Herald of Steel

871 Perseus Vs Alexander (Part-6)

"No! Stand and fight!"

"Halt men! Halt!"

"Do not disobey order! Stay and hold the line!"

"We are close to winning! Why are fleeing?"

Despite such shouts from Gnaeus and his surrounding officers, since Alexander's reinforcements never came, his flank finally collapsed.

The oxen and handlers ran away, and the 'naked crossbowmen' saw no reason to stick around and get skewered.

Thus the following events appeared like a dam bursting, the solid formation suddenly crumbling into a liquid pool that spread everywhere, the legionaries pouring out of their orderly state into a state of absolute chaos.

And no matter how hoarsely Gnaeus shouted and pleaded, he was like a lonely rock standing against an entire ocean, for just like the waves hit and part against one, before continuing on their way, the men running away split to either side of the place where Gnaeus was standing, forming a kind of 'V' in the vicinity.

"The battle is lost! Let us retreat when we can! The enemy is getting too close!" And reading the obvious tide of the battle, Jupiter rode up to Gnaeus to hurriedly say this, even pulling the man by the arms to emphasize the urgency.

"....*Tsk*..."

And Gnaeus, clicking his tongue before turning to look one last time around the fleeing masses, with regret filled eyes, finally turned his horse to leave.

"Arghh!...*Splat!*"

When suddenly, like a bolt out of the clear blue sky 'it' hit him.

Something that knocked the breath out of him.

Something that made his eyes bulge.

Something that made him wonder why he was feeling this agonizing pain.

It was a bolt!

A crossbow bolt!

Out of nowhere, a thick crossbow bolt had hit Gnaeus right in the throat, going straight through his nape and coming straight out of the other side- the thorax.

The man was dead even before realized it.

This one shot one kill wonder was performed by a mercenary belonging to the Kaiser mercenaries.

He was an expert archer with almost two decades of experience under him, and the man had by chance been able to pick up a loaded crossbow from one of the dead legionaries, and after seeing how the enemy operated them for hours, knew the basic way to use it.

So steading himself and taking aim, this expert man looked for the most flamboyantly dressed man on the battlefield, knowing he would definitely be someone of status.

And unfortunately for Gnaeus, that happened to be him.

But even with such skills involved, this almost 100 meter shot was certainly very lucky, especially when considering where it hit- the throat- one of the very few places where the armor was absent.

Instead, if the bolt had just hit Gnaeus in the chest, back, or even his head, it would have most likely failed to even penetrate.

But alas!

Such were the perils of the battlefield.

A stray bolt from anywhere could reap one's life at any time.

And this could be said to be one of Alexander's greatest fears, for many, many kings had died like that.

"Wha….!" As the bloodstained bolt stuck out of Gnaeus's throat, dripping surprisingly little blood, Jupiter, witnessing all this, for a split second found himself unable to even wake up to the fact of what had just happened.

The change was too sudden and too unexpected.

One moment there was a hale, hearty, and healthy man normally conversing with him and about to escape the battlefield, the next moment he was dead, slumping over from his horse and,

*Thud,* falling to the ground.

"*Neighhhhhh*" As Gnaeus fell, the dull sound caused his horse to jitters, who scared by the attack quickly bolted, leaving his dead owner in the dust.

While this sound too helped Jupiter finally wake up to the realization of what had just happened, and with terrified eyes shouted at the top of his voice- "Gnaeus!"

But as he laid in his eyes on the dead man lying sprawled on the ground, naturally there was no response.

Only a small patch of dark pool of blood underneath his neck seemed to 'move', expanding in size with each passing second.

Having been in the battlefield for long enough, Jupiter could tell with just a glance of those hollow, unfocused eyes that the man was not with them any longer.

And seeing this and knowing his master, Jupiter felt his heart sink as he dreaded to think what would Lord Theony do after he learned of his son's demise and even at how Jupiter had failed to Perseusotect him, despite the validity of the accusation.

But such mortifying thought only clouded him for a moment.

Because what was done was.

Jupiter was a veteran of the battlefield and knowing life and death were part and parcel of life here, he decided to take whatever came after on the chin.

So instead, rationalizing the things that needed to be done next, he quickly got down his horse and retrieved Gnaeus's dead body, effortlessly picking up the 80 kilo mass like it was nothing and putting him on the back of the horse, before riding out of the battlefield.

Though not before shooting a hateful look at the mercenaries to try and spot the shooter, an endeavor he of course failed in.

While on the side side of the flanks, although it would have certainly broken Lord Theony's heart to have known that he had lost his favorite son, for the moment, the man was in no such position to be engaged in such sorrow.

For like his counterpart, the left flank was too disintegrating.

And like the son, the father too tried to rally the men and stop the retreat, to no avail.

And the man kept on trying to do it, even as the Crown Prince Philips crept ever closer, despite the warning from his bodyguards.

Until finally, seeing there was no hope, Lord Theony retreated, and both of Alexander's wings collapsed, turning his army into a crippled bird.

And just like how a bird that cannot fly but only hop on the ground was rich pickings for the wolf waiting patiently nearby, Perseus of course capitalized on this great opportunity, letting lose his famed elephants from the left flank

By now the mercenaries there had managed to clear the wagons out of the way and thus theseterrifying beasts were free of charge at maddening speed, their collective endangered roars,

*Trumpet!*, *Trumpet!*, *Trumpet!* striking deep fear into the nearby legionaries, before smashing into Alexander's center's open and vulnerable right flanks.

While from the other side, though not as flamboyant as his father, Philips too followed up on his opportunity by swinging to his left and hitting Alexander from the other side.

Now, credit where credit is due, Alexander's flanks did not immediately collapse like a box of cartons right as Perseus and Philips attacked them.

In fact, they actually appeared to be holding on.

In the right flanks, the elephants' deadly charge was halted by a withering fire of javelins from the legion led by Jamider (Earl) Yuusiq like they had been trained to do, thus preventing a collapse, showing that if Perseus wanted to destroy the flanks, just sending 12 of these beasts would not be enough.

To finish the job, he would have to bring his infantry, which were much slower and frankly exhausted.

After all, no matter their level of training, these men had been fighting for hours, and unlike Alexander's legions got very little rest.

And all while they fought, they were constantly peppered by arrows from the 4,000 crossbowmen, which took quite a toll on them.

The shields of some of the phalangites in the frontlines even looked like porcupines, with many tens of crossbow bolts sticking out of them, while a few had their shield so badly damaged that they had to get new ones, most picking up one from the surrounding dead, showing just how intense the arrow fire was.

But still, despite such losses, these men were professionals and although Perseus's victory was thwarted momentarily, the king knew once these mercenaries entered the battlefield, it would not be long till the flanks broke.

Thus the king patiently waited for the mercenaries to make contact, each second feeling like a year.

While this was going on on Alexander's right flanks. on the left, given the legionaries's greater mobility, Jamider (Earl) Tikba was able to turn some of their units before the 7,000 Thesians led by Philips made contact, thus managing to put up some resistance.

"Do not falter! Stop them!"

"Do not let the enemy stop you when you have come so close!"

Such shouts could be heard by Alexander, energizing the men to resist, as the man witnessed all this from behind.

Alexander was currently feeling very confused as he found himself caught in a kind of decision paralysis, unable to decide where to send his reserves or even how to use them.

Because those 2,000 men were certainly not enough to deal with both the crisis simultaneously.

He could only choose one.

But then, would choosing one even be useful?

After all, even if only one flank broke, the whole center would likely break as Perseus or Philips shattered them one after another like dominos.

As Alexander was in the midst of trying to answer these questions,

"Alexander do not order a retreat! Look! The center is holding despite the attacks to the flanks!" Suddenly Hemicus urged him so in a loud, concerned voice, pointing with his fingers and saying,

"We will be able to destroy the enemy if they can hold on just a bit long!"

"Send the reinforcements into the center and break through!"