Chapter 565
In the town of Mejaro, the soldiers of the First Legion returned one after another with the captives. Tens of thousands of families of the exiles also rushed back to the town from the port to reunite with their loved ones after the fierce battle. Many of them cried when they learned that their loved ones had died in battle.
The sounds of fighting in Mejaro Town had just subsided, but on the battlefield full of rubble and corpses, scenes of tragedy and comedy continued to play out … This night was destined to not be peaceful in Mejaro, but fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.
Early the next morning, Laodisian, one of the leaders of the Naxos exiles, followed Antonios' orders and led 500 soldiers to the mountain city in the north. They escorted some of the captives of Tauromenian to the almost deserted city in order to urge it to surrender. Otherwise, they would kill the mercenaries.
The other leader of the Katarnaean exiles, Lesi Peratus, led 1,000 soldiers to Sekuli to assist the rebel Sekuli in capturing the citadel.
Antonius led 3,500 soldiers of the First Legion and 1,000 refugees to board the warships of the Daenian fleet. The rest of the soldiers and civilians stayed in the town to take care of the wounded and to clean up the ruined town.
The Dionysian fleet sailed straight south and did not encounter the Syracuse fleet on the way. Naturally, they arrived at Taunis much earlier than the defeated Syracuse army led by Masias.
At this time, the situation in Taunis was relatively complicated. The democrats who wanted to overthrow the dictatorship and the dictators who supported the tyrant and were close to Syracuse were evenly matched. Both sides occupied half of the city and fought endlessly.
After losing the naval battle at Naxos, Palonissus led his fleet to dock at the port of Taunis. He did not immediately return to Syracuse, which was not far from Taunis. This was because he had a strong sense of pride and did not want to return as a defeated general. He did not want to be criticized by Felistos and the people. So, he wanted to wait for Masias to annihilate the Dionians before returning to Syracuse together. This way, he would be able to bask in the glory of victory and avoid too much criticism.
Unexpectedly, only a day later, there was news of a riot in Syracuse, followed by a riot in Taunis.
Paronysus, who had received the bad news, was panic-stricken and bewildered. Although he led a fleet with more than 6,000 sailors, he had already lost control of the entire fleet when he was about to punish the sailors of the first deserter at Taunis port. So, when the officials of Taunis came to him for help, hoping that he could lead the army to suppress the rioting democrats, he could only say that there was nothing he could do.
When the sailors learned that the people of Syracuse Port were also involved in the riot, they no longer wanted to stay in Taunis. They all clamored to return to Syracuse. Palonissus could not stop them, nor did he dare to, so the entire fleet left Taunis at dusk yesterday.
This was also the reason why the Dionysian fleet arrived at the sea near Taunis without any hindrance. Even though Taunis Port had fallen into chaos and was no longer defended, the Dionysian fleet did not force their way in. Instead, they landed on a nearby beach and sent their troops ashore. Then, they turned around and headed for Katanai. Flarios was to inform Antrapolis of the First Legion's arrival.
Antonio reorganized his troops after getting ashore, and immediately sent Xenophanes to Leontini with a few cavalrymen to get in touch with him.
Clearly, Antonios had overestimated the retreating army of Syracuse. The soldiers of the First Legion and the refugees had been waiting from morning to afternoon for a full six hours. During this time, they had lunch and a short nap to replenish their energy and strength.
Antonios had also contacted Katanai and Leontini a few times through the scouts. From there, he had a rough idea of the movements of the people of Syracuse.
After Antonios had arranged everything, Syracuse finally arrived.
Before the people of Syracuse could react from their shock, Antonios gave the order for the army to advance.
The soldiers of the First Legion and the refugees were clad in armor and wielding spears. They lined up neatly and marched forward. Their eyes were filled with hatred. They wanted to avenge their comrades who had died in the bitter battle the day before. They wanted to avenge their city-state that had been destroyed by the people of Syracuse!
Masias had long since become timid in the face of the approaching enemies. Although he had taken in more than 4,000 people along the way, all of them lacked helmets and armor, and were in disarray. (In order to make it easier to escape yesterday, many of the soldiers had thrown away their weapons and equipment.)
Furthermore, they had been trudging along the way and had been entangled with the rebel army of Katanai for half a day. How could the exhausted soldiers still have the fighting spirit to continue fighting against the enemy who was waiting for them? Before Masias could give the order to retreat, the uneasy soldiers had already turned around and ran back.
However, the soldiers had only taken a few steps before they stopped again. This was because a troop of about a thousand people had appeared behind them.
The people of Syracuse had already understood that they had fallen into an ambush. The troops were even more panicked.
"Run up the mountain!" The soldiers shouted in panic. They rushed towards the mountain ridge in the west as if it was their only way out.
However, when they reached the foot of the mountain, countless javelins and arrows were shot out from the dense forest.
Amidst the screams, the people of Syracuse realized that there was an ambush on the mountain ridge as well. Yes, the Light Infantry of the First Legion and the people of Leontini had been waiting in the mountain ridge for a long time.
The morale of the defeated soldiers of Syracuse was completely destroyed. The troops were scattered like a sheet of sand, scattering in all directions …
Next, it was time for the soldiers of Diónia to capture the captives.
At this moment, Antonios finally heaved a sigh of relief. He could no longer care about his dignity as a Legion Leader. He sat on the ground and happily watched as the soldiers chased after the fleeing enemies like eagles catching chicks.
"Legion Leader, someone's coming!" Suddenly, a guard reminded him softly.
He focused his gaze and saw a group of people walking towards him.
He stood up unhurriedly and adjusted his helmet and breastplate.
"Sir Antonios, congratulations. You've defeated the Allied Forces of Syracuse!" The familiar-looking man who was walking at the front raised his arms and congratulated him excitedly.
"Antraporis?!" Antonios looked at him and asked loudly.
"It's me, Sir Antonios. Actually, when we were at the mansion of Sir Devers — "Before Antraporis could finish his sentence, he heard the people around him exclaim in surprise. He immediately received a heavy punch to his face. He staggered and almost fell to the ground.
Along with the salty taste in his mouth, Antraporis wiped it with his hand and realized that the corner of his mouth was bleeding. He was instantly enraged.
"This punch is for the soldiers of the First Legion who died in Mejalo yesterday! It's also to vent the anger of the soldiers who have been running around under your command for the past few days! "
Antonios' cold voice entered Antraporis' ears. Not only did it dissipate his anger, but it also made him feel a little uneasy. As an ordinary citizen of Diónia, although he used the word "hope" in the letter he wrote to the high-ranking Senate Senator and the Legion Leader of the First Legion, he, of course, knew that Antonios would not refuse him. Moreover, his special identity could not be used in formal occasions. This resulted in a strange phenomenon of "an ordinary citizen of Diónia mobilizing a Legion Leader". If the other Legion Leaders knew about this, they would probably laugh their heads off. It was no wonder that Antonios hit him.
"Since Dionysius invaded Greece, countless people of Diónia have died in this war … Sicily is the rear that Syracuse has operated for many years. There are countless allies, a large population, and rich resources. The First Legion is facing danger alone … I have to do this in order to carry out His Majesty's order and end this war as soon as possible! In fact, we have won, haven't we? Lord Antonios, you are now the Conqueror of southeastern Sicily! " Antraporis' words were soft but firm. The meaning behind his words was: Without my help, how could you, Antonios, have such glory? I'm afraid you would have been finished long ago!
Of course, Antonios understood the meaning of his words. Among the generals of Diónia, he had a higher emotional intelligence. That was why the Devers sent him to Sicily instead of Amyntas. Antraporis had given him great help. He knew very well that he was just venting the frustration of being commanded by Antraporis for the past two days. In fact, he had held back when he punched. Otherwise, Antraporis would not have been able to get up.
"Yes, it's not easy to win!" He sighed, tactfully expressing his gratitude to Antraporis.
Then the two fell silent, leaving the Katanaeans who rushed to defend Antraporis and the guards who stopped them at a loss.
After a while, it was Antraporis, who had a lower status, who spoke first, "Lord Antonios, what plan do you need us to cooperate with next?"
Antraporis' low profile made it difficult for Antonios to be reserved. "What's the situation in Syracuse now?" he asked.
"According to the news we have received so far, the rioting people of Syracuse have occupied the entire city and port. Dionysius' men and mercenaries have retreated to Ortygia Island. As far as I know, it's Dionysius's old nest. It faces the sea on three sides, and is connected to the city of Syracuse on one side. It has tall and thick walls and fortresses. The island is full of his supporters, and the rioting people can't capture it, "Antraporis said thoughtfully.
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