Hello all, here’s a picture of the start of Part 9! I’m CC, your narrator for today. We see here the initial invasion force from Supe attacking the Irish at Gloucester. Both fleets seem quite powerful. Of note is that the Britannic Visigoth forces weren’t invested in their plot as stated, which means Vanne took them from elsewhere….

The screen shifts to the Rugii, where we find Randy’s naval expedition successful in delivering Klo’s units to Lechia. How will they fare?

And here’s the biased event result: not one, not even two or three, but FOUR cities in Burgundy were flipped to a rebel faction. Of further note is the flip of Massilia to the Visigoths in their surprise attack on the Western Romans, in retaliation for the attack on Toulouse a decade or so ago. Noteworthy is the distinct lack of units by Massilia…



The Mauro-Romans have risen to the fight by flipping Palma and sending a powerful fleet to protect the city while menacing the Roman forces. Barcino and Narbo Martius do not have many armed forces to protect them from the encroaching Visigoths.



Pictured is the Vandal core, with a significant entourage of freshly built ships to fight the war against Rome. A small smattering of Visigothic units are also pictured. The Romans did manage to land a small force by Tacape, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be enough to take the city, much less hold it.



Here it is in all its glory: the sacking of Rome! The Vandals have succeeded in taking the city, pillaging the region with its mighty fleet. In the Adriatic, Byzantine ships raise the Imperial colours to sail in defense of Italia.



The Ostrogoths have troubles of their own, with many barbarian (heh) warriors standing around their capital. They had failed to imperialize.



The Alans have quite the force of Spearmen, although there are some Suebi (and also a Visigoth?) forces. We see the migrating peoples of the steppes beginning to pour down into the region.



Many Pikes guard Edessa and Melitene, while the Immortal armies of Ctesiphon live forever.



The Ethiopians attempt to take Zafar and Qana for the umpteenth time. Will the Aksum forces succeed?



And the part begins with the fleets battling off the shores of Britannia. Will this land ever see rest and peace?



Lechia rapidly falls to half health as the Franks bring their axes to bear. The Rugii forces seem stripped of their will to fight.

An aerial view of the glorious warfare about to go down in the western Mediterranean.



The sack of Rome, in all its glory.



WRE quickly flips Massilia back even as their fleet scurries away from the Vandal forces moving north toward Rusellae. The Visigothic cavalry charge forward, even as the Burgundian armies, under Trenico march on the imperials.



Supe flips Gloucester with his ballistae making pincushions of every enemy in sight. What are the Irish doing?



Narbo Martius is on the verge of falling, while Palma takes some damage from the Galleasses in the sea.



The Roman invasion is all but repulsed, while a nval battle is waged off the shores of Syracusae as the Byzantine reinforcements begin streaming in from the east.



Lechia is on the verge of falling while another horde of F ranks advances from Aachen and Argentorate toward Rugia itself. Will both cities fall in this part?



And yep! Lechia falls to the Franks, with scarce a Rugii force to be seen. They’re all cowering around Lauricum.



Narbo Martius falls to the Visigoths even as the Romans advance to retake Rome. How long until they reclaim the sacked city? There are still many Roman ships in the sea.

The Irish make some attempt to advance south, but without being properly united into a single civ, they cannot hope to accomplish anything of note in this part.

CC’s attempts at raising a second rebellion at Augusta Rauricorum had failed, with only a few pathetic troops being rallied to the cause. It is enough to put the locals on the defensive however, with much of the countryside ravaged by war.



The Roman fleet succeeds in bringing Narbo Martius back under Ravenna’s control, but some Praetorians arrive from Toulouse and Vasconia to bring the city to heel. Where is the Visigothic fleet?



Just over 2 years have passed since that historic moment, the sack of Rome, and still the city is under the grip of the Vandals. Roman Milites are slowly battering the city defenses down in an attempt to restore order to the Italian Peninsula.



Narbo Martius is secured by the Visigoths even as an invasion force marches on Barcino, which now drops to the red. Rome itself hangs by a thread, certain to fall next turn. The Byzantines have finally heeded the call of Ravenna, and steam to engage the Visigoths and Vandals.



As expected, the two city states do nothing in their war against each other.



Halfway through the part, we find what will likely be the end result of this war.



The Alans have succeeded in driving the roaming rampagers away with the help of their sturdy pikes.



And Rome is restored! A big congrats to Andy and Lego for holding the west together for so long. Yet the west is in shambles, and Burgundy is in open rebellion. What comes next?

The Visigoths march east to reclaim the city they had so long plotted to conquer. It is well-guarded by a strong Imperial fleet though.

Zafar falls to the red, although both sides are rapidly losing troops in this pathetic war.



Massilia falls to yellow, but there are only cavalry nearby. The Roman fleet has retreated. With only a few months to go, will the Visigoths succeed in taking the city?



Some Pikes and Praetorians advance on Massilia even as the fleet shores up against it. Time is moving quickly. Of note is the lack of screenshots in the north, which suggests that neither the Franks nor the Soissons have made further progress on their respective invasions of the Rugii or the Irish.



And they take the city! There is a Roman Melites right nearby, and a Galleass to back them up, however. With no walls and a weak defense, it is possible for Rome to take it before the end of the part. What’s to happen?



And the final slide reveals the Roman fleet stepping in to take Massilia, bringing us to the end of the part. What a wild ride this has been! Tune in a week from now for the next part in Dragonball Fall of Rome!