Chapter 982
As the eastern side was blocked by Sierra Island, the three Diónia warships had to go around it before they could retreat. In this way, the side and rear of the warships would be exposed to the enemy's attack. Perhaps the fast warships could escape the attack, but the two clumsy raven warships would not be able to escape. Under such a dangerous situation, the three warships unanimously chose to stay and fight.
Morbar initially thought that the three Diónia warships would choose to retreat because of the disparity in strength. However, the other party chose to stay and fight. He was impressed by the high morale of the Diónia Navy. Hence, he changed his mind and did not command his flagship to follow the two fleets. Instead, he chose to stay with the other 19 warships. Although he had learned a lot about the Diónia Navy from many people, he wanted to see the combat level and tactical characteristics of the Diónia warships with his own eyes.
Next, the actions of the Diónia warships made him frown again. They did not attack blindly. Instead, they quickly gathered and retreated to the coast of Sierra Island. The two raven warships were positioned in the front, forming an inverted eight, while the fast warship was positioned in the middle. The shape was like a lobster with two mastiffs sticking out of its cave. As the island acted as a barrier behind them, they only needed to deal with the threat from the front.
This showed that the Diónia Navy not only had high morale, but was also well-trained, well-coordinated, and had a high level of tactical awareness! Morbar's expression was solemn.
The Carthaginian warships began their assault. First, two of the Carthaginian warships circled to the back of the two Raven warships and charged. The Raven warships shifted their bow to the side, causing the two Carthaginian warships to not dare to act rashly. However, the Raven warships shifted outwards, exposing more of their inner hull. Hence, another two Carthaginian warships quickly charged towards the inner hull of the Raven warships. For the Raven warships, if they shifted their bow inwards, they would inevitably expose their outer hull to the collision of the other two warships. It was a dilemma.
Just then, the captain of the speedy warship shouted to the raven warships on both sides, "I'm in the middle!"
After saying that, the sailors on the ship paddled with all their might, and the fast warship quickly turned from a standstill to a forward sprint. Because the bow of the ship was not facing either of the enemy ships, but was passing between two ships, this gave the captains of the two Carthage warships the illusion that the enemy saw that the situation was not good and was preparing to take the opportunity to escape.
In the blink of an eye, the boatswain on the fast warship heard the captain shout from the deck, "Turn left! Strike horizontally! Quick! Quick! "
The boatswain was stunned. Wouldn't they be exposing their hull to the enemy's ships?!
However, he immediately understood the captain's intentions. His eyes immediately turned red, and he shouted hoarsely, "Turn left … Horizontal!"
Even though the sailors had their doubts, their years of arduous training allowed them to swiftly execute the order.
At that moment, the two raven warships moved inwards at the same time, immediately reducing the space for the two Carthage warships to evade. When the surrounding Carthage warships realized the danger, they immediately launched an attack on the three Diónia warships.
However, the Diónia warships did not evade. Two raven drawbridges landed on the deck of the Carthage warships on the inner side. The infantrymen of the fleet quickly rushed over the drawbridges. At the same time, the sailors, urged by the boatswain, reluctantly left the cabin and went up to the deck. They watched with tears in their eyes as the Carthage warships rushed towards their warships. Most of them were survivors of the storm at sea. It was not easy to get a new warship, and now it was going to be sunk in the first battle …
The three Dionysian warships were hit by the Carthaginian warships one after another. The crew jumped into the sea one after another, while the infantrymen of the fleet quickly cut down the few Carthaginian infantrymen on the deck and rushed into the lower decks. Facing the panicking Carthaginian oarsmen, the infantrymen of the fleet mercilessly stabbed them to death one by one.
The screams of the Carthage crew rang through the sea. The other captains of the Carthage fleet were moved. One by one, they told Morbar to send all the deck soldiers to these two warships, defeat the Diónia soldiers, and save the oarsmen on the ships.
Morbar flatly refused. He was already half-dead and used to life and death. He did not care too much about the lives of these three to four hundred lowly Carthage and Phoenician oarsmen. He did not want these warships to be delayed because of this. Besides, judging from the current situation, even if he sent all the deck soldiers, they might not be able to defeat these well-trained infantrymen of the Dionysian fleet.
Until now, the surprise in his heart had not dissipated. In a situation where his side had an absolute advantage, the three Diónia warships seized the opportunity when their own warships were still testing the waters. They quickly and decisively adopted effective tactics and successfully seized two warships in an instant!
The outstanding performance of the Diónia warships made him shudder. He was very uneasy. Therefore, he did not hesitate to give the order to "sink our own warships".
When the warships were rammed, dozens of Diónia soldiers, armed with daggers and leather shields, quickly rushed to the deck, jumped into the blood-stained sea, and swam to the beach not far away. While Morbar was shocked, he knew that the Carthage sailors on Hilla Island would be in big trouble.
But he had no time to care about this at the moment. He had to immediately lead these warships into the battle against the Dionysian fleet that had been lured here. He had to destroy as many Diónia warships as possible, so that the sacrifices of these Carthage merchant ships would not go to waste.
The Diónia warships scattered on both sides of Hilla Island were also besieged by the superior forces of the Carthage fleet. They also put up a tenacious resistance to delay the time for the Carthage fleet to sweep eastward.
In the small sea area in the middle of several islands, with Stefakas' flagship as the center, warships were gradually converging.
When Morbar led his fleet around Hilla Island, Stefakas, who had only gathered more than 30 warships, did not hesitate to launch an attack on the Carthage fleet, which had far more warships than his own.
Morbar had already realized the terrifying advantage of the Dionysian fleet in overall tactical cooperation and jumping combat. The small circular sea area between Hilla Island and the islands on the east did not have enough space for the Carthage warships to move around in a wide range, which was conducive to the greater play of the unique tactics of the Dionysian fleet. Having finally gained a huge advantage in a local area, Morbar was certainly unwilling to fight head-on. Therefore, he issued the order to "sweep the outside of the island first, destroy the scattered Diónia warships, and finally bite the hard bone in the center."
Of course, Morbar also hoped to see the enemy in the center continue to pursue and sail out of this narrow sea area. Then, the Carthage fleet would not hesitate to concentrate all its forces and destroy them.
… …
The Carthage fleet led by Balikos took a zigzag route, trying to keep a moderate distance from the Dionysian fleet.
The main fleet led by Sequerian pursued them relentlessly, especially the fast warships that gradually closed in and sank many merchant ships. Another 10 fast warships, under Sequerian's order, did not follow closely behind like the other warships. Instead, they sailed straight to the port of Lili at the fastest speed, cutting off the retreat route of the Carthage fleet and gradually forming an encirclement.
When Balikos saw that there were enemy ships intercepting ahead, he did not panic. Instead, he issued a crazy order, "Turn around!"
In a situation where the wind was completely against them, the ship that had just turned around had almost no speed. Relying on the delicate control of the helmsman and oarsman, they once again narrowly avoided the Diónia warships that had to move forward due to inertia. The other Carthage merchant ships did the same, but in the process, at least seven merchant ships were hit and sunk.
The crew of the Diónia fleet was not happy because the rest of the Carthage merchant ships had once again broken through their encirclement. This was simply a silent humiliation to the Diónia navy.
The Diónia warships turned around to give chase. However, Balikos and his fleet turned their bow again, facing east. The sails turned to the right, and with the help of the southwest wind, they brushed past the Diónia warships.
At this time, the crew of the Diónia warships were already red with anger. Some of the infantrymen on the Raven warships even threw the daggers in their hands at the approaching Carthage merchant ships.
Leading more than 30 merchant ships, Balikos passed through the gap between the Diónia warships and sailed directly to the coast not far away. Then, they stuck close to the coastline, turned around, and sailed south.
He did not expect the Carthage people to play such a trick. That was the coast! The Carthage merchant ships were small and light. The position they could maneuver in might cause the warships to run aground. Moreover, there were many reefs near the coast. The Carthage people were familiar with the sea conditions here, but the Diónia people were not. It was easy for the warships to crash into the reefs and be damaged.
The Carthage merchant ships toyed with the Diónia Sicilian fleet in the palm of their hands. This infuriated the always confident Cykerian. In order to restore the navy's honor, he swore to sink these audacious enemies today.
He sent a small number of warships to speed up to Mazara and Lili, while the other warships cruised near the coast between the two cities, keeping an eye on the Carthage merchant ships. Unless they abandoned their ships and went ashore, the Sicilian fleet would confront them like this. Cykerian was even prepared to call back a few fast ships to try to approach the Carthage merchant ships.
After a while, a few fast ships came under orders, and the extra one brought urgent military news.
"Our fleet is being attacked by the Carthage fleet in the north!" When Cykerian heard this news, the burning anger in his heart instantly extinguished. Some of the doubts he had about the previous two Carthage fleets were instantly solved, but his anxiety increased rapidly. This was obviously a conspiracy planned by the Carthage navy. They must have made sufficient preparations. The fleet was in a very dangerous situation!
At this moment, Cykerian could not care less about the Carthage fleet in front of him that repeatedly challenged his dignity. He quickly recalled the warships scattered in the waters between Lili and Mazara. It took some time.
… …
Morbar, of course, did not forget the main Diónia fleet in the south. When Cykerian gathered the warships and headed north, he soon received the news.
Comments