The Tungrians cheered, a thin, exhausted sound, but one of triumph none the less because the Selgovae were going back. They did not go far, the warriors stepping away a few paces to be out of reach of spear thrusts. Ferox lowered the dead warrior to the ground, and had to put a boot on his neck to drag his sword free. Two of the auxiliaries were dead, four more too badly wounded to stand and most of the rest were hurt, but able to fight on. All were red-faced, breathing heavily, dripping with sweat from armour and helmets that now felt as heavy as lead.

‘Well done, lads.’ Ferox gasped the words and had to make a real effort to raise his voice. ‘We’re showing them. We’ve got them worried now.’

‘Yeah, bet they’re terrified,’ one of the Tungrians said. ‘Pissing in their boots.’ The men laughed and it was a wonderful sound that made Ferox feel close to all these men he had known for just an hour or two. He glanced behind. There were dead and wounded strewn all over the grass down the slope. There were two knots of Romans surrounded by hundreds of Selgovae and he saw that the Romans were trying to push their way forward.

‘Shields up!’ he shouted, for javelins and spears were coming at them. Surely they must run out of things to throw soon. One of the auxiliaries threw his own spear up the slope, and shouted in triumph as a warrior was pitched back. A moment later he was struck on the foot and squealed like a pig until one of his comrades yelled at him to stop.

‘Shit,’ someone said. The warriors were coming forward again, slower this time, but with determination and not bothering to chant.

‘Steady, lads. We’ll show ’em!’ The fight was much like the first, men grunting like tired labourers as they thrust and hacked at each other from just a foot or two away. Ferox took a glancing cut just below the knee and was lucky that it did not do any real damage. His helmet crest took another blow, sheering almost half of it away, and he was struck twice on the shoulders and knew that he was bruised even if the blades had not penetrated. He cut his first opponent across the face and when that man slipped back and another replaced him, he unbalanced the second warrior with a strike of his shield and thrust into his belly.