CHAPTER 392: CHAPTER 371: A VICTORY WITH HEAVY CASUALTIES

Another round of crossbow arrows was fired, knocking down many Desitia Warriors, causing the other warriors to instinctively slow down their charge in fear.

At this moment, Valerius shouted loudly, "Retreat slowly! Retreat slowly!..."

It was necessary to retreat because the crossbow arrows carried by the Crossbow Soldiers were running low.

Valerius initially hoped that the soldiers would adopt a shooting posture and slowly retreat, thereby deterring the enemy army from pursuing recklessly. However, once the crossbow arrows were exhausted, some crossbow soldiers, who previously had high morale, began to feel uneasy. As soon as they heard Valerius announce the retreat, they turned around and ran, causing the entire formation to collapse instantly, leaving the dumbfounded Valerius as the last one running...

Seeing this, the Desitia Warriors immediately pursued with all their might, and the Cavalry in the distance mustered their courage and joined the chase...

Just then, the sound of a high-pitched copper horn came from the front, followed by a thunderous roar.

The Cavalry were the first to stop the pursuit, then quickly turned around and ran even faster than they came.

The warriors were initially blocked by the enemies in front and didn’t react immediately. But soon, their field of vision was filled with small square formations of fully armed enemies, spreading across the adjacent fields and advancing towards them...

The First and Third Legions, led by Maximus, had finally arrived on the battlefield.

The Panoni Alliance Army faced a stalemate against the Oluus Square Formation at the front, disruption from the Pequot at the rear, and heavy losses from attacks by the Crossbow Soldiers. The arrival of the Nix reinforcements tipped the scales and swiftly determined the outcome of the entire battle.

Oluus, situated within the square formation, continued to shout loudly even though he didn’t directly confront the enemy. His purpose was to let the soldiers around him know that he was fighting alongside them to maintain their morale.

At the same time, the enormous noise around him and the constant pushing and shoving from all directions made him feel like a small boat sailing on the ocean during a storm. This incessant struggle forced him to constantly recognize the perilous situation his team was facing. He was worried about whether his soldiers could continue to hold on, but he also felt a sense of relief because it indicated that his risky maneuver was effective; the enemy was focusing all efforts on annihilating them, rather than bypassing them to enter the stronghold...

Time was indeterminate; Oluus had shouted so much that his voice broke and was lost. He could even see the enemy figures in front of him, indicating that the formation had thinned due to the continuous injury of frontline soldiers and the ongoing forward replacement by rear soldiers...

How much longer could the entire formation hold on? He wasn’t sure, but at this moment, he no longer worried much. He clenched the square shield and short sword in his hands, ready to step forward at any time to fill in for fallen soldiers and fight against the enemy.

However, just then, the persistent pushing from the right side suddenly ceased, followed by joyous shouts from the right flank of the square formation: "Reinforcements are here!! Our reinforcements are here!!!..."

The leader had finally arrived! A great joy of finding hope in despair burst from the heart, sweeping away fatigue and giving rise to new strength. Although Oluus couldn’t shout anymore, he raised his short sword high and kept waving it forward. At the same time, he energetically pushed the soldiers in front of him with his square shield, gesturing for them to attack...

Moments later, the enemies at the front all collapsed in defeat, and Oluus’s team coordinated with the main force to launch a full-scale counterattack.

Initially, the anxious Temagis painstakingly managed to extract over 400 warriors from the frontline attacking troops. Without taking time to regroup, they rushed towards the Pequot who were driving away the routed Segestica soldiers. Before the two sides engaged, Temagis, who was on horseback, witnessed a shocking scene: countless fully armed enemies appeared on the outskirts of the battlefield, shouting as they charged towards the beleaguered warriors...

"Why is the main enemy force appearing here? Aren’t they supposed to be heading south to confront the Bricks?" Temagis shouted in horror.

No one responded because the warriors with him stood paralyzed, watching dejectedly as the tribesmen who had been fighting at the front fell into complete disarray in an instant, crying and shouting as they rushed towards their direction like a tide...

"Great Chief, run! Run!" Under the urgent cries of the Guard Captain, Temagis snapped back to reality: the enemies who had been driving away the Segestica routed soldiers (referring to the Pequot’s team) were now turning towards him, while countless fleeing tribesmen surged towards him from behind...

The situation was critical, leaving him with no time for deliberation. He swiftly turned his horse and vigorously clamped its flanks, "Go!"

The warhorse raised its four hooves, carrying him as it galloped towards the fields on the outskirts of the battlefield, while the Guard Captain led the soldiers to block the enemies attempting to intercept him.

Pequot watched helplessly as the enemy leader, wearing the conspicuous cow horn helmet and armor, galloped past on horseback, but due to enemy obstructions, he couldn’t capture him, and in desperation threw his short sword.

Instinctively, Temagis bent his upper body down onto the horse’s neck, hearing a "clang" as the distinctive cow horn helmet was knocked to the ground.

Terrified, and drenched in cold sweat, he tightly clung to the horse’s neck, allowing it to run freely...

When Temagis finally regained clarity, the battlefield was far behind him. He found himself on the road he had previously traversed while crossing the Kupa River to march towards Anrotas’s stronghold. Reflecting on how he once commanded a complete force of eight thousand Desitia Warriors, and now all that remained was himself...

He dared not look back at the battlefield, nor listen to any noise from behind. He only furiously shook the reins, urging the warhorse to run faster.

After covering some distance, he saw a group of Cavalry by the riverbank ahead, who also noticed him and began to shout, "It’s the Great Chief! The Great Chief!..."

Temagis recognized them as his Desitia Cavalry who had accompanied him on the expedition to Nix, spurred his horse forward, and asked, "Why are you here?"

The Cavalry immediately looked down, refusing to answer.

Temagis scanned them, noticing that more than half were without helmets and had discarded their weapons, looking quite disheveled, and instantly understood the situation. Although he felt anger, he was in no better condition himself and knew better than to reprimand them. Instead, he asked, "Where is Terles? Where is he?"

"We... when we charged at the enemy reinforcements, Leader Terles was at the forefront and was struck by one of those enemy bows and arrows, he... he didn’t get up again..." someone responded in a low, somber voice.

Temagis felt a pang in his heart; he closed his eyes in pain, then quickly opened them again, looking at the Cavalry, he coldly asked, "Since you’ve arrived here, why haven’t you crossed the river?"

The Cavalry exchanged looks but finally someone hesitated and stammered, "Great... Great Chief... It’s not that we don’t want to cross, but on the other side... there are enemies!"

"Enemies?!" Temagis was suddenly alarmed; he moved past the Cavalry to the riverbank and looked intently: indeed, there were hundreds of Nix Soldiers on the opposite bank, fully alert, blocking the entire fordable section of the river.

Temagis inhaled sharply: the Nix people intended to catch us all in one sweep!

Previously, fleeing the battlefield had been the closest Temagis had ever come to death. Though Pequot’s thrown short sword hadn’t unseated him from his horse, it had knocked away his courage. He truly didn’t have the confidence to lead a bunch of demoralized Cavalry across the rushing river to break through the formations of these formidable Nix Soldiers, carving a path of blood not only for himself but also for any retreating soldiers who came after...

Faced with the expectant yet tense expressions of the Cavalry, Temagis, who had led troops here once last year, paused briefly and then said, "We will continue along the river ahead; there are Segestica strongholds where we can rest for a while, and tomorrow we’ll head to Brochi’s territory..."

The Cavalry, feeling greatly relieved, praised Temagis’s plan positively...

............

From the moment Temagis fled the battlefield, the battle was already over; what remained was just the pursuit of the defeated troops.

Because Maximus previously dispatched a portion of soldiers to block the entrance to the stronghold, the defeat of the Panoni Alliance Army had no choice but to flee east. Unfortunately, Pequot’s team was conducting interception in the east. He had also previously dispatched soldiers to block the fording sections of the river. Ultimately, only a small number of defeated troops escaped the encirclement and fled along the riverbanks towards the lower reaches of the Kupa River. Most were either killed or drowned, and the number of captured reached over 6,000...

However, the casualties of the Fourth Legion also exceeded 1,800, which was quite a significant blow.

When Maximus finally met with Oluus and Pequot, both were so exhausted that even saluting had become a struggle.

Maximus quickly stepped forward, gave them both a strong embrace, and then beckoned the Attendant to support the two Legion Commanders. He then enthusiastically praised them loudly, "Oluus, Pequot, your performance exceeds all my expectations. Not only have you successfully deceived the enemy, ensuring the safety of the territory, but you also employed surprise tactics to pin down this wave of enemies, creating incredibly favorable conditions for the main force to annihilate them! On behalf of the tribe, I thank you and the soldiers of the Fourth Legion for the tremendous contributions you’ve made!"

While speaking, Maximus gave the two a solemn military salute.

Oluus replied in a heavy tone, "Leader, in order to intercept the enemy, our Fourth Legion exerted its utmost effort but also suffered heavy casualties..."

"I know..." Maximus’s tone turned somber but immediately became more powerful as he said, "The tribe will not let the soldiers sacrifice in vain. Those who died in battle will gain glory, forever remembered by the tribesmen! The injured will receive the best treatment from the hospital! The entire Fourth Legion will be awarded the Second-class Merit, and I believe many soldiers will be promoted and rewarded for it! I will also prioritize replenishing the Fourth Legion’s troops from the Military Department, and believe it won’t take long for the Fourth Legion to reach full strength once again!..."