Chapter 41
"Let's go! Let's go! "Hilos pulled him back. With him leading the way, the soldiers immediately retreated.
The Persia cavalry raised their bows and rushed over again. A few of them lifted Mithradate's body while the rest chased after the Greek soldiers. This time, they were smarter. They split into two groups and circled around the Devers.
"Be careful of the arrows!" Hilos shouted and waved for the soldiers to disperse.
The inexperienced Devers in the middle hesitated for a moment, and someone pounced on him from behind. Then, he groaned in pain.
"Olivers!" The Devers recognized him from his face that was contorted in pain, but he didn't have time to think. Matonis and Giogris quickly pulled the two of them and ran forward in a curve.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! " More than ten arrows flew toward them again, and two more screams sounded.
By then, the reinforcements had arrived. The light infantry in front threw javelins at the Persia cavalry, then raised their shields and continued to charge forward. The heavy infantry that came later raised their shields and formed a shield wall to block the arrows.
The Persia cavalry, which numbered only about twenty, didn't dare to fight. They quickly escaped with Mithradate's body.
The Devers finally had a chance to check on Olivers.
Olivers saw the Devers and broke free from Giogris's support.
"Leader … I … I …" Before he could finish, the Devers gave him a strong hug. "My good brother, thank you!"
Hearing this, Olivers's gloomy face broke into a smile. His entire body relaxed, and then the pain hit him. "Ouch!" he cried.
The Devers thought they had touched his wound and quickly let go.
"Hey, Olivers, you're lucky you got an arrow in your butt. If you got an arrow in your front, I don't know how you'd scream!" Matonis mocked.
"Damned Martonis, you're the only brave one. Try taking an arrow next time!" Olivers retorted as he touched the arrow on his butt.
The noise returned to Hilos's team.
This time, besides Olivers, there was another soldier who was shot in the thigh and another in the back. However, because of his thick breastplate, he only suffered a flesh wound.
"Giogris, take Olivers and the others to Herpes. Ask him to treat them properly!" After Devers finished speaking, he patted Olivers on the shoulder. "Receive treatment well and come back soon to fight with us!"
"Yes, leader!" Olivers replied loudly.
"What an excellent surprise attack! I didn't expect you to really succeed. We were all worried about you just now! "
"That's right. You killed Mithradat, which can be considered as part of the revenge for Menon and the others. The entire mercenary army should thank you!"
"Previously, Timason and the others said that we were crazy and chose a leader randomly. Let's see what they have to say this time."
Felicius, Antonius, and Capus came over together to congratulate the Devers, while Amyntas gave him a military salute.
The clever Asistes brought the horses over and let the Devers mount them.
The soldiers consciously made way for him, cheering for victory, and welcomed him back to the formation …
… …
"What did you say?! The Devers killed Mithradat?! " After hearing the messenger's words, Timason had a look of disbelief. "This is a time of war. Spreading false information will be punished!"
… …
"The Devers killed Mithradat!" Xenophon exclaimed. "He came up with a bold plan and actually succeeded!"
"That's great!" Hieronymus let out a long sigh and said hatefully, "Let's see who still wants to escape this time! The Persia's dead Mithradat will definitely take it out on those deserters! "
… …
Kelethorpes listened carefully to Tormid's account. Although he did not like the young man very much, he had to admit that he had done a pretty good job this time. It could even be said that he had saved the entire army. This was because he knew very well that mercenaries with lax military discipline and management were not afraid of enemy attacks. The fiercer the enemy's attack, the more united the mercenaries would be. On the contrary, Mithradat's method, over time, would disintegrate the soldiers' fighting spirit and cause the entire team to collapse.
Thinking of this, he smiled and said loudly to Tormid, "Please tell the Devers leader for me, thank him for his efforts for the army! Also, remind him that the enemy's attack will probably come soon. "
… …
"What?! Mithradat is dead?! "Alreus could not believe his ears.
"Yes, General, his body is outside the tent!" the guard said.
Alreus hurried out of the tent, followed closely by a trusted aide sent by Altauzus and Tisaphnis.
Mithradat's body had been simply handled, but it was still a horrible sight. There were four or five wounds on his body, and there was a fist-sized bloody hole in his neck that was still oozing blood.
Alreus bent down and was about to take a closer look when Altauzus could not help but shout at the Persia cavalry who had fled back, "Who did it?! Who did it?! "
"It's … Menon's soldiers, they …" The Persia cavalry stammered as they described the whole process.
"A bunch of idiots! You were defeated by that useless subordinate of Menon! You did not protect Mithradat well. Each of you will receive thirty lashes and be punished to be servants in the supply camp, "Altauzus roared angrily.
"General, have mercy! General, have mercy!! "The Persia cavalry kowtowed and begged for mercy.
Although Alreus felt pity for these cavalry who were proficient in Greek, he had no intention of stopping Altauzus. He instructed the guards to take the cavalry away, then said, "Bring a few of the Greeks who escaped here. I want to question them in detail."
"What else is there to ask? Kill them all! Then lead the army to attack the Greek barbarians! "Altauzus shouted impatiently.
"After Kleikus and the others were captured by us, the mercenaries must have chosen a new leader. We must first find out who they are before we can take the next step," Alreus advised patiently.
"If you want to ask, ask. I'll go avenge Mithradat first!" Altauzus stormed off.
Alreus shrugged helplessly at Tisaphnis' trusted aide. In name, he was the commander of the army after the death of Cyrus the Younger. In reality, Mithradat and Altauzus each controlled an army, and the two of them were good friends. They fought against Alreus openly and secretly, which often hindered Alreus. Now that Mithradat was dead in battle, Alreus was actually secretly happy. Compared to the more tactful Mithradat, the impulsive Altauzus was much easier to deal with …
… …
Although Altauzus was impulsive, he wasn't stupid when it came to war. He knew that the Persia infantry couldn't fight against the Greek heavy infantry, so he only chose two hundred cavalry archers and two hundred archers. He hurriedly led them in the direction of the Greek army.
Since Altauzus' army was either light cavalry or archers, they were very mobile. In the afternoon, the huge formation of the Greeks entered his field of vision.
"Order the troops to spread out in a goose formation and quickly advance!" Altauzus' eyes were bloodthirsty as he gave the order excitedly.
The Persia army was facing Kryano's rearguard. They had already expected the Persia army to come again. Seeing that there weren't many enemies, they thought that they were going to shout like last time. So, although they were on guard, they didn't take it too seriously.
However, the Persia army quickly spread out and closed in. In the blink of an eye, they were less than a hundred meters away.
Kryano had a bad feeling and shouted, "Prepare to defend!"
As soon as he said that, the Persia's arrows had already arrived. Most of them hit the soldiers' round shields like raindrops. Because the Greek soldiers were in a tight formation, and the light and heavy infantry were close together, some people were instantly injured, mainly the light infantry.
"Spread out! Heavy infantry, charge!" Kryano anxiously passed the order.
Arrows came again, and someone screamed and fell. At this time, the army was a little chaotic, especially the supply camp behind him. The guards and servants hurriedly pulled the neighing cows and horses to the north, away from the rearguard to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Three heavy infantry platoons held round shields and rushed forward against the rain of arrows.
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