Davos considered their weak protection, but they were only a temporary unit and was not in his plans for the future of the Theonian army after all as Theonia would train a more powerful cavalry to deal with enemy cavalries later.
“Blow the salpinx, have them run and then charge for me to inspect.” Davos looked at the sky and urged.
Although Davos ordered it, it was still dangerous to have freemen who had never used such long spears before making a group charge with their sarissa.
As the salpinx rang three times in a row, the freemen raised their sarissa vertically and began to jog under the guidance of their instructors.
But the formation that had finally restored its order became crooked again as they sped up, and the gap between the front and rear rows also widened.
At this moment, as the salpinx sounded more sharply, the soldiers roared: Then the soldiers on the first row thrust their spear horizontally while the soldiers behind them raised their sarissa obliquely, in turn, to avoid accidentally wounding the soldiers at their front. When viewed from the side, the sarissa goes from low to high, but it didn’t last long before the formation of thousands of men scattered in the charge; Some advance too far, some lagged behind, and a few fell while running and accidentally wounding several of their comrades.
Kapus looked at Davos with uneasiness.
Davos, on the other hand, remained calm. Although he had to change the four-metre halberd of the Swiss in his former life into a spear and reduced the weight, it is apparent that the freemen, who used it for the first time and had never yet participated in a battle, wouldn’t easily master it. Thus he thought about it and said, “I suggest that you don’t make them charge in a large phalanx as it is too rigid. Instead, it is better to divide them into small phalanxes, just like how the heavy infantry phalanx march before confronting the enemy. Attacking the enemy cavalry in this way would make it easier for the officers to control the soldiers, and it not only ensures the small phalanx denseness but also makes the formation flexible and able to occupy a larger area. Furthermore, our spearmen must be more flexible to be able to catch up with those Syracuse’s cavalries from Numidia and the Po River…”
After listening carefully to Davos’ advice, Kapus was greatly inspired as he immediately said, “Your majesty, I’ll immediately have them train following your suggestion.”
Davos once again reminded, “Lord Kapus, they don’t have much time left for them to train, so you have to find a way to make these freemen familiar with the use of sarissa and the transition to offensive formation within two to three days!”
Kapus nodded heavily as he strode towards the training ground.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Davos, who had been busy the whole day, had finally stepped out into the moonlit night and returned to his house.
After he pushed open the gate of his residence, cheerful voices could be heard, “Master…no, your majesty!”
“Your majesty, you are back! Congratulations on becoming King of Theonia!”
“Your majesty, congratulations on defeating the Syracusan navy and routing the Tarantines!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
With Davos becoming the king of Theonia, the slaves in his residence feel honoured, and their status elevated.
Davos nodded to each of them and finally came to Ribaso, “You’ve worked hard these days!”
“It is my duty, your majesty!” Ribaso then said with respect, “Madam and the little masters are waiting for you in the inner courtyard.”
“It’s already so late, yet they still haven’t slept?!” Davos was a little surprised and touched. He then turned serious as he said to Ribaso, “Have them all go to rest, blow out all the candles in the hallway and put them away. This is not the time to celebrate! How could you be so wasteful? Are you not afraid of the public’s opinion?!”
Although Davos spoke gently, Ribaso heard the rebuke in his words, and he quickly bowed his head to ask for forgiveness.
“The higher one status is, the more discreet and low-profile one should be! This is a statement that you should always keep in mind and restrain them. Otherwise, you will be the first one I will find if anyone causes a problem!” Davos’ warning caused Ribaso to be alert.
Davos pushed open the door of the inner courtyard, and Azune, who had been waiting there, happily said, “Your majesty, welcome home!”
“Azune, it is thanks to you that Cheiristoya was able to give birth to Eunice smoothly and safely. Thank you!” Davos sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Although Azune was excited, she did not dare respond to his gratitude. Instead, she said, “The two ladies and the children are waiting for you in lady Cheiristoya’s room.”
“Oh, it seems that it would be lively tonight!” Davos laughed.
“Your majesty, have you had dinner?”
“No, I was too busy and didn’t have the time. Just prepare two loaves of bread, a bowl of wheat porridge and a cup of wine.”
“Yes, your majesty. I’ll have it ready for you soon.”
Just as Davos pushed open the bedroom door, a figure quickly burst into his arms and shouted eagerly, “Dad, you’re finally back! I missed you so much!!”
Davos smilingly picked up little Cro, “Daddy misses you too! Let daddy see if you have gained weight during this time?”
Little Cro immediately puffed up his cheeks.
Feeling amused, Davos gently tugged on his chubby little face.
“Father!” A clear voice came from behind.
Davos smiled and said to his adopted daughter, “Cynthia, I was away for only a month, and you seem to grow taller again.” he then walked over with little Cro in his arm, placed his hand on Cynthia’s head in a gesture to measure her height.
“Fa…father.” Adoris, who was beside Cynthia, said nervously. It is amusing to see that the usually stubborn Adoris would become nervous and well-behaved like a girl whenever he sees Davos.
“Adoris, did you ask your teacher to complain to your mother?” Davos teasingly said.
“N…no.” Adoris shook his head.
“Father, the akademia is temporarily closed.” Cynthia interjected.
“Closed?” Davos was slightly surprised, but he thought it was normal after a second thought. Then he said, “So did you all stay at home during this time? Cynthia, you are the eldest, so you have to take good care of your brother and relieve the burden for your two mothers.”
“Yes.” Cynthia nodded seriously.
“Cynthia is very sensible as she helped Agnes and me on many things. Unlike someone who, not to mention helping, have been away from home for so long that even when he returned, he didn’t come home to take a look at us!” Davos looked up and saw Cheiristoya sitting on the wooden bed while looking at him angrily. Agnes, on the other hand, was lying on her side with her face full of resentment.
“I-” Just as he was about to speak, Davos found that it was not suitable to explain himself this time. So he immediately said, “Am I not back?”
Cheiristoya snorted, “It’s fine even if you don’t come back, but as soon as you did, you gave away more than half of the money we have worked so hard to earn in the past few years!”
Agnes discreetly patted Cheiristoya. She was a traditional person and was looking forward to her husband’s return, so she didn’t want to destroy this warm atmosphere or even have a quarrel.
Davos didn’t even need to argue back as little Cro loudly said, “Mom, don’t blame Dad!”
“Oh, it’s still my baby who thinks of me!” Davos happily kissed and kissed little Cro’s pinkish face, “Come with Daddy and let’s go see your little sister.”
Eunice was lying beside Cheiristoya, and even though she was awake, she didn’t cry.
As Davos approached his daughter, Cheiristoya quickly reminded, “Careful! Don’t scare her.”
“Don’t worry. I am Herpus’ teacher.”
“Physicians also know how to raise children?”
“I am the gods favoured, so I know everything, including your… body.” Davos leaned close to her and whispered the last word.
Cheiristoya immediately blushed and reached out to gently hit him, and her resentment disappeared.
Davos gently picked up Eunice, and the little girl looked at him curiously with her big, bright blue eyes.
“My child, I’m your dad.” Davos said softly to her.
Eunice giggled and touched Davos’ face with her tiny hands.
After letting Eunice grasp his hands, Davos turned to Cheiristoya and said with a smile, “Eunice is quite strong!”
At this moment, Cheiristoya looked at the father and daughter and nodded gently at his words.
“Dad, I’m stronger than my sister!” Little Cro said defiantly.
“You are the older brother, so of course, you are stronger.” Davos laughed, “Little Cro, isn’t your sister beautiful?”
At this age, little Cro didn’t even know what beauty was, so he just nodded after what his father said, “Un, beautiful.”
Now, the redness on her skin has faded, and the ample milked enriched her wrinkly skin has. Eunice has beautiful bright eyes, a small nose, rosy lips and soft skin…a truly beautiful baby.
Davos turned around and said to the children, “Do you think little Eunice looks like dad?”
Cynthia shook her head and said, “No.”
Hearing her sister say so, Adoris mumbled, “…no.”
“My sister looks like mother.” Little Cro was the most direct.
Davos laughed and said, “Fortunately, she didn’t look after me and instead took on Cheiristoya. In the future, little Eunice will be a great beauty!”
Cheiristoya rolled her eyes and reached out, “Give me Eunice. She would cry later if you held her for too long just after seeing her for the first time.”
With some reluctance, Davos handed Eunice to Cheiristoya and turned to look at the children and said, “Children, our family is now more lively with the addition of your sister. And here-” he gently placed his right hand on Agnes’ stomach, “Your mother Agnes will add another brother to you next year. So as the elder brother and sister, you must become an example and take good care of them!”
