Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 52: The City Falls

“We’re assaulting a city, understand?! An assault!!” Timasion roared. “If the heavy infantry can’t get up there and take this city, what good is saving their lives?! Move! Move!”

Timasion watched the messenger cross the moat and sprint toward the light infantry, then shifted his gaze across the ground below the walls. Bodies lay strewn in every direction, along with soldiers writhing and screaming—mercenaries and Crimissans alike.

Timasion had seen scenes like this too many times. Before coming to Magna Graecia, they had spent months besieging Larissa in Asia Minor under Thibron’s command. He knew all too well the difficulty of an assault. But he had no choice other than this direct attack—time was the key to his success.

“Watch out, commander!” His subordinate’s shout made him instinctively duck his head under his round shield. A sharp *clang* and a jolt to his hand—an arrow struck the shield and bounced off.

He had barely exhaled when he heard cries of “Ah! Ah!” followed by a loud *crash*.

He didn’t need to look to know that a siege ladder had been pushed over by the enemy. Irritation began to stir within him.

...

“General! The enemy’s light infantry is closing in!” The panicked cry of a citizen soldier sent a chill through Eurycopus.

The light infantry that had been in front of the moat had swiftly moved right up under the walls. Compared to the poorly aimed arrows of the poorly trained Crimissan citizen soldiers, the enemy’s bows were both accurate and vicious. Soon, most of the citizen soldiers’ dead and wounded on the wall were from those arrows.

“Don’t worry about the enemies on the ladders! Concentrate your fire on those light infantry!” he shouted to the archers as he ran along the battlement walkway.

“They’re coming up again!” The soldiers’ panicked shouts made him stop. Not far off, a mercenary had just stepped onto the crenellations. Facing thrusting spears, he covered his upper body with his shield and leaped forward. The spear failed to pierce him and was instead pinned beneath him. He didn’t get up immediately but quickly swung his short sword wildly with his right hand, slashing the unprotected thighs of several nearby citizen soldiers, who fell with screams. He rose smoothly but didn’t press the advantage. Instead, he retreated to the ladder’s entrance, crouched with his back against the battlement, and covered himself completely with his round shield.

The soldiers’ spear thrusts did little damage, and they dared not get close for fear of his short sword jutting out from under the shield and cutting their feet. In that moment of hesitation, another mercenary climbed onto the parapet.

“Press in! Block them!” Eurycopus led the reserve force up. Dense spear thrusts forced the enemy into a corner.

“Pry up their shields!” No sooner had Eurycopus given the order than a soldier beside him let out a piercing scream—a javelin had lodged in his ribs.

The light infantry below the walls did their utmost to support the assaulting comrades. Arrows and javelins were concentrated on this section of the wall, and the heavy infantry quickened their climb.

Eurycopus hastily gathered all remaining forces to plug the breach. After a fierce struggle and exchange, the mercenaries were driven back, but the walkway was littered with wounded and dead Crimissan citizen soldiers.

Facing such battle-hardened, bloodthirsty enemies, every breakthrough inflicted heavy casualties on the defenders. Eurycopus felt helpless—his manpower was running thin. “Quickly notify General Antaoris! The enemy has committed all their strength on the north wall! We can’t hold much longer—have him send reinforcements!”

Antaoris had no troops left to send. But since the enemy was constantly hammering the north and west, the forces defending the east had been idle during this critical moment.

Antaoris made a decision on the spot: send word for General Pleades to immediately lead the troops stationed on the east side to reinforce Eurycopus.

“Commander Timasion! Commander Timasion!” A messenger dodging arrows hurried toward Timasion. “The enemy on the east wall has left!”

“I’ve already seen it!” Excitement crept into Timasion’s voice. “Go tell Torax to act immediately!”

“Yes!”

Watching the messenger leave, Timasion raised his arm and shouted, “Brothers, put more effort in! Follow me! The enemy can’t hold out much longer!” With that, he raised his round shield, strode several steps to the ladder, grabbed it with his right hand. A soldier guarding the ladder supported his hips and heaved him upward. He shot up several rungs. The soldier ahead of him had already entered the wall. Timasion scrambled, soon reaching the top. He quickly drew his short sword, planted a foot on the crenellation, shield covering his chest, ignoring the stabbing spears and slashing blades. He leaped forward with force, ramming into the enemy, while his sword slashed down fiercely.

“Back to back! Back to back!” he shouted as he cut.

The mercenaries who had been huddled in the corner quickly closed in.

Inspired by Timasion leading from the front, the mercenaries launched another fierce assault. Multiple points on the north wall were breached. If not for Pleades rushing reinforcements, Eurycopus’s garrison would have collapsed.

The two sides fought fiercely on the walkway. With the influx of reinforcements, the Crimissans’ morale surged, preparing to drive the mercenaries off the wall again.

Then a huge commotion erupted from the east.

“The enemy is up! The enemy is up!” The citizen soldiers shouted in panic.

Eurycopus turned his head east in alarm. Many of the enemy’s peltasts, carrying leather shields and reverse-blade knives, were charging straight along the eastern walkway.

Eurycopus had no time to think how they had scaled the wall. He hurriedly ordered Pleades to take his reinforcements back to intercept them. But the two sides were locked in a melee on the walkway, making it hard to pull troops away.

The mercenaries’ Thracian peltasts attacked with stunning speed. They plunged into the crowd. In the narrow space, their long-handled reverse-blade polearms unleashed terrifying killing power. Limbs hooked by the sharp blades had their tendons severed; necks hooked by the blades had their arteries cut... Crimissan citizen soldiers collapsed in a row, so terrified they retreated in haste. But the peltasts clung to them like persistent leeches, and nearby mercenaries took advantage of the chaos to climb onto the wall...

The easternmost section of Crimissa’s north wall defense was broken through. The veteran mercenaries drove the fleeing Crimissan citizen soldiers westward along the wall...

On the crowded walkway, panicked Crimissans pushed and shoved to escape. Some fell directly from the inside of the wall...

Seeing this carnage, Eurycopus and Pleades both panicked. Fearing the same fate, they hastily retreated from the tower. This allowed the mercenaries to easily take the wall and occupy the walkway near the gate, trapping countless Crimissans on the walkway...

The mercenaries showed no mercy, slaughtering and forcing more Crimissans to leap from the wall...

Antaoris, who had been coordinating defenses below, witnessed this tragedy. Listening to the constant screams of the citizens, his heart ached. But in this crisis, he had to suppress his grief and arrange for the retreating citizen soldiers and civilians to fall back to the southern acropolis for a final stand.

The mercenaries took the north city, opened the gates, and the soldiers outside poured in...

“Commander, we’ve won! We’ve taken the city!” A subordinate supported Timasion, shouting joyfully.

Timasion had a spear wound in his thigh and a sword cut on his right arm. If the enemy hadn’t broken on their own, he might have died under a hail of spears. Still, he was exhilarated. “You could say we now own a city too!” he said smugly. The mercenaries’ capture of the walls owed to his successful stratagem. While in the Daonia Alliance, he had inquired carefully of his former comrades and learned the detailed account of the capture of Amendolara. That had revealed to him the special siege tool—the rope hooks—and he obtained sketches. He had secretly sent people to Heraclea’s blacksmith shop to forge several dozen sets. During the assault, he deliberately made a hard push on the west and north, forcing the enemy defending the east to move in reinforcements (the south was the Umbria River). Then he had Torax lead several dozen trained peltasts carrying rope hooks to sneak to the east wall. Even if spotted, without siege ladders, they wouldn’t draw attention. Thus, the peltasts scaled the wall with rope hooks and dealt the Crimissans a fatal blow.

After descending the wall, Timasion met up with Cleanho, who had taken the west gate, and directed the mercenaries to continue pursuing the routed troops.

Things went smoothly at first, but gradually the mercenaries slipped out of control. They began breaking into houses, looting property, and even capturing women...

Timasion was furious. Not that he opposed plunder—but the battle wasn’t over. Word was that the remnants of Crimissa were holed up in the acropolis. They had to take it in one push to secure the whole city before celebrating victory.

But the elated mercenaries followed their instincts and refused to obey his orders. At that moment, Timasion felt what Davos had once felt. Knowing it was useless, he still cursed loudly to vent his anger.

“Commander, they’re in the acropolis and can’t get away. Seal it off, let the soldiers have their fun, then we’ll rally them and take the acropolis. Simple,” Torax advised.

“I’m not worried about the Crimissans—I’m worried about Croton!” Timasion said impatiently.

“Even if Crimissa sent a request for aid to Croton while we assaulted, the messenger would reach Croton, then the Council would discuss, make a decision, mobilize the army, and march here... With all those steps, they wouldn’t arrive before nightfall at the earliest. I don’t believe the Crotonians have the nerve of Davos and his men to attack at night! By then we’ll have taken all of Crimissa, and our envoy will probably have already reached the Daonia Senate. By the time Croton attacks tomorrow, Davos and the others will have made their decision,” Cleanho analyzed seriously.