Chapter 1314
The Devers perked up and immediately asked, "That's great! Where are they?! "
Felicius took the wooden board and handed it over.
Y 'zam panted heavily as he took the board and looked at the Persia's formation carefully. He then pointed at the center of the right flank and said excitedly, "They're here! Remy followed the signal I agreed on before I left and had the Persia's civilians wave their bronze shields up and down in a rhythmic pattern in front of the sun. This way, they'll stand out from the rest of the Persia's army. Even from here, I can see them clearly. Back then, when we conquered Asplustum, our Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade used a similar method — "
"Very good! You've done a great job! "The Devers interrupted him and asked," Which army are we facing? "
"The Eleventh Legion's Third and Fourth Legion," Y 'zam immediately replied.
"Your Majesty, we can send the Eighteenth Legion over as backup. When Y 'zam's army retreats, we can make full use of this opportunity to attack Persia's formation!" Felicius also suggested excitedly.
"One legion is not enough!" The Devers shook his head and said firmly, "Send the Nineteenth Legion over as well. This will be the breakthrough point for our infantry!"
… … …
Just as the two legions of Diónia were quietly mobilizing at the back of the formation, Maldonios had already ridden to the King of Persia's carriage and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, all the troops are already in formation. Why haven't you given the order to attack yet?!"
Artaxerxes said hesitantly, "… Should we wait for Diónia to attack first?"
"Diónia has fewer soldiers. They won't attack us first!" Maldonios suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart and turned to look at Tribassus, who was not far away. He vented his anger on him: "Aren't you known as the most resourceful minister in the kingdom? How did you manage to advise the king on military affairs? Since the attack plan had been formulated before the battle, it was time to assist the King in executing it! It's been almost half an hour since the formation has been completed, and the soldiers are still standing there like idiots. Do you know that when I rushed here from the left flank, I saw that many of the subsidiary troops were already a little unstable, and even the formation of the East Wuxian people was starting to become chaotic! "
Terebassus remained silent and did not refute. He had urged the King of Persia several times before, but the King of Persia seemed to have some concerns and had not made a decision. That was why he kept delaying.
Artaxerxes' expression changed. Of course, he could tell that Maldonios was scolding him indirectly, but he could not rebuke him on the spot. On the one hand, they were facing a great enemy, which would affect their morale, and on the other hand, he felt guilty. It was true that he had discussed repeatedly with several of his ministers before the battle and came up with tactics that focused on offense. Still, when he saw the Dionysian army's simple and swift formation, the soldiers in their formation standing silently and as steady as a mountain, he suddenly felt a strong sense of unease in his heart when compared to his own disorganized and noisy army. Memories of his past defeats flashed in his mind, and he could not help but worry about his gains and losses.
But when he heard what Maldonios said next, he was taken aback.
Terebassus, who was good at reading people's expressions, immediately said, "Your Majesty, those subsidiary troops are not our well-trained Persia army. Although they have undergone strict training, it is difficult for them to maintain their formation for a long time. We must attack as soon as possible!"
Artaxerxes looked at Terebassus, and then at Maldonios, "Then give the order to attack?"
Maldonios said anxiously, "Your Majesty, don't hesitate, give the order quickly!"
Artaxerxes gripped the handrail of the carriage tightly. He glanced at the majestic undead army in front of him, the impregnable Greek mercenaries, the huge war elephants, the terrifying war chariots, the well-trained archers … Finally, he looked at the silent Dionysian Army in front of him. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and said loudly, "Prepare to attack!"
Maldonios was overjoyed. He turned his horse and galloped back.
Terebassus immediately shouted, "Prepare to attack! Prepare to attack! … "
"Woo … woo …" As the bugle of the Persia army sounded, Terebassus continued to give the order on behalf of the king of Persia, "Archers, attack!"
A flag embroidered with a bow and arrow was raised high in front of Artaxerxes' carriage. However, only the archers in the middle of the middle of the army could see the flag waving. The whole army was more than ten miles long. Not to mention seeing the flag, even the soldiers on both sides might not be able to hear the bugle. However, the Persia army had their own ways.
Two teams of Persia messengers in gorgeous military uniforms galloped out from both sides of the carriage. They passed through the gaps between the troops and rushed to the front. Then, they ran wildly along the two sides of the army while shouting, "Archers, attack! Archers, attack! … "
The archers in the middle began to move! The archers on the left began to move! The archers on the right began to move! At the forefront of the Persia army, the archers lined up in a loose formation of more than ten miles long, like a long snake that had just woken up from hibernation, began to slowly advance toward the Diónia army.
As soon as he heard the bugle from the opposite side, Artaxerxes, like the other team officers, immediately became alert. He shouted to the soldiers under his command, "Attention, brothers, the Persia army is about to attack!"
At the same time, he saw that some of the soldiers in the team were too excited and eager to fight, so he immediately reminded them, "Everyone must strictly follow the pre-war arrangement and prepare for defense! If anyone dares to violate the military order, they will be severely punished! "
The soldiers' hearts skipped a beat, and their expressions became solemn.
"Captain, the archers of Persia are coming!" The soldiers in the first row shouted.
"Prepare for defense!" Artaxerxes' heart tightened, and he looked forward.
The archers of Persia were advancing very slowly, because the Persia generals who led the army knew the details of the battle in Asia Minor. They knew that the Dionysian Army also had a large number of strong light infantry, so they were carefully guarding against the appearance of the enemy.
However, when they were less than 250 meters away from the Dionysian army, the enemy's light infantry still did not appear in front of the formation. Although the generals were puzzled, they did not stop the soldiers from advancing.
When they were about 100 meters away from the Dionysian army, the archers consciously stopped moving forward.
"Fire!" Amidst the shouts of the generals, the archers nocked their arrows and drew their bows. They raised their bows at a high angle.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! " The sound of bowstrings, which was originally very light, was gathered by thousands of arrows, and could be heard clearly by the Dionysian soldiers who were 100 meters away.
"Turtle Shell Formation!" Artaxerxes shouted.
The soldiers who were originally in a dense formation quickly shrank inward, and at the same time, they placed the long shields in their hands on the outside and above the small square formation. In the blink of an eye, it was as if the 50-man team was covered with a layer of black iron, and they were tightly protected.
Artaxerxes, who was in the middle of the square formation, looked up through the small gap between the long shields and saw arrows pouring down from the sky like torrential rain. Even with the protection of the thick long shields, he could not help but feel nervous.
"Bang! Bang! Clang! Clang! Clang! " The arrows continued to hit different parts of the long shields, making different sounds, as if they were playing a melody of death.
The Dionysian soldiers in the Turtle Shell Formation looked nervous, but when the melody disappeared, no one was injured.
Before they could catch their breath, the melody sounded again.
After repeating it three or four times, there was finally a long interval.
This was because the commanders of the mixed Persian archers discovered that the Dionysian army's frontline had adopted such a strange formation, causing their projectiles to barely cause any damage. So, they urged their soldiers to move forward and increase the penetrating power of their arrows by getting closer to the Dionysian army.
When they were only 50 meters away, the Persia archers did not dare to move forward anymore, because they had heard that the Dionysian heavy infantry could throw javelins, and they were too close to the enemy. When they shot their arrows, the Dionysian soldiers on the opposite side would suddenly charge, and it would be difficult for them to escape. It was precisely because of this danger that not all archers were willing to continue to approach the Dionysian army. Some archers of other races were afraid to move forward even though the Persia generals repeatedly urged them to do so.
The Persian archers at the front used straight arrows, while the soldiers at the back used projectile arrows. Furthermore, the arrows were more concentrated on the tortoiseshell formations, rather than a wide area of effect attack. As a result, the efficiency was not high, as Dionia's chessboard formation made the entire formation more scattered, causing many projectile arrows to land on empty ground.
More intensive sounds rang out outside the Turtle Shell Formation formed by Arsines' unit, like a rainstorm beating on lotus leaves. Every long shield was full of arrows like a hedgehog, and the soldiers groaned in pain from time to time. It was the sharp tips of the arrows that pierced through the shield and touched the bare arms or thighs of the Dionysian soldiers. Occasionally, arrows passed through the gaps of the shield formation, but because they were blocked by the thick helmets and breastplates, they did not cause much damage.
The Dionysian soldiers gritted their teeth and held on. Of course, they were almost shoulder to shoulder, and even if they were injured, they could not dodge or retreat.
As the captain of the unit, Arsines not only had to spy on the enemy's movements from time to time, but also listen to the frequency of the arrows hitting the long shields.
Suddenly, he said in a low voice, "Brothers, hold on a little longer, the arrows of the Persia should be running out!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, the sounds outside the formation began to become sparse and soon disappeared.
The Persia archers still had three or four arrows left in their quiver, but they chose to retreat at this time. On the one hand, it was because the continuous pulling of the bow had caused their arms to become numb, and they needed to rest. On the other hand, they also needed to provide support for the infantry in the next close combat. This was the traditional tactic of the Persia, and of course, they could not use up all their arrows at this time.
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