Chapter 147
Devers stood up and looked around at everyone. His voice was low and powerful. "The battle in the early hours of tomorrow will decide the ownership of the Xubari Plain! It will decide the future of our citizens! When the battle begins, there will be no horns and no shouting! We must be ruthless! We must be fierce! We must be fast! We must destroy the enemy in their sleep as fast as we can! We must advance to the center as fast as we can! The faster we advance, the tighter and thicker our formation will be. The enemy will panic, and we will be able to surround them in the center and force them to surrender! Brothers, the Crotone people are like a pot of delicious barley porridge. I want to see which company eats it the fastest and best! "
The crowd did not speak, but their widened eyes were burning with a burning desire to fight …
… …
It was an early summer night in southern Apennine, and the weather was relatively cool. Unfortunately, there was no moon or stars in the dark sky.
Amendolara's troops began to depart. Led by the first unit of the first regiment of the first brigade, the first battalion, the leader of each company held a lit torch to illuminate the way ahead. The five thousand troops marched quietly and orderly. The sound of the rushing river, the croaking of insects and frogs, and even the howling of beasts in the distance covered up the sound of the troops' footsteps and armor clashing. From afar, they could only see the faint flashes of light every few hundred meters.
Crossing the pontoon bridge at night was the biggest problem of this march. The troops marched in two columns to ensure that there was enough space on the bridge and that both sides could take care of each other. Fortunately, most of the soldiers of the first brigade had participated in the Persia expedition and were very experienced in traveling at night. They successfully crossed the first pontoon bridge and then the second. Their good performance gave the following troops confidence.
The second brigade also successfully reached the other side.
When it came to the third brigade, the speed of crossing the bridge began to slow down. Arsines stepped on the undulating wooden planks and looked at the dark river flowing under the pontoon bridge. He imagined its depth, and his body involuntarily swayed with the bridge planks. Just as his body was about to lean outwards, a hand grabbed his arm forcefully.
"Don't panic. Look up ahead, don't look down!" It was the voice of the squad leader, Septimus, who was walking beside him. He calmed himself down and followed the squad leader's instructions. Sure enough, he felt much better.
He had only taken a few steps when he heard a thud behind him, followed by a cry for help.
Someone fell into the water! He was shocked.
"Don't look back, just walk forward!" The usually naggy Septimus' voice was now abnormally calm.
Arsinis finally set foot on the triangular area in the middle of the confluence of the two rivers. With experience, crossing the second pontoon bridge was much easier.
In order to help the Lucarians cross the river, Epithenes devised a plan: he had a Greek and a Lucarian walk side by side on the pontoon, and with the help of these veterans, the greater part of the Lucanians were able to cross.
When they reached the south bank of the Krati River and set foot on solid ground, Arsinis finally relaxed. Only then did he ask the squad leader, "What about our comrades who fell into the river?"
"The Head of the Legion has asked Felicius to arrange some rescuers on both sides of the river. As long as they throw away their shields, spears, and helmets, they should be able to swim to the shore without any problems. Of course, that depends on whether they've been training seriously. Now you understand the importance of training. Every task should be completed seriously, because you might need it someday in the future. "Septimus seized every opportunity to educate the new recruits.
Arsinis nodded seriously.
Two hours later, the troops approached the city of Castellón and extinguished all their torches. Under the lead of Y 'zam's squad, they reached the middle of the Trionto River (Castellón was at the mouth of the Trionto River) and formed eight columns. The soldiers held each other's spears (because the shields were slung over their shoulders and the helmets were hung around their necks). Although this section of the river was the widest, the water was less than waist deep, and the current was not rapid. Other than the pebbles on the riverbank, the soldiers did not have any trouble crossing the Trionto River.
The Crotone's camp was not far away.
It was still very late at night, and the sun had not risen yet. Under the lead of the Mountain Team, the teams quietly and unhurriedly entered their predetermined positions and began to lie down to rest to recover their strength. The officers sneaked closer and observed the Crotone's camp. Based on the map, they began to adjust and arrange the attack positions of their subordinates.
As soon as a ray of light appeared in the eastern sky, the officers began to wake up the soldiers who were taking a nap. While the soldiers were arranging their weapons and equipment, the platoon leaders quietly mobilized them before the battle. For the veterans, they only needed to say, 'These arrogant Crotone people dare to insult our Lord Devers and burn our houses. Now, we will use our shields and spears to make them pay the price in blood.' That would be enough to ignite their anger. For the new recruits, other than encouragement, they also needed to remind them of some details that they needed to pay attention to in battle. For example, 'Don't just charge by yourself. Advance with the whole team. When your spear is stuck in the enemy's body and you can't pull it out, don't waste time to pull it out. Pull out your saber and keep hacking. '
Arsinis began to line up with his comrades and put on the heavy Corinth helmet. However, he did not feel lonely like he was isolated from the rest of the world. Although he could not feel the force of his teammates pushing him, he could still see the tents that the Crotone people had set up hundreds of meters away through the eyeholes of the helmet. He could also see the thin line of Amendolar's comrades, which stretched infinitely along the terrain and surrounded the camp in an arc until it was out of sight.
Arsinis moved forward lightly. When he was less than 40 meters away from the tent closest to the Crotone, it was still deathly silent.
Arsinis was excited and a little regretful. He wanted to fight the Crotone people who were awake to show off his growing skills.
At that moment, a loud scream came from the right ahead. It was especially piercing in the silent camp. That was the First Brigade's attack.
"Forward!" Septimus said in a low voice.
Everyone began to take big strides. The round shields that were close to each other rubbed against each other, producing muffled clanging sounds. Their feet wearing leather sandals stepped on the muddy ground that was soaked with morning dew, leaving rows of clear footprints.
Arsinis had already seen a few enemies sleeping outside the tents in front of him, but when he stood in front of them, he became hesitant.
"Do it!" His teammate next to him urged. At the same time, he plunged his spear into the throat of an enemy. The enemy's eyes suddenly widened, his hands grabbing at his throat. He wanted to scream but could not make a sound. His expression was extremely painful, and his whole face was distorted.
His teammate pulled out his spear. Blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain. The wounded enemy began to pant, which caused another enemy to wake up from his sleep.
"What are you waiting for?" His teammate shouted again. Arsinis finally no longer hesitated. He quickly thrust his spear and pierced the enemy's chest.
His teammate turned his head and nodded at Arsinis. Although he could not see the expression on his face because of the helmet, Arsinis could guess that it must be a satisfied smile. Encouraged, he endured the discomfort in his stomach and continued to move forward while clearing the enemies sleeping outside the tents.
There was a tent in front of them, blocking the path of Septimus' squad. Septimus made a hand signal, and ten soldiers surrounded the tent. Ten spears pierced into the tent, and after a series of random stabs, there were miserable screams, and blood splattered onto the curtain.
"Arsinis!" Septimus shouted.
Arsinis immediately raised his round shield, bent over, and went into the tent. Soon, he came out and said, "Four people. Two … ugh … two are seriously injured. The others … ugh … are all dead."
"Ignore them. Continue forward!" Septimus waved his hand, then looked at Arsinis and said in a deep voice, "Even if you vomit, don't stop moving forward."
Arsinis and the others moved forward for a long time before they saw enemies coming out of the tents in twos and threes. They were wearing short-sleeved linen clothes, some were even naked, and most of them had no weapons in their hands. It seemed that they had not completely woken up from their drunkenness and sleepiness. They stared blankly at Arsinis and the others, not understanding what was going on. When they saw Arsinis and the others stab some of them to the ground, the screams woke them up. However, they did not rush forward to fight. Instead, they shouted in panic, "Enemies! Enemies! " Under the pressure of Arsinis and the others, they fled in all directions. Their panicked and embarrassed looks reminded Arsinis of when he was a child and saw a flock of sheep being chased by hungry wolves in the mountains with his father.
… …
Colombs' ancestors were the earliest settlers of Crotone, so they were given a large and fertile piece of land. The whole family lived a relatively prosperous farming and herding life. However, with the passage of time and the rise of trade, many citizens who did business gained amazing wealth. They used the wealth they earned to gain a lot of power in the political arena of Crotone. They became the new nobles of Crotone. Colombs' grandfather was an ambitious man. He envied these merchants and was no longer satisfied with farming. He decided to join the business tide and win a brighter future for his family. He mortgaged his land and borrowed a large sum of money. He bought a few ships and began to do port transshipment trade. He sailed between the Greek city-state of Sagunto on the Iberian Peninsula, Massilia in Gaul, Napoli on the west coast of Italy, and Crotone.
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