Chapter 977
As Leotychides spoke, he looked at the top of the city wall in front of him. The enemies on the wall were closely lined up, and there were no obvious gaps. He could not see the distribution of troops behind them, but he was still very confident. "Since the defense of Syracuse is weakening, you will personally inform the captain of the 7th Legion. Tell him to ignore the casualties and continue to attack. Put more pressure on the defenders of Syracuse!"
"Uh … Yes!" Tagrou had no choice but to accept the order and leave.
Leotychides turned his gaze towards the northeast. Although he could not see the location of Yuryalus, he was hoping that Diocassis would be able to lead the army to repel the enemy's attack. When that happened, he might be able to send the 3000 reserve soldiers to Yuryalus.
While he was deep in thought, a scout galloped towards him from the south. "Reporting, Lord Commander. There are about 40 warships of Syracuse sailing out of the port, and they are heading towards our camp!"
Leotychides was stunned. The people of Syracuse are planning to attack my camp from the sea?!
He then thought, 'Could it be that the defense of Syracuse is weakening because they have deployed their soldiers to attack my rear while I am busy attacking the city?!'
Since the Diónia camp was only four miles away from Syracuse, there were only 200 soldiers stationed at the camp. Moreover, there was a large amount of food stored in the camp. Of course, they could not afford to lose it.
However, Leotychides was not nervous. He even hoped that the people of Syracuse would attack the camp. That way, he could destroy more of the enemy's forces. Therefore, he sent a messenger to inform the 3000 soldiers who were resting not far away to return to the camp. However, they had to move slowly.
Just as Leotychides gave the order, a small group of cavalry galloped towards them from the south. The captain beside Leotychides led his guards to welcome them. Very quickly, he returned with a few people. When the first person saw Leotychides, he immediately shouted, "Lord Commander, I am Lord Xenophanes' subordinate. I have important information to report to you!"
Although this person was unfamiliar to Leotychides, he could not help but feel moved when he heard the name Xenophanes. Xenophanes was the person in charge of Diónia's intelligence department in Sicily. Whether it was in quelling the Sikere rebellion a few years ago, or in this war with Carthage, he had provided great help to Leotychides.
Therefore, Leotychides suddenly had a lot of hope in his heart. However, he did not show it on his face. He still maintained his vigilance and said faintly, "I have never seen you before. How can you prove it?"
The person quietly took out a thumb-sized object from his pocket and handed it to the captain. Then, he said softly, "Baal Harmon."
Previously, when Leotychides led his army to the west of Sicily, Xenophanes could not always be by his side and provide intelligence. Therefore, he told Leotychides that as long as there was someone in the west of Sicily who held the iron statue of the sleeping god Shupnus and could say the password at that time, that person would be a member of the intelligence department. Leotychides had to trust the information he provided.
Leotychides had met them a few times in the west, and the information they provided had benefited him greatly. This time, when he went to Syracuse, Xenophanes also reminded him and told him the name of the person in charge of the intelligence department in Syracuse.
According to Xenophanes, just like how the symbol of the legion was a three-headed dog, the symbol of the intelligence department was the sleeping god Shupnus. This was because the sleeping god could make people fall asleep without them noticing and then do whatever they wanted. This was in line with the style of the intelligence department.
He looked at the iron statue of Shupnus and found that there was a set of "Devers" numbers at the base. It was said that it represented the identity of the owner and the area they were in charge of. Furthermore, the person had said the password correctly.
Leotychides returned the statue and asked, "What is your name?"
"Artemis. I am in charge of Syracuse."
Everything is correct! Leotychides looked at him and found that his appearance matched Xenophanes' description. He then asked, "What important information is it?"
"General Cedarax of Syracuse has decided to lead the people in the port area to join the kingdom. He is now leading more than 2,000 soldiers to control the military port in front of us, ready to fight with the army of Syracuse. For this reason, he has sent out all his warships to dock at the beach not far from our camp and transport our soldiers into the military port of Syracuse to reinforce them. After that, we will attack the city of Syracuse together..." Artemis excitedly explained everything in one breath.
Leotychides was shocked. There was internal strife in Syracuse, some of the people in Syracuse had surrendered, the military port was open to the Dionysian Army, soldiers could enter Syracuse on their warships... These words surprised the usually calm Leotychides to the point that he could not believe it. A great opportunity to attack Syracuse was placed in front of him so easily?!
While he was feeling emotional, he heard Artemis say, "This is General Cedarax's nephew, Samoratis. He played an important role in persuading Cedarax to join the kingdom!"
Samoratis stepped forward and looked nervously at the Diónia commander in front of him, who was wearing a black breastplate and a purple and red crown helmet. He was a little excited.
The people of Syracuse resented Diónia for taking away their glory, but it also prompted them to pay more attention to this powerful neighbor. Diónia's ever-victorious army attracted the attention of young people. For the past few years, the most talked about general of Diónia among the young people of Syracuse was none other than Leotychides. He conquered the troublesome Sikells and defeated the Carthage Army. He even led the army to the west and wreaked havoc in the territory controlled by the Carthage Army. In recent months, in the discussion of the people of Syracuse, the reputation of this rumored indifferent and ruthless general of Diónia had surpassed that of the king of Diónia who once completely defeated Dionysius and caused its demise.
Samoratis faced Leotychides's sharp gaze and said nervously and eagerly, "Dear … General Prososus, the army of Syracuse will arrive at the military port soon. Our people are not well-equipped and most of them are light infantry. It will be difficult for us to resist their attack. So please … send reinforcements as soon as possible!"
"Okay, I'll send reinforcements now," Leotychides immediately said.
Artemis was a little stunned. He did not expect Leotychides to agree without thinking. It seemed to be somewhat inconsistent with the image of a cautious and thoughtful person.
Samoratis expressed his gratitude happily.
In fact, Leotychides had no reason to hesitate. Carthage's warships had already docked at the shore. Once the Diónia soldiers boarded the warships, it was equivalent to controlling the entire warship. If this was a conspiracy, using thousands of sailors and the entire navy of Syracuse as bait was too risky. With Syracuse in such a difficult situation, Leotychides did not think that the people of Syracuse would have the courage and courage to carry out this plan. It would not be easy to convince their council to carry out this plan.
Leotychides decided to let the 3,000 reserve soldiers first board the warships of Syracuse and land at the military port. At the same time, he also sent someone to inform the resting Eighth Army to rush to the beach as the second wave of troops to land at the military port. Compared to the Euryalus Fortress which was further away, the port was a better springboard to attack the city of Syracuse. Since he had made up his mind, he simply sent all the surplus troops there.
… …
After paying a heavy price, the Syracuse soldiers who attacked the Euryalus Fortress finally broke through the wooden planks blocking the entrance. The soldiers roared excitedly and swarmed into the hole. They were going to kill all the enemies who invaded the city.
However, as soon as they rushed into the fortress, the soldiers running at the front suddenly stopped. In front of them was a ditch about three meters wide and two meters deep. The ditch extended all the way to the stone walls on both sides. On the other side of the ditch was a dense formation of spears formed by the Diónia soldiers.
The Syracuse soldiers at the front stopped moving forward, but the soldiers at the back kept pouring in. In an instant, the soldiers at the front were pushed into the ditch. Although there were no sharp wooden spikes buried in the ditch due to the lack of time, when the fallen Syracuse soldiers struggled in panic and tried to climb up, another batch of soldiers fell on top of them. The next batch of soldiers were involuntarily pushed forward and stepped on their fallen comrades. After crossing the ditch with great difficulty, they were greeted by countless shining spears...
The Diónia soldiers on top of the stone walls continuously threw javelins, stones and even fire pots.
Screams and groans filled the small fortress. Not long after they charged into the fortress, the Syracuse soldiers suffered heavy casualties and were quickly defeated.
After repelling the enemies on both sides of the wall, the army led by Diocassis defeated the main force of Syracuse that attacked from the south. According to the previous plan, he should continue to defend the fortress and wait for reinforcements instead of pursuing alone to prevent himself from being surrounded by the enemy. However, not long ago, the messenger brought new news: Diónia's reserve troops had landed at the port of Syracuse. Together with the citizens of the port of Syracuse who had just joined the Kingdom, they were engaged in battle with the Syracuse army.
At the same time, Leotychides gave him a new order: When the enemies who attacked the fortress retreat, there was no need to defend the fortress anymore. Immediately march towards the city!
That was why Diocassis gave the order of "full pursuit" without hesitation.
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