Chapter 58
When they reached the middle of the river, they found that the water only reached their crotch, just as Kerlethorpes had said. This relieved the uneasy soldiers, and they quickened their pace.
The Persia army was already some distance away from the river bank, and the dense rocks along the bank affected their speed. The catapults at the back of the mercenaries used their long range to disrupt the Persia army's formation. Therefore, before the chaotic Persia army could reach the bank, and before the archers could fire two rounds of arrows, the mercenaries had already reached the bank.
Orontas, a great Persia noble who spent most of his time in his tent drinking wine and playing with dancers, had never done a detailed investigation and understanding of the battlefield. When he saw the mercenaries crossing the river so easily and approaching him like hungry wolves, he completely panicked.
Fortunately, his adjutant was calmer, and urged the infantry to quickly surround them.
After the first few rows of the mercenaries rushed ashore, they had to slow down because of the rugged reefs on the shore. This gave the Persian army some time to catch their breath. Finally, they surrounded the mercenaries like a tidal wave and gradually surrounded them tightly …
The mercenaries were never afraid of close combat. They used the round shield in their left hand to protect themselves and their teammates, and raised their spears high in their right hand to stab the enemy in front of them. The soldiers in the back also stretched their spears forward to protect their teammates in the front, and at the same time, to deter the enemy. Although the soldiers at the back of the formation could not participate in the battle, they did not just stand by and watch. They tried their best to push the soldiers in front of them forward, hoping to use their strength to push back the enemy's formation, or even break it.
The valiant Kaldan soldiers faced the mercenaries' ferocious charge head-on. They waved their spears and fought back without showing any signs of weakness. Meanwhile, the Persians had more soldiers and higher ground to offset part of the impact of the Greek heavy infantry. The archers and cavalry at the back of the Persia army did not dare to show weakness. They desperately shot a round of arrows to counter the long-range attacks of the Greek catapults and archers.
The two sides engaged in a bloody battle on the north bank of the Kentrit River. If the mercenaries won, they would descend upon the soil of Armenia and ravage it, which Orjontas and his Armenians did not wish to see; if the mercenaries lost, they would be destroyed. Therefore, both sides were doing their best.
The mercenaries standing in the middle of the river faced the greatest dilemma. On the one hand, the biting water was sapping their strength, and on the other hand, most of the Persia's arrows were falling on them. This allowed them to use their shields to protect themselves while also preventing themselves from being washed away by the river.
Devers saw with their own eyes that a soldier had slipped and fallen. The soldiers around him rushed forward to save him, but he was hit by an arrow and fell into the water. It was not a serious injury, but because he was wearing heavy armor, it was difficult for him to get up …
Why aren't the Sparta soldiers here yet? Devers were anxiously looking forward to it.
Orontas, who was standing on top of a large rock, calmed down because of the balance of the battle. He saw the mercenaries struggling to be washed downstream by the Kentrit River from time to time, and he began to feel hopeful again. Of course, he couldn't see, nor would he see, the soldiers under him falling one after another …
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the right flank of the army.
"What's Atucas doing?" Orontas looked to the right in anger and saw a shocking scene. The light infantry and cavalry archers at the rear of the right flank were fleeing in panic. Behind these defeated soldiers, there were hundreds of fully armed Greek soldiers forming a thin infantry line, driving the defeated soldiers towards the middle …
"Greeks! It's the Greeks! Quick! Quick! " … "Orontas panicked once more and began to shout indiscriminately.
The adjutant hurriedly led the governor's personal guards forward to stop the defeated soldiers and prevent them from charging through the middle formation. However, the Greek soldiers were not like ordinary Greek heavy infantry at all. They ran quickly and chased after the defeated soldiers behind them. With a swing of their shields, they knocked out one soldier, and with a swing of their spears, they knocked out another soldier. They were simply efficient killing machines. The Persia soldiers ran for their lives like demons from hell. The personal guards could not stop them at all. In an instant, they were swept to the left and the formation of the Persia soldiers on the right and middle was completely shattered …
The mercenaries who were stopped at the riverbank easily broke through the line of the panicking Kardan soldiers and began a massacre …
It had to be said that the Sparta soldiers, who had been trained since they were young, had strong tactical skills. According to their rough plan, they began to consciously drive the defeated soldiers to the riverbank. Except for a few sober Persia soldiers, most of the soldiers did not know which direction to go and only followed the flow of people. When they saw the wide Kent River in front of them, they all burst into tears of despair …
After the personal guards escorted Orontas to a safe place, Orontas could not help but cry when he saw that only a few hundred soldiers followed him out of the originally mighty army of more than 20,000. He knew that with his strength, he could no longer stop the Greek mercenaries from setting foot on Armenia's territory.
The mercenary leaders were excited. Faced with a large number of Polish soldiers who had surrendered, they quickly made a decision. They released the soldiers of other races, such as the Kardan soldiers, and expressed the goodwill of the Greek mercenaries to them. As for the Persia soldiers, the leaders and the Devers had no choice but to slaughter them!
The Greek heavy infantry ignored the pleas of the thousands of unarmed Persia soldiers and used shields and spears to drive them into the Kent River. They stabbed them randomly and used stones and arrows to cause chaos in the river. Those who fell into the water would pull down the people around them in order to survive. They were like crabs in a jar, pulling at each other's legs, and no one could escape …
Not long after, the Devers saw that the river was densely packed with floating corpses. He sighed inwardly and shifted his gaze to the other side. There was no trace of the Dukayas. Obviously, they were too frightened to come out after seeing the defeat of the Polish army.
The mercenaries' rearguard and supply camp were also able to easily cross the Kent River. Then, under the leadership of the leaders, the whole army occupied the empty camp of Orontas. The fleeing Persia left behind a large number of supplies and supplies. So, after the whole army made sacrifices to Zeus and Oceanus, they began to celebrate their victory.
Because everyone knew that after defeating Orontas, no one in Armenia could stop them from advancing forward. They were even more confident that they could return to Greece!
Epilogue of the first volume
After finishing the first volume, the Devers' adventure in Persia temporarily came to an end. In fact, the content I wrote was only a very small part of Xenophon's "The Long March". The mercenaries also experienced a lot of difficulties and setbacks, but there was no need to waste ink on this because it was not the focus of the book. Also, I'm not boasting, but I don't like to write too much when I write. (In fact, the author's writing style is poor. He doesn't know how to pile up flowery words … laugh!)
The Devers was reborn in this era and adapted to it. Through his own wisdom and hard work, he became the leader of the mercenaries and gradually mastered military skills. He won the hearts of the troops and gained a firm foothold. He had already achieved the goal of this volume. Next, he should fight for his ideals, and not endlessly fight and kill on the way back to his hometown …
For me, it was a relief because this volume restricted my imagination and thinking too much. After all, the idea of this volume could not deviate too much from the time, characters, events, and other clues in "The Long March". On the basis of retaining about 20% of the story in the original book, I made 80% of the innovations.
The following story took place in a region that was unfamiliar to readers and unfamiliar to scholars. The history of this region could only be found in Herodotus' "History", Thucydides' "History of the War of Peloponnesus", and other works left behind by scholars of that era. Combined with historical evidence such as ruins, inscriptions, and artifacts excavated by later generations, scholars had a general understanding of the region's history during that period. However, there was no detailed record of its history, so the recorded history of the various city-states was intermittent. Not only were the political systems and diplomatic relations of the various city-states vague, but the characters, events, and time of occurrence were also not very specific.
Based on the collected information (there was even less information about it in our country), combined with my own inference, and coupled with my imagination, I conceived a story that I felt was more reasonable. As the Devers moved forward, I unveiled its mysterious veil. I hope you will be satisfied.
The Devers still had a long journey ahead of them. This was just the beginning. Let us accompany him, encourage him, and experience his legendary journey together …
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