Chapter 608
Even if the Downey soldiers could detect the enemy's movement, it was almost impossible for them to react. They did not have the habit of keeping a reserve force, so they could not withdraw their troops in time to defend themselves. It was only a matter of time before they lost.
… …
"Huff! Huff! " Adoris panted heavily as he chased after the routed soldiers in front of him.
He didn't expect that the enemy would panic and collapse just as the troops circled to the rear of the enemy's flank and were about to pounce on them. In order to catch up to the enemy, he threw away his shield, and later threw away his spear. He only took out his short sword, hoping to kill an enemy so that he would not have participated in this battle in vain.
But the damn Downey soldiers ran too fast!
The team that he belonged to had received a solemn order from their leader beforehand, so how could they dare to let him take the risk alone? They had been following him closely, and at this moment, they were all panting from exhaustion.
"Woo! Woo! Woo! " The bugle sounded on the battlefield. The whole team finally heaved a sigh of relief.
But Adoris did not seem to hear it and continued to chase after them.
The captain became anxious and shouted, "Adoris, are you going against the order?!"
Only then did Adoris stop in his tracks unwillingly. He stared at the enemy in the distance and angrily threw his dagger to the ground.
"Don't worry, the enemy can't run away. Our cavalry will not let them have it easy," the captain comforted him.
Adoris lowered his head and did not say anything. He was too angry. He did not even touch a hair on the enemy's body before the battle ended.
… …
"Congratulations, Commander. You've won this battle. You've completely defeated the main force of the Downey army!" The officers around Alexis congratulated her.
Alexis said calmly, "We have more soldiers than the Downey soldiers, our training is stricter, and our equipment is better than the Downey soldiers, so we should have won. But this is not enough to defeat the main force of the Downey soldiers … Tell the messengers to gather the troops and regroup. Then we will march towards Herdonia City!"
"Yes, Commander!" The messenger rode away.
"Commander, should we write a report to the Turís?" the adjutant, Matsius, asked excitedly.
Alexis nodded slightly. "Tell the king that we defeated the 20,000 Downey soldiers at the Orfanto River. Our next step is to take Herdonia City. Tell him not to worry."
… …
"Commander, Prince Adoris is not injured. He is gathering with his team to the 4th Brigade."
Olivers immediately relaxed. He smiled and said, "That's good, that's good!"
Then, he thought of something and turned his head to call the adjutant over. "Write a letter to His Majesty in my tone. Tell him that Adoris performed bravely when the Fourth Brigade was circling the enemy's flank. He was at the forefront of the charge and even after the enemy was defeated, he still pursued them. In short, write about Adoris's outstanding performance in the battle without exaggerating it too much. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Commander," the adjutant replied. He immediately went to get a pen and paper.
"Write it and show it to me. Stamp it with my seal and send it back to the Turís," Olivers urged.
"Yes, Commander!"
"Everyone, our next target is Herdonia!" Olivers pointed forward with his right hand and squeezed his legs. The War Horse moved forward. The officers and guards around him followed closely.
… …
"This Olivers!" The Devers could not help but laugh after reading the letter that Olivers sent. He knew that the letter must be full of exaggeration, but he was relieved that Adoris was safe.
"Send someone to deliver this letter to the house on the hill and give it to Kristoya," the Devers said. At least this letter could make his family not worry about Adoris.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The clerk, Henepolis, took the letter and left the king's office.
A man walked up to him. "Sir Henepolis."
Henepolis quickly returned the greeting. "Sir Antonis."
Although Henepolis was only a middle-level official, he was also a senator of the Senate. This was one of the rewards given to him by the Senate when he proposed to merge Laos into the Kingdom of Diónia. He was the youngest senator in the Senate. Of course, the reason why the powerful Antonius treated him so respectfully was mainly because he was the herald of Dyvers. In the kingdom, other than his family, he could be said to be one of the elders closest to King Dyvers.
Antonis asked softly, "Is His Majesty here?"
"He is waiting for you."
Antonis took a small step forward and lowered his head to ask, "Sir Henepolis, can you tell me … why did His Majesty ask me to come here today?"
Henepolis glanced at the faintly visible gloominess on Antonis's face. He hesitated for a moment and said, "The promotion list for middle and low-ranking officers."
Antonis was stunned after hearing this.
Every year, the Ministry of Military Affairs would decide who would be promoted based on the performance and achievements of the soldiers and team officers. In the absence of war, officers had to serve for a certain number of years before they could be promoted. The promotion of middle and low-ranking officers could be decided directly by the Minister of Military Affairs and only needed to be reviewed and approved by the king. This was the regulation in the Military Law of Diónia. Since the establishment of the Ministry of Military Affairs, the Devers had rarely meddled in this matter. Usually, when the name list was submitted, it was never rejected. At most, a few names would be added.
This year's name list was submitted five days ago. Because he was worried about his brother-in-law, Paphocles, he forgot that His Majesty the Devers had not sent the name list back to the Ministry of Military Affairs … Antonis was shocked when he thought of this. He slowly walked to the king's office while wondering what was wrong with the name list.
As the guard at the door announced the name list, a familiar voice came from inside, "Antonis, come in."
Antonis took a deep breath, stepped on the smooth marble floor, and walked into the king's office named by the Devers.
It was indeed a hall, not a room. Although it was not as large as the hall on the first floor of the palace, it was three or four times larger than the room Antonis used to work in the Ministry of Military Affairs. Red wooden chairs were placed neatly on both sides of the hall, where the ministers and officials sat when they were summoned to discuss matters. There were rows of small windows on the top of the stone wall that allowed sunlight to pour in, ensuring that the hall was well-lit. The aisle in the middle was very spacious. When necessary, a few long tables could be placed on which maps and documents could be placed to discuss important military and political affairs. In fact, the king's office was the place where the Devers and the ministers discussed and dealt with the kingdom's affairs. The palace downstairs was more used for receiving foreign guests and major festivals.
At the end of the aisle was a large and heavy desk. Behind the desk was a large mosaic of a large map of Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Two smaller wooden tables were placed on both sides of the desk, where the clerk and the clerk worked. This showed how busy the Devers were. Every day, various departments would gather a lot of documents in the office, and the clerk would have to help him sort them out, sort them, file them, read them aloud, and then write them according to the Devers's instructions. After that, the Devers would sign the documents and send them back …
But now, the busy office was empty, except for the Devers sitting behind the desk. The stack of documents on the desk half-covered his face, which made Antonis a little nervous. He had been here many times in the past, but he had never felt like this. However, Paphogris's crime, Asistes's persuasion, and the attitude of the Devers towards Laodisian in the Senate the day before yesterday made him feel uneasy.
"Your Majesty!" He walked to the desk and greeted respectfully.
"Sit!" The Devers stood up and pointed at the wooden chair next to him. As Antonis slowly sat down, the Devers picked up a document on the desk and asked calmly, "Have you looked through the officer promotion list in detail?"
It was indeed the list. Could it be that His Majesty was not satisfied with some of the candidates?! Antonis thought quickly and answered cautiously, "There are too many people to be promoted this time. I only checked the names and performance of the company captains and company captains …"
The Devers did not deny it. He asked again, "Who drafted this list?"
"… Mainly the officials under me. They drafted the list according to the recommendations of the various corps commanders …" Antonis said truthfully.
"The current inspector of the Ministry of Military Affairs is Zantiparis, right?" The Devers asked casually.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zantiparis, one of the mercenary leaders of the Persia Expeditionary Force, was too old. It was difficult for him to continue leading troops to train and fight. In the end, he did not become a corps commander. The Devers remembered their friendship in the past. Moreover, Zantiparis was familiar with military affairs after decades of fighting. Hence, he was transferred to the Ministry of Military Affairs as an inspector. He was responsible for supervising and reviewing the promotion of officers, military expenditure … and so on.
"Take a look." The Devers saw that Antonis was still confused, so he handed the list to him.
Antonis quickly got up and took it. He did not sit down but stood up and started reading. However, the current Kingdom of Diónia was different from ten years ago. There were ten infantry legions, four naval fleets, and four cavalry legions. Hence, there were hundreds of people promoted in the list. There were more than ten pages of papyrus, densely packed with names of people and units. How could Antonis find any problems in such a short time?
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