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Only after these rumours spread all over the city did Alobamus realise something was wrong with the city’s situation. The rumours say that the original archon, Henipolis, was kind, while Alobamus was the tyrant who wanted to turn the commoners of Laos back into slaves!

After learning about it, Alobamus became furious that he severely made his men immediately arrest those spreading the rumours and calm the situation down as soon as possible.

But suddenly, news of Saru, the Praetor of Vergae, leading an army to Laos had come. At the same time, Bagul, the Praetor of Grumentum, had arrived in Nerulum with the 3,000 reserve soldiers newly conscripted in the Lucanian area, causing Alobamus to be nervous.

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

On the third day after the battle against the Tarantines, the Spartan envoy – Cheirisophus, sailed into the Gulf of Taranto.

Before his departure, Cheirisophus carefully learned about the war situation in Magna Graecia. Thus he knew that the Syracusan navy blockaded the whole Gulf of Taranto, preventing the Theonians from sailing the sea, so he was prepared to encounter Syracusan patrols. However, he didn’t expect the ones he would meet were the Theonian patrols, which gave him a deep impression due to the striking black hair wrapping around a bident design on their sails.

And at this time, the Theonian patrol ship was no longer the old transport ship or the penteconter, but a genuine top of the line warship in the Greek city-state – a trireme.

The patrol ship stopped Cheirisophus’ ship asked for their purpose and where they were going. Then they went on board, ignoring Cheirisophus’ attendant’s protest, and searched the ship to confirm if they hid armed men or weapons.

At this moment, Cheirisophus asked loudly, “When I passed by here a few days ago, I saw many Syracusan ships cruising in the gulf. Where did they all go?”

The Theonian patrol captain who boarded the ship looked at Cheirisophus coldly. If not for his status as the Spartan envoy, he would have cursed and sneered at him, “Where have they gone? Where else they could go besides falling into the sea and feed the fish or got imprisoned in Thurii!”

After hearing this, Cheirisophus, who always remained calm, widened his eyes in surprise, “You defeated the Syracusan navy?!”

“It seems you don’t believe it.” The captain spat a mouthful of thick spit into the sea and proudly said, “Two days ago, King Davos led us to completely defeat the Syracusan navy who outnumbered us. Although the defeated Syracusans manage to flee back to Scylletium, it won’t be long before we wipe them out completely! By then, we – the Theonians, will own this sea!”

Cheirisophus was shocked as he didn’t expect that a naval battle enough to change the whole situation of the war in Magna Graecia would happen while he was on his way here. At the same time, he also noticed another astonishing thing, “Did you just say that Davos became a king?!”

The captain instantly snapped at him, “Spartan, watch your mouth! The name you mention is the king of Theonia Union, the divine descendant of Hades, the great Greek strategoi of hundred victories, the protector of the Theonians! Show enough respect and reverence, or we will seize your ship, and you will not enjoy the envoy’s treatment but will enter Thurii as a criminal!”

Hearing the threat of the Theonians, Phoebidas would have been furious, but Cheirisophus was calm enough that he stopped talking. However, a storm was brewing inside of him…

On their way to Thurii, Cheirisophus and the Perioeci* crew had difficulty accepting the news about the Theonian fleet defeating the Syracusan navy. But as they approached Thurii, they were shocked to see countless triremes spread thickly across the sea, seemingly practising formations with shouts and salpinx ringing out in the entire sea… (The Spartan citizens only have one profession – Warriors, and they will not allow helots to serve as sailors because of their unpredictable dangers.)

Cheirisophus and everyone on the ship were taken aback by the spectacular sight before them, and similar questions filled their hearts: ‘Are all these triremes belonged to Theonia? Haven’t their battle against the Syracusan navy just ended? How come they have so many ships left? Did the Persians give their assistance?…’

The Theonian fleet originally had about 150 triremes, and with the subsequent capture of over 150 ships from Syracuse, plus Tarantines’ 35 triremes, the Theonian navy has now over 330 triremes.

These two days, Seclian was badly worried as he had to arrange for shipwrights to repair the ships damaged in the battle. At the same time, even though the number of ships increased, Thurii did not have so many sailors to operate them. Thus he had to rack his brains to finally think of a way to recruit sailors. After all, a ship without people will not be useful, however many are them.

By this time, they had lifted the crisis in Heraclea, recovered Metapontum, and strengthed Roscianum’s confidence in following Theonia. Thus, with Davos’s permission, Seclian sent men to recruit sailors in these three allied cities and soon put more than 60 ships into service.

However, these newly recruited sailors had no experience navigating a trireme, so Seclian was busy training the expanded fleet for the past two days. Furthermore, he didn’t need to hide the corvus anymore as the naval battle exposed the Theonian fleet’s secret weapon, so he just let the whole fleet appear in the gulf.

So Cheirisophus and the others were curious when they saw the long “plank” erected on the foremasts of Theonia’s many ships.

‘It seems Theonia has really defeated the Syracusan navy!’ Cheirisophus looked at the Theonian ships on the sea and pondered the impact of this important news on his mission to Thurii.

After much deliberation, he found that this victory increased the possibility of the truce between Theonia and Syracuse, which cheered him up.

Once the Spartan ship entered the estuary of the Crati River, they were ordered to disembark at the port. That is because, since the construction of Thurii’s military port on the banks of the Crati River, the docks in the city of Thurii were closed for secrecy, allowing no ships to cross the military port and go straight to the city of Thurii.

If Cheirisophus had come to the port of Thurii a few days ago. He would have been surprised as the port had been desolate due to the Syracusan navy’s blockade, with no merchant ships arriving or leaving. And the numerous freemen who depended on the port for their survival had nothing to do, most of whom were later recruited to serve as sailors in the fleet, to work as labourers in the logistic camp and the transportation department of the Ministry of Military, and assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture to help the citizens’ families who lacked labourers in the fields because their masters had gone to battle. Hence the port not only had no merchant ships but also almost all the labourers were transferred, making the whole port looks deserted. And even after their naval victory, Davos, because of the upcoming military operations against Syracuse and for secrecy’s sake, insisted on continuing the blockade of the port until they battle the Syracusans again despite the opposition of Marigi.

But today, transport ships began entering the port again. Hence the Ministry of Military urgently dispatched numerous labourers to the port to unload the bags of grains, which were all free aid from their three allies, Roscianum, Heraclea and Metapontum, after they learned that Theonia is short of food and is calling for donations.

Cheirisophus, who had experienced the Peloponnesian War, the Asia Minor War, and now the Corinthian War, knew how much damage a war could do to trade, not to mention the fact that the port of Thurii was blockaded previously. So he did not expect such liveliness today and was so surprised that he asked the Thurian officials who had come to greet them.

After learning the truth, Cheirisophus was a bit surprised and thought, ‘Could it be that just because of their naval victory, the allies of Theonia spared no effort to support the disadvantaged Theonia?’

After leaving the port and passing through the somewhat empty market, the wagon Cheirisophus and several attendants were riding was about to depart.

Here, Cheirisophus and his attendants saw a spectacular sight: The roads and the roadsides were occupied by countless Theonians, whether they were old and young, men and women, each holding a wooden box, or carrying packages, or leading pack animals as they march towards the city of Thurii…

Cheirisophus became curious, so he asked the coachman.

“They are the people of Amendolara who had come to Nike Square to donate so that our, Theonia, could continue this war to the end and defeat those vile Syracusans! While we, Thurians, have already donated yesterday. And I heard that the Bruttians are also donating, but not in Thurii’s Nike Square, but at Consentia…”

Looking at the proud expression of the coachman and then looking at the people on the road who were talking and laughing, it seems as if they were not going to give up their properties but attend an important gathering…which made Cheirisophus involuntarily think of the event when the Spartan populace sent off their loved ones to war, and their farewell words began echoing in his heart: ‘Either return victoriously or be carried back!’

‘That sight was so similar to this! The Theonians not only did not fear war, but they also had the determination to carry it out to the end! But unlike Sparta’s centuries of history, this city-state union was only established for less than six years!’ Cheirisophus felt a chill as he didn’t know whether to be worried about his mission or worried for the Syracusans, who obviously have the superior army for no reason…

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