Chapter 143
"So what?!" Melansius glanced at him sideways. His face was slightly flushed from the alcohol, and he looked unconvinced. "Where he and I were born is the arrangement of fate. Of course, he is destined to fail!"
He asked loudly again, "Turín and Amendolar are allies. I heard that when my army approached Turín, Amendolar promised to send reinforcements, right?"
"That's true. Amendolar's messenger once said, 'As long as they are given a few days to gather their troops, when their reinforcements arrive, Turín will definitely be able to hold!'" Ancetanos replied. He emphasized Amendolar's original words, and Melansius' face turned even redder.
Melansius turned to Timaras beside him. "Tomorrow, send someone to question Amendolar. 'Why is he making an enemy of Crotone? Ask them to immediately dissolve their alliance with Turín and form an alliance with us! '"
Timaras hesitated. "Amendolar and Tarantum are allies!"
"That's right. They are allies with Tarantum. If they can form an alliance with Turín, why can't they form an alliance with us?!" Melansius said forcefully.
"Alright," Timaras reluctantly agreed.
Melansius swirled his wine glass, his eyes gleaming. 'Devers, what will you do?'
… …
The news of Crotone's capture of Turín quickly spread throughout Greece, and Turín immediately became the focus of attention.
Tarantum, Rockley, Lijim, and other city-states paid close attention to the development of the situation. Even Syracuse, who was preparing troops and supplies to attack Carthage in Sicily, focused their attention on the situation. After all, Rockley was an ally of Syracuse. Dionysius even married Doris, the sister of the current chief general of Rockley's famous family. Rockley and Crotone were mortal enemies. Crotone's strength was not what Rockley and Syracuse wanted to see. Besides, this was related to a long-term strategic plan in Dionysius's mind.
… …
Crotone's emissary came to Amendolar with Melantius' order for Amendolar to surrender. This caused the political atmosphere in Amendolar to become tense.
There was a heated debate in the Senate.
Cornelus, Raphael, and Strompoli believed that Crotone was coming with a great victory and was powerful enough that Amendola, which had just experienced a war, could not stop him. In order to prevent their territory from being destroyed again, they could temporarily compromise and agree to Crotone's request.
The more stubborn Scombras, Tritodemus, and Protesilaus suggested that they could stall for time and request Tarantum to test the pressure on Crotone, depending on the situation.
Almost all of the new citizen senators were hardliners. They had long been angered by the arrogant behavior of Crotone's emissary after entering the city. They firmly stated that Amendolar must not succumb to Crotone's threat. If Crotone sent troops to invade, they would definitely let him know how powerful Amendolar was!
Devers had expected such a thing to happen after Crotone's army occupied Turií. As a leader who relied on military prestige to become a mercenary leader and military strength to become Amendolar's lifetime consul, he could not show any weakness or give in, because that would shake his power. So he said resolutely, "Since Amendolar has already made a decision, we must stick to it until the end! Don't shake Tarantum's trust in us! We can't let the Greeks think that Amendolar is a city-state that will succumb to power and forget justice for the sake of profit! "
Devers's forceful words drew an end to the Senate meeting.
When the Crotone emissary received Amendolar's reply, he was stunned at first, then he threatened fiercely, "Aren't you afraid of what happened to Turií?!"
"You can try," Devers replied coldly.
… …
The emissary who returned resentfully brought the Devers's reply, "Dear Commander of Crotone, the people of Amendolar revere your victory. However, abiding by the covenant signed in the name of God is a centuries-old tradition of Amendolar. I hope you can understand! … "
Melansius was so angry that he laughed after reading it. He tore the letter into pieces, "This Amendolar's consul is quite courageous … Haha … A mercenary actually knows how to keep his promise?!"
He paced back and forth in the hall and made up his mind, "It seems that we need to teach this disobedient little country a lesson! Timaras, go gather 8,000 people, we will go to Amendolar! "
Timaras hurriedly said, "But Tarantum —"
Melansius waved his hand, "Don't worry, I won't do anything rash."
… …
After the Crotone army left the city, they quickly marched north.
The scouts of Amendolar immediately reported back. When the people of Amendolar received the news, they immediately became nervous.
Cornelus, Rafias, and the others once again suggested to the Devers that they should temporarily give in to the Crotone and join their alliance.
However, the Devers retorted, "I've never had the habit of being forced to make peace with a knife or a gun!"
The new citizen senators, on the other hand, were full of fighting spirit. They clamored to mobilize their troops and give the arrogant Crotone a head-on blow, but were forcefully suppressed by the Devers.
He ordered everyone to return to the city and prepare for defense!
Due to his authority, the officers had no choice but to accept the order and leave.
… …
The Senate of Tarantum also paid close attention to the movements of the Crotone army. They received the news a little later than Amendolar, and the consul immediately held an emergency meeting with the senators.
The senators expressed that the Crotone ignored Amendolar's alliance with Tarantum and brazenly invaded. This was contempt for Tarantum! They must seriously protest!
However, most people expressed caution about whether Tarantum would participate in the war between the Crotone army and Amendolar, saying that it would depend on the development of the situation. After all, Tarantum and Crotone were both powerful states in Greece, and each had a group of allies. Once a war broke out, it would not be resolved in a few battles.
Archita took the initiative in the Senate to request to see the commander of the Crotone army, Melansius, and was finally approved. Tarantum sent another emissary to Crotone by ship. The sailing time was short, and with the wind, it would only take half a day to reach Crotone.
While the Senate of Tarantum was still discussing, Melansius had already led the army across the Savicello River. Two hours later, he arrived at the foot of the mountain. He looked at Amendolar, which was located on a small hill. The walls were full of heavily armed soldiers. Under the direct illumination of the eastern sun, it looked like a glowing wall, blinding people. He could not help but say, "The soldiers of Amendolar are quite decent. If I really attacked it in the morning, the sunlight alone would make my soldiers suffer."
He ordered the troops to line up in a square formation. The formation was more than a mile long. As they slowly approached the city walls, they knocked on their round shields and let out battle cries that shook the heavens …
However, the soldiers of Amendolar only stood quietly at the top of the city under the strict orders of the team officers.
Arsinis could not help but say, "Captain, the people of Crotone are too arrogant. We should at least roar a few times and fight back."
Captain Tippus scolded in a low voice, "Shut up, this is the order of the Consul. Do you want to violate military discipline?!"
Hearing this, Arsinis immediately stopped complaining.
"Anyway, remember, as long as the people of Crotone don't attack, we will watch their performance. As long as they dare to attack, hmph … "Tippus reminded.
"Understood!" Arsinis clenched the spear in his hand. Even though the enemy's troops looked unusually large, Arsinis actually hoped that they would attack so that he could use the skills he had painstakingly trained during this period of time.
Seeing that there was no response from the people of Amendolar, Melansius immediately stopped the advancing troops and sent someone to shout at the bottom of the city, asking to see the Consul Devers of Amendolar. Unexpectedly, there was no response from the top of the city walls.
Melansius thought that the Devers were afraid and did not dare to talk to him directly, so he simply sent some soldiers to scold them at the bottom of the city.
"The Devers are cowards. They don't dare to face the army of Crotone!"
"When the people of Amendolar see the army of Crotone, they don't even dare to breathe!"
…
When the new soldiers heard this, their faces turned red and they began to complain. Then, they were scolded by the veterans. "Whether they are cowards or not, we will only know after we fight. What's the point of just talking? As for the Consul, when he led us to defeat the people of Persia time and time again, these people of Clotho's wife were probably still enjoying the cheers of the audience in the stadium. "
In fact, these veterans were also holding back their anger. However, they were experienced and used to listening to the orders of the Devers. At the same time, they were also unwilling to waste their energy on unnecessary things.
The voices of the soldiers of Crotone also became hoarse, but the people of Amendolar still did not respond.
Melansius was also bored. He finally ordered, "Burn down all these houses as a warning to the people of Amendolar!"
The people of Amendolar who remained silent made Melansius feel humiliated and angry. He ordered all the warehouses and hotels at the foot of Amendolar Mountain that were about to be completed were burned in a raging fire. The efforts of the people of Amendolar over the past few months were destroyed …
The fire that soared into the sky reflected the angry faces of countless soldiers on the city wall. Their eyes were wide open, and they glared at the people of Crotone as they swaggered away …
… …
When the news reached the Senate, everyone was furious.
Only the Devers looked calm. He carefully listened to the performance of the Crotone army at the bottom of the city by the Asistes who had rushed back. From this, he deduced Melansius's character and mentality, and confirmed it with what he knew.
"Are the people of Crotone declaring war on us by doing this?" Raphael asked in surprise.
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