Chapter 797
The two commanders of the cavalry corps were busy gathering their cavalry. Meanwhile, Tormid, the commander of the Diónia army at the rear, understood the changes in the enemy's formation after receiving the reports from the scouts. Of course, he had to respond accordingly.
He pondered for a moment and issued an order. The light armor brigade of the Fourth and Fifth Legions at the rear of the left and right flank were to move forward quickly and spread out to the flanks to block the enemies who were attempting to surround them. Meanwhile, the light armor brigade of the Second Legion at the rear of the middle was to be divided into two groups, ready to support the flanks at any time.
After all, it was very difficult for the light armor brigade to confront the enemy's heavy infantry head-on. Tormid had no choice but to do so. He just wanted to buy a little more time.
As the order was issued, the troops began to move, stirring up a cloud of dust. Tormid, who had been in a state of anxiety, suddenly opened his eyes wide. "What's going on?!"
Through the gray dust, he saw Cloto Catax and the 40 palace guards who were resting quietly in front of him suddenly moved to the right.
"My lord, no one gave His Highness any additional orders!" One of his men quickly explained.
"Go! Send someone to tell His Highness to obey the order and stay where he is! "Tormid said anxiously.
Cloto Catax saw the messenger shouting at the rear of the formation. He immediately realized that there was a change in the situation, so he took the initiative to order the palace guards to follow the light armor brigade of the Fifth Legion to move to the right flank. These palace guards initially stopped him on the grounds of his safety, but he was the temporary commander of the palace guards after all. Besides, which citizen of Diónia did not want to go to war and gain merit? These palace guards had been staying in the city of Turií for a long time, protecting the King of Devers. It was not easy for them to get the chance to go to war and kill the enemy. It was inevitable that they would be tempted, so they were easily persuaded by Cloto Catax.
When the messenger rushed over and asked "Cloto Catax to obey the order and stay where he is," Cloto Catax replied angrily, "Please tell His Highness Tormid that the army is now facing danger. The other soldiers are fighting a bloody battle, but he wants us to hide like cowards. Does he want us to become the laughing stock of the whole kingdom?!"
Cloto Catax's words immediately made the palace guards who were a little shaken. They did not listen to the dissuasion and continued to follow Cloto Catax.
After Tolmid got Klotokatax's answer from the messenger, he didn't know what to do even though he was good at coordinating and dealing with all kinds of complicated relationships. On one hand, as the young prince had said, if he were to stand aside and wait for the war to end, the prince would most likely become the laughing stock of the people when he returned to Turií. Not only would Cloto Catax hate him, but the King of Devers and his consort Cristoya would also be dissatisfied with him. But if he were to go to the front and fight the fierce enemy, he would also be blamed if he were to get injured. If he were to die in battle, then … "
Just as he was hesitating, a scout galloped over, "Report! His Highness Epicthenis has arrived at the battlefield!"
"He's finally here!" Tolmid let out a long sigh of relief. His heart was finally at ease. He turned to his subordinates and said, "Immediately take a company from the 2nd Division's Light Armor Battalion and follow the prince to the right flank!"
With Epicthenis's reinforcement, the defeat of Rome's reinforcements was imminent, and he no longer had to worry about Cloto Catax's safety.
… …
"Leading the army to Latinum and attacking Rome" was regarded by Devers as his most important strategic plan so far. He knew how powerful Rome was in his previous life, so he would certainly go all out. So, not only did he send out the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infantry Legions, as well as the First and Second Cavalry Legions, he also sent Epicthenis, who had just stepped down as the governor and was unemployed at home, to Lucania.
As Legio III stayed in Atlas at the request of the Campanians, the Ministry of Military Affairs later appointed Zantiparis to form a new reserve legion in Lucania Municipality to replace Legio III in defending the entire Lucania Municipality. The soldiers of Legio III not only came from Lucania, but also Kopsa and the coastal cities of Enona, Poseidonia, Elia, and Laos. Therefore, with such a rich source of soldiers, Zantiparis quickly formed a complete new legion.
Devers ordered Epicthenis to lead half of the new legion to Latinum on the second day after the army landed and occupied Ostia, and then head to Ostia by ship.
This was a backup plan that Devers had prepared. He would use this important flag depending on the development of the war.
As the attention of the coastal city-states of Latinum was attracted by the "Diónia army besieging Rome", they did not notice that another smaller Diónia army had entered the port of Ostia with a large fleet of supplies.
When the Devers received the news yesterday evening that the defeated Roman army had regrouped and was marching east to rescue Rome, he immediately sent messengers to Ostia to inform Epicthenis to lead his army eastward today to help the main force defeat Rome's reinforcements and ensure the smooth progress of the siege.
Epicthenis, who had been away from the army for several years, had always been known for being flexible and skillful in warfare. After he led his army out this morning, he did not rush his soldiers, but marched at a slow pace. At the same time, he sent out many scouts to the army's camp to learn about the deployment of the siege and the enemy's situation outside Rome. He wanted to keep abreast of the progress of the war so that he could find an opportunity.
When he learned that his allies were blocking a large group of reinforcements from Rome on the west side of Rome, he immediately knew that this would be his first target.
Only then did he order the army to speed up in the direction he had designated.
Just as the army was about to reach the battlefield, Epicthenis met the 400 cavalrymen hidden behind the two cavalry commanders. After learning about Ledes and Kuzius' attack plan, he immediately said confidently, "Go tell your commander to stop wasting your War Horse. Leave the next battle to me!"
After that, he ordered the troops to stop advancing and get into formation. He also ordered the soldiers to organize their equipment.
Ledes was relieved to hear that the reinforcements had arrived, but he was not ready to completely abandon his previous attack plan. He quickly reached an agreement with Kuzius. The plan would be carried out as usual, but the attack on the flanks would be changed to a feint, while the ambush in the middle would remain the same.
"Woo!" The bugle was blown. Ledes clamped his legs on the horse's abdomen, and the War Horse began to move forward. More than 1,000 cavalrymen followed behind him. It took them a long time to go from a slow walk to a slow jog.
On the other side, more than 1,000 cavalrymen led by Kuzius did the same.
This gave the Roman army, who had been vigilant against the Diónia cavalry, a chance to react. Paulus, who was at the rear of the army, would certainly not allow the Diónia cavalry to disrupt the attack of the heavy infantry on the flanks. He immediately ordered the 12 Roman squadrons to rush to the flanks to stop the enemy cavalry's attack.
When the Roman soldiers rushed to the flanks, the Diónia cavalry was still a hundred meters away. Paulus breathed a sigh of relief for the time being.
At this time, the Diónia cavalry had changed from a slow jog to a medium pace. Thousands of hooves on both sides of the army stomped on the ground, causing dust to fly and the earth to tremble.
From afar, under the gray sky a mile apart, two black cavalrymen formed two huge arrowheads, surging forward like a black tide. There were some bright red flags flashing in the surging black tide. They were the flags of the cavalry legions. The largest flag was raised high beside the legion commander, at the front of the formation. It fluttered high in the wind, indicating the direction of the whole army.
At this moment, the vanguard cavalry was less than 70 meters away from the Roman army. Ledes shouted, "Turn left! Turn left! … "
The Pegasus flag that was raised high immediately pointed to the left. The flag bearers of the brigades and companies who had been paying attention to the direction of the flag also changed the direction of the flag. Ledes and the surrounding cavalrymen led the whole army to change direction. In the end, the entire cavalry team passed by the Roman army in front of them.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation When the Roman soldiers saw the enemy cavalry that was only twenty to thirty meters away from them, stirring up a cloud of dust and galloping parallel to their formation, although they were still a little nervous, they were relieved. The momentum created by the countless enemy cavalry charging at them was too terrifying!
The Roman soldiers on the flanks were relaxed, but the Roman light infantry in the middle and rear were nervous. They pointed to the rear and shouted in horror, "Cavalry! The Diónia cavalry! They are rushing towards us!!! … "
Yes, a cloud of dust also rose a few hundred meters behind them. The gray cloud was wrapped in black, and it was rolling towards them.
Paulus, who was behind the light infantry, turned around and saw this terrible scene. He was also panicking. 'Damn it, I was tricked by the Diónia!'
"Go! Go! Inform the platoons that were transferred to the flanks to return quickly! Quick!! … "
Unlike the Diónia cavalry on the flanks, the 400 cavalrymen in the middle were already running at full speed. It didn't take much time to cover the distance of a few hundred meters.
Most of these Roman light infantry were not Roman citizens, but from the Latin Alliance. Of course, they didn't have the determination to fight to the death to protect their homeland like the Roman citizens. Looking at the approaching enemy cavalry, they shouted, "Run!" and fled in all directions.
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