Chapter 330
"My apologies, my lords!" Felicius bowed slightly, unable to hide the joy on his face, and said excitedly, "I was in the Ministry of Military Affairs to meet the messenger from Legio III, so I came late. He brought good news — "
Felicius looked around at the elders and said loudly, "Legio III has defeated Picossis and the rebels of Grumentum outside the city of Grumentum! Apart from a few who escaped, most of them were captured, and Legio III only suffered a few dozen casualties. Commander Hieronymus is leading the army towards Picossis. According to reports, the city is empty of troops, and taking down Picossis is only a matter of time! "
The meeting hall suddenly erupted, "That's great! This is really a glorious victory! "
"Picossis! We are finally going to have a coastal city that truly belongs to us on the west coast! "
…
The elders, who were frightened by the scene described by Pollux, burst into cheers like never before.
Polyxis looked at these cheering elders, dumbfounded, and for a moment, he did not recover from the sudden reversal … After a long time, he said unwillingly, "… I didn't expect that Hieronymus could also create a great victory like Lord Devers …"
"No." Felicius corrected him loudly, "In fact, this victory was planned in advance by Lord Devers and Legio III, and they also received help from the two allies, Laos and Elia. Otherwise, how could they win so easily! "
"Oh …" Cunogorata, Kornellus, and the others had an expression as if it was only natural, and then they asked about the details of the battle with interest.
Polyxis did not say anything.
… …
The Battle of Punate River had lasted for more than an hour, and the battle line between the two sides had changed from the initial straight line to an arc-shaped crescent.
On the right flank of the Dionysian Army, the troops led by Trifias were still in their original positions. The left wing of the Bruti Tribe, consisting of a dozen Bruti warriors, could not effectively unite into a unified force to maintain the pressure on the right wing of the Diónia Tribe.
In the middle of Diónia, Vig, Anbalia and some of Cosenza's warriors attacked fiercely. After a period of stalemate, the First Legion's phalanx began to gradually retreat, causing the entire middle road to cave in. The proud soldiers of the First Legion had indeed done their best, but the long period of constructing the camp had consumed too much of their stamina. After putting on their heavy armor, they were already a little exhausted and couldn't do as they wished.
On the left flank of Diónia, the Second Legion and Cosenza's warriors were still engaged in a fierce battle. The soldiers of Cosenza had washed away the humiliation of their previous failure in attacking the city. Relying on the superhuman endurance they had honed from living in the highlands since young (in the words of later generations, highlanders had a lot of red blood cells and high oxygen capacity), as well as their larger physiques than the Greeks, they maintained a high-intensity attack for a long period of time. The Second Legion maintained a balance of power by relying on their solid defense and full cooperation between the brigades.
On the far left, was the only place where Diónia had an absolute advantage. The light shieldbearers led by Epitenis dealt heavy damage to the Bruti cavalry from the very beginning. In the close combat, the Bruti cavalry suffered a lot from the experienced light shieldbearers of Diónia. If this was not a battle of life and death for the Bruti, the cavalry leader would have led the rest of the cavalry to flee. However, in order to prevent the light shieldbearers of Diónia from supporting other battlefields, he led his men to distance themselves from the light shieldbearers of Diónia. He used the cavalry's speed to wander around the periphery and launch surprise attacks on the Diónia light infantries that had separated themselves from the formation. However, the javelins and bows of the Diónia were not to be trifled with. The number of Bruti cavalry was still decreasing little by little.
On the other hand, the light infantry led by Cspit ran into some trouble. Although the Bruti light infantry could not compare to Diónia in terms of both quantity and ability, the furious Bruti light infantry gave up on long-range attacks after suffering from the enemy. Instead, they rushed forward and engaged Cspit's troops in close combat with javelins and daggers.
Cspit could have retreated and widened the distance. This was the tactic of light infantry. However, Cspit, who had followed the Devers for a long time, knew that the sudden retreat of his light infantry and freedmen would expose Epitenis' flanks. This would cause the light shieldbearers to suffer heavy losses. Therefore, Cspit did not retreat. Instead, he braced himself and engaged the Bruti light infantry in close combat. He had few light shieldbearers to begin with. The freedmen's arrows and javelins could still deal with them, but they would not be able to hold out against the fierce Bruti in close combat.
Fortunately, the Devers still had many cards up their sleeves. When he heard that the leftmost troops were in trouble, he quickly sent a scouting team to the mountain ridge. These lightly armored soldiers with leather shields and daggers sprinted all the way to the leftmost. They immediately joined the battle and quickly turned the situation around.
Amidst the dust, a messenger cavalryman galloped towards the Devers at the back of the formation.
Tormid hurriedly went up to him.
"Commander, Capus has sent someone to inform you of an emergency. The soldiers of the First Legion can't hold out any longer. They're so tired that they can't even lift their bronze shields!" Tormid reported to the Devers as soon as he received the news.
"It seems like the First Legion has reached the limits of their stamina," the Devers concluded.
"It's not just the First Legion. Dracos has also sent someone to report that some of the soldiers of the Second Legion are starting to feel dizzy and weak. They don't even dare to order for the front and rear troops to switch, afraid that there will be chaos," Tormid reminded.
"Our soldiers are already so tired. No matter how strong the Bruti's stamina is, I'm afraid they won't be any better." The Devers stared ahead. Dust was flying everywhere in front of them. Shadows of people could be seen, and the sounds of killing could be heard. However, he seemed to have seen the opportunity to win. "Quickly inform the two Abyssinia leaders, Broom and Grim. Didn't they say that they wanted to go into battle? Now is the chance! I want them to lead the Abyssinia soldiers to the left flank immediately and attack the enemy's flank. Use the most ferocious attack to defeat Cosenza's people and show us the power of the Abyssinia soldiers! "
"Yes!" Tormid replied excitedly.
"At the same time, Ledes' cavalry should have had enough rest. Let them immediately go to help Epitenis and Cspit. After defeating the enemy's cavalry and light infantry, turn around and head north, cross the battlefield, and attack the enemy's middle and rear. Together with the First Legion, we'll crush them in one fell swoop!" The Devers clenched his right fist and swung it down heavily.
"Understood, Commander!" Tormid led the two messengers on a horse and rode to the left. He was going to give the order personally.
The Devers turned to look at the two troops that had not participated in the battle yet. They were just blurry shadows a few miles away and could not be seen at all.
After a while, Tormid rushed back. "They've already moved out."
"Blow the horn to attack!" The Devers immediately ordered.
Beep! Beep! Beep! The loud horn drowned out the noise of the battle and spread throughout the entire formation.
"It's the Attack! Hold on, brothers. Our reserve troops are moving out! "Zantiparis heard the horn and perked up. Before the battle, the Devers had told the two Legion Commanders about his battle plan, and the two Legion Commanders had conveyed the Devers's tactical intentions to the captains, company captains, and platoon captains. Therefore, the First and Second Legions could still hold on in such a passive situation because the officers were confident. Now, the horn to attack had finally arrived.
"Beat the drums! Beat the drums! "Zantiparis shouted the order in a hoarse voice.
The drums sounded, and the military flag pointed forward. Although the soldiers were physically tired, their spirits were lifted.
All the captains of the First and Second Legions were doing almost the same thing as Zantiparis.
… …
When the horn reached Pienlen's ears, he was in the right wing of the Bruti Legion, pushing forward with the soldiers. Although every step was difficult, the Cosenza soldiers were advancing.
The Diónia soldiers are almost at their limit! This thought flashed through Pienlen's mind. Although he was a little tired, the desire for victory urged him to work harder. At this moment, the horn of Diónia shocked him. Could it be that the enemy had reinforcements?
A sense of urgency surged in his heart. He could not understand the overall situation in the formation, so he could only speed up the attack to defeat the enemy in front of him. "Descendants of Brutus, work harder! The enemy is almost at their limit! " He shouted, and the guards around him followed suit, thus influencing the other soldiers. The Cosenza soldiers used their remaining strength to attack desperately. ,
However, the defense of the Second Legion was also greatly enhanced. Instead, it was more difficult for the Bruti Legion to advance in the middle and right wing.
Under the leadership of Broom and Creylou, more than two thousand Abyssinia soldiers, who had been holding back for more than an hour and had nowhere to vent their energy, ran all the way. They went around the outside of the two armies, roared, and fiercely pounced on the rear of the right wing of the Bruti Legion.
The deafening battle cries and rumbling footsteps caused the Cosenza soldiers to look back in panic. Then they saw countless Bruti soldiers, who were dressed similarly and had ferocious faces, waving their spears and killing them fiercely.
"It's the Abyssinia! We're surrounded!! " The Cosenza soldiers turned to defend in panic.
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