With the shouts of attack from the Samnite and Lucanian army, the battle began.
The Lucanian soldiers, confident in a quick victory, moved ahead and abandoned their formation, running wildly to face the enemy.
The Lucanian soldiers stopped at a distance of 30 or 40 meters from the clone legion and launched thousands of javelins against the defensive formation of the clone army.
The clone soldiers maintained a defensive formation, raising their shields to protect themselves from the falling javelins.
Pontius, from a distance, frowned upon observing the disorganized attack of the Lucanian army.
"General, should we stop them?" asked Gaius Papius Mutilus.
"Let our allies have their fun and test the enemy's defenses. Relay my orders and have four legions split into two, to attack on both flanks," said Pontius with an indifferent expression.
The Lucanian army was characterized by being disorganized and reckless in obeying orders; a small loss or a costly victory would show the Lucanian generals why it is necessary to follow military orders.
The Lucanian soldiers, unaware of Pontius's intentions, continued to be absorbed in throwing javelins at the clone army.
The tradition of using javelins in battle originated with the Lucanian and Samnite army, and their men, from a very young age, were skilled in the use of javelins.
The javelins that fell upon the clone army caused casualties and injuries among the clone soldiers.
The shields had to withstand between 4 and 6 javelin impacts at the same time, causing wounds in the arms of the clones and creating openings in the defensive formation.
Many clone soldiers died from the javelins that fell through the openings.
Some clones tested the idea of counterattacking, but the large number of javelins thrown caused the counterattack to become certain suicide.
Ten minutes passed, and the rain of javelins slowly stopped.
The clone soldiers mechanically reorganized their defensive formation with an expressionless face.
On the other hand, the Lucanian army charged like a wild and unrestrained horde.
The Lucanian soldiers quickly advanced and crashed against the shield wall of the clone army.
The few clones who were wounded on the ground and did not have time to get up were trampled by the crowd until death.
The Lucanian army, like a tide facing a breakwater on the beach, was stopped by the defensive formation of the clone army.
Both sides pushed each other without having space to use their weapons.
The clone soldiers, taking advantage of the stalemate, used their short swords to insert them through the openings between the shields and stab the Lucanian soldiers.
More and more clone soldiers took advantage of the spaces between their shields to stab the Lucanian soldiers.
The Lucanian soldiers who fell dead from the stabbings were trampled by their companions who continued attacking the formation of the clone army.
The formation of the clone army suddenly showed changes, and hundreds of clones began to throw javelins at the Lucanian army while being protected by six layers of legionaries in black armor.
The pressure on the clone legionaries decreased with the volley of javelins falling upon the Lucanian army.
The Lucanian soldiers were packed like sardines, and their shields had been abandoned almost at the beginning of the attack.
Without presenting even minimal protection, the javelins of the clone army caused heavy losses to the Lucanian soldiers.
At 30 meters from the clone army, the corpses and wounded of the Lucanian army began to pile up slowly.
Pontius frowned and gave orders to the Lucanian army to withdraw.
The generals of the Lucanian army were not foolish and realized the disastrous situation on the battlefield.
The Lucanian soldiers stopped advancing, and shouts ordering the retreat could be heard.
Little by little, the Lucanian soldiers who were attacking the defensive formation of the clone army withdrew, and the few who remained were killed by the clone legionaries.
The last Lucanian soldier was stabbed in the neck, falling slowly as the pupils of his eyes contracted.
The confrontation lasted less than an hour, and a large number of corpses of clone and Lucanian soldiers accumulated on the plain, forming a line more than half a kilometer long and 30 or 40 meters wide.
Four Samnite legions that had split into two advanced on both flanks of the clone army.
Unlike the disorganized attack of the Lucanian army, the four Samnite legions advanced maintaining an orderly formation.
The formation of the clone army reorganized to protect the two attacked flanks; the clone soldiers functioned like an emotionless machine, preparing for the next confrontation.
The Samnite legions advanced in a classic Roman formation and, at 20 meters from the clone army, stopped to launch another volley of javelins.
The clone army, with shields raised, once again withstood the impact of hundreds of javelins, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack.
After 10 minutes, the Samnite army stopped throwing javelins, and the soldiers advanced slowly in a Roman formation.
The clone soldiers responded with a weak volley of javelins that caused little damage to the Samnite soldiers.
Both armies made contact, and the Samnite legionaries faced the clone legionaries in individual combat.
Stabbings, pushes, and blows with the shield could be observed among the soldiers of both armies.
The Samnite army also adopted the traditional staggered formation of the Roman army.
With the whistle of the centurions of both armies, the clone and Samnite soldiers engaged in intense individual combat stepped back to the rear of the formation, and another soldier took his place.
The combat situation repeated itself mechanically, with the legionaries at the front engaging in intense individual combat and the sound of a whistle giving the signal for the exchange.
Unlike the battle of the disorganized Lucanian army, the casualties between the clone army and the Samnite army were notably reduced.
On the other hand, the advantage of the legionaries of the clone army was also very noticeable in their individual combat capabilities, which surpassed the average Samnite legionary.
The confrontation between both armies was reduced to a battle of attrition.
The clone legionaries had an advantage in the quality of their soldiers, but their numbers were inferior to those of the enemy.
The battle continued for two more hours, and Pontius's patience finally ran out.
"Deploy the last two legions and attack the side where the Lucanians previously attacked," said Pontius in an authoritative tone of voice.
The captain who was next to Pontius mounted his horse to relay the general's new orders.
With the advance of the last two legions of the Samnite army, the clone soldiers found themselves being attacked from three sides with only a minimal possibility of retreat.
A normal army would be under great pressure, but the clone army functioned like an emotionless machine.
The clones reorganized their formation once again to face the enemy attack.
The two Samnite legions showed no signs of launching a surprise attack, and the clone army was able to easily discern the intentions of the Samnite army.
Pontius intended to apply psychological pressure on the enemy legionaries and cause them to abandon the battle through the side that was not being attacked.
In Pontius's opinion, leaving an escape route for the enemy would prevent them from becoming desperate and fighting like cornered animals; even a hare would bare its teeth when cornered by a wolf.
On the other hand, if the legionaries of the clone army attempted to flee, they would be pursued by the two thousand horsemen and consequently be easily killed.
It was easier to finish off an army that was trying to escape than to face a desperate army.