Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 354 The overall situation has been decided
In the first round of the fight between the two sides, Cu Chulainn knocked the opponent off his horse, and then Cu Chulainn stepped on the opponent's chest, causing the opponent to spit out blood. Before the opponent's sword could pierce Cu Chulainn, Cu Chulainn took the lead and stabbed the tip of the sword into the opponent's heart. This prestigious gifted person died in such an unclear way.

Then Cu Chulainn drew out his sword and blocked several spears that were stabbing at him, and dodged several others with great agility and weirdness. In the end, he was accidentally cut in the arm by a spear.

He was not greatly affected. Instead, he yelled out in pain and anger, then used his left hand to knock the opponent off his horse, leaving him unsure whether he was dead or alive.

When this cavalry was delayed, Tia also commanded her own cavalry troops to go and meet the other side, shooting at them from a distance with bows, slings and other weapons.

The enemy obviously could not just stay where they were to encircle and annihilate Cu Chulainn, and they were also a little confused because they had lost their commander. Led by several small leaders, they scattered to avoid the attacks of the Romans. Cu Chulainn still pursued these people relentlessly, biting them hard and gradually being led out of the battlefield.

Cu Chulainn's attack was still useful. Without a commander, the cavalry, which was a little disorganized, was taken over by the Romans and directly attacked. Under normal circumstances, the combat effectiveness of both sides might be comparable, or even the Scythians might have a slight advantage, but now without the formation it was a completely different matter.
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The cavalry of both sides were cruising around to tie up each other, the ranged troops were busy shooting, and the spearmen were fighting at this moment.

In comparison, their battlefield was the most anxious and bloody, with people pushing and squeezing each other. The bodies of the soldiers in the front row who were stabbed to death were pushed by the soldiers in the back row and could not fall to the ground for a long time. Both sides did not have much technology to speak of, and they were more competing in endurance and courage.

In this regard, the Roman spearmen, most of whom were auxiliary soldiers, did not have an advantage. Their fighting spirit was not as strong as that of the Pontic people as a whole. After all, for the Pontic people, this was a war to defend their country, but for them it was a war that had little to do with them.

The Roman spear phalanx gradually fell into a disadvantage, but it would take some time for it to collapse. This was what Tia had anticipated long ago, and her combat intention was also simple - to defeat the enemy's position before the spear phalanx collapsed.

As the low horn sounded from the central command position, the Roman troops on the left and right wings began to change their formations. Their reserve troops waiting in the rear began to enter the battlefield, trying to go around the edge of the battlefield directly behind the enemy.

Mithridates also responded. Although they did not have the advantage in hand-to-hand combat, they knew that they could not be surrounded by the enemy, so they followed the Romans and began to extend the battle line.

With the troops not far apart, the thickness of the battle lines on both sides soon reached a level that was quite dangerous for both sides.

This was not a long-term solution. Mithridates was also gambling, betting that his sword and shield infantry could hold out longer and that the Roman spear phalanx would collapse first.

Both sides have tried their best to maintain the battle line. Their respective talents and reserves have all been sent to the battlefield. The battle situation is very tense. It seems that the number of Roman spear phalanxes is constantly decreasing, and their morale is wavering, and they seem to be in danger. But on the other side, the situation of the Pontic people is not very good either, and it seems that they are also at risk of being defeated by the Romans.

At this time Mithridates chose to bet on his cavalry, and Tia responded with all the remaining cavalry on her side. The two sides fought in a mess. Overall, the Pontic people had a clear advantage. After all, the Romans were not a nation with strong cavalry, and they had fewer cavalry.

At this moment, Mithridates' scouts suddenly discovered a fleet approaching slowly on the sea, flying the black crow flag that the Pontic people had rarely seen. Mithridates knew that these were the northerners under Orwell. The Romans attached great importance to the propaganda role of articles and history books, which made some of the battle processes of the Gallic and British wars spread. Mithridates knew that Orwell liked to ambush Vikings and other mercenaries as surprise troops, so he made preparations in advance and sent a sufficient number of reconnaissance cavalry to investigate the environment.

But he didn't expect that this time the other party would change the environment and choose to land from the sea, catching him off guard.

Judging from the number, the enemy's fleet is huge, with a rough estimate of hundreds of longships, which means several thousand or even more Viking warriors. This is definitely not a weak force.

Mithridates had no choice but to ask the volunteers to go and intercept the Vikings, and at the same time withdraw the few troops that were already on the front battlefield to defend.

This was exactly what Tia was aiming for, to use the small number of Vikings to exhaust the enemy's reserve forces. It looked like there were a lot of ships covering the sky, but in fact, there were only a few sailors on many of them, and they couldn't even sail normally. They could only set sail and drift towards the coastline following the wind.

Mithridates had neither clairvoyance nor Orville's telescope, so he naturally fell into this trap.

After the troops were transferred, before the Vikings arrived at the shore, Tia sent out her most elite force - a battalion of guards led by a dozen talented people. This was the first battalion of the only guard corps, representing the highest honor and the highest combat effectiveness in the empire in name only, so the configuration was also quite luxurious. The soldiers all wore double-layer armor, and most of the grassroots officers were either talented people or veterans of many battles.

In principle, this army cannot be transferred away from the mainland, but Tia felt that it might be useful, so she forcibly brought the army here before the Senate could come to a conclusion. Now it can be said that it is making the best use of it.

The brigade was deployed to the right wing of the front, where the Pontic army was at its most disadvantaged position, and almost as soon as the battle began, these talented individuals with extremely strong combat capabilities broke through the Pontic people's precarious front line.

A large group of legionnaires poured into the gap like a tide, and the gap was rapidly expanded. Soon a small part of the Pontic army was surrounded and destroyed. However, the Roman army did not stop there, but continued to surround the rear of the Pontic army formation.

This situation is similar to the Battle of Cannae in history, where Hannibal completely achieved his goal. Although the frontal forces were weak, the encirclement had gradually taken shape.

When the Roman army on the right wing arrived right behind the Pontic army, the situation was basically decided. Even if Mithridates withdrew the troops to encircle the Vikings, it would be of no avail.

(End of this chapter)