Carthage’s army marches toward Rome at a forced pace, destroying along the way the remnants of the legions broken at Cannae. Fyodor Chaika, who rose to become commander of the hiliarcheia, leads in the vanguard. He is the first to clash with the scattered forces that Senator Marcellus gathered under his command, trying to block the Phoenicians’ path to the heart of the country. But Carthaginian soldiers sweep away every obstacle. Roman cities surrender one after another. One more blow—and Rome itself will cease to exist. And now the walls of the eternal city tremble under the impacts of throwing weapons. Villas of the senators burn with fire, and the suburbs are set alight by enraged Celts. But Rome, over which Hannibal has already raised his punishing sword, resists fiercely, like a wounded beast. The Senate has no intention of giving up the city, pulling in the last forces it has. Besides, many enemies and envy-seekers left by the successful Carthaginian commander still remain in his country. There will always be someone ready to strike from behind. Meanwhile, in the north, a Scythian nomadic empire is being reborn. And the horses of the tens of thousands-strong army of the new king already trample lands of distant Greek colonies, subduing them one after another, clearing the way to the metropolis.