The battle should have continued.


    Lucius knew how battles worked. The enemy either pushed forward, or they were cut down. There was no in-between.


    Yet as suddenly as the attack had begun, the assault stopped.


    One moment, the Parthians fought with inhuman relentlessness. The next, they simply… stopped moving.


    Lucius froze, his gladius still dripping with blood.


    Across the battlefield, every soldier stood still.


    The legionaries, breathing hard, shields raised.


    The Parthians, standing there—motionless.


    And then—as if obeying some unheard command—


    They stepped back.


    One. Single. Step.


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    ?


    Septimus did not lower his sword.


    Neither did the rest of the legion.


    No one dared.


    Because something was deeply wrong.


    The Parthians didn’t turn and flee. They simply retreated.


    Slow. Unrushed. Their glowing eyes fading as they stepped into the darkness beyond the firelight.


    Lucius could barely breathe.


    The figures on the ridgeline—they were leaving, too.


    Slipping away like shadows at dawn.


    It was not a retreat.


    It was a conclusion.


    They had seen what they wanted.


    ?


    Silence.


    For a long moment, no one moved.


    Then—a single, ragged breath.


    Then another.


    And another.


    The legionaries exhaled as one. A wave of exhaustion, confusion, and dread crashing over them.


    They had survived.


    But it did not feel like a victory.


    Septimus finally spoke, voice like iron.


    “Optio. Get a headcount.”


    Varro nodded, his face pale, and moved through the ranks.


    Lucius didn’t move. His hands still gripped his gladius too tightly.


    Because something was still wrong.


    He could feel it.


    ?


    In the back of his mind, the system pulsed.


    Not an alert. Not a skill.


    Just a feeling.


    Like it was watching the retreat as closely as he was.


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 98.8688%">[Imperium Arcana System: Unknown Interference Detected.]</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Lucius swallowed hard.


    For the first time, the system sounded uncertain.


    And that terrified him more than the battle itself.