The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe-Chapter 85 Conflict

The enemy’s stones were all blocked by the round shields, causing no significant casualties. The warriors were relieved, thinking they had found the right strategy. Advancing another ten meters, they were now less than fifty meters from the camp gate.

At this moment, the four watchtowers behind the western wooden walls of the mercenary camp began shooting arrows. These arrows, coming from different angles, were much harder to block. When they shifted their shields to defend against arrows from the flanks, their heads became vulnerable to the stones. To make matters worse, they were clustered in the middle path, allowing the mercenary archers and slingers to concentrate their firepower. Arrows and stones hailed down like ice, killing dozens in an instant. The Vig warriors’ front ranks were nearly wiped out, and the rest, terrified, forgot the lesson of the Picossians, scattering in all directions. As a result, the mercenaries’ traps achieved another round of success, and in a short time, the Vig warriors suffered over a hundred casualties.

No matter how Cincinnatus urged them, Sedorum refused to launch another attack.

The mercenaries, seeing the enemy fleeing in disarray, were overjoyed. However, when the enemy ceased their attacks, the mercenaries became dissatisfied. After all, the victory relied mainly on the light infantry companies and the traps; they hadn’t even touched the enemy directly. Their frustration boiled over into loud curses and taunts.

Seeing this, Juleios nodded to himself: The morale of this army can be relied upon!

He hadn’t expected the enemy, so relentless and aggressive in their pursuit, to fail to even breach the trenches in front of the camp and abandon the attack so quickly. Upon reflection, he realized that the Lucanians’ energy and stamina had been significantly drained by the earlier battles. Likely, their desire for victory and revenge had kept their aggression high. However, these mountain tribes were inexperienced in siege warfare. Facing the strong defenses of the mercenary camp, they quickly grew cautious after suffering setbacks.

Juleios analyzed the situation, gaining valuable experience for future defensive battles. At the same time, he sent Asistes through the corridor to Drako’s camp to assess their situation.

The reports brought back good news: Inspired by the expeditionary army’s enthusiasm for building camps, Drako, Adriankos, and Sesta had led their troops to dig deeper trenches and reinforce their walls outside their camp. Although they didn’t set up elaborate traps (which required technical skill and experience), their fortifications were enough to give the pursuing enemy a tough time. Moreover, the reinforcements from Tarantum had joined them, boosting the morale of the routed mercenaries, who quickly recovered.

The warriors of Neritum and Laos attacked for a while but, after suffering some casualties and finding the mercenaries’ defenses too strong to breach in a single charge, gave up. They were evidently wiser than the vengeance-driven Picossians.

With safety secured, Juleios’s focus shifted from the now-calm battlefield to contemplating the mercenaries’ next steps.

The defeat in the field battle made it unlikely that the Lucanians could capture the city of Thurii. Juleios had surveyed the city multiple times; the six-meter-wide moat and ten-meter-high walls were formidable obstacles for the Lucanians, who lacked siege equipment and experience. Furthermore, without boats, they couldn’t freely traverse the Crathis River.

The Lucanians couldn’t have launched this campaign just for a single battlefield victory. Their true goal must be to occupy the Sybaris Plain, establishing camps on its fertile lands for grazing cattle and planting wheat.

The Thurians, having suffered heavy losses in two successive battles, were temporarily unable to retaliate against the Lucanian invasion. However, they still held the plains south of the Crathis River and could bide their time, gather strength, and recruit more soldiers for a counterattack.

But for Juleios and his mercenaries on the north bank of the Crathis, the situation was dire. The defeat not only disrupted Juleios’s plans but also made the mercenaries the Lucanians’ next primary target. Juleios had no desire to become a mere pawn for Thurii, holding the Lucanians on the north bank. Yet, leaving this place and Greater Greece was something he couldn’t accept! His newly sprouted hopes, dreams, and ambitions were all tied to this land. Juleios couldn’t bear the thought of leaving empty-handed, returning to a life of bloody struggle for mere survival! What should he do? What should he do?...

Equally troubled was Vespa, the Lucanian chief occupying the city of Amendolara. He had hesitated, clinging to the hope that he wouldn’t have to send troops to support Grumentum. Waiting for the outcome of the battle to decide his actions, he was shocked to learn that the Lucanian coalition army, with over 15,000 soldiers, had easily defeated Thurii. Alarmed, he hastily convened a meeting with several elders to discuss countermeasures and asked the priests to perform a divination. The result: "Danger but no disaster." This slightly reassured Vespa, who had, after intense discussion, come up with a preliminary plan.

He sent messengers with a small escort and a convoy loaded with wine and food to the Sybaris Plain, hoping this gesture of goodwill would earn Grumentum’s chief’s forgiveness and pave the way for an apology. If the messengers found the situation unfavorable, they were to retreat into the mountains under cover of night.

After suffering setbacks, Cincinnatus was still unwilling to give up. He sent scouts to investigate the east, south, and north sides of the mercenary camp. The results were disheartening: all sides were fortified with traps, trenches, watchtowers, and abatis, and the north side had a corridor linking it to the neighboring camp, allowing for constant reinforcements.

Finally giving up, Cincinnatus withdrew his warriors and waited for Akpiru to arrive.

After a long wait, Akpiru arrived with his large force. Gathering the 6,000 troops, who had been scattered in pursuit of the routed Thurii soldiers, proved difficult, as the bloodthirsty warriors were reluctant to regroup.

Grumentum’s warriors had annihilated the fleeing Thurians outside the city, leaving none alive. Some had even crossed the moat and reached Thurii’s walls, only to be met with a fierce counterattack from the furious citizens. Pelted by arrows, javelins, and stones, they retreated in disarray, finally regaining some composure.

Seeing this, Akpiru temporarily abandoned any illusions of capturing Thurii in one strike. He regrouped his forces and went to join the other units. When he saw the Picossians, most of them wounded and demoralized, he was shocked and quickly inquired about the situation.

Cincinnatus recounted how his warriors had fought bravely but were met with the mercenaries’ despicable and cunning tactics. At the same time, he angrily accused the Vig warriors of passivity and even of harming Lucanians during the battle.

Sedorum, the Vig chief, was stunned by Cincinnatus’s accusations and immediately protested, shouting his innocence. He indignantly explained: "Chief Akpiru, it’s not that I didn’t want to fight with all my strength. The issue lies with Chief Cincinnatus, who was overconfident. He believed the Picossian warriors’ bravery alone could defeat the Greeks’ left flank, relegating the Vig warriors to the rear. The arrangement of the right wing was entirely his decision. When the Picossian front line was about to collapse, it was our Vig warriors who fought bravely to stabilize the battle and save the right wing. We contributed greatly to the victory in this battle! As for harming Picossian warriors, it was only to prevent a complete collapse of the right wing and force them back into the fight. Only a few Picossians were actually injured. It was thanks to this emergency measure that we managed to repel the enemy. Furthermore, during the attack on the Greek camp, we Vig warriors also suffered hundreds of casualties..."

"You’re lying! You’re lying! If you Bruttians had fought hard from the beginning, how could we have struggled so much?! Even just now, during the attack on the Greek camp, you Vig warriors were the last to arrive!" Cincinnatus roared in fury. "Genat, tell everyone how many of our warriors were harmed by the Vig warriors!"

Genat hesitated but, under his father’s piercing gaze, stammered, "About... about one hundred fifty, all stabbed in the back... with spears."

As Genat spoke, the Picossian and Vig warriors glared at each other with hostility, and the atmosphere grew dangerously tense...

This chapt𝒆r is updated by free(w)ebnovel(.)com