Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 51: A Fierce Assault on Crimissa

Although the Thua Alliance ultimately did not impose any severe punishment on Crimissa, and Crimissa returned to a neutral state, its generals and Council members were far from at ease. Croton, despite its defeat, remained undiminished in strength; and merchants who had visited Thurii marveled at the rapid development of the Daonia Alliance. One was a power suffering its first defeat in years, the other had endured the pain of a sacked city—these two great forces were bound to clash again. This was the consensus among Crimissa's leadership, and for Crimissa, caught between Croton and Daonia, it meant yet another disaster.

After Castron joined the Daonia Alliance, Daonia built a road to connect with Castron and granted it trade privileges, such that within just over half a year, Castron's commerce grew rapidly. Although the people of Crimissa envied this, most would not secretly court Daonia. After all, Crimissa was closer to Croton and had long been under the sphere of Croton's influence; whether out of sentiment or vested interest, the Crimissans leaned toward Croton.

When the Crimissa Council received an urgent cavalry report—that countless soldiers were crossing the swamp region from the north—the assembly was alarmed. Some thought they should first clarify the situation before acting.

But the chief general, Antaoris, overruled the dissent, insisting that they continue sending scouts to gather intelligence while simultaneously sending messengers to Croton for aid.

He cried out loudly: "Gentlemen, these men are fully armed, coming from the north. Whether they are Daonia's army or from elsewhere, they have entered our territory without permission. There is no doubt they harbor hostile intent! Crimissa has not yet recovered from its last defeat; our able-bodied citizens number fewer than a thousand. If we wait until we have full clarity, the enemy will likely be at our gates. By then, it will be too late to seek help! I would rather ask for aid first, even if we later have to apologize to the Crotonians for a mistake, than hesitate and lose the homeland passed down by our ancestors!"

Antaoris's words convinced the majority.

Half an hour after they dispatched the messenger to Croton, the scouts brought back the worrying news: approximately two thousand fully armed soldiers, mostly heavy infantry, carrying long ladders, were marching swiftly toward Crimissa. They had also killed one Crimissan cavalryman who had gone to inquire.

This was the enemy! The Crimissa Council members no longer needed to doubt. They had no time to thank Antaoris for his foresight. Having already notified the citizens to don armor and prepare shields and spears, they now issued an emergency war mobilization order: command every able-bodied person to the walls.

As a small town, Crimissa had no notable products and its port trade was underdeveloped. Even so, Antaoris and the other generals, having learned from the lessons of old Thurii, hurried to the harbor and immediately granted citizenship to nearly five hundred young, strong freemen, demanding they join the fight.

While the Crimissans were nervously preparing for war, the mercenaries had already advanced to within over two hundred meters of Crimissa's northern wall. Timasion and his men could already see the bustling guards on the battlements.

"It seems the Crimissans are prepared!" Cleanho said, somewhat disappointed, as the last shred of hope in his heart vanished.

Timasion's expression remained unchanged. He said in a low voice, "Since the surprise attack plan is impossible, we'll have to storm the city."

He immediately ordered: "Brothers, rest here for now!"

He and Cleanho, along with officers like Torax, quickly gathered to urgently discuss how to assault Crimissa.

Crimissa's walls were only four meters high, with a single three-meter-wide moat outside. There were no abatis or apparent traps. Such a simple city defense was trivial compared to the cities they had taken with Thibron in Asia Minor. Even with the walls now crowded with citizen soldiers, Timasion and the officers did not believe they could withstand a mercenary assault. From what Timasion knew, the Crimissans had enjoyed decades of peace without war, and half a year earlier, when following Croton's army against the Alliance's surprise attack, the Crimissans had been completely slaughtered.

Timasion, Cleanho, and the officers were convinced: however many there were, the Crimissan citizen soldiers, lacking combat experience and morale, were useless!

After quickly making their deployment, Timasion stepped to the front of the formation and shouted to the mercenaries: "Brothers, the past two months in the Daonia Alliance—I believe none of you will forget them for a lifetime! You left there and followed us here because you were not satisfied! Why is it that the same mercenaries, Davos and his men have everything, while we have nothing?!" Timasion turned, pointing at the city of Crimissa ahead, and roared, "Now the opportunity is right before us! Take this city, and we too will become nobles! We too will be masters!"

The mercenaries banged their spears against their round shields, roaring, venting the frustration and resentment of the past two months, while also expressing their desire for victory and their hope for a better future!

Their shouts carried clearly to the wall, causing the Crimissans to change color in fear.

The general in charge of military affairs, Euricpus, saw this and grew anxious. To boost morale, he shouted: "Citizens, the enemy is as numerous as we are! We have walls and a moat to protect us—they cannot harm us! Moreover, Croton's reinforcements are already on their way!"

The Crimissans, hearing there were reinforcements, calmed down somewhat.

"Attack!" Timasion, seeing the high morale, gave the order without hesitation.

The bugle sounded. Cleanho led troops to attack the western side of Crimissa, while Timasion led the assault on the north.

Heavy infantry advanced at the front, carrying long ladders in groups of five or six, moving slowly in a very loose formation, with light infantry trailing far behind. Just before entering range of the Crimissan archers on the walls, they took up their round shields, slanting them upward to protect their heads and chests, and advanced in a crouch.

Arrows rained down from the walls, but the mercenaries showed no fear. They unhurriedly approached the moat. Several men helped place six-meter wooden ladders over the moat, and as they stepped onto the ladders to cross, more casualties came from soldiers accidentally breaking a ladder and falling into the moat than from the archers' attacks on the heavy infantry.

Euricpus watched the enemy's skilled tactical maneuvers and calm demeanor from the wall, and tension mounted. These were battle-hardened enemies, likely not easy to deal with.

"Hurry! Gather more stones, timber, and linseed oil—bring them to the wall immediately!" he shouted anxiously.

Once the heavy infantry had largely crossed the moat, they hoisted the ladders again, quickly reached the base of the wall, and leaned the ladders against it. Some ladders were left spanning the moat, not retrieved, to allow the light infantry to cross later.

The Crimissans hurriedly threw down timber and stones with all their might, pouring jars of linseed oil. As torches were tossed, flames erupted. The mercenaries' casualties suddenly increased...

...

While the fierce fighting raged at Crimissa, Davos had already received the shocking news that Timasion had not gone to Syracuse but had instead headed to Crimissa.

With constant ship traffic along the eastern coast of Magna Graecia, over forty empty ships beached on the shore were bound to attract curious merchant vessels that would stop to investigate. They then discovered the bound captains and sailors abandoned in the wild grass.

After being rescued, they immediately sailed back to the port of Thurii and reported their ordeal to the patrol.

When Davos received the news, he was furious. As the guarantor for Timasion and his men, the hijacking of the cargo ships and the casualties of fifteen sailors had already enraged him. But what angered him even more was Timasion leading over a thousand mercenaries to land on the coast between Castron and Crimissa—what were they planning to do?!

With a little thought, he could guess: Crimissa! These audacious mercenaries had set their sights on Crimissa! And I actually felt some regret over their departure—damn Timasion, he fooled us all! Davos reproached himself for his carelessness while pondering the consequences of the mercenaries' actions: whether they took Crimissa or not, they would shatter the delicate balance between Daonia and Croton. The Alliance would have to prepare now!

But the thought of convening a Senate meeting gave Davos a headache: someone would surely seize the opportunity to attack him in the assembly. It wouldn't have any real impact on him, but it was indeed his mistake. Truly, those in power should not let personal feelings sway them easily. If he hadn't given in to Agasia's appeal out of sympathy, how could so many troubles have followed? This was a profound lesson, one to remember!...

"Aristocrates, send for Philistos, Agasia, Hieronymus, Capus, Antonios... summon them at once!" Davos ordered Aristocrates. He needed to first brief these former mercenary elders.

"Leader, our men are almost up the wall!" an underling shouted excitedly.

Timasion's spirits lifted. He stuck his head out from behind his round shield to peer upward and saw a soldier nearby already stepping onto a battlement.

At that moment, seven or eight spears thrust at him. The soldier blocked with his round shield, but lost his balance and was shoved off the wall. Since the wall was only four meters high and there were bodies below to cushion the fall, he wouldn't be too badly hurt. The soldier staggered to his feet, still dazed and off guard, when a stone struck him on the head (the Corinthian helmet was too heavy and limited vision, making it unsuitable for siege assaults). He fell again, and this time did not get up.

Seeing this, Timasion called out: "Have Exekias and his men get closer to the wall to give more support to the heavy infantry assaulting it!"

"Leader..." the herald looked troubled. "They are light infantry, lacking protection. Doing so will expose them to arrow fire!"