Ad Astra - Scipio and Hannibal - Vol. 10 Ch. 59 - Marcellus, the Sword of Rome

[MangaDex]

 

[laiseran]

Two chapters? You treat us too well Hox. I forgot how amazing this manga was

 

[GryphusOne]

I haven't read since around ch. 20, but I know Marcellus. He is the most underrated Roman general during the 2nd Punic War. As far as I know, he beat Hannibal to a standstill a couple times, and even captured a village from him.

 

[Rosen_Ritter]

That was badass as fuck but felt a little underwhelming towards the end. I wished Marcellus would've been able to get up and land a scratch on Hannibal or something to realize that courage and sacrifice can amount to some effect instead of the futility of it.

 

[laiseran]

@Rosen_Ritter I feel like that would undermine Hannibal's speech though. If Marcellus hurt Hannibal, that would mean it would be pretty likely he could have killed him with a bit of luck.

But Hannibal's whole point at the end was that *because* Marcellus was such a strong and noble warrior, he could never be the greatest general. He wasn't ready to get his hands dirty and act shamefully in order to win. Hannibal even implies he could have potentially escaped the trap if he wasn't so full of pride.

The one thing Marcellus' courage did accomplish was the saving of the rest of his men who were with him. He'd already made the blunder of falling into the trap in the first place, but his wisdom and bravery allowed him to minimise the damage. That's worth something at least.

 

[Doomroar]

Marcellus was a total monster, a badass, the fact that even with his flaws he managed to give Hannibal trouble is quite the achievement.
Nevertheless he got out smarted, failing to notice how such an advantageous spot would have been considered beforehand by the guy that had become famous for using terrain advantage costed him.

But really what this does is make Hannibal look even better, he was able to predict that Scipio's victory would give Marcellus the push in confidence needed to venture out and make a careless move, and he capitalized on it.

 

[cptcourage]

He was a consul of Rome.

 

[axelTHEGREAT]

Holy fuck, what a quote!

 

[TheMagnificentSteinerr]

I can't say anything at the end of each of these chapters other than PEAK