Chapter 168
Arsinis saw Felicius outside the courtyard and greeted him respectfully, "Master Felicius!"
"We're at home. You can call me uncle!" Felicius said kindly.
"Uncle Felicius!" Arsinis greeted him obediently.
"Father," Melisande whispered. Compared to before, he could already call him father, but he was still not used to it.
Felicius did not care about this. He comforted Melisande, "Child, I saw your battle with Arsinis just now. Your strength and speed are not inferior to your good friend's, but you still lack experience, especially on the battlefield. You'll understand after a few battles."
"But I can only go to the battlefield when I'm 18! Father, why don't you talk to Master Devers — "Melisande said eagerly.
"Haven't you tried several times already? Master Devers values military law very much. He won't take the lead and set a precedent for you, "Felicius said solemnly.
Melisande punched the pillar in frustration.
Felicius ignored him and turned to Arsinis, "We're going to battle tomorrow. Are you ready?"
"Uncle, I can't wait to defeat the Lucanians and occupy their town under the command of Master Devers!" Arsinis said excitedly.
Felicius looked at him with a faint smile and said, "Tomorrow, Master Devers will not lead the army to battle. He has to stay in Turií and deal with the Alliance's affairs. At the same time, he will be on guard against the Crotone!"
"Then who will lead us to attack Neutum tomorrow?" Arsinis asked anxiously.
Felicius smiled.
"Uncle, it's you?!" Arsinis exclaimed.
"Is it true?! Father, you're the commander of the army?! "Melisande looked surprised. He shouted" father "so loudly.
At that moment, Felicius was filled with pride. The nervousness in his heart was swept away. He would win the battle and make his children proud of him!
… …
On the third day, when most of the Alliance's people were still asleep, the second, third, and seventh brigades, about 4,000 people in total, were ready to go outside the northern city of Turií.
As the founder of this army, the Devers did not personally command the battle for the first time. It was also the first time the soldiers would fight without the Devers' command. Both sides were more or less uneasy. Therefore, the Devers rode to inspect all the soldiers. every time he passed a division, he glanced at the soldiers with trust and told them, "Brothers, I await the news of your victory! When you return, the Arch of Triumph in Turií should have been built. I will hold a triumphal ceremony for you and make the people of the Alliance proud! "
Because there was a rule in advance, the soldiers could not cheer loudly, but their morale was high and their fighting spirit had been ignited.
The officers of the first brigade also came to see them off. Their way of seeing them off was different from the Devers. They made all kinds of jokes to the officers of Drax, Sesta, Hieronymus, Eptenis, and the others. The gist of it was, "If it wasn't for our brigade shouldering the heavy responsibility of defending the Alliance, you wouldn't have had the chance to capture Neutum! I heard that there will be a triumphal ceremony for you! Damn it, you're really lucky. If you don't fight this battle well, you'll be letting down the commander and the courtesy of the first brigade! You might as well not come back! " There was a strong sense of jealousy in their words, but it also aroused the competitive spirit of Drax, Hieronymus, Eptenis, and the other officers.
Finally, the Devers came to the front of the Lucaria brigade. He did not say much. First, he solemnly saluted, then said loudly, "Congratulations, brothers of Lucania! You are about to become citizens of the Tua Alliance. From today onwards, we are a family! "
The Lucaria warriors had been playing football with the Alliance soldiers for the past few months. Later on, on the training day, Dyvers even allowed them to stop repairing the road and participate in the military training, so they could perform the Alliance military salute in unison.
Seeing this scene, the Devers was very happy. He took a new flag from the guard captain, Martius, and then raised it high to show it to the Lucaria warriors. It was a beautiful flag. It was also a bronze statue of Grim Reaper and a bright red flag, but the words embroidered on it were different. The red star below represented that the team had participated in the battle against the Crotone and won.
Most of the Lucaria soldiers had begun to learn to speak Greek, but they could not read Greek yet. However, this flag that belonged to them was no different from other flags, and it made them happy. And Bagoule saw the words on the flag: Fourth Brigade of the First Legion!
They were really a family! Bagoule took the flag excitedly and said, "Rest assured, Legion Commander. The Fourth Brigade will complete the mission successfully and guide the Lucanians to join our alliance!"
"Good!" The Devers turned his anticipation into a fist and hammered Bagoule's chest …
After leaving the team, the Devers went to the commander of this military operation, Felicius. "Everything is in your hands!"
Felicius suppressed the nervousness in his heart and responded with a strong military salute, "Rest assured, Legion Commander!"
"Let's go!" The Devers nodded.
Under the guidance of the Hades Legion's flag, the team quietly moved west …
The Devers stared at the team that was moving forward like a long dragon and stood there for a long time …
Some of the citizens and slaves who had woken up early to farm in the western part of Turií were so surprised that they forgot to work when they saw the Alliance army advancing on the road beside the fields.
Of course, the Tua Alliance's military operation did not escape the eyes of those who were observant.
Since Crotone had suffered a great loss due to Amendolara's sneak attack, they sent a few landless citizens to infiltrate the port of Turií to gather intelligence in order to keep track of the Tua Alliance's movements. Tratus was one of them.
Two days ago, the elders of the Tua Alliance frequently went to Amendolara for meetings, which caught his attention. His intuition told him that something big was happening in the Tua Alliance, so he paid close attention to the city of Turií. Coincidentally, he discovered that the Turií army was moving out today. He crouched in the bushes and confirmed the approximate number of troops before pretending to be leisurely and slowly walking toward the port.
What he did not know was that someone was watching him not far behind. Of course, he did not know that his decision to sow discord between the Turií, Amendolara, and former mercenaries in the Tua Alliance had alerted the Devers and exposed himself.
"Big Brother, this man is gathering important information about our alliance. We should go and capture him immediately, lest he divulge the fact that we are sending troops to war!"
"No, Brother, the Asistes told us to 'not alarm them' first. We should go and tell the Asistes first. "
When the two of them rushed back to the city and arrived at the Asistes' residence, they were told by the slave who opened the door that the Asistes was not there. He was once again the adjutant of the Fourth Brigade and was already on the expedition.
The two of them were stunned. The person in charge of them was not here. What should they do?
At that moment, the slave of the Asistes asked, "Is there someone among you called Aristiras?"
"That's me," one of them replied.
The slave looked at him curiously and said, "The Goddess of Fortune has favored you! Master wants you to see the Devers directly if you need anything! "
The two of them were very excited. Without hesitation, they went to the Devers' residence and were easily received by the Devers.
After listening to the two's report, the Devers were not surprised. Instead, they looked at them with interest. The short one looked a little nervous and a little anxious, while the tall and skinny one was much calmer. The Devers were looking at him, and he was also looking at the Devers.
"Do you know why I didn't capture this spy from the Crotone?" the Devers suddenly asked.
The short one did not know what to say, but the tall and skinny one said calmly, "I believe that the Lord must have his own plan. This spy may be of some use, and the Lord is not afraid that the Crotone will know that we are sending troops!"
The Devers' eyes lit up. He looked at him and said, "Your name is Aristiras?"
"Yes, Lord." The tall and skinny one nodded.
The Devers turned to the other person. "Your name is Antraporis?"
"Yes! Yes! Antraporis is me! "The short one replied excitedly.
"Thank you very much for your efforts for the city! The Asistes once introduced you to me in detail. He said, 'You are brothers from Catanai of Sicily. You have now applied to become a probationary citizen of the Tua Alliance …'. The Asistes also specifically mentioned you, Aristiras. He said that you used your wisdom to quickly find this spy from the Crotone. You did a good job! "the Devers praised.
Hearing the praises from the lifetime consul of the Tua Alliance, military genius, and 'God-favored' Devers, even the calm Aristiras showed a hint of pride.
"You are well-educated?" the Devers asked again.
"Yes. Our family in Catanai was relatively wealthy. When we were young, our parents hired private tutors for us … "Aristiras' calm words were mixed with some pain.
"Not only did the evil Dionysius attack Catanai, but he also enslaved most of the people who did not escape. A small portion was forcibly moved to Syracuse City, allowing the bandits in Syracuse to occupy our land!" Antraporis said angrily.
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