Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 21: Deception in the City

Soon, when the column reached the city, a man stepped out from the ranks, approached the gate, and shouted, “Open the gate! Open the gate!”

Mone recognized him as Achradamas. He quickly leaned out from behind the wooden wall and asked, “Chief Achradamas, why haven’t I seen Chief Avinogis?”

“My brother wants to wait until I’ve settled the old, the women, and the children before he comes over at his leisure.”

Damn Laüs bastard, still cautious! Mone cursed under his breath, then forced a smile and said, “First, have your people camp outside. I’ll go inform Great Chief Ram.”

“What?! You want us to set up camp in the wild?!” Achradamas roared angrily. “We’ve been walking for most of the day! The elderly and children can barely take it anymore! Let us in to rest!”

“Chief Achradamas, there are too many of you. If you all come in at once, it will disrupt the order in the city. Please bear with us for a little while.” Mone cursed inwardly but kept his tone patient.

“What?! Too many of us?! Weren’t you the ones who told us to move here?! And now you complain we’re too many! Fine! Fine! This is how Nerulum treats us!” Achradamas shouted abuse, then turned to the others and yelled, “Let’s go back!”

Mone panicked. The leaders had worked hard to get Avinogis’s tribe to relocate. If he drove them away, his good days were surely over.

“Wait, Chief Achradamas! I’ll open the gate and let you in right now! But please maintain order and don’t let things get too chaotic!” Mone hurriedly shouted.

Achradamas immediately turned back, a slight smile on his face. “Good, thank you for looking after our tribe! I’ll give you five sheep as a token of gratitude!”

The Lucanians’ bribery was so straightforward. Mone shed all his hesitation and yelled, “Open the city gate!” At the same time, he ordered his men, “Go notify Great Chief Ram immediately. Tell him Achradamas has arrived with his people.”

Then Mone himself led some men to the city gate to receive the gift Achradamas had promised.

Achradamas had the cattle and sheep herds driven aside to avoid blocking the gate passage, then actually had five sheep caught and given to Mone.

Mone expressed his thanks profusely.

“Captain, why not slaughter one and let us have a good meal!” one of his men said, eyes greedy.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be left out! First, help me get these sheep back home!” Mone kicked his subordinate and cursed.

Achradamas’s wagons, pulled and pushed by slaves, passed through the gate one after another in orderly fashion, entering Nerulum. Among the wagons were slaves carrying burdens…

Mone watched from the gate, sensing something amiss. He instinctively asked Achradamas, “How do you have so many Lucanian slaves?”

Achradamas gave a sinister smile, drew his short sword, and thrust it straight at Mone.

Caught off guard, Mone couldn’t dodge. He watched helplessly as the cold blade pierced his chest.

“Attack!” Achradamas shouted as he swung his short sword, cutting down the other guards near Mone.

The “slaves” immediately dropped their loads and quickly pulled weapons from the wagons.

“Murder!”

“The Laüs people are rebelling!”

…

The Nerulum citizens who had been watching the spectacle screamed and fled in all directions.

At the front of the wagon train, Bacule ordered Lizaru to lead some soldiers up the wooden ladders on both sides to eliminate the few sentries on the wall and take control of the gate. Meanwhile, he and Asiastes quickly assembled the other warriors of the Fourth Battalion and, guided by Achradamas, pushed forward.

The other battalions, upon receiving news of the attack, immediately force-marched toward Nerulum.

Ram, having been informed by his men that Avinogis had already sent his people ahead, was overjoyed. But he didn’t dare act on his own. He had to summon the other leaders to discuss how to divide Avinogis’s tribe, because his own strength was the weakest among the leaders. The reason he had been elected Great Chief was complicated.

After the previous Great Chief, Uder, died, the leaders of Nerulum nearly came to blows over the succession. A war seemed imminent when Tura, the Great Chief of Laüs, sent an urgent message: Avinogis was on the verge of rebellion! All the leaders knew how important the Laüs contingent was to Nerulum. If Avinogis succeeded in his revolt and took Laüs, Nerulum would face a food shortage. Moreover, Laüs was a stone city with thick walls that could not be taken easily with their current forces. They would have to seek help from neighboring Grumentum, but Grumentum’s relations with Pyxous were also strained, and war was about to break out there. Grumentum could not offer Nerulum any help in a short time. Faced with this crisis and with the priests mediating, they finally reached an agreement. For the sake of balance, they chose Ram, who had never competed for the position from the start due to his weakness, to be the Great Chief. That way, the new Great Chief would have to rely on them.

Just as Great Chief Ram finally saw the tardy tribal leaders gather and was about to begin the discussion, his subordinate rushed in frantically: “Bad news, Great Chief! Bad news! The enemy… the enemy has broken into the city!”

The leaders all jumped up in alarm.

“What’s going on?! Where did the enemy come from?!” one leader asked urgently.

“Ar… Achradamas has betrayed us! And he’s brought Greeks!”

“What?!” In panic, the leaders knocked over tables and chairs, each scrambling to run outside.

“How many enemies are there?” Ram asked.

“The… they’re everywhere, countless! They’ve already… already fought their way past the Wolf settlement!”

The Wolf tribe was the strongest tribe inside the city. If they had been taken, everything was lost. Ram slumped into his wooden chair, muttering to himself, “It’s over… it’s over…”

Under the swift and fierce assault of the Thua Alliance battalions, the fragmented Nerulum warriors retreated step by step, eventually forced to fall back to the Sacred Grove—the place where Nerulum worshipped its gods.

The soldiers of the Thua Alliance surrounded it entirely. At Bacule’s reminder, Philistos did not order a direct assault but instead began calling for surrender.

“Abinu! Kxima! Ulaza! Are you there?! It’s me, Bacule! Abinu! Kxima! Ulaza! Are you there?! It’s me, Bacule!” Bacule stood before the Sacred Grove, shouting loudly, repeating the names several times. Finally, someone behind the wall of the grove responded: “Bacule? Is that you, Bacule?! You’re still alive?!”

“By the grace of the Asinu Mountain God! Not only am I alive, I’m doing well! Surrender with your people, Kxima, and all you other Lucanians! I promise you will not be harmed!” Bacule’s booming voice echoed through the silent Sacred Grove.

After a moment, sounds of fighting and screams came from within.

Philistos looked at Bacule. Bacule nodded, signaling that it was fine.

Soon the Sacred Grove fell silent again. Then the gate opened, and a tall young man cautiously emerged first, glancing around.

“Kxima, I’m here!” Bacule strode forward to meet him.

“Bacule?!” Kxima exclaimed in surprise. In his eyes, Bacule was a fearsome sight: clad in bloodstained Greek armor, holding a finely crafted helmet with a purple crest under his arm.

“Have you become a Greek?!” Kxima hesitated as he embraced Bacule.

“No, I’m now a citizen of the Thua Alliance, but I’m still a Lucanian!” Bacule released him, correcting him, then pointed beside him and said in Greek, “Come quickly and greet my commander Philistos!”

Clearly, Kxima understood Greek. He hesitated for a while, and only after repeated urging from Bacule did he reluctantly come forward and pay his respects.

“What’s the situation inside?” Philistos asked directly.

“Ram and the others have been captured. We… we are willing to surrender…” Kxima said quietly, intimidated by the fully armed Philistos’s presence.

“Then tell them to come out and surrender!” Philistos ordered.

Kxima looked to Bacule for help.

“Don’t worry. Tribes like yours that were forced to join Nerulum will be fine. The ones originally from this city will have to suffer a bit!” Bacule gave them his word.

Relieved, Kxima let out a sharp whistle toward the Sacred Grove.

The gate opened again, and the Lucanians filed out…

The Thua Alliance took Nerulum with only minor casualties. After a midday rest, at Achradamas’s repeated request, Philistos left the Second and Fourth Battalions to stabilize the situation inside Nerulum, then led the Third and Seventh Battalions south to help Avinogis take Laüs.

According to the new provisions of the Public Office Law, the office of City Administrator could only be filled by a senator from the Senate. When Davos had previously consulted about candidates for the City Administrator of Nerulum, the former senators of Thurii and Amendolara still harbored misgivings about the Lucanians, and none were willing to take the post. That left only former mercenary senators to choose from. Philistos, as the Military Affairs Officer of the Thua Alliance, had to return to Thurii immediately after this campaign; there was still much military work to be done. The First Battalion was stationed in Thurii. Drakos, commander of the Second Battalion; Hieronymus, commander of the Third; and Epithenis, commander of the Seventh, had little interest in civil affairs. Bacule, commander of the Fourth, had only recently become a citizen of the Alliance and was a Lucanian; it was not yet appropriate for him to serve as City Administrator of Nerulum. After much deliberation, Sestas, the company commander of the First Company of the Second Battalion, seemed the most suitable choice.

Sestas himself was interested in administrative affairs, humble and eager to learn. During his time as Deputy Fire Captain in Amendolara, he had quickly become familiar with and mastered firefighting work, and the Fire Captain, Anticlis, had even voluntarily stepped aside for him.

Thus, Davos proposed that after capturing Nerulum, Sestas be appointed City Administrator of Nerulum.