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Orosius, the polemarchos of Neapolis, held a letter in his left hand and said excitedly, “Everyone, I received a letter from the Praetor of Irna, Adrianus. In his letter, he mentioned that the Theonian commander, Alexius, led his army from the east into the Samnite mountains yesterday. There, he converged with the Potentian and Abellinum army, and together, they besieged and wiped out the nearly seven thousand-strong army that the Samnites had left in the mountains. They also forced Aquilonia to surrender… Today, this Theonian force of twenty thousand men has reached Abellinum and is preparing for tomorrow’s attack on Beneventum!”

“Our tragedy is finally coming to an end! Since Beneventum is the capital of the Hirpini, the Samnite army outside will surely pull back and defend their territory with all their might against our allies’ attack!”

“I was right about the Theonians definitely coming to our rescue, as they always keep their promises! At that time, you didn’t believe me, but now?”

“Forgive our ignorance, Lord Aeolus. Unlike you, we haven’t fought alongside the Theonian army, so we lack a deeper understanding of them. How could we have possibly known that Theonia’s delay in responding to our pleas for help was actually intended to be a sudden and vicious strike at the Samnites’ weak point?”

“Polemarchos Orosius, we hope Neapolis will immediately send troops to help us recapture Pompeii after the Samnites retreat!”

“Wait! You should help us first with Herculaneum since it is the closest to Neapolis!”

“And Liternum as well!”

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

Receiving this fantastic news had finally dispelled the haze lingering over Neapolis’ city hall in recent days. As people celebrated the passing of their tragedy, their eagerness to rebuild their homes led to renewed arguments.

In the days following the start of the Samnites’ invasion of the Campanian League, they not only besieged Neapolis but also simultaneously divided their army to attack other Campanian city-states. Except for city-states like Sorentum, Aenaria, and Capeae, which had unique geographical positions, many coastal towns fell one after another. As a result, most refugees fled to Neapolis.

“There’s no need for everyone to be in a hurry,” Orosius started reassuring them, “Adrianus mentioned in his letter that lord Xanticles, the head of the Theonian army stationed in Irna, will come to Neapolis by ship with his army to join us in recapturing the lost towns together!”

The crowd cheered again and praised Theonia as a good ally who kept its promise. With the presence of the Theonian army, they are even more confident in reclaiming their own city-states!

Then Orosius continued, “The letter also mentioned that once the Samnite army retreats, they hope for us to send troops to harass and obstruct them…”

Silence suddenly returned to the hall upon hearing that.

A moment later, the officials of Neapolis shook their heads, “Let us go out of the city to attack the Samnites?! No! No! That is too dangerous! Since the Samnties are retreating, we will let them retreat! There is no need for us to risk the lives of our citizens!”

If Theonia’s Third Legion’s aid on the Campanian League in defeating the Caudini a few months ago was a way to help the Campanians regain their fighting spirit, this massive Samnite invasion not only shattered that spirit but also deepened their fear of the fearsome mountain race.

Orosius was naturally aware of this situation because he was the same as them, and Aeolus was the one to argue with them.

Orosius had to clear his throat a few times to bring the crowd’s attention back to him, “I would like to remind everyone that, with the Samnites’ retreat, there’s a possibility they may burn down the towns they have occupied and our farmland to vent their anger. So, do we try to stop them?!”

This reminder, in fact, came from Adrianus, who, after more than two years as Irna’s praetor and much experience dealing with the Campanians, was well aware of their nature. And the Campanians couldn’t be compared to the brave and tenacious Volsci and Hernicans. So, in the letter, he didn’t mention that the purpose of attacking the retreating Samnite army was to gain time for Alexius to attack Beneventum. Instead, he solely emphasised that point.

Everyone froze. Those from the other city-states would certainly not allow their enemies to burn down their homes. The people of Neapolis, however, were more concerned about the destruction of their farmland. With them providing food for Theonia’s Third Legion while also caring for their fleeing allies, Neapolis was short of food and couldn’t rely on Theonia. After all, Theonia had just experienced a drought and was also waiting for this year’s autumn harvest.

In the past, even when the Caudini invaded, they seldom destroyed farmland. This was because they were confident that the food produced there would eventually become their spoils in future raids. However, in the current situation, there’s no guarantee that the cornered Samnites won’t do something desperate to cause even more trouble for the Campanian League.

So, after an urgent discussion, the city hall of Neapolis ultimately agreed to Adrianus’ suggestion.

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

Beneventum is the largest town in the Samnite Tribal Alliance. Although the Samnites are a mountain-dwelling people, only a few towns, like Aquilonia, were built atop the mountains. More than half of the tribes and tribal unions lived in the valleys and mountain passes. Beneventum’s location is unique; it sits on large, relatively flat hills, surrounded by mountains, and where two rivers converge, providing abundant water and fertile land, resulting in the area’s highly developed in terms of grazing and cultivation among Samnite towns.

As a result, Beneventum was always at the forefront of the Samnite Tribal Alliance, both in terms of population and strength. Most of the time, the great chieftain of the Hirpini tribe hailed from Beneventum. Only in rare instances, when there was resentment against Beneventum’s wealth and arrogance, did the other Hirpini tribes collaborate to choose chieftains from different towns to lead the tribe in opposition to Beneventum, with Abellinum often being their first choice.

This Hirpini town, situated about twenty kilometres south of Beneventum, is also located in a hilly region, although its area is considerably smaller. It is traversed by a river, but this river is not as large as the Sabato River, which flows into Beneventum’s territory and eventually joins the Volturno River.

So, the people of Abellinum consistently felt lacking compared to those of Beneventum. Even during the rule of the former great chieftain of the Hirpini, Berani, who was a competent leader, the people of Abellinum still grappled with a lingering lack of confidence. And now, they endured the oppression and humiliation imposed by the people of Beneventum for over a decade.

Early this morning, the people of Abellinum cheerfully bid farewell to the departing Theonian army, which would march towards the territory of Beneventum, believing that their day of revenge had finally arrived.

At the forefront, three thousand five hundred Abellinum warriors walked with their heads held high, followed by six thousand Theonian legionaries in the centre. Bringing up the rear were twelve thousand warriors from Potentia, not including Theonia’s engineering and medical teams, mountain reconnaissance units, and logistic support camps following behind. Their combined combat force consisted of twenty-one thousand five hundred men, stretching over a line of more than six kilometres along the Sabato River.

Upon exiting Abellinum’s territory, enemy figures emerged in the mountains and forests on either side of the riverbank. While their numbers were insignificant, they loomed above and began hurling javelins and shooting arrows at the advancing Theonian army within the river valley. They also pushed rocks from the mountains, which tumbled into the riverbank, impeding the Theonians’ marching.

Alexius, Garni, and Polet quickly convened upon seeing the situation. They then decided to dispatch a thousand men each, who would then march in the mountains and forests on both sides to pursue the attackers, protecting the main army.

As the sun reached its zenith in the sky, the winding river abruptly became straight, and the mountains that flanked the river grew shorter. With the soldiers’ vision no longer impeded by towering trees with dense foliage, they were greeted by the sight of open land on both sides of the riverbank adorned with green grass and swaying small trees… The Theonian army had at last entered Beneventum’s territory.

The terrain here was somewhat unique, with two rows of hills stretching from north to south, akin to parallel lines, forming a protective barrier around the Sabato River. Between the hills was a flat grassland, roughly a kilometre in width, in which flowed the Sabato River, a mere twenty metres wide and knee-deep.

The leading troops halted here, and the Abellinum warriors, who had already travelled for half a day, began eating to replenish their strength while waiting for the troops behind to arrive.

“Beneventum is only three kilometres away,” Garni pointed forward and said to Alexius and Polet, who had arrived one after another, “The land in front used to be the gathering place for the various tribes of Beneventum, but all of them had now withdrawn…”

While describing the situation of Beneventum’s territory, Garni couldn’t help but feel a great deal of emotion in his heart. In fact, his perception of Beneventum had mainly stayed the same as the one more than a decade ago. His relationship with Lesguk had deteriorated following the South-Italian War until they became mortal enemies, resulting in him only visiting Beneventum when the tribal alliance held a great sacrifice. If it hadn’t been for the support of the Theonian messenger, he might have faced punishment by the Samnite priests. His experiences there made him fearful, leaving him without a mood to notice changes in Beneventum. His current knowledge came from intelligence gathered by his subordinates over the years. Now, as he led his troops, he aimed to cleanse the humiliation of the past and cast aside the shadows that had haunted him.

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