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Chapter 1022

When Morbale received the news, his expression changed drastically. He immediately ordered all warships to give up on attacking the Dionysian fleet in front of them and retreat to the port immediately!

Although Midolades and the captains of the Diónia warships could not understand what the enemy on the city wall was shouting about, the ringing of the lighthouse bell and the sudden change in tactics of the enemy indicated that the situation of the battle had changed.

What was this change? The Sicilian fleet must have arrived! This was a plan that Cecelian and Midolades had planned for many days to lure the snake out of its hole. Due to the position of the Third Fleet and the number of its warships (the Sicilian fleet had too many warships, the Carthage fleet might not dare to fight), the Third Fleet acted as bait. After the battle began, the Sicilian fleet that was lying in ambush between the western part of Sicily and the Carthage waters would judge the time and rush over to surround them. As the location of the battle was basically confirmed, there was no need to worry about getting lost and missing the opportunity to fight.

The Third Fleet still insisted on a defensive strategy, but they widened the gap between their warships to cover more of the sea and prevent the enemy ships from bypassing them and approaching the port.

What was ironic was that Morbale had deliberately lured the Third Fleet to the entrance of the port so that their rear would be attacked suddenly. However, now that the Carthage fleet wanted to retreat into the port, they realized that the Third Fleet had formed a circular formation in front of the port and completely blocked their way back.

Should they escape elsewhere, or should they force their way into the port? Morbale was faced with an important decision. Time was running out, and the veteran had lost his previous calmness. His entire body was soaked in cold sweat. Finally, he gave the order, "Attack forward, break through the enemy's formation by force, and return to the port!"

Furthermore, he commanded the flagship to take the lead in charging forward.

The reason why Morbale gave up on retreating was that he knew that Carthage's crew was already very tired after such a fierce battle. It would be difficult for them to escape the pursuit of Diónia's reinforcements. Moreover, there were a large number of soldiers on the warships of Diónia. Even if the warships of Carthage were to land on the nearby coast, the warships could easily fall into the hands of the enemy. Because at this time, Carthage had no military strength in the city, it was impossible to send enough soldiers to guard these stranded warships. (Two days ago, there was a secret report that the leaders of the Numibian tribes inland had secretly gathered to plot against the rule of Carthage. Therefore, the Senate hastily sent 7,000 public militia to suppress the rebellion. There were only 3,000 soldiers left in the city.)

With Morbair's flagship as an example, the other Carthage battleships also threw their previous caution and patience to the back of their minds, charging towards the Third Fleet one after another.

At the same time, three red flags were raised on the flagship of the Third Fleet. The bugle sounded, expressing the determination of the Midolades's warships to fight to the death and not allow the enemy to open up a path.

For the crew of the Third Fleet, they had paid too much for this battle. They did not want to fall short at the last moment. Everyone was on high alert, desperately trying to prevent the enemy from breaking through.

The naval battle that had lasted on and off for four hours suddenly became white-hot.

Unexpectedly, the first casualty was the flagship of Carthage's fleet. When it rushed towards the circular formation, the Raven Warship that corresponded to it straightened its bow. Morbair ordered the helmsman to go straight ahead and not evade. When the deck of the flagship was hit by the enemy's drawbridge, Morbair led the few soldiers on the deck and rushed to the bow of the ship, followed closely by nearly 200 oarsmen. He wanted to use the advantage of numbers to stop the attack of the Dionysian fleet soldiers on the deck.

The attack of the infantry of the Dionysian fleet, who had been recuperating, was ferocious. While they used their leather shields to block the spears of the soldiers on the deck, they relied on the armor on their bodies to rush forward and stick close to the enemy, stabbing at the enemy with the short swords in their right hands …

Even though they were on a swaying ship, the movements of the fleet soldiers were still very brave, swift, and precise, as if they were stepping on solid ground. This was the result of many years of arduous training. As a result, the few soldiers on the deck of Carthage's flagship were quickly stabbed to the ground.

Morbair had lost the guards in front of him. Facing the menacing Diónia soldiers, the old commander of the navy did not retreat, nor was he afraid. He pulled out his sword with his skinny right hand and stabbed at the soldiers of Diónia.

Immediately after, his sword was knocked away by the leather shields of the infantry of the Dionysian fleet. At the same time, the short swords of the infantry also pierced into his chest.

When he fell, there was no pain on his face, only calmness. He was born during the era when Carthage was at its most powerful. He had spent most of his long life in the navy, contributing greatly to the prosperity of Carthage. In the end, he died in battle at sea. He had no regrets.

"Sir Morbair!"

"Avenge Sir Morbair!"

…

After that, the sailors of Carthage who rushed to the deck from the cabin saw the old hero of the city they respected lying in a pool of blood. They were extremely furious, no longer afraid of the heavily armed infantry of the Dionysian fleet. They charged forward with wooden oars and daggers, blocking the advance of the Diónia soldiers.

For a moment, the infantry of the Dionysian fleet were blocked at the bow of the ship. The space was narrow, and many infantry were even blocked on the drawbridge, unable to reach the deck. This also caused the drawbridge to be unable to be removed in time.

Just as the two sides were engaged in a battle, a Carthage warship bypassed the flagship and charged straight at the Raven Warship.

As the Raven Warship was connected to the Carthage flagship, it could not move. The crew could only watch as the hull of the warship was hit by the bow of the high-speed enemy warship. Amidst the loud rumble, not only was the Raven Warship smashed open, seawater gushed in violently. Amidst the violent tremors, many of the Carthaginian sailors and infantrymen on the deck of the Carthaginian flagship also fell into the sea. Screams and cries of shock filled the air.

Amidst the chaos, the sailors on the deck of the Carthage flagship took advantage of the fact that the formation of the enemy was in disarray and the attack was weakened. They pushed the enemy to the side of the ship, causing many infantry to be pushed into the sea …

Following that, the other Carthage warships followed suit. This caused the Raven Warship, which was at the forefront of the Third Fleet's circular formation, to suffer heavy damage. The Carthage fleet gradually broke through the periphery of the circular formation and began to cut in.

Midolades learned the details of the battle from the lookout. Sensing the urgency of the situation, he resolutely issued an order, "The Carthage are fighting with their lives on the line. We have no choice but to fight with our lives on the line! Inform all the Raven Warships that once the drawbridge hooks onto the enemy's ship, all the sailors in the cabins are to go to the deck. If the enemy ships come to attack, they are to jump to the deck and fight! If the Carthage sailors dare to do this, the Diónia will only be braver than them! "

"Yes, sir!" This time, the captain did not remind Midolades that the order was too complicated. This was because in the process of pursuing the Carthage fleet, Midolades had learned his lesson and recalled a few clippers, which were now clustered around the flagship. Due to the circular formation of the Third Fleet, the warships were positioned around the flagship, and the distance between the warships was relatively small. The order was quickly conveyed.

Since then, the naval battle had entered an even more tragic stage. Not only were the warships colliding, but the soldiers were also fighting, and even the crews of both sides were killing each other …

The senators standing on the breakwater were worried, and the people who were still watching from the port were even more anxious. In order to ensure that their loved ones could break through the blockade of the Dionysian fleet, many ship owners, in a moment of desperation, steered their cargo ships and bravely rushed towards the gigantic Diónia warships outside the port, risking the great risk of their ships being destroyed, to assist their own navy in the battle.

It didn't take long for the 3rd Dionian Fleet to fall into an encirclement. However, they didn't show any signs of chaos. Every warship held their positions and stubbornly obstructed the advance of the Carthaginian fleet …

The predicament of the Third Fleet did not last long. The Sicilian fleet finally arrived. The 250 warships had already arranged themselves into a goose formation, consisting of only two ships (the fast warships at the front and the raven warships at the back). They surrounded the Carthage fleet and launched a fierce attack on the Third Fleet.

The Carthaginian fleet that could not break into the port in time was immediately surrounded. Without Morbar's unified command, some of the Carthaginian warships still wanted to continue charging into the port, while some turned around and fled in other directions when they saw that things were not going well for them … The result of fighting on their own caused their resistance to be quickly crushed. Other than a few Carthaginian warships that managed to escape, most of the warships were either damaged, sunk, or captured by the Raven Warship.

The two Dionysian fleets that had won did not pursue the escaped ships. The Third Fleet stayed outside the port. While rescuing the crew that had fallen into the sea, they also attacked the many cargo ships that had left the port to assist the Carthage fleet in the battle to vent their anger.

The Carthage cargo ships that were scrambling to escape to the port were chased and crushed by the Diónia warships. Many capsized.

The Sicilian fleet, on the other hand, sailed to the west, where the Third Fleet and the Carthage fleet first fought. There were also many Carthage cargo ships there. They had rescued the Carthage crew that had fallen into the sea, but out of anger, they did not stop there. Under the leadership of Baricos, these ships continued to cruise in the sea. They used wooden oars to knock out the floating Diónia sailors, causing them to drown. Morbal even planned to dive into the sea to see if he could sink the warships that had been captured by the infantry of the Dionysian fleet.

At this moment, the Sicilian fleet arrived. As this fleet had won the naval battle not long after arriving at the battlefield and joining the battle, the crew members were still relatively energetic. Moreover, they were facing the Carthage merchant ships that had once made them suffer, so their desire to fight was very strong. They relentlessly pursued and swept away all the Carthage ships on the sea. Even Baricos' merchant ship was eventually overturned …