Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 124: Reserve Forces Join the Battle of Punate

“Sorry, lords!” Philistos gave a slight bow, unable to hide the joy on his face, and said excitedly, “I am late because I had to receive a messenger from the Third Army Corps at the Ministry of Military Affairs. He brought good news—”

Philistos looked around at the senators and announced loudly, “The Third Army Corps defeated the rebel forces of Pyxous and Grumentum outside Grumentum City! Besides a very few who escaped, most were captured, and the Third Army Corps suffered only a few dozen casualties. Legion Commander Hieronymus is leading the army toward Pyxous. According to reports, the city’s garrison is weak—taking Pyxous is only a matter of time!”

The assembly immediately erupted. “Wonderful! This is a truly glorious victory!”

“Pyxous! We are finally going to have a real coastal city of our own on the west coast!”

……

The senators, who had just been startled into cold sweats by Polyxides’ description, now burst into unprecedented cheers.

Polyxides stared wide-eyed at the cheering senators, still not recovered from the sudden reversal. After a long moment, he finally spoke, unwillingly and quietly, “… I never imagined Hieronymus could also create a great victory like Lord Davos’s…”

“No,” Philistos corrected him loudly. “In fact, this victory was planned in advance by Lord Davos together with the Third Army Corps, and they also received help from our two allies, Laüs and Elea. Otherwise, how could it have been won so easily!”

“Oh…” Kynogoratas, Cornelius, and the others wore expressions that suggested this was only to be expected. Then they eagerly asked about the details of the battle.

Polyxides fell silent.

The Battle of the Punat River had been going on for over an hour. The battle line had shifted from the initial crooked straight line into a curved crescent shape.

On the right wing of the Daonian army, Triphyas’s unit remained almost in its original position. The Bruttian left wing, composed of a dozen Bruttian tribal warriors, was unable to effectively unite into a single force and maintain sustained pressure on the Daonian right phalanx.

In the Daonian center, the warriors from Vegium, Ambarnia, and part of Cosentia attacked fiercely. After a period of stalemate, the First Army Corps’ phalanx began to slowly retreat, causing the entire center to cave inward. The proud soldiers of the First Army Corps had indeed done their utmost, but the long hours spent building the camp earlier had drained too much of their strength. After re-equipping their heavy armor, they were somewhat tired and struggling.

On the Daonian left wing, the Second Army Corps was still locked in fierce combat with the Cosentia warriors. The Cosentians, having washed away the shame of their failed siege last time, relied on the extraordinary endurance they had developed from living on the highlands since childhood (in later terms, highlanders have more red blood cells and higher oxygen-carrying capacity), as well as their larger physiques compared to the Greeks, to maintain a high-intensity attack over a long period. The Second Army Corps could only hold the line through solid defense and full coordination among their battalions.

On the far left wing, it was the only place where Daonia held an absolute advantage. The peltasts led by Epithenis had inflicted casualties on the Bruttian cavalry from the start. In close-quarter fighting, the Bruttian cavalry suffered more at the hands of the experienced Daonian peltasts. If this had not been a battle of life or death for the Bruttians, the cavalry commander would have long led his remaining horsemen far away. But to prevent the Daonian peltasts from reinforcing other parts of the battlefield, he kept his men at a distance, using the cavalry’s speed to circle the perimeter, striking suddenly at any Daonian light infantry that strayed from their units. However, the Daonians’ javelins and arrows were no joke either, and the Bruttian cavalry numbers were gradually dwindling.

The light infantry led by Tsipet ran into trouble. Although the Bruttian light infantry could not compare to the Daonians in either numbers or skill, the furious Bruttian skirmishers, after taking a beating from the enemy, abandoned long-range attacks and charged in to engage Tsipet’s unit with javelins and short blades at close quarters.

Tsipet could have retreated to gain distance—this was standard light infantry tactics. But Tsipet, who had long fought under Davos, knew well: as part of the main battle, a sudden retreat by his light infantry and freemen would expose Epithenis’s flank, causing heavy losses to the peltasts already engaged with the enemy cavalry. Therefore, Tsipet did not fall back but gritted his teeth and fought the Bruttian light infantry in a melee. He had few peltasts to begin with, and the freemen could handle archery and javelin throwing, but when it came to close combat against the fierce Bruttians, they quickly began to waver.

Fortunately, Davos still had plenty of cards in hand. Upon hearing of the trouble on the far left, he quickly dispatched the Mountain Reconnaissance Battalion. These light troops, armed with leather shields and short swords, rushed to the far left and immediately joined the fray, quickly turning the tide.

In the dust and haze, a messenger on horseback galloped toward Davos behind the formation.

Tolmides hurried to meet him.

“Commander, Capus sent word that his men are in distress—the soldiers of the First Army Corps can’t hold out much longer. They’re so exhausted they can barely lift their bronze shields!” Tolmides reported urgently to Davos as soon as he got the information.

“It seems the First Army Corps has reached its physical limit,” Davos concluded.

“It’s not just the First Army Corps. Earlier, Drakos also reported that some of his soldiers in the Second Army Corps are starting to feel dizzy and weak. He doesn’t even dare order a rotation of the front and rear ranks, afraid it will cause chaos,” Tolmides reminded him.

“If our soldiers are this exhausted, the Bruttians, no matter how good their stamina, can’t be much better off,” Davos said, staring ahead. In front of him, dust was flying everywhere, figures moved in the haze, and shouts filled the air—yet he seemed to see an opportunity for victory. “Quickly inform the two Besidian chiefs, Brum and Kerelu. Didn’t they clamor to go into battle? Now is their chance! I want them to lead the Besidia warriors to the left wing immediately, attack the enemy’s flank, and defeat the Cosentians with the swiftest assault, showing the Besidia warriors’ might!”

“Yes!” Tolmides replied excitedly.

“At the same time, Laedes’ cavalry battalion should have rested enough. Order them to assist Epithenis and Tsipet in quickly defeating the enemy cavalry and light infantry, then turn north, cross the battlefield, and attack the enemy’s center from the rear. Combined with the First Army Corps’ attack from the front, we will rout them in one blow!” Davos clenched his right fist and slammed it down heavily.

“Understood, Commander!” Tolmides led two messengers to mount their horses and galloped to the left to deliver the orders in person.

Davos turned his head to look at the two units that had been idle far to the left behind the phalanx. At a distance of several miles, they were merely blurry shadows, impossible to see clearly.

After a while, Tolmides returned. “They have moved out.”

“Sound the attack horn!” Davos commanded immediately.

“Doo! Doo! Doo!…” The piercing bugle calls rose above the clamor of battle, spreading across the entire formation.

“That’s the attack signal! Brothers, hold on—our reserves are being deployed!” Xanthiparis’s spirits soared upon hearing the call. Before the battle, Davos had shared his battle plan with the two legion commanders, who in turn passed on Davos’s tactical intentions to their battalion commanders, company commanders, and platoon leaders. That was why, despite the dire situation, the lines of the First and Second Army Corps had held. The officers knew what was coming, and now they had finally heard the attack bugle.

“Beat the drums! Beat the drums!” Xanthiparis shouted in a voice already hoarse from shouting.

The drums sounded, and the military banners pointed forward. Though the soldiers were physically weary, their spirits were lifted.

Almost all the battalion commanders of the First and Second Army Corps did the same as Xanthiparis.

When the bugle calls reached Piallen’s ears, he was in the Bruttian right wing, pushing forward with his warriors. Every step was difficult, but the Cosentian warriors were advancing.

The Daonians are failing! That thought flashed through Piallen’s mind. Although also a bit tired, the desire for victory drove him to work even harder. But just then, the Daonian bugle calls shocked him: Could the enemy have reinforcements?

A sense of urgency surged within him. He was inside the formation and could not see the whole picture; he could only press harder to defeat the enemy in front of him. “Sons of Brutus, put in more effort! The enemy is about to collapse!…” he shouted. His personal guards shouted along with him, inspiring the other warriors… The Cosentian warriors used every last ounce of strength to attack desperately.

But the Second Army Corps’ defense strengthened considerably. In fact, the Bruttians’ advance in the center and right wing became even more difficult than before.

Led by Brum and Kerelu, more than two thousand Besidia warriors, who had been pent up for an hour with no outlet for their energy, ran all the way around the outside of the battle lines. With furious shouts, they threw themselves fiercely at the rear of the Bruttian right wing.

The earth-shaking war cries and thunderous footsteps caused the Cosentian warriors to turn back in alarm. They saw countless Bruttian warriors, dressed like them but with ferocious faces, charging at them with raised spears.

“It’s the Besidians! We’re surrounded!!…” The Cosentian warriors turned hastily to defend themselves.

At that moment, Laedes’ cavalry battalion easily routed the beleaguered Bruttian cavalry and light infantry. Just as the cavalry battalion, the reconnaissance battalion, and the light infantry were about to abandon the pursuit of the fleeing enemy and march north in force, intending to pass behind the enemy’s right wing to attack the rear of the Bruttian center, the exhausted Cosentian warriors, after being violently attacked from the rear by the Besidians, began to scatter…