At the same time, conflicts arose among the nobles and even tribal leaders over positioning within the battle lines, necessitating Cabdes and Pulikas to step forward to mediate. Their prestige within the tribe was enough to make the tribal leaders temporarily comply.
The Segestica people’s initial formation was extremely chaotic, with the deafening noise of tens of thousands enveloping the entire area... Andres was accustomed to this, but he did not know that a group of people several miles away on the opposing hill was watching them.
"Leader, the Segestica people have been forming their lines for quite some time now, yet their arrangement is still loose and chaotic. This shows their poor organizational skills. Although they have many people, breaking through our dense square formations will be nearly impossible," Quintus pointed ahead and spoke with confidence.
They were standing atop a large boulder on the hill, looking down with a wide view. The weather was excellent today, and the scenery several miles ahead was clear to their gaze. Although the Segestica warriors along the riverside appeared tiny like ants, their overall situation was still discernible.
Maximus’s gaze was fixed on the forefront of the Segestica formation, both excited and slightly concerned, as he said, "They’ve sent out a lot of Skodisqi slaves again this time. I hope our plan works."
"Don’t worry, Leader. Judging by their troop composition and formation, even though they recently faced defeat, they haven’t altered their tactics. Our strategy should work just fine."
Quintus reassured him confidently, "Moreover, did you notice the gleaming figures at the forefront of the Segestica formation? Those should be their heavily armored longsword infantry, sent out in significant numbers this time. However, their slow advancement will give us more time to deal with the Skodisqi slaves."
"But with so many heavy infantry sent by the enemy this time, the soldiers will find it harder to withstand their prolonged assaults," Maximus still displayed a hint of concern.
"Rest assured, Leader. These heavy infantry of the Segestica people are strong in personal defense, but their longswords, while intimidating, cannot break through the soldiers’ square shield defenses. Furthermore, due to the longsword’s excessive weight and length, wielding it single-handedly will exhaust their strength quickly and expose vulnerabilities, far inferior to the threat posed by our short sword thrusts.
In fact, if they were to wield their swords with both hands, their strikes would be more threatening. However, their defensive capability would then decrease... More importantly, they carry large shields, yet have not learned to work collectively for defense..."
Although this was Maximus’s second time participating in a pitched battle, this confrontation was a fight to the death. He could not entirely avoid feeling a trace of nervousness as the moment approached, especially recalling the final stage of the Womans River battle when the Third Legion was defeated—his heart had almost stopped. Nevertheless, Quintus’s patient and detailed explanation brought him some relief.
"Leader, the Segestica people’s formation is about to be complete. I think it’s time to move our troops forward," Quintus reminded.
Maximus nodded and turned his head to shout, "Akegu!"
Akegu immediately raised a flag and began waving it back and forth. The red banner fluttered strikingly in the wind.
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On another hill not far from Maximus and his group stood several men—Budocaribas, Ciciliotes, and other elders of the Alde Tribe.
Yesterday, due to the promise made by Great Chief Acoupaigos, Budocaribas had agreed to the rebel army’s request to take several thousand captured Segestica soldiers back to the village for detention. At the same time, he learned of the "Segestica Army’s coming attack." Whether out of curiosity about the rebel army’s combat strength or worry about the outcome of this war, he and neighboring village elders felt compelled to witness the battle results personally.
But when they arrived on the mountain, they were taken aback.
"Budocaribas, the Segestica people have come with so many! This doesn’t look like a small force compared to the battle we fought against them a few years ago. Could Andres have brought all his warriors here? In comparison, these outsiders have far fewer people. Can they even win?" One elder voiced his concern.
"Aren’t these outsiders too overconfident?! Being weaker than the Segestica people, they should have stayed in their camp and defended properly! Instead, they’ve come out to face them head-on. If they lose, all our efforts for them recently will have been in vain!" Another elder grumbled.
"The fight hasn’t even started yet—don’t jump to conclusions. Let’s watch and see first," Budocaribas advised, though he himself was uneasy: Why would the Segestica people deploy such a massive army? Was their sole purpose to eliminate these outsiders? Could they later move on to attack my village?
A few days ago, he had been pleased that the rebel army could act as a buffer for his tribe. In this moment, however, regret began to cloud his thoughts.
.............................................
"Woo!... Woo!... Woo!..." The sound of copper horns echoed.
"Brothers, forward!..." The shouts of the team officers were quickly drowned in the cacophony of soldiers’ footsteps, the collisions of weapons, and the friction of armor.
The rebel army’s 9,000 fully armed soldiers moved as units, forming nine dense square formations arranged in a staggered layout—five in the front and four behind—spanning a total length of over a mile. They marched slowly forward toward the Kolana River...
"Great Chief, the enemy is advancing toward us!"
Upon hearing the scout’s report, Andres furrowed his brows slightly: "Hurry and inform Cabdes and Pulikas to quickly align the troops!"
After giving the order, Andres focused his gaze into the distance. During autumn, when the weather is dry, even slight movement stirs up dust from the ground. At this moment, the faraway sky was shrouded in a vast cloud of smoke and dust, drifting slowly toward them, obscuring everything on the ground.
Andres watched the movement speed of the dust cloud, calculating the distance between the enemy and himself, yet he refrained from hastily issuing any further commands. Standing steadfast at the frontlines, he steadied the restless warriors behind him, calming them gradually.
As the cloud of dust approached within about a mile of the Segestica army, it ceased its movement.
Andres waited for a while but noticed the cloud didn’t advance further. Instead, with its prolonged presence, the dust began dispersing, gradually revealing the enemy forces...
Unified rows of red long shields, helmets, and armor, an impressively tight formation... It indeed resembled what Cabdes had described earlier. But why was their formation divided into blocks, irregularly shaped at that?...
Andres had never engaged directly with the Roman Army, so he didn’t understand their tactics. Narrowing his eyes and riding his horse back and forth in front of his ranks, he observed carefully, unable to immediately discern how this arrangement might affect his army.
Yet, he noticed both flanks of the enemy formation were bordered by swampland. Clearly, the opposing side intended to leverage the narrowing terrain caused by the swamp extending outward to compensate for their numerical disadvantage, setting their formation there to block his army’s advance.
But could they really hold? Andres chuckled inwardly. He raised the large sword in his hand, swung it a few times, then pointed forward: "Warriors, advance with me!"
With that, he spurred his horse to move forward slowly.
The troops behind followed his lead, while the Skodisqi male slaves at the front, driven by Segestica warriors’ shouts and curses, also began to move forward, mobilizing the entire central army. The movement spread to the flanks... When the Segestica army’s over 18,000 warriors had all begun marching forward, it took nearly 10 minutes.