Chapter 1021
For a moment, many Carthage citizens turned from spectators to participants in the war, which attracted the attention of all the people on the coast.
The Third Fleet was hot on the Carthage fleet's heels, which made Midolades very satisfied. He knew about Carthage Port. Its military port was located inside the commercial port. The two ports were joined together, separated by a water gate. The commercial port outside also had a water gate. Its width could not allow so many warships to enter at the same time. In order to enter the port, the Carthage fleet had to slow down, which gave the Third Fleet a great opportunity to deal them a heavy blow.
"General, the Carthage fleet is not turning around. They are continuing to retreat eastward!" The lookout's shout did not surprise Midolades. He had already turned his head and saw his ship passing by Carthage Port. This meant that the commander of the Carthage fleet had also realized that retreating into Carthage Port was a huge risk, so he gave up and continued to escape.
Midolades's face darkened. He suddenly realized that if the Carthage fleet continued to retreat like this, the Third Fleet's previous efforts were likely to be in vain. Most of the Afrika coast to the east were Carthage's allies. The Carthage fleet could find an opportunity to hide in their ports at any time, and the Third Fleet could not chase them to the end. By dusk, they would have to return to the base because the exhausted crew needed a lot of food and water …
"Damn Sekerian, what the hell are you doing now!" The more Midolades thought about it, the angrier he got. He could not help but curse.
At this moment, the lookout above his head exclaimed, "Carthage warships! There are dozens of Carthage warships rushing out of the port! "
Midolades was shocked. He instantly understood that the Carthage fleet was not retreating, but luring the Third Fleet to the port so that they could attack the Third Fleet.
At this critical moment, he had no time to regret that he had let his guard down due to his eagerness to make a contribution, nor did he have the time to think about how the Carthage fleet came to have so many warships. In fact, after the naval battle near Eryx, the shipyards of Carthage and the Phoenician allies had worked hard to speed up the production and replenish dozens of new warships. He decisively ordered, "Blow the bugle and form a defensive circle!"
At this time, many Diónia warships already knew that there were enemy ships coming from behind. The crew did not panic too much. After seeing the flag signal from the flagship, they immediately began to form an orderly formation. For both Midolades and the Third Fleet, this was not the first time they had encountered a similar situation in the naval battle of Sardinia. At that time, the situation was even more dangerous. Both the captain and the crew were experienced. Fortunately, Midolades was cautious and kept the entire fleet in formation, so it was easier to change to a circular formation.
When the Carthage warships in the port launched their attack, Morbar also ordered the Carthage fleet to launch an attack.
The retreating Carthage warships turned around and charged at the Diónia warships.
The Diónia Third Fleet was in a dangerous position of being attacked from two sides.
As this battle took place right in front of the port, the Carthage elders on the Breakwater could see it more clearly. They could see that the Dionysian fleet was trying hard to retreat, trying to curl into a group. The Carthage fleet, which had been premeditated, attacked swiftly and fiercely, like maggots on a bone, causing the Diónia warships to be tired of dealing with them. Some of the enemy warships that fell behind were even caught up by the Carthage warships. They quickly tangled with each other, and were then rammed by another Carthage warship that caught up with them. (In reality, these Diónia Crow warships had voluntarily sacrificed themselves to ensure that the entire fleet could get into formation smoothly.)
Now, not only did the Carthage fleet have the upper hand in terms of the number of warships, they also had the initiative on the battlefield. As they were fighting at home, the morale of the crew was not weaker than the enemy.
Although the Dionysian fleet put up a strong resistance, they were completely surrounded.
The elders' worries were gone, and they were all smiles. Even Esyaruba praised loudly, "As expected of Morbar. It seems that he will win another naval battle! And the result will be far better than the last time! "
"That's right. With this victory, the Dionians won't dare to be so arrogant during the peace talks," Taipanlak immediately replied.
"With this victory, they still want to talk peace?! We can totally increase our support for Morbar and let the Carthage navy regain their advantage at sea! "Pretacuba retorted excitedly.
"We have to face reality. Even if we destroy this Diónia fleet, Diónia still has more warships than us. Peace talks are the best choice!" Ecridon retorted.
…
The two sides began to debate on the wall again.
"My lords, don't celebrate too early. This Dionysian fleet won't be defeated so easily!" Arnobus suddenly said with a cold smile.
"Could it be that the person who almost lost our fleet is jealous of Morbar's achievements and doesn't want to see the navy win?" A Magonid Faction elder mocked loudly, causing the anger of many people.
"It seems that the previous punishment for you was too light. The Senate should reopen your trial!" Another elder looked at him fiercely and suggested loudly. Surprisingly, many people responded, scaring Annobus so much that he did not dare to speak again.
"When did the Senate become so timid and unable to listen to different opinions?!" Just then, Hanno stood up and expressed his support for Annobus. "Up until now, we have been at a complete disadvantage in this war against Diónia precisely because some of us were arrogant and thought that we could easily defeat Diónia. We even arrogantly declared that 'within a year, we will drive the Diónia out of Sicily!' But in the end?! We lost Corsica, Sardinia, and even Sicily is difficult to protect. Now, the Diónia are attacking right at our doorstep! It's time to listen to different opinions and sober up some of us who are hot-headed! Annobus, tell us, what's wrong with the situation?! "
Hanno looked around at the crowd with a dignified expression. Out of reverence for this powerful figure, no one refuted him. Even Pretacuba fell silent because he felt wronged.
Annobus coughed softly and said, "Although Lord Morbar used a scheme to trick the Dionysian fleet, he was not able to make them fall into chaos through a pincer attack. This is because the Diónia warships at the periphery did not care that they would be sunk and fought desperately to stop them. Their fighting spirit is very tenacious!" Annobus could not help but sigh. He could not help but think of the naval battle in Sardinia. Actually, his scheme was quite successful at that time. Faced with a pincer attack from the front and a small number of warships, the fleets of any other city-state would have long been defeated. However, the Dionysian fleet fought a bloody path and turned defeat into victory. Their fighting spirit was so tenacious that it made people's hearts palpitate.
"Look, now our warships are not continuing to charge forward, but are circling to the sides. This means that the Dionysian fleet has formed a circular formation, causing our warships to not dare to rashly attack their formation —"
"So what? The Dionian fleet has already been surrounded by us. We're not attacking to reduce our casualties. Are the Dionians not attacking because they want to wait until nightfall to escape? "Pretacuba's words caused a few of the elders to laugh.
"Everyone knows that the crew of the warships are greatly exhausted because they have been rowing and fighting for a long time. They need to replenish their energy in time, but the battlefield is in Carthage. The Dionysian fleet cannot get food and rest, and their base is hundreds of miles away. At night, surrounded by the Carthage fleet, will the exhausted Diónia crew still have the ability to row their warships back? I'm afraid they can only surrender, "another elder of the Magonid faction added.
"We all know that for the Dionysian fleet, staying here is only waiting for death. There's no way the Diónia don't know that! I remember … in the naval battle of Sardinia that I commanded, it was also this fleet that was surrounded by us. In the end, they attacked bravely without any regard for anything, and in the end … not only did they break out of the encirclement … they even defeated us … "When Annobus recounted the past that he did not want to remember, his expression was pained and worried." But this time, they are not in a hurry to set up a defensive formation, as if they have something to rely on. We can't help but be wary of this! "
Wary of what? Reinforcements from the Dionysian fleet?! Hanno's heart skipped a beat.
Before Annobus could answer, the port lighthouse not far in front of them suddenly rang out again. "Dong! Dong! Dong! "The bell rang.
"Why is the lighthouse bell still ringing?!" An elder complained subconsciously, because it had been ringing non-stop since the Dionysian fleet appeared on the sea near the port.
"I'm afraid there's a new enemy!" Annobus was the first to react. He looked at the sea ahead with a nervous expression.
Everyone was astonished.
At this time, the lighthouse guard leaned his body out of the stone window at the top of the lighthouse and shouted to the people below, "Another fleet has appeared in front, and there are many black warships!"
Another Dionysian fleet!! When the elders heard this news, their expressions instantly changed. They shouted in horror, "Quick! Go and inform Morbair! Ask him to withdraw the fleet back to the port! … "
The soldiers on the wall quickly gathered together and shouted in unison toward the outside of the port, "Retreat quickly, the enemy's reinforcements are here!! The enemy's reinforcements are here!!! … "
The two parties engaged in battle were right in front of the port. The crew of the warships nearby could faintly hear the bell of the lighthouse and the shouts of the sentries.
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