Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 131: The Conquest of Brutti

“After the defeat in the last battle, many of my people must have fled into Cosentia. They might be standing on the walls right now…” Sedorum chose his words carefully, his tone cautious. “Logically… I should go to the city gate now and tell them to surrender, even urge Piallen to give up resistance. But… a wolf king without his pack doesn’t inspire fear—he becomes a hunter’s target. The people of Cosentia will say that I… surrendered to Daonia out of fear of death. My tribesmen might even fight harder to wash away the shame. Therefore—” Sedorum paused, looking at Davos with earnest eyes. “I hope to first return to Vergae, convince the chiefs and the people there, and then lead them to join the siege of Cosentia. I believe this will help Daonia take the city far more effectively!” He finished, waiting nervously for Davos’s reply.

Davos studied him for a moment, then smiled faintly. “How far is it from here to Vergae?”

“On foot, half a day. On horseback, less than three hours.”

“Then ride at once. I expect to meet all the chiefs of Vergae in the camp tomorrow!” Davos’s tone was resolute and firm.

Sedorum’s heart jolted. He quickly bowed. “As you wish, my lord.”

“Martius.”

“Here!”

“Take some guards and escort Great Chief Sedorum safely to the gates of Vergae. Seeing you there, Avinogis will not stop him from entering the city. Also, tell the magistrate of Laüs to bring his army and the Vergaean forces here tomorrow.”

“Understood.” Martius hesitated. “My lord, but what about you—”

“Rest assured. With the other guards and Rodom leading the warriors of Besidia, I will be in no danger.”

“Yes.”

When Sedorum had left, Tolmides, standing nearby, quickly asked, “Commander, aren’t you worried he’s lying?”

Davos watched Sedorum’s receding figure, his expression slightly complicated. “Sedorum is a clever man. There’s one thing he deliberately didn’t mention.”

Following Davos’s hint, Tolmides realized with a start. “The Vergaean captives in the camp!”

“They are his hostages. If a Great Chief abandons his own people and flees alone, and the Vergaeans find out… Sedorum has put great thought into this.” Davos smiled lightly, his eyes gleaming. “To be honest, I don’t care whether he’s lying or not. One man cannot change the outcome of this war. But it will give me a perfect reason to wipe out the Vergaeans for good!”

That night, neither inside nor outside the city stirred.

By the next day, Piallen, who had not slept all night, hurried to the battlements, waiting for the Daonians to attack.

The attack never came. The Daonians were still fortifying their camp.

But what Piallen did not know was that Davos had already dispatched the First Army Corps to attack Ambarnia, accompanied by a dozen officers from the Fourth Army Corps, the ballista units, and Hegesistus.

By noon, the Bruttian warriors guarding Cosentia were horrified to see an army of about a thousand men approaching from the north, raising the military banner of Vergae. They marched around the northern, western, and eastern sides of Cosentia, then entered the Daonian camp. Shortly after, the two-thousand-strong army of Laüs did the same.

This was a tremendous shock to the Bruttian warriors: Vergae had surrendered!

Especially the Vergaean warriors inside the city—when they saw their Great Chief Sedorum and the other chiefs walking at the head of the column, they clamored to leave the city and join them. They clashed with the Cosentian warriors who tried to stop them, and the two sides confronted each other within the city.

Piallen was caught in a dilemma. The Vergaean warriors numbered about eight hundred, while the total Cosentian warriors inside the city were at most five thousand. And with the Daonian army outside eyeing them hungrily, he could not afford to turn all his forces against the Vergaeans. The other chiefs, led by Tagli, also refused to take part in suppressing the Vergaeans, citing the principle that “Bruttians should not slaughter each other.”

Meanwhile, new developments occurred outside the city. The tribes that had revolted in Cosentia earlier now gathered beneath the walls, shouting to Tagli and the others, urging them to surrender.

Just as Tagli and the other chiefs were hesitating, Bogam, the chief of Ambarnia, galloped to the city gate with a dozen cavalrymen.

Even Ambarnia had surrendered. This fact dealt a heavy blow to the Bruttian warriors inside the city. In truth, the surrender of small, sparsely populated Ambarnia was only to be expected. When the seven thousand men of the First Army Corps appeared menacingly outside Ambarnia’s walls, when the ballista’s stone shots smashed the wooden palisade, and when Hegesistus urged surrender from below—a series of moves quickly led Great Chief Bogam, who commanded fewer than a thousand warriors, to make the right choice.

The surrender of Ambarnia threw all the Bruttians in Cosentia into even greater panic. Cosentia had now become a complete “island,” entirely surrounded!

Tagli and the other chiefs finally made up their minds and opened the gates to surrender.

Daonian soldiers poured into Cosentia with cheers. Piallen, Petalus, and Kaduruk were forced to retreat with their tribal warriors into the inner city. Chaos reigned within.

…

Petalus stumbled into the council hall.

“Great Chief!” he shouted frantically. “Great Chief, that damned Kaduruk! … Kaduruk opened the city gate and surrendered to the Daonians! Should we… should we…?”

Sitting on his wooden chair, Piallen showed no panic. He looked calmly at his son-in-law and forced out a difficult sentence: “Surrender to the Daonians…”

Petalus had finally heard the answer he wanted. Without hesitation, he replied repeatedly, “Yes, yes!” and turned to hurry out.

“Petalus.” Piallen stopped him, speaking earnestly. “As a Bruttian chief, you are still too impatient. Think more before you act in the future. And…” Piallen’s voice grew low. He took a breath. “Take good care of Una!”

Hearing this, Petalus felt a pang of unease. “Father…”

Piallen waved his hand. “Go now. Our people have already died too many…”

Reluctantly watching Petalus’s figure disappear beyond the hall, Piallen wearily turned around. On the wall behind him hung the banner of the Bruttian Tribal Alliance—a snow-capped peak rising above a green plain, symbolizing the land that nurtured tens of thousands of Bruttians and the goddess Amara who protected them.

Piallen stepped forward, caressing the banner into which he had poured so much effort, his mind swirling with thoughts. He had seen a unified Bruttian Tribal Alliance about to rise in this land, but now…

“Daonia… Daonia…” He muttered the name with hatred and regret. He could not know that in the history of his previous life, decades later, the Bruttians would become a powerful kingdom. Not only would the Greek city-states of Magna Graecia tremble before their might, but even the Lucanians would fear them. Weakened by repeated invasions from Syracuse, the great Greek cities of Magna Graecia—Croton, Thurii, and others—would be forced to invite King Alexander of Epirus, who would cross the sea with ten thousand troops to southern Italy, hoping to wipe out the Bruttians once and for all. Then, near the Platē River—the very place where Daonia and the Bruttian coalition had fought—the Bruttians would nearly annihilate Alexander’s Greek army. From then on, the Greek city-states of southern Italy could only survive behind their high walls, leaving no further mark on history until the arrival of the Romans…

Now, Piallen took down the Bruttian Alliance banner, slowly wrapped it around himself, then drew his short sword…

The day before Piallen committed suicide and Davos occupied all of Bruttium, the Third Army Corps under Hieronymus arrived at the gates of Pyxous. The Pyxousians, with no troops left to defend the city, opened their gates and surrendered.

Upon receiving this news, Puamot, the Great Chief of Potentia, finally made up his mind. He sent an envoy to Thurii, requesting to join the Daonia Alliance.

A month later, Metapontum and Garagusus successively joined the Daonia Alliance.

By then, the Daonia City-State League controlled more than half of the lands of southern Italy and Lucania, truly establishing itself as the hegemon of the south.

Note: According to historical inferences (though not certain), the Bruttians were once vassals of the Lucanians for several decades. Eventually they united, formed a unified kingdom, and gained independence. At that time, the Greek city-states of southern Italy, weakened by multiple invasions from Syracuse’s Dionysius, allowed the Bruttian power to expand easily in the south. Readers who examine maps of this period will see that Bruttian territory covered almost the entire Calabrian region, except for the coastal Greek city-states.

In this book, the existence of Daonia interrupted the rise of the Bruttians, just as it had earlier interrupted the rise of the Lucanians. We trust it will continue to do so in the chapters ahead.

The next volume involves more forces in the Mediterranean, with greater complexity. More historical figures will appear, grander battle scenes, and more intricate schemes and diplomacy… To better organize my thoughts, I need to take a day’s rest. I will rejoin you the day after tomorrow for Volume 6: Duel of Titans. Stay tuned!