Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 25: Triumphant Return

In Castron, after the army stayed for one night, Davos rushed over to join the soldiers.

Early the next morning, the entire army was dressed in fresh, splendid attire. The soldiers marched in high spirits, following the pre-arranged order of entry for the triumph.

After crossing the bridge, the several thousand freemen who had participated in the battle and had been waiting in formation on the side, along with the Greek mercenaries led by Xanthiparis, joined the rear of the procession. Davos also changed to a four-horse chariot, while Capus, Drax, Hieronymus, and Laüs’s magistrate Avinogis each rode in two-horse chariots right behind him. The army surged grandly toward the nearby city of Thurii.

The freemen and the families of some preparatory citizens who had been eagerly waiting outside the city saw the soldiers’ figures from afar and immediately erupted into thunderous cheers.

Alcinus had never dreamed he would become the standard-bearer of the triumph. When each corps had submitted its candidates, it was Davos who personally selected Alcinus’s name. Davos believed that in the decisive battle that determined the outcome of the Second Croton War, Alcinus, as a squad leader of the corps, led a group of new soldiers fighting on the front line. Facing the enemy’s fierce assault, he not only led by example but also commanded the new soldiers well, responding calmly. Even when his squad suffered more than half casualties, his morale did not falter, and he courageously counterattacked—he should be the representative of the entire army in this battle!

When Alcinus heard Davos’s praise for him, he, who already admired Davos, felt even more immense gratitude toward the alliance’s magistrate.

At this moment, he held high the commander-in-chief’s military banner representing the entire army. Facing the overwhelming cheers and seeing the myriad waving arms, he proudly straightened his chest...

Faced with such a magnificent scene, even the seasoned and battle-hardened Tolmides found it hard to remain calm. Excitedly, he said to Xanthiparis beside him, “In all these years, I’ve taken part in so many battles, but this is the first time I’ve felt the pride of being a soldier. Davos is truly remarkable!”

Xanthiparis stared fixedly ahead and said, “Stop looking around, march properly, don’t disgrace us mercenaries!”

Tolmides quickly puffed out his chest and raised his head, but joked, “Old man, you’re even more serious than I am!”

“Taking part in the triumph is nothing; in the future, we too will ride in chariots like Hieronymus, receiving the cheers of the people!” Xanthiparis’s aged face flushed with excitement.

“Well said!” Tolmides’s boldness surged. “I heard from Davos that because of this battle, our alliance’s probation period for citizenship will be greatly shortened. If we have a few more battles like this, we’ll soon become full Daonian citizens! Then... heh heh!”

...

“Cregennis! Hey, that’s Cregennis!!...”

“Stop shouting! He can’t hear you; he’s a hero of the alliance now!”

“Hero?! With his scrawny body, I could knock him down with one hand. If it weren’t for his archery being better than mine, I’d be the one receiving cheers in the ranks!”

“Yeah, that guy favored by the goddess of luck! Looks like we all need to practice archery during our spare time. Next time the recruitment officer comes, I’m determined to be selected!”

“You’re right!”

When the freemen’s contingent entered the people’s view, the cheers became even more enthusiastic. After all, most of the crowd welcoming outside the city were freemen. Seeing their former workmates become heroes of the Daonia Alliance, they felt envy and also greater longing to go to battle.

The soldiers participating in the triumph numbered over twenty thousand, forming a column six or seven *li* long. By the time the tail of the freemen’s contingent entered the welcoming zone outside the city, the head of the column had already passed through the Triumphal Arch inside the city.

Sobecus looked up at the reliefs on the Triumphal Arch and said emotionally to Laedes, “Last time I was still a spectator watching the triumph; now I’m a soldier taking part in it!”

Laedes laughed heartily, “How does it feel?”

“Great! Absolutely great!”

“In the past, our cavalry was too weak and played no role in battle. From now on, our Daonian cavalry must become heroes in every triumph!” Laedes said ambitiously. His gaze was fixed on another tall banner flying next to the cavalry’s military banner ahead. Though he couldn’t see the content on the banner from behind, he knew it bore Davos’s inscription: “Won by a smaller force, defeated the Croton cavalry, secured victory in the decisive battle.” It was because of this achievement that Davos had placed the cavalry right behind the army’s standard-bearer.

Since there were too many soldiers taking part in the triumph, Victory Square could not accommodate them all, and accidents were more likely. Therefore, the triumph was arranged as follows: after the marching units reached the square, they were not to stop but to circle it once, then exit the city through the East Gate via another street.

On the west side of the square, on the platform in front of the Great Council Chamber of the Senate, the senators solemnly watched the soldiers pass by.

Amykles, who had been invited to watch, saw the spirited, majestic army marching in orderly steps past the platform and exclaimed with deep emotion, “I never imagined we could defeat the arrogant and overbearing Croton people. This is truly a great victory!” He was glad he had made the right choice before the war began, standing firmly with Daonia.

His words won approval from most senators, but Scombrus objected: “Davos is the guarantee of victory! With him as commander, I never doubted that the war would belong to our alliance, but I think we should have taken advantage of Croton’s weakness to crush them completely!”

His view was supported by a few Thurii senators, and Polyxides even said, “On this matter, Davos did not consider the feelings of the Thurii people and let the Croton people off. It really shouldn’t have happened!”

As soon as he finished, Scombrus shot him a fierce glare.

“Lord Davos did the right thing!” Kynogoratas said solemnly. “To lead citizen soldiers to victory is a great general. To use victory to secure sufficient benefits for the alliance is a true leader. If the war continued, Daonia would likely suffer heavy losses! I am very glad that Daonia has such a great magistrate as Davos!”

“Lord Kynogoratas is right!” Cornelius echoed. “In this war, Lord Davos not only won vast fertile lands for Daonia but also extended Daonia’s influence to the southern tip of Magna Graecia!”

“Now, how to manage and distribute these new lands will require us to spend a lot of time discussing and solving...” Tritodemos said with a smile. “This is truly a sweet but troublesome matter!”

Everyone smiled knowingly. The senators were of high status and had no shortage of duties, but they received no pay. To boost their motivation, gain their goodwill, and stimulate their interest in expansion, the War Law proposed and passed by Davos stipulated that after each victory, land won would be distributed not only as allotments for new citizens and as rewards for meritorious citizen soldiers but also that every hardworking senator would receive a land grant. The area of land granted would not exceed the average land awarded to participating soldiers. Though the land given seemed modest, given Daonia’s current expansion rate, the cumulative amount would become considerable.

While the senators happily discussed the alliance’s newly acquired territories, Polyxides’s eyes flickered as he pondered something, and Amykles looked envious.

“Look, our great hero is here!” A shout from Plesinras pulled everyone’s gaze back to the square.

Davos, dressed in full military attire, stood on his four-horse chariot and appeared in Victory Square. Smiling, he waved to the surrounding crowd, pushing the triumph’s celebration to its peak.

The people cheered and danced excitedly, wildly waving their arms and shouting Davos’s name. Ignoring the guards blocking the way, they violated the rules and surged into the procession, crowding around Davos, reaching out their arms to touch the savior of Thurii, the one who had twice defeated the mighty Croton, the guardian who brought glory to the Daonian people, the God-Touched One of Hades, Davos.

The guards were highly tense, fearing an accident.

Davos was completely at ease. He even stepped down from the chariot to greet the people, asking them kindly if they had suffered any losses during the war and whether they needed the alliance’s help... and so on.

The people loved their magistrate even more. They gathered around Davos in a crowd and escorted him to the platform before reluctantly leaving.

The senators came forward to greet him.

Kynogoratas was the first to criticize, “Lord Davos, that situation just now was too dangerous! You should have stayed on the chariot and waited for the guards to escort you over!”

“What’s so dangerous about it!” Davos laughed. “The senators and the people are like a father and his children. As a father, he naturally loves his children, and the children naturally respect and love their father. How could they harm their own family? Don’t you agree?”

Father and children?! The senators present repeatedly pondered this phrase, somewhat shaken. Later, these words spread and deeply moved the people, so the senators also gained another title—Father.

Kynogoratas’s concern was not entirely unfounded. Among the crowd by the square, there was indeed one person who hated the Daonia Alliance Senate and its magistrate Davos: the envoy from Locri, Metrophanes. His cold was not fully recovered, but after learning the astonishing news that “the Daonia Alliance had signed a peace treaty with Croton and become allies,” this envoy became both anxious and furious. While hating his own weakness for falling ill at a critical moment, he also placed the blame on the Daonia Senate.