Chapter 495
Nearly 200 panicked sailors scrambled to the deck. A loud 'boom' was heard. The entire warship trembled and swayed, and the sailors fell down amidst their screams.
A large hole was smashed open in the middle right side of the Diónia warship. The bow of the enemy warship was revealed through the hole, followed by a torrent of seawater.
The enemy warship's momentum did not stop there. It continued to cut in, widening the hole. The powerful momentum actually caused the Diónia warship to move a few meters horizontally.
The Diónia's oarsmen knew that sinking was inevitable, and jumped into the sea one after another.
Poor Melisande had just climbed onto the ship, but he had no choice but to jump into the sea again with his shield.
He could hear the sailors floating on the surface of the sea complaining, "Why aren't there any fast ships to cover for us?!!"
In fact, more than half of the 30 fast ships of Diónia had been exhausted from running for their lives.
When Leptillos hid the untrained heavy infantry on the captain, he had already estimated that Syracuse would not have the upper hand in the battle on the ships. However, this time, the navy of Syracuse had nearly 50 more three-decker oars than the enemy. Hence, he decisively adopted the 'circumnavigation' tactic, using the advantage of having more ships to surround the enemy from the outside. When both sides were locked in combat, they could seize the opportunity to cut into the battlefield and ram the immobilized enemy ships.
If this was the previous naval battle, the legionnaires on the Diónia warships would have been able to quickly deal with the enemy ships, allowing their own warships to retract the drawbridge and re-enter the battle. However, this time, the addition of heavy infantry on the Syracuse warships greatly extended the duration of the battle after the legionnaires boarded the ships. This provided an opportunity for the Syracuse warships to break in.
After nearly ten Diónia warships were sunk or damaged, the other warships also realized that the situation was not good. Before the legionnaires could finish off the enemy ships, they retracted the Raven Suspension Bridge and began a real naval battle with the enemy. They did not dare to use the suspension bridge to hook the enemy, because there were no legionnaires on the warships (they were fighting on the enemy ships), so they quickly removed the Raven Suspension Bridge.
The Syracuse warships were more experienced in naval battles, and their sailors cooperated more tacitly. However, because they carried more soldiers, they were slower and less agile. The Diónia warships were less experienced in warship battles, but because they let go of their soldiers, they had an advantage in speed. The situation of the two sides was somewhat different from the previous naval battle.
The warships of both sides looked for opportunities on the surface of the sea, chasing, circling, sprinting, colliding …
From time to time, the wooden oars of the warships would be broken, and the warships would be damaged or even sink …
As time passed, the Syracuse warships began to be at a disadvantage in the head-on battle. After all, once the connection was broken, the Dionysian fleet had more warships that could participate in the battle than the Syracuse warships, and often the Syracuse warships were in a terrible situation of one versus two.
Leptineus, who was in the rear and not participating in the battle, was very anxious and a little flustered after learning about the situation of the fleet through the lookout. Could it be that they were going to die again?!
At this time, the lookout shouted from above, "There's a fleet coming from behind!"
A fleet from the south? Is it ours?! Leptineus knew that Dionysius did not send an order to Syracuse to transfer the warships back to the main port, but he was still very anxious.
But after a while, the lookout's shout shattered his expectations. "It's a black warship! A black warship! "
… … …
They're finally here! Midolades looked at the fierce naval battle ahead and breathed a sigh of relief.
Before they set off, Cydorian and the other admirals had already formulated a plan for this battle. As they were worried that the Syracuse people would see the size and strength of their fleet and avoid the battle, they discussed and decided to split the fleet into two. More than 60 captured three-tier Syracuse warships would be led by Midolades. After departing from the port of Turií, they would sail southeast to avoid the detection of Syracuse's clippers, and make a semicircle around the coast to rendezvous with the main fleet led by Cydorian at Siletina.
But what they did not expect was that the Syracuse fleet stationed at the port of Siletina had already moved to Crotone that morning. Midolades's fleet, which did not receive the news in time, arrived at Siletina only to find that there was no one there.
Midolades made a prompt decision and ordered the fleet to turn back. Finally, they found the two parties fighting on the sea near Crotone.
At Midolades's command, the fleet quickly joined the battle, pincer attack from the front and back, and sounded the final death knell for the Syracuse fleet!
… … …
Dionysius, who had watched the entire battle from the port's lighthouse, was livid in the end. He turned around and left the stage without a word.
Phoebidas, who was the last to leave, continued to look at the battle in the distance that was nearing its end. He thought to himself, "Diónia's novel naval warfare method is quite suitable for Sparta. Should I suggest it to the Elder Council when I get back?"
As for Diónia's consecutive victories in the naval war, it might have a greater impact on the war situation in Greece, changing the balance of power between Diónia and Syracuse. He was happy to see that, because the Western Mediterranean still needed a city-state alliance that could balance Syracuse. Besides, he had a hunch that Syracuse's attack on Diónia would be even fiercer on land …
… …
The naval war had ended, but unlike the clean battlefield at the end of the previous naval war, the sea near Crotone was now littered with scattered oars, broken planks, broken warships, floating corpses, and countless sailors and soldiers struggling in the water, crying for help.
Diónia drove the damaged warships back and forth on the surface of the sea, rescuing the sailors and soldiers of Diónia who had fallen into the water. They tried their best to arrange them on the warships that had been captured by the legions.
Before they set off, the Devers had reminded Sykerian, "After the naval war is won, if conditions permit, try your best to rescue the sailors of Syracuse who have fallen into the water." Hence, the Diónia navy extended a helping hand to them. However, after boarding the ships, they would be tied up and detained.
Some of the sailors of Syracuse were close to the shore when they fell into the water, so they did not accept help and swam desperately to the shore. In response, the Diónia would change their attitude and drive their warships to crush them …
The cleanup and rescue work on the entire battlefield continued until dusk. The brilliance of the setting sun dyed the warships on the sea orange. Only then did Sykerian give the order to "return".
In the huge Dionysian fleet, the captured warships of Syracuse were in the center, while the warships of Diónia were on the periphery. Although the sailors were tired, the joy of victory made their chants resound through the sea. Accompanied by the melodious sound of the flute, they forcefully pushed and pulled the wooden oars, and the fleet slowly sailed north …
Sykerian looked back at the battlefield where the fierce battle had just taken place. The thrilling scene of his warship almost being rammed by the enemy surfaced in his mind, and he felt excited at this moment. His gaze shifted to a place far away, where the sky and the sea were connected. It was vast and boundless …
A sense of heroism rose in his heart, and he excitedly shouted to the captain, "From today onwards, we have the final say in this part of the sea!"
In this naval battle, other than the 40 or so triple-oared warships led by Leptinus who managed to escape to Crotone Harbor in time, the rest of the Syracuse fleet's warships were either sunk or captured.
In the Dionysian fleet, 23 Raven warships were sunk, and more than ten were damaged. They captured 68 triple-oared Syracuse warships, and captured nearly 10,000 Syracuse sailors.
What angered Dionysius the most was that of the 9,000 Syracuse heavy infantry he sent out, only slightly more than 2,000 returned. Most of the soldiers had either died in battle or drowned in the sea. The Dionysian fleet captured less than a thousand of them. It could be said that they had not only lost the naval battle, but also the land battle. Of course, the First Legion of Diónia had also paid the price of more than 2,000 casualties.
… …
The Dionysian army did not stop when they reached the city of Castellón. Chief General Amicles and the city's higher-ups were waiting in front of the wooden bridge that Heraclide the Younger had built for Castellón, sending off the Dionysian army that was rushing to the battlefield. At the same time, they also sent more than a thousand Castellón soldiers and a hundred cavalry to join the expedition as part of the alliance's duty.
Although the Dionysian Army hurried on with their journey, the Devers still rushed to the wooden bridge and expressed their gratitude to the leaders of Castellón. They then exchanged a few pleasantries, and the hidden unhappiness dissipated in the laughter.
As the First Legion had gone to the Dionysian fleet, the entire front line was led by the Second Legion. Although Amyntas was brave in battle, as the commander of the Second Legion, he had to be responsible for the safety of the entire legion. Therefore, after crossing the Trionto River, he increased the number of marching columns to ten, with a line of light infantry in the middle. Although the Second Legion of Diónia had yet to fight the mercenary cavalry of Syracuse, Amyntas did not let his guard down due to the Devers's warning.
Due to Diónia's extensive development over the past few years, not only did the swamps disappear in large numbers, but it also began to transform into high-quality plains, causing the population to increase rapidly. However, what the legionnaires saw today were the ruins of several villages along the main road.
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