Summoning Total War - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Cretans (Part 2)

If someone were to ask him what military troops in that started in Greece impressed him the most…

There would be no doubt about it. His answer would be—the Cretan archers!

The Greek infantry was said to be the most cost-effective in the entire military. However, their architectural requirements were high. Large towns had to first be upgraded to cities, and then urban military camps needed to be built before you could train and recruit the Greek infantry! They were a kind of combat force that was quite strong, and they were also fast to train.

But before that, Greece had to rely on Greek infantry and militia as support.

The javelin throwers were weak in attacking, short in range, and slow in their attack speed, while the Greek javelin cavalry was known as the number one cavalry in the entire organization. The first cavalry of Greece and the Roman light infantry were said to be the most powerful troops in the entire organization, and they usually existed as cannon fodder to draw the enemy’s firepower. This was why Murphy hadn’t been eager to build the stables, as he didn’t plan on training a cavalry until the blacksmiths had made them saddles.

By comparison, the General Guard cavalry was more reliable, as they at least had the courage to fight!

The auxiliary troops in the early stages were so weak that the entire Greek civilization was praying for a group of powerful archers to emerge.

And then they appeared.

They were active in every corner of Greek civilization.

They fought as mercenaries, and they had the strongest attacking power with the longest range! Their skills could even be compared to the elite archers of the barbarians, who specialized in hunting with bows and arrows!

They were the Cretan archers!

Everything could be summarized in one sentence:

“The skills of the Cretan archers are famous all over the world!!!”

. . . . . . . . . . . .

After listening to the newly promoted financial officer’s report, Murphy opened the auxiliary system without so much as a moment’s hesitation.

As expected, there was now an additional mercenary option for recruiting troops in the auxiliary system data!

This new option was the Cretan archers!

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Unit: Cretan Archers

Recruitment Rounds (0).

Unit size (80), experience (1).

Melee attack (7), ranged attack (12), charge bonus (3), weapon (bow and arrow, dagger).

Total defense (4), armor (0), defense skills (4), shield (0).

Vitality (1).

Morale (8).

Recruitment cost (750), maintenance cost (200).

Ability: Can hide in the forest, can use fire arrows, abundant physical strength, able to move quickly, can dig tunnels.

Explanation: The skills of the Cretan archers are famous all over the world!

They can rain a flurry of arrows down on the enemy like a rainstorm and hit them, not just harass them! Cretan archers can greatly destroy the enemy frontline before the main battle breaks out, or they can be placed behind the defensive front. But without protection, they will easily be attacked by cavalry and light javelin troops. They have little chance in melee combat.

Historically, Crete meant a certain kind of combat style, not a region. As such, these mercenaries come from many different regions from the Greek world. Cretan born people are valued in major cities and towns and are invited to serve as archery instructors.

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A Greek infantry would be forlorn without the Cretan archers.

They could only resist the enemy’s long-range strike. The weakness of the javelin throwers and javelin cavalry made them as forlorn as a snowy mountain! At this time, the appearance of the Cretan archers gave them hope! With these best archers on their side, they even had the chance of counterattacking and taking down Rome!

In the game, if you started with Greece, there was one thing that you had to do first.

And that was recruit every Cretan archer in your line of sight! They would make you see how wise this decision was thanks to their amazing lethality.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Obviously, there were many mercenaries amongst these Cretans who had been brought along with the shipwreck.

They were proficient in bow and arrow skills and could attack enemies with a dense rain of arrows! Their endurance was excellent, and their long-term careers as mercenaries had given them their strong bodies! They could draw a strong bow and shoot further than the other archers!

In the auxiliary system, all the Cretan archers that could be hired had experience +1, which meant that they were all veterans who had experienced brutal wars. This also meant that they were also already very skilled in combat.

“With the Cretans, we will also have the best archery instructors!” Murphy said. His joy at that moment was difficult to describe with words. It could be said that the appearance of these Cretans had suddenly increased the territory’s fighting power! At first, Murphy had been worried about how to train a qualified archer after replicating the craftsmanship of the centaur’s longbow, but now he didn’t have to worry about that. With these Cretan archers at hand, all of that was no longer an issue!

“Take me to see them,” Murphy said, straightening his clothes and motioning for the finance officer to take him to see the Cretans.

In the report the finance officer had given him just now, the finance officer had said that there wasn’t enough housing in town because there were a few too many migrants, so he had temporarily placed the Cretans at the port.

Because the population had increased by half, it wasn’t a surprise that they couldn’t get the Cretans settled.

Fortunately, when Murphy was planning the town, he had made room for expansion. All they had to do now was build the houses in those vacant lots.

Outside of the inner city, Murphy found that the port was now much more crowded than it had been before.

In the camp where the Cretans were placed, Murphy coincidentally saw the high priestess. She was pacifying the Cretans in the name of their goddess, saying that their lives were saved by Athena.

Murphy quietly walked over to them. He looked at the high priestess, whose body was glowing with a holy glow.

She was saying something to the Cretan refugees, who were suffering because of the shipwreck. Her words seemed to have some sort of magical power, as people were unknowingly convinced by them.

At that time, the high priestess also noticed Murphy’s arrival.

She brought the new priests behind her to Murphy’s side. She slowly lowered her head and said in a soft voice: “Your Excellency.”

Anyone could see that the high priestess had gained a very good reputation among these Cretans in a short period of time. This was the power bestowed upon her by divinity, and it was also the special aura that she had that affected people. What she just did had made all the Cretan refugees shift their attention toward Murphy. These Cretans immediately understood that this man, who looked very young, was the Governor of this place.

He was the supreme ruler of the territory!

Murphy understood at once what the high priestess meant. She was using God’s authority to help her reign in these Cretans. As the high priestess of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, her act of merely bowing to him had undoubtedly elevated him in status above her high priestesshood.

This would greatly help him to reign in these Cretans.

In the eyes of these Cretans, if even the high priestess, with all her divine glory, had to bow down to the lord, then his status was unquestionable!

It was also evident that the lord himself believed in the goddess of the temple.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Thanks to the high priestess’s deliberate act, it was much easier for the Cretans to accept Murphy.

He selected a number of the original Athenian people to help build houses with the Cretans. Then he planned an area in a vacant space in the inner city as a Cretan residence.

From the very start, it was very inconvenient for Murphy to split them up.

This would have to wait until they settled down and were no longer weary about their situation. Only then would Murphy start to split them up. Mixing them up with the other local citizens would also avoid any unnecessary problems.

The auxiliary system showed that it was possible to recruit the Cretan archers.

But Murphy didn’t have this idea in mind for the time being. He was waiting for General Rio Darley to return. If the slave merchant Pulith could bring back a batch of centaur longbows, then Murphy planned on letting the Cretan archers use them. They were all elite archers compared to the other soldiers, and they were better suited for war with the centaur longbow!

Just as Murphy was secretly planning this in his head…

A sentinel quickly ran up to him. While panting, he said: “Your Excellency! There’s a group of troops approaching!!”