Chapter 529
However, Dionysius was concerned about the safety of the rear, so he strictly ordered the Locklee people to guard against the Lijim and prevent Medma from being ambushed again. At the same time, the Locklee army had to help the Triene garrison to prevent the Dionysian Army from appearing on the Ophelia Plains through Kenapetia. Therefore, the main force of Locklee was forced to stay in the city of Medma by Dionysius.
Diopantos felt very aggrieved. However, when the news that the navy of Syracuse had suffered two crushing defeats at the hands of Diónia came, Diopantos had to be more vigilant. This was because Diónia, who had the advantage of the sea, might send their troops to the rear of the battlefield through their fleets – to Silesia, Hibernian, Triene, Corunna, and even Locklee. Most of the soldiers of Locklee were in Medma, and a small number of them followed the army of Syracuse, so the city was very empty.
At this time, he was not in the mood to fight at the frontline. Other than hoping that Syracuse's powerful army could defeat the Diónia and prevent them from attacking the rear, he also paid close attention to the situation of the enemy around him.
Soon, the Syracuse fleet entered Taurina.
Diopantos, who heard the news, became even more nervous. However, because Medma's port was blocked by Diónia's warships, he could only send scouts to investigate the enemy's movements across the Maro River.
This morning, Diopantos received a report from the scouts: there seemed to be some movement at Taurina port.
He had a bad feeling in his heart.
Sure enough, a few hours later, a messenger from Hibernian galloped from the north, telling him anxiously: Lijim's army was preparing to attack Hibernian, and he hoped that the Locklee army could immediately rush over to help!
Diopantos was already prepared for this. The whereabouts of the Lijim and Dionysian fleet had been exposed, but he was actually relieved. He immediately left 5000 soldiers to defend Medma, while he quickly led 10,000 soldiers north.
By noon, his army had entered Hibernian territory.
Feidun knew that Rockley's army was coming, but he didn't panic. As it turned out, after he landed on the coast of Hibernian, he sent his cavalry to inform the Dionysian Army that had already landed on the Ophelia Plain yesterday afternoon. He did not expect to run into the Triene Army that was preparing to garrison the Triene Empty City. Only then did he know that the Diónia Army had defeated the Syracuse Army in the battle and had already reached the city of Siridon.
Lijem's scouts immediately rushed to the Sirius and contacted the Dionysian army. Only then did Dyvers send Xilos, Antonios, Hieronymus, and Ledes to reinforce them.
When Feidun received the good news brought back by the scout, he was both surprised and overjoyed. Therefore, when the reinforcements were about to arrive, he didn't panic at all. Instead, he was secretly delighted.
He sent the scout to inform the Diónia Army that was on the way, and set up a battle formation outside Hibernian.
An hour later, the Rockley army arrived outside Hibernian.
Diopantos saw that the Lijim army was ready for battle, and he was naturally unafraid since he had the advantage in numbers. After setting up the battle formation, he immediately launched an attack.
Feidun had originally considered using the tactic of luring the enemy, but it was difficult for the Lijim army, who had only undergone a few rounds of military training in a year, to play such a difficult tactic well. Feidun, who was serious and dared to put his life on the line, simply chose to fight head-on. He placed himself at the forefront of the battle formation.
The Lijim army, who only had half the number of soldiers, was naturally no match for the enemy. After fighting for a while, they were finally defeated due to the enemy's fierce attacks on their flanks. The soldiers threw away their armor and fled north.
Diopantos had no intention of letting these defeated Lijim soldiers go just like that. In fact, during this period of time, he had been troubled by the Lijim army led by Feidun. Under Feidun's leadership, the Lijim militia, who had always been rather delicate, were rather resilient. Even after the ambush by the Rockley army during the siege of Medmar, and after retreating back to Taurina, the Lijim still crossed the river to harass them from time to time.
This was a rare opportunity. The Lijim were trapped in the land between Hibernian and the Ramator River, with nowhere to run. Diopantos could annihilate this big trouble in one fell swoop, obtain a glorious battle record, and win himself fame.
Therefore, he led his soldiers in hot pursuit, not giving the Lijim any time to recover. He wanted to prevent them from escaping to the warships by the sea and escaping Hibernian.
Diopantos' idea was good, but unfortunately, the information he and Feidun knew wasn't equivalent.
After the general of the garrison at Syracuse in Triene learned of their crushing defeat last night, he didn't send anyone to inform Hibernian that night. He wanted to do so the next day, but his troops split up, so he didn't send any messengers at all. He believed that the troops returning to Hibernian would inform their mother country of the news.
Unexpectedly, not long after the returning troops crossed the Ramator River, they encountered Lijim's landing troops to the north of Hibernian and were quickly routed. Feidun sent a small portion of his soldiers to chase after the routed troops, while the rest quickly headed south and surrounded Hibernian. Before that, the Hibernians who learned of the Lijim's landing had already sent a messenger to Medma asking for help. Therefore, Diopantos didn't know of the important news of Diónia defeating the Syracuse army. Or even if he knew, he would have stepped up his attack, hoping to get rid of the troublesome Lijim before Diónia moved south. Based on his previous battlefield experience, he would never believe that Diónia could reach Hibernian in such a short time after the battle ended last night.
But that was how the "miracle" happened. After receiving the Devers' orders, Diónia's reinforcements quickly assembled and set off. Halfway through their journey, they received an urgent messenger from Feidun. Hilos, Antonios, Hieronymus, and Ledes had a brief discussion and came up with a battle plan. They first sent scouts to Triene to inform Cypross, and at the same time urged the troops to speed up their march.
The Diónia soldiers who had been marching since morning were a little tired, but with the veterans of the First Legion leading by example, taking the lead in carrying out military orders seriously, and hearing that there was a victory waiting for them once they reached Hibernian, the ten thousand Bruti recruits immediately took big strides.
By the time Diónia's reinforcements crossed the Korta River, a tributary of the Ramator River, and entered Hibernian territory from the east, the Locri had already chased the Lijim into a narrow area between the coast and the Ramator River.
Although Diónia's fleet was anchored there, the panicked Lijim soldiers did not have time to board the ships. Seeing that they were about to be chased into the sea by the enemy, Cypross led a thousand Trina soldiers across the Ramator River and launched a frontal attack.
The Locri were shocked. They thought that the defenders of Triene on the other side of the Ramator River were Syracuse's defenders. They did not expect the Triene soldiers to come, and they were caught off guard.
Although their numbers were far less than the Locri's reinforcements, the Locri had already scattered after a long period of pursuit. The soldiers could not find the general, and the general could not manage the soldiers. Not only did they lose their formation, but they also lost their organization. The Trina's attack easily pierced through their front. Just as Diopantos was urgently gathering the scattered soldiers and preparing to deal with this new threat, a deafening shout of "Hades" came from the rear of the Locri army.
The Bruti troops led by Hilos, the Bruti troops led by Hieronymus, the First Legion led by Antonios, and the cavalry led by Ledes totaled more than 15000 soldiers. With rumbling footsteps, they crushed the Locri army's rear with a wide front.
Seeing such a terrifying scene, the morale of the scattered Rockley soldiers plummeted. Before the battle even began, they scattered and fled in all directions. The only task left for Xilos was to pursue them. And for the Dionysian army, they were the most experienced in chasing down routed soldiers.
To the north was the Ramator River, to the west was the sea, to the northeast was the Triene people, and to the southeast was the Diónia army. The sailors of the Secklian fleet also disembarked and joined the pursuit from the southwest. With more than a thousand cavalrymen, the Locri army was almost surrounded. In the end, more than 9,000 people were captured, and less than a thousand managed to escape Diónia's pursuit. Diopantos was not one of them. Although he had already thrown away his helmet, the dazzling breastplate he had specially made to show that he was different from ordinary citizens had become the target of attention and pursuit of the Diónia cavalry. Thus, he could not escape the cavalry's pursuit.
When Hilos, Antonios, and the rest saw Fedun, he was focused on cleaning the wounded soldiers of Lijim.
Hilos and Antonios looked at each other.
Antonius took a step forward and called out respectfully, "General Fedun!"
Only then did Fedun look up from his busy work. When he saw the few soldiers wearing purple and red crowns in front of him, he hurriedly wiped his bloodstained hands on Lijim's breastplate and told the soldiers beside him to continue with the treatment. Then, he quickly stood up and praised loudly, "Generals of Diónia, you have come at the right time! In this battle, you have completely defeated the main force of the Locri army! "
"No, General Fedun, you are wrong." Antonios' words stunned Fedun. Then, he continued, "This is a victory that Diónia, Lijim, and Triene have won together! This is a glorious victory that belongs to the Southern Alliance! "
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