It is here in the fever of battle, you discover a gruesome missile weapon of the Saguntines. Called a falarica, the six foot missile is half wooden shaft and half iron point, an armor piercing weapon. But what causes the greatest fear is that this weapon, is first set on fire. When it sticks in the shield the flame causes the soldier to throw down his armor, exposing him to succeeding blows.  The contest raged for hours, and with every passing second the courage of the Saguntines increased and the Carthaginian spirit diminished. Finally, your men are driven back to the ruins of the wall, embarrassed and disorderly. Put to flight, to camp.  Back in camp, you are blindsided by an unexpected raid by some of Saguntum’s Spanish trading partners from the south and the west.  As you had not conquered and quelled the region, these tribes have rightly identified the battle of Saguntum as a turning point. Your men are weak from their retreat from the Saguntines and weary from hours of unbroken battle. It is a bloodbath.

Next.