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“We should indeed fight with all our might, but we must not think too highly of the Romans!” Amintas said confidently, “With our heavy losses yesterday, the Romans should’ve continued attacking today to gain more advantage. However, Why haven’t they launched another attack even though it’s almost noon now?!”

Amintas looked at the crowd and exclaimed, “I am sure the Romans had suffered even greater losses because they were the ones on the offensive! And this kind of loss has made it impossible for the Roman army, which has over sixty thousand soldiers and has been attacking for three consecutive days, to launch another attack today!”

“The army commander is right!” Theris took over the conversation and said, “From the report we received from the city of Rome, there has been a constant stream of Roman plebeians among the soldiers fleeing the enemy camp and escaping back to Rome in the past two days. Moreover, apart from the Romans, the Roman army also included the armies of the Latin and Etruscan city-states. So even if the Romans don’t care about the casualties, could their allies bear such heavy casualties?!”

“Lord Theris is right!” Amintas exclaimed as he struck his armchair again, “The soldiers of the Roman army had come from various sources and not as united as our legion. So, as long as we repel their offensive a few more times, the enemy may fall apart. At that time, it will be our turn to launch an offensive. Therefore, you must encourage your soldiers to continue defending and not slack off because victory will ultimately belong to us!”

Crotokatax immediately turns his head to look at Amintas after hearing that. Despite his father privately mentioning Amintas’ recklessness in battle and lack of thorough consideration, leading to heavy casualties in every engagement and making him unsuitable for the role of army commander, Crotokatax currently believes that Amintas’ fearless and bold character, as he continually pushes forward, can effectively boost the morale of his officers and soldiers, playing a pivotal role in critical moments.

“Everyone, we should organise the soldiers and the people in the city to cover the gap on the city wall as much as possible while the enemy has still yet attacked today! If we can’t block them, we should at least set traps near the gap…” Amintas reminded. Finally, he asked, “Is there anything else you wish to add?”

Giorgris immediately said, “Commander, I met lord Steichicodas before coming here. He had asked me to tell you that there are too many wounded in the medical camp, and they do not have enough medicinal herbs…”

“Lord Steichicodas should’ve gone straight to me with such an important matter!” Amintas complained, completely forgetting that he had never called anyone from the medical camp to participate in the war council these days while he spent the rest of his time fighting atop the city wall. So how could Steichicodas see him?

Crotokatax blinked as he realised through these few days of contact that this was perhaps one of Amintas’ biggest shortcomings – being too arbitrary! It was no wonder his father was a bit uneasy with him.

Giorgris hesitated for a moment and said, “Lord Steichicodas was busy treating the wounded for the past two days, so I am afraid he doesn’t have spare time.”

Theris also immediately added, “I will send someone to the port to notify the subordinates of Agus(a major herb merchant in Thurii) and see if they have any herbs. If not, we will ask them to transport them from the kingdom as soon as possible.”

“I’ll leave this matter to you,” Amintas said bluntly. Then he looked at the others and asked, “Do any of you have other questions? No? Then hurry up and go about your tasks.”

But as soon as he said that, a guard hurried into the hall and said, “Reporting to the commander, a messenger from His Majesty the King had come and reported that he had come to convey an emergency military order!”

Amintas was taken aback and said, “Let him in quickly.”

In a moment, the messenger entered the hall, with Crotokatax recognising him as the young staff officer Asinaros who was beside his father.

Asinaros quickly glanced at everyone in the hall, then looked at Amitnas before saying respectfully, “Commander Amintas, all legates and lords, I have come to Ostia by order of His Majesty to deliver his latest orders!” With that, he held a roll of papyrus tied with black thread in both hands and presented it to Amintas.

Amintas unrolled the scroll with a smile on his face. However, his expression became serious as his eyes fixed on Asinaros, and there was a hint of anger in his words, “Are you sure it is His Majesty who wrote the decree?! Not what you staff officers want?!!”

Asinaros said, neither humble nor overbearing, “Lord Commander, are you unable to recognise His Majesty’s handwriting and seal?! Besides, His Majesty is personally leading the army, so how could we dare issue an order without His Majesty’s approval!”

“What the hell is going on?” Olivos quickly interrupted once he saw the atmosphere wasn’t right.

“His Majesty wants us to…evacuate Ostia!” Amintas once again slammed his fist at his armchair.

Everyone was shocked. After all, the soldiers had engaged in three days of bloody battles, enduring heavy casualties to barely retain control of Ostia just to suddenly abandon it. It was a bitter pill to swallow. This abrupt change of situation was hard for anyone to accept.

So even Giorgris asked, “Does His Majesty think we can’t hold onto Ostia?”

“Lord Commander, you didn’t fully convey the original intent of His Majesty!” Asinaros glanced at Amintas before explaining earnestly, “We captured Caisra and Veii yesterday. Given the fact that the port of Caisra wasn’t far from the estuary of the Tiber River and its capacity to accommodate more ships, coupled with the increasing casualties our army has suffered due to the relentless assaults of the Romans on Ostia and with our need to ensure we have sufficient troops in the upcoming battle, there is no longer a need for us to fight against a hopeless army that has lost its homeland. Thus, His Majesty Davos decided – please note that it is not intended-”

Asinaros implicitly showed his dislike of Amintas as he said in an emphasised tone, “For the soldiers of the three legions to quickly withdrew to the north bank of the Tiber and then returned to Rome by land. Meanwhile, we would transfer the other troops and all the people, supplies, and prisoners in Ostia to Caisra! If possible, we should completely burn Ostia to cut off the possibility of the Roman army using the port of Ostia while also dampening their morale! Lord Theris will be in charge of directing the evacuation of the entire city, and anyone must follow his orders! Upon arriving at Caisra, Lord Theris would take over as its praetor…this is the entirety of His Majesty’s decree, so please follow His Majesty’s order and execute them immediately!”

While Asinaros was speaking, Olivos and the others had already read Davos’ decree.

“That is indeed what His Majesty said in his decree!” Olivos exclaimed.

“This is great since we can reduce the unnecessary casualties of our soldiers!” Giorgris beamed with joy.

Due to the continuous siege of the Romans in the past few days and the successive arrival of various legions, with Amintas assuming command, Theris had found himself reduced to more of a subordinate under Amintas’ directives. Moreover, he often faced rebukes from Amintas due to the incompetence of the soldiers under his command. As the praetor of this small city, it was impossible for him not to harbour grievances. However, he refrained from showing joy at the prospect of regaining authority. Instead, he remained silent, contemplating how to plan a swift evacuation without alerting the enemy.

While Amintas acknowledged the significant casualties they had suffered from the Roman army’s attack, he was unwilling to retreat without achieving victory, as it would be akin to surrendering before even engaging in battle.

Crotokatax then noticed Amintas gripping his armchair tightly, his gaze fixed on Asinaros while remaining silent. It seemed as though he was a beast, ready to pounce at him at any given moment. This sight prompted Crotokatax to instinctively reach out and touch the secret order he had received from his father. At this moment, he realised that the senior officers who typically greeted him with smiles were not as compliant as he had imagined during critical moments. Despite this, he retained unwavering confidence in his father’s prestige.

“Commander, we should immediately execute His Majesty’s orders!” Olivos exclaimed again.

Giorgris also added, “Yes, we should quickly prepare for the evacuation while the Romans are still not attacking!”

The successive statements of the two legates made Amintas shift his gaze. He looked at Olivos and Giorgris, and after a moment, he muttered in a low voice, “Then let Lord Theris be responsible for arranging the retreat…”

He then stood up and left the hall after saying that.

The remaining few people looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Crotokatax silently pondered, ‘If I were to lead the army in battle one day, how can I make these generals obey orders?…’

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

Camillus came out of the camp where they were treating the wounded with a heavy heart; the harrowing sight of the camp filled with struggling wounded always lingered in his eyes, and their groans of agony gripped his heart and put him in a trance.

“Father, be careful!” Lucius grabbed Camillus, who was about to collapse.

“Lucius…tell me, was I wrong…in insisting on capturing Ostia?” Camillus softly muttered while getting supported by his son’s shoulder.

“Father, should we instead attack Rome if we don’t attack Ostia?! Father, don’t overthink since even Titus, Aurus, Quintus, and the rest unanimously agreed with your plan. In such a difficult situation we are in now, we can only have hope if we force the Theonians to implement peace negotiation with us by fighting the Theonian soldiers and capturing Ostia!” Lucius said deeply.

“But that’s twenty thousand casualties over the past few days!…” Camillus let out a long sigh. He has always cherished the lives of his soldiers and is known for his excellent military skills and low casualties. But this time, such heavy losses resulted from his plan, and he couldn’t help but deeply feel remorse.

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