Chapter 508
The regimental commanders, platoon leaders, company leaders, and platoon leaders of Diónia had made meticulous arrangements. The Neto River became very lively at that moment. Nearly 60,000 Diónia soldiers, who had been waiting in formation, began to rush to their destination under the leadership of their respective team officers.
The First Legion's crossing position was close to the estuary. As the commander of the First Company of the Fourth Brigade of the First Legion, Leotychides followed the army's arrangement and led 200 soldiers of the company in a neat formation, waiting by the shore. In front of them was a three-tiered warship that was 30 meters long and six meters tall.
"Hey, Prososus (Leotychides's pseudonym in Diónia), let's compete to see whose company can reach the other side of the river first. Get into formation!" shouted Het Barus, the commander of another company next to him.
Before Leotizides could answer, the soldiers shouted, "The second company should take a good look at their own training. How dare they compare themselves to us!"
"Let's compete! Who's afraid of who? But if we lose, we'll have to do frog jumps! "
"Hey, what's going on? Why aren't we getting on the ship? They've already started to leave! "
…
"All of you, be quiet! Stay focused!" Leotizides roared, and the entire company immediately became quiet.
Leotychides's company training was extremely strict. He was also strict and inflexible. Soldiers who did not take their training seriously would be punished with corporal punishment, or even beaten and scolded. Many citizens who had just joined his company felt that it was intolerable and requested to be transferred to other companies. But Leotizides, in every corps tournament, not only was he the best in individual officer competitions and tactical competitions, but his company often came out on top in formations, attacks, defenses, encampments, sieges, and so on. Because of this, there were many citizens who admired him and volunteered to join his company. The soldiers respected and feared him at the same time.
"You can board the ship now!" shouted the captain of the warship to the company on the shore.
"Team One, Team Two, upload!" Leotychides immediately shouted.
The frontline soldiers of the two squads quickly put the ten-meter-long ladder on the side of the ship. After the hook at the top hooked onto the wooden railing, the soldiers quickly climbed up the deck one by one. Soon, the two squads, a total of one hundred people, had all boarded the warship. The waterline of the entire warship had also sunk by a notch. Fortunately, this was close to the estuary, so the river was relatively deep. Furthermore, each company was temporarily responsible for building a simple dock that was not too long.
The warship lifted the anchor, turned the rudder, extended the oars, and began to glide southward, picking up speed. Even downstream, the width of the Netto River was no more than 80 meters. The warship quickly reached the other side. After the soldiers disembarked, the warship returned at an even faster speed.
In less than ten minutes, the entire company had assembled on the south bank of Netto.
At this time, Leotychides smiled, obviously satisfied with the soldiers' performance.
"Pythias!" he cried.
"Here!" The First Division's leader responded loudly.
"Go and ask the 2nd Company if they're ready."
"Yes." When Pythias ran over, the soldiers of the company laughed.
Soon, there was a shout from the side. "Didn't your company not agree? That's why we slowed down! "
"You're cheating!" The soldiers of the 1st Company laughed even louder.
Leotychides actually liked the lively atmosphere of cooperation and competition in the Legion of Dionysia. It allowed him to relive the intimate scenes of fighting with other soldiers in Sparta, and it also allowed him to forget the suffocating pain of the past.
He looked forward and thought to himself, 'Captain Septimus should be blowing the bugle to assemble the company.'
… …
On the north bank of the Netto River, Devers stood on horseback on high ground, looking down at the thousands of soldiers on the riverbank.
Under the guidance of the military flag, they stepped onto the pontoon bridge in an orderly manner and advanced towards the south bank.
No one knew which officer came up with the idea to have the company sing the song of the Hades loudly to overcome the soldiers' fear of the swaying pontoon bridge when crossing the river. But soon, the song rang through the entire river, and each battalion and company sang their own song, as if they were competing to see who sang better and louder, and who would have more fighting power …
On the four pontoon bridges, four "long dragons" advanced quickly towards the unknown south bank. Banners fluttered, and the song soared …
This scene made the Devers who were looking down feel excited, and their faces flushed. After years of hard work, the Diónia Alliance had actually built such a large army!
"Your Majesty, shouldn't we set off?" Capus reminded him.
"You can't wait too?!" Davus smiled.
The Devers arranged for Capus's spear brigade to be the last to cross the river. Although Capus knew there must be a deeper meaning behind it, when the soldiers saw that the other legions had already crossed the river, they naturally could not wait to cross the river as well. This time, the newly formed troops were not as disciplined as the other legions, so it was normal for them to behave like this.
The Devers did not make things difficult for Capus. He turned around and said, "We have also crossed the river."
The guards immediately cheered and clustered around the Devers. Hundreds of cavalrymen galloped down from the riverbank, stirring up a cloud of dust …
… …
"Sir, the cavalry of Diónia is approaching!" A scout rushed all the way and reported urgently.
Dionysius, who was at the rear of the army and slowly advancing towards Sirityn, heard the news and immediately became spirited. "How many cavalry?"
"About 1,000 cavalry."
"No matter how many cavalry of Diónia come, they are just going to die. I will lead my men and kill them all now!" Akhilita asked loudly.
"Don't worry." Dionysius, however, was relieved and smiled. "Diónia has crossed the river at once. With so many cavalry, their infantry must be following them. Akhilita, if you lead the cavalry now, you will scare away the enemy that I have spent so much effort to lure across the river. "
"Then what should we Numibians do?" Akhilita still did not understand what Dionysius meant.
"Your cavalry continue to retreat!" Dionysius stared at Akhilita and then at Garba who did not speak at the side. He gave clear instructions loudly. It was not until the two nodded reluctantly that he was relieved. He then said to the attendant, "Let the orderly rush to the front of the troops and inform the Fasipesas to lead the troops back!"
"Yes, sir!"
… …
At the port of Laos, more than 6,000 Diónia soldiers were boarding the ships one after another.
"Sir Bagoule, I will have to trouble you to stay for a few more days regarding Laos." Hilos said to Bagoule who came to see them off.
"Don't worry." Bagoule responded solemnly. "Although I am eager to go to the battlefield with you and participate in the battle, as a member of the Senate, I understand the importance of Laos to the Alliance. I will handle the affairs here until the people sent by the Senate come to take over!"
Hilos also said solemnly, "Sir Bagoule, I also ask you to rest assured! Whether it is the Bruti soldiers or the Lucanian soldiers, I will treat them equally. When the war is over, I will try my best to let them all go home safely! "
Bagoule laughed heartily. "I am most relieved to hand my brothers over to you, Sir Hilos! I have already warned them to strictly follow your orders. If they violate it, you can punish them according to the military law! "
"Thank you!" Hilos sincerely expressed his gratitude to Bagoule.
At this moment, the messenger arrived. "Sir, the soldiers have boarded the ship. Please give your instructions!"
When Hilos heard this, he immediately looked toward the city. There was a hint of impatience on his face. He said to Bagoule again, "His Majesty is anxiously waiting for our operation. We have been delayed for a day yesterday. Time is tight! Sir Henepolis is not here yet. I will not wait for him. Please convey my apologies to him. "
"Hmm … Hmm … Wait a little longer. He should be here soon …" Bagoule advised with a strange expression. "Henepolis said … he has something very important to tell you."
"Something very important?" Xilos looked suspiciously at the strange expression on Bagula's face and asked, "What is it?"
"Hmm, wait for him —" Bagoule was thinking about how to evade when a clear voice came from behind him. "Sir Hilos, I have kept you waiting!"
Hearing this, Bagoule breathed a sigh of relief.
Xilos, on the other hand, widened his eyes because the person walking towards him was Hennepolis in full military uniform.
Do I need to wear armor to send him off? Hilos remembered that even when Laos was recaptured and the army entered the city, this young consul was still dressed casually.
Just when he was a little puzzled, Henepolis came to him with 50 similarly armed soldiers. "Sir Hilos, let's go!"
"Go? With you? "Hilos thought he had misheard.
"When I left Turií, His Majesty the Devers had promised me to be his clerk and witness the war. Moreover, as an ally of Diónia, Laos has a duty to participate in the coming battle, so I'm going to fulfill my duty!" Henepolis said with a serious expression, but there was a hint of delight in his words.
"You … But what about Laos?" The Archon had actually left Laos when there were so many things waiting to be done. This was why Xilos found it hard to believe.
"You and Bagoule handled the affairs of the city well yesterday. I have already spoken to Sir Bagoule, and had Alliandos cooperate fully with him. There are no problems, am I right, Sir Bagoule? "Henepolis winked at Bagoule.
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