Chapter 1149
"Understood!" Mukruger replied.
Ionicus was puzzled when he heard this. Why would the warships attack the army on land?
After a while, he saw more than a dozen three-oared warships side by side, heading straight for the coast where the Sparta army was. When they were less than a mile away from the Sparta army, the warships stopped. Because they had reached the bottom of the sea, the crew on the deck immediately threw an anchor into the sea to fix the ships. Then, a piece of equipment was lifted from the cabin to the deck — a ballista.
Some of the gunners were responsible for fixing the frame of the ballista, some were responsible for measuring the target parameters, some were responsible for installing the spring set, and some were responsible for carrying the stone projectiles. Not only this ballista team, but they also had a tacit understanding of each other.
At the end of the war in the western Mediterranean, when the Dionysian Army besieged the city of Carthage, the naval warships entered the lagoon and placed ballistas on the deck to assist the army in the siege. Since then, the use of ballistas on the warships had become a military training program for the navy.
Dorios saw the Dionian warships heading straight for the beach and thought that they were about to disembark soon. He immediately commanded his troops to form a loose horizontal formation in the direction of the warships. At the forefront were the Helots with javelins in their hands. They were prepared to attack the Dionian soldiers with javelins when they waded into the water to disembark.
However, when these warships approached the beach, they stopped moving and did not move for a while. Dorios was puzzled when he suddenly saw small black dots flying out of the warships.
By the time he saw that these small black dots were large round stones, they had already smashed down from mid-air. Some fell into the sea in front, setting off water columns that soared into the sky, and some fell on the beach behind, causing sand and soil to splatter in all directions. Although no one was killed or injured, the momentum of these people caused a commotion in the team, especially the Black Rogues.
Ballista! A word popped up in Dorios's mind. Even though this weapon had never been used in a war in Greece, the Spartans, who had been paying attention to the western Mediterranean, weren't completely clueless about it. Agesilaus had once made a suggestion to the Elder Council, hoping to create such a powerful siege weapon. The Elder Council had also agreed to his suggestion, but a city-state that had no other professions other than warriors and was passionate about military training but abandoned science, art, and entertainment did not have the technology to create such a weapon.
The Sparta people also wanted to secretly ask the people of Syracuse for guidance, but unfortunately, after the war in Southern Italy, Diónia captured the entire team of engineers of Syracuse and completely took them for themselves, causing Syracuse to lose this technology. In the end, the matter was left unsettled.
Dorios never thought that he would witness the legendary ballista in such a special occasion. For a moment, he did not know how to deal with it.
At this moment, another round of stone bullets was launched. Only one of the dozens of stone bullets hit the target on the shore. After all, the warship moved along with the waves, and it was difficult for the ballista to aim accurately. However, the effect of this stone bullet was very obvious. It smashed the head of one of the Black Rogues into a bloody mess, causing the surrounding Black Rogues to turn around and flee in terror.
Dorios hurriedly ordered the Sparta warriors to slaughter the first Black Roc that ran away. Only then did the rest of the slaves manage to maintain their formation.
Not long after, the sound of bugles could be heard from the sea. The hundreds of transport ships that were originally docked behind the warship began to move against the receding tide. The Dionysian Army had begun to disembark.
The transport ship that Max was on was heading towards the direction of the enemy on the shore. He had once landed on the coast of Africa and the coast of Mountain Gaul, so he was no stranger to landing on land. However, this was the first time that he was intercepted by the enemy. Therefore, he did not follow the previous two methods of asking the soldiers to help the sailors row the ship so that the ship could reach the shore faster. Instead, he asked the sailors to put on their armor and weapons as soon as possible, and sit quietly on the ship to conserve their energy.
The transport ship was moving forward in the tide at a slow speed. This was actually a good opportunity for the Sparta army on the shore, but unfortunately, the Dionysian Army came too suddenly. Sparta did not have archers, and they did not have time to recruit archers from their allies. Therefore, they could not fire arrows at the transport ship.
The transport ship finally ran aground near the beach, less than a hundred meters away from the Sparta army on the shore. Just as Max urged the soldiers to quickly disembark, the Sparta warriors on the shore also ordered the Black Roc with javelins to attack the enemy that had not yet landed on the shore.
The Black Roc soldiers waded forward in fear, paying more attention to the stone bullets whizzing past in the sky.
Max led the soldiers into the waist-deep sea one after another. He did not rush to the shore. Instead, he ordered the soldiers to gather together while observing the positions of the other battleships on the left and right sides.
"Advance!" Under his command, the 50 soldiers waded through the water in a loose but unbroken formation. Then he saw the Black Roc javelins running from the shore. "Raise your shields!"
As soon as he shouted, the soldiers had already raised their long shields diagonally and blocked in front of them.
The Black Roc soldiers, who lacked military training, hurriedly threw their javelins at the approaching Diónia soldiers without any accuracy or strength. They did not pose any danger to the Diónia soldiers at all.
On the contrary, after wading forward for a distance, the soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia also threw their javelins with all their might. Immediately, many Black Roc soldiers were hit and fell into the water. The other Black Roc soldiers were so frightened that they hurriedly retreated.
After the immediate threat in front of them was eliminated, the soldiers led by Max slowed down their advance. They moved closer to the surrounding units and gradually formed a line.
Dorios, who was on the shore, originally thought that after the ships of Diónia soldiers jumped into the sea, they would speed up and rush to the shore. Their strength would definitely be dispersed, which would be advantageous for him to concentrate his troops and defeat them one by one. However, he did not expect the Diónia soldiers to be so steady and experienced. They gradually formed a formation while wading forward slowly, and the formation was constantly getting thicker and longer …
Dorios turned his head to look at both sides. There were already countless Diónia soldiers on the beach in the distance and began to surround them …
Dorios felt nervous, but he only hesitated for a moment before making a firm decision. "Quick, retreat! Retreat! "
Although some of the Sparta soldiers were unwilling, they were known for their discipline. As soon as the order was given, all the soldiers quickly began to retreat, and the Black Roc soldiers scattered.
Max and the soldiers were originally looking forward to a fierce battle with the Sparta army on the beach. They did not expect the enemy in front of them to run away before the battle even started! Were these really the Sparta soldiers who dominated Greece?!
To prevent any tricks, although the soldiers moved forward faster, they still maintained a complete formation. However, under the command of the team officer, they began to shout in unison, "Mersinians, you are free!!! … "
… …
Leotychides set foot on the land of Mersinia indifferently, but his mood was a little complicated. He was no stranger to this land. When he was young, he had received military training here. He had also killed Black Roc soldiers like they were wild beasts during his coming-of-age ceremony. He had also been stationed in Pylos for a period of time …
He originally thought that he had forgotten these memories, but the moment he set foot on the beach, these memories kept popping up.
Leotychides and dozens of guards walked forward slowly, step by step, on the soft sand. Tisias and Ionikus, who were originally beside him, had long disappeared. They were anxious to appease and persuade the Black Roc soldiers to surrender.
An officer with a purple tassel on top of his helmet ran towards Leotychides and gave him a military salute.
"Adoris, how was the battle?" Even in the face of the adopted son of the King of Devers, Leotychides's expression was still as indifferent as he was to other officers.
Adoris replied with some frustration, "They say that the Sparta people are the bravest warriors in Greece. I think that's a lie! They are as timid as rabbits. They ran away before the battle even started, and they ran very fast. Before we could surround them, they had already fled into the mountains in the east … If only the cavalry could attack! "
"Ledes told me that their horses have been on the ship for a few days and are not in good condition. They need to rest for a few days before they can go into battle. Otherwise, there will be problems," Leotychides said calmly. "It seems that you have gained nothing this time?"
"When we chased them to the Sparta camp, there was a Sparta officer and a few warriors guarding the door —" At this point, Atalis's face became more solemn. "They asked to fight with our soldiers alone. They even injured a few of us. In the end, we killed the few Sparta warriors and captured the officer."
Leotychides did not care much about such trivial matters. Instead, he asked, "How is the condition of the Sparta camp?"
Adoris immediately understood what he meant and replied, "It's very intact. There is no damage. However, the area is not too big. It can barely accommodate a legion."
Leotychides looked at the sky and looked around. There were naked Black Roos obediently following behind the Diónia soldiers …
He lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Then he replied, "Mukelu, immediately inform Sekerian that the battle has ended. Let him lead all the warships to dock at the beach and build a camp. I will send soldiers of the Fourth and Legio VI to assist them."
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