Chapter 1185
Agesilaus let out a long sigh. His face was pale as he said in a daze, "Quick! Blow the bugle call for retreat! "
The guard was stunned. "Where did we get the bugle call for retreat?!"
Agesilaus snapped out of his daze and smiled bitterly. For this battle, he had made meticulous preparations and even learned some beneficial practices from the Dionysian Army.
For example, the commander would not be at the frontlines but would be stationed at the rear in order to fully understand and control the situation. Of course, if anyone else were to be the commander of the Sparta army, they would definitely be looked down upon as cowards by the Sparta warriors. However, Agesilaus was old and weak, so it was only natural for him to be stationed at the rear.
Another example would be to control the situation of the battle and respond to unexpected situations. Like Diónia, they had to have a reserve force. However, neither the Sparta warriors nor the Greek mercenaries could accept not participating in the battle and just watching from the sidelines. That was why Agesilaus had his eyes on the Thracian light shieldbearers. In fact, the Tegea army was also his reserve force …
However, the Greek army, including the Sparta army, had always been the commander who personally participated in the battle. Once the army was in formation and the soldiers began to advance, the commander who was also in formation would lose control of the entire army. It was like an arrow that was shot out, it could only last until the end of the battle. How could there be a special bugle call for retreat? This was a decades of war tradition. Agesilaus could not possibly add a bugle call at the last minute, and the soldiers could not adapt to it.
Agesilaus had thought of transferring some of the Thracians back to the left flank to provide support, but when he recalled the Thracians' resentment, he felt that they would likely refuse to obey such an order.
At this point, Agesilaus realized that he could not do anything about the development of the entire battle. He stood there blankly for a moment before he suddenly bent down and grabbed the crutch beside the wooden chair. He said in a low voice, "Let's go! We'll go to the right flank! "
Agesilaus finally made up his mind to abandon the mercenaries in the middle and left flank. He rushed to stay with his own warriors and did his best to guide the defeated mercenaries back to Sparta safely.
… …
Agesilaus' judgment was not wrong. Ever since Olivers found out that the enemies in front of him were not real Sparta warriors, he felt that he had been fooled. He ordered the buglers to continue blowing the bugle call and personally walked to the rear of the formation, encouraging the soldiers to strengthen their attacks. He wanted these fake Sparta warriors to know the power of Legio IV.
Under the encouragement of the legion commander, the Legio IV soldiers attacked more fiercely. The frontline soldiers even threw away their spears and held their short swords to fight with the enemy.
The left flank of the Sparta army was made up of heavy infantry from Ionia and Asia Minor. It was impossible for them to integrate into one with the uniform of the Sparta warriors. They lacked tacit understanding in battle, and it was their first time fighting against the soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia. The Legion of Dionysia's skillful sword and shield attacks made it difficult for the mercenaries to deal with them. Casualties continued to increase, and the entire front line began to crumble, barely holding on by relying on the ultra-thick columns.
The fierce attack on the flank led by Tegetus was the last straw that broke the camel's back. The traditional Greek heavy infantry had strong defense in frontal battles, but they were most afraid of attacks from the rear. Because the heavy infantry in the formation wore Corinth helmets, their vision was narrow, their hearing was weakened, and their nerves were sensitive. Even the slightest movement would cause their imagination to run wild. When panic quickly spread throughout the entire left flank of the Sparta army, the initial scattered escape did not take long before the entire left flank collapsed.
"Legion commander, we have won! We have defeated the enemy first! "the staff officer said excitedly.
"There's nothing to be proud of. We have just defeated an army of fake Sparta warriors," Olivers said modestly, but there was a smile on his face.
The collapse of the left flank of the Sparta army eventually turned into a rout of the entire army.
Although the Thebes won the battle of Leuctra, they did not gain much as they quickly retreated back to camp. However, the Dionysian Army had always had a tradition of expanding their victory after a victory. Under the suggestion of Printos, Cloto Catax also sent messengers to inform the legion commanders to continue the pursuit and eliminate as many Sparta soldiers as possible.
The Macedonian cavalry that was repelled by the First Cavalry Legion had been very tenacious. As soon as the Diónia cavalry stopped the pursuit, they would immediately stop running and pretend to return to the battlefield. This forced the First Cavalry Legion to continue the pursuit and could not leave to support the troops that were fighting on the battlefield.
Now, the entire battlefield was filled with Sparta's defeated soldiers. The Macedonian cavalry finally stopped pestering them and retreated far away. The First Cavalry Legion also joined in the pursuit with peace of mind.
The pursuit continued until the defeated soldiers finally escaped into the mountains in the east. This battle between the Dionysian Army and the Sparta army had finally come to an end.
At this time, it was already dusk. The sun had exhausted its strength and was slowly sinking into the mountains in the west. Its gloomy, warm afterglow shone on the Tegea Plains. The beautiful countryside that used to be filled with red flowers and green wheat was now littered with corpses and blood. The screams of the wounded soldiers on the ground and the cawing of the crows in the sky intertwined, adding a sense of gloom and desolation to the scene.
Cloto Catax was in a good mood. The Dionysian Army that he led had won the battle. Although most of the orders came from Printos' suggestions, he smiled and listened attentively to the report of the results of the battle by his advisor, Mukelu. "The Sparta army left 2150 corpses on the battlefield, 482 of which were Sparta soldiers —"
"How can you tell that they are Sparta soldiers?" Cloto Catax asked curiously.
"Your Highness, it is a tradition for Sparta soldiers to wear red robes and have long braids. Although they changed their attire during the battle, their braids were not removed," Printos explained.
Cloto Catax nodded in understanding.
"We also captured 5,417 captives, 2,900 of which have varying degrees of injuries." Mukelu looked at the statistics board and continued, "Among them, 921 are Sparta soldiers, and more than 300 are Black Rogues …"
"In other words, Sparta lost nearly 1,500 soldiers. This is not a small number. It will be much easier for us to attack Sparta's territory from now on." Although Printos said so, he did not relax his brows. Instead, he said with a serious expression, "Tell me about our losses."
"Ugh …" Mukelu looked at the board and said softly, "… Ugh, we lost a total of 1,560 soldiers, and nearly 1,500 are injured. The medics are now performing emergency treatment —"
"So many casualties?!" Cloto Catax exclaimed.
"Most of the casualties came from the 1st Legion. When they were chasing after the 'retreating soldiers', they were attacked by Sparta soldiers and Tygera soldiers from both the front and the back —" Mukelu was explaining when he was interrupted by Cloto Catax. "My brother … First Legion's 3rd Battalion Captain Adoris … How is he? Is he okay?! "
Klotokatax had been worried about Adoris's safety ever since he knew that the First Legion was facing real Spartan warriors and that they were being attacked from both the front and the back. However, he still remembered his father's warning: "You cannot be biased on the battlefield." Therefore, he could only suppress this worry in his heart for the time being. Now that he knew that the 1st Legion had suffered heavy casualties, he could not help but ask.
"Your Highness …" Mukelu did not dare to look away from Cloto Catax's concerned gaze. Instead, he turned to look at Printos and said with great difficulty, "… First Battalion Captain Adoris died bravely in battle …"
As soon as he finished speaking, Cloto Catax suddenly felt dizzy and his whole body fell off the horse.
"Your Highness!" Printos, who was prepared for this, hurriedly supported him.
"Where's my brother?! I want to see him! "Cloto Catax pushed Printos away and said anxiously, his voice sounding like he was about to cry.
… …
Cloto Catax staggered past the rows of neatly placed bodies of Diónia soldiers. It felt like time was passing by very slowly. He asked anxiously more than once, "Why aren't they here yet?! Why aren't they here yet?! … "
Finally, the officer leading the way stopped and said in a heavy tone, "This is the body of First Battalion Captain Adoris …"
Cloto Catax's heart skipped a beat. He fixed his eyes on the corpse lying not far away. What was different was that it was covered with a piece of white cloth, and Adoris's face could not be seen. Beside the corpse stood Ctessus and several other officers of the First Legion.
Cloto Catax ignored the salutes of Ctessus and the others. He walked over with heavy steps and slowly squatted down. His fingers trembled as he was about to lift the white cloth.
"Your Highness, Adoris was seriously injured and his face is badly damaged … It's better if you don't look at him …" Ctessus, who was beside him, advised in a low voice.
Cloto Catax's heart trembled, but he became even more determined to lift the white cloth. He saw that Adoris's breastplate was broken, and there were many bloody stab wounds on his body. In the middle of his face, there was a bloody hole the size of an egg, which made his face unrecognizable and extremely horrifying …
"Ah!" Cloto Catax could not help but scream when he saw this. He immediately closed his eyes in pain, but he quickly opened them again and touched the face of the dead man without hesitation.
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