Chapter 867
At dusk, the Diónia Allied Army dug trenches, cleared away the weeds and trees in the camp area, and started to build a wall … The entire Allied Army camp was shaped like an ellipse, with the Potentia Army and Abenilum Army camps further north, while the Dionysian Army camp was towards the southwest. This was because the eastern hills were not completely continuous and had some low hills. Considering that they needed more support for the weaker Abenilum Army, Alexis extended the camp to the eastern hills (behind the Abenilum Camp). This was to prevent the hills from cutting off the Abenilum Camp from the main force, making it the focus of the enemy's attack.
At this time, the main force of the Samonese Allied Army was bloated (carrying a lot of captured slaves and property), and with the harassment of the Campanian Army, they had barely reached Kautium.
At night, Lescoc carefully planned a night attack on the Diónia Allied Army camp, with the main target being the Potentia Army.
Although the cautious Alexis had warned Pollet in advance, the Beneventum Army's night attack still caused some confusion among the inexperienced Potentia soldiers.
Then, Alexis, who received the news, immediately sent reinforcements.
Because Lescoc did not have enough troops, he could not further expand the advantages he had obtained. Before the enemy's reinforcements arrived, he ordered the soldiers to burn some tents and quickly retreat.
… …
On the same day, Zantiparis led half of the reserve army, set off from the port of Enona, took a fleet, bypassed the Sorrento Peninsula, and landed on the coast near Pompeii without any hindrance. Then, he successfully recovered the looted city of Pompeii.
Then, he sent troops to easily recapture the city of Oplontis, which was not far from Pompeii and was also deserted.
After lunch, Zantiparis left 200 soldiers in each of the two cities, then led 3,600 soldiers, marched east, and entered the Naconian territory. Some of the residents and priests of the small town of Barbaria, which was burned down by Segovani, had close relations with the Naconians over the years, and many of them could speak Samonese. They began to shout slogans in Samonese, such as "Avenge Quinduc, drive the Kautium Army out, return Naconia to us …", which resonated with the original Naconian tribesmen. Especially when they saw the familiar priests of Hades and the residents of Barbaria in the army, they immediately had a good impression of this army. Therefore, Zantiparis' army was welcomed and supported by many Naconians, and people kept joining the army along the way.
After Segovani lured Quinduc to death and occupied the territory of Naconia, because he was busy cooperating with other tribes and attacking the Campania Alliance, he only slaughtered some of the Naconians who believed in Hades and forced the tribes to submit. He made them send out almost all of their young men to attack the Campania Alliance. At the same time, he left 500 warriors from Kautim to guard the city of Naconia.
As for the forced relocation of several large tribes in Naconia to other areas, and then the relocation of a few tribes from Kautium to Naconia to occupy the vacant land … Due to the lack of time, the various tribes in Naconia had not been implemented yet, but the tribes in Naconia had already felt the crisis of survival, especially the barbaric behavior of the Kautium warriors in the city. Every day, the people in Naconia were angered.
While the warriors of Kautium stood at the top of the walls and were shocked by the enemy's huge army below (half of them were Naconian tribesmen. Zantiparis had lined them up at the back of the formation, so the warriors on the walls could not see them clearly), the people inside the city rejoiced at the arrival of the reinforcements and began to take action. While the Kautium warriors were defending the city wall, they burned the temporary camp of the Kautium warriors in the city.
Seeing the burning camp, the Kautium warriors panicked even more. How could they not know that the inside of Naconia was as dangerous as the outside of the city? Their homeland was Kautium, and they were not determined to defend this city that had nothing to do with them. So, when they saw that the situation was not good, they immediately left the city and tried to escape through the east gate where there were no enemies outside the city. Unexpectedly, javelins were shot from the houses on both sides of the street, killing and injuring the fleeing warriors. On the street in front of them, the people in the city blocked the road with wood, mud bricks, stones … This caused chaos in the escaping army.
After the Kautium warriors left the city wall, the people in the city quickly opened the unguarded west gate. Zantiparis led the soldiers in, and under the leadership of the people in the city, they began to chase the enemy.
The Kautium warriors were defeated. Other than a few who escaped the city, most of the warriors were either killed or captured.
Since the leaders of the tribes were under Segovani's control, the people of Naconia who were freed from Segovani's control quickly elected a few respectable elders from the tribes to negotiate with the Dionian army.
Zantiparis also took the initiative to withdraw his army from Naconia to show his sincerity.
Soon, both sides reached a simple agreement. The Dionysian Army would do their best to protect the safety of Naconia, but would not send troops into Naconia. The tribes in Naconia would allow Diónia to transport supplies to Abenilum and provide as much help as possible. Diónia would send the Hades priests to Naconia as soon as possible to preside over the sacred affairs and repair the Temple of the Hades as soon as possible. Diónia would do its best to help the Naconian warriors who were threatened by Segovani return home. Naconia would also send people with the Dionysian Army to persuade the Naconian warriors to escape …
After the agreement was reached, Zantiparis let out a long sigh of relief. There were two parts of the agreement that were very important to the Allied Forces of Diónia. One was the issue of food transportation. If the food was transported by sea to Poseidonia, then through the rugged mountain roads to Kopsa, then to Abenilum, and finally to the Allied Forces' camp in Beneventum, it would take a lot of time and energy. On the other hand, if the food was transported by sea to Pompeii, then through Naconia's territory, then to Abenilum (there were thousands of meters of mountains between Naconia and Abenilum. There were only a few narrow mountain roads connecting the two places, but the distance was not too far. This also prevented the Samonai Army from crossing the mountains and intercepting the food route), the entire journey would be shortened by half. Therefore, when they parted at Kopsa, Alexis and Zantiparis had already discussed their plan. Recovering Naconia was the top priority.
The other was to sign a friendly agreement with the Naconians. With their help, the Naconian warriors in the Samonai Army could escape from the Samonai Army and weaken their strength.
However, Zantiparis did not expect that the Naconians would take the initiative to bring back the Priests of Hades. Perhaps it was because Segovani's wanton persecution of the Hades believers in Naconia had stimulated the rebellious mentality of the Naconians. In this chaotic time, the arrival of the Priests of Hades could help the Naconians in many aspects, such as healing, relief, and comfort. This was something that the local Priests of Savone could not do.
… …
That night, the defeated army fled back to Kautium. Segovani was shocked when he learned about it. The retreat of the army and the possibility of Naconia being attacked by the enemy was within his expectations. However, they lost the southernmost land of the Kautium tribe so quickly. The role and hostility of the Naconians in this matter shocked him.
On the one hand, he blocked the news to prevent the Naconian warriors from knowing. On the other hand, he sent an additional 500 warriors to Lola and Cesarra in the west (including the defeated soldiers), hoping that these two cities could become a barrier to the south of Kautium.
To be honest, he was not worried about the Campanian army, but he was a little afraid of the Diónia people, even though their numbers were probably small.
… …
The next day, the Diónia Coalition Army continued to build the camp. With the lesson from last night, the Coalition Army worked harder. They cut down trees, built wooden fences, built sentry towers, and arranged the abatis.
On the other hand, Lescok gradually adapted to the enemy sending troops to suppress the city and the bombardment of the ballista. He sent warriors out of the city many times to harass them. The Diónia Coalition Army also gradually became experienced in this and took corresponding defensive measures. After paying a small number of casualties, they forced the enemy to retreat.
In the afternoon, more than 10,000 Samonese Coalition Army soldiers finally entered the city of Beneventum.
On the same day, Zantiparis led 3,600 soldiers out of the Naconia territory and marched north. After two hours of marching, they approached the city of Lola. Here, they met up with the 8,000 soldiers of the Campanian Alliance from the west. The total number of soldiers reached 11600.
There were only 1,500 Kautium warriors in Lola. Of course, they were very nervous, so they closed the four gates and mobilized the entire city. All the warriors went up to the top of the city and prepared for defense.
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