Chapter 468
The strict security measures implemented by Syracuse in the navy were effective, and the people didn't know much about it. Only a few people had heard drunken sailors talk about it in taverns. "I think it's called a crow. It's said that it was designed by the King of Devers, and can be used to defeat enemies …"
"So it's an invention of the King of Devers!" The people who heard the answer were suddenly enlightened. They had absolute trust in the Devers, and were even more confident in their victory. They didn't ask in detail how the device could be used to defeat the people of Syracuse. Of course, even if they did ask, they wouldn't be able to explain.
"How do we use this strange thing? Did Father really design it? "Adoris, who was sitting on the shoulder of a slave, asked Henepolis curiously.
Faced with this life and death battle, Dyvers' mansion could no longer maintain its usual peace. Not only did Cynthia, Adoris, and Lil 'Crowe clamored to send Dyvers off, the two madams were also very tempted to do so. However, Christonia had just given birth and was weak. She also had to take care of Eunice, who needed milk at any time. Aegnis's belly was getting bigger, and it was dangerous for her to move around in such a crowded place. Hence, they couldn't come. They could only ask Henepolis to bring four or five male and female slaves to take care of the three children.
Henepolis, who was carrying Crowe on his shoulder, looked slightly embarrassed. The Devers had never told him about the Diónia navy. He coughed dryly and said perfunctorily, "Yes, of course."
The clever Cynthia looked at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, but didn't expose him.
At this time, an even louder cheer broke out among the crowd. They saw a larger, longer, and majestic warship coming from the military port. Unlike the other warships, this warship had a statue of Pluto on top of the mast, which was particularly dazzling. At the same time, there was a person standing at the bow of the ship. Unlike the other soldiers, he was wearing a shiny silver armor. Only his helmet had a unique black tassel that hung down to his back. Facing the rising sun in the east, his entire body emitted a dazzling light, like a god.
The cheers of the crowd reached a peak. Yes, they recognized him because they had just pushed him onto the throne. Now, this king who was deeply loved by Hades was personally going to the battlefield to fulfill his promise. He was the one who held their faith and hope!
"Long live the Devers King!!!" The cheers grew louder and louder, mixed with the screams of a few children, "Dad, you can do it! Long live Father! "
Amidst the deafening sound waves, facing the sea of people on both sides of the river, Devers, of course, couldn't see his own child. He just smiled and kept waving his hand.
As the warship sailed into the sea, the sky and the sea suddenly opened up, making the Devers feel small. However, the sound of paddles and flutes from the surrounding warships, which were only a few dozen meters away, enveloped him, making him realize that he was in a huge fleet.
He turned his head to look at the coast not far away. The people were following the warship along the coast, supporting the old and the young …
The Devers deeply understood what they were persistently pursuing. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, overcoming the discomfort caused by suddenly changing to the sea after being used to fighting on land.
Following closely behind the Devers's warship was the flagship of the Navy Commander Secorian. Secorian moved much more freely on the ship than the Devers. He first walked from the stern to the bow, patrolled the entire ship again, and came to the middle mast. He raised his head and shouted, "Did you find anything?!"
The lookout on the mast immediately replied, "General, there's no news yet."
Secorian clenched his fist. Seeing that the Devers's warship was moving a little slowly due to the large number of people, he seemed to be less anxious. He composed himself and ordered, "Let the entire fleet advance at a lower speed!"
The normal speed of the three-tiered warships was about eight knots (15 kilometers per hour). Secorian took into account that this was the fleet's first time at sea, and their coordination was not good enough. Moreover, the three-tiered warships from different cities had different shapes and sizes. For example, Crotone's warship was lighter and longer, which was good for assault; Lijim's warship was wide and heavy, which was good for defense. As the main force of naval warfare, the difference in size of the three-tiered warships would inevitably cause a difference in speed. Hence, before they met the enemy, Secorian adopted a more cautious attitude to prevent the fleet from getting separated.
For this reason, he immediately said, "Raise the flag of Apollo!" Apollo was the god of the sun. Every day, the cloud chariot he drove shone with golden light. The flag of Apollo that Secorian spoke of was actually a thin linen cloth dyed golden. It was pulled up to the main mast by a rope and fluttered in the sea breeze. The meaning of the flag was: With the ship as the center, the fleet should shrink inwards. The distance between the ships at the front, back, left, and right should be about 20 meters.
This was also a cautious attitude in battle. It allowed the entire fleet to be within Secorian's control.
"Woo!" An extremely long bugle reverberated on the sea. The lookout on every warship could see the golden flag. Then, the entire fleet began to move inward from the outside. Every warship began to slow down and approach each other.
The reduction in speed of the warships allowed the people on the shore to barely keep up with the fleet. However, the fleet was moving away from the shore. Even though the fleet was shrinking, the Dionysian fleet, which consisted of 150 three-tiered warships and 200 other warships, still occupied an area of five to six nautical miles. It sailed majestically towards the south...
… …
Leptinus was a little tired of the daily harassment. Deep down in his heart, he was opposed to such a brutal act of slaughtering civilians. Originally, he only wanted to use this method to lure the Diónia fleet out for a decisive battle. However, the Dionysian fleet was like a turtle in its shell, hiding in the port and refusing to come out. This made Leptinus feel powerless but powerless.
On the other hand, his brother, Dionysius, increasingly valued this method of harassment. It was said that Dionysius had received some inside information from Crimissa and Asprustom. Due to the frequent attacks, Diónia's food supply to the southern frontline was affected. The soldiers in these two cities were beginning to run out of rations. Therefore, Dionysius ordered Leptinus to increase the number and intensity of the attacks along the coast from Crimissa to Turín, especially Castellón.
In Crotone, it had been raining and the land was muddy. Syracuse's army could not even set up camp, let alone attack the city. Since they could not attack by force for the time being, Dionysius began to think of other ideas. Yesterday, he sent messengers to Castellón in an attempt to get Castellón to side with Syracuse. He even considered letting Leptinus's fleet load up thousands of soldiers and throw them into the hinterland of Diónia to destroy the morale of the people and reduce the confidence of their allies in Diónia.
At the same time, Dionysius also sent messengers to Tarantum to discuss whether to send reinforcements so that they could work together to seize Heraclea as soon as possible and invade Diónia's territory from the northeast.
As the commander-in-chief of the navy, Leptinus did not have to think too much. Every day, he only needed to lead his fleet to keep a close eye on the north while the soldiers and sailors went ashore to loot, to prevent a sudden attack from the Dionysian fleet. Therefore, Leptinus ordered his fleet to cruise further away from the landing point. This way, he could not see or worry about them.
Just as he was taking a nap in a makeshift tent on the deck, the captain of the flagship shouted excitedly, "General! General! Good news! Good news! "
"What good news?" Leptinus rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"Just now, a clipper reported that the soldiers who went ashore to loot captured a captive. He confessed, 'Their Archon Devers has returned, and was elected king by the people yesterday. This new king has also promised that he will personally lead the Diónia navy into battle and repel us!'"
"The Devers are going to lead the navy into battle?!" Leptinus perked up. He did not care who Diónia would choose as king. All he cared about was that the Dionysian fleet that had been hiding in the Crati River was finally coming out, and that it would be led by the Archon Devers that his brother had always been a little afraid of.
He jumped to his feet and asked, "Where is the captive?!"
"The captive has been brought on board, at the bow of the ship!"
Leptinus immediately strode to the bow of the ship and saw the seemingly timid and honest Diónia man.
The captive was trembling in fear. Not only did he reveal everything he knew, but he also begged Leptinus to release him and not to sell him as a slave.
Leptinus said to him in a good mood, "If what you have confessed is the truth, not only will you not be a slave, you will also be rewarded by me!"
The captive immediately swore loudly to the gods that what he said was the truth!
Leptinus ignored him and turned to the captain and said loudly, "Send out the signal at once, have the fleet head north! Send out all the clippers and give me a comprehensive search! Whoever finds the Diónia fleet first will be rewarded handsomely by me! "
"Yes, General!" The captain was also excited. After relaying Leptinus' order to the clippers that were nearing the flagship, he turned to the cabins below the deck and shouted, "Get moving, you lazy bums! Get moving! Flute player, double the speed! Double the speed! "
The sound of the horn and the sudden turn of the flagship and the sudden increase in speed attracted the attention of the nearby warships. They immediately made corresponding changes and quickly spread the news from the inside out.
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