Chapter 6
Krylkus looked at the enemy's significantly thicker phalanx in the center, and then looked at the enemy's left wing, which was longer than his own. Although he had fully supported Little Cyrus from the beginning, it did not mean that he would be obedient. He refused bluntly, "Your Highness, I think we should first defeat the enemy's left wing, and then attack the enemy's middle. That would be safer."
"I know Artaxerxes, I know the Persia army, and I know your Greek phalanx! Believe me, my friend, your army will easily defeat Artaxerxes' central army! If Artaxerxes is defeated, no matter how many troops he has, it will be useless! "Little Cyrus persuaded.
Krylkus shook his head stubbornly, "I'm sorry, Your Highness! I will not expose the flanks of the phalanx to the enemy's army! "
Little Cyrus frowned and stared at Krylkus, but there was no time for him to organize his words to persuade the other. As for forcefully giving an order, the other party was a mercenary, not his subordinate.
"Alright, we'll do as you say!" Little Cyrus turned his horse around. He suddenly pulled the reins and galloped back the way he came.
… …
When the two armies were about 500 meters apart, the Greek soldiers began to sing the hymn of Ares, the god of war, and marched forward.
When the hymn ended, the distance between the two armies was less than 200 meters.
"Ares!!!" The soldiers shouted in unison and began to jog. They ran faster and faster … Tens of thousands of Greek heavy infantry gathered together to form a "Boom! Boom! Boom! " The sound of their footsteps was like rolling thunder gathering energy, as if they were going to use lightning to cut through the dark night!
The Persia seemed to be completely frightened by the overwhelming torrent of steel in front of them. As Xi Jun's army got closer and closer, other than a few horse-drawn carriages that charged straight into Xi Jun's troops, accompanied by blood-curdling screams, broken limbs, and finally disappearing without a trace, the rest of the people forgot to release their arrows or raise their shields out of fear.
When the two armies were about 10 meters apart, the Persia collapsed and turned to flee.
The Greeks did not expect victory to come so quickly. Their energy had not been vented yet, so they pursued the enemy even harder.
In the beginning, squad leaders like Hilos repeatedly reminded their teammates, "Keep the formation, don't run too fast! Keep the formation … "
In the end, the army completely scattered, and all the Greeks were in the excitement of the pursuit.
… …
Little Cyrus, who was in the middle lane, did not expect the victory of the right wing to come so quickly and was a little stunned for a moment.
"Long live King Cyrus!!!" The attendants had already begun brandishing their spears and shouting for victory.
"Your Highness, should we follow them?" Altapateus asked.
He shook his head and looked straight ahead to the left.
He knew very well that only by killing that person could he obtain the supreme crown.
"Pass down my order! Tell Alreus' left wing to stop advancing and prepare for defense! "Little Cyrus immediately gave the order. He knew very well that the most powerful force on his side was the Greek mercenaries. Since the Greeks had already repelled the enemy's left flank, there was no need for him to rush the left flank, which was obviously weaker than the enemy, to meet the enemy's right flank head-on. If they were also quickly defeated, this battle would be troublesome. It was better to stall for time and wait for the Greek mercenaries to return. That way, victory would be in the bag.
However, when he was patiently waiting for the enemy to close in, the enemy's middle lane suddenly stopped moving forward.
Soon, his expression changed.
This was because the enemy's middle had begun to split into two, with the left half turning around to the left.
"Not good! They want to attack the Greeks!! "Altapateus, who was beside him, shouted.
If the Greek heavy infantry, which had been scattered due to chasing after the routed army, were attacked from the rear, it was very likely that they would fall into chaos, and the situation would be reversed.
"Artaxerxes, how dare you change your formation on the battlefield! Do you really think that I don't dare to take the initiative to attack just because I have fewer cavalry?" Little Cyrus sneered and quickly made a decision in his heart. He raised his spear and pointed it forward. "Order the right flank to move forward! Cavalry, attack with me! "
"Your Highness, please put on your helmet!" The attendant hurriedly handed him his helmet. Little Cyrus had already galloped forward on his horse. The attendants on his left and right hurriedly caught up and quickly protected him in the center.
More than eight hundred cavalry formed a wedge formation and galloped straight towards the Persia army.
The commander of the Persia army's middle lane, Artaxerxes, did not expect Little Cyrus to dare attack at this time. He hurriedly mobilized his cavalry to meet the attack. However, at this moment, the army was changing its formation. The spinning infantry formation blocked the cavalry's path. With great difficulty, they managed to squeeze out a thousand cavalrymen from the gap in the formation. Little Cyrus' cavalry, which was galloping at high speed, was already in front of them.
With a burst of shouting and horse neighing, the Persia army's hastily put together cavalry line was instantly torn apart.
Then, like a sharp knife, the horsemen of Cyrus the Younger plunged into the back of that part of the Persian army, which was turning back.
Little Cyrus was brave and valiant. He had once hunted a black bear alone. Birds of a feather flocked together. His attendants and followers were also warriors. Facing the enemy with their backs facing them, they did not even waste their spears (because there were no stirrups at that time. When a moving cavalry stabbed an enemy, they had to let go immediately, or else they would be pushed off the horse by the reaction force). Instead, they charged into the enemy's formation at high speed and crushed the enemy.
Affected by the collapse of the left flank, the Persia infantry that bore the brunt of the sudden attack began to flee. Little Cyrus' cavalry took advantage of the situation and chased after them. However, Little Cyrus vaguely saw the carriage of the king of Persia in the dust. It turned out that the main force on the left flank of the Persia army was defeated, forming a big gap. Naturally, the king of Persia in the rear was exposed.
"To the left!!" Little Cyrus waved his spear excitedly. He bypassed the right flank of the Persia army that came to the rescue and stabbed into the rear of the Persia army. Dozens of cavalrymen followed closely behind.
"Quick, get into formation! Protect the king!! " Artagses, the general of Persia's personal army, shouted as he led dozens of royal cavalrymen around him to take the lead.
Little Cyrus showed no fear in the face of the swarming enemy cavalry. He drew out his Greek army knife and clamped his horse's abdomen with his legs. Looking for the right opportunity, he used the lance in his right hand to deflect Artaxis's fierce spear and stretched out the knife in his left hand. When the two horses crossed each other, Artaxis's neck was naturally cut open by the Greek army knife.
With his superb skills and horsemanship, Little Cyrus killed several people in a row. Soon, his cavalrymen caught up and blocked the other enemy cavalry for him. Only the royal guards around the carriage stood between him and the king of Persia, Artagses. He could even clearly see his brother's frightened face.
Thinking of Artaxerxes' imprisonment and the fact that Artaxerxes was occupying the throne that should have been his (this was only the imagination of Cyrus the Younger, and the old Persian king had never thought of passing the throne to him), a fire of anger burned in his chest. "Artaxerxes!" He roared and threw the spear in his hand with all his might. In the midst of the screams, the spear passed through the gap of the royal guards like lightning and hit the chest of the king of Persia.
The king of Persia screamed and fell on the carriage.
Seeing the king of Persia fall, there was chaos in front of him. His anger was finally vented. He laughed wantonly as if the crown of Persia was already in his hands. However, he did not hear the cavalrymen behind him shouting anxiously, "Be careful, Your Highness! Be careful!! … "
The laughter stopped abruptly. A javelin flew out of the chaotic crowd and pierced his eye.
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