Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 121: Cavalry Attack at Punate

Davos placed the allied and corps reserves on the right wing, the First Corps in the center, and the Second Corps, which had not yet expended much energy, on the left wing. His intention was to use the strongest force to break through from the outside and ultimately encircle the enemy.

Confident in his plan, Davos said to Laedes, "The cavalry battalion has worked hard! Let the men withdraw to the rear and rest well!"

Laedes hurriedly replied, "Lord Davos, the enemy's right wing has five to six hundred cavalry. If we pull back, who will deal with them?"

"They will be dealt with by others. Your cavalry must deliver a decisive blow at the critical moment. Until then, have your men fully recover their strength and the horses' stamina!" Davos explained, unmoved.

Laedes withdrew reluctantly.

Davos immediately summoned Epithenis and Tsipet through Tolmides. With a serious expression, he said, "When the enemy attacks, I want you to lead the light infantry and freemen to conduct long-range strikes against the enemy's left wing. At the same time, you must repel the attacks of the enemy cavalry and light infantry. This is a difficult task. Can you do it?"

"Back in Persia, we engaged Persian cavalry and archers many times and defeated them repeatedly. Will Bruttian cavalry be stronger than Persian cavalry?" Epithenis said confidently.

"Hades will protect us!" Tsipet chanted piously.

Davos looked at their resolute eyes and gave them a solemn and powerful military salute: "I await news of your victory!"

After sending them off, Davos’s battle deployment was fully in place. Now he only waited for the Bruttians to attack.

Just then, Martius and Bagiripi’s nephew Rodom approached and reported: "Lord, the Besidian chiefs Brim and Kerelu insist on seeing you!"

Davos turned and looked back. The two Besidian chiefs, kept at a distance by his bodyguards, were shouting loudly. He immediately dismounted and strode over.

"Magistrate of Daonia, we Besidians demand to go to the front to meet the enemy, not hide in the rear like cowards. This is an insult to our warriors!" Brim exclaimed emotionally.

An insult? After Adpigis translated, Davos glanced doubtfully at the herald Tolmides, who had followed him.

Tolmides quickly explained: "I have patiently explained the situation to Chief Brim many times, but he seems unwilling to accept the idea of serving as reserves..."

Davos’s expression immediately turned stern. He said coldly, "Since the Besidian warriors are now Daonians, they must understand that Daonian soldiers must unconditionally obey their superiors in combat. If they cannot do this, then let them take their troops and leave! Let our true Daonian soldiers alone enjoy the glory of victory! That is all!" He then tossed a final remark to Adpigis: "Translate that exactly!" and turned to leave.

Tolmides followed, glancing back occasionally, and saw Brim and Kerelu slinking away.

"Lord, aren't you afraid that such words will make the Besidians leave in anger?" Tolmides asked with some concern.

Davos smiled: "For some stubborn people, the more you explain, the more they demand. It’s better to cut off that notion from the start. Besides, even if the Besidians leave, it won’t affect our victory."

Tolmides was half-convinced and secretly sent a messenger to observe the movements of the Besidian contingent. He found that after Brim went back, he dutifully led his men to wait in the rear, no longer shouting or complaining. Tolmides felt deeply ashamed: after dealing with many mercenary leaders for over a decade, his understanding of human nature was inferior to that of a twenty-year-old youth. Only the term "God-Touched One" could explain it.

Due to the harassment of the Daonian cavalry, the Bruttians’ formation was not complete until nearly afternoon. Piallen saw that the warriors' spirits were no longer as high as at the start and felt anxious. He knew his people too well. The Bruttians—a race living in the gap between the two great powers of the Greeks and the Lucanians, warriors who freely lived in the mountains and highlands—were brave yet timid, passionate yet self-abasing. The key was to rouse their fighting spirit.

So he led his personal guard galloping out to the front of the center of the formation. When the guards shouted in unison, drawing the attention of thousands of warriors, he raised his voice: "Bruttians, my dear compatriots! For centuries, we have lived freely on this beautiful highland. Amara has nurtured us with her sweet milk, and Brutus has granted us peace. Now our peace is shattered! Our land is invaded! Who is occupying our towns! Slaughtering our people?!"

"Daonians!!!"

"Damned Greeks!!!"

...

The warriors began to respond in anger.

"Are we going to let these cursed foreigners occupy our land, destroy our temples, rape our women, turn our children into slaves, and live like cattle without freedom?!" Piallen and his guard shouted together.

"No!" The warriors in front of him responded angrily, and the shout spread throughout the formation.

"No!!!" The twenty thousand Bruttian warriors roared in unison.

"Defeat the Daonians, restore our freedom!" Piallen raised his spear high.

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!!!"

Thousands of warriors screamed hysterically.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!..." They pounded the ground with their spears, their battle intent surging rapidly.

Affected by this, Piallen felt his blood boil. Facing the warriors who could no longer be restrained, he pointed his spear forward and shouted: "Attack!"

The trumpeter behind him sounded the ox horn, and soon bugles sounded from every part of the formation.

"Woooo!!!..." The battle of Punat, which would decide the fate of the Bruttian region, began.

Hearing the thunderous roars from the opposite side, Tolmides couldn't help asking: "Lord Davos, the Bruttians are boosting morale. Shouldn't you also..."

"In a boxing match, it's not whoever shouts the loudest who wins. The victorious one is usually the calm fighter. Besides, what the soldiers need now is to hold off the enemy's attack. Pointless shouting will not only waste their limited energy but also cause them to lose their defensive positions due to overexcitement." Davos said, staring ahead.

Tolmides nodded in heartfelt admiration.

"The Bruttians are attacking. Sound the defense bugle!" Davos gave the order upon hearing the enemy's war horns. He then quickly led his personal guard through the gaps of the small phalanx formations to the rear of the formation.

More than a dozen curved bronze trumpets blew a deep command. The soldiers who had been sitting and resting immediately picked up their spears and shields, stood up, shook their stiff limbs, closed ranks, and tightened the somewhat loose formation to meet the coming battle.

The small phalanx formations at the front of the overall formation quickly linked together. The Daonian Army Corps in the center and left wing rapidly connected with the allied forces on the right wing, forming a single whole.

Meanwhile, Epithenis and Tsipet led a total of four thousand light infantry and freemen to advance from the outer side of the left wing to the front of the left formation. They had separate tasks: Tsipet led over twenty-five hundred men forward fifty meters and then halted, lining up slingers, archers, and a few javelin throwers in sequence. Epithenis took nearly over a thousand peltasts and javelin throwers and continued toward the outer edge of the left wing. As they moved, they gradually stretched into a long column, almost seeming to withdraw from the battlefield.

At the sound of the war horns, the Bruttian line, stretching nearly eight miles, advanced slowly together, leaving no reserves.

The Bruttians dispersed their light infantry evenly across the front of the formation. Among the light infantry, archers made up the overwhelming majority—the Bruttian mountains were high, the forests dense, and the highlands teeming with wild animals, so they produced many archers. Behind the light infantry were the infantry, mostly shield-and-spear soldiers carrying leather shields and spears. On the far right wing were six hundred unarmored cavalry. Though the Bruttians occupied the entire highland, they used this precious land mainly for grazing cattle and sheep to support their large population. They did raise some horses, but mostly pack horses. Those with actual war horses were few, concentrated mostly among the tribal nobles. Six hundred riders was nearly the largest number the Bruttians could muster.

As soon as the Bruttians descended the grassy slope, their right wing was subjected to a hail of stones from Daonian slingers. The infantry held their leather shields and continued to advance slowly; they were still far from the Daonian line and could not charge prematurely. But the Bruttian light infantry had already begun to sprint—their task was to clear obstacles for the main force's engagement.

The Bruttian cavalry on the far right began to accelerate. As was traditional, the battle started with the cavalry on both wings engaging first, since they were the fastest. The earlier harassment by the Daonian cavalry had been a slap in the face, and now they wanted to counterattack.

The cavalrymen shook their reins and repeatedly squeezed their horses' flanks, getting their mounts up to speed. The feeling of galloping at full speed made their blood boil. They could clearly see the enemy's cavalry three hundred meters away, behind and to the side of the light infantry.

First scatter the light infantry ahead, then attack those stationary enemy cavalry—the odds were quite favorable. The cavalry commander at the front of the charge was calculating in his mind when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of many figures appearing several dozen meters to his right. They were running quickly toward the cavalry.

The commander immediately felt uneasy. Before he could react, countless javelins flew over thirty meters and landed among the galloping cavalry.

Instantly, men shouted and horses neighed. At such speed, anyone—man or horse—hit and rolling on the ground was unlikely to survive, and would also affect the cavalry charging around them.

Epithenis understood cavalry too well. Instead of confronting them head-on, he had pretended to leave the battlefield, but in reality, he was preparing to strike the cavalry from the flank.