Chapter 963
Half an hour later, a speedboat returned and informed Ademica that after the Dionysian fleet approached the coast, they turned around and headed north. They passed by Saint Iberia and were about to circle around the northern tip of Sardinia Island.
Hearing this, Ademica was greatly relieved. It seemed that the Dionysian fleet had returned to Alenia.
Thus, Ademica's fleet began a comprehensive rescue operation. They rescued all the sailors who had fallen into the water and placed them on the warships that had been ravaged by the Raven's warships. They bandaged the wounds of the sailors who had been slashed and transferred some of them to other warships. They made simple repairs to the less damaged warships, while the more heavily damaged warships were towed by other warships, ready to be brought back to the port. After all, there were too few warships in the Carthage fleet at the moment. Every ship that they could save was one. In addition, Ademica also rescued as many of the Dionysian crew members as possible. This, of course, was not out of kindness. They could be used to exchange for the Phoenician civilians who had been captured by the Dionysian fleet in the past. At the same time, they were also trophies that the fleet could use to show off their achievements when they returned to the port of Saros. After all, compared to the defeated Annobus, he had gained some achievements.
The crew of Ademica's fleet had been busy with this. During this time, several warships that had originally belonged to Annobus arrived one after another and joined the fleet.
It was not until the setting sun dyed the western sky red that the entire fleet slowly sailed east.
During the voyage, the crew of one of the warships came up with a way to amuse themselves. They forced the captured Diónia sailors to run on the slippery deck naked. They could not slow down, either. If they stopped, they would be beaten with wooden sticks, and if they fell, they would be whipped.
Soon, the crew of the other warships followed suit and quickly spread the idea. Seeing the amusing and painful faces of the captives and listening to their shrill screams, they could vent their anger after losing to the Diónia navy several times.
Some of the crew even came up with other ways to humiliate the captives, such as:
In the flagship's cabin, the boatswain grabbed the leather helmet of a captive, touched the red tassel on top of the helmet, and asked, "Looks like you're a captain?"
The captive who was tied to the pillar of the ship glared at him.
"Boss, he doesn't understand what you're saying," a sailor said.
"He will understand." The boatswain laughed coldly. He waved his hand and gave the captive a heavy slap.
The captive screamed, and half of his face quickly swelled up.
The boatswain shrugged at the sailors. "See, he understands."
The sailors roared with laughter.
The captive cursed angrily.
The boatswain frowned and suddenly took the leather helmet and peed in it.
"Uh …" The sailors showed looks of disgust.
But when the boatswain put the cap before the captive, and made him drink, they were excited again.
The captive glared at him and spat on his face.
This infuriated the boatswain, who seized the prisoner by the neck with his right hand, and with his right put the helmet to his mouth.
The captive struggled with all his might, his face flushed red, and in the end, he had no choice but to open his mouth and gasp for air.
The boatswain took the opportunity to pour the urine in the helmet into his mouth. The captive choked and coughed, while the sailors laughed loudly.
Ademica watched this scene in the cabin through the gap in the middle of the deck. Even though a smile appeared on his face, he had to remind the captive, "Be careful, don't kill him!"
"Don't worry, sir. We will 'entertain' him very carefully," the boatswain said respectfully as he patted the captive's head mockingly.
Ademica snorted, stood up, and walked to the bow of the ship. He looked ahead and fell into deep thought.
He had already learned about the general course of the battle from the sailors he rescued, and realized the mistakes Arnobus made in the battle. He was thinking about how to write a letter to Margo, the leader of the Magonid Family and the military commander of Carthage, so that he could use it to challenge the Hanoverian party in the Senate and take back the command of the navy.
"Sir, a warship has appeared behind us!" The watchman on the mainmast shouted loudly, interrupting his thoughts.
Before he could respond, in Ao Wangshou's field of vision, another indistinct image appeared behind the warship on the horizon.
The watchman used his hand to block the dazzling rays of the setting sun and closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, the image in front of him became clear. It was many warships!
"Sir, it's not a warship, it's a fleet!" The watchman hugged the mast with one hand and pointed to the rear with the other, shouting nervously.
"Whose fleet?!" Ademica was also nervous, but he first had to figure out whether it was a friend or foe.
As there was still a slight southeast wind, neither Ademica's fleet nor the unfamiliar fleet had raised their sails. The watchman had to widen his eyes and distinguish with great effort. "… A black bow! It's the Diónia fleet! Sir, they're moving very fast!! "
The watchman's words shattered Ademica's hope. It also made him confused. Why would the Dionysian fleet appear in the west?!
… …
Midolades led the Third Fleet and sailed eastward until the watchman told him that the Carthage warships behind them had stopped chasing.
Although he had given the order to slow down, he still led the fleet to follow behind the fleeing Carthage warships until he saw with his own eyes that the enemy had fled into the port of Saros. Only then did he command the fleet to continue northward.
When he reached the northern tip of Sardinia Island, he pretended that he was returning to Alenia. In fact, he led the fleet in a small circle, avoiding the detection of the Carthage's clippers, and then left the coastal waters, sailing straight west.
He wanted to lead the Third Fleet to attack the Carthage fleet in the west. He knew that the entire fleet was missing nearly ten warships, and they must have fallen into the hands of the Carthage fleet. As the commander of the Third Fleet, he had the responsibility to rescue the lost warships and captive crew.
He was also very clear that according to the usual procedure of a naval battle, the Carthaginian fleet must be cleaning up the battlefield, rescuing the sailors who fell into the water, and helping the damaged warships … This would take a lot of time, and would also make the entire fleet bloated and slow.
At the same time, he also knew that the mission given to him by the King of Devers was to defeat the new fleet of Carthage. Now that he had such a rare opportunity, he would not let it go so easily!
However, although Midolades and the captains were experienced in sailing, it was not easy to find a target in the vast sea. The entire fleet sailed to the west of the Carthage fleet, which delayed them for some time. When the sun set, they had to give up the search and began to return eastward. Unexpectedly, after a period of sailing, the clippers in front of them suddenly reported that they had discovered the Carthage fleet!
Midolades immediately became excited and ordered all the warships to prepare for battle.
In fact, it was a blessing in disguise for the Third Fleet. It was precisely because they had gone in the wrong direction and fell behind the Carthage fleet. Ademika did not assign clippers to scout behind him because he did not think that there would be an enemy attack from the distant sea. As a result, when the Third Fleet came within sight of both sides, the Carthage fleet was unprepared.
Hearing the lookout on the mainmast describe in detail that the Carthage fleet was moving very slowly ahead, and that there were some broken ships being towed … Midolades knew that his guess had become reality. Suppressing the ecstasy in his heart, he loudly ordered, "Blow the bugle to attack! Raise the red flag and the black triangular flag!"
When the Diónia Navy attacked, they usually adopted the "Starry Sky" formation. This was a naval formation that had been tested by the navy over a long period of battle, and was proven to be able to fully utilize the advantages of the Diónia warships. Its flag was black, and it had many variations. The standard was a black rectangular flag with the raven warships at the front and the fast warships at the back. The triangular black flag meant that the fast warships were at the front and the raven warships were at the back.
This was because Midolades wanted to use the high speed of the fast warships to charge into the enemy's formation as soon as possible, further disrupting the unprepared Carthage fleet.
When the sailors in the cabin heard the order issued by Midolades on the deck, they began to get excited.
The boatswain was also encouraging everyone. "Brothers, it's time to rescue our comrades and make a glorious contribution! Prepare for battle! "
"Roar!!!" The sailors roared in unison, their eyes once again bursting with fighting spirit. They stuffed the remaining rations into their mouths and tightened their grip on the oars in their hands.
Although the sailors had gone through a tough battle and were very tired, after returning to the coast, the sailors took turns paddling and got some rest. Especially when they made a circle and sailed from the east to the west, they even raised the sails. With the help of the southeast wind, they saved some energy and recovered some of their stamina.
"Start accelerating." The boatswain signaled to the piper.
Beep! Beep! Beep! With the sharp sound of the piper, more than 200 wooden oars on both sides of the warship slid quickly like the legs of a millipede.
The entire warship was like a sharp knife, cutting through the surging waves without any hindrance. The waves timidly avoided the dark bow of the warship and jumped onto the deck, drenching Midolades' body.
Midolades did not care. He stared ahead without moving. When he saw that the Carthage warship was getting closer and closer to him, he signaled his men to bring the helmet with the purple and red tassels and put it on solemnly.
At this time, a fast warship caught up from behind and swept past the left side of the flagship. The captain solemnly saluted Midolades on the deck.
Midolades solemnly returned the salute.
Then, another fast warship swept past the right side of the flagship. Midolades returned the salute again.
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