Chapter 399
"I'm sure of it!" Kerigoru confidently pointed at the mountain in front of him. "These Samonians chased after the tribes of Potentia and came here. I don't know where they got the news, but they actually wanted to ambush us here. They didn't know that my men had already seen their every move."
"Kerigoru, your team has made a great contribution today. I'll remember it." Alexis patted the horse that was a little restless. "Although our army has never trained in Portentia, I believe that you all have not forgotten the terrain here, right, Lizaru?"
"You've brought us to the southern mountains of Potentia several times in civilian clothes. How could I forget! Our military law has strict rules that all officers of the legion must memorize the terrain of the area in their heads! "Lizam pointed at his own head.
"Sir Devers is a great man!" Alexis sighed. It was precisely this military law that the Devers had formulated that was strictly enforced by the officers and soldiers, so that the army could be prepared in times of war. He then remembered the advice of the Devers when he was appointed as the commander of Legio III. He said seriously, "Now is the time to test you. At the same time, let us see how powerful the Samonians are!"
… …
Gherney saw the flags waving in the opposite mountain. Obviously, the enemy was attacking Abbrini's team at the same time. At this moment, he didn't have the mood to worry about his good friend. He led his more than a thousand soldiers down the mountain. Other than the colorful crown on his helmet, his equipment was no different from the other soldiers. He wore a golden copper helmet, a loose red short-sleeved robe that only reached his knees, and a leather belt tied around his waist. He held a spear in his right hand and four or five javelins in his left. Other than that, there was nothing else.
Because he had considered beforehand that they were going to ambush the Dionysian Army, Gherney brought only lightly armed soldiers. They saw the steep hillside as flat ground, shuttling between rocks and trees. They were as agile as monkeys, stepping on thorns and gravel barefoot without feeling any pain. Soon, they approached the Dionysian Army who were climbing up.
Compared to the speed at which the Sammonae went down the mountain, the speed at which the Dionysians went up the mountain was slower. They were a mix of light infantry, light armor soldiers, and heavy infantry. They pulled out a loose arc-shaped battle line and tried to surround this side of the forest so that the Sammonae could not escape. However, they did not expect the Sammonae to come so quickly.
As the temporary commander of this mixed army, Legio III's Second Brigade, Kelsima, didn't panic at all. If it was a few years ago, when Lucania Municipality hadn't merged with the Dionynia Alliance, Kelsima would definitely lead his tribe's warriors to fight. But now, he was already a qualified commander of the Legion of Dionysia.
"Archers, ready! Heavy infantry, protect them! " As Kelsima gave the order, the heavy infantry of the legion had already leaned against the trees and rocks, erecting long arc-shaped shields to protect themselves and the archers. The light armor soldiers and javelin throwers retreated even further. Unless the Samonians broke through the heavy infantry's line of defense, it would be difficult for them to attack them.
Under the protection of the long shields, the archers calmly drew their bows and aimed at the Sammonean people who were rushing towards them. The Sammonean people's formation was even more loose. Coupled with the lush trees that covered the mountains and plains, the effect of a team's shooting would be minimal. Therefore, a more accurate one-on-one shot was needed.
Although the Samonians were a hundred meters away from the heavy infantry, the javelins they threw while running had strong kinetic energy. In an instant, the javelins flew in front of the heavy infantry. Bang! Bang! Bang! More than half of the javelins hit the long shields accurately. The heavy infantry looked at the sharp tips of the javelins and could not help but feel a little frightened. They were heavy javelins!
The arrows of the Diónia archers also shot out. Without any protection, the Samonians quickly crawled under the rocks or hid behind the tree trunks to avoid the arrows.
For a moment, spears and arrows were flying in the forest.
The Dionysian soldiers had a stronger defense, and the archers had a more stable platform to shoot arrows from. The Samonai relied on their agile movements and the powerful penetrative power of their javelins to resist the Dionysian soldiers. Even though they had no defense and their casualties were gradually increasing, it did not weaken their fighting spirit.
Relying on the cover of the trees, Gherney and his subordinates had already approached within forty meters of the Dionians. When he saw that the javelins he had thrown with all his might had caused the shields of the Dionian heavy infantry to shake a few times and the soldiers to almost fall, he weighed the last javelin in his hand and thought to himself, Just a little closer, just a little closer, I can definitely kill one more!
He thought confidently and suddenly got out of the tree where he was hiding. He nimbly circled around the snake-shaped route and continued to rush down.
The entire Samonians' line of skirmishers was about thirty meters away from the enemy. Gherney leaned against a big tree and dodged the enemy's arrows like the other soldiers. When the archers took out their arrows, he emerged again and was ready to throw the javelin in his hand at the heavy infantry in front of him. At this time, he saw a shocking scene. The heavy infantry of Diónia suddenly threw away the long shields in their hands and made a throwing motion.
"Not good, javelins!" Gherney's eyes suddenly widened.
The heavy infantry on the opposite side actually threw javelins. Thousands of javelins mixed with arrows flew out, catching the Samoyed soldiers off guard. Many Samoyed soldiers who did not have time to hide were immediately pierced by the javelins, and screams could be heard everywhere.
Gherney did not have time to make a judgment. When the heavy infantry of Diónia threw the javelins, the javelin throwers ten meters behind them also rushed up and threw the javelins in their hands again. The light armored soldiers followed closely behind them. While the Samonians were dodging the javelins, they crossed the line of defense of the heavy infantry and quickly approached the enemy.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly! " Gherney knew that he could no longer show off at this moment. The strange tactical combination of the Diónia soldiers had disrupted their attack rhythm. If they continued to delay, they might not be able to leave.
Gherney quickly retreated while gesturing. The bugler who had been following behind him immediately blew the horn.
However, the speed of the light armored soldiers of Delnia was not slow either. As Lucanians, they were also good at climbing mountains. Moreover, they were also wearing light armor and had rested for a while. Therefore, when the Samonians hesitated for a moment, they were caught up by the light armored soldiers, not to mention the injured soldiers.
On the hillside filled with trees and rocks, it was a battle of spears against leather shields and short swords. It was not an easy task for the Samonai warriors to widen the distance between them and unleash the power of their long weapons. Once the Dionic Light Armor Soldiers got close to them, the Samonai warriors would be in danger.
On the mountain ridge, one was running while the other was chasing. It was common to see one-on-one fights with spears and swords.
When Gherney crossed the mountain ridge and escaped from the pursuit of the Diónia soldiers, he found that there were only about 500 people following him. He had lost almost half of his soldiers.
By the time he met up with Abbrini's troops, his good brother had already been hit by a javelin and was on the verge of death. Out of the thousand soldiers he led, only about 300 were left.
Originally, he wanted to ambush the Dionysian Army, but he did not expect to be ambushed by the Diónia soldiers. Furious and depressed, Gherney led his defeated soldiers and quickly retreated to the north without any rest.
… …
"These are the Samonians?!" Alexis looked at the corpses on the ground carefully. She even touched the thick calluses on the soles of their bare feet. "They're very hard, like they're wearing a pair of shoes. Xima, you just fought with the Samonians. Tell me how it feels to fight them. "
Xima thought for a moment and said, "Commander, the Samonians are very brave. They're all light infantry, but they dared to rush less than 30 meters away from us and throw javelins … Their formation is very loose, and there's a lot of time between them. This reduces the accuracy of our light infantry's long-range attacks. This tactic is very similar to our light infantry's tactics … Also, look —" Xima grabbed a Samonian javelin and passed it to Alexis.
Alexis weighed the javelin in her hand, then brought the tip of the javelin closer to her eyes for a closer look. Her expression became serious. "It's a javelin with a heavier spearhead. It's about the same weight as our javelins. Is that why nearly a hundred of your men were injured?"
Kelsima nodded and said seriously, "Their javelin throwing skills aren't any worse than Epthenis's light shieldbearers. As long as their shields are hit head-on, they can often pierce through them. That's how our brothers were injured …"
Alexis lowered her head and looked at the shields that were pierced by a few javelins. She said, "I heard from the soldiers that the Samonians run very fast in the forest. You couldn't catch up with them no matter how hard you tried. That's why they escaped."
Xima retorted, unconvinced. "The Samonians run very fast, but we Lucanians are also good at climbing the forest. If we weren't wearing heavier armor, we would have caught up with them long ago!"
"I heard from the people of Potentia that although the Samonians also have heavy infantry who wear breastplates, most of them are light infantry who throw javelins …" Alexis looked at the rolling mountains in front of her and felt a little worried. "Order the army to speed up and set up camp in the valley upstream of Basento, which is the closest to us!"
… …
Less than a mile north of Potentia City, in a former Potentia village, Gherni stood in front of the leader of the Hilpini tribe, Vilani, with his head lowered.
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