Chapter 860
As soon as Alexis led her army into the mountains, they were discovered by Aquilonia's spies. The Aquilonians immediately sent their warriors, who were best at long-distance running in the mountains, to the northwest, Kautim, which was more than 100 miles away.
The remaining military power of the Samonai tribal alliance was hidden in the territory of Kautim — 7,000 warriors. The general of the army was Usibik, the chief of the major tribe of Kautim. When he heard the news yesterday afternoon, he was overjoyed, thinking that the opportunity for revenge had come.
Moreover, the messenger of Aquilonia urged him again and again. Because there were only about 200 warriors in the city of Aquilonia, even if they relied on the dangerous terrain, they might not be able to hold on for long. So Usibik quickly gathered these 7,000 warriors and rushed to the rescue of Aquilonia.
It was not until noon that they arrived near the territory of Aquilonia.
The warriors led by Usibik came from each of the four major tribes. They were led by their respective chiefs. As the army marched, their formation gradually became scattered, and the distance between the front and the back was more than three miles. By the time the middle part of Usibik's army crossed the mountain ridge, the warriors at the front had already rushed down the valley and directly launched an attack on the Dionysian Army.
Seeing this, Usibik knew that he could not stop the attack, so he simply let it go. He ordered the troops in the middle to slow down, waiting for the warriors at the back to arrive, while paying attention to the situation at the front.
The main attack on the Dionysian Army was made up of more than 1,000 Hilpini warriors, most of whom were javelin throwers. The Hilpini tribe had suffered the heaviest losses in this battle. These warriors not only hated the Diónia, but also feared them. So after they rushed down the slope, not only did they slow down, but they also spread out. Using the hills and trees as cover, they slowly approached the Dionysian Army like hunting lynx.
At this time, the Dionysian Army occupied a higher place in the valley. 1,500 heavy infantry spread out in a semi-circle, all of them half-squatting, forming a shield formation. Behind them were two light infantry battalions of 1,000 archers. They nocked their arrows and watched the approaching enemy. Behind the archers were 1,000 javelin throwers. 1,000 light armored soldiers joined the heavy infantry formation, forming the eastern line of defense, watching out for enemies that might come down from the city of Aquilonia. This also made the whole formation an oval. The remaining 1,000 light armored soldiers were scattered in the empty space in the middle of this oval formation.
Alexis stood on a rock. She could see through the soldiers in the formation in front of her and see the approaching enemy. The scene in front of her made her frown. At this time, most of the Samoyed warriors had entered the archers' shooting range. However, they were scattered in groups of twos and threes, 50 meters away from the front of the army. They used the mounds, rocks, and trees as cover, so the Diónia archers did not dare to rashly fire in unison, because the damage would be very low.
"Go and inform the two light infantry captains. Advise them to let the soldiers attack on their own, but pay attention to saving arrows and javelins … because today's battle may last for a long time," Alexis ordered in a tone of uncertainty.
After the two light infantry captains conveyed the order, the archers, who had been granted autonomy, became even more focused. They picked up their bows and arrows and aimed them at the area in front of them. However, they were not confident that they could hit the enemies who were hiding, so they held back their arrows and did not fire.
The Samoyed warriors did not continue to advance, because the Diónia soldiers had cleared the area 30 to 40 meters in front of the formation. They cut down the weeds that were too tall and cut down the miscellaneous trees. Due to the limited time, there were still some big trees and large rocks left, but the entire field of vision was much wider. In addition, the Diónia soldiers had a high position. If they continued to advance, they might increase the risk of being shot.
Both sides suddenly fell into a state of silence, but the atmosphere was getting more and more tense.
"Captain, why aren't they attacking yet?" A heavy infantry turned around and asked Lakelessis behind him in a low voice.
"Calm down!" Lakelessis reminded in a low voice, "Focus! Hide your body and hold the shield tight! "
The attack two nights ago made Alexis and the team officers realize the power of the Samoyed's heavy javelins. After discussion, they decided that when defending with the shield formation, the soldiers could insert the lower end of the shield into the ground, pull the inner side of the shield tightly with both hands, squat sideways, and try not to touch the shield. This was to reduce the damage caused to the soldiers after the javelins penetrated the shield.
"I know, I know. Captain, you've said it many times before," the soldier replied impatiently.
"Attention! The enemy is coming! "Lakelessis said seriously.
The soldier hurriedly turned around and poked his head out from the top of the shield. He looked out and saw the little red dots in the green field moving towards the formation.
Every time the soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia participated in military training, the first event of almost every time was to stand in formation on the field, motionless for at least half an hour. The Samoyed warriors obviously did not have special training in this area. The two sides stood still for less than ten minutes, and some of the warriors could not bear the pressure. Some of the warriors left their cover and began to move forward (because the range of the heavy javelins was within 30 meters), which naturally led to the other warriors.
Then, the Diónia archers began to shoot at the target they had aimed at.
The Samoyed warriors held a small round wooden shield in their left hand to block the top of their head, and held a javelin in their right hand. Their bare feet stepped on the uneven ground, but they could quickly run in a zigzag pattern, wanting to quickly get close to the enemy formation.
However, the Diónia archers continued to shoot arrows, which greatly hindered the advance of the Samoyed warriors. Their wooden shields were too small, and there was almost no protection on their bodies. When dodging arrows, if they paused for a moment, several arrows might be shot at them from several directions at the same time, making it impossible for them to dodge.
In a short period of time, many Samoyed warriors fell in the area between 50 and 30 meters. When they were about to advance to 30 meters, they were not greeted with arrows, but javelins. The thin wooden shields could not withstand the powerful javelins at all, and were directly smashed.
Some of the Samoyed warriors were lucky enough to escape the arrows and javelins, and then hurriedly threw the javelins in their hands. Most of them were blocked by the shield formation, and a few flew into the formation, causing a few screams. However, compared to the casualties of the Samoyed warriors, it was too insignificant.
Therefore, the morale of the Samoyed warriors was greatly affected, and the momentum of their attack quickly weakened. At this moment, the Samoyed warriors' retreat horn sounded. The Samoyed warriors, whose fighting spirit had been weakened by the groans of their injured companions, quickly retreated to a distance of 50 meters from the Diónia formation.
However, they did not go far away. Instead, they stared fiercely at the Diónia soldiers in front of them, as if they were ready to attack again at any time. This made the Diónia team officers dare not order the soldiers to pick up the arrows and javelins.
Usibik rushed over with the troops behind him and joined the vanguard. As the attack just now had caused the Samoyed warriors to suffer losses, the leaders of the army took the initiative to surround Usibik.
"The position where the Diónia people are at is too open. We can't attack directly like this, or the losses will be great!"
"Don't attack? What about my injured tribesmen?! They are still lying in front of the Diónia formation, waiting for our rescue! "
"I think we should go behind the enemy's formation and attack from there."
"That won't work! Their light infantry can still move to the other side and stop our attack. "
… …
The leaders argued all at once, but Usibik did not stop them. He looked at them quietly until everyone was arguing until their faces were red with anger, but they still could not come up with a unified opinion.
An old Hilpini leader finally could not help but ask eagerly, "Usibik, you're the commander of the entire army appointed by the great leaders. What should we do?!"
His words caused the leaders to temporarily stop arguing and focus their attention on Usibik.
Only then did Usibik say seriously, "Leaders, the Diónia people have occupied a favorable terrain and have arranged their formation, waiting for our attack. Even if we finally rely on our brave attack to break through the Diónia formation, the casualties suffered by our people will not be small! Up until now, all the tribes have suffered a lot of casualties in the war with the Diónia. We can't let our brave warriors suffer anymore! "
"Usibik is right!"
"Of course not! How can there be no casualties in a battle? Are you saying that we brought our people here to send off the Diónia people? "
… …
Seeing that the leaders were about to argue again, Usibik immediately said loudly, "Of course we have to send off the Diónia people! Because once the Dionysian Army starts to retreat, they will have to leave the favorable terrain and will not be able to maintain their current formation. We can attack them on both sides of the mountain path and on the mountain ridges while they are retreating until we finally defeat them! This is the way we are familiar with! It was not easy for us to trick the Diónia people into the mountains and fight in the homeland we are familiar with. We can't let them go! "
"But what if the Diónia people don't retreat?" As soon as one of the leaders spoke, he was mocked by the other leaders, "If they don't retreat, where will they rest at night? With us here, they won't dare to build a camp here. "
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