Game of Thrones: From a deserter to a high-ranking official

Chapter 57 Getting Back on Track

"Halt!" Tiberius shouted, waving his flag as he stood on the platform. "Form ranks, defend against the arrows!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the 150 men on the field immediately changed from a marching formation to a dense defensive formation: the spearmen huddled together, trying to avoid scattering and forming a more compact core; while the crossbowmen and shield bearers lowered their shields and tried to stay in the shadow of the shields.

"Fire!" Vito roared at his men.

Then, the veteran soldiers of the White Legion quickly placed the arrows they were holding in their mouths into the crossbow's grooves, strung them with their own hooks, and with a sickeningly loud twang of the string, the heavy steel crossbow arm was slowly pulled back. Meanwhile, the archers swiftly pulled the arrows stuck in the ground, and the instant they got their hands on them, they drew their bows and launched them.

Of course, these arrows were training arrows with the arrowheads removed, wrapped in rags and cotton. But getting hit by them wouldn't be pleasant; even wearing armor and a helmet, bruises might still appear.

Therefore, the consumption of medicinal wine in the military camp has been particularly high these past few days.

"Whoosh!"

With a low whooshing sound, a few crossbow bolts rained down on the formation. Thanks to their helmets and upper body armor, not many spearmen were marked as "down." However, groans of pain were inevitable.

However, this is just an appetizer.

Vito selected crossbowmen who were veteran archers from the White Legion who had been with him on the battlefield for at least two years. Some of them were so skilled that they could hit gaps in shields from dozens of meters away. The crossbowmen were also fast enough: their coordination with the loader was honed in blood and fire, and the second wave of arrows would arrive almost the instant the first wave ended.

"Not bad, lads..." Vito muttered to himself, watching the Lightning Legion soldiers maintain basic discipline and even continue their slow advance after three volleys of arrows. "They can actually withstand the arrow rain and continue obeying orders to move forward instead of thinking of abandoning their weapons and running back... Not bad, not bad. It seems they're starting to get used to the arrow rain. And they're beginning to understand that on the battlefield, when facing enemy attacks, cowering and running away means dying faster than holding your ground!"

[However, this is just an appetizer!] Thinking this, Vito's face revealed a sinister smile.

"Old Tom, it's your turn," Vito said, glancing at Old Tom beside him.

"Not bad, kid, you've got the formation sorted out." Old Tom shook his neck and then beckoned to the spearmen behind him.

"Stand up, gentlemen! Prepare to teach those rookies a lesson!" Old Tom kicked the pikemen who were resting on the ground, making them quickly line up and prepare for battle. "Don't disgrace the White Legion. Here's your kick! Don't tell me your legs went weak from playing with women last night!"

"First rank, front line; second and third, cover the left and right flanks. You all better watch out, they have crossbowmen too, and they're specifically waiting for us! Tiberius is a cunning fellow; he knows he can't beat Vito's crossbowmen, so he waits until we're in before firing! Groundhogs, get ready, don't do what you did last time—rushing in with daggers to cut someone's ankles before the formation even makes contact. And what happened then?" Old Tom revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth and spat on the ground.

"I almost got shot through by Tiberius's crossbowmen with their big shields! How embarrassing!"

"Maintain formation!" Old Tom roared. "Prepare for crossbow bolts! Heads down, protect your eyes!"

Tiberius, positioned in the middle of the formation, watched as Old Tom's pikemen advanced at a faster pace, but their formation was relatively loose, and a sense of unease settled over him.

During the first drill, Tiberius was quite confident in the team he had built, until Old Tom launched a rather determined charge, which broke through the Lightning Regiment's front line with his spearman recruits.

That failure taught him a profound lesson: strict discipline and orderly formations alone are far from enough in the face of experienced veterans who are adept at finding weaknesses.

"Damn, this kid is a born mercenary!" Old Tom used the shaft of his spear to deflect a spear aimed at his face, then retaliated with a vicious stab.

Only two weeks have passed since the last overwhelming attack, and now the Lightning Spearmen are already able to hold their own against Old Tom's spearmen.

Although their use of spears was not as effective as those old killers under Tom who slept on corpses, and they maintained their lines purely through formation and discipline, it was still quite impressive.

[Hey, Tiberius really knows how to train people!] Old Tom thought to himself, but held his breath.

"You sons of bitches, are you keeping your mouths shut? Go ahead and curse!"

Then, the spearmen under old Tom began to hurl insults at Tiberius's Lightning Regiment soldiers without restraint.

Then came a string of foul language.

This is also a tactic: during the initial confrontation between the two armies, especially when there is some distance between them, such as when the two armies are spearmen, the soldiers will insult each other in order to demoralize the enemy.

But the soldiers of the Lightning Legion didn't respond at all; they just gritted their teeth.

This was Tiberius's request.

"I want a pack of wolves. Do wolves howl when they bite? No, they don't! You've been insulted? Very well, respond with the spears in your hands!"

When Tom realized that his men couldn't quickly break through Tiberius's defenses, his eyes darted around, and then he said...

"Let the 'ground rats' take the field! Damn, have they had enough rest? Ouch! They've been poked again!" Tom had a white spot on his body because Tiberius had asked him to smear lime powder on the wooden poles.

"Hurry up, these guys are tough!"

At Tom's command, several spearmen in his ranks laid down their spears, then drew short knives and daggers from their waists or boots, crouched low, and moved from the area where the spears were facing off to the opposite formation.

Their mission was very simple: use the agility of light infantry to sever the ankles of the enemy spearmen with their weapons. By attacking the weakest point of the spear phalanx, they could turn the tide of the battle with minimal losses.

The reason this tactic works is quite simple: for the sake of mobility and cost-effectiveness, spearmen are only equipped with upper body armor and helmets, while their legs and ankles are unprotected.

But will Tiberius really let old Tom's scheme work?

"Light infantry with bows, prepare to fire! But aim carefully, at the body, not the head! Crossbowmen, continue firing at the spear phalanx opposite! But remember, don't aim at the head!" Tiberius gave the order as soon as he saw the "ground rats" in Tom's formation begin to move.

Tiberius's reason was simple: at this distance, even an arrow without a head could shatter a skull if it struck the face directly; this was not what Tiberius wanted.

However, projectile arrows are different; their force can be controlled, so they don't actually kill people.

"I have my own rats, Tom!" Tiberius waved his flag and gave the order.

Subsequently, several light infantrymen and spearmen who had abandoned their spears also slipped under the two armies facing off with their spears.

Tiberius's light infantry were mostly equipped with flat-headed cleavers and hand axes: these were common in the forests and sugarcane fields. Tiberius equipped them with these weapons partly because he thought they would make the slaves easier to handle, and partly because these weapons had some armor-piercing effect.

Most importantly, they are longer than daggers.

Therefore, old Tom watched as his men, like rats, were slinking away as they were shot, hacked at with flatheads, or struck by hand axes by Tiberius's men. They were declared "out" and forced to leave the field.

Just as the two armies were locked in a stalemate—

A tremor ran through the ground, accompanied by dust billowing in the distance.

"Hehehe, kid, here we come!" Calvin and Leon, leading more than fifty knights, equipped with heavy armor and lances, galloped from afar.

However, they wouldn't charge directly into Tiberius's lines. That was for killing, not drills; they would simply fire arrows from a distance while harassing Tiberius's lines with feigned charges.

However, the exercise was almost over by this point. The cavalry's presence wasn't to win the exercise, but rather to allow Tiberius's Blitzkrieg to get used to the feeling of cavalry attacking from the flanks, so they wouldn't be terrified and run away in the actual battle.

This also served as training for them to quickly set up wagon camps. If Tiberius's men didn't want to be overwhelmed, they had no choice but to quickly convert their wagons and wheelbarrows into defensive wagon camps.