Chapter 223
After a while, a young man holding a child handed the child to a woman beside him and stood up.
The woman pulled him back and whispered with concern, "Be careful!"
The young man felt guilty and avoided the woman's gaze. He whispered back, "You too!" With that, he strode out of the crowd.
Under his lead, many people also said goodbye to the people beside them and walked out.
Fagris patted the young man's shoulder and asked in a comforting tone, "Young man, what's your name?"
"Printos."
Fagris glanced at the woman holding the child and comforted him. "Don't worry. When the enemy is defeated, you'll be able to reunite with your wife soon."
He thought that the two were husband and wife. The young man nodded with a solemn expression.
… …
The 5,000 soldiers of Legio III led by Hieronymus were charging towards Asprustum. It wasn't because they had to carry the siege equipment made last night, so their speed was much slower than Laos's troops attacking the north bank of the Netto River. Instead, they deliberately set up such a time difference so that the plan could proceed smoothly.
At this time, Hieronymus followed the troops and spoke to Y 'zam. "Are you sure your soldiers have entered Asprustum?"
"Of course! I saw them go in with my own eyes. If it weren't for the fact that I look different from the Greeks, I would have gone in with my brothers! Commander, I hope you can attack the city as soon as possible. I'm afraid they'll be discovered if it takes too long! "Y 'zam pleaded.
"I understand," Hieronymus promised immediately. At the same time, he asked, "How many people have gone in?"
"Fifty-six soldiers," Y 'zam blurted out. He knew his team like the back of his hand. The alliance was expanding, the legion was expanding, and his mountain reconnaissance team was also expanding. Now, it had the establishment of a company.
Hieronymus was a little surprised. He didn't expect so many soldiers to sneak into the city. This made him more confident in taking down Asprustum. He told the bugler to urge the troops to speed up.
In fact, even without Hieronymus's urging, the soldiers' marching speed was constantly increasing. These 5,000 soldiers were all from Neutum. They had missed the previous battle and were eager to fight and make contributions.
The upper reaches of the Netto were neither deep nor wide, but the banks were high. Hieronymus was the first to reach the north bank. Seeing that there were many enemies on the other side of the river, he immediately ordered, "Seventh Brigade, attack!"
The Light Infantry of Legio III quickly formed into a long, single-file line, scrambled down the bank, and crossed the river with great strides, fearlessly braving the arrows that shot at them. After paying a small price, they climbed to the other side of the river. The enemy had already run far away.
The heavy infantry who followed behind carried ladders and wooden rafts made of wood and easily crossed the Netto River.
The city of Asprustom was not far ahead. It was located on high ground, so it was actually climbing the slope all the way. It was easy for the Lucanian soldiers who lived in the mountains. Finally, they stopped in front of the city of Asprustom and began to line up under the orders of the team officers.
The soldiers of Asprustom looked nervously at the black mass of enemies below the city walls. Behind them were the newly joined civilians, who were even more nervous.
General Fagris saw an old man trembling and the round shield in his hand falling to the ground several times. He hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him. "Don't be afraid, the enemy can't attack! Ever since this city belonged to the Crotone, it has never been breached by the enemy! Decades ago, we suffered a defeat in the south (referring to the war between Rockley and Lijim against the Crotone). The Bruti wanted to take the opportunity to retake the city. There were more people than the Diónia under the city now, and they were defeated! "
His words made the soldiers feel slightly more at ease.
When Fagris walked along the walkway of the battlements and surveyed the entire defense situation from west to east, he saw that there were enough soldiers at each of the battlements, and his own confidence was boosted.
Although Asprustom was a small city like Castellón and Crimissa, due to its important geographical location, the Crotone had expanded and reinforced it many times. Therefore, it had a seven-meter-high wall, a four-meter-wide wall trench, and water from a tributary of the Netto River to form a wider moat. Moreover, it faced steep mountains to the west, and another large tributary of the Netto River to the east, which was also steep, wide, and deep. Therefore, it only had two gates, north and south, which were easy to defend.
Y 'zam carefully observed the enemy on the wall. Suddenly, his face lit up. He ran to Hieronymus and shouted excitedly in a low voice, "Commander, my brothers are on the wall! They are on the wall! "
Hieronymus, who had always been serious, could not help but be moved at this moment. He asked eagerly, "Where?!"
Although Y 'zam was excited, he still remained cautious. He did not point, but said in a low voice, "On the leftmost side of the wall!"
Hieronymus immediately looked at the leftmost side of the wall. It was noon, and the sun was hanging in the middle of the sky, shining on the heavily armed soldiers on the wall. There was a dazzling light everywhere, but there was one place where the light was particularly bright. The dazzling round shields were neatly lined up, and the light reflected from them flickered in a very regular pattern. It was obvious that these people were flipping the round shields in their hands at the same time. Who would do such a boring and exhausting thing before a big battle? Hieronymus smiled. "Y 'zam, if we take down Asprustom, your team will be the first!"
"Thank you, Commander!" Y 'zam was overjoyed.
With the Mountain Ridge scouts as spies, Hieronymus quickly decided on a plan to attack the rightmost side of the wall to attract the attention of the defenders, and attack the leftmost side secretly.
When the horn sounded, the soldiers were like starving wolves in the mountains. They let out deafening howls and rushed towards Asprustom like a tidal wave. Bagoule, Asistes, Lizzam, Kelsima, Uraza, and the other captains also took the lead and personally led the charge …
The Crotone soldiers began to shoot arrows at the enemies that entered their firing range. For the heavily armored Diónia heavy infantry, there were very few casualties. The Third Army of Tulucania, whose wild nature was stimulated by the horn, even broke the arrows that hit their arms and thighs, and continued to advance with injuries …
They quickly reached the side of the moat. According to the drill, the soldiers running at the front quickly put the five-meter-long, three-meter-wide raft on the moat. Then, the soldiers carrying ladders stepped on the raft, crossed the moat, and went straight to the bottom of the city wall. Following behind them were the soldiers holding round shields and sabers …
At this time, the attacks on the wall began to become fierce. Arrows, javelins, and stones rained down, and the casualties of the Diónia soldiers suddenly increased …
… …
Lucias did not expect the situation to become so bad as soon as he returned to Crotone.
The people who escaped into the city spread the news that the Diónia army was coming, and panic spread in the city …
Many people in the council were also very flustered. They thought that the Crotone army was defeated again, and the city of Crimissa was captured, which allowed the Diónia army to smoothly advance south. So, they threatened angrily, "If Myron dares to escape back, we must punish him!"
Lucias retorted, "I just came back from Crimissa. When I left, the city of Crimissa was still in the hands of Myron. It's impossible that the enemy captured the city of Crimissa just a few hours later, and they even attacked the north bank of the Neto River. Looking at the time, this is impossible, so the Diónia people must have bypassed Crimissa! I have to admit that the Diónia people are too bold. They don't have boats, so it's impossible for them to cross the wide Neto River. As long as Myron is still defending Crimissa, the Diónia people who invaded the Crotone Plains are like rootless duckweed, and they will eventually have to retreat. "
"The Diónia people can't cross the Neto River, but they can attack Asprusstom!" Someone said worriedly.
"Asprusstom is not that easy to capture. How many times have the Bruti people failed in the past! I hope that the Diónia people attack it, so that they can use it to deal a heavy blow to the Diónia people! "Someone retorted.
"What good will it do us if we continue fighting like this! Crotone has suffered huge losses. Farmland has been destroyed, houses have been burned, prices are rising, and the treasury is being depleted. Due to the lack of labor, trade has also been greatly affected, and a large number of our people have been captured! The people are already dissatisfied with us, so it's better to negotiate with the Diónia people! "Someone said pessimistically.
"Negotiate?! Didn't you hear what Lucias said about Diónia's conditions for the negotiation?! That damn Consul of Diónia wants us to disband the alliance, how can we agree to it! Once Asprusstom becomes independent, Corunna, Siletina, and Triene will no longer be our allies. Then, Rockley and the Bruti people might destroy them tomorrow, and they will come to Ciudad Crotone! "Someone rebuked.
"Negotiating is like buying and selling things. If Diónia puts forward conditions, we can continue to negotiate with them and lower their demands …"
"We can negotiate, but it must be after we defeat the Diónia people's attack! Only then can we stand up straight and speak loudly to the Diónia people! "
…
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