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“All hail Theonia!!!…”

“All hail Theonia’s navy!!!…”

“All hail King Davos!!!…”

“All hail Hades!!!…”

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

The people cheered as loudly as they could to vent the humiliation and fear that had piled up in their hearts all this time. At the same time, it made them feel that they were not only spectators but participants in this victory as it was their effort and perseverance that made Davos their king, which in turn made Hades bless Theonia, leading to this immediate victory!!!

‘As long as Davos remain as the king, our Theonia would always be safe!’ This belief began to sprout in the hearts of the people.

At this moment, the boulder weighing down the hearts of the people had suddenly disappeared, and many of them acted crazily: Some cried loudly; Some knelt on the ground and devoutly sang the ode of Hades; Some rushed into the sea and shouted loudly; Others embrace those around them excitedly, regardless whether they are men or women, to share the joy they felt. Even that little fellow, Patroclus, had taken the opportunity to hug Cynthia, whom he had been secretly in love with.

To add to the madness, some women in the crowd claimed that they were free at night in celebration of Theonia’s hard-earned victory.

Even Cheiristoya’s Restaurant in Thurii had excitedly announced to the crowd that in the evening, all Cheiristoya’s Restaurants in Thurii would provide free drinks for the guests in celebration of this victory.

All of these has caused the cheering of the Theonians throughout the coast to reach its peak.

Just as the people were cheering, the Theonian fleet, while rescuing the drowning sailors, divided half of their ships and immediately headed north under Davos’ leadership.

While they were passing the estuary of the Crati River, 300 cargo ships loaded with most of the soldiers of the second legion joined them as they sailed in great numbers towards the coast of Heraclea.

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

Outside the city of Heraclea, Diaomilas and Umakas were confused since yesterday as the Theonians had suddenly strengthened their blockade, setting up checkpoints on the bank of the Saraceno River and sending a platoon to guard it, allowing no one to enter or leave.

In fact, Thurii had taken the same measures at the wooden bridge over the Crati River and the south of Thurii. They even blocked the port so that no ships were allowed out of the Crati River into the sea.

These severe measures made Taranto suddenly unable to receive reports from Thurii, which made the two leading archons of Taranto feel uneasy, ‘What is happening in Thurii?’

After repeated analysis, they finally guessed that the biggest possibility is that Davos has returned. After all, he is the only one who has the right to do such a tight blockade.

However, as it is just their speculation, they couldn’t make any decision without conclusive evidence, which caused the dispute between the two archons.

Umakas demanded that they immediately withdraw from Heraclea and retreat to Metapontum to avoid getting attacked by the returning army of Theonia.

Diaomilas, on the other hand, opposed it and argued that Taranto had already spent a great deal of wealth to arrive at Heraclea and be able to invade Theonia’s territory. If they were to take the initiative to withdraw just because of speculation, they would not only be laughed at by the people of Taranto but also impeached by the council!

After some argument, they finally reached an agreement to send a large number of scouts every day to cross the Siris River and look out for the presence of a large Theonian army to the south while wreaking havoc on Amendolara’s land. At the same time, they would build more pontoon bridges over the Agri River to make their retreat smoother.

They also sent men back to Taranto in the hopes that the council would send spies to Roscianum, whom they looked down on before, in an effort to learn about the current situation in the city of Thurii.

Then the day passed smoothly as they waited restlessly.

The following day, the Tarantine fleet came and brought the news about how the Theonian fleet had suddenly sailed out of the Crati River and encountered the Syracusan navy at sea. Afterwards, a battle broke out between the two sides.

Then the Tarantine fleet’s navarch also asked if they could also participate in the battle.

After hearing this news, the two archons became greatly relieved as they no longer needed to think about it as they knew that this risky move of Theonia was obviously a death wish. Still, they were glad to see this “heroic action” of Theonia as it would ease the psychological burden of the Tarantine army. After all, with more than a hundred triremes hiding in the Crati River, who knew when they would suddenly come out. And even though Syracuse could easily win this battle, it does not mean that Taranto could do the same. For the two archons, the pressure of the sea is still too much. However, now that the Syracusan navy rules the Gulf of Taranto, they shared the pressure the Tarantines felt between them. Furthermore, if this naval battle could severely damage the Theonian fleet, it would ultimately free the Tarantines of this pressure on the sea route.

However, the two archons refused the navarch’s request. Since the Tarantine fleet had lost badly to the Messapi-Peuceti Alliance a few years ago, the fleet only managed to get 35 triremes and 20 other ships after years of accumulation. And as they knew the Syracusan would win, there was no need for them to invest in this naval battle. Besides, even if the Tarantine navy joins, the Syracusans might not even appreciate it as they would think that Taranto is trying to steal the credit. Moreover, although Taranto and Syracuse had joined hands against Theonia, Taranto, as one of the powers in Magna Graecia, has its own dignity.

After the two archons rejected the navarch’s request, they told him to report the situation after the naval battle.

Then they stopped caring about the matter and began thinking about how to conquer the city of Heraclea.

During these days, the allies troops of Theonia and Heraclea were quite calm and even allowed the Tarantine soldiers to wreak havoc on the lands of Amendolara. It was to the point that even if the soldiers led the livestock that they plundered and yelled below the city wall, they still kept the gates closed.

Due to that, it gave the two archons a headache as even if they used their nearly 20,000 troops, they didn’t have the ability to attack a city defended by more than 10,000 soldiers forcefully. So after hearing the Syracusans had a powerful siege weapon, their council immediately sent someone to Scylletium to borrow it. However, they didn’t know if the arrogant tyrant of Sicily would agree. If Dionysius did not agree, the Tarantine army could only besiege the city until Heraclea ran out of food. Besides this method taking a lot of time, Theonia’s main force might return at any time, and Heraclea was bound to be the first they rescue as it is the closest to Thurii.

‘Do we really need to wait until the Syracusans conquered Crotone and their army approach Thurii for Taranto to have a chance?’ Diaomilas thought with reluctance…

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

In the city of Heraclea, Teriphias was busy the past few days calming the people, worrying about the city’s defence and settling the reinforcements. And just as he had gotten a rare sleep and was about to get up to have breakfast, he heard his servant report that the legatus of Theonia wanted to see him.

In reality, Teriphias was a bit ashamed to meet this legatus of Theonia – Matonis. After all, while Syracuse ravages the lands of Theonia, the Theonians had still come to defend Heraclea. So every time Teriphias saw Matonis, he clenched his fist and was forced to suppress his pained expression as the guilt he felt increased.

Teriphias was still gulping his wheat porridge when Matonis strode into the living room, “Legatus Matonis, have you had your breakfast? Would you like some?”

Through this period of contact, Teriphias knew that the mercenary-raised Theonian legatus did not like those courtesies. On the contrary, the more casual Teriphias is, the more relaxed Matonis would be.

“I have already eaten.” Matonis said as he reached over a wooden chair and sat straight down next to Teriphias, “I have come to tell you something extremely important!”

“Oh, tell me!” Teriphias hurriedly placed down his wheat porridge and wiped his mouth with a linen towel.

“The messenger who sneaked into the city from Thurii last night had told me some very important news!”

Teriphias immediately pricked up his ears. Of course, he knew about the person who sneaked in last night. However, as the man had come to find Matonis, he couldn’t forcibly ask him. But for Thurii, who was unconcerned of Heraclea a few days ago, to suddenly send a messenger and risked to infiltrate, the situation wouldn’t be that simple.

“His majesty Davos has returned to Thurii with the army!”

“Davos is back? That’s wonderful!” Teriphias exclaimed with excitement. Then he suddenly froze, “Wait…what did you just say? His majesty Davos?!!”

“The people of Theonia received an oracle from Hades, who then elected Lord Davos as the king of Theonia!” Matonis said proudly.

‘A king?!’ Teriphias rubbed his chin. However, as this was an internal political matter in Theonia, he had no right to question them. Besides, this was not the time to consider this issue, “So Lord…King Davos would soon lead his army north and repel Taranto?!”

“The messenger told me that his majesty would lead the Theonian fleet to sea this morning, looking for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the Syracusan navy. He also told us to prepare ourselves as once they won the naval battle, we would immediately attack the enemy camp and stall the Tarantines until his majesty’s army could arrive from the sea and surround the Tarantine army here and wipe them out!” Matonis said with an excited expression.

“This plan is…indeed magnificent.” Teriphias said with an astonished expression. However, he hesitantly said, “But can the Theonian fleet defeat the Syracusan navy?! After all, the Syracusan navy is much stronger!”

“I trust his majesty Davos as he always does what he says!” Matonis stood up with determination and said loudly, “If you, Lord Teriphias, are unwilling to send troops, I would take my army out to attack the enemy when the time comes!”

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