The Greek army's right wing—the Tarentum reinforcements—were also forced to retreat. Fortunately, they had two hundred cavalry waiting on the flank, so the Lucanian fighters opposite dared not pursue too aggressively, fearing their ranks would become too scattered and the Greek cavalry would take advantage. Thus, the Tarentum reinforcements' withdrawal went relatively smoothly...
Only the Greek center was a complete mess, utterly disorganized...
"General Feris, we are defeated! We are defeated!! What do we do? What do we do?!?!" This general—Kynogoratas—who in the town hall was always quick-witted and eloquent, was now completely panicked.
"What else can we do!" Feris let out a bitter laugh, his voice full of regret. "I failed to stick to my position—that is my fault! I underestimated the enemy—that is my fault! I was stubborn and refused to listen to others' advice—that is my fault! Today's defeat of Thurii is all my fault!"
He watched the routed soldiers streaming past him, and his expression turned resolute. "You hurry back to Thurii and have the citizens prepare the defenses! I will buy time for Thurii, so that I may confess my sins to Apollo!" With that, he raised his shield and spear with withered arms, pushed through the fleeing soldiers, and charged toward the surging enemy. The bodyguards, slaves, and clansmen around him shouted, "Fight for Thurii!" A hundred men rallied around the old general, moving against the tide. As they passed, some Thurii citizens were moved to stop their flight and join them.
Kynogoratas hesitated briefly, then finally turned his horse and fled back. As he rode, he consoled himself: Feris is right—if we all die here, who will protect Thurii!
By the time they faced the enemy, Feris's force had grown to eight hundred men. The old general, over sixty years old, shouted, "Apollo!" and was the first to plunge into the enemy ranks. His men followed, launching a counter-charge. They fought without fear of death, surprising the Grumentum warriors, who had scattered their formation in pursuit. The mercenaries nearly pierced through their line, forcing the Grumentum forces to regroup and surround this small band of unusually courageous Thurii soldiers...
The most tragic scene of this battle finally ended. Feris and his eight hundred Thurii men fought to the last—none escaped.
Kynogoratas, desperate to get back to Thurii as quickly as possible, nearly collided with fleeing soldiers several times while riding. His heart was filled with worry for the city, and also a hint of regret: he should never have joined this battle just to gain prestige...
---
Thurii was no more than five or six *li* from the battlefield. The entire city was watching this battle, which would decide its fate. Every family prayed for the soldiers, either at home or in the square.
When a scout fled back into the city in panic and shouted, "We have lost! We have lost!" the news spread like a thunderbolt. The people felt the sky was falling: the faint-hearted fainted on the spot; the suspicious thought the scout was spreading rumors and tried to drag him off his horse and beat him; the pessimists declared Thurii was doomed and urged everyone to flee; the rogues, in their despair, seized the opportunity to stir up chaos and fish in troubled waters... The entire city—especially the square—was filled with wailing, utter pandemonium.
The two most important figures among the "Nine Generals" were both on the battlefield. Fortunately, the generals had some experience from last year's major defeat. In this critical moment, a few generals led by Neonxis stepped forward. They first sent patrols to maintain order within the city, then rallied the people in the square, calling on men and women, young and old, to take up arms and defend their homes. They led their own clansmen and slaves up onto the walls.
Just then, several mounted nobles led by Kynogoratas galloped across the drawbridge and into the city.
As soon as the people learned of his arrival, they surrounded him, demanding news of their families. But Kynogoratas, knowing the urgency, acted as if he hadn't heard and shouted anxiously, "The Lucanians will be here any moment! Close the gates! Close the gates!! Don't let them break in!! Or Thurii is finished!!!"
Neonxis frowned and said, "If we close the gates, our soldiers won't be able to get back in!"
"Tell them to go around the walls and jump into the Crati River. We'll pick them up with boats! The Lucanians can't swim!" Kynogoratas had already thought of a plan on the road.
In that panicked, critical moment, Kynogoratas's arrival and suggestion immediately gave the people a leader. After a brief discussion, they decided it was feasible. They raised the drawbridge, shut the gates, and began shouting from the walls to the routed soldiers gathering below: "Jump into the river! We have boats to pick you up! Jump into the river..."
---
Davos sent Asiastes ahead to the camp to report the battle situation, while he led the troops in a rapid retreat toward the camp. Laedes, beside him, raised the standard high to guide the entire force.
The Pyxous warriors had earlier been attacked by the peltasts, so they had fallen some distance behind the mercenaries. Meanwhile, Grumentum's pursuit had been slowed by Feris's desperate counterattack. Thus, the mercenaries' withdrawal was relatively smooth and without great risk. However, along the way, routed soldiers kept crashing into their formation. The mercenaries unceremoniously knocked them down with their shields. But Davos's mercenary force, retreating in good order and with a neat appearance, naturally attracted the panicked stragglers. Even though the mercenaries dealt with them roughly, the stragglers endured the blows and scolding, following obediently like tame dogs...
By the time the force passed Thurii, Davos's column had become somewhat bloated, but he didn't mind. He glanced at the countless routed soldiers gathered at the foot of Thurii, then looked back to check the enemy's movements. He then handed the standard to Asiastes and said to Laedes, "Go to the walls of Thurii and tell those soldiers that the Lucanians are coming soon, and our camp is very strong. They can come to our camp for shelter."
Laedes took the order and left.
"Whole force, turn right!" Davos shouted loudly. The red battle standard fluttered in the wind, guiding the troops not directly into the camp through the west gate, but turning toward the south gate...
---
Gennatos, leading the Pyxous warriors, pressed hard after the mercenaries. Since becoming a soldier, he had fought in dozens of battles, large and small, but had never been so humiliated—he had even nearly lost his life. And now these Greeks, after massacring so many of his people, were trying to slip away smoothly. This enraged him even more. His eyes were fixed solely on this mercenary force: catch it! Slaughter it!!
Even though the routed soldiers at the foot of Thurii were closer, he ignored them. As a result, the Pyxous formation collided with the Grumentum warriors who were pursuing the Thurii stragglers. By the time the two forces finally sorted themselves out, Davos's mercenaries had already entered the camp.
The Thurii generals, led by Kynogoratas, lacked battlefield experience (the only experienced one had died) and had oversimplified the problem.
It was true that the shouting from the walls made some people leave the gate area and jump into the Crati River. But there were still routed soldiers who refused to leave—the gate was right in front of them, and they were exhausted, unwilling to take the long way around to jump into the cold Crati River. They begged and cursed beneath the walls. In the time wasted, the Grumentum warriors arrived. After a chase and slaughter, the routed soldiers had no choice but to jump, even if they didn't want to. But in their panic and haste, they didn't even remove their armor, and many sank straight into the river, drowning alive...
The people on the walls watched helplessly as their loved ones were killed and drowned below. They wailed uncontrollably. Some women even threw themselves off the walls, shattering their bodies, to join their fallen husbands in the underworld...
The grotesque visage of the Lucanian warriors and this bloody, tragic scene became a nightmare that the people of Thurii could not shake for the rest of their lives...
---
The Lucanians' failure to pursue promptly allowed Davos to breathe a sigh of relief. He had not entered through the west gate but had gone around to the south gate because he feared the soldiers would be slow entering the camp. His worry proved well-founded—in fact, the situation was even worse than he had imagined. The panicked routed soldiers disrupted the order of the troops entering the camp.
Davos had no time to regret. He quickly climbed onto the wooden palisade and directly ordered the soldiers to knock out a dozen of the routed men. This finally intimidated those terrified stragglers, allowing the troops to enter the camp smoothly.
Retreat