Chapter 956
"I was overjoyed when I received Sir Cypross's order at Hena!" Brereu said sincerely. "Sir Lizaru, Sir Epitenis, you don't know how much the Carthage people have done to the Sikere tribe! Your arrival has given us a chance to take revenge on the Carthage people! Everyone has been waiting for you to come! " As Claylou spoke, he pointed at the Sikaer soldiers following behind him. Every single one of them was gazing fervently at the Dionian marching troops, whose flags were fluttering in the wind, and whose military formations were neat and imposing.
The two commanders were also sizing up the auxiliary troops that Kleyru had gathered. Most of them were Sikaer light infantry who wore short-sleeved shirts and held javelins in their hands. There were also a small number of light armored soldiers who wielded leather shields and spears, and wore black leather armor and leather armor.
Seeing that the two legion commanders were puzzled by the attire of these light armored soldiers, Creylu explained, "They are Sikere citizens who joined the kingdom in recent years. They are also recruited to participate in the military training at the Catanai Barracks. They are also considered reserve soldiers of the legion."
"How many people do you have under you?" Lizaru asked directly.
"A total of 4,700 people. Those who have become Diónia citizens are 780.
780 people. The rest are all people from different tribes, "Keleru replied.
Lizaru and Epitenis looked at each other, and a smile appeared on their faces. Previously, the king of Devers had asked Creylu to gather the Sikere people to help them in battle. However, they did not expect Creylu to gather so many soldiers. Including the full Legio III and the 16,000 Lucanian reserve soldiers, and the additional 1,000 Rome soldiers, the total number of soldiers had increased to 23,000.
To them, this was already a huge number, and it filled them with confidence that they could defeat the enemies in the mountains.
"Dear legion commanders, it's getting late. Let's hurry up and let the soldiers enter the city," Creylu reminded them.
"I think we should set up camp outside the city. We have two legions. I'm afraid this city won't be able to accommodate us." Epicthenis shook his head. He had been observing the city from afar. Although Agillion was once the central city of the Sikaer people, the city walls were not very tall and were made of wood. It didn't seem very big either. Considering that there were still residents in the city, he made this suggestion.
Unexpectedly, Brereu said hatefully, "You don't know, but when Carthage and his men retreated, they forced the Sikell tribe in Agilion City and the surrounding areas to follow them to the west. Anyone who resisted was beheaded … Agilion is now an empty city, and there are enough empty houses to house the soldiers …"
No wonder these Sikaer warriors had such fervent gazes! Epictetus swept his gaze over the soldiers standing behind Claylou once more. He felt that this was a good thing, because hatred could bring strength. In the future, these Sikaer soldiers would definitely fight with all their might against Carthage's men.
"Do you know where Carthage's men have retreated to?" Lizaru was more concerned about the movements of Carthage's army.
"According to some of the Sikaer tribes, Carthage's men have retreated to Enna. As for the exact situation, I've just gathered my troops and haven't done a detailed investigation," Claylou explained.
"Pick ten Sikaer warriors from your troops who are very familiar with the terrain and have them lead our scouting team. We'll quickly find out the details of the enemy's situation so that we can formulate a plan of attack as soon as possible." Lizaru immediately made this request to Claylou. He also said to Epicthenis, "We shouldn't rely too much on Izam. He has to serve His Majesty first, and there will definitely be a delay when he relays information to us. It'll be faster if we obtain information ourselves."
Epicthenis nodded in agreement and said, "Let's enter the city first. The soldiers have marched for so long, it's time for them to rest."
"Enter the city!" Lizaru waved behind him.
The flag bearer of Legio III, who was standing at the front of the marching column, waved the legion's flag and led the soldiers into the city gate of Agillion.
The Sikaer warriors standing on both sides of the city gate and the road welcomed them in their own way.
… …
Later, the army led by the Devers arrived at Gela.
This famous Greek city on the south coast had now been burned to ruins by Carthage's men. This was Mago's idea. Even though he had led his troops to retreat, he didn't want the Diónia to take advantage of these empty cities.
Not only did Gela suffer, but Econum, Agrigento, and Minoa also suffered the same fate. Only Agillion was an exception. This was because of the request of Aconis, the leader of the Sikaer Tanik tribe. After all, Agillion was the town where his father lived. He still hoped that after Carthage drove out the Diónia, he would once again make Agillion the capital of the Sikaer people. Of course, he didn't want it to be destroyed, and it wouldn't be good for his reputation among the other Sikaer tribes.
In order to continue to gain Aconis' loyalty, Carthage agreed to his request.
The Devers already knew about the destruction of Gela, but because Carthage's people retreated in a hurry, they didn't patiently destroy the city after burning it down. Therefore, the walls of Gela were still relatively intact.
Yesterday, the Devers had ordered Sykkelian to send ten warships to land at Gela. The crew had carried out a thorough cleaning and simple repair of the city. Therefore, although it was already dusk when the Devers led their troops to the city, the tired soldiers didn't need to build a camp. They directly entered the city, went to their assigned areas, set up their tents, and rested.
Moreover, the Devers had learned from the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade that there were no traces of Carthage's troops within dozens of miles. The only possible hostile city, Kamalina, only had a little more than 1,000 Syracuse soldiers stationed there. It was impossible for them to pose a threat to the Dionysian Army.
However, the Devers still reminded the corps commanders to strictly abide by the requirements of camping in enemy-occupied areas during wartime. They had to set up the necessary defensive facilities, arrange sentries and patrols, and prevent the enemy from attacking at night.
On this day, after Alexis, the commander of the Apulian Theatre of Operations, had completed the defense deployment of the area she was in charge of (the Eleventh Legion was assigned to guard the Downey area to deter the Samonians who had just surrendered, and at the same time to prevent attacks from the other side of the Adriatic Sea, the Ninth Legion was responsible for the defense of Meshapi and Puchetti), she led the fully replenished and fully staffed Tenth Legion and Third Cavalry Legion, as well as four reserve brigades, with a total of nearly 14,000 soldiers, and boarded a ship at the port of Tarantum, heading for Sicily.
… …
The war lasted for almost a year, and the casualties of the citizens of Diónia were not small. Even the region of Turín, with a population of nearly 30%, was greatly affected. After all, it provided the source of soldiers for the First and Second Legions, and these two legions happened to be the main forces of the war, so the casualties were not small. After a period of time, a batch of urns containing the ashes of the dead soldiers and the seriously wounded soldiers were transported to the port by passenger ships.
At this time, the people of Turín were most afraid of being visited by the officials of the Ministry of Household Registration, because it meant that their loved ones had left them.
The Ministry of Military Affairs would inform the next batch of citizens to be ready to be called up at any time according to the roster. Their families were no longer filled with the hope that their loved ones would win rewards and honors as they were at the beginning of the war. Instead, they began to feel uneasy.
More and more people wearing black veils began to appear in the city and outside the city. Mournful cries echoed across the plains from time to time. Every day, there was an endless stream of people going to the various temples of the Hades. Some prayed that the souls of their loved ones who died in the war could reach the Elysium safely, some prayed that their loved ones who were still fighting could return home safely, and some prayed that the war would end as soon as possible …
The priests of the Hades were also very busy. Not only did they have to solemnly place the ashes of the citizens who sacrificed their lives for the country, but they also had to comfort the grieving relatives and solemnly assure them that the Elysium was the final home of the souls of these brave soldiers!
More often than not, they also had to use divination and oracles to comfort the uneasy people.
Several markets in and outside the city began to show a significant decline in trade. This was mainly because the relatives of the deceased did not have a strong desire to spend for a short period of time. Of course, this was also related to the funeral culture of Diónia.
Due to the strength of the Diónia Navy, the sea routes were basically maintained smooth, but the downturn in the market also directly affected the prosperity of the port. The reduction in the number of merchant ships that arrived at the port directly affected the income of the people in the port, and the reduced income would affect their purchasing power, leading to a decline in consumption … This was a vicious cycle caused by the war.
The only fortunate thing was that this year's harvest had just been harvested, and the people had enough surplus food in their homes. The fluctuation of food prices in the market did not affect them much.
Only two markets became more prosperous at this time.
One was the weapons and ironware market. As the army had won the final victory in several battlefields, most of the captured weapons were sold to the domestic weapons merchants at low prices. The merchants sold them directly or smelted them before selling them. The prices were lower than usual. Most of the citizens of Diónia, in order to build up meritorious deeds and better development in the future, would buy some weapons and equipment to be used in the battlefield.
The other one was the slave market. Among the prisoners captured by the Dionysian Army, a small number of them were eventually not released due to various reasons, such as crossing the Adriatic Sea by ship, attacking the soldiers recruited by the former Mesapi, Puchetti, and Downey fugitives in the Apulia region … These slaves were eventually resold to the slave merchants.
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