Chapter 514
Capus's heart was pounding as he stared at the billowing dust in front of him and listened to the thunderous galloping of the horses. He knew that the key to the victory of this battle lay in the pike brigade that he was leading. If they won, they would destroy the greatest advantage of Syracuse, opening the door to victory for the entire army. If they lost, the enemy's powerful right wing would become even more powerful with the help of the cavalry, and the entire army would fall into a predicament.
Capus felt that he had a great responsibility, but there was no time for him to be nervous and uneasy. His own cavalry had already entered his field of vision …
"Raise your spears!" He roared, trying to vent the fear in his heart.
"Raise your spears!" The officers shouted in a trembling voice.
"Advance and you live, retreat and you die! Advance and you live, retreat and you die! " As the captain of the company, Tapirus heard the orderly shouts from behind him. He and the soldiers around him knew that it was the two thousand light armored soldiers that had been transferred to the various corps behind the pike brigade. Not only were they there to prevent the enemy cavalry from charging at the pike brigade, they were also the last line of defense. At the same time, they also had the authority to kill the pike brigade that deserted. In the past few days of training, the King of Devers had sternly reminded all the pike brigade soldiers.
However, even with the threat and reminder from the light armored soldiers behind them, Tapirus and his comrades still held their spears with trembling hands. Although they had made the Diónia cavalry act as the enemy cavalry to allow the new recruits to get used to it, those were only drills after all, and there were very few casualties. On the other hand, this was a real battlefield, and the momentum created by thousands of enemy cavalry was far more terrifying than during training.
The bodies of every pike brigade trembled along with the tremors of the earth, causing their spears to shake and clatter as they collided with each other …
At this moment, the orderly shouts came from behind them again, "For the rights of citizens! For the land! To be the heroes that save Diónia! … "
The shouts pierced through the noisy battlefield, drilling into the hearts of every pike brigade, evoking the greatest desire in their hearts. The power generated from this desire gradually stopped their teeth from chattering, and their tongues from trembling, allowing them to shout along with the light armored soldiers. Every time they shouted, the volume of their voices would increase, and the strength of their hands holding the spears would increase. When their shouts turned into roars that drowned out the clatter of the horses' hooves, spears after spears were pointed towards the direction of their enemies.
At this moment, Capus finally calmed down. While secretly praising the spiritual victory method taught by His Majesty the Devers, he paid close attention to the situation in front of him.
It would take some time for the two thousand Diónia cavalrymen to completely withdraw from both sides and clear the battlefield for the spearmen. However, Capus knew that he did not have the time to wait. The enemy would probably retreat or circle around the frontline after noticing the abnormality in front of them. Therefore, he could not wait for his cavalrymen to completely withdraw before taking action.
"Attack!" He waved his arm resolutely.
Capus was most worried about the fact that the entire Lancer Brigade would have to face the charging cavalry head-on instead of staying put like they did at the battle of the Trionto River.
This was also what Ledes was worried about. He was afraid that his cavalry would be too nervous or slow to move, and would directly collide with his own spear formation, causing unnecessary losses.
"Advance!" As the captain of the company, Tapirus reminded his soldiers with a slightly trembling voice, just like the other officers.
Meanwhile, the soldiers were still shouting the slogan that made them excited as they began to advance steadily with small steps. The soldiers at the back of the line stuck close to the back of the soldiers at the front. One by one, the spears protruded from the right shoulder of the soldiers at the front. From the side, the spears of the 15 soldiers formed a continuous "spear wall" from the front to the back, with a slight inclination.
Although the "spear wall" that glittered with cold light and caused people's hearts to palpitate because of the acceleration of the forward movement, it still remained tight. This tightness allowed every soldier in the formation to feel the collective strength, and they became calmer and calmer. At the same time, this tightness made every soldier unable to escape the battlefield even if they were afraid. They could not even turn around. The only thing they could do was to move forward! Keep moving forward! Until the enemy fell!
… … …
Galloping forward on horseback, it was easy for one's spirit to enter a state of excitement. This was especially so for the valiant Celtic cavalry. They had long been prepared to engage in an exciting battle with the incoming enemy, but they did not expect the enemy to turn and flee. This caused many of them to howl in anger. They urged their War Horses forward, swearing to catch up to these fearful enemies, behead them, strip their beautiful armor, snatch their War Horses, and hang their heads on their horses. Even when the mercenary cavalry on the far left crossed paths with the Crotone – Triene reinforcements, a few overly excited foreign cavalry rushed forward to attack and throw their javelins. However, they were repelled by the Diónia light infantry that caught up to them.
The Celtic cavalry at the front was getting closer to the enemy, and many of them had already drawn their swords. At this moment, a faint uniform shout came from the dust-filled front, causing them to be shocked. An enemy ambush ahead?!
Just as they were beginning to feel uncertain, the enemy cavalry in front suddenly turned to the side. Some of the cavalry chose to continue their pursuit, while others began to slow down their War Horses. The cavalry at the back were engulfed by the excited shouts of their comrades and the thundering hooves, and did not notice the abnormality in front of them.
Tapirus, who was in the middle of the spear phalanx, could already see the enemy cavalry in front of him. Some of them had disheveled hair, some wore pointed leather helmets, and some wore dark-colored striped clothes. They waved big swords in their hands and let out strange cries as they rode their big horses straight at them.
"Bless the Hades!" Tapirus could not help but pray to the Netherworld King, causing the soldiers around him to shout as well. Some soldiers even closed their eyes in fear, but their hands instinctively gripped their spears even tighter. This was a weapon that could protect him and give him psychological comfort in this terrifying battlefield where he could not escape.
They were afraid, and so were the enemies.
When they noticed that the enemy had changed direction, some of the Celtic cavalry followed in time, while others tried to slow down their horses. On the empty battlefield in front of them, a vague "human wall" suddenly appeared amidst the cloud of dust. The warhorses that were charging forward quickly allowed them to see that it was not a "human wall", but a "spear wall"!
The densely packed spears extended towards them, not only sending chills down their spines, but also causing their warhorses to neigh non-stop. However, the inertia caused the Celts and their horses to collide into the spears …
In an instant, the screams of men and horses rang out, blood splattered, and spears snapped …
Fortunately for the spearmen, the four-meter-long spears formed a dense spear wall, preventing the enemy cavalry from charging at them before they could even reach them. As they had heard the shouts of the spearmen, most of the Celtic cavalry had consciously slowed down. The length of the spears also reduced the force transmitted to the bodies of the soldiers. Thus, most of the soldiers at the front relied on the support of the soldiers at the back to offset the force of the impact. Only a few of them staggered back along with the soldiers at the back. Thus, although the Celtic cavalry caused some chaos when they collided with the spearmen, it did not cause the formation to fall apart.
Of course, if the cavalry at the back continued their charge, the spearmen of Diónia would definitely break through, causing the soldiers to fall back. However, in this era, the heavy cavalry that had yet to undergo special training to charge directly into a dense formation of infantry. Even the ferocious Celtic Cavalry only dared to attack the rear of the infantry formation or rely on their horsepower and speed to charge at the scattered light infantry. They would not be foolish enough to risk their lives to charge directly into the front of the heavy infantry formation, not to mention the frightening formation of spears in front of them. Even if the men dared to charge into the formation, they would not dare to do so. Unless the warhorse's eyes were blindfolded, it would definitely jump and cry out, shaking off the cavalry before turning around and running away.
When the Celts noticed the abnormality in front of them, they hurriedly reined in their galloping War Horse. The reins suddenly tightened, causing the War Horse to feel extreme discomfort. Some of them went berserk and threw their masters off their horses. Some of them fell forward due to the sudden lack of oxygen in their necks. Their riders were thrown towards the wall of spears due to inertia, and were pierced by the sharp spears …
Behind them, Leader Gabba and many of the Celts finally managed to stop the charging War Horse. At this moment, Gabba could no longer be bothered with the death of his subordinates. Looking at the wall of spears in front of him, he shouted in panic, "Retreat! Retreat! … "
There was no need for him to shout. Every surviving Celtic cavalry wished they could sprout a pair of wings and immediately fly away from the terrifying spearmen that were rapidly approaching them. However, just as they were about to turn their horses back, the second wave of attack — the Numibian cavalry — galloped over. Amidst the dust cloud, they discovered the Celtic cavalry that was turning around. It was not an easy task to immediately stop the galloping horses of nearly two thousand and make a tactical maneuver to give way.
In an instant, the cavalry screamed and the War Horse neighed. Both sides collided …
Some of the riders fell off their horses. Before they could even get up, they were trampled by countless hooves. They didn't even have the chance to scream before they died. Some of the riders and their horses were knocked back to the front, directly crashing into the wall of spears in front of them …
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