Chapter 320
Fortunately, behind the wooden wall, there was a guard tower that was over a meter taller than the wall. Below the wall, the light infantry led by Cspit, as well as the arrows and javelins fired by the freedmen as support. Thus, the southern section of the wooden wall was basically safe.
Cspit shot an arrow, hitting the chest of the enemy who had broken through the wooden wall. The seemingly thick leather robe was completely penetrated, and the enemy collapsed to the ground.
Cspit reached for the arrow out of habit, but found that the quiver was empty.
"Quick, get a new quiver of arrows!" Cspit shook his numb right hand and said to the guard beside him.
After a while, the guard hurriedly ran back and handed him a quiver filled with ten arrows. At the same time, he said, "Captain, the quartermaster asked you to use them sparingly. He doesn't have many arrows left."
"How can they be used up so quickly?!" Cspit said with slight dissatisfaction.
"That's what I asked him, but he said that there are more than two thousand archers in our light infantry and freedmen, and each of them has twenty thousand arrows in their quiver, but almost all of the archers have used up their quiver … He also said … He also said that arrows are bought with money, and the price is not low. This time, because our Second Legion has a need for defensive operations, the enemy of Mersis gave us thirty thousand arrows. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let us waste them like this!" The guard felt wronged as he passed on the message.
Although Cspit was also a little angry, the quartermaster of the supply team was now under Mercy's command. Whenever he thought of that stingy fatty, Cspit felt a headache coming on. He said loudly, "Brothers, there's nothing to worry about even if we run out of arrows. We still have reverse-blade blades and spears, don't you think?!"
"Yes!!!"
… …
The stalemate of the siege made Pianlun very anxious. He turned around to look at the soldiers resting in the rear. He hesitated whether or not he should send the last five thousand soldiers into battle. However, the battlefield was too small, and the wooden walls were too crowded. No matter how many people they sent, it would be useless.
At this moment, he heard a rumbling sound behind him, followed by a wave of cheers.
"The wooden wall has collapsed! The enemy's wall had collapsed! The warriors beside him cheered. Pienlen turned around excitedly. There was a large gap in the center of the southern part of the wooden wall of the Stronghold, and the Bruti warriors were rushing in …
"Don't panic! Do not panic! Brim comforted the panicking Abyssinia warriors loudly. Bagylipi was too old, and the warriors in his tribe were led by Bagylipi's nephew. Therefore, among the three leaders of Abyssinia, Brim was the oldest, the most senior, and the most prestigious. Although he didn't really want to fight the Cosenza people, he had to work hard for the survival of his people on the battlefield.
"Guard your position well. The wall will not collapse again! Brim shouted. He knew very well that it was because of the carelessness of the soldiers that the wooden wall had been burned by the kerosene and hit by the black wood, which caused the wall to be damaged and the pit to collapse.
"Guard the front! Don't care about the enemies that rushed in, there are Diónia people behind to deal with them! " The reason why he said this was because he had already seen the heavily armed Diónia soldiers waiting behind the gap in the wooden wall. The quick and orderly movement of the Dionysian Army surprised him.
For the soldiers of the Second Legion, the collapse of the wooden wall was a good thing. They could finally make up for the regret of not being able to go up the wall to kill the enemy.
When the Bruti warriors stepped on the collapsed rampart, kicked the broken wooden fence, and rushed into the wall, they suddenly found themselves facing an iron wall surrounded by countless copper shields and countless sharp spears. In the rhythmic sound of the war drums, the Diónia soldiers steadily stabbed and retracted their spears. Every stab could take away a life …
The Bruti warriors who rushed in could not form a formation with their companions, nor were they organized by the team officers. They could not rely on their individual bravery to resist the attacks of the Dionysian Army. They also had to guard against the arrows shot from the sentry tower above and the javelins of the Abyssinia soldiers.
In the short period of time after breaking through the wooden wall, the casualties of the Bruti warriors rose sharply. They were terrified and wanted to retreat, but their way back was blocked by the excited soldiers behind them.
The Third and Fourth Legions of the Second Legion advanced steadily, shrinking the encirclement, causing the Bruti warriors to be crowded together. It was difficult for them to even wave their weapons.
At first, Pienlen was happy to see many Bruti warriors rushing into the gap, but soon the scene there seemed to have stagnated. The warriors lingered at the gap, but could not enter. He felt a little uneasy. Then, he was surprised to see that the Bruti warriors suddenly scattered and fled. From the gap in the wall, teams of Diónia soldiers in bright armor rushed out. They took the opportunity to attack the other Bruti warriors who were attacking the city with all their might from the side. Soon, the retreat was no longer just the gap, but the entire Bruti attack line …
Seeing this scene, Pienlen's heart sank, and he extinguished the hope of victory. He could see that the Dionysian Army that occupied Abyssinia was not just a non-main force of Diónia, which only had a few thousand soldiers. It was very likely to be the legion that the Diorians claimed!
"Retreat …" He shouted out in pain.
However, when he finally gathered the defeated soldiers and returned to the camp in frustration, he received worse news.
"What did you say?! There's a riot in the city of Cosenza?! "
"Yes, Great Leader. Sadum, Saks, Bua … a dozen tribes suddenly led their people to attack the inner city on the second morning after you left. If it wasn't for the timely arrival of Chief Cadurk's troops, I'm afraid they would have attacked the inner city! Right now, they have occupied the west side of the outer city. The High Priest has sent me to inform you as soon as possible. He hopes that you can quickly pacify these rebels and restore peace to Cosenza! "The messenger said anxiously.
"Understood. Go back and tell the High Priest that I will immediately return with the army. Tell him not to panic, and to defend the inner city with Cadurk first!" Pienlen quickly made a decision. Back then, in order to monitor and rule these disobedient tribes, the "Council of Seven Elders" discussed and decided to force them to move to the outer city of Cosenza, which resulted in the current situation. This time, the rebellion was a wake-up call for Pienlen. The invasion of the Diónia had affected the various tribes in the Bruti region, especially the tribes that were previously dissatisfied with the Alliance. He had to act quickly to prevent the situation from worsening.
He sent Petaru to carry out the order to break camp.
Soon, Burgam barged into the main tent and shouted excitedly, "Did I hear it wrong? Pienlen, you want to return to Cosenza?! Let the Diónia continue to build the fortress here, and we're leaving just like that?! "
"Elder Burgam, in this terrible situation, what else can we do? Continue to attack the fortress?! " Pienlen was no longer as anxious as he was when he first heard the news. He asked calmly, "There are probably six to seven thousand well-trained Diónia soldiers behind the wall, and more than two thousand Abyssinia traitors who have defected to them. In addition to that well-defended fortress, do you think we can take this fortress with just the few of us?! You have to know that we have lost nearly two thousand people in today's battle! Two thousand people! That's equivalent to more than half of the Anbalian warriors you brought! "
After listening to this, Burgam sat down dejectedly … After a while, he raised his head and murmured in a dry voice, "Are we just going to watch the Diónia army pass through Abyssinia and invade our homeland …"
"Then let them come!" Pienlen roared. His eyes were full of vigor as he looked straight at Burgam. He walked up to him and gave him a strong hug. In a firm tone, he said resolutely, "We want to go back and gather all the Bruti warriors! We want to fight to the death with the Diónia on the Cosenza Plateau! This battle will determine the rise and fall of the Bruti people. The Goddess of the Plateau, Amara, will protect us! "
"Plateau …" After being reminded by Pienlen, Burgam's fighting spirit was reignited. "Yes, we have the protection of Amara! We also have the Cosenza Plateau! … "
… …
The high-spirited Sinsinag had gained the support of many tribes in the north of the Grumentum and smoothly marched south. After arriving in the south, he finally encountered an obstacle.
The tribes that had previously moved from Neutum were the first tribes to surrender to Diónia. Compared to Picossis in the far west of the Grumentum, they identified with Diónia and trusted Diónia more. They drove out the messenger sent by Sinsinag and united to fight against Picossis.
Sinsinag was furious and was ready to lead the army to attack these disobedient tribes. But news came: there was movement in the north of the Grumentum city. About two thousand Diónia soldiers came out of the city.
This made Sinsinag worry that when he attacked the Lucania tribe in the south, he would suddenly be attacked by the Diónia from the flank, so he had to withdraw his troops.
As soon as Picossis's troops withdrew, the Diónia people immediately retreated back into the city.
This happened for two days in a row. Sinsinag concluded that the Diónia people in the city were just putting on a show. They had neither the guts nor the intention to attack him.
Therefore, he asked Gnenet to take two thousand soldiers to keep an eye on the Grumentum city while he led the army to prepare to conquer the southern tribes.
At this time, Picossis sent a messenger to tell him bad news: a thousand Eleans had invaded Picossis's territory. They destroyed the farmland and burned the settlements. Picossis did not dare to attack rashly because of the limited number of troops in the city. He asked Sinsinag to return urgently!
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