Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 118: A Desperate Gamble

In the messenger's exaggerated account: one type of siege engine could hurl jar-sized stones several hundred meters away, accurately striking the city wall. The powerful impacts could damage the wall, and prolonged bombardment by stones could even cause the wall to collapse. Another weapon was like a mobile watchtower, built taller than the city wall, allowing archers atop it to easily attack the defenders on the wall. Once it approached the wall and lowered its drawbridge, enemies could charge onto the city wall with ease... The combination of these two siege engines was a nightmare for any city, and it just so happened that Daonia possessed both!

Piallen was not only worried about Clampetia; he was even more concerned about Cosentia. Originally, in his plan, under the worst circumstances, he could retreat to Cosentia and use its sturdy walls to defend against the Daonians until the enemy ran out of supplies and withdrew. But the messenger's account shook his resolve. He had no desire to be trapped inside the city while the Daonians used a dozen or several dozen such siege engines to hurl stones at them, smashing down on their heads repeatedly... Therefore, they had to hold Clampetia; otherwise, once the Daonians captured it, Cosentia would be attacked from two sides.

But at this moment, with the natural barrier already lost and the Daonians holding a vast advantage in strength, the Bruttian alliance was in a difficult position. Relying solely on defense was too passive, and the likelihood of failure was too great. So Piallen was more inclined to take the risky path of attacking. As long as he could defeat the main Daonian force, all difficulties would be resolved!

His gaze turned to Besidia, which had already surrendered. Because it was the closest to Daonia's center—Thurii—the main Daonian army would surely launch its attack from here.

After much deliberation, he finally made his final decision: send two thousand reinforcements to Clampetia, persuade Bogam to return to Ambarnia, and dispatch messengers to Vegium, hoping that the two council elders, Bogam and Sedorum, could bring as many warriors as possible to support the Bruttian alliance's fight against Daonia.

...

To wait for the arrival of supplies and meet operational needs, Davos stayed two more days in Besidia.

Although Besidia was very close to Thurii, transportation was difficult due to the poor road conditions. To make subsequent transport easier, Davos learned from the lesson and ordered each soldier to carry five more days' worth of rations.

Early on the third day, Davos led the First Army Corps, Second Army Corps, Mountain Reconnaissance Battalion, Cavalry Battalion, Heraclean allies, Castron allies, Besidian warriors, army corps reserves, and two thousand freemen... Apart from a small part of the army corps reserves left to garrison Besidia, the total number of troops heading west along the mountain paths to fight at Cosentia amounted to about twenty-four thousand, forming a long line that marched majestically.

Piallen received the scout cavalry's report around noon: the Daonian army had entered the Cosenza Plateau, and he could see the conspicuous military banner of the Daonian magistrate.

This news made Piallen unable to sit still. He immediately called an emergency meeting. Besides Petalus and Philotaurus, there were also Bogam and Sedorum, who had just arrived with their troops the previous night. Pangaelus was still in Clampetia, stubbornly defending against the enemy's attacks, while Nikurus had already died in battle. Only five of the "Council of Seven Elders" had actually arrived, inevitably stirring a sense of sorrow in the hall.

"I estimate that after the Daonians approach Cosentia this afternoon, they will set up camp in this area," Piallen said, drawing a circle on the map about six miles east of the icon for Cosentia, speaking with intense emotion. "With Amara's blessing, we should take advantage of their discomfort after entering Cosentia and launch an attack while they are building their camp, forcing them into a decisive battle!"

Sedorum understood what Piallen meant by "discomfort." The area where Cosentia was located was high in elevation. For outsiders, normal movement was fine, but once they engaged in intense activity, it was easy to get tired and short of breath after a while. The Bruttian warriors, especially the people of Cosentia, had grown up adapted to this environment and showed no abnormalities in action.

Moreover, he already knew the situation at Clampetia, so he had little hope of holding out by staying behind walls.

He exchanged glances with Bogam; both looked solemn, but in the end, they agreed.

So they each went back to gather their troops, nervously awaiting the arrival of the Daonian army.

But only half an hour later, Piallen urgently sent someone to call them again.

"Elders, I just received news that the Daonians have stopped near the Punat River and have begun to set up camp!" Piallen said anxiously.

The Punat River! Sedorum and Bogam hurriedly looked at the map laid out in the center of the hall.

The Punat River, though called a river, was more like a stream. It eventually flowed into the upper reaches of the Crati River. The area it flowed through was relatively flat, and crucially, it was almost midway between Besidia and Cosentia.

"So far from Cosentia, and still so early in the day, and they're already stopping to rest?!" Bogam muttered in confusion.

"Those traitors of Besidia! Great Amara will punish them!" Philotaurus said angrily.

Sedorum understood the High Priest's anger. As he recalled, the terrain at the Punat River was not as high as here, and its impact on people was less noticeable.

He quickly looked at Piallen and asked, "Great Chief, what do you intend to do?"

Piallen also cursed along with the High Priest. He believed that the Daonians' action was certainly due to betrayal by the Besidians, ruining his pre-arranged plan.

He thought for a moment, then looked at everyone with a serious expression and said, "Now, Clampetia is under fierce attack every day, and it could be breached by the Daonians at any moment! As for us here, do we let the enemy advance slowly, gradually adapting to and becoming familiar with this weather and environment, or do we make up our minds, concentrate all our strength, and attack them?! The choice is yours!"

Sedorum and Bogam exchanged glances again, and their eyes gradually shone with determination. "Do we have any other choice?!"

"Great Amara will surely protect us, the descendants of Brutus!" Philotaurus chanted loudly...

Davos chose to camp near Punat precisely out of caution.

When Bagiripi reminded him that "outsiders entering the Cosentia region will experience some discomfort," a word immediately came to his mind—altitude sickness: the higher the elevation, the thinner the air, the lower the oxygen content, and people would tire due to hypoxia. Of course, compared to the distant east in Tibet, the height of the Cosenza Plateau was nothing, but in the heat of battle, it could very well become a decisive factor.

Davos now held the advantage; he didn't need to take risks. He only needed to steadily advance toward Cosentia, letting his soldiers gradually adapt to the altitude sickness, familiarize themselves with the geography, and simultaneously apply pressure on Cosentia so that they wouldn't dare to send reinforcements to Clampetia.

Although he couldn't keep timely track of the battlefield situation at Clampetia, he trusted Heilos and the Fourth Army Corps with its two types of siege engines. He believed that at Clampetia, the Fourth Army Corps had absolute superiority. Once Clampetia's walls were breached, the Daonian army would advance from east and west, not only greatly increasing their advantage but also shocking the entire Bruttian region, possibly leading to the dissolution of the Bruttian alliance. It might even force the Bruttians to submit without a fight!

Although the vision was beautiful, Davos did not let down his guard. According to the regulations for building camps in battlefield areas as stipulated in the Daonian Military Code, he did not have all the soldiers working on constructing the camp. Instead, he only had the soldiers of the First Army Corps and the reserves start the labor first, with the freemen assisting, while the Second Army Corps, its allies, and the Besidian warriors were responsible for guarding.

"Why are we the ones building the camp this time? We're Daonia's First Army Corps!" Heitbarus glared at the soldiers of the Second Army Corps resting ahead as he dug the earth, complaining indignantly.

"Maybe because the Second Army Corps just finished fighting the Bruttians the day before yesterday, and the commander is giving them a reward!" Pesialus guessed.

Leotychides listened to his comrades talking, his mind wandering: Although the Spartans also paid attention to marching and camping, they were not as obsessive about it as the Daonians, to a degree he thought was paranoid. When troops arrived at a key location, their first consideration was how to build an extremely sturdy camp. They even had engineers to measure and inspect, and if it was不合格, there would be punishment... Even though he had practiced many times in the training camp and actually done it at Tarentum, he still found it somewhat hard to adapt.

"If the Second Army Corps were replaced by our First Army Corps for the attack on Besidia, we would have done a better job! It's just that the commander was unfair, giving that crucial mission to the Second Army Corps, while leading us in the First Army Corps either climbing mountains or marching. These past days, who knows how far we've walked? The soles of my feet are blistered!..."

Heitbarus kept venting his frustration, then someone lightly slapped his head. "Heitbarus, stop your nonsense and get to work properly! If you slow down our progress on building the camp and cause our battalion to lose to Olivus's battalion, Battalion Commander Matonis will not let you off easily!" Commander Sitalcis scolded.

At the mention of Matonis, Heitbarus dared not say another word.

Leotychides sighed with emotion: Matonis, the fierce-looking battalion commander, was very protective of his soldiers—one could even say extremely partial. Leotychides had personally witnessed him several times arguing with the "terrible" military judge over soldiers who had violated discipline and were about to be punished by military law, even once arguing all the way to Davos. Moreover, Matonis had astonishing strength and superb skills, so the soldiers both loved and respected him.