Chapter 149
Castellón's city defense team waited for a long time, but the cavalry did not return. The noise in Crotone's camp seemed to have disappeared. Out of curiosity, he personally led ten cavalrymen out of the city through the south gate, crossed the pontoon bridge, and went west through the forest that was not too big. Nothing seemed out of place (Alpines' light infantry had already hidden the corpses of the cavalrymen and erased the traces) until they rounded the bend of the Trionto River and climbed up the slope with difficulty. The scene that appeared in front of them was shocking. The wide flat land where the Crotone's camp was in a mess. Collapsed tents, scattered weapons, running horses and pack animals were in a mess. What was even more frightening were the densely packed corpses, the heavily injured soldiers who were struggling in pain, and the bright red soil that was soaked in blood. There were many fully armed soldiers in the center of the camp, surrounding even more disheveled people, and from the encirclement, they were escorting out rows of captives with their hands tied behind their backs …
Great fear gripped the heart of the patrol leader. The Crotone were defeated?!!!
While these terrifying and unfamiliar enemies had yet to discover them, the patrol leader hurriedly turned his horse around and galloped towards Castellón City …
"Commander, Castellón's cavalry has returned to the city," Ledes rushed over to report.
"Asistes, inform the Seventh Brigade and the Lucania Brigade to set up an ambush in the forest. It's very likely that Castellón City … No, it should be Melansius, will give us a big gift! Ledes, continue to closely monitor Castellón City's movements! "The Devers ordered.
"Yes!" Ledes received the order and left. The Asistes ordered the orderly to rush to the north.
After a while, the Devers asked the Asistes again, "Inform Melansius' cavalry, how long has it been since they left?"
"About half an hour … Commander, there are too many things in the supply area! Due to the attack, some of the pack beasts were injured and some ran away, so we don't have enough animals to carry the supplies, "Asistes said with some concern.
Devers smiled faintly and pointed at the captives who were squatting on the ground under the threat of weapons. "Those are not ready-made 'beasts of burden'. Let them carry the supplies back to Turií. It doesn't matter if they walk slowly, it will exhaust their strength anyway. These Crotone players, who have been through years of competitive training, can still be of some use. "
"Aiya, why didn't I think of that! Commander, you always come up with good ideas! "Asistes praised loudly with exaggerated movements.
"Yasi, it would be great if your ability to do things could become as good as your ability to say nice things!" After the victory, the Devers were also in a good mood. He joked with the Asistes for a while, then said, "Let's go and see the soldiers. They are the true heroes of this victory!"
Thus, in the horrified and sorrowful vision of the captives, in the distance, a shining golden flag was slowly moving closer. Under the flag, a general wearing a distinctive purple, white, and red crown helmet appeared on the battlefield. The cruel, merciless, and ferocious-looking enemies immediately let out thunderous cheers.
"Devers!"
"Devers!"
"Victory!"
"Victory!"
The smarter ones among the Crotone captives immediately thought that this general was probably the Archon Devers of Amendolara that they had insulted before. These enemies were the owners of the buildings under Amendolara that they had burned. At that time, they had laughed at the cowardice of the Amendolara citizens. Now, they were trembling under the spears of these 'cowardly' enemies …
… …
The chief general of Castellón, Amicles, was shocked when he received an urgent report from the city defense captain. He immediately sent someone to inform Melantius and his subordinates.
Melantius was sleeping soundly in the hotel with a high-class prostitute in his arms. He was extremely displeased when he was forcibly woken up. When he heard the anxious report from his subordinate, he was immediately startled awake. He said with hope in his heart, "Maybe the enemy broke into our camp and was captured by the soldiers …"
Timaras shook his head worriedly, "The people of Castellón said, 'The flag of those heavily armed soldiers looks blurry from afar, but its shape is strange. It is definitely not the flag of the Crotone!' Melantius, we must go and rescue them!"
"… Ah … Ah, you're right, you're right …" Melantius never thought that when he was returning triumphantly, he would encounter a sudden blow. He could not suppress his panic, "Quick! Come with me to find Amicles and ask him to send all the citizens of Castellón to rescue them immediately! "
Of course, Amicles could not promise Melantius everything. He had to ensure the safety of Castellón first, but he did not dare to reject Melantius' request and offend the Crotone. Moreover, there were also soldiers of Castellón trapped in the camp. Therefore, he hurriedly gathered seven hundred public militiamen, led by Melantius and his subordinates, and went to rescue them.
Melantius marched quickly towards the camp. Timaras advised him to be more cautious, but Melantius said, "According to the intelligence of the people of Castellón, the enemy has fewer people than us. The reason why they won is probably because of a sneak attack. Now they are still in place and want to turn our soldiers into prisoners. Our sudden attack will definitely surprise them, and at the same time, it will also arouse the resistance of the surrendered soldiers. We will attack them from both inside and outside, and the enemy will be defeated by us! I want these thugs who dare to violate the Crotone to pay a heavy price! " Melantius was like a red-eyed gambler, looking forward to the last big bet to win back all the money he had lost before.
When his troops marched through the forest, they were attacked by the Amendolan light infantry who had been lying in ambush. The light infantry led by Epithenis rained arrows, flying stones, and throwing javelins at them, causing a large number of casualties. While the morale of the Castellón soldiers was low and in a panic, the Lucarians, armed with Greek sabers, rushed into the enemy's formation like tigers pouncing on sheep …
… …
"Commander, the reinforcements of the Crotone have been defeated! Other than a few who escaped back to Castellón, the others were either killed or captured! "Ledes reported excitedly.
Devers nodded, but he was not very happy. This was a well-prepared ambush, and victory was easy.
Seeing his calm expression, Ledes said, "Those Lucanians also captured two of the generals of the Crotone, Melantius and Timaras!"
"Oh!" The Devers smiled, not because they had captured the enemy's commander. "The Lucanians have made a great contribution again. They can reduce their sentence by another half a year."
… …
When the Lucarians cut the column of Castellón's people into several pieces, Melantius' years of experience in the army told him that failure was inevitable.
He immediately turned to run, but the Lucanians seemed to have locked onto him. After paying the price of a few casualties, they pinned him down and dragged him to the Devers.
"Melansius, we finally meet." A young voice with a gentle tone rang beside his ear.
Melantius struggled to raise his head. His handsome face was scratched by the sand and stones that were dragged along the way, and blood blurred his vision. He blinked hard: an unfamiliar young face appeared in front of him.
"Who are you?"
"The Consul Devers of Amendolara."
"Amendolara? Devers? " Melantius, who had been hit in the head, was a little slow to react. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Amendolara?! Amendolara!! You are too despicable. Without declaring war, you sneak attacked us! You have violated the tradition of the Greek city-states and tarnished the honor of the Greeks. The Greek city-states will punish Amendolara! "
"Champion of the Olympia, you are too egotistical!" Daves sneered. "When your army stepped into Amendolara's territory without permission and burned our buildings, the war had already started. As for sneak attacks, I vaguely remember an athlete's maxim, 'The winner proves his strength with action, the loser can only cover up his weakness with excuses.' Am I right? "
Melantius lowered his head and pleaded in a low voice. "I hope you can treat me and the soldiers well. The Crotone will pay Amendolara a sufficient ransom."
"It is not up to me to decide how to treat you well."
"Then … who is it up to?"
"The survivors of Turií!"
… …
When Melantius arrived at the Crotone camp and saw the mountains of supplies, he immediately smiled. But he soon became distressed because these carts could not cross the river.
Devers said confidently, "That's easy. We will cross the river from the ferry."
So, the soldiers of Amendolara and the people who rushed over packed up all the valuable things in the Crotone camp (including the weapons, armor, and linen shirts of the dead enemies), formed a long line, and marched east. Through the forest, they could see the city of Castellón on the north bank of the Trionto River.
Devers could even hear the panicked cries of the enemies on the city wall. He jokingly said to Melantius, "Didn't you say that there were not enough pack animals? We can borrow them from Castellón. "
Melantius really did ask someone to borrow the pack animals.
The chief general of Castellón, Amicles, and the others saw from the top of the city wall that the heavily armed Greek infantry marched proudly on the south bank. Under the escort of their shields and spears were dispirited, blood-stained captives carrying heavy loads. There were also excited civilians in civilian clothes and a pack full of supplies … This long line of troops went around the city and went straight to the ferry. Every Castellón citizen looked nervous and confused, but there was no anger or greed. That was because Castellón had lost more than half of its soldiers. Now that the city was not defended, no one dared to provoke this terrifying army.
"Where … Where did they come from?" a member of the council asked nervously.
Amicles looked at the direction of the troops and said uncertainly, "They are going north. It is very likely that … they are Amendolara."
"Could it be the mercenaries who defeated the Lucanians?!" General Gorkis' eyes widened.
"Very likely!" Amicles was even more certain of his guess after hearing Gorkis' words. "Perhaps only they would dare to defeat the powerful Crotone!"
"They … they have sent people!" someone shouted with a trembling voice.
The people on the city wall, from the soldiers to the general, became nervous.
"We are the citizens of Amendolara. The Consul Devers has asked us to borrow a hundred pack animals from you. We will send them back to you after we are done with the transport!"
The voice of the person could be heard clearly on the city wall. Everyone looked at each other.
The Devers! The rumored hero who saved the Turís! The Consul of Amendolara! Amicles smiled bitterly. This was the second time he had saved the Turís, but the people of Castellón had also suffered.
On the city wall of Castellón, the general and the council members agreed after a short discussion. It was not because of Dyvers' good reputation of keeping his promises, but rather, according to Amicles' words, "If Amendolas annihilates and captures Crotone's large army, the situation in northern Magna Graecia will definitely change. We need to be careful. Moreover, many of Castron's citizens may become Amendolas's captives. We need to leave a good impression on Amendolas so that we can negotiate with them in the future.
… …
In the morning, the few Turís who had woken up saw the people of Amendolara who had rescued them gathering and crossing the pontoon bridge towards the south. They were shocked and uneasy. Are the Amendolarans going to abandon us?
By noon, the Turís, some freedmen, and slaves who had woken up looked at the empty camp. Helplessness and despair in their hearts reached the extreme. They knelt on the ground and wailed. As for Cornelus, Strompoli, and a few others who told them that Amendola was fighting against Crotone's army and had already won, they couldn't believe it at all, with some of them even cursing out loud in anger.
At this moment, someone shouted in horror, "Look! Quick, look! The army is coming! "
The Tuliyi people hurriedly looked back, only to see a mighty and majestic army, led by a strange military flag they had never seen before, striding vigorously across the pontoon bridge, marching in their direction.
"That's our army! It's the army of Amendolara! They've returned victorious! " Cornelus, the governor of Amendolara, did not agree to fight with the Crotone in the previous Senate meeting. Although the decision was passed, he had been hiding his uneasiness. At this moment, he was cheering like a child.
Cunogorata stared blankly at the approaching Amendolara army. There was only one voice echoing in his mind, "The Amendolarans won! They actually won! They defeated the powerful Crotone army! "
The Turís were skeptical.
Soon, as the vanguard of the army reached the north bank of the Crati, and drew near them, they saw under that strange banner, at the head of the procession, Devers, the young and gentle Consul of Amendolara! At this moment, he was fully armed, but not wearing a helmet. He was waving at them with a smile on his face. The scorching sun shone on his shiny armor, emitting the most dazzling light. He looked like a god from the heavens.
At this moment, some sharp-eyed people noticed that there was a person walking behind the Devers' horse. His hands were tied behind his back, and he was naked. He was being dragged forward by the horse. If he slowed down, the guards' spears would leave a wound on his body. Why did this person look so much like Melantius, the demon who ordered the burning of Turís? Could it be that Crotone's army was really defeated by Amendola?
There was no doubt about it. Behind the vanguard, they saw Amendolan soldiers holding spears, escorting young men who were also naked and carrying heavy loads on their backs. The procession stretched to the south, and they could not see the end of it at first glance …
The Turís looked at the unbelievable scene in front of them. Tears flowed from their eyes. They cried, laughed, screamed, and threw things at the Crotone soldiers. Some even went up to fight them like madmen.
… …
The Devers stood on a makeshift wooden platform. His eyes were fixed on the Turís who quickly gathered with the elderly and the young. He spoke with a solemn but emotional voice, "People of Turís, the Crotone have invaded your homeland in the past few days. You have lost your loved ones, lost your homes, and cried helplessly on the ruins! But the gods did not abandon you. They allowed your neighbors, the brave Amendaras, to not fear their enemies and defeat the demons who destroyed Tuliyi! They allowed the kind Amendolara to help you, who lacked food and clothing! The night will pass, and the light is right in front of us! Without homes, we can build more comfortable houses! Without cities, we can build stronger ones! Without the temple, we can build an even more magnificent one! "Turi people, wipe away your tears, straighten your chests, and join hands with the people of Amendarra. Together, we will build a better home that will not be invaded by foreign enemies!"
Again the tears of the Turi people burst into tears, and they rejoiced and worshipped Davus, the hero who had twice saved Turi, as if he were a god.
The Devers ordered the captured high-ranking Crotone officers, led by Melantius and Timaras, to be brought to the wooden platform and handed over to the Turís to decide whether they should live or die.
The Turís' cheers reached a climax. They swarmed the Crotone officers, using rocks, wooden sticks, fists, and teeth to vent their anger. Soon, the Crotone officers were badly mutilated, but the Turís did not stop, even when their enemies were lying on the ground, dying.
Ancitanos, who was watching the bloody scene, sighed, "I'm afraid Turís will be different from now on …"
Kunogorata pointed at Dyvers, who was standing at the side of the wooden platform and watching the execution of the Tuliyi people, and said with a serious expression, "It's not that I'm afraid, but Tuliyi will definitely be different!"
Ancitanos was silent.
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