[b]Sardinia[/b]

"Bastards!"

Cursor stood on a wooden platform mounted above his men. He wore his full battle uniform complete with helmet. His legion stretched out across the beach watching him with rapt attention. The ocean held the fleet that had ferried him and his men across the sea to the island. Cursor paced and grinned as he spoke to the legion, his hands behind his back.

"Welcome to Sardinia, men. Welcome to our island. I say our island because for the time being it is not Rome's, and it is damn sure not Carthage's. It is ours. And we have invaders in our home. The curs from the last war have returned to claim what they think is theirs. They are gravely mistaken. For their error the Senate has seen fit that the Carthagean scum be punished in a most heinous way. This is why they do not send diplomats to barter, they do not send warriors to fight, but they send bastards to conquer."

A cheer went out from the men. Cursor smiled widely and nodded at them.

"Our mission is simple: Drive Carthage from this island and do not stop until the last mongrel has been pushed back into the sea and drowned. We begin our march in an hour. I do not intend to stop or slow down until our goal is accomplished. The Senate has given us the grand task of taking the fight to those treaty breakers, and I fully intend to give them a fight they shall never forget. You know what you have to do, and you know what I expect from each of you. Now you bastards get out there and get to it!"

[b]Karalis
Two Weeks Later[/b]

Cursor sat on his horse with his staff, watching the action below from a hilltop. The Consul's intelligence had been right for the most part. The forces of Carthage seemed to outnumber him by at least a thousand men. The quality of those troops appeared to be suspect, mercenaries in shoddy equipment. They had many archers that would have made a full-on assault of the city costly. Cursor and his men had negated that advantage nicely. While he knew all there was to know about the enemy, they knew little of him. The march to Karalis is when the plan had formed. The only thing that would convince the cowards to come out of their hole would be superior numbers. Cursor took half his men and marched directly to Karalis while the other half, led by his trusted lieutenant Felix, would take an indirect route to delay their arrival.

From there Cursor played the part of the arrogant Roman general. He parked his small force outside the walls of Karalis, just outside of archer range, and demanded their surrender. He stamped his feet and continued to mock and belittle the Carthagean general into meeting him in the open field. A day later a rider arrived with Felix's message that he was in position. After four days the gates to Karalis opened and the enemy rode out to meet him. Cursor readied his men and they took up their places on the battlefield. 

"Our time is now, Bastards!" He announced to the men. "The place is here. Fight for glory, fight for the brother at your side. You do not retreat or give up ground. You fight until the last man and you keep moving forward or else. Any coward I see running I will personally kill. If you think the enemy is bad, then you have yet to see my full fury. For Rome!"

That was two hours ago. Now he watched as his section of troops fought hard. The overwhelming numbers of the enemy was beginning to take its toll. He could sense they were close to potentially breaking. Cursor ordered the signal to go out. A loud horn blasted from nearby. Minutes later, another horn blasted in reply. A few minutes later, the second half of his legion came spilling over Karalis' seven hills towards the enemies' flank. The surprise and swiftness of his men swung the momentum in Cursor's favor.The Iberians tried to hold the tide, but an assault on two sides shattered their defenses. The Carthagean in command signaled retreat and just like that the rout was on.

"Send the word," Cursor said to his lieutenants. "All units regroup. A token force is to stay in Karalis and occupy it. The rest of us are moving forward. The enemy is running, let us not waste this chance to run them down."

-----------------

Consul Longus,

Karalis has been captured with around two hundred losses to the Bastards. We hold the city but continue on. My message is brief because I am currently pursuing the Punic whelps across Sardinia. I mean to cut off their route to the sea and smash them against the island rocks. Further information shall arrive as soon as I have more to give.

-- Legate Quintus Cursor