Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 58: Davos's Dilemma

“Something’s happened, and it’s big!” Bacule said, both excited and earnest.

“Let’s hear it.” Alexis was ready to listen closely.

But Bacule played coy first. He pulled Alexis to sit down, then had his men bring out freshly cured premium beef jerky and beer (ever since Davos invented this cured beef jerky as military rations, it had gradually become popular among the citizens, turning into a tasty snack for the Daonian people, just like dried figs or dates). “You usually come to my camp to bother me, but today you’ve finally made the trip to Grumentum. As repayment, I have to treat you well. Let’s drink and talk.”

What Bacule said was true. The Third Army Corps’ camp was built between Pyxous, Grumentum, and Nerulum. Alexis, as the current legion commander of the Third Corps, naturally couldn’t stay in Thurii like his predecessor Hieronymus had back then (the system wasn’t perfect at that time). During his term as legion commander, he had to live in the camp. Still, the camp’s facilities were far from crude; it was more like a militarized small town. Although Bacule had stepped down from his military post, whenever he had free time, he still went to the camp every few days, joining military training and competitions… Over time, he and Alexis had become good friends.

Alexis knew Bacule’s straightforward nature, so he didn’t refuse. He grabbed a piece of jerky, chewed, and said, “So what’s this big situation?”

“The Samnites have gathered a massive army on the border of Potentia—at least twenty thousand men!” Bacule said excitedly.

Twenty thousand! Alexis was startled. He put down the jerky and asked urgently, “Are you sure the Samnites are going to attack Potentia?!”

“The Potentian envoy came running to me for help—how could it be fake!” Bacule took a sip of beer and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, “Puamot, that stubborn old man who usually doesn’t bother with us Daonians, can’t sit still this time. The Potentian envoy came to ask for help from me, then rushed off to Thurii…”

“Bacule, we have to take this seriously, especially at this critical moment when we’ve declared war on Locri!” Alexis said solemnly, his expression grim. He clearly thought deeper than Bacule. Before taking office, Davos had seriously warned him: The Third Army Corps’ base was set in Lucania. Its current task was to stabilize the Lucanian situation and eliminate opposition to Daonia, but the future target was the Samnites to the north. They were a fierce and fearsome race—no one should take them lightly!

“I have to go back right now, gather the Third Corps’ soldiers for combat readiness, and send the mountain reconnaissance squad to scout the Samnites’ troop strength, then report to Lord Davos as soon as possible.” With that, Alexis immediately stood up.

Bacule, having grown up in southern Lucania, didn’t have a strong impression of the Samnites. Plus, the Daonian Army Corps’ consecutive victories over the past few years had made him somewhat arrogant and contemptuous of the enemy. But seeing Alexis so cautious, he also grew serious. “Should we also prepare the citizens in the army reserves?”

“Of course! I have a bad feeling this might be a major battle!” Alexis said gravely.

“Mm, a major battle!” Bacule echoed, but with more excitement on his face.

…

“Lord! Lord Davos! Martius is awake! Martius is awake!…” Helpus rushed into the living room, barely able to contain his excitement.

“Really?!” Davos, who had been talking with Little Heracleides, shot up from his seat, his face lighting up with surprise.

“Just as you said before—‘After the venom leaves the host (referring to the poison source) and is exposed to the air for a long time, its toxicity might decrease…’ It really seems to be true! Martius’ recovery is a perfect example!” No wonder Helpus was so thrilled. Most of Daonia’s territory was mountainous, and every year people were bitten by snakes and insects. Thurii Hospital had no good treatment for this—at most, they cleaned and bandaged the wounds and gave some tonics, leaving the patient to heal on their own. This time, following Davos’ suggestions, the hospital had carefully nursed Martius and administered medicine, finally seeing results. It gave them valuable experience and confidence for treating snakebites and other venomous bites in the future.

Davos had no mood to discuss medical issues right now. He asked urgently, “How is Martius now?”

“Oh, he’s awake. He can open his eyes and move, but he’s weak in all four limbs and has trouble speaking. He can only lie in bed for now—looks like he needs more time to recover.”

“Take me to see him.” Davos grabbed Helpus and headed out.

“Lord, are you still going to inspect the construction of the stone bridge on the Saraceno River today?” Little Heracleides asked hastily.

“You’ve just finished setting the piers. I’ll come see it when you start laying the deck.” Davos waved his hand apologetically.

“Alright.” Little Heracleides understood how much Martius’ awakening meant to Davos, so he had no choice but to follow Davos out of his residence—only to run into Rodom, the guard captain sent by the Senate.

“Lord Davos! And you two lords! The Senate summons you to an emergency meeting!”

“What happened?!” Davos saw Rodom’s tense expression and asked quickly.

“Potentia has asked for our help, saying ‘the Samnites are preparing to launch a major invasion of Potentia!’”

The Samnites attacking Potentia at this time?! Davos was suddenly shocked. The news doused his joy like a bucket of cold water.

The Senate held a heated debate over whether to send a large relief force to aid Potentia.

Supporters argued: Potentia was an ally of Daonia. According to the alliance treaty and moral obligation, Daonia must provide assistance! Moreover, although Daonia had governed the Lucania region for nearly five years, the Daonia Alliance’s rule there was not yet very stable. If the Samnites broke into Daonia’s territory, they would surely stir up unrest again. Daonia should drive back the Samnites as quickly as possible, before opening hostilities with Locri and even Syracuse, to avoid fighting on two fronts.

Opponents countered: The Lucania region had Potentia’s own army, plus the Third Army Corps stationed there, and Elea as an ally. Combined, their forces were more than enough to handle the Samnites—no need to send additional reinforcements. Just as Daonia was about to go to war with Locri and Syracuse, it was unwise to pull troops northward, leaving their own territory vulnerable.

Davos did not make a final decision. His mind was conflicted: He knew from his past life’s history how formidable the Samnites were. This mountain tribe had fought the rising Rome for decades, defeating the Romans multiple times and forcing them to endure the “humiliation of the yoke.” Davos didn’t believe the Third Army Corps and Potentia’s army alone could handle it. Before the spark turned into a blaze, he should do everything to extinguish it.

But for a major Samnite invasion to occur right before war with Locri—if he believed Dionysius had nothing to do with it, he’d be a fool. He thought he had set a trap for Dionysius to jump into, but instead Dionysius had incited the Samnites to strike first from the north, forcing Daonia to be caught between two fronts. Before even engaging Syracuse, Davos already felt how troublesome Dionysius was. This was a fearsome opponent! He would have to reassess this Syracusan tyrant, who had just taught him a lesson.

But now he was certain that Syracuse was dead set on war with Daonia. He just worried that the Syracusan tyrant had more tricks up his sleeve. He stayed alert, which was one of the main reasons he hadn’t rashly made a decision.

Davos returned home with a heavy heart. Before he could even drink water, he learned that Antistanos had come to visit. He hurried out to greet him: “Lord Antistanos, I’ve finally waited for you to come back!” Davos said half-jokingly, half-expectantly.

“The road I’ve traveled this time is longer than all my walks from the past few years combined,” Antistanos replied with a smile.

“That’s because you didn’t walk enough in those years. In the future, we’ll have to send you out more often for diplomatic missions like this.”

“Please, no. It’s already taken a lot of time away from writing my history.”

“Traveling more lets you observe other city-states firsthand. Your history will become more vivid and detailed. Back then, Herodotus traveled all over the Mediterranean…”

Chatting and laughing, they entered the living room.

“Lord, the Carthaginian Senate rejected our proposal for an alliance,” Antistanos said seriously once they sat down. “They even refused to sign a friendly trade treaty with us.”

Davos could understand Carthage refusing an alliance—after all, Carthage had just ended its war with Syracuse and was reportedly heavily wounded, needing to recover. Now that Daonia and Syracuse were on tense terms, their neighbor Carthage would naturally feel the tension between them and wouldn’t easily jump back in. But refusing a trade treaty with Daonia was a bit strange! Carthage was famous for its maritime trade dominance in the western Mediterranean!

“Is Carthage so afraid of Syracuse that they don’t want any connection with us at all?” Davos was surprised.

“I looked into things carefully while in Carthage city. The Magonid family, which used to dominate the Carthaginian Senate and always had a strong interest in Sicily, lost power after the defeat in the last war. They were forced to accept the Senate’s assignment to establish a new colony in Iberia and moved their entire family. Now the Senate’s voice belongs to another great family, whose patriarch is named Hanno. He is not only conservative but also prefers land over maritime trade. So he proposed a slogan: ‘Advance inland, give citizens more land.’…” Antistanos said slowly.

Did this mean Carthage would go to war with Libya? Davos’ heart stirred: Compared to Syracuse, which had repeatedly defeated Carthage, Libya was vast but fragmented with many tribes—a much easier target. Carthage was thinking, “What is lost in Sicily, retrieve from Libya.” But that made it even less likely that Carthage would provoke Syracuse.