It can be said that this is almost all the available troops in Greece.
The Peloponnesian War was not of such a magnitude.
It is precisely because of this that for the commander of the coalition forces, King Archidamus of Sparta, this can be said to be an action that will go down in history. If he can lead the Greek army to defeat the Byzantines this time, then he, Archidamus II, will be another Leonidas of Sparta, the heroic king who stood alone against the Persians at Thermopylae. Therefore, Archidamus attached great importance to this action and did not want any mistakes to happen.
After passing through Corinth.
The cavalry unit responsible for reconnaissance in the front suddenly appeared in sight.
“Report——!!!”
"what happened?"
Ashidamus held the reins and looked ahead nervously.
The centurion rode his horse at full speed, came to the front of the army, and then dismounted.
The guards nearby brought him before Archidamus.
"Your Majesty! We have spotted Corinth's army ahead!"
"The Corinthians? Didn't they set out long ago?"
"Yes, I saw that the Corinthians were resting in place. According to the information we received earlier, the Corinthians' advance speed is estimated to be only five to ten kilometers a day." The centurion lowered his head and said very seriously, "Now, before dark, our troops will be able to meet up with the Corinthians."
"Well, go and take a rest first."
"Yes."
After the centurion left.
Archidamus couldn't help but frown.
"This is not good news."
"His Majesty?"
At this time, Lysander came to Archidamus.
"What happened?"
"The Corinthians are deliberately being negligent."
"Corinthian?"
"We just received news that the Corinthians didn't go far. These cowards are like turtles. They have only walked 20 to 30 kilometers from Corinth City!"
Archidamus frowned tightly and his tone was very unfriendly. Lysander knew that His Majesty was really angry, which was why he acted like that.
"Sire, let us then join the Corinthians."
"Humph."
Archidamus glanced at the army behind him.
"During the few days that the Corinthians delayed, the Byzantines may have occupied Megara. Once the Byzantines control Megara, our situation will be very difficult! The Corinthians will be punished by God!!!"
"Your Majesty, calm down."
Now, Lysander didn't know how to comfort His Majesty.
But what Your Majesty said is also correct.
The Corinthians did indeed make a big mistake in this matter.
No matter what, they shouldn't take this approach and procrastinate. Although Lysander could understand the Corinthians' reluctance to be the vanguard, after all, no one wanted to die first, let alone the Corinthians who were always calculating. But now, for the whole of Greece, for the war of the gods, it has become like this in the eyes of the Corinthians, and it is reasonable for Archidamus to be angry.
"From here, it will only take half a day to reach our destination, Megara. Should we..."
Lysander asked cautiously:
"Should we lead the army forward first, or send the oracle forward?"
"Hilde must have prepared an oracle as well."
Archidamus shook his head.
"The mission given to us by the gods is to concentrate our strength and defeat Hilde's rear troops in one fell swoop. No matter what, the Byzantine Kingdom cannot send its main force to Megara to defend against our attack, and the number of oracles the enemy has is also limited. As long as we concentrate all our strength, when the Byzantine Kingdom feels the pressure, the enemy's commander, Hilde, will definitely appear to save the rear."
"Yes, I understand."
Archidamus' attitude was determined.
The next possible approach.
Now, Archidamus did not intend to adopt any plan that might cause problems.
Therefore, Archidamus was just angry at the Corinthians but could not criticize them.
According to the gods' plan, this battle will completely destroy Hilde's rear defense line and put enormous pressure on Hilde.
Chapter 10, Section 6: The Procrastinating Army
Relying on this pressure, the Byzantine army besieging Athens will inevitably choose to go back to the rear to provide support. Directly withdrawing troops will not be very effective in the face of five oracles. Therefore, the most powerful existence in the Byzantine Kingdom camp, Hilde, who has become a demigod, will undoubtedly become the key to turning the tide of the war. It is precisely because of this that Hilde, who has always liked to do things personally, is very likely to directly participate in the assistance to prevent the opponent from breaking through from behind.
Once Hilde showed up.
That is what the gods want.
In this battle.
People like Hephaestus, the god of fire, and Hermes, the god of wind, will not directly participate in this battle.
Hera, the Queen of Heaven, will assist Nicias in the defense of Athens. In addition, Ares, the God of War, is missing, and Hercules, another Hercules, seems to be in Athens. Therefore, it can be said that Hera's idea is to clamp down on the main force of the Byzantine Kingdom in Athens. Then, the pressure from the rear will inevitably force Hilde to make a choice, either to attack Athens and take it in a short time, or to turn around immediately and eliminate the dangerous rear first.
At that time, it will depend on Hilde's choice.
Regarding God's plan.
Archidamus found this a little strange.
Obviously, if the five gods were to fight Hilde together in Athens, the matter would probably be resolved. No matter how powerful Hilde was, she would not be a match for the five gods. But the current situation is that only two gods are really effective, and Ares, the god of war who had high hopes for her, is now missing. However, this is not a question that Archidamus can ask. The specific outcome depends on the subsequent battle situation.
that's it.
With dissatisfaction with the Corinthians.
Archidamus's troops had arrived near the Corinthian camp.
Aristocles, the archon and general of the Corinthians, was also somewhat surprised. He did not expect that the main force of the Spartans would arrive so quickly.
"These guys are really fast."
Aristocles walked out of the tent and looked at the various flags fluttering outside.
The flag in the front row is the most eye-catching.
Over there is the Laconian flag of the Spartans.
Aristocles couldn't help smacking his lips. He was obviously not prepared for the arrival of the Spartans. Moreover, this meant that he would have to deal with someone he didn't like very much, the King of Sparta, Archidamus II.
"Let's go."
Aristocles shook his head helplessly.
When friendly forces come, we must welcome them.
Aristocles stepped forward and came to the outskirts of the army.
At this time, Archidamus had also arrived at the outskirts of the Corinthian camp. As the representative of the Corinthians, Aristocles must receive Archidamus, who was "appointed" by the gods as the leader of the coalition. So Aristocles came to Archidamus, took the initiative to salute, and said with a smile: "It is a blessing from the gods to see that you are in good health."
"All right."
Facing Aristocles' smiling greeting.
Archidamus waved his hand with a bitter face.
"How long have you been resting here, Corinthian?"
"It wasn't long before the scouts we sent out haven't come back yet. After all, we don't know the situation ahead. If the Byzantines have set an ambush, then I'm afraid we Corinthians alone will be unable to do anything."
"I see."
Regarding Aristocles's remarks.
Archidamus was clearly dismissive.
But as the Corinthians were traditional allies of the Spartans, Archidamus had to give face to them.
"In that case, the main force has arrived. We should set out now and try to reach Megara within half a day. If the Byzantines take Megara, our planned advance will be hindered."
"Of course, let's get ready to go now."
Aristocles smiled.
Turned around and left.
And Archidamus looked at Aristocles' back.
He sneered, "Humph, the Corinthians' bad habit of being slick-tongued, I don't know when they will correct it."
"Your Majesty, it is already afternoon. If we march forward, it will be night when we reach Megara. By then...will there be any danger?"
"Will not."
Archidamus shook his head.
"If the Byzantines have already taken Megara, our reconnaissance troops will definitely be able to discover it immediately. But if they haven't taken Megara, we only need to garrison in Megara at night to achieve our current goal. The combined army of the Byzantine Kingdom is about the same number as ours. We have five oracles here. There is no way the Byzantines will mobilize their main force to attack us."
"Yes."
Lysander nodded heavily.
"Then we should speed up our march."
"Well...we need to make up for the time wasted by the Corinthians."
"Yes."
However, Archidamus was still not satisfied.
Although Aristocles did say that he would gather the troops of Corinth and move together with the Spartans, the Corinthians were much slower. After they finished their rest, they slowly began to pack up the camp. Compared with the Spartans, they were much slower. Seeing this, Archidamus was a little impatient. But now he had no choice but to endure it.
"These guys..."
Lysander couldn't bear to watch it anymore.
At this speed, it will take a long time to reach the destination!
"Okay, calm down."
"Yes Yes……"
Archidamus patted Lysander on the shoulder, then turned around and returned to his army.
In the end, it took the Corinthians nearly two hours to pack up their camp. Other troops, such as the Spartans, also took this opportunity to rest for a while. After the Corinthians were ready, Aristocles came to Archidamus and said with a smile: "Ah, the warriors of Corinth have finished their assembly. Now, the army can set off."
"You are really slow."
Archidamus sneered.
"I guess this enemy is now in Megara, ready to laugh at us."
"Don't worry, we are very close to Megara now. Even if the Byzantines are really waiting here, our people can easily defeat these blasphemous guys!"
Chapter 7 of the 10th Tune: Advance without Problems
Aristocles said confidently:
"We are the coalition forces of the entire Peloponnese. We have so many oracles and the blessings of the gods. Let alone an ambush set by the enemy, even if the enemy's main force is there, they can't be our opponent."
Having said this.
Aristocles changed the subject.
He squinted at Archidamus and said sarcastically with a smile:
"Could it be that His Majesty Aristocles from Sparta would be afraid of such an enemy?"
"Don't be rude!"
When Lysander heard this, he could hardly stand.
Isn't this just mocking Archidamus for being cowardly?
