Chapter 549
Tethys looked at him innocently and said solemnly, "It's not that I want to escape, it's that the sailors don't want to fight. Even if I turn the rudder and the sailors are unwilling to row, this warship will become Diónia's spoils of war!"
"Don't quibble. Turn the rudder back! We must defeat Diónia with all our might. Otherwise, Syracuse's navy will be finished! "the captain shouted bitterly.
"It's better if they're finished! If Syracuse is defeated, we won't be sent to fight in Greece anymore. We won't have to pay war taxes anymore! "A voice came from behind the captain.
The captain turned around and saw that it was the boatswain. He pointed at him angrily and threatened, "You … How dare you do this? Aren't you afraid of Sir Dionysius's punishment?"
The boatswain laughed, "Of course we're afraid. However, if the navy is defeated, will Dionysius still be able to return?"
The captain was speechless.
Tethys sighed.
The warship's escape triggered a chain reaction. Under the frenzied attacks of Diónia, other warships followed suit and left the battlefield. In the end, the entire Syracuse Coalition Fleet retreated …
"Sir Syracuse!"
"Admiral Syracuse!"
…
Several Diónia warships rushed to the area where the flagship sank. Many sailors were floating on the surface of the sea.
"Sir Syracuse is here!" Someone waved and shouted from the sea.
Syracuse was lying motionlessly on a broken plank. His shoulder had been shot by an arrow from an archer on the enemy's deck. He was barely breathing.
Soon, he was carefully carried onto the warship.
After bandaging his wound, he was woken up by the pain. The first thing he asked was, "… Did we win or lose?"
"We won, sir!"
"… That's good." Syracuse let go of his worries and said weakly, "… I'll temporarily … temporarily hand over the command of the fleet to Franhos … Clean up the battlefield … After rescuing our people … Return to Ligir immediately …" With that, he fell into a deep sleep.
The result of the Battle of Naxos (although the city of Naxos had been destroyed, the arc-shaped bay was still called Naxos Bay by the locals) was that the Dionians lost 15 three-decker oar warships, while the Syracuse side lost 18 three-decker oar warships and four other warships. The losses on both sides were not too different, but the Syracuse navy's attempt to defeat the Dionian fleet, take control of the Sicilian sea, and completely surround the Dionian army in the town of Mejaro failed.
To make matters worse, the Dionysian fleet was actually able to defeat the Syracuse Navy without the aid of the Raven Suspension Bridge. This greatly boosted the confidence of the Diónia sailors, and dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Syracuse Navy.
Masias did not expect to witness the defeat of the Syracuse Navy, which had the advantage in numbers, for the second time in five years. The incompetence of the Syracuse Navy left him speechless and made him even more wary of the Dionysian Army. He was determined to continue attacking Mejalo and wait for reinforcements to arrive before concentrating on attacking Mejalo.
Syracuse's ballista troops had been moving forward, and the counterattack from the First Legion's six ballistas was just a small interlude. Without the protection of the tall stone walls, under the concentrated bombardment of nearly a hundred ballistas from Syracuse, they were like stones thrown into a torrent, splashing water and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Syracuse's ballistas pushed forward all the way to the Alcántara River. Although Mejalo had only been established for a few years, the area it occupied was not small, even larger than Sicouli City. Moreover, with the Alcántara River and the banks on both sides as a barrier, even if Syracuse's ballistas threw five kilograms of stone at maximum range, they could only cover one-half of Mejalo's area. That was why Antonios ordered the First Legion and the refugees to retreat to the north of Mejalo to avoid being hit by the ballistas and preserve their strength. At the same time, he also ordered all the citizens under the command of the engineering battalion to build an earthen wall to defend the south of the town with the bricks and soil that had been destroyed.
Seeing that the range of the ballistas was limited and that they could not completely destroy Mejalo, Marcia hardened his heart and had the ballista troops change to fire cans in an attempt to shoot into the town and ignite a fire that would burn down Mejalo. This would deplete the enemy's stamina, strike at their morale, and even drive them out of Mejalo to make it easier for Syracuse's army to attack.
Fortunately, while the First Legion and the refugees were building the earthen wall, they dug a trench from east to west to make it easier to retrieve soil. This stopped the fire from spreading and preserved the residential area in the north of Mejalo in good condition.
Syracuse's ballista troops bombarded the town with stone bullets, short spears and fire cans for an entire day. Almost half of the ballistas were destroyed, and almost half of Mejalo was in ruins. The fire was still burning until evening, but it was convenient for the First Legion's sentries to observe the enemy's movements and prevent any ambushes.
However, there were more than ten thousand refugees and their families in the small area of the town. An entire day of explosions and fire had left them physically and mentally exhausted, including the First Legion's soldiers. Although there were not many casualties, such long-range attacks made the brave soldiers of the First Legion feel powerless. At the same time, it also increased their worries about tomorrow's battle.
In this day's bombardment, the most tragic were the hundreds of young and strong citizens of Syracuse who had not yet been released. Because everyone was busy dealing with the attacks of Syracuse's ballistas, no one cared about these imprisoned captives. As a result, they were all burned alive by the fire …
… …
At dawn the next day, in the Diónia's main camp outside Siletín, a squad of Legio IV was patrolling the wooden wall.
In the early spring, it was warm but then cold. Because of the increase in rain, there was often heavy fog in the early morning in the Southern region. It often did not dissipate until the morning, and Siletín was no exception. Especially today, it was even more foggy. Between heaven and earth, there was a vast expanse of gray. When people walked in it, the fog was so thick that it seemed like they could reach out and grab a ball. People could not be seen clearly beyond five meters, and even breathing was a little difficult.
In such difficult weather, the soldiers not only did not slack off, but they also became more vigilant.
The squad leader, Efyart, repeatedly reminded the soldiers to stay alert and pay attention to the movements outside the camp. Before the invasion of Greece by Syracuse, he was just a soldier of the legion. After the battle of Crotone, the original squad leader was injured, and he was elected by his teammates to take over the position. Examples like this were common in the army of Diónia. War would take the lives of countless soldiers, but it would also allow the real warriors to stand out and be called upon in times of danger.
Suddenly, a soldier shouted, "Captain, there seems to be a sound outside!"
Efyart was shocked and hurriedly signaled the soldiers not to speak. He grabbed the battlements, leaned out, and listened carefully.
The other soldiers also did the same thing.
There seemed to be a slight noise in front, but the thick fog made it hard for everyone to hear clearly, and they were not sure.
Should they issue a warning? Efyart was a little nervous under the watchful eyes of the soldiers. Because once the warning of an enemy attack was issued, the entire Diónia camp and tens of thousands of soldiers would have to crawl out of their warm beds in the cold early morning, put on their armor, take out their shields and spears, assemble quickly, and immediately rush to the designated defensive positions of the legions, brigades, companies, and teams. This was under normal circumstances, but today was a rare day of thick fog. Such a large-scale emergency operation was bound to cause some chaos. If it was confirmed that there was no enemy attack, one could imagine the responsibility that Efyart's squad would have to face.
Efyart swallowed hard and said to his men, "Immediately inform the archers in the sentry towers, ask them to shoot an arrow in front of us. All of you, stand in front of the sentry towers and listen carefully for any movements outside the camp! "
The order was quickly carried out.
Efyart turned around and looked at the archers in the sentry towers that were three meters away from him. Not long after the arrow was released, it was swallowed by the thick fog …
Efyart listened attentively. After a few minutes, there was no unusual movement outside the camp. He temporarily breathed a sigh of relief, but he was also a little disappointed.
At this moment, a shrill scream cut through the thick fog diagonally in front of him, but it stopped abruptly.
"Captain, there's an enemy!" A soldier not far away shouted anxiously.
Efyart immediately became nervous and excited. "Inform the camp immediately!"
"Woo! Woo! Woo! A loud bugle sounded throughout the Diónia camp, and the originally silent camp suddenly became lively …
Devers was also awakened by the roar. Just as he turned over and sat up, Secretary Henepolis hurried in. "Your Majesty, Syracuse is attacking the camp!"
When Devers heard the news, he unhurriedly lifted the leather robe covering his body. A servant brought him clothes and armor. As he put them on, he said, "Dionysius has finally left the city. How many of them are there?"
"There's a thick fog outside. I don't know how many enemies have left the city."
"Oh, thick fog! Dionysius really knows how to choose the time. " With the help of the servant, Devers put on the thick chest armor. He patted it with his hand and felt that the tightness was just right. "What's the situation at the Left and Right Camps?"
"There's still no news until now. Could it be …" Henepolis made a bold guess. "Dionysius is concentrating his forces to attack the main camp that Your Majesty is in?"
Devers smiled. "Good idea, but don't jump to conclusions. We just need to follow the previous arrangement and guard the camp, then slowly observe the enemy's movements. "
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