Ancient Greece's Mediterranean hegemon

Chapter 2: The Death of Xerxes (Part 2)

Clairkouris looked at the dense formation in the center of the enemy and compared it to the slightly extended array on the enemy's left flank compared to their own. Although he had been fully supportive of Xerxes from the beginning, it did not mean he would blindly obey orders. He straightforwardly refused, "Your Highness, I believe we should first crush the enemy's left flank and flank their center. It would be more prudent."

"I understand Xerxes, I understand the Persian army, and I understand your Greek phalanx! Trust me, my friend, your army will easily defeat Xerxes' center. If Xerxes is defeated, it doesn't matter how many troops he has!" Xerxes persuaded.

Clairkouris shook his head stubbornly, "I'm sorry, Your Highness! I won't expose the flank of the phalanx to the enemy's main force!"

Xerxes furrowed his brow, glaring at Clairkouris, but there was no time for him to organize his words to persuade him. As for forcing his command, the other party was a mercenary, not under his direct authority.

"Fine, we'll do it your way!" Xerxes turned his horse around. With a sudden pull of the reins, he galloped back along the route.

...

When the two armies were about five hundred meters apart, the Greek soldiers began to chant the hymn of the war god Ares as they advanced.

By the time the hymn was finished, the distance had been reduced to less than two hundred meters.

"Ares!!!" The soldiers shouted in unison, starting to jog and gradually picking up speed, faster and faster... The footsteps of over ten thousand Greek heavy infantry converged into a thunderous sound, gathering energy like rolling thunder about to cleave through the pitch-black night with lightning!

The Persians on the opposite side seemed completely terrified by the overwhelming steel torrent rushing towards them. As the Greek army approached closer and closer, except for a few rolling blade chariots that charged straight into the Greek ranks, accompanied by screams, dismembered limbs thrown into the air, and ultimately vanishing into silence, the rest of them, out of fear, forgot to shoot arrows and forgot to raise their shields.

When the two armies were still a dozen meters apart, the Persians broke down and turned to flee.

The Greeks didn't expect victory to come so quickly. Energized and not yet able to release their full potential, they chased after the fleeing enemy with even greater vigor.

At first, small unit leaders like Hilos repeatedly reminded their teammates, "Maintain formation, don't run too fast! Maintain formation..."

In the end, the formation completely fell apart, and all the Greeks were caught up in the excitement of the pursuit.

King Xerxes of the center didn't expect the victory on the right flank to come so quickly, and he was momentarily stunned. "Long live King Xerxes!" his attendants began to wave their spears and cheer for the victory.

"Your Highness, should we pursue them?" Altapatius asked, seeking his guidance.

He shook his head, his gaze fixed on the left front. He knew very well that he could only obtain the supreme crown by eliminating that person.

"Issue the command! Instruct Arius's left wing to halt their advance and prepare for defense!" Xerxes immediately gave the order. He understood that their strongest force was the Greek mercenaries, and since the Greeks had already repelled the enemy's left wing, there was no need to rush their outnumbered left wing into a direct confrontation with the enemy's right wing. If they experienced a rapid defeat as well, the battle would become troublesome. It was better to delay as much as possible and wait for the Greek mercenaries, who were pursuing the routed enemy, to return. With that, victory would be almost certain.