Chapter 550 Overlord Showdown (2) [Subscribe]

To the west of the battlefield, Severus stood on a magnificent chariot with a gold shaft.

The chariot was located on a small hill, with a commanding view of the entire battlefield.

What comes into view is the endless Roman army.

"The Wei army came all the way west and defeated the Kushans and Parthia, both of whom were mainly cavalry.

The Wei army was also fully cavalry because they were on an expedition."

Severus looked around and pointed to the battlefield:

"But our Roman army, even the best armored legions of Parthia, dare not confront us head-on in the open."

Beside him were Roman generals of all levels, who understood what Severus meant when they heard it.

The Roman heavy infantry had never met an opponent in positional warfare.

The heavy infantry's immovable stance has a strong deterrent effect on cavalry.

When he knew that the battle would be fought on the plain, Severus was certain that victory would ultimately belong to Rome.

"Blow the war horn!"

Hearing the sound of war drums coming from the direction of Cao’s camp, Severus also ordered the war to begin!
"Your Majesty, I request to lead the Third Legion into battle!"

Augustus, commander of the Third Legion, has a handsome face and a compelling gaze.

He had been observing the Wei army opposite.

The Wei army came from a long expedition, had no heavy or large weapons, and was almost entirely composed of cavalry.

In other words, they had no means of attacking heavy cavalry formations.

Like other Roman generals, Augustus had strong confidence in the Roman battle formations and the fighting capabilities of his troops.

He wanted to go out first and get the first credit.

"Just wait."

Severus refused Augustus's request for battle.

Amid the deep sound of war trumpets, the Roman army began to advance.

Boom boom boom!
More than 50,000 central troops were arranged into two large square formations, front and back, about 30 feet apart, and approached Cao's army.

The sound of tens of thousands of footsteps and the clash of armors were intertwined.

On the battlefield, soldiers were everywhere.

opposite.

After the cavalry led by Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun split to the two wings, the crossbow army led by Qu Yi was revealed.

Seen from the air, the Wei army's formation looked like a bird of prey with its wings spread, full of aggressiveness.

Qu Yi's crossbow army was located at the bird's beak.

“Remember, you only have one target. In the first round, shoot the twenty crossbow arrows in your hands into the air.

Without my order, even if the enemy comes to you and attacks you with swords, you must not move, just shoot arrows."

Qu Yi rode his horse at the rear of the formation, shouting back and forth.

"The Wei people want to shoot us with arrows!"

Augustus looked at the Wei army from afar with a smile on his face.

The Romans knew that the Wei army was good at using crossbows.

However, no matter how powerful a crossbow is, its lethality against heavy infantry is very limited.

Their infantry, unlike the Kushans, were better equipped.

If the Wei people wanted to use crossbows to deal with heavy infantry, they would soon find that their lethality was insufficient.

Therefore, when they saw the crossbow army appear, the Roman generals remained calm.

On the plain, the Roman phalanx advanced at a steady pace, neither fast nor slow.

Qu Yi silently calculated the distance.

Four hundred and fifty steps, four hundred and thirty steps, four hundred steps...

The enemy is within range.

But Qu Yi did not order an attack.

Because the enemy force was so large, he had to wait until all of them were within coverage.

The crossbowmen under Qu Yi's command have begun to pedal their crossbows.

The sound of the bowstring vibrating was as dense as the buzzing of a bee.

When all the bows and crossbows are stretched to the full moon, the carved patterns on the bow arms will emit a faint light, increasing the power of the bows and crossbows.

The large crossbows and the soldiers who kicked them away became a whole, with their qi connected.

In front.

All enemy troops are within range.

The red tassels on their helmets fluttered, exuding a murderous aura.

"put!"

Qu Yi suddenly shouted out in a broken voice.

The bowstring rebounded and the arrow flew.

Thousands of arrows were fired.

shhhhh--

Amid the dense sound of breaking air, Roman generals also shouted:
"Guard!"

Their response was similar to that of the Parthians, with shields raised to protect the perimeter and top.

Because they are heavy infantry, especially the outer infantry, they wear thick armor.

They were not afraid of the attacks from bows and crossbows.

But when the crossbow arrows of the Wei army fell, their raised shields were like being hit by huge hammers.

Some shields quickly showed signs of being dented by arrows, and were almost penetrated.

In a blink of an eye, Roman infantry fell down in large numbers.

The expressions of the Roman generals looking at the battlefield changed.

They knew that the Wei army's bows and crossbows were powerful, but they didn't expect them to be so powerful, and the lethality far exceeded their estimates.

Click!
There was a slight cracking sound, followed by the scream of a Roman soldier.

The crossbow arrows shot in the second round of attack completely penetrated the shield in his hand.

Nail his shield-hand to the shield.

The cold tip of the arrow pierced through his palm.

The Roman soldier was in so much pain that his shield became unstable, causing a loophole in his protection.

Subsequent arrows fell and he was killed instantly.

Soldiers kept falling to the ground in the Roman camp.

"Cum again!"

Qu Yi gave orders repeatedly.

One row, two rows. "Shoot!"

Arrows poured down on the other side at a constant frequency like a rainstorm.

More Roman soldiers fell to the ground, and the formation of the front army began to show signs of disarray.

Roma backline.

Severus, the Grand Senator, and Theus all changed their expressions slightly.

Augustus, who had previously volunteered to fight, turned pale.

He was somewhat glad that it was not his Third Legion that attacked first.

Theus had a long face, a high nose and long eyes. He wore armor with dark blue gems and a cloak on his shoulders.

He stood straight on his horse and suddenly said:
"The cavalry on both wings charge forward, protect the central army, speed up, and attack the enemy formation!"

Severus glanced at Theus and did not object to his sudden command of the battle.

The main duty of the Roman cavalry was to protect the two wings of the heavy infantry.

With the sound of battle trumpets, the Roman cavalry rushed out.

At the same moment, Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao also rode from the two wings of Cao's army to meet the enemy cavalry.

The positions where the two men sent out their troops did not hinder the crossbow army's shooting!
At this time, the heavy infantry in the Roman center began to advance faster, trying to shorten the time of being attacked by Wei army's arrows and attack the Wei army camp.

“The heavy infantry moved slowly, making them sitting ducks for our arrows.

The Romans were stubborn in fighting, sending out heavy infantry first, which was totally asking for a beating."

Cao Cao sneered: "Tell Qu Yi to increase the number of crossbow shots by two rounds, and don't rush to collect the crossbows."

Immediately a messenger went to deliver the order.

On the battlefield, the Roman infantry experienced multiple rounds of crossbow fire, with more than a quarter of them killed or wounded, before they were able to approach Cao's army to within two hundred steps.

The ground was littered with fallen wounded soldiers and bodies of people shot dead.

shocking.

At this time, no Roman dared to boast that their infantry phalanx was invincible.

Fortunately, the rain of arrows finally stopped.

The Roman heavy infantry advanced to a certain distance and were no longer suitable for continued attacks by crossbows.

Behind the Roman army, Severus heard a slight sigh in his ears.

Everyone, including the great elders, breathed a sigh of relief.

Severus shouted: "The rear troops should also press forward and tear the Wei army apart!"

As long as we can get close enough, we can recover the losses caused by the crossbow.

Theus also said: "Order the front troops to throw their spears to break through the formation and teach these Orientals a lesson."

"Ready - Cast!"

Just as the Roman vanguard was about to throw javelins, 20,000 Wei army crossbowmen stood up and switched to Qin crossbows.

The foot-pedal giant crossbow is fired at an upward angle and is only suitable for long-range covering attacks.

But the Qin crossbow is different.

The arrows it shoots are nearly straight, with a very small arc, a fast shooting speed, and are no weaker in power than a foot-pedal crossbow.

Therefore, the Qin crossbow was more suitable for frontal attacks and shooting against the Romans' spears.

Whoosh-whoosh!

Human power to throw spears is limited by strength, and no matter how elite the troops are, they cannot compete with the crossbow.

The Roman troops in the front row immediately suffered a second round of heavy casualties.

"Good cum!"

Mahavira, Mahadeva and others who were watching the battle felt joy from the bottom of their hearts.

They have been tied to the Great Wei and sincerely hope that the Wei army will win.

Vologasis was also watching the battle from the side, his expression changing constantly.

At this time, the crossbow army finally withdrew.

Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao in the front each released their troops and charged into the enemy formation.

The Roman cavalry was not the main force and was clearly inferior to the Wei army.

Zhao Yun stabbed with the tip of his spear, knocking several people off their horses as soon as they met him.

Guan and Zhang behind him were also extremely brave, with their snake spears and crescent-shaped swords flying up and down.

Under their leadership, Cao's army charged forward and was unstoppable.

On the Roman side, Theus' brows were furrowed into a "川" shape.

The troops sent out in the first round were obviously no match for the Wei army, and additional troops were needed to offset the advantage of the Wei army.

"First Legion, Third Legion! Lucius, Augustus, lead your troops to engage the Wei army!"

Lucius Augustus took a deep breath and immediately rode out to attack.

On the Wei army side, it was Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci's turn to lead the troops to attack.

In order to go on expeditions, the Wei Dynasty did not have pure infantry. The central army also consisted of cavalry that could fight on horseback and walk on foot when dismounted.

When Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci rode their horses close to the Romans.

The main force of the Roman army has stopped advancing, with rows of spears pointing forward.

Their square formation, with equal numbers of people in the horizontal and vertical rows, used a cross-section formed by spears to meet Cao's army.

This phalanx formation is extremely dense, and the front row soldiers hold shorter spears.

The spears of the soldiers in the back row gradually grew longer.

The phalanx soldiers in the last few rows would place their spears on the shoulders of the soldiers in the first few rows, forming an array like a forest of spears.

Even if attacked by cavalry, the army could remain unmoved because the rows of soldiers and horses shared the impact.

However, when Cao's army approached, Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci suddenly divided their troops to the two sides.

The troops in the rear, led by two men, separated to the side like flowing water.

The disadvantage of Rome's heavy infantry is that they move slowly, and in order to seek stability and strength, they must inevitably give up flexibility.

They did have a certain degree of restraint over the cavalry, using stability and clumsiness to overcome obstacles.

But everything has two sides.

For example, some talented generals clearly violated the taboos in military books when employing troops, and almost did the opposite of what was written in the military books.

But he can win!

The advantages and disadvantages of cavalry and heavy infantry also depend on who is fighting.

Boss Cao formulated targeted tactics for this battle, with the goal of defeating the Romans throughout the entire process.

battlefield.

Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci led the cavalry to split up and attack the two wings of the Roman infantry phalanx.

On the Roman side, they immediately sent out a signal through the battle trumpet and changed the formation to try to deal with the situation.

Ps: Please vote

(End of this chapter)