Chapter 738
During the construction of the camp, Leotychides had requested that the camp of his allies be built in the same style as Diónia's camp. This made it much more difficult for the Carthage army to attack, especially the Numibian army. When they attacked Minoa City previously, they had suffered many losses and suffered many casualties. Their morale was low, and their movements were cautious. Therefore, even though they had the advantage in numbers, they did not put much pressure on the southern camp.
However, the situation was not optimistic for the northern camp. The hill was not large, and the terrain was rather short. Therefore, the area of the camp was smaller, making it easier to attack. The 12,000 soldiers that Carthage was in charge of attacking the northern camp were mainly made up of Carthage civilians. A small portion of them were citizens of the neighboring Phoenician states, such as Utica. Compared to the Numibians, this army was much more enthusiastic and well-equipped. Most of them were heavy infantry.
At this time, the main defensive force of the northern camp, the Agrigento, was not in the camp. They did not have enough troops to send out to attack the Carthage army, who were doing their best to dismantle the traps. They could only ask the Diónia light infantry, who were sent to the hill to attack the Holy Knights, to retreat to the camp to assist in the battle. However, the arrows and javelins they threw were not enough to cover the Carthage army that surrounded the camp.
Just as the Carthaginian army was about to reach the trench, a few thousand Sikaer warriors suddenly rushed out from the northern mountains and threw a large number of javelins at the rearguard of the Carthaginian army. Although the Carthaginians had anticipated the appearance of the Sikaers and made some preparations, they didn't expect that there would be so many Sikaers that came to harass them. As a result, they were caught unprepared …
"What did you say?! Four or five thousand Sikere appeared in the north?! "Monadeno was shocked.
"Yes, my lord. The attack of the Sikere caused many casualties to Lord Reguka's army, making it impossible for them to attack the Diónia camp, "the scout reported.
"Damn barbarian!" Monadeno cursed. After thinking for a moment, he turned to his adjutant and said, "Inform the Lumibian Cavalry that has nothing better to do to hurry to the north and attack the Sikael army. Chase them back into the mountains so that Reguka can attack the enemy camp with all his might! Also … I want you to personally go to the South and bring six thousand Lumibians here! "
The adjutant left after receiving the order.
Soon, 3000 Numibian cavalrymen kicked up a cloud of dust as they galloped north.
Monadeno, on the other hand, was not in the mood to pay attention to this. He frowned and stared straight ahead. Although the scouts were unable to penetrate deep into the formation and could not understand the true situation, they could tell from the deafening battle cries and the incessant screams that the battle was quite intense. Up until now, the battle had already lasted for more than half an hour, but the Holy Knights were still unable to advance an inch. This made Monadeno very uneasy.
He wished that he could replace the Sacred Legion with the Numibian troops, but that was impossible. Therefore, he could only mobilize the Numibians to strengthen the Holy Legion's formation and provide them with more strength and support.
… …
As the small phalanxes of the Eighth Legion of Diónia gradually approached each other, the speed at which the Holy Knights were slaughtering each other increased. This was because the Holy Knights were facing enemies from all directions …
The formation of the Eighth Legion finally closed up, and the sounds of battle gradually faded away. Even the screams were silenced as the Holy Knights fell to the ground and were trampled by countless feet …
Although the four divisions under Diocasis' command had finally merged into one, he did not feel relaxed. This was because each division had lost some soldiers, especially the two divisions at the front. Moreover, the soldiers who fell in such a fierce melee battle were either seriously injured or dead when the battlefield was cleaned up after the battle. Very few of them could recover. How could he be happy? But now was not the time to be sad. There were still enemies fighting in front of them.
At the beginning of the battle, the attack of the Carthage people at the front was a little messy due to the lack of effective command. Now, it was even more chaotic. This was because many of the Holy Knights who were pushed out did not want to fight anymore and only wanted to escape. Although they had performed very bravely in the battle, it was for the sake of survival. As the children of the Carthage aristocrats, although they had undergone strict training and had strong bodies, they had never experienced such a fierce battle. Seeing their comrades falling to the ground one by one and being trampled into meat paste … This tragic scene frightened them, making them want to escape from this hell-like place. Therefore, they pushed and shoved the Holy Knights who blocked their way, and even clashed with them …
"Brothers, attack! Attack! Completely destroy the Carthage people! "Diocasis shouted loudly, encouraging the soldiers to continue fighting.
The shouts of the team officers rose and fell. Leotychides, who had been closely observing the battle from the mountainside, would not let go of such a good opportunity.
"Woo!" The sonorous sound of a bugle rang through the battlefield.
When the reserve troops heard the bugle, they immediately took large strides forward. The entire formation behind them stuck to the formation of the Eighth Legion in front of them. The two forces merged into one. The powerful forward force of tens of thousands of people was not something that the Holy Knights, who had lost nearly half of their men and whose formation was extremely chaotic, could resist. They retreated continuously and finally collapsed …
Milefio, who was originally at the rear of the Holy Knights, was still riding back and forth tirelessly when his army was obstructed by the Dionysian Army. He found familiar team officers among the disorderly soldiers and encouraged them to reorganize the soldiers. After a long period of hard work, it seemed that the Holy Knights had regained some order in the midst of battle. However, it suddenly became even more chaotic and soon, the Holy Knights were routed.
Milefio was muddle-headed as he was dragged along by the retreating soldiers. His mind was blank as he fled. He could not understand how such an elite Holy Knight army could be so inexplicably defeated.
The Legion of Dionysia, who had been fighting fiercely for nearly an hour, did not care about their fatigue and continued their pursuit. They did not give the retreating Carthage Holy Knights any chance to rest and regroup.
At the same time, Leotychides also sent out the 4th Cavalry Regiment and the Light Infantry Brigade. These two troops, who were already fast and had been recuperating, charged out of the tunnels on both sides of the Diónia formation. They quickly ran in front of the heavy infantry and pursued the retreating Holy Knights fiercely and continuously.
The 6,000 Numibian troops had just entered the lowlands when they were surprised to see the Carthage Holy Knights, who usually flaunted their prowess and wore colorful armor, had now thrown away their beautiful shields and beautiful helmets. Their hair was disheveled as they screamed at them in panic. "Help! Help! The Diónia Holy Knights are coming! Quick! Hurry up and stop them! Quick! … "
Thousands of Numibians charged at them like stray dogs. The morale of the Numibians was not high to begin with, and they made a rare unified movement — turn and run …
Tens of thousands of routed soldiers ran out of the lowlands in a terrifying manner.
Monadeno was stunned when he saw the scene.
His adjutant tried to persuade him. "Sir, we … have lost. Let's retreat to the camp-"
Before he could finish, Monadeno turned his War Horse around and clamped his legs on it.
The War Horse whinnied as it carried him across the Pletani River …
Although the Numibians were fleeing, they were not too panicked because there were still Holy Knights running behind them. However, when some of the 4th Cavalry Regiment's cavalry rushed into their rear, panic quickly spread through the entire army, forcing the Numibians to flee.
The originally shallow and narrow Pletani River became the biggest obstacle on their way. Some people slipped and fell on the mud at the bottom of the river due to panic. They grabbed each other in panic and dragged more people down with them. This blocked the escape of the Holy Knights behind them. They angrily pushed and shoved, and the routed soldiers were in a mess in the river …
Then, the pursuing Diónia cavalry and infantry stabbed them with their spears and bayonets. Screams rang out, and corpses floated on the surface of the river. Blood dyed the Pletani River red.
The routed soldiers fled across the river and headed straight for the main camp. The Diónia soldiers were hot on their heels. Due to the previous battle, Monadeno had almost emptied the camp of his soldiers. The main camp had no defense at all. The routed soldiers did not dare to stay in the camp for long and continued to flee west.
The sudden collapse of the Sacred Legion was beyond the expectations of the two Carthage armies that were attacking the Allied Army's camp on both sides. When the Numibian army in the south received the news, they immediately turned around and ran down the mountain. When the Numibian cavalry in the north received the news, they immediately stopped fighting with the Sikells and turned their horses to flee west. As a result, they were the ones who fled to the front.
On the other hand, the general who led the Carthaginian militia, Reguka, was shocked when he heard the news of the collapse in the middle. He immediately withdrew the troops that were attacking the barracks and reorganized their formation. He wanted to lead them to attack the pursuing Dionian army from the flank in an attempt to reverse the situation and save the fleeing soldiers.
However, many of the Carthage soldiers saw the ferocious momentum of the Dionysian Army in front of them and felt diffident. They all advised, "General, we'd better retreat! The Sacred Legion has been defeated, and the Numibian cavalry has fled. The Numibians will never stay and fight! If we don't escape now, we may be surrounded by the Greeks! "
Leguka was still a little hesitant.
Bugles sounded in the barracks on the mountain. The Dionysian heavy infantry reserve battalion that Leotizides had sent to the barracks, as well as the Agrigento soldiers who had rushed back to the barracks after regrouping, totaling more than 3,000 people, rushed out of the barracks together towards the Carthaginian army at the foot of the mountain. The thousands of Sikaer soldiers also rushed towards the Carthaginian army from the north.
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