Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 105: Danger, Heraclea!

Davos and the Daonian Senate had never imagined that Dionysius had long had designs on Tarentum, while the people of Tarentum had grown increasingly resentful over the past two years as Daonia rose. Their hostility toward the Daonians had also intensified. Thus, it was no accident that Diomilas, a Tarentine citizen who had once committed a grave error, could be re-elected as a magistrate.

After obtaining Dionysius’ guarantee, Diomilas and the Tarentine Senate secretly contacted pro-Tarentine factions among their former allies while observing the war situation in Magna Graecia, maintaining an air of non-intervention. After all, they had personally witnessed the strength of the Daonian army and dared not take risks without a high chance of success. It was only after the Battle of Scylletium ended and news of “Syracuse’s great victory and its rapid capture of Scylletium and Trina” reached Tarentum that the Tarentine Senate finally made up its mind.

The capture of Metapontum was actually quite simple: early in the morning, the Tarentine army launched a surprise attack on Metapontum. The pro-Tarentine faction bribed the city guards, secretly opened the city gates, and led them to raid the pro-Daonian faction led by Tudeples (who, since Metapontum joined the union alliance, had always controlled the power to mobilize the army with Daonia’s support).

“General, congratulations on taking Metapontum!” Isalocas and his men came to congratulate Diomilas.

“No, Tarentum did not capture this city; rather, the people of Metapontum themselves threw off Daonian rule and returned to the embrace of their mother city!” Diomilas, who had languished in Tarentum for several years, was noticeably more composed than before.

“You’re right, General! Metapontum is a subordinate state of Tarentum, worshiping Poseidon and Phalanthus together, not Hades. They should naturally stand united!” Isalocas quickly took up the thread to show his loyalty.

“Lord Isalocas, the Tarentine Senate wishes you to serve as the sole magistrate of Metapontum, leading the people together with Tarentum to cope with the current complex situation in Magna Graecia!” In fact, the Tarentine Senate had already made an agreement with Isalocas; Diomilas made this announcement publicly to openly demonstrate support for him.

“I thank the Tarentine Senate and you, General Diomilas, for your trust! I will surely make Metapontum Tarentum’s most trustworthy ally and restore peace to it!” Isalocas promised with a flourish.

Diomilas nodded and said in a commanding tone, “Prepare the offerings immediately. I will go to the Acropolis to pay homage to Poseidon, thanking him for his help and begging forgiveness for our offense!”

“It will be done at once.” Isalocas gave a few orders to someone beside him, who rushed off.

Isalocas turned back and said, “One more thing that should concern you, General: Tudeples was not captured!”

“That traitor got away?!” Diomilas frowned.

“He was very clever and had prepared beforehand. As soon as you entered the city, he immediately led some men and fled through the west gate. We were few and could not stop them at all, and we lost several warriors in the attempt.” Isalocas said regretfully.

Others also claimed to have done their utmost, showing their wounds to Diomilas.

“Enough!” Diomilas cut them off loudly; their rambling only irritated him. “Tudeples fled west—he won’t escape.”

Diomilas sneered. Catching Tudeples was a small matter; he was more concerned about the progress of Eumachus’s forces.

So he said to Isalocas, “I will leave one battalion of soldiers to help you stabilize the situation in Metapontum. Once I come out of the Acropolis, I will lead the army to Heraclea. The task of transporting supplies and grain will be yours.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll arrange everything.”

…

While Tarentum was assaulting Metapontum, it also launched an attack on Heraclea.

Since Heraclea was separated from Tarentum by Metapontum on land, the Tarentine attack force had to come by sea in order to achieve surprise. The inside agents in Heraclea were supposed to make preparations when they saw the Tarentine fleet landing, then coordinate from within and open the city gates for the attackers.

However, ever since Davos sent someone to warn him, Heraclea’s magistrate Triphyas had remained cautious toward the east and repeatedly admonished the city and harbor guards to stay alert. Thus, when the Tarentine fleet, taking advantage of the early morning fog, approached the coast of Heraclea, the sentries at the harbor lighthouse spotted them in time.

Consequently, the alarm bells rang throughout Heraclea. The citizens immediately armed themselves and strengthened the city’s defenses.

Heraclea was different from Metapontum. It had been founded only a few decades ago and was farther from Tarentum, so Tarentum’s influence was not as deep. On the contrary, in recent years, it had close ties with neighbouring Daonia, and its culture and trade increasingly leaned toward Daonia, so the number of citizens favoring Daonia was growing. Thus, there were very few inside agents for Tarentum in the city. How dare they confront the citizen soldiers head-on? Seeing the city’s tight defenses, they did not dare to make a move and immediately went to ground, hiding themselves.

Fortuitously, Heraclea was built in an odd location: it sat at the narrowest point between the lower reaches of the Agri River and the Basento River. Thus, the Tarentine army could not land on the riverbank near the city, because the narrow space would make the landing slow and prevent full deployment. If the Heracleans struck decisively while the Tarentines were still landing, they would be in serious trouble. Landing on the south bank of the Agri River risked being caught between Heraclea and Daonia in a pincer attack. Therefore, Eumachus had no choice but to choose a landing site on the north bank of the Basento River.

The Tarentine soldiers began to go ashore quickly…

Because the Tarentine fleet had entered the Basento River to patrol, the Heracleans dared not rashly send troops across the river to attack the landing enemies.

Triphyas made a prompt decision: he sent men to burn the wooden bridge over the Basento River, not far north of Heraclea, and also dispatched messengers on fast horses to Thurii to request aid from Daonia. Beyond that, the Heracleans were helpless and could only watch as the Tarentine forces assembled on the coast.

By the time the Tarentine army reached the Basento River, the wooden bridge had already been burned to cinders.

Eumachus had no choice but to order his troops to cooperate with the fleet in building a pontoon bridge.

During this time, Triphyas decisively led his troops out of the city, using flaming arrows to attack the ships and disrupt the Tarentines’ bridge-building…

Due to Heraclean harassment, several of the Tarentine passenger ships were set on fire, leaving Eumachus momentarily at a loss. He could only urge Diomilas’s forces to hurry up…

In the meantime, there was a minor incident.

Tudeples led the remnants of his men fleeing westward under pursuit from the enemy, only to see the Tarentines landing in the distance.

With enemies blocking the front and pursuers behind, his companions panicked and asked Tudeples what to do.

With no time to think, Tudeples said resolutely, “We run north!”

“But the north is home to the fearsome Garagusans!” someone exclaimed.

“Are the Garagusans more terrifying than the Tarentines who want our heads right now? Besides, they are also allies of Daonia, just like us!” With that, Tudeples led the way into the northern mountains.

At this critical moment, the others had no other option and followed him over the ridges.

After a difficult journey, they entered the territory of Garagusus and were eventually surrounded by Lucanians.

After Tudeples explained his purpose, not only did the Garagusan Lucanians drive off the pursuers, but they also took him to see the Great Chief.

The Great Chief of Garagusus was different from the Great Chiefs of other Lucanian tribal coalitions. He was not elected based on his tribe’s strength or his own political ability, but was chosen through an ancient Lucanian tradition of combat among tribal chieftains—the victor took the position. Consequently, its Great Chief, Kurum, was a young, strong man.

After learning the whole story from Tudeples, the Great Chief and the priest of Garagusus discussed and decided to temporarily settle these Metapontine refugees in a valley, strictly ordering the tribes not to harm them.

In the past, the Garagusans had been very hostile toward the people of Metapontum. Only in recent years, due to Daonia’s influence, had relations gradually eased. But this time, the dramatic shift in attitude came not only because Garagusus and Metapontum were both allies of Daonia, but more importantly, because Garagusus had just received news from Potentia: the Daonian army, led by the magistrate Davos, had defeated the invading Samnites.

To the Greeks, the Samnites were just another barbarous mountain tribe. But the Lucanian tribes living in Garagusus knew this powerful northern neighbour very well. Their ancestors had lived in the Beneventum region a hundred years ago, and it was the Samnites who had driven them here.

This fear of the Samnites was deeply embedded in their blood, passed down through generations. When they heard that nearly 50,000 Samnites had invaded Potentia en masse, the first thought that struck the Garagusans was: we might have to migrate again.

Thus, they kept a close watch on the Samnites’ movements. When Davos led a smaller Daonian army and completely routed the Samnites, it shook the Garagusans to their core.