Chapter 555
"That's why we'll let the enemy invade the town. We'll make use of the close-quarters combat of the Legion of Dionysia, using the narrow streets and ruins to prevent the enemy's superior forces from being fully utilized. This is the battle plan we came up with beforehand. It's the right plan, and we should stick to it!" Giogris emphasized.
"But the enemy isn't falling for it! If we wait like this, the ballistae's projectiles will already be on our heads before Syracuse makes it in! "Tegthinus yelled in frustration.
"Actually, Syracuse's strategy is advantageous to us. Didn't the scouts who rushed to the port last night say that they're preparing to start a riot in Syracuse, Katanai, and a few other cities today? Perhaps they won't even have to fight Syracuse in the end. They'll be forced to retreat," Zantiparis said expectantly.
"You actually believe the words of those cowards who only know how to sneak around?!" Tegthinus blurted out.
The other officers' expressions changed when they heard this. They'd more or less heard that these scouts were trusted aides nurtured by the King of Devers.
Antonios glanced at Xenophanes, who had an awkward expression on his face, and scolded Tegthinus softly, "If it wasn't for Xenophanes' help, would we have occupied Mejaro so easily? Would we have gotten help from the Sicilians so quickly? Childish! "
Actually, Antonios was also dubious about the secret letter sent by the scouts, but the reality of the situation left him with no other choice. In this strange land, there were basically hostile forces everywhere. Apart from staying in Meyalor, where else could his First Legion retreat to? If Antradoris's plan succeeded, of course it would be to everyone's delight!
At this moment, a soldier who was waiting at the port hurriedly ran over to report, "Lord Commander, our fleet … our fleet is here!"
That damned Sykerian had finally arrived! Antonios was invigorated. "Order the troops to bring the families of the exiles, maintain order, and retreat to the port!"
"Yes, Lord Commander," the captains and the leader of the exiles replied in unison.
Sykerian didn't actually come. He was still recuperating in Lijim. Although Secorian was usually flamboyant and did not like to be commanded by an army, he would not be careless during crucial moments of war. Furthermore, Antonius had specially sent a clipper ship to Lijim yesterday, taking the risk to make a request to him. He hoped that the Dionysian fleet could arrive at Mejaro earlier tomorrow to deal with the full-scale attack of the people of Syracuse!
Secorian did not dare to take this lightly. He even specifically warned Flarios, who was commanding the fleet on his behalf, that he would set off early the next morning and rush to Mejaro as soon as possible.
The arrival of the Dionysian fleet, as well as the influx of the townspeople and soldiers to the port, were reported to Masias by the scouts.
After scolding Palonissus for his incompetence, Masias asked, "Where are the reinforcements?!"
"We've passed Siculi and should reach the south bank of the Alcántara River soon."
"Send someone to urge them to hurry!" Masias finally ordered, "Blow the horn to attack, don't let the people of Diónia escape!"
Indeed, Masias had spent so much time preparing and expending so many ballistae not just to chase away the Dionysian Army that had invaded Sicily, but to completely destroy them to boost the morale of the people of Syracuse and gain fame for himself.
Due to the urgency of the situation, he could not give the people of Diónia time to escape from the port and land elsewhere in Sicily. Masias could not allow the army to bypass the northern side of Mejaro, which was also filled with traps and obstacles, and attack the port from the east. That would waste too much time. Thus, the soldiers of the allied army of Syracuse began their attack from the western side of the town that had already been cleared. They crossed the wooden walls that had almost disappeared after being bombarded by the ballistae and charged into the town aggressively.
The vast army was divided into thin streams by the crisscrossing streets, and soon, the army of Diónia ran into trouble.
"Ouch! My foot! My foot has been pierced! "
"Stop! Don't push forward, there's a big pit in front, the captain and the others have fallen into it! "
…
The people of Syracuse did not expect that the people of Diónia had not only set up traps and obstacles outside the town, but also within the town itself.
In fact, the soldiers of the First Legion had led the refugees to create this overnight. Even without the urgent report from Catannais' spy last night, Antonios did not intend to lead his troops to escape by boat. To him, the order that the Devers gave before the departure of the First Legion did not include the words "if the battle goes south, retreat is allowed". If he retreated before the battle even started, even if the Devers forgave him for the sake of their past relationship, he would not have a future in Diónia in the future.
As for the soldiers of the First Legion, their considerations were simpler. How could the soldiers of Diónia, who had always been called the "bravest" by the people of Diónia, allow themselves to become cowards!
Antonios's previous pretense of retreat was only to lure the enemy into attacking earlier. Once they entered the town and started fighting with the soldiers of the First Legion, the ballistae would naturally not fire anymore. At the same time, he also arranged for the families of the exiled warriors to be worried about and the army to be distracted to take care of them. This was so that the army could fight with all their might without any distractions.
When the 300 cavalrymen of the Syracuse Allied Army galloped near the port, they saw more than 3,000 exiled soldiers forming a phalanx, protecting the port. Behind them, thousands of elderly, women, and children, under the orderly guidance of the sailors, rushed to the port and quickly boarded the ships.
Of course, the soldiers of Syracuse would not charge into the tightly defended phalanx. They only watched from afar and waited for the infantry to arrive.
However, the soldiers of Syracuse were frightened by the frequent traps. They advanced cautiously and began to expand to both sides.
At that moment, the light infantry led by the seventh captain, Tzbider, appeared. They did not launch arrows and javelins at the enemy in groups like they would in a regular battle. Instead, they hid in the dilapidated houses between the streets, crawled on the ruins, or stood on the opposite side of the large pit, firing accurately at the enemy.
The soldiers of Syracuse were focused on detecting the traps in front of them. Suddenly, an arrow flew out from the window of a house and hit the soldier's unprotected thigh. Another javelin fell from the roof above and pierced the soldier's shoulder that he did not have time to protect with his round shield. The sneak attack of the Diónia light infantry had a high fatality rate due to the close distance.
As the soldiers of Syracuse had to fight the Diónia head-on, it was impossible for the light infantry to charge at the front. The heavy infantry who were charging at the front were now afraid of the traps and long-range sneak attacks of the Diónia. Their advance was even slower.
… …
Back in Medmar City, even though the Dionians didn't attack for the past few days, the Medmar defenders didn't let down their guard. Because the day before yesterday, they witnessed the despicable Dionians ordering the Medmar and Rockley captives who were captured in the battle to fill up the trench in front of the city wall with soil bags.
The night before yesterday, the Medmarians took advantage of the darkness to pull down ropes from the city wall and let the soldiers slide down to dig up the trench. However, the Diónia were already prepared. They had ambushed the light infantry not far away, causing Medmar to lose many of its soldiers.
After suffering such a setback, the Medmarians no longer dared to leave the city. They knew that they were in danger and could only defend the city with all their might. At the same time, they hoped that the defeated Syracuse could reverse the situation and defeat Diónia, giving Medmar a chance of survival.
Today, the Medmar soldiers stood at the top of the city wall, looking ahead vigilantly. The Dionians were just like a few days ago, starting to get into formation in front of the city about a hundred meters away. But this time, they had two siege weapons in front of them. Even from a hundred meters away, the Medmar soldiers could feel the enormity of the siege weapons.
"Quick! Come and look! What's that?! "A soldier shouted to his companions in panic.
"This … this should be a siege tower. I heard from the Locrians that the Syracuse people used this kind of siege weapon to conquer many cities. "
"It seems to be taller than our city wall! How … How should we deal with this thing?! "
Just when the defenders were nervous, "Woo!" The bugle of the attack rang through the army of Diónia. Medmar's siege began.
… …
"Commander, be careful!" The adjutant pressed Matonis, who had risked approaching the wooden wall, down. There was a strong whooshing sound, and a stone shell whizzed past his head.
Matonis touched his neck with lingering fear and cursed, "Damn the ballista team, they're trying to kill —"
Before he could finish, there was a loud bang in front of him. The stone shell hit the tower eight to nine meters away.
The tower that the Syracuse people built in a hurry was not very sturdy. When the 15-kilogram stone shell hit the top of the tower, not only did wood chips fly everywhere, but the tower also shook and tilted backwards. Accompanied by the screams of the harpooneers on the top of the tower, the six-meter-tall tower fell straight to the ground …
"That's great! The ballista team is great! Keep it up! " Matonis waved his fists and shouted excitedly.
The adjutant rolled his eyes. He was just scolding the ballista team a moment ago, but his tone changed in the blink of an eye.
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