Chapter 287
Ever since the Asistes became involved in local government affairs, the Devers had never had a suitable herald. With the expansion of the war and the increase in the number of people participating in the war, the situation became more and more complicated. The Devers gradually found it difficult to deal with the situation and urgently needed the assistance of others. Tormid was undoubtedly a suitable candidate. The Devers appointed him as a substitute herald and planned to let him slowly develop a staff team under the commander to assist him in handling military affairs.
… …
The Tarantum scout did not immediately return to the Anlern Hills. Instead, he ran to the Tarantum troops and reported the situation to Diomiras in an even more exaggerated manner.
Before Diomiras could respond, the soldiers around him began to clamor, "Sir, the Mesapi slaughtered our loved ones and burned our fields. We can't ignore it! Those foreigners pretended not to see it because it's not their city that suffered losses! "
"That's right! We can't listen to the orders of the foreigners! We have to fight the Mesapi and avenge our loved ones! "
"Go to the Anlern Hills, catch up with the Mesapi and kill them!"
…
The roar of the soldiers gradually made more Tarantum soldiers understand the situation. This kind of collective fanaticism infected every Tarantum soldier, which in turn increased the commotion of the troops and the danger of losing control.
Diomiras was also influenced by it, but he thought more. After he was elected as the Consul, he promoted the war against the Mesapi, but now the war had caused Tarantum to suffer heavy losses. Because of the critical situation, the Tarantum people did not have time to settle the blame. Now, in the face of the boiling public opinion, if he continued to ignore it, even if he recaptured Brindisi, the angry people would expel him from the city and make him bear a lifetime of humiliation!
Diomiras forced himself to forget the trace of fear left in his heart when the Devers were angry. In the face of the army with boiling morale, he made up his mind, "Order the entire army to turn left and rush to the Anlern Hills!"
The soldiers burst into cheers and immediately began to move.
The Tarantum people broke away from the troops, and the first to notice the abnormality was the Metapontum people in front of them. Tudepres was shocked and immediately sent someone to inform the Devers in front of them.
"Bastard! Damn bastard! "After hearing the news, Devers lost control of his emotions and cursed loudly. What he was most worried about had happened.
However, his emotions were more stable. He turned his head and said to the other Tarantum Consul who had been silent, "Lord Umarcas, the situation is urgent. I need you to immediately dissuade Diomiras and ask him to immediately return with his troops!"
Umarcas shook his head. "I know Diomiras. He is as stubborn as a rock. Since he has decided to disobey your orders, it is impossible to persuade him!"
Devers stared at him and said angrily, "You mean you're not going?!"
Umarcas's eyes flickered. "I'm saying that I can't persuade him. It's useless even if I go."
"Tormid!" the Devers roared angrily, scaring the uneasy Umakas.
"Yes, Lord Commander!" Tormid replied firmly.
"You go and find that bastard yourself. Tell him, 'If he doesn't come back, I will immediately return with my troops and bring Diónia back.' Go and return quickly!" Devers ordered angrily.
"Understood!" Tormid nodded cautiously and mounted his horse.
"Lord … Lord Devers, are you really going to —" Umarcas asked cautiously. Devers shouted impatiently, "Shut up!"
Devers's anger could not be appeased. Ever since he had commanded the troops, this was the first time that his generals had disobeyed his orders! The two Tarantum Consul sang the same tune. They were completely in cahoots with each other. In the future. He could no longer participate in a coalition army like this. Ever since it was established, he had not been able to do as he wished. Most of his energy was spent on how to balance the relationship with the Tarantum Army. Now, he was burdened by them and faced the danger of failure. Did he really have to return immediately?
… …
"Lord, if the people of Diónia really leave, our military strength will not be able to fight against the Mayprup coalition army!" the adjutant of the Tarantum Army said worriedly as he watched the messenger of Diónia leave.
"Don't worry. The people of Diónia will follow! Didn't Diónia always claim to 'keep their promises'?! Now, they want to become the leader of the southern Hellenic city-states. If they abandon their allies and flee the battlefield before the war starts, if other city-states find out about this cowardly behavior, who would still be willing to trust Diónia?! "Diomiras appeared confident, but he was still uneasy.
Therefore, he ordered again, "Let the soldiers advance a little slower."
… …
When Tormid told Devers about Diomiras' refusal, he had already regained his calm.
"Got it," Devers replied faintly.
"Lord Devers, what should we do now?" Tudepres asked hurriedly.
Devers looked around at everyone and took in Umarcas' concern, Tudepres' uneasiness, and Trifias's casualness. Then, he said resolutely, "Turn back and reinforce that idiot!"
Umarcas showed a look of gratitude, and Tudepres also relaxed. Only Trifias asked anxiously, "What if there is really an ambush in the Anlerne Hills?"
"All the more reason to go, not to save Diomiras, but to save the thousands of citizens of Tarantum!" Since they had already decided to reinforce, Devers, of course, had to make his words sound better. In fact, the reason why he wanted to reinforce was not only because of the reason Diomiras mentioned, but also because Heraclea had moved closer to Diónia, and Metapontum was also wavering. However, if the people of Tarantum suffered a crushing defeat in this battle, they would no longer be able to stop the Mesapi and Puchetti people. These fierce natives could go north along the coast at any time, invade Metapontum, and threaten Heraclea. At that time, Diónia would have to send reinforcements again. It was better to take advantage of the fact that they were already on the battlefield to reinforce the army of Tarantum, repel the Mesapi coalition, and maintain the balance of power in this land. As the founder of Diónia, for the sake of the alliance's strength, it was nothing for him to temporarily suppress his disgust for the Tarantum Consul.
… …
The Anlerne Hills were actually the junction of two mountain ridges, so it was filled with hills of various sizes. Most of these hills were dozens of meters tall, and their tops were perfectly round. Looking down from above, they looked like giant green mushrooms, presenting a unique natural beauty.
But for those who wanted to pass through here, it was a disaster. Although the hills were not high, they were large and had a high slope, making it difficult to climb. Moreover, the hills were continuous, so if one wanted to save effort, they could only pass through the flat areas between the hills. This made the originally straight route not too far away become winding. Moreover, few people passed through here for decades, and the green grass grew everywhere, long submerging the path that had once been opened.
Fortunately, there were scouts who had followed the Mesapi coalition before, leading the way, and there was a smoke pillar in the distance to mark the location, so the Tarantum Army saved a lot of trouble finding the way. Along the way, the soldiers complained about the difficult mountain road, but everything went smoothly. They did not even see the shadow of the Mesapi and Puchetti people.
And when he received news from the scouts that the Dionysian Army had also entered the Anlern Hills, Diomiras laughed. "Naive young man, you're still far from being able to fight me!"
He spat out a breath of resentment and looked into the distance. The thick smoke was not too far away, and it was estimated that they would reach it after going around a few more hills.
The corpses of the Tarantum people could be seen on the grass, each of them dying a miserable death, which provoked the anger of the soldiers. They seemed to hear the helpless cries of their loved ones not far away, and their originally tired bodies seemed to be filled with strength again. They could not help but speed up, and the entire column that was stretched due to the narrow mountain road became even more scattered and weak.
"Woo! Woo! " The bugle of the Mesapi suddenly sounded between the hills, hitting the hearts of every Tarantum soldier like a heavy hammer. Diomiras, who was proud of fooling the Devers, instantly turned pale …
… …
"Catch up with them! Don't let them escape! "Sorikos shouted anxiously at his men.
Although the Dionysian cavalry chased at full speed regardless of the danger, and from time to time, their teammates fell off their horses because of the rugged mountain road, but the distance between them and the fleeing Mesapi cavalry was getting farther and farther.
The few Mesapi people controlled the horses they were sitting on flexibly, as if the horses were part of their bodies. They ran at full speed between the narrow mountain road, and there was no hindrance at all. Sorikos and the others could only helplessly watch the Mesapi cavalry go away.
At this time, Sorikos heard a shout of "Captain" behind him. He looked back and saw Ledes riding over.
So, he grabbed the reins with one hand and saluted Ledes with the other. The Diónia cavalry was an independent unit, with a total of less than a thousand people, and did not belong to any legion. Although Ledes was only a captain, his status was equal to that of the commander of the infantry legion.
Ledes looked at the back of the Mesapi cavalry, and his expression was solemn. He turned back to Sorikos and said, "There may be a lot of Mesapi and Puchetti cavalry coming. We must do our best to stop them and try to prevent them from detecting the direction of the army in a short period of time!"
"Yes!" Sorikos responded immediately, but he felt the weight of this task in his heart. He heard that the Mesapi cavalry had thousands of people, and their horsemanship was superb. It was not something that the two hundred or so Diónia cavalry could stop. Fortunately, there were hills everywhere, which was not conducive for the deployment of troops and the cavalry to circle around. The enemy's advantage in numbers could not be exploited.
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