Douluo: The Adventures of King Skin

"Diseases that start in the head are the worst. This is true for people and it is true for the country."

——Pliny the Younger

The Macedonian commanders sent large groups of cavalry to meet the retreating defeated army.

The Thessalians also took it easy and did not fight head-on with the supporting troops.The cavalry infantry escorted the soldiers who had laid down their weapons back to the camp along the long way. At the same time, they sent light infantry to clean the battlefield, gather the corpses and wounded, and reset the trenches.

The infantry attack failed, and the Thessalians had ways to defend themselves against stone bullets. The ballistae continued to fire in vain, so it was stopped.

The officers' faces were not pretty.

Just counting the losses, there were a total of 4000 people in the two groups, and only [-] people came back.Although I knew in advance that this was a test attack and would inevitably fail, the loss was too great.

They estimated that Pyrrhus's strength was about 5000 less than theirs. Although the quality was not the same, the difference in numbers would be evened out if they attacked the camp again!

But the current situation is a deadlock. The two armies in front and behind them are cut off by the camp. There is nothing that can be done about the camp, and Pyrrhus' mobile troops are still hiding in the dark and watching eagerly.

If they join forces across the river, they may be attacked by Pyrrhus at any time, so no matter how large the gap in combat power is, it is not enough;

If they don't cross the river, Pyrrhus will have nothing to do with them on either side, but sooner or later the military rations will be exhausted!

Oh!Obviously there is not much difference between us, why doesn't Pyrrhus take the initiative to attack our camp?We just learned the tricks we just learned and sell them now!

A bearded general made a suggestion: "King Cassander, I think we should attack the whole army after the siege equipment is built, and attack the riverside camp in one fell swoop."

Immediately someone refuted him.

"What if Pyrrhus brings troops to attack our flank now?"

"Our soldiers are more elite than his. They can extend the front line and take care of the defense of the flanks. At the same time, let the former army cross the river to join us, making it impossible for him to take care of both!"

"Can't have both? What if Pyrrhus doesn't come to attack us, but attacks the former army while it's crossing the river?"

The bearded man gritted his teeth and said: "Then sacrifice the front army! We have captured the camp and still have the advantage in terms of strength!"

Little Antipater was very anxious when he heard that my father was still in the army!Are you going to sacrifice the front army?

He cried out:

"That's nonsense! If the former army is sacrificed and the camp is still not captured, then we will have to wait to die!"

"Then aren't we waiting to die now?"

"It's better to break through the blockade and let the Eastern Route Army rescue us! We can save our food and hold on until they come!"

"How to save? We won't even be able to defend the camp if we starve a few more times..."

"I think we still need to cross the river. Our rear army will cross the river and let the front army take over..."

"Do you mean to sacrifice the rear army? Then you can keep the rear army..."

Cassander sat on the throne without saying a word, just listening to the generals arguing, drinking medicinal wine and couldn't help but sneer.

When the generals finally realized that they were too rude before driving, they all fell silent.

Then Cassander spoke:

"We also go to the river to build a camp, and then rely on the camp to cross the river."

Everyone heard that although there is a safer camp, don't we still have to leave people behind?

The bearded man stammered: "That...that..."

He wanted to ask who stayed behind, but he didn't know how.

How could Cassander not know what they were thinking, so he opened his mouth and said: "I will give you the queen."

"This...can't be done!"

The generals were in an uproar, boss, are you slapping us in the face?

Cassander added: "Pyrrhus is no longer around."

"How is this possible?" A general expressed disbelief, "Isn't he just going to such great lengths to defeat us?"

Cassander sighed.

I really want to send you bastards away, but I'm more worried about my son Philip!

"If Pyrrhus wanted to win the war, it was not enough to simply eliminate us. His only way was to first eliminate the Eastern Route Army with fewer troops, and then deal with us who were trapped in the interior and suffered repeated attrition."

The bearded man still found it incredible: "Pyrrhus left at least 4000 men in the camp. How could he defeat His Highness Philip with more than 6000 men?"

It's because the army is full of pigs like you that I'm worried about Philip!

But there is no way, the army is not Cassander's word, he still has to patiently explain to the pig heads:

"Previously we judged that Pyrrhus only had 1 people because Thessaly, which could not obtain food from overseas, could only maintain an army of 1 people, but he would not always have only 1 people.

"If I were Pyrrhus, I would leave 6000 or more people in the camp to ensure that we can be effectively held back.

"And he himself will lead 4000 people all the way north, and at the same time recruit the so-called volunteers along the way. In the decisive battle with Philip, he can even obtain more than [-] troops.

"There is no pressure at all to maintain such a force within a few days!"

After speaking, Cassander waved to the attendant, "Bring the things up!"

The thing they took was a breastplate they had seized before. It had been torn into pieces, revealing layers of expired newspapers inside.

One general exclaimed: "Pyrrhus actually used this stuff to make armor!"

Another general took out his dagger and stabbed it, then said: "It's not as good as a bronze breastplate, but it's not much worse than a linen armor."

"But the winter rain season is coming soon. Is this thing still useful if soaked in water?"

"If he had gone north yesterday, he would probably have fought with His Royal Highness Philip within a few days!" Little Antipater suddenly realized:

"Pyrrhus can temporarily arm the volunteers with this kind of thing. As long as he defeats His Royal Highness Philip in these few days, the winter rain may not be able to damage the armor by then!"

Cassander glanced at little Antipater with a cold look, secretly thinking that this little clever guy must find a way to kill him, otherwise sooner or later he will become a big disaster like Prestarchus!

**

Some generals even said they wanted to test it out.Cassander was so angry that he wanted to curse.

My great son is in danger, yet you are testing your mother!

He personally led the main force out of the camp and went all the way to the lower reaches of the Thessaly camp to start cutting down trees in preparation for building the camp.

If it weren't for the heavy baggage and army provisions, he would have wanted to take these people across the river to save his son!

Six thousand infantry were arrayed near the river, and two thousand cavalry were all on the left wing. Behind them, craftsmen and civilians cut down trees on the spot.

At the same time, the former army on the other side of the river also came after hearing the news. They rode four thousand paces by the river, as if they were about to cross at any time.

As a result, within a short while, the gates of Onchistas' camp were opened. First, two thousand cavalry and then two thousand infantry gathered in front of the camp, preparing to come and block the camp building operation.

Cassander laughed at this.

"See? The Thessalians are in a hurry! Their mission is to drag us here!"

Then he ordered:

"We will only defend here today but not attack until the camp is set up!"

**

Looking at the Macedonians who were waiting on the opposite side.Achilles said: "Cassander has indeed discovered it."

"So what if we find out?" Stratton replied: "Our mission is to do everything we can to hold Cassander back!

"The infantry presses in, the light cavalry takes a detour, and the heavy cavalry is on standby! We must wait until dark today!"

The 4000 men and horses moved and slowly pressed towards the Cassander army.Behind them, another battalion of craftsmen and civilians came out, preparing to set up resisting horses in front of the formation.

At the same time, more than a dozen fast boats were released from the water gate of the camp, downstream, and approached the Cassander army's camp point from the water.