Chapter 434
The Triene messenger galloped on his horse. As the Ramatho River was too deep for him to traverse, he had no choice but to make a big detour to the north.
By the time he reached the battlefield, he had already worn out the skin on the inside of his thighs. His horse's belly was stained red, and he was on the verge of collapsing. When he saw the Diónia scouts approaching him, he shouted, "I'm … I'm the messenger of Triene! Syracuse's fleet is carrying tens of thousands of soldiers from the Ramatho River as reinforcements … Quick! Go and report to your commander! … "
… …
Felicius was in a good mood. Although the defeat of the Allied Cavalry had worried him for a while, the Syracuse mercenaries were busy chasing the retreating soldiers instead of helping their infantry to reverse the situation on their right flank. Therefore, while he was feeling lucky, he also mocked the Syracuse cavalry in his heart. Although they were strong, they lacked discipline and the ability to see the big picture.
Now, Diónia's left flank was advancing, the middle was advancing, and even the right flank was advancing …
Felicius had already ordered the flagbearer to move the erected flag forward. It seemed that it would be moved again.
Soon! Soon! Felicius was calculating how much longer the Syracuse people could hold on. At that moment, he was certain that victory was as ripe as an apple. It was within reach.
But at that moment, a scout galloped from the west. "Reporting, Commander! Syracuse reinforcements are landing at the Ramatho River. There may be tens of thousands of them! " After receiving the notification from the Triene messenger, they rushed to the riverbank to confirm. What they saw shocked them.
"What did you say?! Tens of thousands of enemy reinforcements!! " Felicius, who was in high spirits, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.
"Yes, Lord Commander. Tens of thousands of Syracuse reinforcements! They're about to land on the riverbank a mile behind our right flank! "The scout shouted anxiously," We have to stop them! "
This shocking news caught Felicius off guard. His slightly panicked gaze swept across the people around him, and the people around him also looked at him nervously. He was the commander of the allied forces, and everyone was waiting for his orders.
Felicius realized this. He coughed twice to calm his flustered emotions. "Order! Two Light Armor Squads and two Light Infantry Squads, immediately rush to the riverbank where the enemy has landed. Stop them at all costs, don't let them attack our rear! "
"Yes!"
"Blow the bugle again! Urge the Fourth and Fifth Legions to speed up the attack! Hurry up and inform the two corps commanders and the three generals, Cypross, Ashias, and Ascamas of our current dangerous situation. Tell them not to hold back and attack the enemy with all their might! "
Everyone immediately obeyed the order.
After everything was set up, Felicius finally had the time to think: Where did the enemy get reinforcements of tens of thousands of people? Could it be Medma's troops? However, the Triene people had said that Medmar was just a small city. How could it send out tens of thousands of citizen soldiers? …
Felicius had yet to think about the Syracuse troops besieging Corunya City, because the scouts of the allied army had been reporting that more than forty thousand of the allied army of Silo had been preparing to attack the city.
Of course, he did not know that at this time, in order to help the allied army of Southern Italy, General Fedun of Lijim's army had even taken the risk of leading an attack on Medmar, hoping to force the Syracuse troops to return and disrupt Syracuse's plan.
However, from this moment onwards, the unease in Felicius's heart began to grow …
… …
From the middle of the formation to the shore where Syracuse had landed was a full six miles. Although the Diónia Light Armor Squads and Light Infantry were fast, they still needed some time. By the time they reached the riverbank, most of the Campanian mercenaries had already disembarked and begun to form up.
Although the enemy was large in number and occupied the entire riverbank, the soldiers of Diónia bravely charged forward. Under the guidance of the military flags held high by the team officers, the Diónia soldiers bravely charged forward according to their usual training habits.
Two thousand Light Infantry poured arrows and javelins at the enemy, while two thousand Light Armor Squads, armed with leather shields and daggers, charged forward as if they were flying, directly colliding with the loose formation of the mercenaries.
The surprise attack of the Dionysian Army was beyond Leptineus's expectations. Based on the past battle habits of the Greek city-states, he had thought that at this stage of the battle, both sides would have committed all their forces to victory. He did not expect that the allied army of Southern Italy would still be able to divert a troop to stop Syracuse's reinforcements.
Of course, he did not know that it was not that Felicius had already known of Dionysius's plan, but that there was a rule in the Diónia Military Law that stated, "As a commander, during a battle, he should maintain a reserve force so that he can enter the battlefield at the critical moment to change the situation." That was what Felicius did. The two thousand Light Armor Squads were his reserve force, while the two thousand Light Infantry Squads, after completing the initial attack, retreated to the rear of the formation and became part of the reserve force.
The sudden attack of the four thousand Diónia soldiers threw the Campanian mercenaries who had just disembarked into a state of confusion.
At this critical moment, Leptineus hurriedly directed the remaining ships to quickly dock. As the commander of the Syracuse Navy, his original task was to transport the reinforcements ashore. Leading the reinforcements to attack the enemy was the task of the mercenary leader, Emennas. However, now that Emennas was in a state of confusion among the soldiers, it was unknown whether he was dead or alive. Leptineus had no choice but to shoulder the heavy responsibility of rescuing him.
He jumped off the ship and ordered the remaining mercenaries to immediately disembark.
The mercenaries had already seen what had happened to their companions. They were very anxious, some of them did not even wait for the ship to dock before they jumped onto the beach.
After Leptineus hurriedly reorganized his troops, he led them around the mercenaries who were forced to retreat and were on the verge of collapse. Braving the rain of arrows from the Diónia Light Infantry, they attacked the flank of the Diónia Light Armor Squads.
The fierce attack of the Light Armor Squads was forced to a halt. In fact, the long distance march and the previous swift and violent attack had consumed a lot of their stamina.
The chaotic mercenaries at the front finally recovered and began to make use of their advantage in numbers and heavy armor. The casualties of the Diónia Light Armor Squads rose sharply. If the First and Second Diónia Light Armor Squads were here, they should be able to hold out longer. However, most of the Fourth and Fifth Diónia Light Armor Squads were from Bruti and Lucania. Born as mountain people, the combat education they received from a young age taught them to know how to avoid the enemy when they were at a disadvantage instead of fighting head-on. Although they had received military training and discipline from Diónia during the years they were in the alliance, the desire to save their lives prevailed in times of adversity …
The Diónia Light Armor Squads retreated. Without a barrier, the Light Infantry Squads naturally retreated as well …
… …
At this time, the battle had lasted for nearly an hour. Due to the physical exhaustion of the soldiers, both their fighting and their roars had weakened. However, suddenly, both sides sounded the bugles and drums at the same time, urging the enemy to attack.
The soldiers on both sides had to fight with their last bit of strength, speeding up their offense and defense.
For Dionysius, he only had one thought at this moment: Withstand the enemy's attack before the reinforcements arrived!
For Felicius, he also had only one belief: Break through the enemy's formation before the enemy's reinforcements arrived and establish victory!
Both sides had reached the critical moment to decide the outcome of the battle.
Effyart, who had several knife wounds on his arms and thighs, was so tired that he could not even lift his shield. The hand that was holding the short sword was trembling slightly due to the long period of overexertion. The sound of his panting was like that of a seriously ill patient. The enemy on the other side was in a worse state. Due to the heavy armor, he had already thrown away his round shield and was holding his spear with both hands. His whole body was swaying.
Effyart did not despise them in his heart. In the previous battles, no one from the Legion of Dionysia had used the unique feature of their formation (which was to swap the rear formation with the front formation). He believed that it was because the pressure from the enemy was too strong and they were too close to each other. Hence, the Legion Commander did not dare to change the formation easily.
In fact, the other main reason for not changing the formation was that this was the first time the Fourth and Fifth Legions had participated in a battle. Faced with a strong enemy, they were facing the Alliance Army on their left and right sides. It was also their first time fighting together. Felicius was afraid that if they changed the formation hastily, the soldiers would make mistakes under the pressure. In addition, the Alliance Army did not understand and did not cooperate. After all, swapping the rear formation with the front formation would require the entire formation to gradually retreat, which could lead to chaos.
The sonorous sound of the bugle not only urged the soldiers on both sides to hurry up, but also other troops, such as the mercenary cavalry of Syracuse who were leisurely returning after chasing the Alliance Cavalry. Of course, there were also two Syracuse reinforcements rushing to the battlefield.
According to the habits of the General of the Crotone Legion, Ascamas, he would definitely line up at the front of the formation and fight the enemy face to face. However, before the battle, Felicius requested the generals of the Federation Army to sit at the rear and not participate in the battle, so that it would be easier to communicate. At that time, Ascamas had mocked the people of Diónia for being afraid of death. Now, he should be grateful for Felicius' request, because he heard a different bugle sound coming from the opposite side.
The bugle sound came from the outside of the Crotone Legion. It was sonorous and ear-piercing, and it was getting closer and closer … Then, in his field of vision, countless soldiers in bright armor suddenly appeared …
Syracuse's reinforcements?! Ascamas panicked and actually fell from his horse. He watched helplessly as they roared and rushed towards the rear formation of the Crotone Legion like a tide.
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