Chapter 979
Who would have thought that they would run into the fleeing soldiers from the western part of the city? Only then did they realize that the western wall had fallen. Everyone panicked and did not know where to go. Some even cried, "It's over … Syracuse is finished …"
Suddenly, someone shouted, "We can go to Ortygia Island!"
This reminded the panicking councilors: Yes, we still have Ortygia Island!
As the birthplace of Syracuse and the acropolis of Syracuse, Ortygia Island was built into a sturdy fortress during Dionysius's reign. At the same time, a palace was built on the island. After Dionysius was overthrown, Harolis allowed the original inhabitants of Ortygia Island, who had been forcibly driven out by Dionysius, to return to the island.
Someone in the council once proposed to tear down the walls of Ortygia Island to prevent it from becoming a gathering place for ambitious politicians.
However, this was opposed by many. The reason was that Ortygia Island, as the acropolis of Syracuse, should have a strong defense. When Syracuse was in danger, it should be a refuge for the people.
Now, this was true!
When Syracuse was in chaos, Dionysius retreated to Ortygia. Harolis had the absolute advantage, but could do nothing to him. In the end, they relied on Sparta to trick him out of Ortygia. Therefore, the island's defense was absolutely trustworthy. Most of the people on the island were descendants of the founders of Syracuse. Their loyalty to the city was also trustworthy. Therefore, Ortygia Island was an ideal refuge.
The councilors calmed down a little. They gathered the fleeing soldiers and retreated to Ortygia Island (many soldiers refused to go there because they were worried about their families). They also sent people to inform Falcus and Teagenis, hoping that they could hold on for a while longer, so that the people in the city could have some time to retreat to Ortygia Island. In particular, the port area was very close to the isthmus. If the enemy broke through the inner wall, the isthmus might be cut off.
The inner wall's defense was already crumbling, but Falcus was doing his best to hold on. However, when Teagenis learned that the southern section of the western city wall had fallen, he did not insist on defending the city wall. Instead, he led the few soldiers who were willing to follow him and fled to Ortygia Island.
The defenders on the east wall also saw the fire in the city, and their reaction was not much different from the defenders on the west wall.
The Diónia Allied Army had finally broken through the defenses of the eastern wall. As the commander, Zantiparis was finally relieved. Compared to the main force of Diónia on the western front, the troops attacking the eastern wall were made up of citizens of the Legion of Diónia. Of course, they would not obey orders and commands like the Legion of Diónia and attack without any regard for casualties. It took Zantiparis a lot of persuasion just to convince the generals of the Legion of Diónia to lead their own troops to attack continuously. That was why the battle on the eastern front was not fierce, but at least a few thousand defenders were held up, creating the conditions for the Dionysian Army to break through in other directions.
At dusk, the troops from the east and west successfully met at Apollo Square in Syracuse.
… …
The main force led by the Devers remained in Minoa, while the troops led by Lizaru and Epitenis stayed in Enna and fortified the city every day.
Under such circumstances, Margo was at his wit's end. Even if he wanted to attack one side, the shortage of food made him give up on the idea. After five or six days of confrontation in Minoa, he finally led his troops west to Segesta.
When the Devers received the news of the "great victory of the Third Fleet", he was even more determined to carry out the strategy of "land defense, sea attack".
These days, new warships were added to the ranks of the Sicilian fleet. The total number of warships had reached 320, and the main force had moved forward to the port of Serinus.
Every morning, Sykerian would lead the fleet out of the port and sail to the west, sweeping the entire western coast of Sicily. He would not return until dusk. This was because he had recently received information from the King of the Devers. Recently, a large number of ships had gathered in the ports of Carthage and its surrounding Phoenician allies. At the same time, the city was also rushing to gather food, which was likely to be transported to Sicily.
In the early morning of this day, it was drizzling in the western waters of Sicily. The sky was a little dark, and although there was a slight breeze, the waves were not strong.
Sykerian, who had once again become the commander of the Sicilian fleet, had learned his lesson from the last time. He specially hired several old sailors who had lived here for decades as consultants to provide him with analysis of the sea conditions and climate of this area. Once again, they all made a positive judgment: there was not likely to be a big storm in the western waters today.
Therefore, although Sykerian was hesitant, he still ordered the Sicilian fleet to leave the port as usual and head west along the coast.
Due to the rain, the sea was shrouded in mist, resulting in poor visibility. To prevent accidents, all the warships slowed down. The entire fleet of 280 warships maintained a relatively dense formation as they moved forward (the other 40 warships were anchored at the simple port of Minoa to ensure the needs of the main force led by the Devers).
Therefore, a voyage that usually only took an hour now took two hours. The fleet finally reached the sea near Mazara and began to sail northwest.
At this time, the drizzle had stopped, and the sky gradually brightened. The mist gradually dissipated, revealing the blue sky and the blue sea. It was endless, and a gentle breeze caressed one's face, making one feel relaxed and happy.
Only then did Sykerian feel relieved. He smiled at the two consulting sailors and said, "Your judgment is very accurate! As expected of the person who is said to be 'blessed by the Sea God'! "
The two old sailors from Serinus hurriedly responded modestly. As Greek sailors, they had a low status in Serinus. They relied on fishing and transporting goods for a living. They had never had the chance to speak to a noble general of the kingdom who led hundreds of warships on equal footing.
Seeing them nod and bow, Sykerian frowned, but did not say anything. He turned to the captain of the flagship and ordered, "Inform the fleet to return to normal speed. Send out the clippers and carefully search for the target at sea."
Not long after, the speed of the entire fleet increased. More than 10 clippers also left the main fleet and quickly moved forward.
After tens of minutes, the clipper at the front was already close to the clear sea. The lookout on the mast moved his already numb limbs and lowered his head to shout, "Captain!"
When the captain of the clipper heard this, he immediately asked excitedly, "Is there any sign of the enemy?"
The lookout originally wanted to say, "Is it time for the shift? It should be time for the next person to replace me. " However, the captain's question made him subconsciously look at the sea in front of him again. Then, he was stunned. He blinked, widened his eyes again, and stared ahead. After a moment, he also shouted excitedly, "There's an enemy ship! One, two, three … There are so many Carthage ships! "
"Commander, the warships in front have raised a white flag!" The lookout on the mainmast of the flagship saw the flag signal transmitted by the flagship of the B Squadron in front and shouted excitedly, "It's two white flags! It's an ordinary fleet with the same number of warships as us! "
Sykerian immediately understood the meaning behind this. He also became excited. To encounter an ordinary fleet in this sea area, it could only be from Carthage. It seemed that the information given by His Majesty was correct. Carthage was indeed here to deliver military rations!
He ordered without hesitation, "Tell Stefakas to lead his B Squadron and sink all these Carthage cargo ships! If even one escapes, let him receive military punishment! "
After receiving this order, Stefakas, the commander of the B Squadron, immediately exerted 120% of his spirit and ordered the warships of the B Squadron, which he commanded as the vanguard, to spread out in a straight line and advance quickly in the direction where they had discovered the enemy.
… …
These more than 200 Carthage merchant ships formed two columns and were moving in the direction of Lili. On the leading merchant ship, a sailor was standing at the top of the mast and looking ahead nervously. Suddenly, he shouted anxiously, "Old man, Diónia warships … Diónia warships are coming!"
After saying that, he quickly slid down from the mast.
Merchant ships were not like warships. Generally, they only had one mast, and it was located at the end of the bed. Usually, people would not stand at the top of the mast to look out. On one hand, merchant ships relied heavily on the propulsion of sails and were afraid of trampling on the mast. On the other hand, standing on the mast for a long time could easily destroy the balance of the whole body and lead to accidents. However, today's situation was special. They needed to know the movements of the Dionysian fleet as early as possible.
"I think I've really gone crazy. I actually agreed to Morbar's request to pilot a merchant ship to face the warships." The old captain with white hair did not seem nervous. Instead, he sighed and said.
Beside him, a helmsman with an equally wrinkled face comforted him, "We're still considered lucky. Baricos and the others even have to pilot a merchant ship and break into the Diónia's fleet. That's really crazy!"
The old captain sighed again, "Who asked us to be Morbar's old subordinates? We've followed him for so many years and received a lot of help from him … Besides, the mother country is in trouble now. If old people like us who are about to die can play a little role and provide some help to it, I believe that even if we die, it will be an honor for us!"
The old helmsman nodded in agreement.
"Old man, don't reminisce about the past! The Diónia warships are coming soon. Hurry up and follow the plan. Steer this ship to the designated place. This place is too far from the coast. If the ship is hit and sunk, we may not be able to swim to the shore! "The young sailor who was looking out from the mast urged.
"Don't worry, don't worry," the old captain said unhurriedly. Then, he closed his eyes and focused on sensing the direction of the wind. "It seems that the wind is slightly stronger."
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