But this did not stop the Greek heavy infantry from advancing. Instead, they were forced to sprint forward desperately. They all remembered the words their officers had warned them before the battle: "You have to charge forward regardless of your physical strength. As long as you catch up with the cowardly Cayutini enemies and make them unable to throw their javelins, we will be safe! … "
The third wave of javelins from the Cayutini army did not come immediately because the distance was too close. Not to mention that there was no time to throw, they did not even have time to change positions with the warriors who had just thrown their javelins.
After the battle began, the Cayutini warriors and even the Samonese warriors, under the leadership of their tribal leaders, generally followed the traditional battle routine, but their movements were basically free. They could choose whether to attack or retreat according to the changes in the battlefield. Because their formation was very loose and the spacing was relatively large, the entire army was flexible during the battle.
Now all the Cayutini warriors (including Segovani) began to turn around and run. They were not afraid of such an attack from the enemy, because they firmly believed that the Greeks could not outrun them. Once they opened up the distance and the Greeks had no physical strength, it would be time for them to attack at will.
Compared to the heavy infantry in the middle, the light infantry on the flanks sprinted even faster. The Cayutini warriors only threw the first round of javelins, and after causing some damage, they had no choice but to retreat. In fact, in terms of the equipment of both sides, they could completely rush up and fight the other side, but due to the habit of fighting for a long time (using javelins to cause confusion before engaging in close combat), and the fear of being surrounded by the enemy after being entangled, these tribal leaders were not so selfless as to let their own warriors attract the enemy for others.
As for the light armored soldiers on both ends of the army, there were no Campanian warriors in front of them. These citizens of Diónia from the Lucanian mountains ran with their strong legs to their heart's content without the enemy's obstruction. In fact, their position was almost at the same level as the frontline Cayutini warriors on the inner side, but they did not turn inward to attack. Instead, they continued to move forward.
The Campanian cavalry on the outside of the left wing was faster. The running War Horse had already brought them to the flank and rear of the Cayutini army, but they did not have the courage to directly intercept the hundreds of retreating enemies. Instead, they waved their lances and approached them from the side, trying to force them to go to the middle, thus blocking the enemy's path in other positions and delaying the retreat of the entire army.
But after the Cayutini warriors threw their javelins and shot down more than a dozen cavalrymen, these Campanian cavalry no longer dared to approach the enemy.
What was supposed to be a fierce battle had unexpectedly turned into a grand competition. On the long front line that was more than three miles long, be it the Dionian allied army or the Kautini warriors, all of them were running at full speed, causing the ground to rumble and dust to fly everywhere.
After running for some time, the panting Dionian heavy infantry heard the officer's panting yell. "Throw … Throw away the shields … Throw away the shields!"
They did as they were told without hesitation. Once the heaviest shield was thrown away, they only held the javelins in their hands. Their bodies instantly felt relaxed, and their speed was maintained. The distance between them and the Cayutini warriors was not widened.
This was the original plan, and the Campanian heavy infantry was influenced by it. Under the leadership of the generals led by Aialos, they also threw away the shields in their hands.
At first, the Campanian heavy infantry were not used to not wearing helmets and shields, but they gradually got used to it after running non-stop.
The Cayutini warriors thought that the Greeks would stop as usual after a charge, but they did not expect that the enemy would not stop once they started running. Although they saw that the enemy had thrown away their helmets and shields, and logically speaking, this was the best time to attack with javelins, the distance between the two sides was too close. Throwing a javelin required some preparation time, and these few seconds could allow the enemy to reach them. When the entire army was retreating, no tribal leader would take the initiative to ask his people to stop and attack. They would only think: faster, faster! If they ran for a while longer, these iron cans would run out of energy! …
But in fact, the first to feel tired were the Cayutini warriors. They were in a hurry to rescue Lola. They had marched all the way without rest or food, and were already very tired when they arrived. Coupled with the sudden nervous running, all the muscles in their bodies began to ache. The reason they still persisted was because of the tenacious nature of the highlanders. In order to still be able to run, they also began to throw away the shields in their hands …
Segovany never thought that the enemy, with the main force of the Campanians, would use such a method to fight, and they were still using the same method to deal with the enemy, which was different from before. When he felt his entire body aching and having difficulty breathing, and the guards around him were also panting like thunder, he suddenly realized that the enemy's strange attack method might have hit their weak spot. However, at this moment, it was impossible for him to stop the entire army and counterattack, because the battle had already begun. The entire army was running, and there was no way for them to pass down orders.
The dizziness caused by fatigue and lack of blood to the brain made it impossible for Segovany to think carefully. He simply made up his mind. Let's see who can run first!
After a period of running, the entire Diónia coalition army had become a huge crescent formation with the middle at the back and the two wings at the front. The formation was no longer continuous, and there were many gaps, especially in the middle. This worried Zantiparis's entourage, who was following closely behind the army. "General … if … if we continue to run like this, the gaps in the middle will … widen. If the enemy takes the opportunity to attack … it will be troublesome! Should we … should we order the Light Armor Brigade to attack now? "
Segovany could no longer command the entire Cayutini army, nor could Zantiparis, but he could still command the Diónia army, especially the light armor soldiers at the two ends, because he had been keeping in touch with them through scouts.
His men kept an eye on the heavy infantry in front of them, while he, who was riding on his horse, kept an eye on the Kautini warriors in front of him. Their swaying backs and heavy footsteps as they ran made him feel that they were running with difficulty, and most importantly, the distance between them and the soldiers on his side never increased.
It was obvious that his use of this tactic was effective. Both sides had exhausted their strength, but for the Cayutini warriors, they had lost the speed that gave the Campanian soldiers the most headaches.
Therefore, he said confidently, "Don't worry, let them continue to chase."
Zantiparis was not afraid that the Kautini warriors would stop and attack, because close combat was exactly what the Allied Army hoped for. Even if they tore apart the Allied Army's formation, he still believed that the final victory belonged to the Allied Army, because his greatest confidence came from the 4,000 Lucanian reserve soldiers. They were all young citizens with strong bodies and had undergone rigorous training, and they were familiar with the Dionia army system. Their fighting spirit would not be shaken by the chaos of their allies, and instead, they could rely on their tight organization to gain an advantage in a chaotic battle.
Moreover, Zantiparis had another hope, a hope that could completely change the course of the battle.
Zantiparis's eyes searched through the densely packed Cayutini warriors in front of him. Everywhere was red. Which ones were the Naconian warriors?!
At this time, 500 warriors of the Avangum, the second largest tribe in Naconia, were in the middle of the middle left of the Cayutini army's formation. Vasonk did not stay idle when he retreated. On one hand, he sent his men to gather the warriors to prevent them from running away, and on the other hand, he sent his men to deliver his signal.
The continuous pursuit of the Diónia coalition army showed Vasonk the Greeks' determination to fight (which was rarely seen in the past battles against the Campanians). He was worried that if the Cayutini army really lost the Diónia coalition army, they would lose the great opportunity to escape from Segovani's control.
Since he could no longer contact the other Naconian tribes, he might as well go it alone! Vasonk decided not to wait any longer. He took a deep breath, raised the spear in his hand in the air, and shouted angrily, "Naconians, revenge!"
The guards around him, who were already prepared, immediately followed and shouted, "Naconians, revenge!"
The other Naconian warriors followed suit. They shouted as they stabbed their spears at the warriors of the Kauutini tribe nearby.
Before the battle, the leaders of the neighboring tribes had secretly accepted Segovani's order to monitor and guard the Naconian tribe. However, after the battle started, the warriors were focused on retreating. Since the Diónia coalition army was in a hurry to catch up, they did not have the energy to care about anything else. At the same time, they gradually lost their guard against the Naconian warriors.
Unexpectedly, there was a sudden change. The Avangum warriors attacked in all directions and stabbed many of the Cayutini warriors. The other Cayutini warriors were shocked, but their first reaction was not to fight back. Instead, they wanted to avoid these crazy Naconian warriors and continue to retreat. They did not forget that there were still enemies behind them.
However, they all dodged to the outside, which naturally blocked the retreat route of the warriors behind them, causing the suddenly chaotic area to spread out.
The Kautini warriors behind them were only blocked for ten seconds before the Allied Army soldiers who were chasing them caught up and stabbed them with their spears.
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