Chapter 1007
Seeing this, the following warships also docked one after another and lowered the drawbridge. Groups of Legion of Dionysia soldiers boarded the embankment one after another and joined the battle.
There were also warships that bypassed Stefakas's ship and landed on the embankment further ahead, attempting to surround the enemy from the rear.
In just a few minutes, hundreds of Diónia soldiers appeared on the natural breakwater, and behind them, many warships were approaching the embankment one after another. There were only a few dozen Carthage soldiers who slowly descended the city by ropes, and they were still surrounded.
Ragnaca, who saw this scene from the city wall, was shocked. He realized that he could not stop the Diónia soldiers from landing on the embankment, so he immediately stopped the soldiers from continuing to descend the city and decided to first defend this section of the city wall at the natural breakwater.
Then, with the help of the fire on the city wall, he saw that the Diónia soldiers who came up later formed a loose formation along the city wall in front of the lighthouse, and then each of them made a throwing motion. Countless javelins flew up to the top of the city wall, followed by screams.
Only then did Ragnaca recall in panic that the Diónia heavy infantry could throw javelins. He had to change his mind again and ordered the troops to quickly retreat from this section of the city wall and concentrate on defending the entrance of the natural breakwater — the tower gate.
With Carthage's men retreating, the mountain scouts who were struggling to hold on finally breathed a sigh of relief. They did not have time to mourn for their dead comrades, but to seize the time to treat their wounded comrades and clean up the corpses in front of the entrance of the lighthouse. Then, they watched as the legionnaires from the bottom of the tower continued to rush up to the top of the city wall.
One of the team members held the arrow shaft that was exposed outside his arm tightly, while another member aimed a sharp short sword at the arrow. Terrentus gritted his teeth and nodded at him.
A cold light flashed, and the entire arrow shaft was cut off. Terrentus breathed a sigh of relief and gently shook his swollen left hand. Although the tip of the arrow was still in his arm, at least it was not too much of a hindrance to move.
"Terrentus!" Heavy footsteps sounded behind him. When Terrentus turned around and saw who it was, he hurriedly saluted. "Commander Matonis!"
"Congratulations on making a great contribution to the kingdom again! From now on, our 2nd Corps will be responsible for the offensive. You and your subordinates stay here and recuperate; the medical battalion will be here soon to treat you, "Matonis said with a concerned expression as he looked at the arrow wound on his arm.
"Yes!" Terentus replied respectfully. He thought for a while and reminded, "Army Commander Matonis, the gate of the towers on the walkway of the city wall in front is more difficult to attack than what the Carthaginian captives have described. The long-range attacks from the towers on both sides are a great threat to the soldiers.
"Even if it's not easy, we still have to do it. We don't have much time now!" Matonis said and strode up to the top of the city wall.
Terrentus understood what Matonis meant. Lilibo was too important to the Carthage army. The Dionysian Army's attack would definitely alert the Carthage's military commander, Mago, who was outside Serinus. If they could not take over the city as soon as possible, Carthage's reinforcements would definitely come from Serinus, and the night attack would fail.
Thinking of this, Terrentus could not wait any longer. He followed Matonis closely, wanting to see the 2nd Corps conquer the tower gate with his own eyes.
Ragnaca had just led the Carthaginian soldiers to retreat to the gate of the tower when Imisere rushed over angrily. When he saw Ragnaca, he questioned him, "Why did you retreat after such a short battle?! You let the enemy take control of the lighthouse so easily! Ragnaka, you are afraid of battle and abandoned the seawall. If Lilibo fails, aren't you afraid of being interrogated by the Senate and crucified?! "
"Sir, the people of the Magonid Family regard honor as their lives. They will never be afraid of death!" Ragnaka replied sternly, "The reason why I ordered the army to retreat is because there are too many Diónia soldiers on the seawall. It is very disadvantageous for us to fight there. In the short battle just now, we have lost nearly 200 soldiers. If our troops lose too many soldiers on the seawall, will we still have enough troops to defend the entire city? So, it is better to retreat and defend here. No matter how many Diónia ships send, as long as we hold on until tomorrow, when Mago arrives with his army, we will win! "
Ragnaka's words reminded Imisere. He asked, "How many soldiers from Diónia came?"
"Nearly 10,000!" Ragnaka tried to say as much as he could.
Imisere was shocked. After thinking for a while, he said decisively, "I will hand over the command of the entire Lilibo garrison to you. You must resist the attack of Diónia and hold on until Mago arrives with his army!"
"Please rest assured, sir. I will do my best to defend Lilibo!" Ragnaka immediately said.
As soon as his voice fell, the garrison in the tower of the artificial seawall sent someone over and shouted eagerly, "Sir, there is a large number of Diónia warships coming from outside the port!"
"What?! Is the Diónia really planning to concentrate their forces to attack Lilibo City from the port?! "Imisere panicked.
Not only him, but the team officers and soldiers around him also felt nervous.
Seeing this, Ragnaka smiled confidently and said, "The Dionians came by ship, so it's impossible for them to bring along large siege weapons. The port area is narrow, so they won't be able to deploy their troops no matter how many soldiers they bring. Take a good look. We have such tall and strong walls and perfect defense facilities. Not to mention holding on for a day, even if we hold on for a month, it will be difficult for them to break into the city from the port. "
"Moreover, it is a good thing that the Diónia are attacking from the port. We all know that Mago has been trying to fight a decisive battle with the Diónia, but the Diónia have been hiding in the city and camp, avoiding the battle. Now that they are finally here, it gives Mago the opportunity to lead the army to annihilate them, and it also gives us the opportunity to make contributions. This battle may decide the victory of our Carthage in Sicily!"
Ragnaka's words inspired the confidence of the people around him, and it also made Imisere feel that his decision just now was not wrong.
"General, the Diónia are coming!" The team officer on the tower shouted.
"You, immediately lead 500 soldiers to carry large rocks and block the entrance of this tower!"
"You, lead four teams of soldiers to collect a large amount of tar, wood, and stones, and bring them to the tower."
"You, let your archers line up behind the tower door and be ready to shoot at any time!"
…
Just as Ragnaka was making detailed arrangements, a unit of the Second Legion of Diónia slowly approached the tower door in a tortoiseshell formation on the walkway of the city wall. Countless arrows bypassed the tower door and hit the long shields like raindrops, but they could not damage them at all.
On the other hand, the Carthage light infantry on the tower threw javelins hard on the long shields and even splashed sparks in the night. A few javelins penetrated the long shields, accompanied by muffled groans of the legionnaires. But with the support of the Diónia soldiers, they still maintained the integrity of the entire formation.
As they approached the tower door and endured another round of javelins, the captain of the Diónia team shouted, "Withdraw the shields and throw to the left!"
In the blink of an eye, the legionnaires withdrew the long shields in their left hands and threw the javelins that were already in their right hands. Dozens of javelins flew towards the tower on the left. The Carthage light infantry, who were leaning out of the tower to throw the javelins down, were caught off guard and were hit one after another. Screams were heard, and some even fell out of the tower and smashed into the ground of the port.
After throwing the javelin at the tower on the left, the Dionians did not even look at the result and quickly threw the second javelin at the tower on the right. At the same time, the Carthaginian light infantry on the tower on the right attacked with javelins at the same time. At such a close distance, it was too late for them to raise their shields to protect themselves. Six soldiers of the Dionian army were immediately shot and fell.
"Raise the shields and retreat!" The captain hurriedly ordered.
The Diónia soldiers raised their shields while dragging their wounded comrades back.
At this time, several Carthage soldiers appeared on the left tower again and threw the clay pots in their hands at the retreating Diónia soldiers.
The clay pots broke and liquid splashed everywhere.
The faces of the Diónia soldiers changed. "It's tar! Fall back, fall back! "
Just as the Diónia soldiers were retreating in panic, a few burning torches fell near the clay pots, instantly igniting a wall of fire and burning a few Diónia soldiers who were lagging behind …
Martonis, who was standing a distance away, saw the attack of the Legion of Diónia and felt a pang in his heart. He shouted, "Inform Tritias (the captain of the 2nd Legion of Light Infantry) immediately and ask him to lead the archers to the corner of the wall and attack the enemies on the two towers! Also … bring the black wood up here quickly! "
"Legion Commander, the soldiers have already brought the black wood into the lighthouse, but the stairs are too narrow, it's a little difficult to bring it up … They're trying to figure out a way," the adjutant explained.
"I don't care what they're going to do, I want them as soon as possible! Listen carefully, bring the black wood up to the top of the wall as soon as possible! If there's any delay, don't blame us for punishing you! "Martonis roared anxiously.
"I'll inform them right now!" The adjutant also felt the urgency of the situation and turned to run into the tower, but was stopped by Martonis again. "You also have to inform the engineering camp to speed up and assemble the ballistae, then bring them up to the top of the wall. I want to use them to attack the two towers!"
"Yes, sir!"
… …
The warships of the Third Fleet entered the port of Lilibo, and Midolades heaved a sigh of relief. The Third Fleet had just arrived in the western waters of Sicily and was not familiar with the sea conditions here. Moreover, there were many islands on the route from Palemos to Lilibo, and they were sailing at night. Midolades was afraid that the warships would hit the rocks and sink, so not only did the entire fleet sail slowly, but every warship was also equipped with veteran sailors from Palemos to guide the way. He could finally rest assured that they could successfully reach the port of Lilibo.
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