Chapter 435
"Report! Lord Commander, our blocking troops have been repelled. The enemy is attacking our right flank! "
Although Felicius was mentally prepared, he still felt his heart palpitate when he heard the news. He stared anxiously at the dust-filled area in front of him. The figures and voices were still the same as before. The Diolia Legion that he had high hopes for still showed no signs of breaking through the enemy …
"Lord Commander, what … what should we do?" the aide-de-camp asked anxiously.
Felicius was silent. The Allied Forces did not have the strength to stop the enemy's reinforcements at this moment!
His heart was in a mess, but he still had a sliver of hope. However, this hope was quickly shattered.
"Lord Commander, enemy reinforcements have appeared on the right flank! There … There are tens of thousands of them! They are attacking Crotone's rear fiercely. Crotone … Crotone can't hold them off … They are already retreating … "
"What!!" Felicius and his followers were dumbfounded, as though they were struck by lightning.
The battle-hardened Felicius was the first to regain his senses. He immediately yelled, "Retreat! Blow the retreat horn! Retreat immediately!! "
Since the Allied Forces' defeat was certain, then … they had to bring the Fourth and Fifth Legions back safely! Under Felicius' pained gaze. "Woo! Woo! Woo! … "The retreat horn resounded from the rear of the Allied Forces.
Not only were the Dionysian soldiers shocked, but the various officers were also in disbelief.
"Is Felicius crazy?! We're about to break through Syracuse's defense, and he dares to ask us to retreat at this moment! " Dracos was furious. Even though a messenger later conveyed the reason why Felicius chose to retreat to him, he still found it hard to accept.
"Give me a little more time! A little more time! Wait for my legion to defeat the enemy before retreating! The Legion of Dionysia has never been defeated before. We cannot lose this honor in our hands! This is a disgrace! … "
Hearing their commander's pained roar, the surrounding people lowered their heads sadly.
… …
"We've … lost …" Epicthenis gripped the mane of his warhorse tightly after hearing the messenger's words. The tame warhorse neighed in pain and kept digging the ground with its front hooves, but Epicthenis did not notice it at all.
"… Move the flag." He squeezed the words out of his mouth with great difficulty. His face was already glistening with tears.
When the bugle was blown, the army soldiers had to look at the direction of the military flag. This was because the battlefield was very noisy, and it was difficult to distinguish between the enemy and their allies. Only with the help of the military flag could they confirm that there was no mistake.
"Look! The flag is moving!! "The Diónia soldiers who were looking back were in an uproar.
Not only were the regimental flags, but the platoon flags as well as the company flags were also waved behind them.
… …
"Congratulations, my lord! The Hellenes are routed, and you have won the battle! This is a great victory. From now on, you have the final say in this land! " Faced with the praise of Damocles, Dionysius did not feel too proud. Victory was within his expectations after all, 70,000 versus 50,000. However, he did not expect Syracuse's most elite heavy infantry to be completely suppressed by Diónia's so-called 'legions' on the battlefield. Most importantly, these were the Fourth and Fifth Legions made up of foreign races (Dionysius had been rather diligent in collecting information on Diónia). If they had encountered the First and Second Legions, what would Syracuse's heavy infantry do?
Therefore, even though they had won, Dionysius still remained vigilant. "Although the enemy has been routed, the battle is not over yet. Continue to urge the reinforcements on both flanks to continue the pursuit. Kill and capture more Greeks, especially the Diónia!"
"Bring all the messengers to me and find Akhilita and Garba. Tell them that I am very angry at them for disobeying orders and assisting in the attack on the enemy's right flank. Unless they immediately pursue the enemies in black armor, kill as many of them as possible, and capture as many of them as possible, don't even think about getting a single silver coin as a reward!"
… …
Efyarte had practiced how to retreat in his previous military training. He did not expect to use it in his first battle. After throwing his shield at the enemy with a pained expression, he turned around and ran with his short sword in hand. The enemy threw a saber at his back, causing him to stagger and almost fall.
Efyarte quickly got up on all fours. His unit was already more than ten meters away from the enemy's formation. He looked at the fluttering military flag and hurriedly chased after them.
The moment when he turned around to escape was the most dangerous moment. Some soldiers were stabbed by the enemies that caught up to them. Seeing their comrades fall to the ground and cry for help, the legion soldiers who had always emphasized unity no longer cared about saving their comrades. They ran with all their might, hoping to put some distance between them and the enemy.
The team leader shouted, "Quick! Quick! Quick! " Efyarte's nervous heart was temporarily relieved when he heard the commander's voice clearly. The officer said, "Quick! Quick! " This did not mean that the soldiers were allowed to run around randomly. According to the Diónia Military Law, they were required to gather under the nearest military flag and move together to avoid confusion and disorganization.
As they ran, Efyarte heard the footsteps behind him getting softer. When he turned around, he saw that the enemy had already put quite a distance between them and some of them had even stopped chasing. It was easy to understand that the soldiers of Diónia had exhausted their stamina while carrying heavy armor and fighting non-stop for an hour. Furthermore, in their usual military training, armed cross-country training was one of the most important activities. The people of Sparta had also done this since they were young. The soldiers of Syracuse who had already won the battle obviously did not have the desire or the ability to continue chasing after the enemy.
Efyarte's nervous heart calmed down even more.
However, after running for a while, the main force gradually slowed down.
It turned out that Legio IV's position was slightly to the right, adjacent to Triene. Emmennas led the Campanian mercenaries from the west to the east in an attempt to catch up with the fleeing Triene. At the same time, the sailors of the fleets anchored on the river bank saw that there was a chance for them to take advantage of the situation. In order to obtain the spoils of war, they also went ashore to join in the interception. This made the large net of pursuit denser and denser, forcing the large group of panic-stricken "fish" to flee eastward. This naturally reduced the space for Diónia's Legio IV to retreat.
"Quick! Quick! Quick! " Epithenis, who was standing on the bank of the Korache River, anxiously urged his legionnaires to quickly cross the river. He did not care if the soldiers could hear him in such a chaotic situation.
Felicius, who was standing on the other side of the Korache River, was in even more pain. He did not expect that the river, which was chosen as a barrier to prevent the enemy cavalry from taking a roundabout route, would now become a shackle to the retreat of the Legion of Dionysia. Although the river was neither wide nor deep, thousands of panic-stricken soldiers surged in at the same time, instantly trampling the riverbank into mud. Once a panicked soldier fell, not only would it be a disaster for him, but it would also be a disaster for the soldiers behind him.
Countless soldiers were entangled in the riverbed. There was no longer any order. Everyone was pushing and shoving, and the scene became even more chaotic.
Felicius felt like he was seeing the tragedy in the canyon of Persia again. His cries and warnings were so insignificant in this ten-mile stretch of river that they could be completely ignored.
Felicius was filled with regret and hatred. He did not dare to look again. When he turned his head, he saw a row of buglers and military drummers behind him. In an instant, an idea flashed through his mind. "Quick! Blow the 'Battlefield March'! Blow the 'Battlefield March'! … "
He shouted crazily, and the buglers were so frightened that they hurriedly put the horn mouthpiece on their right shoulder into their mouths. Because of their nervousness, they blew the first note out of tune, but gradually, they played it more fluently and more forcefully.
The 'Battlefield March' was also adapted from a symphony that Devers had heard in his previous life. It used a majestic, powerful, and fast melody to show the fearless spirit of the soldiers rushing to the battlefield and killing the enemy. When this melody echoed in the Korache River Segment, the soldiers of Legio IV who heard it were aroused with courage and honor, and gradually regained their rationality. The chaos in the riverbed was also alleviated.
At the same time, Felicius ordered the light armored soldiers who had previously retreated from the riverbed to go down to the riverbed and form a dense formation to separate the Triene people. This would reduce the disruption to the orderly retreat of the Fourth Legion of Diónia. In an emergency, they could even use force to drive them westward. At this moment, Felicius had no choice but to harden his heart against his allies.
"Sir Commander, the Fifth Legion … The main force of the Fifth Legion has not reached the riverbank yet!" An adjutant hurriedly rushed over to report.
"What?!" Felicius felt like his head was about to explode. The first wave had not yet subsided, and another wave had arisen. He could not help but be furious. "What is Dracos doing?!"
… …
Due to Dracos' unwillingness, he hesitated on the issue of retreat. Most of the soldiers heard the buglers but saw that the military flag had not moved, so they did not dare to retreat.
It was only when Dracos realized that the left and right troops of the Fifth Legion were all retreating, and the Fifth Legion was about to become an isolated army that he hurriedly ordered a retreat.
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