Novels online

Chapter 212

Although the Light Armor soldiers were in Light Armor, they still had armor, and they also had shields and spears in their hands. How could they possibly catch up to the enemies who were only wearing thin clothing? But once they stopped, the enemy's long-range attacks would begin.

What was more worrying was that the enemies in the middle gradually divided into three groups while the Light Armor soldiers were advancing. One group would lead the Light Armor soldiers in the middle of the formation, and the other two groups would circle to the sides of the Light Armor soldiers.

When the Light Armor soldiers advanced, their flanks were attacked by the enemy. They couldn't protect the front, and they couldn't protect the front. Crotone's troops were charging around like wild boars. In the end, not only were they unable to harm a single hair on their enemies, but their casualties were also increasing …

"Where's the cavalry?! Why isn't the cavalry here yet? What is Alisosis doing?! " Seeing the soldiers fall one by one, Philadelphus became impatient, and he couldn't help but curse. This was the first time that he had experienced how uncomfortable it was to fight against an enemy that was made up entirely of light infantry. They couldn't hit them, and they couldn't catch up. Instead, they became the enemy's live targets.

"Retreat to the left! Retreat to the left!! " He shouted, and the guards followed him. If it had been during the previous chase, the excited soldiers would not have been able to hear what he was shouting. But now, everyone was huddled together, carefully dodging the arrows and stones. They were starting to feel a little scared and tired. Philadelphus's order was exactly what they had been hoping for. The light armored soldiers hurriedly retreated.

Who knew that the Dionians' light infantry would chase after them like maggots on a bone.

Philadelphus's original intention was to retreat to the left and meet up with the Heavy Infantry on the left. With their presence, they could protect the Light Armor soldiers' flank and reduce casualties before the cavalry returned victorious. At this moment, Philadelphus still believed that the Crotone cavalry would win.

However, he was in the middle of the formation, and he didn't know that the Heavy Infantry on the left, which he thought would be behind him on the left, had actually been led astray by the enemy's Light Infantry on the right. They deliberately retreated to the northwest, causing the slow-moving Heavy Infantry to unknowingly move from the north to the northwest. As a result, the distance between Crotone's middle and left became wider and wider.

The light armored soldiers quickly retreated for a distance. Not only did they not regroup with the left flank, but they were also unable to do better defense during their retreat, which led to a rapid increase in casualties. Now, they were forced to turn around again and use their leather shields to protect themselves. They slowly retreated to avoid the arrows that were shot at them. Seeing more and more of their fallen comrades getting their throats slit by the enemy, the morale of the light armored soldiers was shaken.

At that moment, they heard the clopping of hooves behind them. Because they had to dodge the arrows, they could not look back, but they all heaved a sigh of relief. "Cavalry! Our cavalry is finally here!! "

Philadelphus was confused. Why did Arisosis's cavalry go to the back?! Didn't I tell him to lead the cavalry to attack the enemy on the other side after defeating the enemy's left wing? Not even a little bit of ability!! Just as he was getting angry, someone shouted, "Javelin! Watch out for the javelins! They're enemies!! "

Along with this cry of alarm, hundreds of javelins whistled from behind.

Philadelphus was at the back of the formation, and he was wearing a colorful general's helmet. Of course, he was the main target of the attack, and he was immediately hit by three javelins. When Philadelphus fell, he still could not understand: Why did the Crotone cavalry, who had the advantage in numbers, lose?

The cavalry that they had high hopes for was the enemy! This was the last straw that broke the camel's back. They lost their fighting spirit and fled in all directions. The light infantry and cavalry of Diónia took advantage of the situation and gave chase. The light armored soldiers could not outrun these poorly equipped light infantry, not to mention the cavalry's speed. After being caught up, most of the soldiers chose to surrender.

After taking care of the Crotone's right wing cavalry and the light armored soldiers in the middle, the Diónia soldiers concentrated on dealing with the most difficult heavy infantry.

When more than 3,000 Crotone heavy infantry were surrounded by more than 7,000 Diónia light infantry and cavalry, these heavy infantry understood that their middle and left wing were most likely doomed, especially when Ledes's cavalry raised Philadelphus's severed head and went around the heavy infantry formation, shouting for them to surrender. One could imagine the impact on the hearts of these Crotone soldiers.

The commander of this heavy infantry was Felos of Crotone, and his deputy was General Pausalleus of Siridean. Faced with such a terrible situation, both of them had a dispute.

Felos believed that the light infantry could not cause too much damage to them. As long as they could persist and reach the river crossing point of the main force, they could assist the main force in defeating the Diónia army. The final victory would still belong to the Crotone.

On the other hand, Pausalleus believed that the morale of the soldiers was very low under the circumstances of being completely surrounded and attacked. The destination was at least six to seven miles away, and with the soldiers' current condition, it was almost impossible for them to persist until they reached the river crossing point in the west.

Neither side could convince the other, and in the end, they parted ways. Pausalleus led the Siridean soldiers and some Triene soldiers, a total of 1,700 men, and began to retreat back to the south bank of the Trevinto River. Felos led the 1,400 Crotone heavy infantry and began to accelerate westward.

Crotone's sudden division of troops caused trouble for the generals of Diónia.

Ledes and Cspit believed that they should surround the heavy infantry westward and use a small number of troops to drive the retreating enemy away.

Epthenis objected. He believed that since the enemy retreated, it meant that they were not fighting. As long as they continued to pursue and attack, they would definitely surrender. After that, they could surround the remaining heavy infantry and annihilate the enemy. The next step of the plan would be easier to carry out. His opinion was supported by Zantiparis.

The situation was urgent and there was no time to argue. Diónia's troops were also divided into two. Epthenis and Zantiparis led their troops in pursuit of the retreating heavy infantry.

The Siridean and Triene people were indeed not fighting. They were not Crotone and did not have much of a conflict of interest with Diónia. Although the Siridean citizens had suffered many casualties in Diónia's attack half a year ago, they had participated in the war mainly because of the alliance and to reap some benefits. Avenging the dead was only secondary. But when the situation worsened and their lives were in danger, they would not fight recklessly. They welcomed the division of troops. They thought that the Diónia light infantry would focus their attention on the Crotone advancing westward, but they did not expect that the Diónia army would still be in hot pursuit of them. The panicked Siridean soldiers had just reached the river crossing point when they remembered that they had paid a heavy price to cross the river. Now that there were more enemies and the attack would be even fiercer, their hearts sank to the bottom of their hearts.

The Triene soldiers were the first to surrender, followed by Pausalleus and the Siridean soldiers.

Crotone's heavy infantry were said to speed up their advance, but their speed was not much faster than before. Although the heavy infantry were well protected, it did not mean that they were not afraid of arrows, javelins, and stones from a distance. The impact of stones on their helmets would make them dizzy. Their legs, toes, and hands were exposed and they had to be careful of arrows. Their linen breastplates could not completely block a close-range blow from a javelin. Of course, the large round shields they held with a diameter of one meter and covered in copper could completely block a frontal attack. But the enemy was not only in front, but also from the sides and the rear. How could they defend themselves?

They were less than six miles away from the Crotone army. Normally, they would have been able to reach it in an hour's march. But now, after half an hour, they had only advanced less than a mile. Arrows and javelins continued to fall. They were like giant beasts that were constantly being bitten and bled by agile wolves. They grew weaker and more tired. There was no hope in front of them, but the enemy's arrows and javelins were always abundant. The Devers had asked the Castellón soldiers to offer up all the arrows and javelins that they had accumulated over the years and transported them to the rear of the battlefield by pack animals. Therefore, when Epthenis and Zantiparis returned with the captured Siridean and Triene flags to the Crotone heavy infantry, the morale of the Crotone soldiers, who were surrounded and constantly defending against long-range attacks, was finally shattered. When they surrendered, there were less than a thousand soldiers who were unharmed.

… … …

Arsinis, who was still a recruit half a year ago, was now a squad leader of the First Legion. He was in charge of nine soldiers, six of whom were probationary citizens.

The rapid expansion of the Dionysian Army in the past six months was imaginable. Of course, it also brought many problems, especially in such a fierce battle. The quality of the heavy infantry on both sides gradually became apparent over time. Heavy infantrymen didn't just need to wear armor, use a shield, and use a spear to become a qualified heavy infantryman. In a battle, the most important thing for heavy infantrymen was trust and tacit understanding. In a tight formation, a heavy infantryman held a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right. The heavy copper round shield made him lean to the left, and the round shield naturally protected his left chest and the right chest of his comrade on the left. His right chest was protected by the shield of his comrade on the right. This way, the shield was connected in a line and blocked the enemy's stab. He had to move the round shield back and forth, which was physically exhausting and could easily disrupt the formation. He only needed to focus on two actions: constantly stab with his right hand and push forward. Therefore, trusting your comrade and trusting that he would protect you was the key to the successful operation of a heavy infantry formation.