Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1312: The Battle of Thapsacus (4)

Arsinis did not issue the order to stand down until the Persian archers had retreated a considerable distance.

Lowering their tower shields, the soldiers stood up and gaped. The flat ground around them bristled with arrows, and their shields were similarly studded, accounting for the sudden, drastic increase in weight.

To prevent the added bulk from hindering their use of the shields, the men immediately drew their short swords and hacked the protruding arrow shafts from the faces of their shields.

"Your Majesty, the Persian archers have retreated, and our casualties are light!" Philesius reported to the king, his face bright with joy after hearing the immediate updates from the messengers.

Davos nodded calmly.

"Thirty years ago, we successfully used this exact tactic to weather the Persian archers' ranged attacks," Amyntas scoffed. "Our legionaries have far better defenses now than we did then. The Persians won't gain a single advantage by using the same old tricks against us!"

During the pre-battle military council, it was on the advice of the veteran commanders that Davos decided to hold the light infantry in reserve and let the heavy infantry absorb the barrage from the Persian archery forces, which held the advantage in ranged attacks, to wear the enemy down. It was clear now that the plan had succeeded.

Watching the wave of Persian archers recede into the distance, Davos spoke mildly. "We've had the appetizer. Now it's time for the main course."

The distance of a full li prevented the King of Persia and Tiribazus from clearly seeing the enemy's casualties, but when the returning commanders reported a lackluster outcome, Tiribazus felt a sudden jolt of alarm. Sending the Persian archers forward first had been his suggestion. After thoroughly studying the battles in Asia Minor and reviewing past Daionian engagements, he had realized that the Daionian Army differed from Greek forces: their light infantry was not weak, and they preferred to deploy them early in a battle to disrupt the enemy's formation. He had made his recommendation hoping to use his powerful archery forces to cripple the enemy's light infantry, securing an early advantage while crushing their morale. He never expected the enemy to withhold their light infantry entirely, nor that the ranged attacks against the Daonian Heavy Infantry would yield such poor results...

Thrilled by the news, Artaxerxes did not hesitate. "Then continue the assault!"

"At once, Your Majesty!" Tiribazus spun around and relayed the order. "Chariots and war elephants, attack!"

Cavalry messengers galloped out, some riding to the very front of the center formation and others to the left wing.

Soon, Artaxerxes heard the piercing trumpets of war elephants from the front. Invigorated, he slapped the side of his chariot and said excitedly, "Crush the Theonians into dust!"

Directed by their mahouts, fifty massive elephants lurched forward on their thick limbs, their every step sending faint tremors through the earth. While they were still slowly picking up speed, the Scythed Chariots on the flanks were already sprinting at full speed. Racing hooves and rapidly spinning wheels unleashed a thunderous rumble and churned up rolling clouds of dust. Though they numbered just over two hundred, the chariots projected the terrifying momentum of an army of thousands, hurtling toward the Daionian formation like a vicious, roaring beast.

Even though legionaries like Arsinis had been trained in how to handle chariots during their stay in Egypt, they could not help feeling tense in this moment.

Just then, the rapid patter of footsteps echoed beside Arsinis. The light infantry, previously stationed behind the infantry lines, were sprinting through the channels between the phalanxes to reach the very front of the formation.

In truth, the Daonian Light Infantry Battalion had mapped out their tactics the moment they learned the positions of the Persian chariots and war elephants. The five thousand light infantrymen poured to the front lines and quickly arranged their formation, with the javelin throwers in the center facing the elephants and the archers on both flanks facing the chariots.

Requiring no orders from their officers, the archers drew their bows and loosed straight ahead the moment they planted their feet. Even though the chariots were still a hundred meters away, they fired in flat, direct trajectories rather than high, arcing volleys. Their live-fire drills in Egypt had taught them that parabolic shots rarely struck fast-moving chariots; by shooting straight, even from a distance, the sheer speed of the advancing chariots meant the targets would practically drive themselves into the flying arrows.

The archers didn't even pause to watch their shots land. The moment an arrow left the string, they instantly drew another and fired, knowing the time left to them was extremely tight.

Megakides was a Cretan. After he won the archery championship at the first Theonian Rugby Games the previous year, the Ministry of Military Affairs had extended an invitation to him. After careful deliberation, he decided to join Daionia. By special decree of King Davos, he only needed to serve three years in the military to become a full citizen.

When Thurii city hall deliberately publicized this news, it sparked fervent discussions among the citizens of the allied states. Athletes everywhere began training with fiery zeal, preparing to achieve spectacular results at the second Theonian Rugby Games in hopes of earning the favor of the King of Daonia. However, like other Greek games, the Theonian Rugby Games were held only once every four years, so they still had a long wait ahead.

Upon immigrating to Thurii, Megakides temporarily resided at the military camp. While receiving his own military training, he also assisted the Military Training Officer in honing the archery skills of the new recruits.

Light infantrymen, and archers in particular, relied heavily on individual talent. In traditional Greek formations, archers had no special tactics and depended more on their personal skills. The Daionian Army, however, was different, demanding higher tactical discipline from its archers. Megakides had been at the camp for barely half a year and had only just grown accustomed to light infantry tactics when this war broke out. Thurii Military Camp initially had no intention of drafting him, but he pleaded repeatedly, desperate to earn military merit and become a full citizen sooner. Factoring in his phenomenal marksmanship, the commander of the First Legion Light Infantry Cohort finally recruited him as a regular soldier.

Now, running to the front of the formation with his teammates, Megakides watched the lightning-fast chariots tear through the dust clouds and hurtle aggressively toward them as the soldiers unleashed their arrows. Although it was his first time experiencing such a grand and terrifying battlefield, he possessed natural nerves of steel—otherwise, he would not have defeated so many strong competitors to claim the archery championship at the inaugural Theonian Rugby Games. He did not loose his arrow immediately. Instead, he rapidly steadied his breathing, tracked the position of the oncoming chariot, took a brief moment to aim, and then released the bowstring.

As the primary weapon used by the Persian army to break formations, the Persians were naturally aware that the Scythed Chariots were massive targets vulnerable to ranged attacks. Therefore, they not only draped the draft horses in heavy barding, but the crossbowmen and archers aboard also wore sturdy armor. Although many arrows struck the warhorses, they were deflected by the barding and failed to cause fatal wounds; instead, spurred on by the frantic whipping of the crossbowmen, the horses whinnied in pain and surged forward even faster.

Just then, Megakides' arrow flew true, piercing perfectly through the unarmored portion of a warhorse's head. The galloping beast collapsed suddenly, and the entire chariot flipped end-over-end from the momentum. The crossbowman and archer were launched into the air, screaming as they crashed into the earth near where Megakides stood.

Megakides and his teammates hurriedly dodged out of the way.

"Watch out! Chariot! Chariot!..." The terrified shouts of the soldiers behind him made Megakides frantically whip his head around. Not far away, a chariot had deviated from its straight path and was now charging laterally toward them.

The distance was already dangerously close. Megakides scrambled and rolled out of the way, but one soldier failed to dodge in time. His leg was unfortunately grazed by a flash of white light glinting off the axle, instantly mangling it into pieces. He collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.

The surrounding soldiers were all horrified by the gruesome sight.

Only then did Megakides realize that the driver and archer aboard this chariot had already been shot by arrows and slumped over.

Just as he and his teammates aimed their bows at the horses, the two panicked beasts seemed to sense the danger. Hauling the chariot, they bolted back in panic and, with a thunderous crash, slammed head-on into one of their own chariots.

Amidst the mournful neighing of the warhorses, Megakides and his teammates let out a breath of relief.

Unlike their teammates who stood their ground to shoot arrows, the javelin throwers of the light infantry battalion did not stop after rushing out of the formation; instead, they accelerated forward.

When they were only a few dozen meters away from the slowly advancing war elephants, they braved the danger of being shot by the archers on the elephants' backs and hurled their javelins with all their might.

The hide of a war elephant was tough and thick, making it difficult for arrows to penetrate, so the Persians had not bothered to armor them. But the Persians never anticipated that the Theonians they so thoroughly despised would not fear these colossal beasts and would actively charge forward to meet them in combat. The concentrated impact of dozens or even a hundred heavy javelins striking a single war elephant was more than enough to threaten its life.

To the Daionian light infantry, the war elephants were massive and slow, making them far easier to deal with than the sprinting chariots.

One by one, the war elephants were quickly riddled with javelins like hedgehogs.

Despite their specialized training, the elephants' inherently gentle natures had not changed. Sensing the danger ahead, they wheeled around and stampeded back, completely ignoring the commands of their mahouts. Only a few elephants were driven into a maddened frenzy by the pain, accelerating forward before collapsing with mournful shrieks under volley after volley of javelins.

Even after the light infantry charged forward, the legionaries did not relax their guard. As a company commander, Arsinis even ran to the very front rank, staring tensely at the unfolding battle.

Seeing a chariot break through the light infantry's defensive line and hurtle straight toward his phalanx, he urgently shouted, "Evade! Evade!"

Because the Daionian battle formation was a loose checkerboard array, there was ample space for the soldiers to dodge and shift. Carried by its own momentum, the sprinting Persian chariot found it difficult to turn and could only plunge straight down the channel that the Daionian soldiers rapidly yielded for it. The Daionian soldiers seized the opportunity to attack the chariot from both flanks with their spears, killing and wounding the draft horses and the driver.