Sicinag and Sedorum both turned their hopeful gazes toward Acipirus.
Acipirus watched all of this, and he understood clearly: the men of Vegium had certainly not fought with full effort. After all, they were Bruttians, not Lucanians. Of course, what Sedorum said might also be true—they had saved the right wing and contributed to the victory of the battle! He knew Sicinag well: greedy for advantage, bullying the weak and fearing the strong were his traits, so such behavior was hardly surprising. Rewarding merit and punishing faults was his duty as the supreme leader, yet he could not truly act according to the covenant. Pyxous was Grumentum's most important ally; it was precisely through its support that Grumentum had grown powerful today. Moreover, Pyxous was a powerful tribal confederation in the Lucanian region. To criticize or even punish the great leader of Pyxous in front of the Bruttians would certainly provoke Pyxous's discontent and thus alienate the Lucanian tribal alliance.
As for the region inhabited by the Bruttians, it bordered Lucania to the south. Their tribes were fragmented and lacked unity, so their strength was relatively weak. They were the next target of Grumentum's conquest after defeating Thurii and occupying the Sybaris Plain. Vegium was the Bruttian city closest to Lucanian territory, and its voluntary submission (under the intimidation of the Lucanian tribal alliance's army) gave Grumentum a foothold into the Bruttian region. Therefore, it could not be treated too harshly, but it also could not be allowed to forget its place, because the Lucanians were the masters, and the Bruttians were destined to be enslaved! ...
Having made up his mind, he finally spoke slowly: "Winning this battle is the result of everyone's joint efforts! Once we occupy this place, I will grant you all generous spoils based on your merits. But—" His sharp gaze made Sedorum's heart tremble: "As allies, killing comrades who fight alongside you is a vile act that breaks your oath; the gods will send punishment! Therefore, the city of Vegium must pay a sufficient fine to satisfy Pyxous and compensate for their losses! At the same time, they must offer an equal number of Vegium warriors' lives as blood sacrifices!"
"What?!" When the Vegium warriors heard this, they exploded in angry outcries.
The warriors of Grumentum and Pyxous immediately surrounded them.
"Sedorum, do you agree or oppose my decision?!" Acipirus's gaze was icy cold as he looked at this great leader of Vegium.
Sedorum lowered his head, fists clenched tightly, his face pale, his forehead covered with sweat beads. He remained silent.
"Great leader, you cannot agree! The Lucanians insult us so—we won't stand for it! We're going back!" Saru shouted angrily.
"Yes! We're going back! Great leader, let's go back!! ..." The Vegium warriors were incensed.
"Go back?" Sicinag sneered, then said to Acipirus: "See, the Bruttians are indeed unreliable—so soon they want to quit the alliance they swore before the gods! If that's the case, perhaps it would be better to..."
Hearing this, Sedorum was suddenly startled. He jerked his head up and saw Sicinag's face twisted in a ferocious sneer and Acipirus's cold, hard expression.
He looked around. The Lucanians had raised shields and spears, encircling his people. Although the Vegium warriors struggled desperately, they were too few in number. They wore only leather armor, had no bronze shields, and carried just a single spear—their equipment was far too crude... Sedorum's fingernails dug deep into his palms... He forced out a sentence: "I... I agree..."
"Great leader!! ..." The mournful cries of the Vegium warriors struck like heavy hammers, each blow pounding Sedorum's already fragile heart. He staggered a few steps and collapsed to the ground.
"Let Uder oversee the execution of the punishment," Acipirus said. He was worried that Sicinag would provoke these Bruttians again and cause a riot, so he chose a neutral party.
"Very well," replied Uder, the great leader of Nerulum.
"Once we occupy this place, I will allocate a plot of land on the Sybaris Plain for Sedorum and your people to graze cattle and sheep, depending on Vegium's contributions. It is far more fertile than the land of the Bruttii!" After issuing the punishment, Acipirus dangled a sweetener before Vegium.
"Thank you... Great leader..." Sedorum forced back his grief and expressed his thanks.
Without waiting for Sicinag to speak, Acipirus asked amiably: "Grenatus, my dear boy, how are your wounds?"
Grenatus suppressed the pain and straightened his chest: "Great leader, I'm fine. They are only flesh wounds."
"That's good. You must take care of yourself. I wouldn't want my beloved daughter to become a widow at a young age; I'm still waiting to hold my grandson!" Acipirus laughed heartily, and the warriors around him joined in the laughter, which made Grenatus somewhat awkward and embarrassed.
Sicinag breathed a sigh of relief. Since Acipirus still valued Grenatus, the promises he had made to Pyxous would not change because of this setback.
"What 'First Warrior of Lucania'? Getting so battered by a much smaller number of Greeks is a disgrace to the Lucanians!" Sarcastic mockery came from among the laughing warriors.
Grenatus looked toward the source of the voice. It was Savira, the chieftain of a tribe in Grumentum city. Savira had once sought to marry Acipirus's daughter, but the great leader, based on tribal interests, had married her to Grenatus instead. Ever since, Savira never had a good word for him.
Grenatus retorted without backing down: "If you have the skill, go attack. I don't believe you could take this camp!"
"Fine then! I'll show you the strength of our Grumentum warriors!" Stung by the challenge, Savira did not decline. He turned around and shouted: "Brothers—"
"Enough, Savira!" Acipirus's low, authoritative voice immediately stopped the impulsive young chieftain. "Let's return to camp!"
As soon as he spoke, Sicinag blurted out first: "Go back now?! Aren't we going to continue attacking this camp?!"
Acipirus looked up at the sky and said: "It's almost dusk, and the warriors are exhausted. We have already wiped out the last citizen soldiers of Thurii. They are powerless to stop us Lucanians from putting down roots on this land. Once we go back, we'll settle the wounded, restore our strength, and prepare tools. Tomorrow, we will build a city here—a Lucanian city!" Acipirus's voice grew more impassioned: "These mercenaries aren't worth worrying about. If they dare come out, we'll defeat them. If they don't, we can blockade them and cut them off from Thurii's support. They'll be finished on their own. As for those Tarentum reinforcements, I hear relations between Tarentum and the Messapians are tense right now. They won't stay long!"
The people around nodded thoughtfully.
Uder asked: "Acipirus, are we not going to Amendolara?"
"We'll go tomorrow." Acipirus glanced briefly at Sicinag. Though he pretended not to care about the mercenaries, the combat effectiveness of that force had actually surprised him somewhat. The tribe that had seized Amendolara had not followed his orders to join the Lucanian tribal coalition. If he led the army over there now, Amendolara would likely refuse to open its gates. Although his force outnumbered them ten times over, siege warfare wasn't something the Lucanians excelled at, especially against a mountain city. If they couldn't take it quickly, by nightfall the warriors would be utterly exhausted, unfed, with mercenary and Tarentine reinforcements threatening their rear, and a pack of unstable Vegium men in their ranks—accidents might happen. When victory was already in the bag for the Lucanian tribal coalition, why take such a risk?
"If that petty tribal chieftain in Amendolara is smart, he'll flee back into the hills tonight like he did last time. Otherwise, tomorrow I'll make him understand who really calls the shots in Lucania now!" Acipirus showed a bloodthirsty sneer.
Hearing this, Sicinag's face twitched involuntarily.
Undercurrents