Chapter 3546
If you won't admit defeat, then die!
...
The fact that the Parthian army lacked a sufficiently powerful long-range strike force was a very good thing for Filippo.
If a powerful archer unit can be well protected by its teammates, the only real threat it can pose is another powerful archer unit.
While the Parthian Empire did have archer legions, there were virtually no truly powerful archer legions.
The war between Rome and Parthia has lasted for so long, and the total war mode has continued for so long. Under normal circumstances, as long as there are a large number of archer legions, a powerful archer legion will inevitably emerge. However, this has not happened yet. One very important factor is the Roman Scythian Royal Archer Legion.
For Filippo, if a powerful archer legion appeared in the Parthian army, he would find a way to cripple it, even if it meant risking everything, he would forcefully wipe out the Parthian archer legion.
As the commander of the archer legion, Filippo knew very well just how formidable the battlefield firepower could be unleashed by a protected and unrestricted archer legion.
Therefore, when a similar legion appears in Parthia, Filippo will always try to eliminate the opposing legion as soon as possible.
All the archer legions will set off together with other legions, including the Scythian Royal Archer Legion.
Therefore, no Parthian archer legion that can advance on the battlefield can appear on the battlefield as a single legion.
Relying on the horses he already possessed, Filippo led the entire Scythian Royal Archer Legion, fully utilizing the archer legion's suppressive and counter-attacking capabilities.
This level of suppression is not invincible, especially after several Parthian archer legions were wiped out, which led the remaining Parthian archer legions to take a different path and turn to archery counterattack.
Archer legions following this route possess extremely strong archery counter-capabilities and, theoretically, would pose a significant threat to the Scythian Royal Archer Legion.
However, the reality was not as theoretical. Filippo's Scythian Royal Archer Legion, backed by the entire Scythian people, possessed an extremely large number of reserve soldiers. With ample reserve forces, even in large-scale exchanges, there was no need to worry about insufficient troop strength.
It was precisely because of his rich battlefield experience that Filippo led the Scythian Royal Archers Legion to wipe out the vast majority of the Parthian longbowmen units that would appear on the battlefield.
Filippo paid little attention to Parthia's light archer cavalry.
In terms of survival rate, the survival rate of horse archer units is indeed very high, especially light horse archers who shoot from horseback, whose survivability is even more terrifying.
However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. While achieving an extremely high survival rate, there are bound to be negative effects as well.
Using a short bow means a shorter attack range and less damage.
The vast majority of Rome's troops were heavily armored, possessing extremely excellent long-range defensive capabilities.
Even with the ability to pierce and charge, short bows have difficulty penetrating the defensive talents of soldiers, not to mention that most light bow cavalry talents are related to speed.
In terms of light cavalry, the most threatening and troublesome force, in Filippo's view, was the White Horse Cavalry of the Han Empire.
Even this elite light cavalry force, capable of inflicting ranged damage, still couldn't penetrate the defenses of most heavy infantry. Other light cavalry units, far weaker in strength, were even less likely to succeed. If shortbows couldn't penetrate defenses, what about longbows?
However, once they choose to use longbows, they are essentially no different from the current Scythian royal archer legions.
Since they all owned their own horses and used longbows, they would inevitably face the same combat method: stationary shooting.
If a light cavalry unit were to appear on the battlefield and use longbows for ranged attacks, Filippo would actually be pleased.
If this were to actually happen, it would mean that the Scythian Royal Archers could also achieve this level of capability.
If the Scythian Royal Archers Legion could also conduct mobile firing at high speeds, then the combat power and corresponding strategic deterrent capability that this legion could exert would be no less than that of the decisive battle legion.
Unfortunately, it's impossible to do that. If such a legion really existed, Filippo wouldn't mind learning from it.
Unfortunately, such a legion simply does not exist in reality.
With no corresponding ranged threats and enough troops to protect their own safety, ensuring the entire legion could fire an effective volley, Filippo's Scythian Royal Archers demonstrated the speed of their slaughter, showcasing what truly defines a top-tier archer.
Leonardo, who had been leading two auxiliary heavy infantrymen in a long defensive operation, experienced firsthand the feeling of this sudden reduction in pressure.
Originally, facing a Milanese guard, a Milanese raiding party, and a Burning Legion weakened, Macedonia's defensive line relied solely on its fearlessness.
The effect and deterrent power of Filippo's actions made it much easier for Leonardo to coordinate the army's defense, and even gave him the ability to launch a counter-attack, showcasing Macedonia's offensive and defensive capabilities.
This re-enactment of the war's outcome on the battlefield made Leonardo realize the importance of Filippo and his legion.
However, this idea did not last long, as Parthia's central army approached at an extremely fast speed.
"What's this?" Leonardo, who was coordinating his troops' attack and defense, saw the cavalry charging towards them at an extremely fast speed and instantly realized something was wrong. He immediately changed his orders, "Macedonia, defend!!"
"Too late to defend now!" Upon hearing Leonardo's words in Roman, Fonno Cloud burst into laughter.
Just as Shapur had predicted, the Macedonian army was truly proud!
Macedonia's strength was never in its constant, stifling defense. When the battlefield allowed for a counter-offensive, especially when its own legions created an opportunity, it would never miss it.
Especially since this counter-attack opportunity was created by Filippo, Leonardo was even less likely to miss it.
It wasn't because the two had such good teamwork, but simply because Leonardo was unwilling to admit defeat.
That's a good attitude of not giving up! If you're unwilling to admit defeat, then go die! (End of Chapter)