Chapter 452: Slippery

The Elephants had crashed through sections of the wall in pure panic, their riders pushing them on as the remaining Arrows from the Lazarus Kingdom’s Archers and Pilum from the Legionaries pounded in to them as they reached it. The majority had crumpled before arrival, their massive forms creating awkward blockers for the encroaching enemy main force. Some had turned in panic, throwing their riders and turning amongst their own forces, crushing enemy Infantry as much as they would have crushed those of the Lazarus Kingdom once they had pushed past the walls.

The shouts and screams as men were crushed from beyond the wall reverberated in the heavy rain, the ground now even more wet than before that simply holding position in formation was becoming difficult for those that were on the first line, especially some of the Hoplite. They were holding their Dory spears against some of the successful Elephants that had made it through, their overlapping spears stabbing in to the creatures that dared approach.

Some of their towering corpses were now resting beside the Wall as well as crumbling through it, and the enemy Infantry that hadn’t been attacked by their own, were climbing through the gaps or over them to enter the Lazarus Kingdom.

As Dom arrived from the Red Hare Valley saw one that had crashed through the wall, a giant Bolt from a Ballistae through it’s head as the beast had crumpled at the last, taking the wall and it’s riders with it. Enemies were coming through the gap that it had created in force, however they were met by a swarm of targeted Arrows as they entered.

His Hoplite and Legionaries were all in a line, their formation tight, except for those that had moved forwards to dispatch any Elephants that had made it through. Dom could see one unit with snapped spears and missing a few men who had been sent to the back wounded after tackling on of the creatures that had made it several steps in to the Kingdom. He felt it was a loss to see such majestic creatures used in this way and hoped they were causing havoc amongst their own forces in vengeance for the others sacrifice.

Imperator’s giant form paced down the rear of the first line of his men, a second line behind ready to reinforce or rotate when needed. He was heading to the north, to raise Morale as he had been asked now that he had seen what Tomoe had been involved with. The enemy were coming through faster now, and the Arrows were now only targeting enemy Elites or Commanders, whilst the main lot of them charged towards the lines of his men.

Most of his front row was Hoplite, with the Legionaries being placed to protect flanks or be prepared for the next stage of the Battle, where they would pull the Hoplite back and allow the short swords of the Legionaries to go to work. The enemy were quickly being dispatched by his Hoplite as they came through. Dom’s men had been given to command to hold the ground until ordered to slowly step back to the next line, before pushing back again. There were several lines in the open grounds behind the Command Towers, with the third line being when the Legionaries would rotate in to the front.

The Command Towers were all empty and abandoned now, other than the flags of the Lazarus Kingdom flying high, the Sabre Tooth Tiger looking down upon the Warriors of the Kingdom and the enemies that dared to enter it.

Dom soon arrived at Huang Zhong, who was stood behind the first battle line, directing his own Command Squad to pass on orders to the different Centurions across the front. He was also managing part of Tomoe’s lines as she was still within the Forest and stopping the enemy who attempting to reach through there.

"Have Arimnestos take command of eleven through fourteen, the wall is more secure there and it allows us to concentrate on the main openings!" Huang Zhong ordered one of his Aide’s who quickly mounted a horse and rode behind the lines towards where the other General was based down the line, with Nicomedes beyond him, then Pausanias and then Penthesilia who was at the Fort. He noticed Dom’s arrival and bowed his bearded head in greeting, before shouting at one of the Centurions to have his men keep formation better.

"How are we doing?" Dom asked, as it seemed everything was currently in control as one of the Centuries nearby began rotating it’s men, with the front line stepping back as the second stepped forwards. The more experienced men at the rear of the Century hadn’t rotated in yet, but Dom knew it wouldn’t be long before the Hoplite Veterans were at the front.

"Based on what I saw before I came down here, we have another few thousand to come through, depending on how much damage their own Elephants have done. If our Cavalry return sooner, they should retreat if this is the main force. If not, it will be a bloody battle, but I do not worry. Our men are some of the best I have ever seen, they are well trained and we can easily defeat four times our number." Huang Zhong replied as he shouted at the same Centurion again, seeing that the rotation was taking longer than it should have. "Some of them could do with some more training though!"

"Let me know if there is anything I can do to help." Dom stated as he prepared to leave and move further down the line, past Arimnestos and towards where Xun You would be currently based at the rear of the Central Line, before heading north towards the Fort.

"If you can collate the Sabre Tooth Tiger Cavalry that is under Centurion Chen Lu and wait for the opportune time, I think a flanking charge when they are heavily engaged will cause a lot of them to flee." Huang Zhong replied, his seniority and experience not making him worry about who Dom was as everyone on the Battlefield had a role and that was all that was important to him right now. Dom also respected him and nodded in response.

"I’ll speak with Xun You and gather them. Hitting from from the Tomoe’s area would be ideal, as the Fort side is still launching Bolts and has the Navy pushing people further to this location." Dom agreed as Huang Zhong exhaled in response, before shouting at another Centurion, this time as the enemy was pushing his men back and he hadn’t signalled to move yet.

"If you do not get your men in line Myron, I will get someone else to!" Huang Zhong shouted, as a fresh flood of enemies charged through the openings in the wall on to the ends of the Dory Spears. Some Javelins flew towards them, with the majority being collected by shields, but Dom saw a handful of Hoplite fall down within the ranks. Huang Zhong exhaled for a moment, before turning back to Dom. "We’ll need to switch to the Legionaries in a moment and push them back. Our forces need a revamp, we need a middle ground between range and power. I have some ideas that I will discuss with Xun You after the battle. There is a Cavalry Spear that has a serpent like blade, I think we could incorporate some of it’s techniques with the Dory."

Dom listened for a few moments, before quickly departing further up the line towards Arimnestos position. Dom could see more and more enemies breaking through the wall now, which would need a permanent replacement after this Battle as a priority. He would speak with Ptolemy, Hatshepsut, Ling Tong and Sostratus about the future of Eruthros when he hopefully returned to Riverside. The Wall had been great at slowing the enemy approach and had allowed them to destroy the enemy Vanguard and a good amount of it’s Main force, but now it was breached, the heart of his Kingdom would be exposed.

He watched as the order passed through the ranks to pull back to the second position, allowing more enemies through but giving the Hoplite a clear ground to continue fighting, as the old line was full of the enemy dead which made it challenging to fight on. The rain and mud had also made the ground slippery when they constantly pushed forwards and backwards and it would soon be at a stage where lives would be at risk due to the terrain. Dom couldn’t believe the rain continued to fall down, the sky darkening and he was unaware of how many hours had actually passed due to not being able to see the sun in the sky. The sound of thunder still reverberated every now and then on the wind from further west, and Dom wondered how much longer this rain could pour for.

He soon reached the Plataean General, Arimnestos was armoured in heavier armour than he was used to, forged by the many Blacksmiths in Riverside, they had built new iron armours for all of the new Generals as an upgrade from their bronze. The same was for most of the new Warriors as well, their bronze tipped weapons being upgraded. It was easier for the new arrivals from the Warriors Halls as they seemed to be supplied them upon arrival, crates of the weapons and armours filling the halls. However, the arrivals from the quests weren’t as lucky, they could pull spares from the Halls, but the rest was down to the production from the Mines and the Blacksmiths.

"My Lord, your presence is welcomed. Xun You is further back there, a new Tower is raised for his view. These are easier to kill than the Persians and I am grateful for it." Arimnestos explained to Dom, pointing towards a new Tower that Dom hadn’t seen earlier where Xun You was currently stood, his flags waving as Aide’s ran up and down the lines to pass on further orders.

Dom could see that Arimnestos was a cool headed General, that was partial to looking for signs from the Gods in his actions. Since arriving in Riverside though, he had seemed more inclined to look for the signs, mentioning that by arriving here, he had been rewarded by the Gods already and they had a mission for him. Dom hadn’t had much interaction with him, but he was praised by the senior Generals and they felt he would be a loyal and capable infantry Commander, something that was always needed.

"The men will be glad to see you with us, a King should always be with his men at Battle, not hiding in a Palace." Arimnestos commented, and Dom could imagine Meritamen’s thoughts on the matter. But he didn’t disagree, from all of the books he had read growing up, the Kings of any successful Kingdom always fought with their men or at least they did in the stories he had read. Until they were old and frail and couldn’t do it any more. He had even read about a Blind King and a Diseased King, who had fought and were remembered even thousands of years later when most stories had been lost.

After speaking with Arimnestos for a few moments, Dom headed to Xun You’s new tower, his guards flanking him as they travelled. There was a path open between the lines of Legionaries waiting in reserve, and he passed through them. They held their shields ready, their faces under their rimmed helmets showing expectant faces as they prepared for their turn to join in the Battle.

They didn’t have to wait long, Xun You’s Aide began shaking another flag, a sign that they had been waiting for as they began to step forwards, the sounds of Carnyx echoing as the order was passed up and down the line. It was time for the largest part of his army to get involved, allowing his Hoplite a brief moment of respite.

The Hoplite would step to the side’s creating a gap that the Legionaries would charge through to create a fresh forward line. The Hoplite would then raise their spears and step back calmly, before having a quick break. They would leave their Spears and switch to swords then, preparing to support any gaps that may open in the Legionary lines.

Dom began climbing the Tower after dismounting Imperator, seeing the calm presence of Xun You, with Ptolemy beside him. Ptolemy was pointing towards the south west, towards the lines that had been trying to make it through the Red Hare Valley Forest unsuccessfully. Dom squinted and could see around five hundred of his own Cavalry in a Wedge formation charging that way, whilst Xun You exhaled.

"It seems our Cavalry are ready to re-engage." He commented, as Dom looked at the mass ranks of approaching enemies, and then to their flank where over two thousand horsemen charged at them.