Chapter 1168
After hearing the number that Printos said, and looking at the endless march of the Dionysian Army in front of them, the councilors of Arcadia felt that even if the number that Printos said was exaggerated, it should not be too far off.
Hence, the councilmen's attention towards Dionia was raised to a whole new level. Some of them even temporarily suppressed their other thoughts.
"General Cloto Catax, let me introduce you to the councilors of our alliance." Lycomedes' voice broke the sudden silence.
"That's great!" Cloto Catax smiled and nodded.
"This is Meletus of Mandinia …"
"Nice to meet you!"
…
Cloto Catax's expression was sincere, his words were sincere, and his behavior was elegant. He left a good impression on the councilors who introduced him, and the atmosphere became friendly.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion among the councilors, followed by complaints. "Hey, you two, don't be in such a hurry to push forward. I'll introduce you later."
Lycomedes was stunned. He quickly looked behind him, wanting to know who was so rude and embarrassing the alliance.
Suddenly, he heard a shout, "Your Highness, be careful!"
Then, he saw the guards on both sides of the Diónia commander in front of him suddenly rush forward. At the same time, the two councilors beside him were violently pushed to the ground, and at the same time, he was also pushed to the ground. Someone rushed out from the back and stepped on his hand when he landed.
But he endured the pain and hurriedly shouted, "Be careful, there's an assassin!"
Two people rushed out from the crowd with shining daggers in their hands, and fiercely rushed towards Cloto Catax.
Two palace guards were already in front of him, and they drew their swords and stabbed at the assassin.
One of them was immediately stabbed, and the other burly assassin slightly tilted his body to avoid being hit in the vitals, and forcibly took the blow. Then, using the momentum of his forward charge, he knocked away the guards in front of him.
At this moment, Printos, who was at the side, kicked the assassin's ankle. He immediately fell forward, and the dagger that was stuck in his sternum pierced through his chest. The assassin immediately stopped breathing, and the dagger in his hand fell to the feet of Cloto Catax.
Crotocatax had experienced several assassinations like this, but this one was just a little more dangerous. His expression was still calm. He picked up the dagger and looked at it, then pushed away the long shield that the guards gave him, and thanked the guards and Printos who stopped the assassin.
"When I was young, I came from the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade. It's rare for me to have a chance to fight against an enemy," Printos purposely said jokingly, trying to make him feel more relaxed.
Cloto Catax quickly went forward to help Lycomedes up. In the process, the palace guards behind him rushed forward with swords and shields in their hands, and surrounded the dozens of Councilmen of the Arcadia Union who were in a panic.
After Lycomedes got up, he did not have the time to thank them, nor did he care about the pain in his right hand. He ran toward the two assassins on the ground, but he was stopped by the guards.
"Let me see them! Let me see them! "Lycomedes shouted anxiously.
Crotocatax nodded, indicating his agreement.
Lycomedes first looked at the assassin who was pierced by a sharp sword, then looked at the assassin whose neck was cut and bleeding profusely.
The assassin was on the verge of losing consciousness, and he kept mumbling.
Lycomedes did not care about the blood staining Bolton, and went closer to listen carefully, "The Lord of the Gods … Zeus above … The great and merciful … Zeus bless … The Lord of the Gods … Zeus above …"
As the assassin was on the verge of death, he did not dare to ask loudly. Instead, he frowned and thought for a while, then turned around and said to Cloto Catax with a serious face, "Please believe us! We, the Arcadia Union, will not assassinate our allies just after we formed an alliance! "
Cloto Catax looked at the panicking Councilmen of the Arcadia Union, and without any hesitation, he walked forward and said loudly, "I believe you — the allies of Diónia! I'm afraid that some forces are afraid of seeing us form an alliance, so they used such a despicable method to make us suspect each other! "
After saying that, he waved his hand, and the palace guards immediately put away their swords and shields and began to retreat, but there were still guards on both sides of Cloto Catax.
Lycomedes breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the councilmen and said loudly, "Agilus, come here and see if you know these two assassins. I heard their accent just now, and I think they are from the west."
"That's impossible!" Agilus walked out of the crowd and looked angrily at Lycomedes, but he still quickly walked to the two assassins and carefully identified them. Then, he lay on the ground and listened. Finally, he stood up and said confidently to Cloto Catax, "These two assassins are definitely not from Oconus! But I can roughly guess where they are from! "
"Where?" Lycomedes asked anxiously.
Agilus said with a slightly complicated expression, "It should be near the Olympia. The people there address Zeus differently …"
"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember!" Lycomedes suddenly understood. He hesitated for a moment, then said to Cloto Catax, "These two assassins are probably sent by the Pisans because they are loyal allies of the Sparta, but it could also be the decision of the Olympia people …"
Although Lycomedes did not finish his words, Cloto Catax already understood what he meant. Because Diónia had Hades as the guardian of the kingdom and also worshipped him as the lord of the Greek gods, this was obviously different from the Greek view of the gods. This was especially true for the people of Olympia, who had the most magnificent temple of Zeus, held the grandest games to worship Zeus in Greece, and had the most devout believers of Zeus in Greece. They undoubtedly hated the faith of the Diónia to the bone!
Cloto Catax subconsciously looked at the temple of Zeus that was still under construction in the new city of Megalopolis. Originally, he wanted to take this opportunity to promote the Kingdom of Diónia's attitude towards all faiths and religions equally. It was not like he had never done such a thing in Rome before. But after thinking about it, he gave up on the idea and said, "Now that everything is clear, the Pisans and Olympia sent assassins to kill me in an attempt to destroy the alliance between Diónia and Arcadia, and to stop the reinforcements of the Dionysian Army to Arcadia. We must not let their plot succeed! We must defeat the invading Sparta as soon as possible, and then we will go back and settle the score with the Pisans! "
"That's right! Mandinia is now besieged by the Sparta, and they urgently need reinforcements! "said a Mandinian councilor eagerly.
The other councilors also rushed to agree. Everyone wanted to escape from this strange and awkward atmosphere.
"What's the current situation in Mandinia?" Cloto Catax looked at Lycomedes. He had been negotiating the alliance agreement with this Mandinian leader for two days, and he had a deep impression of this man's steadiness and foresight. So, he was more willing to believe what Lycomedes said.
Lycomedes looked at his Mandinian colleague and said in a heavy tone, "We, the people of Mandinia, have learned our lesson from the last time the city was destroyed. The design and construction of the new city should be very sturdy, and we should not be afraid of the enemy's long-term siege. However … we did not expect the number of soldiers hired by the Sparta would be so great, and they are also well-equipped. If the Sparta continue to launch a fierce attack, we are very worried that Mandinia will not be able to defend for long. This situation is very likely to happen, because the Sparta people hate us very much! Once Mandinia falls, I'm afraid that this time, the people of the city will be slaughtered by the Sparta people! "
Cloto Catax nodded sympathetically. Just when he was about to speak, Printos beside him asked, "How many Sparta soldiers are besieging Mandinia?"
"Based on the reports from the messengers who risked their lives to escape from the city, the Sparta army has about 20,000 soldiers, and there are no less than 6,000 heavy infantry soldiers. They also have more than 1,000 cavalry soldiers …" Lycomedes replied.
Printos compared what Lycomedes said with the information obtained by the Mountain Reconnaissance Team, and he had a rough idea of the situation. He then signaled to Cloto Catax with his eyes.
By now, Cloto Catax had calmed down. Because he almost made some kind of promise out of impulse just now, he felt a little guilty and gestured for Lycomedes to speak.
Printos immediately asked, "Regarding the invasion of Sparta, what is the plan of the Arcadia Union to deal with it?"
"After receiving the news of the invasion of Sparta, the Arcadia Union has begun to mobilize the entire region." Lycomedes said solemnly, "However, the Sparta mercenaries are coming from the northeast of Arcadia, and the southeast of Arcadia is adjacent to Sparta. Therefore, the citizens of all the cities in the east must first defend their cities. I estimate that the Arcadia Union can only gather about 3,000 soldiers, and it will take at least four to five days for them to gather together. After that, we will lead this army to help Mandinia. However, compared to the Sparta army, our numbers are too small … Therefore, in order to defeat the Sparta army, we need your help!"
"It's not just about saving Mandinia. If Sparta's own army attacks from the south, they may directly threaten this place! Then, another councilor's words resonated with everyone.
Printos looked at the worried faces of the Arcadia Union councilors and said loudly, "The reinforcements of Diónia are advancing eastward, and it is estimated that they will arrive at the border of the Tegea region this afternoon (this region is adjacent to Sparta's territory). We will build a camp there, and try to make the camp as far east as possible to block the road to Tegea.
Comments