Chapter 96
For a moment, the camp was in chaos. Gneinath and the rest could not gather enough soldiers to repel the Zegs' rebellion for revenge …
"Captain, look!" Outside the Lucania camp, the mercenary cavalry who was observing the situation shouted excitedly.
Ledes was frustrated that he didn't manage to stop all the Lucanian soldiers who came to report, but he didn't expect the enemy's camp to be on fire. Then, he saw the people inside killing each other. He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Captain, it's internal strife! The enemy is having an internal strife!! "The cavalry beside him continued to shout excitedly.
Ledes suppressed the excitement in his heart and observed for a while. After confirming that there was no doubt, he said, "Quick! Go back and tell Leader Devers that the enemy camp is in serious internal strife and is temporarily unable to send reinforcements! "
… …
The Devers did not know that there was an internal strife in the Lucania camp. He was now worried about the stalemate in front of him.
Even though the Lucania soldiers were not fully equipped, lacked physical strength, and were slippery (due to frequent trampling, the river became muddy), they were still like the tide in the sea, crashing wave after wave against the Greek defense line. Their bravery was also stimulated by the screams of their compatriots. Even if they were stabbed by a bayonet, they would not let go; when they were knocked down by a round shield, they would desperately hook onto the feet of the Greek soldiers before they slid down the slope …
The Greek defense line in the north was crumbling.
"Report, Leader Dracos has fallen!"
"What?!" The Devers was shocked. At the back of the heavy infantry line, he could already feel the commotion of the mercenaries in front, and this commotion was spreading.
"Let Acheta send three hundred people to support the north!" The Devers said anxiously.
"Leader, you have given this order before. Tarantum has no soldiers to send at all. They are also in a difficult situation!" Asistes reminded.
"Is that so?" The Devers rubbed his face with his hands. This was the first time he independently commanded such a large battle. It was related to the future of him and the soldiers, so he was a little nervous. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then, he decisively ordered, "Order the slave team and the light shield soldiers to enter the battle!"
Then, he looked back at Martius, "It's our turn!"
"Ha!" Martius excitedly slapped the round shield with his saber. The guards also put down their spears, drew their sabers, and roared loudly. With their rich experience, they knew that in such a crowded battlefield, long weapons were no longer effective.
Devers took the lead and rushed forward. Martius's guards followed closely behind and quickly protected his left and right sides. Asistes raised the military flag and followed behind the Devers.
The fluttering flag caused the mercenaries who were beginning to scatter to hesitate in their footsteps. It also gave the Lucanians who were charging randomly a target, and they gradually surged towards the Devers. The pressure on the other lines of defense was slightly relieved, but the impact on the Devers suddenly increased …
At this moment, the bronze horn continued to sound.
Although the soldiers with light shields were numb from throwing javelins so frequently, they did not hesitate to raise their shields and long-handled reverse-blade blades under Epthenis and Cspit's lead and rushed forward to block the gap in the mercenaries' defense line.
And the slave soldiers could not wait any longer, because the Devers had promised them that as long as they won the battle, they would be free. So when the order came, they shouted, "For freedom!!!"
With their abundant physical strength and high fighting spirit, they, who had no combat skills, forcibly drove some of the enemies who had broken through the defense line down the slope. At the same time, some mercenaries were also pushed down by them …
… …
The group led by Merses was also shouting "For freedom". Under the lead of the veteran mercenaries, not only did the one thousand slaves quickly reach where Felicius was, they also went around the front of the entangled and chaotic battle between the two groups, striking the enemy's flank and rear with all their might like a hammer.
Akepiru and the other two leaders, who were worrying about the battle in the rear, were the first to bear the brunt. The few guards around them could not stop the fierce attack of the excited slaves.
"Why?! Why hasn't Sinsinag arrived yet?! "Akepiru shouted angrily.
"Leader, let's retreat, we won't be able to leave if we delay any longer!" His subordinate anxiously advised.
Retreat? Leaving nearly ten thousand warriors here?! How could Akepiru be willing to do that? He still wanted to persist, but he heard a sorrowful cry not far away, "Leader! Leader! … "
It turned out that the leader of Neutum, Udera, had been hit by several spears and had fallen to the ground.
Akepiru finally stopped hesitating. Under the desperate protection of his subordinates, Akepiru and the leader of Laos, Tura, fled west in panic with dozens of people. The remaining five hundred Lucanian warriors were surrounded like dumplings.
At this time, Ledes' cavalry had just rushed back to the battle site and shouted, "There is internal strife in the enemy camp, reinforcements will not come for the time being!"
The good news boosted the morale of the mercenaries, and the Lucanian soldiers who could understand Greek were shocked. The Lucanians were the neighbors of the Greek city-states. Although they were enemies, they also traded with each other, so there were many people who could understand Greek. Coupled with the fact that their leader had deserted, the morale of the Lucanians plummeted.
The mercenaries and slave soldiers attacked from the front and back, and the five hundred Lucanian warriors were either killed or fled. The combined troops did not rest. Felicius ordered the slave soldiers and mercenaries led by Mercers to reinforce the western defensive line at top speed.
At this time, the situation of the western line of defense was worse than the northern line of defense. The troops led by Capus were limited, and the thin line of defense was broken through in many places by the surging flow of people.
Capus, Antonius, and Alexis, along with the other soldiers, armed with shields and spears, went into battle. (According to the military law established by Dyvers, unless there were special circumstances, company captains were not allowed to personally engage the enemy in battle. This was to prevent losing control of command.)
At this critical moment, Felicius arrived with his team, and the addition of nearly two thousand people finally stabilized the line of defense …
… …
The battle lasted for more than an hour, and the impact of the Lucanian tribal coalition on the line of defense began to weaken …
The entire riverbank was filled with warriors who had been injured by spears, javelins, arrows, flying stones, and even their own tribesmen. Moans, wails, and cries were endless, and the sounds were getting louder and louder, but the number of tribal warriors still fighting was decreasing …
More and more warriors saw that there was no hope of breaking through, and turned to cross the Tino River to escape to the hot spring swamp. In the end, they were either washed away by the river, or their feet were stuck in the mud of the swamp, unable to move …
At this time, the Devers saw that the time was ripe, and resolutely gave the order to attack.
The brass horn sounded loudly and urgently. Under the stimulation of the impending victory, the already exhausted Greek soldiers, under the leadership of the Devers, Archita, Felicius, and other generals, launched their final attack on the enemies who had almost lost the ability to resist downslope. The Lucanian warriors could not resist and retreated repeatedly … In the end, other than a small number of warriors who surrendered, the rest were either killed or forced into the Tino River and the hot spring swamp, dying under the long-range attacks of arrows and javelins …
The Devers independently commanded the first large-scale battle in their long military career: The Battle of the Great River Beach (later known as the Battle of the Hot Spring Swamp). With about seven thousand five hundred mixed troops (including slaves) against more than nine thousand people of the Lucanian tribal coalition, the final result was that the Greek army suffered more than a thousand casualties (half of them were slaves), and the Lucanian tribal coalition of more than nine thousand people, except for more than four hundred who surrendered. The Devers obtained a complete victory.
The corpses of the entire Great River Beach were piled up like a mountain, and blood flowed like a river …
… …
The efforts of Sinsinag, Gneinath, and the others were ultimately in vain. Picossis's defeat was irreversible. In the end, they took more than two hundred people and fled from the camp in a sorry state. They watched helplessly as the fire burned the camp that stretched for several miles into ashes …
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