Archery War

"Can Persia do it too?" Asistes asked curiously.

"What about Greece?" Mariji immediately turned around and glared at him and asked, not to be outdone.

Davos looked at them and said half-jokingly, "If you live long enough, you may see it in 50 years."

"Is this an oracle?" Asistes asked excitedly.

Mariji obviously did not believe it.

Davos smiled and didn't answer. If his butterfly wings were weak enough to change the course of history, then decades later (he can't remember the exact time), Alexander of Macedonia conquered Greece and then destroyed Persia. Because the Greeks didn't think that the Macedonians in the north were their own people, so in a sense, he conquered the two most powerful forces in the Mediterranean.

…

For the next two days, the Greek mercenaries continued to march briskly.

On the third day, the army of Tissaphernes appeared.

Now, the light cavalry unit of the 50 Greek mercenaries was basically sent out by Davos to scout the cavalry. After all, the Persian cavalry is strong individually and in a one-on-one battle, the Greek cavalry is no match for them. Therefore, in a group of five, they don't dare to leave the main force too far and only move within a radius of two to three miles. When they see the Persian troops from afar, they will immediately report back.

"The Persians are here, prepare to defend!"

"The order of the messenger Risophus, prepare to defend!"

The herald moved quickly around the periphery of this huge phalanx formation to convey the order.

The center of the hollow phalanx formation used by the Greek mercenaries is protected by the supply camp, so it is impossible for them to change their formation before they meet the enemy. They only let the supply camp gather in the center, while the soldiers held their shields and spears, increased their vigilance, slowed down their marching speed, and kept their formation intact.

Soon, the Persians appeared at the rear of the troops. From the high flag, the soldiers knew that Tissaphernes had come. The Greek mercenaries had easily defeated him in the battle of Kunasak, so they didn't take it to heart.

Then, another group appeared on the left wing of Tissaphernes, and as the formation advanced, the Greeks felt their heart tighten. This is another army of no less than 10,000! Everyone is familiar with the emblem on the flag, and the arrival of the Armenian governor, Orontes, was also within the estimation of the leaders.

Then, another army appeared on the right wing of Tissaphernes, which was also no less than 10,000, and the flag that was raised made everyone familiar.

"Oh, I remember! That is the army that we met on the way, and it is said to be led by the Persian brother!" Asistes shouted.

"This army that should have been marching in the opposite direction is here! I am afraid that they have been following us quietly! Tissaphernes has long harbored ill intentions towards us!" said Philesius with a grave expression.

Davos nodded his head with slightly stiff movements and held the reins of the horse tightly.

The army of Tissaphernes also has the remnants of Cyrus the Younger, led by Ariaeus. The four armies gathered together and spread out like a goose, slowly approaching the Greek army…

The seemingly endless and dense crowd was the most seen by the Greek mercenaries after the battle of Kurasak. Last time, there was Cyrus the Younger to rely on, and the mercenaries were only responsible for the right wing, and now that they have to face the whole Persian army, everyone couldn't help but feel nervous.

Despite the tension, when the Greeks knew that there is only a bloody battle to survive, Cleanor had been watching the distance of the enemy, and when he saw that they were about to enter the range of the catapults, he immediately ordered, "Get ready!"

The catapults in the whole rearguard immediately began to swing their sling. At a distance of more than 300 meters, the accuracy and strength of the flying stones would be less, but the Persians were so many and so dense that almost every stone that fell aroused a cry, and the Persian formation in the middle became chaotic, and their advance almost stopped.

"Lord Governor, the enemy's attack is too fierce! Should we retreat for the time being and let the two-wing army advance first?" An adjutant next to him suggested to Tissaphernes.

Tissaphernes' face was also not good, but he rejected it without hesitation. Although he was appointed by the king as the overall person in charge of the plan to expel the Greeks, and Orontes was only assisting him, while the king's brother, Sitiles, was only helping him out of friendship. However, one of them was a governor on the same level as him, and was also the king's son-in-law, while the other was the king's brother. If he didn't do his best, why would he want them to help him with all their strength? What's more, they have a close relationship with the king, and when he went back, he told Artaxerxes about his performance in private, and the good impression that he had finally established in the heart of the Persian king was destroyed.

Tissaphernes glared at his adjutant and immediately ordered, "Speed up and continue to approach!" This time, he had nearly 50,000 troops in his hands. He has plenty of people! Since the Greeks want to compete with him in long-range firepower, then let's compete and see who can shoot accurately! Let's see who can endure it! Anyway, he is not ready to fight with Greece in close combat. After the battle of Kurasak, the scene of the Greek's hoplites charging and easily defeating the left wing of the Polish army happened beside him, which had a huge impact on him.

The Persians screamed and ran all the way. Tissaphernes even sent his own troops to supervise the battle and cut down the deserters one by one, warning the whole army. In this case, the two wings of the Persian army quickly surrounded the mercenaries. Because the Persians have too many troops and the mercenaries are in a circle, the Persian army stretched the line and almost surrounded the whole mercenary.

Davos had already dismounted and his horse was led to the supply camp in the center of the phalanx formation. Facing the approaching enemy, he was not as nervous as he was at the beginning, "Shield wall!"

Asistes and his two heralds conveyed the order of Davos to the whole left wing.

The units of the four hoplites began to move closer to each other. The round shield was stacked with round shields, and soon, a long bronze wall was erected. The round shield of the Greek hoplites is one of the best among the hoplites of the Mediterranean countries. The round shield has a diameter of one meter, with a wooden core and is covered with bronze skin. Moreover, it is not held by hand, but the whole forearm passed through the two grips on the back of the round shield, which saves effort and is not easy to slide off. Because it is large and hard enough, it is difficult to be penetrated by arrows.

The archers at the rear of the hoplites also quickly approached the shield wall to reduce the damage of the enemy's arrows. Because of the 6,000 men who had previously wiped out Artaozus, the Clete archers in the mercenaries not only replaced the Persian's Anti-Red Bow, but also chose the soldiers who are good at archery among the hoplites and the light shield soldiers. They also joined the ranks of the archers, which made the number of archers in the mercenaries reach 500, and they were scattered in the rear guard and the left and right wings.

When the Persian army approached within a hundred meters, both sides released their arrows almost at the same time.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!…." With the sound of the bowstring, countless arrows flew into the air, like a large dark cloud that covered the blue sky and the sun. The dense number of arrows even caused many arrows to collide in the air, and when most of the" dark clouds" landed on the mercenaries, there was a crisp "Clang! Clang! Clang!…" Occasionally, there were one or two screams, and when a small part of the" dark clouds" landed on the Persian army, there were continuous screams….

The arrows from both sides came and went.

The Persians even pushed the frontline to 50 meters away and did not advance any further, because the Persians knew that if they go any further, the Greek shield soldiers should start to fight.

…

The archery battle lasted for a while.

In addition to the land under the long rectangular shield wall being relatively clean, the mercenaries were surrounded by arrows. The Greek archers with empty quivers didn't have to worry at all, they just pulled out a "arrow grass" on the ground and counterattacked.

Davos was already used to the sound of arrows hitting the round shield. What he was more worried about was the muffled groan that came into his ears from time to time, which meant that another person was hit by the arrow. His left arm was also a bit sore, but he still maintained the same position without moving, and he didn't dare to withdraw the round shield. Now, both sides are fighting with their willpower to see who can last until the end.