#Chiliarchy

[jeannereames]

Forgive me if this is a very elementary question (inspired after watching your TikToks!!) but… I’ve always been curious: what exactly was the role of a secretary in the Macedonian court such that Eumenes could wield so much power and influence, especially during the Successor Wars? Like, to the point that the Chilliarch, the second-in-command to the king himself, would have beef with him? I guess when I think of a secretary, I envision the more stereotypical modern version of them, which is like an executive assistant, or the front desk receptionist, or a customer service agent, which obviously seems to be anachronistic. But I’m just struggling to comprehend what would have made Eumenes, or the role he occupied, such a controversial figure.

First, let me point to an important book by my colleague, Ed(ward M.) Anson, Eumenes of Cardia: a Greek among Macedonians (2nd ed., 2015). It’s a quite excellent discussion of Eumenes’s career, and was actually Ed’s dissertation topic. I reckon, like me, he waited a long while before turning the dissertation into a monograph (even the 1st edition). Alas, it’s expensive. Even I don’t own a copy, as I have access to the university library’s. But I do recommend that folks interested request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Even smaller public libraries offer that service, although you might have to pay a (relatively) small shipping fee.

So, Eumenes is an interesting character in many ways. As you suggest, “secretary” gives the wrong impression. The word in Greek is grammateus, and it can mean any sort of scribe, clerk, records keeper…or the official in charge of the whole royal office: official correspondence, what letters the king actually saw, the keeping of the Royal Journal and other state records, etc., etc. A hugely influential position, his might be closer to what we’d call, in the US, the Chief of Staff.

In my opinion, that was the heart of Eumenes’s dislike of Hephaistion. I said it in my dissertation and still think it’s true. When Hephaistion was made Chiliarch, that put him above Eumenes in administration around Alexander. The Chief of Staff got demoted…and didn’t like it. It’s from Susa onward that the two men seem to clash—at least twice that we know about. (I differ with Ed on this; he thinks it was about personalities while I think it was more political- and status- driven.)

That Eumenes was loyal to Alexander—and the Argead family—isn’t in question. But it wasn’t just Hephaistion he had trouble with. We know he also didn’t like Antipatros—one reason he sided with Perdikkas, even when (his friend) Krateros joined Antipatros. He also had a long-standing family beef with Hekataios of Kardia, and later hated Kassandros (as the son of Antipatros). But he seems to have got on with Olympias and Kleopatra—who he tried to get Perdikkas to marry. Perdikkas took his advice and divorced Antipatros’s daughter Nikaia, which eventually led to his downfall. One can’t escape the sense that Eumenes was touchy. Then again, as I’ve said before, they all were. And he had to put up with being constantly looked down on both as a “mere secretary” and as a Greek among Macedonians. He advanced on Alexander’s favor…which probably made others jealous of him. In fact, I think that’s one reason he took Hephaistion’s promotion hard. He’d worked hard for Chief of Staff, and didn’t like Hephaistion butting in. And if Hephaistion was also of Greek descent (as I’ve argued), both may have had a sense that there was room only for one. Or at least Eumenes may have thought so.

Men in his position weren’t normally entrusted with military commands, but he proved to be surprisingly good and, according to Ed, probably had more army assignments during Alexander’s lifetime than he’s credited with. (He was allied with Ptolemy’s enemy, Perdikkas, remember and Ptolemy was Arrian’s chief military source.) When Perdikkas was elevated to Hephaistion’s position, Eumenes took Perdikkas’s old command, and later, was himself Chilliarch. The infantry seems to have liked/trusted him, and later, he was quite successful at securing Cappadocia. In fact, during the early Diadochi wars, it was his stratagem that defeated Krateros’ army and got him killed (perhaps to his own regret, although I think Plutarch exaggerated that account). He also fought—one-on-one—against Neoptolemos … another of Alexander’s officers he couldn’t stand. And beat him. Neoptolemos was a demonstrated military commander.

So he seems to have defied the usual expectation of what a grammateus could do—and become. He was the highest ranking Greek in Alexander’s army, the only one to really rub shoulders with the Macedonian inner circle.

[tlaquetzqui]

Wow I was overthinking the witch empire’s military.

Just go decimal, like the Mongol Horde’s armies and those of several of their empire’s successor-states. Have the units be decuries, centuries, milluries, and decamilluries, commanded by decurions, centurions, millurions, and decamillurions. Those first two units and titles are real Roman terms (decuries and their commanders only in the cavalry), and the third one seems to have been used in a joke in Asterix.

Before I realized there was a simple solution I was trying, like, “dectet, century, chiliarchy, myriarchy”. Which switches from Latin to Greek halfway, which always sets my teeth on edge.

[godstery-blogspot-com]

1.10 解圍

The rushing army marched to the valley, and Kevin received a report that a large number of barbarians were stationed in front of the army.

Kevin drove out of the army and said loudly to the front, “We have important matters to pass, so get out of the way!”

On the opposite side a man rode out on horseback. This sturdy figure, short black hair, beard, piercing eyes, naked upper body, muscle knotted, bronze skin like copper armor, wearing a tiger leather shorts, holding an ancient giant bronze sword pressed horizontally on horseback. This sword is long but not sharp and has no decorative patterns.

The brawny man said, “We were here first, so you take a detour.”

“Nonsense！What we are going to do is a major matter related to Willier God. If we delay, we will kill you all and it will not be able to compensate. Get lost!” Doug, the priest standing next to Kevin, said.

The brawny man sneered, “Hey, my people are resting and will have to eat and probably take a shit in a bit. As for your some God’s trivial things, it’s not worth mentioning!”

From annoyance to anger, Doug yelled, “Hillbilly, take it to death!” With that he ordered Kevin to lead army to attack, and the opposite barbarian men stood in a row with scimitars and stood at attention.

Kevin drove the chariot to take the brunt of the attack. Doug stood by and waved his staff, a blazing ball of fire shot sharply and flew towards the brawny man.

The brawny man leaped up from his horse, and leaped towards the fireball with his toes on the ground. Then something strange happened. He flicked the bronze sword and slashed the fireball in half and it dissipated into the air. He didn’t change his momentum and ran towards the chariot. Kevin stabbed at him with his spear. He sidestepped it and jumped onto the yoke , his longsword stabbing straight at Doug. Kevin drew his sword and slashed at the brawny man’s armpit, which he ignored it. At the same time Doug had cast his magical shield. It belongs to the intermediate magic, it is stronger than metal armour.

With a “Clang”, Kevin’s sword struck the brawny man, but he felt as if he had chopped a rock, and his hand went numb with shock, and he amazed, “What kind of monster is this?”

In this stupefied effort, the brawny man’s sword had already penetrated Doug’s chest, and both of them were incredulous that this man could pierce the magical shield! Kevin roared and thrust his sword at the brawny man with both hands. The brawny man drew his sword horizontally, blocked the tip of Kevin’s sword with the side of his sword, and leaped back with the help of Kevin’s strength, and fell back on his horse.

Kevin was furious that he as one of the best chiliarchy in the kingdom, and the priest beside him was killed by a barbarian so easily under his nose. He led dozens more men together and charge at brawny man, vowing to fight him off.

The battlefield is not a personal struggle. The military order had been issued and Doug’s death did not affect the overall march.

The two armies met and fought together.

The place is not very narrow. One army can barely pass, but two armies against each other is very confined.

The nomads live on hunting and their folk customs are sturdy. They were evenly matched for a while, but the geographical position was not dominant, and they had no experience in the matchup. After all, brute force alone would not work, so they soon lost ground.

Both sides were caught up in a melee and the scene was very chaotic as neither side had a leader.

The nomadic tribe included not only had men, women, old and children, but also shepherded some sheep and cattle, very passive.

In the melee, they were divided into several parts. In the middle of these were the old, the weak women and children, sheep and cattle. The strong men surrounded the outside to protect and the outermost circle of Kevin’s soldiers besieging them, tangled up in each other and fighting.

Suddenly a small part of it was breached and a stream of soldiers instantly poured in, adding to the chaos as the nomads were pummeled and turned upside down.

A woman among the nomads with a baby in her arms, was hit by someone while hurriedly running, tripped under her feet, fell over her body, swaddled out, and flew into the air. She scrambled to her feet and saw that the baby had already crossed the crowd. She yelled anxiously, tears rushing from the corner of her eyes.

The mother’s scream and the baby’s cry are insignificant compared with the fighting in the war, no one cares.

Just as the baby was falling, a figure flashed by and took the swaddling into his arms, and quickly tied it to his chest with a wide cloth strip. The figure was dressed in animal skins and held an axe behind his back.

A chariot approached from the side, and a soldier on it stabbed him with a spear. The man was extremely agile, grabbed the spear with one hand, pulled the soldier sideways and pulled he to the ground, leaped onto the chariot, swung his arm and elbowed the diver down, drove with one hand and held the spear in the other. The whole process gone smoothly.

His series of actions attracted the attention of those around him. The nomads saw this person in a similar attire, but no one knew him. All that could be heard was someone from the chariot over there pointing this way while shouting, “Gilgamesh— Gilgamesh is on that chariot!”, and quickly moved closer to this side.

The words “Gilgamesh” seemed like a magnet, and the surrounding soldiers gave up fighting and rushed towards him in unison.

Before they set out, they had received the order, anyone who killed Gilgamesh would be promoted three level in rank, rewarded with the vast hectares of fertile land, and gain supreme glory. They heard the shouting, as if hungry hyenas saw the prey and all rushed over.

The chariot gradually approached, Gilgamesh pre-emptively, yanked on the reins, thrust his spear through the chest of the soldier opposite and lifted it into the air, yelled at the surroundings, “Who stop me——die!”. He threw the body into the side diver and smashed him out of the sidebar. The chariot overturned under force and was dragged by the horse to move on, knocking down a dozen soldiers.

The shock was short-lived, and they still gathered around regardless of life or death.

A spear through the wheel, and Gilgamesh immediately cut off the shaft and jumped onto the horse, riding onward to kill.

He mistakenly thought it was Luna who led the attack. As he approached the battlefield, he realized that this troop was not from a shaman tribe. They didn’t have beasts to fight, but there were old and women, children and sheep. He was puzzled, “How can there be such a troop in the world that drags the family to fight. In any case, if it weren’t for them to block, my plan would not be so easy.

After rushing for a while, Gilgamesh saw a brawny man not far away who was surrounded by more than a dozen experts but was not in any way defeated. So he rushed forward, threw the baby in his arms over, and shouted, “take your baby!”

The brawny man took the baby with one hand and held it in his arms, and saw that the baby was staring at him, faintly glancing towards Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh shouted, “Gilgamesh is here!” While roaring, he rushed to the opposite side. As the soldiers swarmed up, he swung his battleaxe and advanced right and left, like a fish going upstream.

Kevin shouted, “Ignore the barbarians! Get Gilgamesh! Stop him! Let the arrows! Let the arrows!”

The brawny man also said to his people, “Don’t get attached to the battle, quickly retreat!”

Not long after, Gilgamesh broke out of the line and rode towards the valley, the army in hot pursuit. The horse under him was injured in the abdomen and ran slower and slower, finally falling to the ground with his front hooves bent and part of his internal organs was come out. Gilgamesh knelt on one knee, stroked its neck, drew his dagger and struck it down.

By this time, the chasing soldiers had surrounded him.

Kevin ordered “trap him, don’t tangle, take turns, exhaust him!” The soldiers not fight for their lives, they just followed Gilgamesh’s movements and blocked in reverse, like a pack of hyenas hunting a lion. When he attacked forward they defended and retreated, with someone sneaking up behind him to attack, and vice versa.

Gilgamesh had to hack his way up the cliff, breaking the arms and legs of any blocker, and then face the enemy with his back against the cliff.

Kevin told the priest to use the delay spell on Gilgamesh. He felt the air around him turned into a viscous liquid, and after several rounds, his movements became slower and slower, and his breath became heavier and heavier.

Kevin said with glee, “Gilgamesh, do you imagine you have today? I still remember you were indisputable before. Look at what you have fallen into now. Dressed as a savage, a disgrace! You can’t escape today even if you grow wings!”

Gilgamesh was struggling. A soldier sneaked up from the side and stabbing Gilgamesh’s heart with a sword. Gilgamesh moved slightly to avoid the danger, clamped the opponent’s forearm with his armpit, turned his body and twisted it. The soldier was felled to the ground. Gilgamesh stepped on his neck and a howl came to an abrupt end. Gilgamesh’s face was ruthless, his battle axe on the ground, his hands on the handle, his head held high, still disdainful of Kevin, said “Who else will come to die?” Like the low roar of a lion before it dies.

At this point Kevin stepped out of the chariot arrogantly and walked across to Gilgamesh with his longsword in hand. “Killing he will make me a king just right.” He sniggered in his heart, but said righteously, “ Today I will rid you for God Willier and all the people. Let’s duel!” However, he did not ask the priest to with draw the spell.

“You are as hypocritical and shameless as the god you believe in!” Gilgamesh sneered.

“shut up! Until now you are still unrepentant, take your life!” Kevin rushed to Gilgamesh.

Suddenly a ball of fire came head-on, and he quickly rolled to the right. His calf was hit by the flame. He kept slapping his calf and rubbing on the ground to put them out. Instead, he found Gilgamesh already standing beside him, raising his battle axe and slashing at his neck, and he was too defenseless to react.

“Hum!” Gilgamesh was bounced off the magic shield. Fortunately, the priest next to him found something was wrong and reacted in advance, otherwise Kevin‘s head would have left his body.

The priest hurriedly cast a healing spell on Kevin and said in surprise, “You can use witchcraft?!”

The so-called delay spell is a magic that affects the reflex nerves of a people through magic power, causing an illusion of perception and resulting in slow behavior. For people like Gilgamesh who had broken through the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch to perceive the world, it is totally ineffective.

“This is ridiculous! The same thing, you use it as divine magic and I use it as witchcraft? It is clear that I use divine magic and you use witchcraft.” Gilgamesh laughed.

Looking at Gilgamesh again, he didn’t look tired anymore, Kevin knew that he had been tricked, and the more he thought about it, the more anger but he still had lingering fears at the moment, and he could only shout,”Come on together, kill him, cut him into pieces!” He didn’t expect that Gilgamesh would become so strong after a year’s absence, and he no longer dared to duel.

For a moment, no one dared to move forward. After all, no matter how many rewards he have, he must have a life to spend.

Kevin roared, “What are you doing? Let’s go! Death to those who disobey!”

The crowd gathered around again sluggishly.

[sadhoe-omo-blog]

Some doodles of Kosuke. Well about that shiet me and my online sister, Vivienette for short Vivi or VV, since vacation is near im gonna continue a comic series we made called Chaos Spark but we will start with some mini-comic ideas first cuz I aint have no script for that and my other online sister Roxy might join aswell.. Im not giving any spoilers but eh-- Kosuke's nickname is Kosu. Main Characters in Chaos Spark: Kosuke/Kosu Chiliarchy Diabla Cinnamon/Cinna or Mon-mon Azalea/Lea Cherry/Cher-sher << this is NOT Mom @cherrub1412 btw Chaos Spark, Kosuke By Me and @alistairlia (Vivi) Kosuke's design by Me

[jeannereames]

As Chilliarch / official second-in-command / right-hand man to the king, what would Hephaistion (or anyone else in that position) have been expected to do? Like if there was an actual “job description” for the role, what historically do you think it would have entailed? From what I can gather, he was essentially expected to:

Field requests to the king or handle them himself otherwise(?)

Oversee internal structural matters, from administration to cultural integration

Curious to know what else would have fallen under his purview.

It also seems to have been a civilian position, i.e., would that mean he'd still have to serve on the battlefield if called for it?

So, this would be a rather complicated, extended answer. Ergo, I’m going to duck this one with a “It’s too long to address as a post." It’s literally part of the book I’m writing. :-D

A couple of quick comments. The Chilliarchy appears to have been based on the Persian office of hazarapatish. Dandamaev and Lukonin address this role in their very important The Culture and Social Institutions of Ancient Iran. In this, they try to give solid definitions of institutions that were fluid and changed over time, which is my main critique of what is otherwise an EXCELLENT book on Achaeminid Persia. Go Forth and Purchase, if you’re interested.

How Hephaistion modified the hazarapatish role or planned to (he didn’t hold it very long before he died, I suspect), is hard to say. It seems to have been a largely civil-service role that had a limited military aspect. But it changed, morphing over time as necessary.

Below are three articles, including one of mine. Don’t go back to my dissertation; there are some wrong things in that. The article is better, but I’ll still modify some of it. Although the Charles article was published after mine, he doesn’t cite mine, but he’s also not focused entirely on ATG. Listed from most recent to earlier.

Michael Charles, “The Chiliarchs of Achaemenid Persia: Towards a Revised Understanding of the Office,” Phoenix 69 (2015) 279-303. (This one does not appear to be available free.)

Jeanne Reames, “The Cult of Hephaistion,” in, Responses to Oliver Stone's Alexander: Film, History, and Cultural Studies, Paul Cartledge and Fiona Greenland, eds. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2010. (The second 2/3rds discusses Hephaistion's military and diplomatic role, including the chiliarchy.)

Andrew W. Collins, “The Office of Chiliarch under Alexander and the Successors,” Phoenix 55 (2001): 259–83.

[jeannereames]

2. I think you mentioned somewhere in your blog that part of Alexander’s shock at Hephaistion’s death was that Alexander had expected himself to die first. Given that prior understanding, wouldn’t Alexander and Hephaistion have developed some kind of contingency plan in case one of them died? At least later on, once Alexander became more invested in actually ruling his newfound territory? Or did they just never consider what they would do if something happened to either of them?

What an intriguing question. I expect that, yes, they may have talked together of “what ifs”—especially after the Mallian debacle. Alexander would likely have expected himself to die first just because he had to lead from the front as part of the “heroic” style of kingship required of Macedonian kings. All the romantic allusions to Achilles-Patroklos aside, and assuming they even made those themselves, and it wasn’t made for them by Romans later, I really doubt they’d have expected Hephaistion to go first.

When I wrote my dissertation, I argued Hephaistion was made chiliarch relatively late, probably in early 324 after the return from India. But I’ve come to think his elevation owed to the Mallian debacle, occurring not too long after. There needed to be a clear chain of command not only if Alexander died, but if he was incapacitated for an extended period; after Parmenion’s murder, there wasn’t. Competition was the name of the game at the court, and if the king didn’t impose a pecking order, none of the top brass were inclined to step aside for another.

I don’t think Alexander was ever terribly invested in the “boring” part of ruling his empire. He basically handed that off to Hephaistion. “Here, I conquered it; you make it work.” Although we’re not told, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hephaistion was meant to stay behind in Babylon when Alexander went after Arabia—or Carthage. Regional commander. Persian kings had a layer between “satrap” and “Great King”: these regional commanders who were often high-ranking members of the Great King’s family: brothers or other close kin.

Anyway, not only did Hephaistion’s death leave Alexander emotionally bereft, it was really shitty timing. Hephaistion had barely established himself to formalize the changes introduced post-Susa weddings. The first substantial Persianizing of the court happened around mid-330 as the army marched into Baktria…not long before the infamous Philotas Affair. The next occurred after ATG’s return from India in late 325, then the Opis mutiny, the Susa weddings, etc., in 324. Hephaistion died in October of that same year.

So MUCH happened in Alexander’s life, it’s sometimes easy to lose track of timing. Even if Hephaistion had been named chiliarch in India, he wouldn’t have been able to implement a lot of court changes until they were back in central Persia, so effectively, he had less than 10 months, and probably less than 8.

Ergo, if Alexander’s appointment of him to the chiliarchy was part of a contingency plan for Alexander’s possible demise, imagine his shock when Hephaistion died first! AND before he really had much time to do the job Alexander had meant him to do: “you make [what I conquered] work.”

[jeannereames]

Do you think the "tension" between Hephaistion and Eumenes came from Hephaistion's appointment to the (Court) Chiliarchy and Eumenes' feeling stripped of certain administrative tasks or put under his command? Do you think Alexander gave Eumenes a military post (a squadron of the Companion Cavalry) so he could implement more Persian Court procedures through the Chiliarch (Hephaistion)?

This is essentially what I argued in my dissertation in 1998. So yes. :-)

[godstery-blogspot-com]

1.2 犧牲

Flam pronounced the oracle in front of the ziggurat, “Shaman is a small, ignorant, stubborn, backward and uncivilized. Now order you to lead 2000 elite soldiers to conquer them.” After that, he stepped forward and handed Gilgamesh a parchment roll and said that this is a map drawn by me according to the oracle. Wish you an early victory. Gilgamesh took the map with both hands, bowed and prayed to the statue.

According to the usual practice, a sacrificial ceremony is held before the expedition, and fresh lambs and calves are used as sacrifices. After the ceremony, Gilgamesh led the army to the northeast.

The shaman tribe lives in the mountains and is the oldest and most mysterious tribe. Legend has it that they lived there before the flood, but their social nature is still stuck in a backward matrilineal society.

Out of the frontier fortress, it was a barren land, Gilgamesh thought while looking at the map on the chariot, “ It’s not worth to drag in many people to educate a savage tribe.”

Marching for a few days, through the wilderness, and our the hills, the terrain is getting higher and higher.

On this day, the chiliarchy Peter came to report, “Your Majesty, our army will enter the valley, and the scouts ahead will detect the ridge, and the top of the mountain will not be seen. This man fought with Gilgamesh everywhere, cooperated tacitly, and had rich experience.

Gilgamesh looked around. The mountains and ridges were staggered, cliffs and cliffs, straight into the sky, two walls facing each other, it looked like a door, it was natural and dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. He nodded and said, “Even so, we must pass quickly, not to stay dangerously long. You go back and I will lead the soldiers forward.”

After passing through the valley, there is a vast plain. The map shows that the front is not miles away from where the tribe is located. Gilgamesh was secretly surprised, “When I take the shaman tribe, I must set up a city here, set up a fortress here. It’s good for offense but also good for defense.

The army continued to advance, and within half a day, a vast forest appeared in front, blocking the way which in the map. It’s branches are luxuriant and lush. The forest was dense and dark, like a row of black holes.

Gilgamesh was puzzled, “Forest is such an important military terrain. There is no drawing on the map.” He did not dare to neglect, ordered the troops into an attack formation, sent scouts to explore the way in the forest.

For a long time there is no signal and no one returns. Gilgamesh known there must be something wrong. At this moment Peter stepped forward and said, “Your majesty, the situation is not normal. I will first take five hundred soldiers to explore the way, if …”

Gilgamesh reached out to interrupt him, “No. You tell them to push the trebuchet up and put the kerosene barrel on it.” Peter took orders and left.

After trebuchets were in place, he ordered the surrounding soldiers to ignite the fire arrow. He took out the longbow from the chariot, gathered his arms, bent the bow and used the fire arrows. “Fire!”,he shouted.

“Pum” A kerosene barrel flew over the forest. Gilgamesh loosen his grip, “Swoosh”. A fire arrow was shot out, and it was about to hit the barrel. The archer beside him was about to applaud. Suddenly, the forest shot a arrow, which hit Gilgamesh’s arrow. The barrel fell silently into the forest. He snorted and asked the soldiers ignited all the fire arrow, and shouted “Throw them together, and prepare for battle.”

“Pum, Pum…” A dozen barrels flew into sky almost at the same time. Gilgamesh shot three fire arrows at once, and in rapid succession. The arrow was not false, and the barrels was shot through. It was like a curtain of fire pouring down over the forest.

Meanwhile, killing everywhere in the forest, with tidal-like crowds, they were dressed in animal skins, armed with sharp blades, most of them riding on beasts and attacking very fast. There is a steady stream of enemies rushing out of the forest. Unknown the exact number but it’s definitely not a small tribe‘s military strength and the number far exceeded Gilgamesh’s.

Gilgamesh shouted “Continued to throw!” A dozen barrels burst in the air again. Archers released arrows.

However, the enemy did not charge head-on. Instead, they split up and dived from both flanks.

Seeing this situation, Gilgamesh’s heart sank. Not only was there a large number of people, but they also knew the military strategy and tactics! Immediately instructed Peter “You go to the right flank to switch the defensive formation, gather the troops, don’t be dispersed, hurry!” Then he said, “Stop the attack and get back to the formation!” After all, he derived the chariot to the left flank, and shot left and right while driving , and the opponent will fall to the bowstring. Suddenly a feather arrow flew to the side, and he waved and grabbed it. Looking in the direction of the incoming arrow, he saw a woman riding a panther towards him. He didn’t have time to take care of it , so he left the arrow and drove behind. There is only one thing in his mind now. It’s how to retreat.

To observe the strength of an army , in addition to its combat effectiveness when attacking , the more important thing is its performance when it is defeated. If it is as orderly as usual when it retreats , it must be a first-class army. It’s the apprentice who knows how to attack, the master who knows how to retreat.

Judging from the enemy’s quiet performance and offensive method in the ambush forest, the opponent is a master soldier. At least it’s a hunting expert, not the ignorant savage Flam said. They also deliberately left a gap in the rear side to shake the military confidence. Here the north is high and the south is low. If they now retreat to the rear, the high mobility of the opposing light cavalry can kill their own side without any effort.

When Gilgamesh came to the left flank, the two armies had already fought each other. The enemy’s combat power was strong. The beasts moved quickly and they could still bite desperately even if they were injured by a knife and can bite leg through the armor. Gilgamesh found that the team had been broken, he drove over, and a smilodon in front of him snapped off the war-horse’s neck,the chariot rolled over instantly. He picked up the battle axe, kicked his legs and flew over the encirclement by inertia, and fell into the troop.

He yelled “Don’t panic, let me break through.” Everyone saw the golden light shining, their confidence was shaken, as he charged and chopped all the way, return to the front troop. He said to Peter, “We have to go the other way and move forward and enter the forest against the wall of fire.”

As the sky darkened, the pikemen and swordsmen wrapped in engineers finally advanced into the forest, and Gilgamesh’s troops had nearly half casualties.

With the occlusion of the fire wall, the attacked area is reduced by half, but the opponent’s attack intensity remains unchanged. A huge black bear broke through the line of defense and ran behind Peter. He was fighting with people and can’t dodge. Suddenly a silver light flashed, and the black bear’s head was cut to the ground. Gilgamesh stepped over the black bear’s body and said to Peter “There are too many enemies, so consumption will surely wipe out the whole army. We are divided into two groups. You take the troop retreat westward while defending. After you go back, you can tell Flam about the situation here. I led one hundred soldiers continued to attack northward to lead them away.

Peter said anxiously, “No, you lead the army, I will pretend to attack!”

Gilgamesh said in an unquestionable tone, “You order me?” Peter bowed his head and said nothing. Afterwards, he led the Hundred Man Group to break through northward with great fanfare. The tactic worked, it may be that the opponent was eager to defend home. He successfully attracted most enemies. But they were surrounded again as soon as they broken through, so stuck between the breakthrough and the siege. The terrain was getting higher and higher up to the top of the mountain.

The dawn, Gilgamesh looked around and there were only ten soldiers left. Everyone fought fiercely all day and night, exhausted and panting heavily, staring at him. They all know it’s the last moment. Gilgamesh put his battle axe upside down on the ground, put his hands on the handle of the axe , his face was firm, and said to everyone “For Willier God!” Everyone said “The glory of light shines on my body!”

The enemy slowly approached and stopped in front of a cliff not far away and aimed at them with bows and arrows. The team separated, and a woman came out riding a panther. The woman has long jet-black hair, her skin is the color of mature wheat, her temperament was extraordinarily heroic, and she wore short animal skins. She said in a cold, arrogant tone, “You can avoid death by putting down you weapons.”

As soon as the voice fell, Gilgamesh picked up his battle axe and rushed to her. Bows and arrows shot from both sides. He swung the axe to parry, roared, and jumped up, gathering his last bit of strength to slashed towards the woman. Two big men sprang out from the woman’s side, one resisted his attack, and the other held a big mace against his belly. His golden armor was strengthened by magic, twice as hard as ordinary armor, but only half the weight. Even so, the stick shook him to spit out blood, bounced him into the air and fell into the valley…

At this time, huge mana fluctuations came from the northeast. The woman frowned and said, “Go back to the altar.”