So after giving orders to the army to break up he started out that night, and the consuls from the noise suspected what was going on, yet they did not move immediately because of the darkness. At dawn, however, they sent the cavalry ahead to pursue the enemy and they themselves followed. Hasdrubal made a stand against the cavalry, deeming them an isolated troop, but the consuls came up and routed him and followed after the fugitives, of whom they slaughtered many. Even the elephants were of no help to the Carthaginians. Inasmuch as some of them that had been wounded did more harm to those in charge of them than had been done by the enemy, Hasdrubal gave orders to those seated upon them to slay the beasts as fast as they got wounded. And they killed them very easily by piercing them with an iron instrument under the ear. So they were destroyed by the Carthaginians, but the men by the Romans. So many fell that the Romans became surfeited with slaughter and did not wish to pursue the rest. They had destroyed Hasdrubal along with many others, they had secured huge quantities of spoil, they had found Roman captives to the number of four thousand in the camp, and thought they had sufficiently retrieved the disaster of Cannae. At the conclusion of these operations Livius stayed where he was, but Nero returned to Apulia, reaching it on the sixth day; his absence up to that time had not been detected. Some of the prisoners he sent into Hannibal's camp to explain what had happened, and he fixed Hasdrubal's head on a pole nearby. Hannibal, learning that his brother was vanquished and dead, and that Nero had conquered and returned, lamented bitterly, often crying out upon Fortune and Cannae. And he retired into Bruttium where he remained inactive. [Sidenote: B.C. 206 (_a.u._ 548)] IX, 10.--Scipio was detailed to superintend Roman interests in Spain till what time he should reach a satisfactory adjustment of them all. First he sailed to Libya with two quinqueremes, and it so happened that Hasdrubal son of Gisco landed there at the same time as he did. Syphax, who was king of a portion of Libya and had enjoyed friendly relations with the Carthaginians, entertained them both and endeavored to reconcile them. But Scipio said that he had no private enmity and he could not on his own responsibility arrange terms for his country.