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Camillus continued, “…Fortunately, the people within the city remained resilient, led by the senators who guided them to Mons Capitolinus, where they took a defiant stance within our temple. Additionally, many who escaped Rome found refuge in the nearby wilderness, displaying endurance and steadfastness. They firmly believed that you, the brave warriors of Rome and our allies, could drive away the enemy and reclaim our beloved city! However, if we fail to unite, if we cannot enforce strict discipline within our ranks, and if we disobey commands and act recklessly, we will crumble like loose sand. In that case, we will not only be unable to regain Rome but our loved ones will get enslaved. We will be torn apart, never to see one another again. Some may perish in battle, while others become wandering outcasts or captives to our foreign foes. Do you truly wish to meet such a fate?”

“We aren’t!!” The generals and centurions took the lead to raise their arms and shout.

The soldiers, shocked by the tragic ending described by Camillus, also responded one after another.

When their shout converged into a single torrent of voice, Camillus knelt, raised his hands and head to the sky and cried out piously, “O Jupiter, grant us your divine blessings, ensuring our triumphant victory over the Theonians, just as we vanquished the Celts before. We shall never allow these foreigners to desecrate your sacred temple!”

Then they hear a rumbling sound from the hillside behind the city of Signia as a huge rock, accompanied by gravel, rolled down the slope and finally hit the open space beside Signia.

Excited shouting erupted from the generals, “It’s a divine omen! Jupiter has responded!!” Followed by the soldiers reacting with joy, which swept away the haze on their faces. Then they hastily bowed their heads and prayed to Jupiter.

Jupiter’s miracle shook the Roman soldiers, making them feel confused and overwhelmed. Still, they raised their voice and shouted simultaneously, ‘Drive out the enemy and take back Rome’ Camillus then took the lead and led them on a swift march towards Praeneste.

At dusk, the city became somewhat chaotic as the army arrived at Praeneste because the wandering Romans flocked towards them while the generals were busy arranging the camp for the soldiers to rest. And the soldiers, too, rushed towards them, eagerly searching the crowd for their loved ones. Those who saw their loved ones were grateful and thanked Jupiter for his blessing. While the others felt dejected… However, the refugees’ dire situation made the soldiers more eager to take back Rome.

The Roman dictator Camillus first met with the high-level officials of Praeneste, thanking them for their assistance to Rome.

Then, he quickly summoned Maegius, Quintus, and Furius to learn more about how the Theonian army captured Rome.

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

Upon welcoming the kingdom’s administrative personnel, Davos also received war reports and proposals regarding Sicily from both the Senate and the Ministry of Military.

It was beyond his expectations for a storm to devastate the massive fleet sent to Sicily, significantly undermining Theonia’s naval advantage in the region. Since the situation changed in the battle between Theonia and Carthage, Davos promptly convened an emergency war council.

The first to attend the meeting was the Army Staff’s Tolmides, Phryntor and the Navarch of the Third Fleet, Mithridates.

Davos looked at the three with a grave expression and said, “What’s your opinion after reading the war report?”

Tolmides coughed dryly and said, “Your Majesty, despite losing more than half of our kingdom’s ships to the storm, it also decimated almost all of the Carthaginians’ ships. If we consider the outcome, it isn’t too bad, as we still hold the advantage at sea. Moreover, with the Ministry of Military proposing to dispatch the Fourth Fleet in Brindisi to Sicily to reinforce the dozens of warships left in the fleet in Sicily, we will have a greater maritime advantage in Sicily than before, giving the Carthaginians a harder time to send reinforcements and supplies to Sicily, which would increase our chance of winning in Sicily even more!”

Davos tapped the table with his finger before saying, “Would the deployment of our Fourth Fleet, who are currently on the east coast of Magna Graecia, entice Sparta and the remaining Peucetians and Messapians who sought refuge in Greece to perceive it as a significant opportunity?”

Tolmides replied confidently, “From our intelligence, it is certain that another war would break out in central Greece due to the Thebans’ revolt to break away from Sparta’s control. Although we can’t accurately judge how many city-states will join this war and how long it will last, it is obvious that Sparta couldn’t get out of it so quickly, and they didn’t have any spare strength to fight us. As for those enemies who fled to Greece, their numbers are too small, and with the Apulian region now politically stable, they wouldn’t be able to stir up any major disorder.”

Davos nodded thoughtfully.

Mithridates suddenly interjected, “Despite Lord Tolmides’ point, transferring out the Fourth Fleet will still bring hidden danger to the Apulian region. Considering that Commander Alexius is currently leading all the troops in Apulia to fend off the Samnite invasion, he would have greater trouble handling any disruptions in the rear. So why not transfer some of our ships to Sicily?”

Davos looked at him for a while, then said, “In our strategy in attacking Rome and the Latium region, your Third Fleet would play a crucial role and must cooperate with the army. Thus we must not easily split the Third Fleet up! Mithridates, you must not get distracted, as although your fleet only serves as an escort currently, you might have to play a greater role soon! However, I can grant you special permission alone if you want to go to the fleet in Sicily.”

Mithridates broke out in a cold sweat at hearing Davos’ words, making him hastily state, “Your Majesty, you can rest assured that I will lead the Third Fleet to ensure the safety of the army at sea.”

Davos felt slightly relieved before turning to Tolmides and saying, “I agree with the suggestion of the Ministry of Military to transfer the Fourth Fleet to Sicily. However, we must remind Alexius to strengthen the defence on the east coast of Apulia to prevent others from raising any trouble.”

Then he continued with a heavy mood, “In addition…informed Prosous to intensify the search for Seclian and Fulalios, whether they are alive or dead! Even if they truly died in battle, they must not leave the bodies of the kingdom’s two high-ranking officers and heroes in the wilderness, as their final destination can only be the Hall of Valour! As for who would be the commander of the newly integrated fleet in Sicily, it would still be Seclian. If they…still could not find him, then it is Fulalios. If Fulalios also can’t be found, Miltiades of the Fourth Fleet would take over.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Tolmides replied as he took note using the slate he carried.

Davos sighed before saying, “What saddens me the most about this disaster isn’t the warship but the crews that perished… How many died in this naval battle?”

Tolmides immediately replied, “Per the preliminary statistics, it should exceed ten thousand.”

Davos listened and felt more sombre, “Over ten thousand men! All of them were sailors familiar with the Theonian navy’s tactics and experienced in naval warfare, all disappeared in just one storm, and now tens of thousands of families had lost their loved ones… Have the Ministry of Military send men to Taranto, Roscianum and Catania’s Military Port to express condolences to the relatives of these dead sailors, ease their sadness and discuss their post-war benefits now!”

“I understand, Your Majesty. I will immediately write the letter to the Ministry of Military and ask for your signature,” replied Tolmides.

Davos remembered something and asked, “What was the name of the naval officer who led the warship in time to break into the port of Selinus, which eventually helped Prosous capture the city?”

“Straphacus.”

“Straphacus…” Davos murmured the name and said approvingly, “To be able to preserve a fleet in a crisis like that and still win military achievements shows his decisiveness and flexibility!”

Upon hearing that, the few present immediately felt envious of Straphacus. After all, having Davos remember his name shows that he would have a bright future!

Davos turned his gaze to Phryntor, who had remained silent and asked, “What do you think of the war in Sicily?”

“Your Majesty,” Phryntor reminded, “Despite our navy holding the advantage in Sicily’s waters, Carthage, a maritime power in the western Mediterranean for a hundred years, had better shipbuilding capability than our kingdom. From the intelligence we gathered, Carthage’s port alone has four large shipyards, and the dozens of Phoenicians coastal city-states affiliated with them also have great shipbuilding capabilities. Once they go all out in building warships, they would only need a few months to build a fleet of warships no less than ours!”

“You are right!” Davos nodded and said seriously, “This is indeed a matter to which we need to pay attention! So we must accelerate our progress and vigorously build new warships to restore and expand our Naval fleet, allowing us to face the continuing maritime challenges in Carthage and ultimately gain the naval hegemony in the western Mediterranean! Thus I will immediately write to the Senate and ask them to organise and mobilise the coastal cities of Southern Italia to start building warships!

Still, there’s no need to worry too much. Although Carthage has better shipbuilding skills and more shipwrights than us, they have two fatal disadvantages that make it unable to defeat our kingdom’s navy!”

Davos’ words caught the attention of the three men. He then stretched out his two fingers and said, “The first would be timber since there are no tall trees in Africa. Although they could obtain wood in the Iberian Peninsula, their developed shipbuilding industry was mainly in Carthage and the surrounding Phoenician city-states. As a result, they must first transport the timber from Iberia to Carthage before they could start building ships, which would take time and be easy to intercept.

Meanwhile, our territory has many mountains, giving us abundant timber resources, and they are all located next to the various coastal cities in southern Italia. This time, I will also ask the Senate to temporarily lift the ban on logging trees to provide sufficient timber for each shipyard for free.”

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