Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 76: The First Battle with Syracuse (Part 2)

As for the rumors that "Daonia also possesses ballistae," he did not really believe them. Locri, a city-state that had been established for centuries, could not manufacture such a terrifying siege weapon—how could the Daonia Alliance, which had arisen for less than six years, possibly have them?! (The Daonian Fourth Army Corps had used ballistae to assault Clampetia, but since that place was remote, few people knew about it. The people of Trina did know, but at the Daonians' request, they had done their best to keep the secret.)

"Closer! Closer!..." Diopantos excitedly urged the Syracusans to move the ballista forward, and the entire army advanced with it. He wanted the ballista's strikes to be more accurate, to smash the wall the Daonians had painstakingly built, leaving them no place to hide! He wanted to watch them dodge wildly under the stone shots, forced to abandon their camp and come out to fight.

Although Dionysius had given Phasipesas and him the order to tie down the Daonian forces at Caulonia, if a good opportunity arose, Diopantos would certainly not mind defeating them, breaking the record of Daonia's undefeated streak in Magna Graecia, and gaining greater glory for himself.

Watching the Syracusan artilleryman load another heavy stone into the chamber, Diopantos looked expectantly toward the Daonian camp. Then he was astonished to see ten small black dots fly out from the enemy camp—in an instant, they whistled down into the Locrian ranks...

"Ballistae!!" Diopantos's soul fled his body in terror. Along with his cry, countless screams erupted from the formation.

Because the stone projectiles fell in a high arc, they were not actually very lethal, but the effect was terrifying. If a stone hit a hand, the hand was shattered; if it hit a leg, the leg was broken; if it hit a head, the head was crushed flat. And if someone tried to block with a round shield, the shield would be smashed and the soldier killed. Such gruesome sights were enough to chill the hearts of the Locrian soldiers, who had never experienced ballista fire before, and their morale plummeted by half.

While the formation was still panicked and unsettled, the second wave of Daonian stone shots came crashing down again. The Locrian soldiers scrambled to dodge in terror, throwing the entire battle line into chaos.

"Fall back! Fall back immediately!" As stones kept falling—one landing close to Diopantos—he was so frightened that he abandoned the Syracusan ballista ahead and hastily gave the order.

But as soon as the bugle sounded the retreat, the east, west, and south gates of the Daonian west camp suddenly opened simultaneously. The soldiers, who had been prepared for some time, streamed out quickly and orderly. The cavalry charged at the front, followed by light infantry, then the light-armored infantry, and finally the heavy infantry. Though the heavy infantry could not hope to catch up with the fleeing enemy, they could back up the forward units and prevent any enemy counterattack.

The Locrian army, with morale shattered and ranks broken by the relentless stone bombardment, was retreating in chaos. When they saw the entire Daonian force sally forth—a dark, overwhelming mass (because of the color of their equipment)—charging fiercely toward them, Diopantos, even if he had wanted to counterattack, had already lost control of his army. The soldiers had no will to fight and scrambled to flee backward.

Sobecus led the cavalry, driven by the desire to avenge his comrades, and caught up with the enemy from the flank.

The Daonian cavalry did not use their spears. Instead, they drove their horses straight into the enemy ranks, smashing the already scattered fugitives into even greater disarray, making it impossible for them to regroup. After the thousand cavalry had trampled through for a while, the warhorses themselves instinctively slowed down. Seeing that the fugitives ahead were thinning out, Sobecus decisively raised his spear and began circling it in the air.

"Drive them east!" Sobecus shouted loudly. Under his command, the cavalry began to split left and right, forming an arc, and started herding the fugitives eastward. The light infantry and light-armored infantry coordinated with the cavalry's movements.

Most of the Locrian fugitives, like headless flies, were deliberately herded by the Daonian soldiers. They could no longer tell east from west or north from south; they simply fled in the direction of least pressure.

Meanwhile, outside the east camp, the Syracusan units were also bombarded by Daonian ballistae without warning. However, the experienced Syracusans did not panic. They quickly steadied themselves, withdrew a short distance, and began returning fire with their own ballistae, falling into a stalemate. Just then, the Locrian fugitives surged in like a tidal wave, instantly throwing the Syracusan left wing into chaos.

Inside the camp, Drakos would not let such a golden opportunity slip. He immediately ordered: Full assault!

The Fifth Army Corps soldiers soon rushed out of the camp gate.

Phasipesas, seeing the situation was dire, decisively ordered: Retreat.

The Syracusan army rapidly pulled back, struggling to maintain their relatively intact formations, roughly pushing the scattered Locrian fugitives behind them.

The Daonian cavalry and the Fourth Army Corps soldiers continued the pursuit for five or six li, until a large contingent of enemy cavalry came up to engage them. Only then did Epithenis order the recall and return to camp, because he still vividly remembered the ferocity of the Syracusan cavalry and was worried that his already tired and dispersed soldiers would suffer losses. In reality, the Syracusan cavalry and mercenary cavalry had already left with Dionysius for Hipponion; those appearing here were merely Locrian cavalry.

And the Fifth Army Corps, having no cavalry support, kept chasing under Drakos's urging until even the fastest-running light-armored infantry had legs gone weak, and only then did they sound the bugle to halt.

Diopantos, having thrown away his helmet and armor, encountered Phasipesas on the way back to the city—Phasipesas was in a foul mood after his initial defeat—and suffered a furious scolding from him...

This was the first time Daonian ballistae had been used in a field battle, catching the unsuspecting Syracusan-Locrian allied forces off guard. The ballistae themselves killed only a few dozen men, but they caused panic among the Locrian troops, creating the conditions for the Daonian Fourth Army Corps' surprise attack. And the Fourth Army Corps' assault, followed by the experienced herding of the fugitives, triggered a complete rout of the Syracusan-Locrian allied forces.

In this battle, the Syracusan-Locrian allies suffered over 1,000 casualties, including more than 500 prisoners—mostly Locrian soldiers. For the Daonian southern front, it was no small victory.

...

Receiving the urgent plea for help from Trina late at night, Asiastes was greatly shocked.

The reason Asiastes had become the acting administrator of Clampetia was that Davos had argued to the Senate that Asiastes had extensive administrative experience in the Lucanian mountains and rich military experience, making him suitable to manage Clampetia—a city with a majority Bruttian population and a southern border town of Daonia. Since Asiastes was not a senator, he could only take the post as acting administrator. But this experience as a city administrator laid the foundation for Asiastes to be recommended for election to the Senate the following year.

After taking office, Asiastes used the methods he had learned in the Lucanian region to effectively ease the ethnic tensions between the Bruttians and the newly arrived Greeks in Clampetia. Leveraging Clampetia's geographical location, he vigorously developed trade with Trina and other South Italy Alliance member states, improving the living conditions of the once impoverished Clampetians. As a result, Clampetia had enjoyed political stability in recent years, fulfilling Davos's expectations.

Now, the news that "the Syracusans have approached Trina in such a short time" filled him with great unease. He was fairly familiar with the South Italy Alliance's operational plan: Trina, Croton, and Scylletium would jointly defend the western coastal corridor, preventing the Syracusan army from invading South Italy Alliance territory, thus buying time for the Daonian main force to rush back.

Initially, Asiastes had estimated that the citizen soldiers of Croton, Scylletium, and Trina combined numbered over 30,000. With the Lamato River—wide and deep—as a natural barrier, holding out for ten or twenty days should not be a major problem. Moreover, if the fighting later became intense, the reserve soldiers of the entire Bruttian region could provide timely assistance.

But he had not expected the Syracusans to come so quickly, far exceeding the mobilization, assembly, and march speeds of most Greek city-state armies. Of course, the Syracusan army was already mobilized and assembled, but being able to move such a large force from landing to approaching Trina within three days was enough to show how thorough and determined the Sicilian tyrant Dionysius was in this war!

Should he send troops to assist? Asiastes hesitated because a few days ago Davos had personally written him a letter, repeatedly warning him: strengthen the city's defenses, enhance fortifications. If the Syracusans broke through the line, he must do everything possible to hold Clampetia and not let the Syracusans set foot in Bruttian territory!

But Trina had close ties with Daonia! Not only had they firmly supported Daonia in the South Italy Alliance, but Clampetia and Trina, being very close, had frequent trade and good relations. If he refused to help, it might damage Trina's favorable impression of Daonia and undermine the good reputation Daonia had built in Magna Graecia over years of effort!

Asiastes thought it over repeatedly and finally made up his mind.

He made a promise to Trina's messenger: By Hades above, he would lead the Clampetian relief force personally to Trina early the next morning!

After sending off the grateful messenger, Asiastes decided to write a letter to Heilos, the newly appointed administrator of Cosentia, informing him of the Syracusan army's new movements and his own concerns, and requesting aid. He believed that Davos's former squad leader would make the right choice!

After finishing the letter, he had a trusted subordinate take it and set out immediately, riding through the night to Cosentia. Then he summoned the Patrol Captain, who had just gone to bed, and told him to notify the Fifth Army Corps' reserve soldiers to assemble at the square the next morning.

Only after finishing these tasks did Asiastes, exhausted in body and mind, return to his bedroom.

His wife Tina was still awake. Seeing that her husband was troubled, she asked with concern in Greek: "What happened?"