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Nevertheless, Konteruk had no intention of leading his men to leave. He was resolute in adhering to the ancient tradition of the Samnites and opted to stand with the Hirpini tribe, defending Beneventum by advancing and retreating together.

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

In the early summer in the mountain range, the soil remained moist, the trees lush, and the weeds grew wildly, accompanied by the incessant chirping of summer cicadas. The intense sunlight filters through the dense branches and leaves, casting dappled light on the mountain grass.

Three scouts from Abellinum lay on the ground, swatting away mosquitoes that bit their bodies as they closely observed the winding mountain path below.

“Big brother, look!” A scout pointed ahead and exclaimed in surprise.

They saw numerous birds flying between the eastern mountains, chirping and circling.

“Let’s go and take a closer look!” The scout they referred to as the big brother wore a joyful expression as he stood up, stretched his somewhat sore thighs, and led the two men in a run down the mountain towards the east.

Before long, they had once again lay on the mountain range, gazing downward: More than a hundred metres away from the mountain path, densely packed Samnite warriors formed a long, curving line that stretched eastward.

Although the clothing of the warriors from the four major tribes was all roughly the same, and they were too far to see the flags, the experienced Abellinum scouts could still tell that this was the Caudini army because this long line reflected a lot of sunlight, indicating that the rate of people wearing armour in this line is high. After all, only the Caudini among the four major tribes could do so because they are the wealthiest tribe as they own the eastern plain of Campania. Moreover, the direction of this army’s advance is precisely to Caudium.

“Chieftain Garni is right. The Caudini have indeed left Beneventum, and the days we spent waiting weren’t in vain!” The leading scout couldn’t conceal the joy on his face.

“But we still haven’t found the Nucerians yet.”

“Although I can’t see them clearly from here, I can roughly guess where they are,” The leading scout said confidently, “Since entering Beneventum, we haven’t seen the Nucerians go out to fight nor even gone to patrol the city, showing that the Caudini people are cautious against them. Thus, I think they must be in the middle of the line…and since they have about three thousand men, it should be easy to find them.

You hurry back and report to chieftain Garni that I, Sedani, have started carrying out the plan… While you rush to the Theonian camp at Nola, tell their commanders that I will get in touch with the Nucerians…”

“Brother, you must be careful!”

“Don’t worry. On the contrary, I would have an easier time sneaking in alone.”

Sedani’s words weren’t meant to comfort them. The Samnite army wasn’t like the Theonian army, which only marched on the mountain path. Once the mountain on both sides slopes down, the Samnite forces would split, with some warriors marching on the mountainside. This not only shortened the length of the marching line but also reduced the likelihood of an ambush. However, this also helped Sedani’s infiltration.

Once he saw off the two scouts, he dusted his body, carried a few javelins and took cover from the trees, diving down the mountain and hiding in the weeds.

He then rose decisively after carefully listening to the conversation of the marching warriors near him, pretending to have just finished taking a piss and then approached them. He managed to mingle easily with them as he was wearing the same clothing as them and as the Caudini’s marching line wasn’t as rigid as those of the Theonians and was instead more disorganised.

Then, after having a silent discussion with the few Nucerian warriors around him, he decided to find the chieftain of Alfaternum, the second largest tribe in Nuceria(the reason he didn’t go to Kinduk’s tribe was that Segobani had already split up this tribe and its people had been forcibly incorporated into the tribes of Nola and Suessula).

“You said you came from Abellinum?” Basani warily looked at the man who had attempted to approach him quietly, only to be stopped by his guard. Yet his tone carried a hint of excitement.

Meanwhile, Sedani noticed how young Basani looked. According to his appearance, he should have just turned twenty. Per the Samnite tradition, it is impossible for him to lead his tribesmen in battle. However, with Segobani imprisoning the chieftains of the various tribes in Nuceria, they could only allow their youngsters to lead the tribal warriors to better control them.

“To prevent others from being suspicious, we’d better discuss while marching,” Sedani suggested in a low voice.

Basani instinctively looked around and then nodded.

Sedani disguised himself as Basani’s guard and followed him along with other warriors.

Basani impatiently muttered inquiringly, “What happened in Nuceria?! We heard rumours in Beneventum that the Theonians were furious at us for killing the priests of Hades and the Theonian merchants. As a result, after invading Nueria, they not only killed those vicious wolves under Segobani but also…also…also slaughtered all of our…our kin… But those Caudini warriors we are familiar with had privately told us that your people often shout outside Beneventum that the Theonians have allied with our remaining tribes…and there are also other rumours. Which one is true?!”

Instead of responding immediately, Sedani took something out and silently handed it to Basani.

Basani’s eyes widened as he recognised it as his favourite small wooden carving when he was a child.

Sedani looked at him and said confidently, “This is something your tribal elders asked me to bring to you, and I also have more of such things for the several other tribal chieftains. The real situation is that after the Theonian army expelled the people of Caudium stationed in Nuceria, they allied with the elders of the Nucerian tribes to fight against the Samnite Tribal Alliance…”

After Sedani finished speaking, the guards beside Basani became excited before Basani could even respond. The Caudiums have plotted Kinduk, imprisoned the tribal chieftains, slaughtered their tribesmen, forced them to go out to war, and always have them charge at the forefront without a care for their survival…so the hearts of these Nucerian warriors have been burning with hatred for a long time but due to the strength of the Samnite Tribal Alliance and the safety of their kin in their territories, they had to endure the humiliation. But now, the opportunity has come!

Someone even muttered, “That’s great!” Then, their eyes burst with the flames of vengeance as they stare straight at Basani.

Basani tightened his grip on the small wooden carving and muttered, “Once we reach Caudium, I will quietly send someone to tell the news to the other Nucerian chieftains…”

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

On the same day that Segobani led his army to retreat from Beneventum, Xanticles, stationed outside Nola, had decided to start attacking Nola.

Four days had passed since the siege began, but why was he suddenly urgent to attack the city? On the one hand, it is due to the concerns about the returning Samnite forces, which would result in all his previous efforts being in vain. On the other hand, his siege arrangement was nearing completion.

Upon arriving below the city wall of Nola, Xanticles inspected the Caudini town more closely. Although the wall was nearly seven metres high and constructed from stones, it had deteriorated, with large gaps and even grass growing in some places. The trench outside the town wasn’t wide, and although there was a simple abatis outside the trench, they didn’t lay out any traps.

Based on this, Xanticles estimated that the towns of the Caudini’s had never experienced an attack, so they hadn’t maintained or repaired it, which gave him the confidence to break the city quickly. (In fact, during the Caudini invasion of Campania last year, Nola and Suessula had already begun to feel the danger after the disastrous defeat they suffered from the Theonian reinforcements and the entry of the Third Legion. This prompted them to prioritise the strengthening of the city’s defences. Unfortunately, the outbreak of a full-scale war between the Samnites and Theonians shortly afterwards had drawn away the able tribesmen of Nola, causing the repairs to the city’s wall to be put on hold.)

Considering that there were only a few defenders in Nola and all the areas nearby were now under the control of Theonia and its allies, Xanticles also thought that the only potential reinforcements the enemy would receive would be from the north. After discussing with the Campanian army leaders, Aeoles, and others, he decided to build an earthen rampart to approach the city wall.

Constructing a siege earthen rampart was part of the standard military training for the Theonian legion, so Xanticles and the soldiers were familiar with the process. After deciding to build the earthen rampart to the south of Nola, and once the engineers surveyed the area, they set the starting point for construction at a distance of forty metres away from the city’s southern wall.

So Xanticles ordered that most soldiers go to the mountains to cut down trees.

After receiving Xanticles’ plea for assistance, Adrianus, the praetor of Irna, not only mobilised a few thousand citizens from Irna but also dispatched several administrative officials. Armed with three days’ worth of rations, they traversed the territory of Nuceria using the merchant routes to reach the outskirts of Nola. Upon learning of the situation, the Nucerians also rallied a few thousand people. Subsequently, the Campanian League contributed tens of thousands to the cause. As a result, in a span of less than two days, over thirty thousand individuals assembled in the Theonian camp(including twelve thousand soldiers).

Xanticles’ plan for constructing the earthen rampart: He first left two thousand Campanian heavy infantry to guard the camp to prevent the enemy from sneaking out of the city. Meanwhile, the rest of the soldiers would go to the mountains and forests to cut down wood, turning some of the timbers into wooden stockades five to six metres high, which the two hundred soldiers erected thirty metres away from the walls of Nola. It had a length of seventy metres to ward off javelins and arrows shot by the enemy at the wall. Then, he stationed three hundred Theonian heavy infantry on both sides of the stockade and behind it to stop the enemy from possibly leaving Nola to destroy it.

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