Chapter 473
"Victory to Diónia!!! … "
"Victory to the Diónia Navy!!! … "
"Victory to the Devers King!!! … "
"Victory to the Hades!!! … "
…
The people cheered at the top of their lungs, venting the humiliation and fear that had accumulated in their hearts during this period of time. At the same time, this made them feel that they were not only bystanders but also participants in this victory. Because it was their hard work and persistence that allowed the Devers to become the king, that allowed the Hades to bless the alliance, and that gave them this immediate victory!!!
The Devers will always be the king, and our alliance will always be safe! This belief began to be implanted in the hearts of the people.
At this moment, the big stone that had been pressing on the hearts of the people suddenly disappeared. Many people went crazy because of this: some wailed loudly; some knelt on the ground and sang the song of the Hades devoutly; some rushed into the sea and shouted loudly; some hugged the people around them excitedly, regardless of gender, to share the joy in their hearts. Even the little guy Patroclus took the opportunity to hug Cynthia, whom he had a crush on.
What was even more crazy was that some of the women in the crowd said that in order to celebrate the hard-won victory of Diónia, the evening was free.
Even the person in charge of Cristoya's restaurant in Turín announced excitedly in the crowd that in the evening, all Cristoya's restaurants in Turín would provide free drinks to the guests celebrating the victory.
The cheers of the Diónia people on the entire coast reached its peak.
While the people were cheering for the victory, the Dionysian fleet rescued the sailors who fell into the water. At the same time, half of the warships were gathered together, and under the leadership of the Devers, they immediately turned around and headed north.
When passing through the mouth of the Krati River, 300 cargo ships filled with most of the soldiers of the Second Legion joined them, and they sailed majestically towards the coast of Heraclea.
… …
Since yesterday, Diomiras and Umarcas, who were outside Heraclea, had been puzzled. The Diónia had suddenly tightened the blockade of their territory. They had built a sentry post on the banks of the Saraceno River and stationed a company to guard it. No one was allowed to enter but not leave.
In fact, the Turís had taken the same measures at the wooden bridge of the Krati River and at the southern part of the city. They had even sealed off the port so that no ships could leave the Krati River and enter the sea.
These harsh measures cut off the communication between Tarantum and Turín, which made the two leading Tarantum archons feel a little uneasy. What happened to Turín?
After repeated analysis, they finally guessed that the biggest possibility was that the Devers had returned, because only he had the authority to set up such a tight lockdown.
However, a guess was just a guess after all. Without concrete evidence, it was impossible to make a decisive decision. The two Senators even had a dispute because of this.
Umarcas demanded that the troops besieging Heraclea be withdrawn immediately and retreat to Metapontum to avoid being attacked by the main Diónia army that had returned.
Diomiras objected. He believed that Tarantum had paid a huge price to finally reach the city of Heraclea and invade Diónia's territory. They could not take the initiative to withdraw from the siege because of groundless rumors. If they did so, they would be laughed at by the people of Tarantum and even impeached by the Senate!
After some debate, the two finally reached an agreement. Every day, a large number of scouts would be sent across the Sinni River to destroy the land of Amendolara. At the same time, they would investigate whether there was a large Diónia army in the south. At the same time, more pontoon bridges would be built on the Agri River to facilitate the retreat of the troops.
They also sent people back to Tarantum, hoping that the Senate would send spies to Castellón, which they had previously looked down on, to try to understand the current situation in the city of Turín.
The day passed peacefully as they watched anxiously.
The next morning, news came from the fleet of Tarantum that the Dionysian fleet had suddenly sailed out of the Krati River and encountered the navy of Syracuse at sea. Both sides had already engaged in battle.
The general of the Tarantum fleet also asked if the fleet of Tarantum would also participate in the battle.
When the two Consuls heard the news, they were greatly relieved. They did not need to think about it to know that this risky move by Diónia was obviously courting death. However, they were happy to see this "heroic action" by Diónia because it would reduce the psychological burden of the Tarantum army. After all, there were more than a hundred three-decker oar warships hidden in the Krati River. Who knew when they would suddenly attack. Syracuse could easily win the battle, but it did not mean that Tarantum could do the same. Therefore, for the two Consuls, the pressure on the sea was still a little big. However, now that the navy of Syracuse ruled the Taranto Bay, they shared the pressure for Tarantum. If this battle could severely damage the Dionysian fleet, Tarantum would be completely free of pressure on the sea route.
However, the two Consuls rejected the fleet's request. Since a few years ago, after the Tarantum fleet was defeated by the Maypu Alliance, after years of accumulation, the fleet finally had 35 three-decker oar warships and 20 other warships. There was no need to participate in this battle that they knew they would definitely win. Moreover, even if the Tarantum navy joined in, the people of Syracuse might not appreciate it. They might even think that Tarantum was trying to steal the credit. Moreover, although Tarantum and Syracuse had joined forces against Diónia, Tarantum, as a strong nation in Greece, had its own dignity.
The two Senators rejected the fleet's request and instructed them to report the situation after the naval battle was over.
After that, they no longer cared about the matter and began to think about how to conquer the city of Heraclea.
These days, the allied forces of Diónia and Heraclea were quite calm, allowing the Tarantum soldiers to wreak havoc on the land of Amendolar. Even when the soldiers led the cattle and sheep they had plundered and cursed under the city, they still kept the city gates closed.
This gave the two Consuls a headache. Using nearly 20,000 troops to attack a city defended by more than 10,000 soldiers, they knew that they did not have the ability to do so. It was said that the people of Syracuse had a powerful siege weapon. The Senate had sent someone to Sirium to request for a loan, but they did not know if the arrogant tyrant of Sicily would agree. If Dionysius did not agree, the Tarantum army could only besiege the city until Heraclea ran out of food. Not to mention that it would take a lot of time, but the main force of Diónia could return at any time, so Heraclea, which was closest to Turií, would be the first target for their rescue.
Did they really have to wait until the people of Syracuse conquered Crotone and the army approached Turií, only then would Tarantum have a chance to attack? Diomiras thought unwillingly …
… …
In the city of Heraclea, Trifias, who had been busy comforting the people, worrying about the city defense, and arranging for reinforcements, had a rare lazy sleep. As soon as he got up and was about to have breakfast, he heard a servant report that the general of Diónia had asked to see him.
To be honest, Trifias was a little afraid of meeting the Legion Commander of Diónia, Martonis. In order to protect Heraclea, the people of Diónia had even suffered the destruction of their own territory by the people of Syracuse. Every time he saw Martonis clenching his fists and suppressing his pain, Trifias felt extremely guilty.
Martonis strode into the living room. Trifias was still gulping down his oatmeal. "Commander Martonis, have you had your breakfast? Do you want some? "
Through their interaction, Trifias knew that the mercenary commander of the Legion of Dionysia did not like the customs. The more casual one was, the more relaxed he would be.
"I've eaten." Martonis said as he brought a wooden chair over and sat beside Trifias. "I'm here to tell you something very important!"
"Oh, tell me!" Trifias quickly put down the oatmeal and wiped his mouth with a linen towel.
"Last night, an envoy from Turií told me something very important!"
Trifias immediately pricked up his ears. Of course, he knew that someone had infiltrated the city last night, but he did not press the matter since the person was looking for Martonis. However, if Turií, who had been ignoring Heraclea for the past few days, suddenly sent an envoy and risked his life to infiltrate the city, things would not be as simple as it seemed.
"His Majesty the Devers has led his army back to Turií!"
"His Majesty the Devers is back! That's great!" Trifias exclaimed excitedly. Then, he was stunned. "Wait … What did you just say? His Majesty the Devers?! "
"The people of Diónia have received an oracle from Hades and elected His Majesty the Devers as the King of Diónia!" Martonis said proudly.
The King! Trifias rubbed his chin. This was an internal political matter of Diónia, and he had no right to question it. Moreover, it was not the time to think about it. "So, His Majesty the Devers … the King will soon lead his army north to defeat the Tarantum?!"
"The envoy told me that His Majesty will lead the Dionysian fleet out to sea this morning to find an opportunity to fight the navy of Syracuse. He also told us to prepare to attack. Once the naval battle is won, we will immediately attack the enemy's camp and delay the Tarantum people so that His Majesty's army can arrive from the sea and annihilate the Tarantum army!" Martonis said excitedly.
"This plan … is great." Trifias was shocked and hesitantly said, "But can Diónia's fleet defeat the navy of Syracuse?! You should know that the navy of Syracuse is much stronger! "
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