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Both Heraclea and Metapontum had sent troops to the last siege of Brindisi, so both archons and Umakas had learned their lesson the hard way.

Davos agreed with this, but he had a vague feeling that something was wrong, however, he couldn’t pinpoint it out. As they have not found the trace of the enemy in the direction of Uzentum, the possibility of getting pincered between the front and back by the Messapi-Peuceti alliance was ruled out.

So in order to pursue the enemy, the whole army moved quickly and even left behind the logistics in the city of Manduria while taking the 3,000 garrison troops, so now, the total number of the Tarantine army has reached 13,000, and the whole allied army has reached more than 30,000.

They then pursued northwards in the same order as yesterday’s march. After 5 kilometres, they received another report from the scouts that the Messapi-Peuceti alliance had entered the mountains to the north.

‘With Brindisi already in front of them, the huge Messapi-Peuceti army had instead gone to the mountains?!’ Davos had some doubts, and Umakas, who was beside him, thought of something, and his expression became aghast.

“They may be going to the Anlen Hills!” Diaomilas nervously said after hearing the report.

Only after listening to both of them did Davos find out that the coastal corridors were not all thorny, forested and rugged mountains, but that there was a hilly area between the mountains that is not too difficult to traverse. Through it, one could reach the eastern part of Taranto. In the early days, the Messapians often used to come out of this area to harass the Tarantines. Later, when Taranto became strong, they began building defensive camps and guard towers near the exit of the hills to strengthen their surveillance so that the Messapians, who were exhausted by their journey through the hills, were often repulsed by the Tarantines, who were waiting for them. Later, influenced by the Greeks, the Messapians gradually became civilised and were no longer used to mountain warfare. In addition, with the establishment of Manduria, they now had a more convenient base to attack Taranto, so in recent decades, the Messapians no longer use the Anlen Hills to break into Taranto’s territory.

“That is to say…the defensive camp in there has been abandoned?!” Davos realised this immediately.

“Well…” Umakas was still thinking about how to say it when Diaomilas immediately said, “We have not abandoned the camp, it’s just that after Archytas’ army was completely wiped out, and with the Messapi-Peuceti alliance launching a large-scale attack, most of the people that are outside the city have fled into the city, so we have naturally withdrawn the soldiers in the camp. Therefore, it would now be easy for the Messapians to enter our land, destroy the fields we are about to harvest, burn our villages, and slaughter the people who have not yet left! That is why we have to catch up and stop them at once! And repel them!”

Diaomilas had agitation on his expression, and Umakas was also looking worried, but Davos was not swayed. He paced back and forth as his brain began to think quickly.

“What are you hesitating about! If we don’t act now, we won’t be able to catch up to them!” Diaomilas urged loudly.

“Why chase them!” Davos stopped in his track and reminded with a serious expression, “Don’t forget what you said before, ‘If the enemy retreats, we will immediately attack Brindisi and force the Messapians to fight a decisive battle against us.’”

Diaomilas was unable to respond for a while, so Umakas hurriedly explained, “Now the situation is different, as the Messapian army can rush into our territory and wreak havoc, which will cause panic among the people and they might even attack the city of Taranto!”

“Although the Messapi-Peuceti has large troops, Taranto is not easy to capture, whereas Brindisi is easy to take.” Davos pointed his finger ahead and spoke earnestly, “Besides, it’s hard for heavy infantry to catch up with infantry, so it’s better to take the initiative to attack and capture Brindisi than to passively chase the Messapi-Peuceti and get led around by the nose. If they still don’t come, then we will head north! I don’t believe that they will still not come for a decisive battle!”

Umakas bit his lips as it was hard for him to make a decision, while Diaomilas still shook his head stubbornly, “No! What the enemy wants to destroy is not your Theonian land, so you naturally do not care! But that’s our land, and I would rather drive them out of Taranto first and capture Bridisi later.”

On hearing this, Davos became angry, “Can you blame me for that?! When during the war council, you neither marked it on the map nor explained that a god damned Anlen Hill that they could pass through in the mountains! The reason why I would not have us go there was because you said that the roads there were complicated and the terrain is unfamiliar, so in case the enemy set an ambush there-”

While speaking, Davos’ mind jolted and caught a flash of inspiration, “I see! Now I see! Because of the cavalry! You have said before that the Messapian cavalry intercepted Taranto’s scout, causing great losses to your cavalry. But this time, we have not been attacked by the Messapian cavalry even now; why? Could it be that the Messapian cavalries have died from a plague?”

Davos looked at everyone confidently and said in a more serious tone, “No! The Messapians want us to know where their army is going, and they want us to follow them because they must have set up an ambush in Anlen Hills! So we definitely can’t go to Anlen Hills and bury the only army that can save Taranto there!”

Umakas’ countenance changed by these words, and Diaomilas became silent.

“I agree with lord Davos! We should attack Brindisi!” Exclaimed Teriphias.

“I agree.” Taudeles nodded in agreement.

The two army commanders made their stance clear, which made the proposal of Davos be passed.

Diaomilas could only mount his horse with reluctance on his face.

“Lord Diaomilas!” Davos called out in a loud voice, “Remember that Theonia is here to help Taranto and not to be humiliated! As the archon of Theonia and the one elected as the supreme commander of this expedition, if there is any more disrespect to the supreme commander and disobedience, I see no need for this joint army to exist!”

Davos’ words rang loudly, and a dead silence fell over the place. Even Teriphias and Taudeles were shocked at the toughness of this seemingly gentle young archon.

Umakas had to cough a few times and said, “Lord Diaomilas is just feeling anxious-”

Davos interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said in a cold voice, “Why does the Theonian army always win and remain undefeated? Because of discipline and obedience! An army of more than 30,000 men without a unified command would have been a mess! Since we already know that it would be a failure, then why bother to go out to battle!”

Under the threat of Davos and the gaze of everyone, Diaomilas turned red, and under the invisible pressure, he finally squeezed out a sentence, “I understand.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

In the Anlen Hills, the king of Peuceti – Telemani, and the archons of the Messapian city-states, were waiting with bated breath, but the report of the scouts that have returned has dampened their enthusiasm.

“What did you say?! The Greeks did not come this way and had instead continued to head east…Brindisi, their aim is Brindisi!” Exclaimed Telemani, he cared more about that coastal city than the Messapians because, for the archons, Brindisi is just an ally city, but for Telemani, it is a part of his new territory and a source of his wealth.

“Don’t worry, king of Peuceti.” Pasimeus, archon of Rudiae, encouraged, “Our cavalry went to inform Bridisi yesterday, and I believe that the inhabitants should have already left temporarily before the Greeks could get there. Even if the Greeks were to enter the city, they would not get anything, and if they dare immigrate to Brindisi again, then we don’t mind getting another batch of Greek slaves once we take it back! I think we should wait a little longer and let the cavalry make the burning of the villages in Taranto even more intense! I don’t believe that the Tarantines can continue heading east after they learn of this!”

The words of Pasimeus calmed Telemani down, and after thinking about it, he said fiercely, “Kill some of the Greeks we have captured in Brindisi, then throw their bodies on the road and see how the Greeks react!”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Report!…more than a dozen smoke rises over the Anlen Hills and has caused the whole sky to blackened, and that there are many corpses of Tarantines scattered on the road, among them were women and children…”

“I just need you to watch the enemy’s movements and see if they come out of the hills!” Davos interjected on the report of the scout, “Go back and tell your captain that he should send a Theonian cavalry the next time he reports!”

The Tarantine scout rode away furiously.

Davos only looked at the silent Umakas who was next to him and reminded him once again, “The Messapians are tempting us to go to Anlen Hills, hence why we should not go!”

Umakas frowned and remained silent.

Davos no longer said anything. He then turned around and whispered to the herald – Tolmides, “Inform the officers to speed up the march and get away from that dangerous place sooner.”

All the mercenaries led by Xanticles have now become preparatory citizens because of their repeated military achievements. Philesius, the Chief of Military, has incorporated them all into the vacant 1st and 2nd legions, with Xanticles becoming the senior centurion of the 6th brigade of the first legion. For a preparatory citizen, this was a high position, but most of the centurion and senior centurion in the army are members of the Persian expeditionary army, so they had instead felt that Xanticles’ position is lower. After all, he was one of the five leaders. Therefore, once he becomes an official citizen, he will quickly be promoted.

Tolmides, on the other hand, had the reputation of “the first herald” in the mercenary troops before, and his ability to manage the relations with all parties, a timely and accurate manner when delivering orders and to get even the most uncooperative squad officers to accept and carry them out, have made him won the trust of the leaders.

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