Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 19: Spies

Alcinus saw Philistos outside the courtyard and immediately called out respectfully, "Lord Philistos!"

"At home, just call me Uncle!" Philistos said amiably.

"Uncle Philistos!" Alcinus called out obediently.

"Father," Melysander said quietly. Compared to before, he could now call him "Father," but it still felt a bit awkward.

Philistos didn't mind that. He consoled Melysander: "Child, I saw your fight with Alcinus just now. Your strength and speed are no less than your good friend's, but you still lack experience—especially battlefield experience. Once you've been in a few battles, you'll understand."

"But I have to be eighteen to go to war! Father, couldn't you speak to Lord Davos again—" Melysander said urgently.

"Haven't you tried several times already? Lord Davos places great importance on the Military Code; he won't set a precedent for you," Philistos said gravely.

Melysander punched the porch pillar in frustration.

Philistos ignored him and turned to ask Alcinus: "You're heading out tomorrow. Are you prepared?"

"Uncle, I can't wait to fight under Lord Davos's command, defeat the Lucanians, and capture their towns!" Alcinus said excitedly.

Philistos looked at him with a faint smile and said, "Tomorrow, Lord Davos won't lead the expedition. He's staying in Thurii to handle alliance affairs and keep an eye on the Crotonians!"

"Then who will lead us to attack Nerulum tomorrow?" Alcinus asked quickly.

Philistos smiled.

"Uncle, is it you?!" Alcinus exclaimed.

"Is that true?! Father, you became the army commander?!" Melysander was stunned, and that "Father" came out loudly.

At that moment, Philistos was filled with pride, and the tension in his heart was swept away: He would win this battle and make his children proud of him!

...

On the third day, just before dawn, while most of the alliance citizens were still asleep, the Second, Third, and Seventh Battalions, together with the Lucanian Battalion—about four thousand men in total—were fully assembled and ready to depart outside Thurii's north gate.

Davos, as the founder of this army, was not personally commanding the battle for the first time, and the soldiers were also fighting without Davos's command for the first time. Both sides felt some unease. So Davos rode his horse to review all the departing soldiers. Whenever he passed a platoon, he swept his eyes over the soldiers with a look of trust and told them: "Brothers, I await news of your victory! By the time you return, the triumphal arch in Thurii should be built. I will hold a triumph for you, so that all the alliance citizens will be proud of you!"

Because of prior regulations, the departing soldiers could not cheer loudly, but their morale was high and their fighting spirit was ignited.

The officers of the First Battalion also came to see them off. Their send-off was different from Davos's; they cracked various jokes with the departing officers like Drax, Sestas, Hieronymus, and Epithenis, all roughly meaning: "If it weren't for our First Battalion shouldering the responsibility of defending the alliance, how could it be your turn to capture Nerulum! And we hear they're even going to hold a triumph for you! Damn it, you're really lucky. If you mess up this battle, you'll have failed the legion commander's care for you, and also failed our First Battalion's courtesy! You might as well not come back!" The words were laced with intense jealousy, but they also stirred the competitive spirit in officers like Drax, Hieronymus, and Epithenis.

Finally, Davos came before the Lucanian Battalion. He didn't say much; first he solemnly gave a military salute, then said loudly: "Congratulations, Lucanian brothers! You are about to become citizens of the Thua Alliance. From today, we are one family!"

Over the past few months, the Lucanian warriors had often played rugby with the alliance soldiers, and later, on training days, Davos even allowed them to stop road-building and participate in military training, so they could perform the alliance military salute in unison.

Seeing this, Davos was very pleased. He took a new battle flag from the hands of his guard captain, Martius, then raised it high and displayed it before the Lucanian warriors: It was a beautiful battalion flag, also with a bronze Death's-head and a bright red banner, but the embroidery on it was different. Below, a red star indicated that this unit had participated in the battle against Croton and emerged victorious.

Most Lucanian soldiers had started learning Greek, but they could not yet read Greek script. Still, this flag belonging to them, not much different from the other battalion flags, made them happy. Bacule read the text on the flag clearly: First Legion, Fourth Battalion!

We really are one family now! Bacule received the flag with emotion and said, "Rest assured, Legion Commander. The Fourth Battalion will definitely complete the mission smoothly and guide the Lucanians to join our alliance!"

"Good!" Davos poured all his expectations into a heavy fist against Bacule's chest...

Stepping back from the formation, Davos came to the side of Philistos, the commander of this military operation: "Everything is in your hands!"

Philistos suppressed his inner tension and responded with a strong military salute: "Rest assured, Legion Commander!"

"Move out!" Davos nodded.

Under the guidance of the Hades Legion flag, the army quietly marched westward...

Davos gazed at the long, winding column as it moved forward, standing still for a long time...

Some preparatory citizens and slaves who had risen early to farm the fields west of Thurii saw the alliance army marching along the road beside the fields and were so shocked they forgot their work.

Of course, the Thua Alliance's military action did not escape the eyes of those watching.

Because Croton had suffered greatly from the sneak attack on Amendolara, they had sent several landless citizens to enter Thurii's port as freemen to gather intelligence. Tlatos was one of them.

Since the alliance senators had been frequently going to Amendolara for meetings the previous two days, it had caught his attention. He sensed something major was happening in the Thua Alliance and closely monitored Thurii. Today, he discovered the large army moving out. He crouched in the grass, estimated the approximate number of troops, then casually, slowly made his way toward the port, pretending to be unhurried.

What he didn't know was that not far behind him, someone else was tailing him. Of course, he wouldn't know that his unauthorized attempt to sow discord among the Thurians, Amendolarans, and former mercenaries in the Thua Alliance had aroused Davos's vigilance and thus exposed himself.

"Big brother, this man is gathering important information about our alliance again. We should grab him right now, so he doesn't leak the news of our campaign!"

"No, brother. Asiastes told us before, 'Don't alert them yet.' Let's go tell Asiastes first."

When the two hurried back into the city and arrived at Asiastes's residence, a slave who opened the door told them: Asiastes was not there; he had gone as adjutant of the Fourth Battalion and was already in the departing army.

The two stood dumbfounded: The person in charge of them wasn't there. What should they do now?

Then Asiastes's slave asked, "Is one of you named Aristelas?"

"I am," one of them replied.

The slave looked at him curiously, then said, "The goddess of fortune favors you! My master said that if you have business, go directly to Lord Davos!"

The two were very excited and went to Davos's residence without a moment's hesitation. Sure enough, Davos received them readily.

After hearing their report, Davos was not surprised. Instead, he studied the two men with interest: the short one seemed nervous and a bit anxious, while the tall, thin one was much calmer. As Davos examined him, he also observed Davos.

"Do you know why I didn't capture that Croton spy?" Davos asked suddenly.

The short man didn't know what to say. The tall, thin man calmly replied, "I believe Lord Davos must have his own plan. That spy might serve some purpose. Also, I don't think you're afraid of Croton knowing about our troop movements."

Davos's eyes brightened. He looked at him and said, "Your name is Aristelas?"

"Yes, Lord," the tall, thin man nodded.

Davos turned to the other man: "And you are Antrapolis?"

"Yes! Yes! I am Antrapolis!" the short man replied excitedly.

"Thank you both very much for your efforts on behalf of the city-state! Asiastes has told me about you in detail. He said, 'You are brothers, from Catana in Sicily, and have now applied to become preparatory citizens of the Thua Alliance...' Asiastes also specifically mentioned you, Aristelas, saying that you used your intelligence to quickly find that Croton spy. Well done!" Davos praised.

Hearing the lifelong magistrate of the Thua Alliance, the military genius, the "God-Touched One" Davos personally praise him, even the steady Aristelas showed a hint of pride.

"You received a good education?" Davos asked again.

"Yes, when our home was in Catana, we were fairly well-off. When we were young, our parents hired tutors for us..." Aristelas said calmly, but with a touch of pain in his voice.

"That accursed Dionysius not only captured Catana but also enslaved most of the citizens who couldn't escape, forcibly relocating a few to Syracuse, letting those Syracusan bandits take over our land!" Antrapolis said angrily.

"Alas, the island of Sicily is now like a volcano about to erupt!" Davos sighed, recalling the intelligence he had gathered these days. Then he changed the subject: "Don't you think that Croton man sent to gather intelligence, who exposed himself by trying to spread rumors, is a bit stupid?"