Nasica re-joined his commander and Aemilius marched on Pydna, where he lined up the men in battle formation. However, at noon he ordered them to mark the line of a camp and deposit the baggage because it was hot, the men were tired from the march and they were greatly outnumbered by the enemy. Realising that there was not to be a battle, the soldiers were relieved. Some of the officers were unhappy, but they kept quiet. Nasica advised Aemilius to fight. He replied that he had learnt when it was “proper to fight, and when to abstain from fighting.” He had lined up the men to keep the construction of the camp rampart behind them hidden from the enemy. He then withdrew them behind the rampart in stages starting from the rear. Aemilius placed the camp on uneven ground, which made the Macedonian phalanx quite useless. A veteran officer announced that there was going to be an eclipse that night, and reassured the soldiers who were ignorant about this phenomenon and would have seen it as a portent.