The freedmen of Dionya were different, they came from all over the world, ran around for a living, developed the habit of self-interest, and even before becoming the reserve citizens of Dionia, most of them had not been trained in heavy infantry since childhood, nor had they been on the battlefield, and more than half a year of intensive training could not completely eliminate the habits that had been cultivated for a long time. When the enemy's bayonet stabbed to the right chest, he should have handed over to his teammates to defend, and he used his own bayonet to shoot back, forcing the opponent to return to the defense and reduce the pressure on his side, but out of instinctive reaction, he retracted his shield and blocked, leaving half of his teammate's body exposed to the enemy's bayonet spears...... Such a vicious circle led to everyone having to take care of themselves, so that the front line was no longer tight, not only could not be effectively pushed together, but also allowed the Crotone to squeeze through the gaps, using their individual abilities to further disrupt the Dionian line.

The First Legion of Dionya was originally the regiment with the most veterans and the strongest combat effectiveness, it originally had four brigades of veterans, but a large number of veterans were transferred to serve as officers at all levels of the three legions, and Davers transferred another 300 veterans as reserves, so that a large number of new recruits had to be replenished, resulting in a sharp decline in combat effectiveness. It actually began to slowly retreat under the frantic counterattack of the Crotone......

Arcinis's squad was in the second column of the line, and several of the soldiers in the front had already fallen, and he shouted loudly and directed his men to work together to drive the incoming enemy out and refill the gap. The long battle made his arms sore and uncomfortable, and the command of these ignorant recruits made him even more exhausted, but the fierce gaze shot from the helmet of the enemy on the opposite side reminded him all the time: fight! Keep fighting! Otherwise, he will only be greeted with defeat and death!

"It is your duty as a captain to lead your soldiers to fight bravely and win!" This is the advice that his former squad leader, who is now the captain of the detachment, gave him when he congratulated him on becoming the squad leader, and he always took it to heart. He shouted the names of each soldier and led by example to remind and teach his men how to apply the skills learned on the training ground to life-and-death battles with brave but nimble combat.

In the toughest moments of the battle, these junior officers of Dionya played an important role as the mainstay.

Heavy infantry battles, with Dioonia at the disadvantage; The light infantry fought against each other, and Dionya had the upper hand. Not only did the light infantry number more than 1,000, but more than half of them were veterans from Asia Minor, and the three light infantry arms they had: slingers, archers, and light shields were all from Rhodes, Crete, and Thrace, which were famous light infantry producing areas in the Mediterranean. Even with the heavy infantry of both sides in the middle, the light infantry of Crotone was forced to retreat due to the arrows and stones that were accurately thrown.

As soon as the protection of the light infantry weakened, the rear of the Crotone heavy infantry phalanx was attacked by the Dionian light infantry. It stands to reason that these soldiers who are at the back of the phalanx have not participated in the fighting, and they should be full of energy. But on the contrary, most of them were immersed in the river for a long time, and the cold water of the early spring took away a lot of heat from their bodies, leaving them hungry and exhausted. Therefore, in the face of long-range strikes of the enemy, their reaction has become somewhat sluggish, and if it is not for the good enough protection of the heavy infantry, its casualties are absolutely heavy.

Because both sides have their own difficulties and advantages, they have been holding each other and falling into a bitter battle.

Milon was not in a hurry in the face of this situation, and was able to hold on, and he had already achieved his goal. The key to Crotone's victory came from the more than 7,000 people who made a detour down the Trimeto River, and he was convinced that the final victory would belong to Crotone.

The same thought was Daves, the consul of Dionia, but he had already received good news from the Ryders cavalry: the forces of Crotone in the lower reaches of the Tricoto River had either been annihilated or surrendered, and no longer existed, and that Rydes and Epitenis would lead their troops to rest for a while, and then they would cross the Trimeto River and attack behind the back of the Crotone army.

Davers was completely relieved, looking at the frustrated expression of Martores scratching his ears and cheeks next to him, he couldn't help but joke: "Mattonis, do you have an itchy scalp?" ”

"Your Excellency, Commander! - " Matonis complained loudly: "The last time we captured Niutum, our first army failed to fight and missed the triumph!" This time I was captured by you again as a reserve captain, and I am about to win, and I am still idle here, which is too unfair! ”

Davers smiled: "Don't worry, it's time for you to play soon." ”

As he spoke, he gave an order: "Blow the order to change the formation, let the soldiers on the first line retreat, and the soldiers on the second line go up!" ”

"Commander, we are already on the verge of victory, so why bother to change formations with great difficulty! Most of them were new recruits, and if something went wrong, the whole phalanx would be broken—" Although Martonis was eager to fight, he didn't want to see the alliance fail.

"The formation we have been training for so long has never been used in actual combat, and now it looks like we are about to win, and if we don't accumulate experience at this time, when will we wait!" Davers said earnestly: "What's more, if we retreat, we will lure all the enemies up the riverbank, and it will be even more difficult for them to escape. Mattonis, you have been a recruit instructor, and you must have confidence in the results of the soldiers' long training and the command of the officers! ”

"You're the commander, it's up to you! Next, isn't it our turn to go to war?! "Mattonis no longer dwells on the issue and has taken the initiative to fight.

"Lead your men to the right flank of the phalanx, at the junction of the Second Army and the three reserve brigades. In the unlikely event that the enemy's advance causes them to be confused, you will need to pounce in time to block the enemy's attack and buy time for the soldiers to regroup! ”

"Understood, I'll go! Brothers! - "Matonis perked up and began to shout loudly.

……………………

Alcinis led the soldiers in a bitter battle against the enemy.

At this time, the sound of the military horn in the rear sounded, which lifted his spirits. When the second time sounded, he could hear it, it was the horn of "formation change".

"Brothers, hold on! Soon we will be able to rest! "The officers at the front, like Arcinis, reminded the soldiers loudly.

At this time, the array of the second line quickly took the company as a unit, and one company stood still, while its neighboring companies had to retreat...... After a while, the entire phalanx changed from the original dense long snake formation to a staggered "checkerboard" formation (i.e., fish scale formation) formed by small phalanxes of companies. Due to the fact that the front-line soldiers of the entire phalanx did not have the support of the rear soldiers, they began to retreat under the pressure of the enemy, but also under the command of the company's drums and military flags...... Finally, quickly retreat to the rear between the gaps in the rear "checkerboard".

When the drums of Arcinis's company did not sound, he understood that the company to which he belonged was not very lucky, and the companies in the rear did not retreat first, so they could not retreat for the time being.

At this time, the detachment commander Ktippus shouted: "Brothers, protect our flanks!" ”

As the neighboring companies retreated, the enemy took advantage of the situation to pour in, and since the front of the Dionian phalanx did not retreat as a whole, the offensive array of Crotone became uneven, and the lines of the two sides formed a dog-tooth intertwin. Arcinis's company was under the pressure of being surrounded on three sides, and the enemy who could pour into the gap was also in such a situation, but the Dionian troops were prepared to retreat, and every small phalanx that was close to the enemy was under the strong control of the company commander, on the contrary, Crotone was unprepared and disorderly, and as a result, although Dionya was retreating, Crotone did not seize such an opportunity to cause more damage and chaos to Dionia.

At this time, the company's drums sounded, and the 20×10 phalanx formed by the four detachments began to slowly retreat back with the rhythmic wave of the military flag in the center...... While Arcinis defended themselves against enemy attacks with their shield spears, as the rear companies retreated, their companies began to retreat in an orderly manner. By the time the rear companies had come to a standstill, Arcinis had been able to withdraw from the gaps between the scattered company phalanxes...... After several rounds of retreat, the soldiers on the first line retreated to the rear smoothly, and the soldiers on the second line rearranged into a dense formation and became the forefront of the entire phalanx.

The reason why the formation was changed so smoothly and there was no major confusion, and Davers's fears did not come true, was mainly because the Crotone had never seen an army dare to make such a bold and peculiar change of array in a fierce battle, and failed to take effective countermeasures in time; Secondly, when fighting in a dense formation, Crotone's army is stronger than Dionia, which has a large number of recruits, but once the dense formation of both sides is divided into a small piece and a small square because of the array conversion, Dionia's long-term targeted training with detachments and companies as tactical units has played a role, and their command is more efficient and their actions are more flexible. Having lost effective command and falling into chaos, they can only fight on their own, but they are at a disadvantage.

…………………

Millon, who was immersed in the river, first heard the sound of the enemy's trumpets and drums, and was still wondering in his heart, and then the array, which had been stalemate for a long time, began to advance......