Chapter 451
Akhilita and Garba were excited. This was exactly what they were best at and wanted to do the most.
Phoebidas was silent. He did not fully agree with Dionysius's plan, but he suddenly realized that Sparta should learn from Syracuse on how to attack a city.
At this time, Dionysius said gloomily, "Before we attack Crotone, let's see how Asprusstom will deal with what's coming next …"
… …
In the city of Asprusstom, Felicius was comforting more than 500 Legion soldiers who had been exchanged by Diónia in exchange for more than 500 Locrian captives. He had a great regret in his heart because he did not manage to exchange for the Fifth Legion's commander, Diónia's Senate Senator, Dracos. Even Dionysius did not release Brim, the commander of the Fifth Legion's First Brigade, an important leader of Abyssinia, who was also a Senator of the Senate. Instead, Dionysius insisted on exchanging the captives one-for-one.
Felicius noticed that the exchanged soldiers were all Bruti soldiers of the Fifth Legion. As the Fifth Legion was the last to retreat, the Fifth Legion was the most captive, but he did not think too much about it.
In fact, Dionysius had deliberately released these Bruti soldiers in front of the other Greek and Lucanian soldiers who had been captured by Diónia. He had even planned to quietly release some Legion of Dionysia soldiers who were found to be resentful after a few days of observation.
Felicius regrouped the more than 500 soldiers into the Fifth Legion. Although he felt regretful, he was also slightly relieved. This was because half of the soldiers who returned were Abyssinia. Abyssinia was the most staunch ally of the Bruti tribes in the Bruti region. Ever since the Bruti joined the Alliance, there had never been any disturbances, and they did not object to some of the bills that the Senate enacted against the tribes in the Bruti region. Moreover, Felicius had a good relationship with Bagylipi, so he felt better that more people from Abyssinia had returned.
At this moment, a messenger hurried over. "Commander, Epthenis requests for you to go to the top of the city wall immediately. The people of Syracuse outside the city are out of his control, so you have to make the decision."
Felicius was shocked when he heard this.
… …
Dracos woke up from a nightmare.
Ever since he led the First Brigade to intercept the enemy cavalry and was surrounded, he led a team to fight to the death. In the end, his lungs were pierced by the enemy cavalry's javelins, and he fell to the ground and was captured. Although he had been treated by a doctor of Syracuse, he had a high fever, and was sometimes unconscious and sometimes awake.
At this moment, he tried to open his dry and heavy eyelids, and heard a shrill scream. Then, someone beside him shouted in grief and indignation, "Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! Asinu above, please protect them … "
What was going on? Dracos struggled to open his eyes, and the blurred image in front of him gradually became clear. He found himself lying on the ground mixed with stones and mud, and a city stood a hundred meters in front of him. He was very familiar with the appearance of the city — Asprustom.
Why was he here? His head was dizzy, and he could not remember anything at all. He tried to stand up, but found that his hands and feet were tied behind him with ropes, and he could not exert any strength at all.
He struggled a few times with all his might, but it was useless. Instead, the pain from his wounds almost made him faint again.
Obviously, the person next to him saw his movement, and said in surprise, "Legion Commander Dracos! Legion Commander Dracos, are you awake?! "
"You … who are you? What … what's going on? " Dracos opened his dry lips and asked weakly.
"Reporting to Legion Commander, I'm Legio IV's Third Brigade, Fourth Brigade, First Squad Leader Eturu. The Syracuse people brought the dozens of Legio IV's captured soldiers, and you, to the front of Asprustom, and tied everyone's hands and feet. They even set up stakes beside each of them, and tied the ropes to them. They even sent people to the city, telling them, 'You and the Legio IV's captured soldiers are here.' Then, the Syracuse army retreated a hundred meters, but whenever our comrades in the city rushed out … rushed out to save us, these damn Syracuse people would … would use javelins and arrows to … to shoot at them … "At this point, Eturu was sobbing uncontrollably.
As he cried, the other soldiers who were tied up also felt sad.
What?! When Dracos heard this, he immediately panicked. He endured the pain, and used his shoulders to forcibly prop his body up. The overexertion caused his eyes to darken, and his head to spin. He panted heavily, trying his best to control his body that was on the verge of collapse … After a while, he finally knelt on the ground steadily.
When he opened his eyes again, in front of him were more than ten corpses with arrows and javelins stuck in their bodies. The closest one to him was less than a meter away from him. Looking at that ashen face, Dracos recognized him: Hacke, a soldier of the Fifth Legion. This Bruti young man came from a small tribe in Cosenza, and had a stubborn and mischievous personality. When he first entered the Fifth Legion, he repeatedly violated military rules, and was punished by the strict Dracos many times, but he always refused to accept it. Once, he even argued with Dracos on the training ground. In the end, Dracos made a bet with him on wrestling, and won cleanly. Hacke was convinced, and from then on, he trained seriously and performed outstandingly. In the end, Dracos promoted him to a platoon leader, but he did not expect to die here … and for him!
A surge of anger surged in his heart, and the crying of the soldiers next to him made him even more irritated. He shouted, "What are you crying for! What's there to be afraid of? We will meet again at the Temple of Heroes! "
… …
Felicius looked at the row of people who were tied up and kneeling on the ground with a solemn expression. He did not expect to see such a scene when he came to the city. "You … Are you sure those are Dracos and the captured soldiers?"
The usually lively and flamboyant Epicthenis frowned at this moment, and his voice was heavy. "Before I came up, the soldiers … had already confirmed it with their lives! I've forbidden the soldiers from leaving the city without permission, but not only are there Dracos, there are also soldiers from Legio IV. Look at my men, they all want to save their comrades, neighbours, and maybe even relatives … So they hope to send out the Fourth and Fifth Legions. That way, even if the enemy comes, they can hold them off and successfully rescue Dracos and the other soldiers. "
Felicius looked at the hundreds of corpses that stretched down the city toward the captives, and the phalanx of Syracuse that seemed to be resting a hundred meters behind the captives.
He turned back to look at the soldiers of Legio IV stationed at the top of the city. Their faces were filled with anger and anxiety.
Felicius's gaze finally fell on Epicthenis. "What do you think?"
"I think it's worth a try." Epicthenis hesitated for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "The people of Syracuse are doing this because they want us to rescue them. Therefore, when we leave the city, the people of Syracuse might not stop us immediately. We have time to get into formation and slowly approach Dracos and the others, blocking their attack while rescuing Dracos … Even though Syracuse has more soldiers than us, the terrain here is narrow. There's a cliff on the left and a mountain on the right. They won't be able to outflank us no matter how many soldiers they have. We … we should be able to safely return to the city. "
Felicius was silent for a long time, then slowly said, "Since you know that the people of Syracuse want us to leave the city to rescue them, you still insist on leading the troops out. Do you really think the people of Syracuse can let us return safely?!" Felicius showed a pained expression and said with hatred, "A few days ago, it was because everyone was hoping that they could beat the people of Syracuse, but I didn't persist … Look at the result! We failed! The allied forces were defeated, and we lost more than 3,000 soldiers, causing the situation in Greece to deteriorate to such a terrible state! Isn't this a lesson that we should take seriously? Dionysius isn't easy to deal with. Since he's already set up this scene, he must have a plan to deal with us leaving the city to rescue them. For the safety of Asprostum and the safety of the Alliance, we … we can't leave the city! "
It was rare for Felicius to shout at someone like this. He was venting his pent-up emotions during this period of time, so Epthenis was a little stunned. His expression turned gloomy. "Are we supposed to just watch Drakos and the soldiers be humiliated and not save them? Don't forget, back in Persia, Lord Devers once said that everyone in his team should be as close as a family, and that no one should be abandoned easily! "
Epicthenis' words lashed at Felicius' guilty heart. His hands, which were pressed against the battlements, gripped the cracks between the stones tightly, the rough gravel stinging his palms … Although his relationship with Dracos was ordinary, he was also a senator of the Senate, a commander of the army, and a comrade-in-arms for many years. How could he not want to rescue Dracos and the soldiers when they were humiliated by the enemy? However, as the highest military commander of the southern front of Diónia, he had a heavy responsibility. In such a critical situation, the safety of the Alliance should be his first consideration. He had already failed once, so he could not allow himself to make another mistake. If anything happened to Asprostum, Syracuse would be able to march straight in, and he would really become a sinner of the Alliance!
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