Gowes began to feel anxious.
.....................
The battle continued, but compared to the initial slaughter, the situation had changed in some ways.
The originally loose offensive line of the Segestica Army gradually began to gather forward for three reasons:
Andres could not tolerate that such a massive force had fought for so long yet couldn’t shake the enemy’s line even a little. Thus, he dispatched the only cavalry by his side to urge the idle warriors in the rear to press forward and apply greater pressure on the enemy’s defense line;
The light infantry of Segestica in the rear were also dissatisfied with the current stalemate. After all, they had followed Andres and won some victories over the past few years, carrying a sense of pride that did not allow them to remain idle. In fact, they had already unconsciously started to press forward even before the cavalry urged them;
The more than 2,000 Segestica Heavy Infantry warriors currently engaging were the most uncomfortable. Some were noble children, others were warriors who had excelled in previous battles. Andres bestowed them with this valuable weaponry and other material rewards. They were neither nobles nor ordinary tribe members but carried their own pride. Given the rare chance that Andres gathered them to use, they also wanted to win new glory in such a great battle;
However, their previously unstoppable assault encountered problems today. Their sharp longswords could not break through the enemy’s thick shields, and even if they occasionally hit the enemy’s body, the opponent’s equally thick armor left them largely undamaged. In contrast, they had to be extremely cautious of sudden close-in attacks from those hiding behind sturdy shields. In such close-quarters, the enemy’s short sword would suddenly thrust forward, making it hard to dodge. Even wearing chain armor, being stabbed so fiercely would cause painful wounds;
So, although the Segestica Heavy Infantry were on the offensive, now most of their sword-wielding arms were sore and their spirits were highly tense, resulting in increased exhaustion. Hence, giving up on using longswords and relying solely on large shields to bear the brunt became their best option, which also allowed the light infantry behind them to press forward.
Actually, the Segestica people wouldn’t foolishly focus only on crashing into the enemy’s shield formation. Especially for the light infantry in the rear, some began to try crossing the swamp to flank the enemy.
The rebel army anticipated this and had trained beforehand. Troops from both flanks of the formation had sent part of their soldiers to form a thin defensive line on the edge of the swamp.
The line was thin, but the Segestica light infantry maneuvering through the swamp found it difficult to break through. The reason was simple: the swamp was full of mud, making walking challenging to avoid falling, let alone fighting while building momentum. Besides, there were other hazards in the swamp, like snakes and leeches. During their crossing, some Segestica people screamed in terror, and just as they barely emerged from the swamp, the rebel soldiers experienced in defense, using square shields, toppled them off balance and finished them with a short sword thrust.
As a result, the Segestica suffered more casualties here than in the frontal skirmish.
Of course, some tried to go further around the swamp to avoid the enemy’s block on the shore, but that meant delving deeper into the swamp, where the water got deeper and more perilous.
Segestica warriors saw firsthand several comrades who, crossing sections appearing shallow, suddenly sank and were quickly swallowed by the mud... Terrified, the Segestica people ceased trying.
"Boom!... Boom!..." Stags half-squatted, using his square shield to fend off the enemy’s impact. At the moment of collision, he skillfully tilted the shield’s angle, thus absorbing more than half of the impact force. Therefore, even though the enemy’s pressure on the shield formation increased, he could still handle it with ease.
Although these enemies in front were also heavy infantry, compared to the heavy infantry he encountered that day, they were far inferior. That person had great strength, cleaving through Stags’ shield with one strike, nearly severing his arm, a memory that still haunted him.
Later, Stags learned that enemy was a leader of the Segestica Tribe named Wallis. He even saw his corpse, which was hideous in death, but felt no remorse since a dead enemy was a good enemy.
After that battle, his shield was almost irreparable, and he exchanged it for an injured soldier’s shield. Due to this experience, he deeply understood the longsword’s damage to shields wielded by Segestica Heavy Infantry, spending time studying it.
The "use shield corner to deflect longsword" suggestion was something he proposed to Great Captain Bubius, who reported it, and its swift adoption army-wide, brought him commendation from Leader Maximus.
Stags pushed forward forcefully, momentarily pushing back the enemy, then quickly glanced at his row of soldiers, his gaze lingering briefly on Casaridaoa.
Stags was most concerned about Casaridaoa, not just because he saved his life, but because he was young and easily excitable.
Their platoon was unlucky, selected to temporarily join the Third Legion responsible for the left flank. The left flank was to execute special missions, highly dangerous. Thus, team officers repeatedly advised soldiers to conserve energy to ensure successful withdrawal when executing the plan, meaning the left flank soldiers primarily focused on defense when engaging with enemies, unless a good opportunity presented for using the short sword.
Stags worried Casaridaoa might lose control and get caught up in the fight, depleting his stamina excessively, also affecting the whole line’s defense... But until now, his worries hadn’t materialized. Casaridaoa had shown great composure, prompting admiration: some people are born to be soldiers!
However, Stags noticed some soldiers already showing fatigue, making him contemplate whether to initiate a formation change now. As soon as he shouted "formation change," the 2nd and 3rd line soldiers would raise their shields, ready to replace the front defense, while those in the 1st line would seize the moment to retreat through shield gaps to the rear, recuperating.
Nevertheless, as he hesitated, he heard the sound of the copper horn.
The copper horn began continuously blaring from the rear of the rebel formation to ensure every soldier heard it.
Stags roused himself, shouting hoarsely, "Brothers, the copper horn has sounded, begin retreat!"
He shouted in Latin, not worried the Segestica people in front could comprehend.
Yesterday, Quintus disclosed the entire battle plan to every soldier, conducting numerous drills, so they knew what to do once they heard the copper horn.
The soldiers held their shields against enemy attacks while slowly retreating...
.....................
At the moment the copper horn sounded, Maximus and his companions stared intently at the battlefield from the hill.
In their plan: the army’s right wing remained steady, the center slowly retreated, the left wing retreated more quickly... gradually turning the eastward-facing entire formation to face the Validosi Swamp to the north, equivalent to the entire formation rotating counterclockwise about 180 degrees, like a dragon swinging its tail.
But this tail was hard to swing. After all, this was a massive formation of nearly ten thousand people. Even during yesterday’s rehearsals, ensuring the entire array and all soldiers synchronized without major errors took considerable time, let alone now under enemy pressure. A misstep could turn a tactical retreat into an actual rout!