On the other side of the battlefield, in the rear, a group of people wearing luxurious armor gathered while observing the immense army of Pontus.
"The enemy has attacked," Cleo said with a serious expression.
"Attack! Give the order immediately!" Mithridates shouted as he observed the Roman army stretching like a black mass of people in the distance.
The same horn sounded and then faded into the distance.
Messengers rode their warhorses everywhere, spreading their orders in all directions.
The immense army of Pontus roared and advanced like a giant wave.
From his horse, Septimus observed the war chariots with the eyes of a hunter.
Hundreds of chariots were lined up and advanced slowly, pulled by two warhorses.
The chariot had sharp scythes on both sides, which gleamed coldly under the sunlight.
"Order the central army to stop its advance and send the archers and slingers from the allied forces," Septimus said calmly.
Trumpets sounded and signal flags waved.
Upon receiving Septimus's order, the formation of the central army immediately halted its advance and raised its shields.
One by one, the archers and slingers from the allied forces emerged from the army's formation and then lined up in orderly rows.
With skill, the archers drew their bows and then loaded them with arrows.
The first row crouched down, the second stood up, and then they aimed at the war chariots that were accelerating in the distance.
Hundreds of chariots formed a front almost one kilometer long, raising enormous amounts of dust and charging toward the Roman army at an ever-increasing speed.
If a new recruit saw this scene, he would be terrified.
However, these clone legionaries did not flinch in front of the enemy army and maintained their formation.
"Remember to shoot the warhorses, ignore the men in the chariots," the clone centurions shouted to the group of archers and slingers from the allied forces.
"Fire arrows! Fire arrows, all of you!"
Once the chariots were within range, the clone centurions gave the order to fire their arrows.
An arrow was released from the bow and flew toward the warhorses.
After firing, the two rows of archers at the front quickly withdrew to prepare for the next round of shooting.
Due to the immense weight of the chariot, its speed was not high.
Some of the arrows hit their mark and became embedded in the warhorses.
However, the warhorses were not greatly affected; their massive bodies made them more resistant to that kind of damage.
A rain of arrows continuously fell upon the warhorses, and the arrows became more penetrating as the distance shortened.
A large number of arrows were fired at the warhorses from the Roman formation, ranging from a few arrows that managed to penetrate the horses to entire arrows that remained embedded in them.
Some warhorses were struck in vital areas, groaning and falling to the ground, dragging the entire war chariot down with them. The war chariot could only remain motionless under the rain of arrows before inevitably collapsing.
Some warhorses, although riddled with arrows and bleeding profusely, still struggled to advance.
At that precise moment, the clone centurions ordered the allied archers to withdraw, revealing the slingers from the Island of Macaro who were behind them.
The slingers of the Island of Macaro were the best in the entire Mediterranean; they received rigorous training from a very young age.
The custom of the Macaro slingers was very simple; only those who hit the target on the first throw were allowed to eat; otherwise, they were not.
To make a living, each slinger perfected his skills to the highest level.
They managed to hit the target quickly, in the shortest possible time, with only one rotation of the sling.
Soon, the stones flew toward the warhorses, and many of the horses, already seriously wounded, immediately collapsed after being struck by countless stones.
After throwing their stones, all the slingers who had thrown them immediately retreated behind the clone army's formation.
Some warhorses continued to advance, but their speed had been considerably reduced.
"Kill!"
At that moment, the centurion of the clone legion spoke loudly.
With a roar, the Roman soldiers at the front immediately threw the thousands of javelins they held in their hands and that hung from their shields at lightning speed.
At the same time, the javelins flew over their heads toward the warhorses.
The javelin throws struck the staggering warhorses, smashing their skulls and leaving them riddled with wounds on the ground.
The horses could only emit pitiful groans before helplessly collapsing to the ground, leaving behind the terrified soldiers in the war chariot.
The clone soldiers, with cold expressions, raised four-meter-long spears.
Long spears stood like a forest, pointing diagonally forward.
The standard equipment of every Roman soldier included not only short swords, shields, and javelins, but also long spears.
During the period of the Roman Republic, legionaries also needed to master two or more Roman weapons.
These spears were specially manufactured by the clone army to face war chariots, and they were much longer than the standard spears.
At that moment, only a few chariots managed to reach the front. Facing the forest of spears, the warhorses could not stop their momentum, and they all crashed into the tangle of spears.
In an instant, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and cries of agony filled the air.
All the warhorses were pierced by spears and fell to the ground.
The chariots slightly reduced their speed, but still ran over some fallen warhorses and soldiers.
The clone legions, in perfect formation and with their spears raised, forming a Macedonian phalanx, advanced with steady steps.
The few Pontic soldiers who survived were stabbed by long spears or trampled to death.
From his horse, Septimus watched calmly.
Without the war chariots, the war was at least half won.
In contrast, Mithridates's expression changed drastically. "How is this possible?"
The construction of these war chariots would have required a great national effort, but, unexpectedly, they were defeated so easily by the enemy.
Cleo sighed softly; perhaps the era of war chariots was truly coming to an end.
Septimus indifferently observed the battlefield.
Throughout the history of the Roman Republic, the Roman army was extremely powerful and could often defeat enemies several times greater in number. Otherwise, in the original history, General Lucullus would not have been able to break through from Asia Minor to Pontus with only three Roman legions and allied forces.
Furthermore, originally, the enemies Lucullus faced had larger armies.
The battle developed rapidly, and both armies came into contact.
As expected, the clone legions easily killed the soldiers of Pontus who imitated Roman formations.
Compared with the fluid battle of the central army, the situation on the flanks encountered setbacks.
Cavalry had always been a weak point for the Romans, and Roman cavalry had never been very strong.
The clone cavalry was only in its infancy, and Septimus preferred to use allied cavalry.
The 2,000 Thracian horsemen were quickly surrounded by barbarian cavalry, which outnumbered them. Both sides launched wave after wave of attacks.
The Thracian cavalry sought cover among the clone legions to avoid total defeat.
At that moment, a cavalry force of several thousand men suddenly charged toward the left flank of the clone army. Faced with simultaneous attacks from the front and the left, the Thracian cavalry positioned on the left flank quickly panicked.
"Stay calm, stay calm, do not be afraid, advance quickly," Nero shouted loudly to the Thracians surrounding him.
Dozens of clones served as centurions or guards in the allied armies, maintaining the smooth communication of military orders.
Nero was in charge of leading a large battalion in the Thracian army. His battalion was positioned on the right flank of the Thracians and was temporarily spared from the attacks of the enemy cavalry.