Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 93: Mission to Brutti (Part 3)

Antaoris nodded to him in greeting, then swept his gaze across the assembled crowd. The looks they gave him were wary and scrutinizing, which further dampened his hopes for a successful mission.

Antaoris silently encouraged himself, quickly rousing his emotions to give his words more force. "Great Chiefs of the Bruttians, Daonia, as the leader of the Greek city-state alliance in southern Italy" — here he somewhat exaggerated Daonia’s prosperous standing — "has the duty to maintain peace among the Greek city-states of southern Italy and to protect the lives and property of the Greeks. This is what Daonia has been doing for the past half year and more. A few months ago, Daonia mediated the war between Croton and Locri, and a few days ago, in response to requests from allied states, we sent troops to aid Tarentum in resisting the aggression of the Messapians and Peucetii against Tarentum..."

When Antaoris reached this point, he noticed the expressions of those present turn grave.

"The Sylu — a tribe composed of Greeks — has lived peacefully and tranquilly in this mountainous region for a long time, always maintaining friendly relations with the surrounding tribes. But now their survival is threatened. Your newly formed tribal alliance has threatened this weak tribe, which has never harmed any Bruttian, to immediately leave the home they have lived in for decades and come to Cosentia to be absorbed by you. They have no choice but to seek help from Daonia. To protect the lives and property of the Greeks of southern Italy, the Daonian Senate has reached a unanimous decision to send me here. I hope that the Bruttian Tribal Alliance will cease its threats against the Sylu tribe and restore their peaceful and tranquil existence!"

After Antaoris finished speaking with justified boldness, none of those present appeared particularly surprised. They exchanged glances. During yesterday’s discussion about the reason for the Daonian envoy’s visit to the Bruttians, someone had actually guessed correctly: that the Daonians had come for the Sylu.

And the one who had guessed correctly was Pangaelus, the Great Chief of Clampetia. The Sylu tribe’s settlement was located not far north of Clampetia. At this moment, he stood up indignantly: "Arrogant Daonians! The Sylu live on Bruttian land. Their food and clothing all come from this land. They are a Bruttian tribe. This is an internal affair of the Bruttians and has nothing to do with you Greeks! If this is all you came for, you can roll back! The Bruttians do not welcome you, and we dislike any power from outside the mountains meddling in Bruttian affairs!"

Antaoris sneered. "The Bruttian region is only called that because a large number of Bruttian tribes have gathered here, and people are accustomed to referring to this mountainous area that way. In reality, this mountainous area is neither a country nor under the jurisdiction of a single city-state, so there is no unified territory or border! Everyone knows that the Sylu are a tribe composed of Greeks who have lived on this land for a hundred years. They have the right to continue to exist independently here!"

Nikurus, the Great Chief of Besidia, was as hot-tempered as his son Kanalus. He immediately began cursing and bellowed, "What right do the Daonians have to point fingers on our Bruttian land! Originally, we were planning to deal with the Sylu tribe issue in a few days. Now that you’ve said this, I’ve decided to send a large army this very afternoon to wipe them out!"

"If Daonia can ensure that Crimissa, Asperustum, and Nerulum all gain the right to independent existence, then letting the Sylu go would be no big problem." Bogam, the Great Chief of Ambarnia, mocked without backing down.

Antaoris stood quietly, as if he hadn’t heard their curses.

Then Sedorum asked loudly, "If we reject the Daonians’ demand, what will happen?"

The curses in the hall suddenly died down significantly.

"I was only ordered to convey the Senate’s demand to you. If you do not accept it, the Daonian Senate will need to deliberate before making the next decision." Antaoris remained expressionless, but his tone grew heavier. "However, Daonia always keeps its promises. Even if it costs a great price, it will not allow its allies to be bullied. Previous examples have already made that clear. And as I just said, our Daonian magistrate, Lord Davos, in order to fulfill our alliance with Tarentum, has led 15,000 soldiers to fight on Tarentine soil against the Messapians who invaded our ally. Just as I was about to depart for Cosentia, a battle report arrived: Lord Davos led his army to defeat the 30,000-strong Messapian-Peucetii allied forces in the mountains. The Messapian-Peucetii forces suffered countless casualties and were forced to sign a peace treaty with Tarentum. Soon, Lord Davos will lead his victorious army back to Thurii and hold a triumph!"

A threat! A naked threat! The men exchanged glances. Great Chief Nikurus jumped up and cursed, even declaring that he was not afraid to go to war with Daonia.

"Quiet! Quiet!" The Bruttian High Priest Philotaurus stood up to maintain order in the hall.

"Daonians, we Bruttian warriors are not afraid of war!" Piallen, seated in the center, spoke. "But Bruttians and Daonians are neighbors. Once conflict occurs, it will long damage the relationship between our two peoples, leading to endless war. To avoid possible mass casualties over the Sylu tribe matter, the Bruttians are willing to make concessions. We will not punish the Sylu for disobeying orders, but will allow them to leave the Bruttian territory peacefully."

"What are you saying, Piallen! The Bruttians will never yield to Daonia!" Nikurus immediately expressed dissatisfaction.

"And the land? The land that several generations of the Sylu have lived on—are you just going to take it away?!" Antaoris reacted quickly, retorting sharply.

Piallen glanced at Nikurus. Though Nikurus still looked aggrieved, he said no more.

High Priest Philotaurus sternly admonished Antaoris, "Not turning the Sylu tribesmen into slaves is already the greatest goodwill from our Bruttian Tribal Alliance. Daonians, do not be too greedy!"

Antaoris shook his head and said firmly, "But the Senate's order to me is that the Sylu’s right to independent existence in Bruttian territory must be guaranteed!"

A flicker of sharpness passed through Piallen’s eyes. His tone grew calm. "Since that is the case, we will decide after due deliberation."

"Moreover, we are not aware of the current situation of the Sylu tribe. We need to send people to investigate before making a judgment," Sedorum quickly interjected.

After the guards escorted Antaoris out, the deliberations in the council hall became even more heated.

"Daonia bullies us too much! They say they’re protecting the Greeks of southern Italy, but I think they just don’t want to see us Bruttians united, so they deliberately cause us trouble!" Pangaelus said indignantly.

High Priest Philotaurus nodded and encouraged the crowd, "That’s why we Bruttians must unite even more closely, so that we need not fear the Greeks or the Lucanians!"

"Why don’t we just take these annoying Daonians and—" Nikurus made a chopping motion with his hand, a beheading gesture.

"That won’t do!" Sedorum quickly advised. "Both the Greeks and the Lucanians have rules for treating envoys kindly, even during war. We Bruttians are becoming a powerful alliance; we should all the more abide by these generally recognized norms among the peoples, so that we can better deal with them. Moreover, killing the Daonian envoy will only enrage the Daonians, and war will be unavoidable."

"What is Daonia! My people and I are not afraid of them at all!" Nikurus shot back without backing down.

"Of course we are not afraid of Daonia! But if war breaks out, our great cause of unifying the Bruttians will be seriously affected!" Piallen said solemnly.

"Why not detain them for a few days? After we have dealt with the Sylu, we can release them. By then, even if they still want to protect the Sylu, the Sylu tribe will no longer exist, and they will have no choice but to accept this fact," Bogam suggested.

Sedorum was inspired by this and had a sudden idea. "Gentlemen, I think this is a good plan. We can also tweak it a little..."

After Sedorum finished laying out his idea, everyone else thought it was a good method. Only Nikurus dismissed it with disdain and said impatiently, "Why make it so complicated? As if we Bruttians are afraid of the Daonians!"

Piallen ignored him and cautioned, "I think Elder Sedorum’s suggestion can be implemented. However, we must also be prepared. If the Daonians do not accept our approach, then we must be ready for a possible war!"

After a brief silence in the hall, Nikurus spoke first. "I admit Daonia is stronger than us, but as long as they dare to enter the Bruttian mountains, I guarantee they will never return! No one knows this mountainous and highland terrain better than we do. Amara (the goddess of snow mountains and highlands worshipped by the Bruttians) has blessed us Bruttians to live here in peace for hundreds of years, and she will continue to bless us Bruttians!"

Nikurus’s words lifted everyone’s spirits.

High Priest Philotaurus said, "Furthermore, we also need to find allies to jointly oppose Daonia, so as to relieve the pressure of facing Daonia alone."

Allies? The Bruttian region was already surrounded by Daonia and its allied states. Where could they find allies? As everyone racked their brains, Sedorum suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "The Lucanians! We can approach the Lucanians! After Daonia captured Grumentum, they have threatened the security of Pixous and Potentia’s territories. If they don’t want to become the next Grumentum, they should be willing to ally with us."

Piallen’s eyes lit up. The reason he hadn’t thought of the Lucanians was because two years ago, the Lucanians were still the Bruttians’ most feared enemies. At the most critical moment when Vergae surrendered to the Lucanian Tribal Alliance and the Bruttian region was in extreme danger, Piallen had even considered leading his tribe to migrate south. For that purpose, he had led the Cosentian army to join forces with Clampetia to attack Trina to the south, resulting in a fierce battle with the Croton Alliance. But in just two short years, the once formidable Lucanians had fallen to such a state—this could not but serve as a warning to Piallen.

"Great Chief Sedorum is a good friend of the Lucanians. No wonder only you thought of them. So when it comes to negotiating an alliance with the Lucanians, it’s best if you handle it personally," Nikurus taunted loudly, completely disregarding Sedorum’s status as a fellow elder of the Bruttian Alliance.