them back! For Carthage! For Romanus!"

~

By midday, the beaches belonged to Romanus, across multiple landing grounds.

The coastal strongpoints burned, and the newly disembarked forces began to form cohorts to begin their operations behind enemy lines while the legions would be marching in from the north against the strength of Ramie.

The first blow had been struck.

~

While the coastal invasion forced Ramie's eyes southward, Julius' regulars marched through the Parthian highlands toward the northern border.

The regulars—hardened by months of wargames in the Romanus—moved like a single organism.

Quiet.

Efficient.

Deadly.

Commander Berta led the vanguard.

"The border fortresses won't hold us back. We strike swiftly, break their lines, and drive them south into the arms of the Grand Fleet,"

he ordered.

Once the days battles ended.

Night raids began.

Romanus infiltrators—trained by the Umbra Corps—slipped into Ramie camps under the cover of darkness.

Supplies burned.

Commanders woke with blades at their throats only to be silenced moments later.

By morning, fear had already taken root in the hearts of Ramie's southern armies, and dozens of reports were being rushed back to the Ramie capital to inform their king of the collapsing situations in the south, along with some other reports that uprisings by the Carthaginian locals had started happening again since the garrison forces had been reduced down trying to draw up forces to combat the invaders.

By the time Berta's forces reached the gates of the first stronghold, the defenders barely resisted at all before they surrendered to the might of Romanus.

The fortress fell by dusk.

The recruits continued to march on, leaving nothing but ash in their wake, as more and more lands under the control of Ramie fell into Romanus's hands, the Carthaginian towns they came across welcomed them as conquering heroes and upon the few that Serena passed through they abandoned their homes and followed the legion forming a new Carthaginian Liberation army following their Queen, and the allied Romanus forces.

~

Two weeks passed.

And the war in the south was going really well, the landings had only brought in roughly 7-8 thousand legionaires in total all of whom were split into their units and swarming the country side, while tens of thousands of Carthaginians joined up as a militia force working with the Romanus legions, and equipping themselves with the arms and armour of the slain and captured Ramie forces, while Romes forces marched against the villages and small towns, the growing Carthaginian rebellion, was becoming capable of targeting the cities to remove their overseers and reclaim their freedom.

The two-pronged invasion was working exactly as planned.

From the north, Romanus regulars drove entire battalions of Ramie soldiers southward, their discipline and sheer ferocity unmatched.

Forcing the reinforcements to be sent north ignoring the annoying smaller forces nipping at their backside in the south.

From the south, Serena's fleet continued to launch city after city into flames.

Ports fell one by one, the Carthaginian populace rising up from within to assist the invaders they now viewed as liberators.

The Ramie King grew more desperate by the day.

Romanus had split his kingdom in half.

Worse still, reports reached his ears of rebellion—peasants and former surviving Carthaginian nobility declaring loyalty to Romanus, claiming Serena as their rightful queen under Romanus' banner.

The walls of his capital trembled with uncertainty as the king did all he could to keep the people from learning that their grand conquest was coming back to bite them in the ass.

~

As the war raged, a letter arrived for Julius—delivered by a Shade personally.

It bore only one line.

"She crossed into Francia."

Julius' hand tightened around the parchment until his knuckles went white.

Yuri was now beyond Romanus borders, and those they had free access to.

Francia had taken her.

Or worse—was protecting her captors.

Zeff, standing beside him, read the letter and grinned darkly.

"So… the prince really did take her. The fool's just painted a target on his entire kingdom."

Julius said nothing for a long moment.

The war with Ramie was well under way, a few more weeks.

One final push, and the southern seas would belong entirely to Romanus.

Carthage would be fully integrated.

Serena would have her throne back—beneath his own.

And after that?

Julius' gaze shifted northward, beyond the map of Ramie.

Toward Francia.

"Prepare the veterans,"

Julius said at last, voice cold and absolute.

"When Ramie falls, we march for Francia."