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Chapter 860: Victory in Aquilonia
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Seeing the Samnite army retreating fully, the Theonian light infantry, which was the second line of attack, also took the initiative to break away from the heavy infantries' protection and strode forward, soon catching up with the light-armoured soldiers, and at the same time, gradually expanded the pursuing net to the east.
After issuing the command, Polet remembered Xanticles, who was beside him, and immediately, with a sense of apology, asked, “Lord Xanticles, what do you think?”
A few hundred metres away, they could see an army wearing black and red climbing the mountain.
He immediately ordered the buglers to continue sounding the attack and instructed his subordinates to urge the warriors to increase their pace in climbing the mountains.
As they rapidly ascended the mountain, Polet heeded Xanticles' suggestion to fan out the troops in the rear towards the north to minimise the gap between them and the forces from Abellinum.
The warriors cheered up immediately, knowing they weren't far from the enemy.
Not only are the Potentians doing this, but also the people of Abellinum.
After more than ten minutes, the shouting became clearer, mixed with the continuous screams and the clattering of branches and leaves… Though the thick trees blocked their vision, the Lucanians knew the enemy had already crossed the ridge and headed towards them.
Generally, you are at a disadvantage when you are in a lower position while fighting in a mountainous terrain. However, with the Samnite army in the middle of a rout, those routed warriors at the front slipped and slid downhill. Perhaps they were pushed and shoved during the retreat, or they thought they could escape faster in this way. But when they saw the enemies ahead, these warriors who got bloodied and wounded from having their bodies sc.r.a.ped by th.o.r.n.y branches had their spirits shaken and were too weak to stand and could only scream in terror, “Enemy! There are enemies!…”
And then a much larger number of routed warriors appeared. The fleeing Samnite warriors running at the front would occasionally hold onto trees while running straight down to control their speed so they wouldn’t fall or slip. As a result, they often didn't have their weapons, either losing their s.h.i.+elds or javelins.
On Abellinum's side, Garni and the Abellinum warriors had mixed feelings when they saw their kinsmen fleeing down from the mountaintops in panic. But he knew that the Samnites had suffered consecutive defeats since the beginning of the war between Samnite and Theonia. Coupled with today's loss, the final defeat of the entire Samnite Tribal Alliance was inevitable, and only by following Theonia closely could Abellinum gain a new life after the war ended. Therefore, Garni only hesitated momentarily before issuing the order to attack.
“d.a.m.n it, it's the people from Abellinum!”
“People of Abellinum, we all belong to the Hirpini tribe. For the sake of being of the same race, please let us go!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Samnite army clashed with the people of Abellinum and Potentia, who had intercepted them. At first, they successfully pushed back the opposing defensive line by utilising the terrain to their advantage and their desperate desire to escape.What's more, the routed warriors were disorganised, ill-equipped and uncoordinated. After their bout of fierce attacks not working, some of the routed warriors began retreating. After all, although they used their advantage in mountain climbing to leave behind the pursuing Theonians, they were now intercepted by another group of enemies. Once the Theonians arrived, they were sandwiched on both sides and had no way to escape, so some of the routed warriors gave up going through the front and instead ran towards the flank, attempting to bypa.s.s the enemy's interception.
The three armies, consisting of Theonia, Potentia, and Abellinum, went to pursue the enemy simultaneously…
In the joyful atmosphere of victory, Xanticles, Polet and Garni met with Alexius, who had remained in the valley.
“We encountered some problems while on the way here. But despite coming a bit late, it didn't affect our victory,” Xanticles laughed.
After Abellinum joined Theonia, the Ministry of Military approved Alexius' plan to take down Aquilonia, the nail in the waist of Peuceti and Dauni, so that the regions of Abellinum, Compsa and Aquilonia would be linked together, which would make the entire southern region of Hirpini come under Theonia, which would relieve the pressure on the kingdom's northern border.
Thus, after communicating with Alexius through letters, he formed a new strategy: Alexius would still lead the troops from the east into the mountains and attack Aquilonia. If the Samnites couldn't send reinforcements, they would take Aquilonia. But if the Samnites hid a few thousand warriors and prepared to lure the Theonian army to fight in the mountains, they would use their backup plan.
The great chieftain of Potentia, Polet, reacted positively to the joint attack on the Samnite mountains, prompting him to gather twelve thousand warriors. As for Garni, if it were in the past, he might have hesitated. But the event of how the Samnite alliance lured the chieftain of Nuceria, Kinduk, to murder him and occupy Nuceria had already reached Abellinum. After all, Abellinum bordered Beneventum under the rule of Lesguk in the north, while they bordered a part of Nuceria's territory to the west and Theonia's territory to the south(they are especially close to Compsa). So, the Samnite Alliance's b.l.o.o.d.y approach that broke tradition made him highly vigilant and fearful, making him determined to follow Theonia to fight against the Samnite Tribal Alliance.
