Chapter 417
At that moment, Torek was looking at the Diónia camp in the distance.
In fact, the Samonese reinforcements had already arrived last night. They had planned to attack at night, but they found that the Diónia had already built a camp and it was heavily guarded. Torek was also a seasoned leader. He knew that in the dark, especially when there was no moonlight, an attack of tens of thousands of people could easily go out of control and cause unnecessary losses. Therefore, he restrained his impulse and delayed the attack until the next day. As a result, the Samonese reinforcements spent the night in the mountains. It was already early November, and the weather in the mountains was getting colder. Even though the soldiers were wrapped in leather robes to sleep, they still felt cold.
Torek rubbed his slightly frozen hands. He did not expect the Diónia to build a seemingly large camp so quickly. But then he thought, it's better this way. The Diónia probably won't be able to escape!
He looked at the chief commander of Kaultini's army and said in a negotiating tone, "Chief Quinduc, my people will attack from the north and east, and your people will attack from the west. What do you think?"
"I have no objections." Quinduc nodded and then asked, "What about the south of the enemy camp? Don't let them run away. "
"The south." Torek pointed at the distant city of Poseidonia and said confidently, "They can't run away!"
Quinduc understood and said excitedly, "It seems that the Diónia have become prey that has fallen into the trap. It's just the right time for the warriors to vent their anger after not sleeping well last night!" Quinduc said as he rubbed his slightly cold body with his hands.
Torek looked around at the densely packed warriors behind him who were eager to fight and ordered, "Blow the horn!"
… …
The long and powerful sound of the horn pierced through the morning mist and reached Poseidonia, which was two miles away. Piccini and Mobke, who were standing on the city wall and looking up, heard it. They were instantly shocked. "Did you hear that?!" Piccini shouted. It's our horn. Our reinforcements have arrived! "
The Samonese warriors on the city wall shouted excitedly.
"Warriors? Get ready to go out of the city to provide support at any time, and eliminate those hateful Dionians!" Piccini's dejection from yesterday was swept away, and he shouted in high spirits.
"Roar! Roar!! The soldiers roared in unison.
… …
Alexis observed the slowly approaching enemy from the watchtower. She said calmly, "The enemy is preparing to attack. Tell all the squads to get ready!"
"I'll go now." The adjutant turned around and went downstairs.
"The rest is up to you guys." Alexis said expectantly to the ballista observer, Steponian, who was also on the tower. Since the observer was from Dionysia Academy, Alexis' attitude was quite polite.
"Don't worry, Lord Commander!" Steponian replied confidently, but his heart was pounding. Because of the morning fog, he could not clearly see the markings made outside the camp yesterday, so he could only rely on his eyes to judge.
… …
Torek led the attack on the north side of the camp.
Due to the lack of time, when the troops rushed to the rescue, they did not bring the Syracuse ballista, nor did they have any large siege equipment. They only made a few dozen ladders at the last minute before resting last night. But Tony believed that it was enough! This was because the scouts reported that there were no other defensive facilities outside the Diónia camp except for the trenches. Therefore, the huge reinforcements only needed to break through the not-so-tall mud wall of the camp, and the Diónia could only wait for their deaths inside.
When the attacking troops were about 250 meters away from the camp, Torek swung his spear forward. "Attack!"
More than ten trumpeters blew their horns at the same time. "Woo! Woo! Woo! … "The sound echoed throughout the battlefield.
Some of the Samonese warriors carried the ladders, some raised their shields, and some only held javelins and spears. They began to move faster …
… …
"Elevation 40, full string, small projectiles!" Steponian shouted from the watchtower.
"Prepare the ballista!" The ballista captain ordered. "Elevation 40, full string, small projectiles!"
Under the soldiers' quick control, the ballista let out a creaking sound.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! … "Stone projectiles were ejected with a strong gust of wind.
The ballista captain looked at the stone projectiles flying towards the enemy. He was excited, but also a little regretful. The ballista had bombarded the city of Poseidonia for a long time yesterday, causing some of the ballistas to be damaged. Otherwise, they would have killed more enemies.
Torek saw a shadow flying over his head and thought, "Not good!"
However, he was not as surprised as General Diopantos. After all, in the hearts of the Samonese, the Greeks were all highly skilled. If Syracuse could make ballistas, then so could Diónia.
The ballista did not scare Torek. Instead, it stimulated his ferocity. He waved his short sword again and shouted, "Charge! Kill all the Greeks! "
The warriors around him roared, and the roar quickly spread to the entire army. The screams caused by the falling stone projectiles were completely drowned out. The Samonese's morale was high. They took large strides towards the Diónia camp.
"100 meters!" A shout came from the watchtower.
"Archers, get ready!" Ibilu, the light infantry captain, shouted.
The archers had been waiting behind the mud wall for a long time. They spread out in a fan shape and pulled their bows.
Hundreds of arrows rained down on the Samonese's attacking formation. The screams caused by the stone projectiles were no longer the few screams caused by the stone projectiles.
The weak defense of the Samonese brought a lot of results to the light infantry of Diónia. However, the screams did not slow down the Samonese's advance.
After only two rounds of arrows, the Samonese had already rushed within 50 meters.
The soldiers of Diónia Legio III could clearly hear the rumbling footsteps of the enemy and feel the slight tremors caused by the countless footsteps. Even their shouts shrouded the entire camp. Although the soldiers were a little nervous, they did not panic. This was because they were Diónia Legio III. They had made many military achievements for Diónia. They participated in the Second Crotone War and took down the city of Asplustum alone. They had raided the city of Grumentum. They had quelled the rebellion of Lucania with a legion, annihilated the forces of Sinsinag, and captured the city of Picossis. The dazzling stars on the flag of Legio III symbolized their honor! Today's battle would definitely increase the honor of the Third Legion!
The company captain, Hitinotte, was once a Greek slave in Neutum. After Diónia captured Neutum, he gained his freedom and chose to settle in Neutum. He eventually joined the Diónia Legio III and became a mid-level officer who commanded 200 people through his own efforts. The hatred of the past had dissipated. Now, he was fighting side by side with the Lucanian soldiers who he once hated but were now like brothers for their homeland, the Diónia Alliance.
"Javelins!" he shouted.
The well-prepared soldiers standing on the mud wall threw the javelins in their hands with all their might. The Samonais who rushed to the camp's trench also threw javelins.
For a moment, countless javelins crisscrossed in the air. As both sides had fought before, they already understood each other's tactics and raised their shields to protect themselves.
Compared to the densely packed and poorly equipped Samonais warriors outside the camp, the Diónia soldiers were on high ground and had the protection of mud walls and shields. Their casualties were not high, but from time to time, javelins would hit the shields. It was very inconvenient to use them, but at the moment, there was no time to cut them off.
Although the Samonais suffered more casualties, the rain of javelins continued. With its suppression, the Samonais warriors rushed to the trench and jumped directly into the trench. Some set up long ladders, while a few people set up human walls and began to climb up with all their might.
The Diónia soldiers threw javelins into the trench. At such a close distance, almost every shot was accurate. But even so, they could not stop the Samonais from attacking.
"Pour oil! Quick, pour oil! " Stheniotte shouted anxiously as he bent down to grab the tung oil tank that had been prepared in advance and placed behind the wall. Then, he heard a scream. A soldier behind him was pierced in the left shoulder by a javelin and fell to the ground in pain.
Stheniotte crouched down vigilantly and peeked out from behind the mud wall. He happened to see a Samonais javelin thrower less than five meters away from him holding a javelin. The javelin was about to throw, but it was shot down by the marksman on the sentry tower of the camp.
Stheniotte quickly stood up and smashed the oil tank down. It hit the head of a Samonais warrior in the trench. The oil tank broke and oil spilled everywhere.
Quite a number of soldiers on the mud wall did the same thing as Hitinaute. They threw their torches into the trench, and a wall of fire instantly rose in the trench. Countless men on fire howled in the trench until there was no sound …
… …
"Commander, the enemy in the north has temporarily retreated. According to preliminary statistics, we have 240 casualties." The adjutant rushed to report.
"We have lost so many brothers before the battle even started." Although there were more Samonais moaning on the ground and burning in the trench outside the camp, Alexis still frowned. She was also a little afraid of the lethality of the Samonais javelins. He pointed to the south of the camp and said, "Look, the enemy in Poseidonia has also come out. The battle has just begun."
"It's a pity that we brought too few oil tanks! Otherwise, if they were used in several directions at the same time, the Samonais would have suffered great losses! "The adjutant said regretfully.
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