Chapter 496
Just as the Second Legion was about to reach the wooden bridge over the Rakoeli River, a few scouts who had been sent out hurried back in panic. "Reporting to the Legion Commander, we've discovered enemy cavalry ahead. Their numbers are approximately —"
Before the scouts could finish their sentence, the enemy cavalry had already appeared on the other side of the Rakoeli River. They were dark-skinned and had long black hair. They wore thin, short-sleeved linen clothes and held javelins in their hands. They were barefooted and some of the horses did not even have cushions on their backs. However, the horses moved with great agility. There were about a hundred of them and they showed no fear in the face of the huge army marching toward them. They stood quietly by the river and looked at the other side … Amyntas could feel the cunning and ruthlessness in their eyes.
These were the Numibian cavalry?! Amyntas recalled the description in the previous battle report and looked at them curiously. It was not fear that rose in his heart but excitement. "Have the Light Infantry Brigade send 200 archers to guard the river and drive away the enemy cavalry on the other side. The other light infantry, follow the First Brigade closely. Wait for my order. Cross the bridge quickly! "
The Second Legion moved quickly. The archers rushed to the river and before they could fire, the Numibian cavalry on the other side immediately ran away, allowing the Second Legion to cross the wooden bridge easily.
Just as Amyntas was considering whether to spread out the Second Legion in the form of a two-line "two" formation and cooperate with the Seventh Legion to drive away the enemy cavalry that wandered around like flies, a messenger arrived with an order from the Devers: Ignore the cavalry and continue marching on the main road. They must reach Crimissa before dusk!
Amyntas had no choice but to give up on the idea and march in column formation again.
At first, the Numibian cavalry would rush over from both sides of the main road at high speed from time to time. They would shout a few times and throw a round of javelins. However, after the Light Infantry shot down a few of their riders with arrows, they became much more cautious.
This entangled for a while. Suddenly, the enemy cavalry came from the front and shouted something. Then, the cavalry began to retreat.
Soon, the "ugly" Numibians were nowhere to be seen by the soldiers of the Second Legion.
The soldiers did not know what was going on, but Amyntas could vaguely guess the reason: it could be that the Dionysian fleet had won another naval battle. The mercenaries were worried that the Dionysian fleet had taken control of the sea near Crotone and would use their warships to break the pontoon bridge over the Neto River and block the Neto River. If that happened, the mercenaries who had been wreaking havoc in Diónia's territory would not be able to return to Syracuse's camp. They would be abandoned and would be killed by the soldiers.
… …
As the Numibian cavalry and the Celtic cavalry on the northern plains of Croton fled across the Neto River, Diónia warships had already appeared at the mouth of the river.
The Numibians reported their findings to Dionysius.
"The reinforcements from Diónia are here? So fast?! " Fasipesas was surprised. The troops had just breached Ciudad Crotone yesterday and today, Diónia had rushed over.
"How many are there?" Astagras asked anxiously.
Akhilita held up three fingers. "About thirty thousand."
"Thirty thousand …" Astagras calculated seriously. "There are about ten thousand Diónia soldiers in Asbrustum, and nearly ten thousand in Crimea … If that's the case, when Diónia comes to Crotone's territory, they will gather more than fifty thousand soldiers. That's not a small number!"
"Don't forget to count the heavy infantry on Diónia's warships," Fasipesas reminded Astagras. "Diónia has at least sixty thousand soldiers!"
"The soldiers on Diónia's warships have been fighting with our soldiers for a long time. There aren't many of them left," Astagras retorted.
"You have to admit that Diónia can capture so many of our warships. It means that their losses are not too great." Fasipesas insisted on his opinion.
Phoebidas silently listened to the two Syracuse generals arguing about the number of troops. He could not help but feel a little envious. When Syracuse and Diónia, the two powerful forces in the Western Mediterranean, went to war, the number of soldiers dispatched was more than fifty thousand. This was something that Sparta and its allies could not achieve.
At this time, another Numibian beside Akhilita said a few words loudly in Numibian.
Fasipesas immediately stopped arguing with his colleague and asked curiously, "What did he say?"
Akhilita replied, "My men said, 'Some of the enemies are wearing black armor, some of them are wearing the same armor as you, and some of them are not wearing armor at all, and they are not holding any weapons."
It turned out that among the reinforcements led by the Devers, the soldiers of the Second Legion were all official citizens, wearing standard black helmets, black armor, spears, long shields, short swords, and javelins. The soldiers of the Seventh Legion were mostly preparatory citizens and registered freedmen. They did not have enough money to buy Diónia's standard equipment, so the weapons and equipment they carried were very messy. It was not until the Tarantum soldiers were annihilated and captured that all the soldiers of the Seventh Legion were able to change into the heavy infantry equipment taken from the Tarantum soldiers. Corinth's helmet, linen breastplate, round shields, shin plates, spears, sabers, and the supply team at the rear was also loaded with thousands of heavy infantry equipment also taken from the Tarantum captives. Those were prepared for the Legio VI stationed in Crimissa. As for the spear brigade, in order to not leak the secret, Syracuse was informed in advance. After all, the four-meter-long spears were too eye-catching. So, they marched empty-handed and transported the spears to the port of Crimissa through cargo ships. That was why the Numibians had such an illusion.
"I knew it, how could Diónia have so many citizen soldiers! It turns out that they have recruited all the freedmen, but they don't have the ability to fully equip them with weapons. It's useless even if they have more people! "Astagoras glanced at Fasipesas and laughed.
Fasipesas did not argue with him anymore, and the expression on his face was much more relaxed. As an opponent, he certainly hoped that the Dionysian Army was as weak as possible.
"Apollo, the reinforcements of Diónia have come at the right time!" At this time, Dionysius, who had been in deep thought, spoke. Ever since he witnessed the defeat of the navy, his face had been gloomy. His subordinates thought that he was angry about the navy's failure, but they did not know that he was actually worried about the fate of this huge army. He had thought of a crucial problem.
Even if the Syracuse Army continued to attack Crimissa, Castellón, and even southern Turií, the Diónia would not dare to divide their forces to their fleets and land at the back of the Syracuse Army. However, as long as the Diónia burned the wooden bridges across the wide Krati River, the Syracuse Army would not be able to cross the Krati River and attack the heart of the Diónia Alliance — northern Turií. Once the Syracuse Army stopped at the Krati River, the Diónia would be able to defend the river while sending their fleets to ambush the rear of the Syracuse Army. This would definitely exhaust the Syracuse Army, and in the end, the Syracuse Army would be defeated.
The thought of this possibility made Dionysius break out in cold sweat. He was already thinking of retreating. Should he just … let Phoebidas go to Turií to negotiate for peace?
Back in the main tent, Dionysius stole a few glances at the silent Sparta man with his back ramrod straight. He knew that Sparta hoped that the Syracuse Army would end the war as soon as possible so that they could assist them in defeating the Anti- Sparta Alliance. However, he would never do that.
If he needed the support of Sparta when he first became the Tyrant, now that he was fully fledged, he did not need a powerful ally to tell him what to do. On the contrary, Sparta would lower their arrogant heads and let the Syracuse Army gain more benefits.
At this moment, Dionysius did not mind making use of Sparta's impatience to achieve his goal. What kind of terms and conditions should he propose? Would the young man from Diónia accept the fact that the territory they occupied would become the sphere of influence of both sides? Or would he return to Siletam and hand Crotone over to Diónia?
Although he had exhausted the national treasury and led such a large army, he still could not occupy a single city in Diónia. Dionysius was really unwilling to accept this. However, as a ruler who was good at weighing the gains and losses, he was able to not completely drive out Carthage's forces in Sicily despite the fact that Carthage was defeated and Syracuse had an absolute advantage in Sicily. Naturally, he was able to swallow his unwillingness for the time being.
Moreover, this expedition had occupied so many Greek city-states, almost controlling the southern part of Greece, and stopping the expansion of Diónia's forces to the south. Moreover, the strength of Syracuse had increased significantly. In fact, Dionysius had already achieved half of his goals. As long as he returned and strengthened his navy, when the national treasury was full, he would attack Greece again. He believed that he would definitely be able to destroy Diónia!
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