Theonian freedmen were different. Having come from various places and struggled for their livelihoods, they had developed habits of self-preservation. Before becoming reserve citizens of Theonia, most had never received hoplite training or set foot on a battlefield. Half a year of intensive training couldn’t entirely erase a lifetime of ingrained habits.

When an enemy spear thrust toward his right chest, a hoplite should trust his comrade to defend him while he countered with his own spear, forcing the enemy back and relieving pressure on his side. Instead, acting on instinct, the freedman would pull his shield back to block, leaving the right side of his comrade exposed to enemy spears… This vicious cycle forced everyone to fend for themselves. The battle line loosened, losing its cohesive pushing power and allowing the Croton soldiers to squeeze through the gaps, using their individual skills to further disrupt the Theonian formation.

The First Legion of Theonia had originally boasted the most veterans and the highest combat effectiveness. However, many veterans from its four battalions had been transferred to serve as officers across all three legions. Additionally, Davos had pulled 300 veterans to form a reserve unit. Consequently, the First Legion had been heavily supplemented with recruits, causing its combat effectiveness to plummet. Despite occupying advantageous terrain and seizing the initiative at the start, they failed to drive the enemy back into the river. Instead, after a long stalemate, they began to retreat slowly under the frantic counterattack of the Croton forces.

Alcinous’s squad was in the second rank of the battle line. Several soldiers in the front rank had already fallen. Shouting commands, he directed his men to work together, driving back the enemies who had broken through and filling the gaps. Prolonged fighting left his arms aching and swollen, and commanding these bewildered recruits was mentally exhausting. Yet, the fierce glares shooting from the enemy helmets opposite him served as a constant reminder: Fight! Keep fighting! Or only defeat and death await!

“It is a squadron leader’s duty to lead his soldiers to fight bravely and achieve victory!” This was the advice given to him by his former squadron leader, now platoon leader Ctippus, when congratulating him on his promotion. Alcinous kept it etched in his heart. He shouted each soldier’s name, fighting with both ferocity and agility to demonstrate and remind his men how to apply the skills learned on the training ground to a life-and-death struggle.

In the most difficult moments of the battle, these junior officers of Theonia proved to be the pillar of the army.

While Theonia was at a disadvantage in heavy infantry combat, they held a firm upper hand in light infantry warfare. Not only did their light infantry outnumber the enemy by a thousand, but more than half were veterans from Asia Minor. The three types of light infantry—slingers, archers, and peltasts—hailed from Rhodes, Crete, and Thrace, regions famous across the Mediterranean for producing elite skirmishers. Croton, which placed little emphasis on light infantry, stood no chance against them. Even separated by the heavy infantry lines of both sides, the Croton light infantry suffered significant casualties from precise arrow and stone fire, forcing them to retreat.

Once the protection of their light infantry weakened, the rear of the Croton heavy infantry phalanx came under attack from Theonian skirmishers. Normally, soldiers in the rear ranks who hadn’t yet engaged in combat should have been full of energy. On the contrary, prolonged immersion in the river water—bitingly cold in early spring—had sapped their body heat, leaving them hungry and exhausted. Their reactions to the enemy’s ranged attacks were sluggish. Had it not been for the excellent protection of their heavy armor, casualties would have been catastrophic.

With each side facing its own difficulties and possessing its own advantages, the battle ground on in a bitter stalemate.

Facing this situation, Milon was not anxious. Holding the stalemate already achieved his goal. The key to Croton’s victory lay with the 7,000-plus men flanking downstream along the Trionto River. He firmly believed the final victory would belong to Croton.

Davos, the Archon of Theonia, held the same belief—but for a different reason. He had already received the report of victory from Ledes’s cavalry: the Croton forces downstream of the Trionto had either been annihilated or surrendered; they no longer existed as a fighting force. Ledes, Epitenes, and the others would rest briefly before crossing the river to attack the rear of the Croton main army.

Davos finally relaxed completely. Seeing Matonis beside him scratching his head in frustration, he couldn’t help but joke, “Matonis, is your scalp itching?”

“Commander!” Matonis complained loudly. “During the capture of Niutum, our First Legion didn’t get to fight and missed the triumph! This time, you grabbed me to lead the reserve unit. We’re about to win, and I’m still standing here doing nothing! It’s too unfair!”

Davos laughed. “Don’t worry. Your turn is coming up right now.”

He then issued the order: “Sound the signal for formation change. Have the first line retreat and the second line move up!”

“Commander, we’re already on the verge of victory! Why attempt such a difficult formation change? Most of them are recruits. If something goes wrong and the whole phalanx collapses—” Although Matonis yearned for battle, he didn’t want to see the alliance fail.

“We’ve practiced this formation for so long but never used it in actual combat. Victory is in sight—if we don’t accumulate experience now, when will we?” Davos said seriously. “Besides, our retreat will lure all the enemies onto the riverbank, making it even harder for them to escape later. Matonis, you’ve been a recruit instructor. Have confidence in the results of the soldiers’ long training and the command of their officers!”

“You’re the commander; what you say goes! So, is it our turn to fight now?!” Matonis stopped dwelling on the issue and eagerly asked for orders.

“Take your men to the right wing of the phalanx, right at the junction between the Second Legion and the three reserve battalions. If the enemy’s breakthrough causes confusion there, I need you to pounce immediately, block the enemy’s attack, and buy time for the soldiers to reform their lines!”

“Understood! I’m going! Brothers!—” Matonis, spirits lifted, began to shout orders.

***

Alcinous and his soldiers were still locked in a bitter struggle with the enemy.

Suddenly, the sound of military trumpets from the rear lifted his spirits. When it sounded a second time, he recognized it: the signal for “Formation Change.”

“Brothers, hold on! We can rest soon!” Frontline officers like Alcinous shouted loudly to remind their soldiers.

Immediately, the second line began to shift by company. One company held its ground while the adjacent company retreated… After a while, the entire phalanx transformed from a dense snake-like line into a checkerboard pattern of staggered company squares (a fish-scale formation).

Deprived of support from the rear ranks and under pressure from the enemy—as well as guided by company drums and flags—sections of the first line began to retreat… finally withdrawing rapidly through the gaps in the rear “checkerboard.”

The drum of Alcinous’s company didn’t sound, so he knew his unit wasn’t lucky enough to retreat first. The company behind them hadn’t moved back yet, so they couldn’t retreat either.

“Brothers, protect our flanks!” platoon leader Ctippus shouted.

As the neighboring companies retreated, the enemy surged into the gaps. Since the Theonian front line wasn’t retreating as a whole, the Croton attack line became uneven, and the two battle lines interlocked like jagged teeth. Alcinous’s company faced pressure from three sides, but the enemies pouring into the gaps faced the same predicament. However, the Theonian troops were conducting a prepared retreat; every small square engaged in close combat remained under the firm control of its company commander. In contrast, Croton was unprepared and disordered. As a result, although Theonia was retreating, Croton failed to seize the opportunity to inflict greater casualties or chaos.

At this moment, the company drum sounded. The 20×10 phalanx formed by four platoons began to retreat slowly in rhythm with the waving of the central military flag… Alcinous and his men defended against enemy attacks with shields and spears while retreating in an orderly fashion, following the withdrawal of the company behind them. When the rear company halted, Alcinous’s unit slipped through the gaps between the staggered company squares…

Through several rounds of alternating retreat, the first-line soldiers successfully withdrew to the rear. The second-line soldiers reformed into a dense formation, becoming the new vanguard of the entire phalanx.

The reason the formation change went so smoothly without major chaos—preventing Davos’s worries from becoming reality—was primarily because the Croton forces had never seen an army dare to execute such a bold and peculiar formation shift in the heat of battle. They failed to take effective countermeasures in time.

Secondly, while the Croton army was stronger than the recruit-heavy Theonians in dense formation combat, once the battle lines fragmented into small, isolated squares due to the formation change, Theonia’s specific training focused on platoon and company tactics paid off. Their command was more efficient, their actions more flexible. Conversely, Croton’s training and combat focused on large phalanxes, with a coarser command system. Once soldiers poured into the gaps, they lost effective command and fell into confusion, forced to fight individually, which put them at a disadvantage.

***

Soaked in the river, Milon first heard the enemy’s horns and drums blending into a cacophony, leaving him puzzled. Then, the battle line that had been deadlocked for so long began to move forward…