Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 107: A Sudden Change

Olivus was not a senator, but his lively nature and talent for making friends meant he had maintained contact with Protesilaos during his time in Amendolara, and the two were fairly familiar with each other. Now, with war looming, their reunion felt all the more warm.

"Welcome, Legion Commander Olivus! Your arrival and that of your soldiers have brought reassurance to the entire city!" Protesilaos said sincerely.

"Lord Protesilaos, the Sixth Army Corps has been ordered here to defend Crimissa. I must rely on your full support to jointly resist those detestable Syracusans!" Olivus replied with equal sincerity.

"Supporting you fully in the defense of Crimissa is now my and my subordinates' most important task. Tonight, I have prepared a banquet at my residence for you. We can talk over dinner and also meet the officials of Crimissa..." Seeing Olivus's mild demeanor, Protesilaos relaxed inwardly, as this was his first time cooperating with the military.

"There's no need for a banquet. The Military Code has regulations that I cannot violate. However, I would be very willing to discuss in detail how to defend Crimissa..." As he spoke, Olivus surveyed the city of Crimissa before him. Since the Second Croton War, this was his first visit to this city on Daonia's southern border. It seemed Scombrus and Protesilaos had not been idle during their terms in recent years; the city walls had not only been thickened but also raised by at least two meters (originally built primarily to guard against the Crotonians).

"I have already set up your camp in the square. The supplies for the Sixth Army Corps should be provided by the Ministry of Military Affairs in Thurii, but the City Hall of Crimissa will do its best to provide you with some fresh meat, fish, vegetables... to improve your diet..." Protesilaos began introducing the preparations Crimissa had made while leading Olivus into the city.

Olivus listened attentively. He could see that Protesilaos had made thorough preparations for the Sixth Army Corps' arrival, and he was satisfied with that.

But just after passing through the city gate, he heard a great commotion ahead.

"Don't let these soldiers into the city! They only bring war and death!"

"Thurii people get out! The people of Crimissa don't welcome you, get out!"

"You executioners, give back the lives of our loved ones!"

...

Hearing this, Olivus's expression changed instantly. He turned and demanded, "Lord Protesilaos, what is the meaning of this?!"

Protesilaos's face also changed dramatically, and he was about to explain.

Just then, the battalion commander of the First Battalion, which had entered the city in the vanguard, rushed over and said urgently, "Legion Commander, there are many Crimissa citizens blocking the streets ahead, preventing us from entering the city!"

"Those people again!" Protesilaos sighed in frustration. "Earlier, the Polyxides case and the assassination attempt on Lord Davos implicated quite a few citizens of Crimissa. Some received severe punishments from the Alliance. Ever since Syracuse invaded Magna Graecia and defeated the coalition at Scylletium, over the past two days some family members of those citizens have been protesting in front of City Hall, demanding the release of their relatives... But I didn't expect... they would dare to obstruct the army's entry!"

Compared to Protesilaos's anxiety, Olivus, having campaigned for many years, was more decisive and alert. He loudly reminded Protesilaos, "We should immediately dispatch troops to arrest these people!"

"How can that be! They are all citizens of Crimissa!" Protesilaos shook his head repeatedly.

"At a time when the Alliance is facing a crisis, they dare to obstruct the army from entering the city. This is an act of treason and must be severely punished! Moreover, for something like this to happen now, I suspect there must be an enemy inciting it! Crimissa is about to face an attack from the Syracusan army. If such turmoil persists within the city, it will bring disaster upon us! So I recommend imposing military control over Crimissa."

"Military control?!" Protesilaos looked at Olivus in surprise.

Olivus's face was grave. "If we do not exercise strict control, when the Syracusan army arrives, these unruly Crimissans who harbor hostility toward us might, when we are not looking, quietly open the city gates and welcome them in, making all of us slaves of Dionysius!"

These words reminded Protesilaos of his miserable days as a prisoner of the Lucanians in Amendolara. He couldn't help but shiver, then hesitated and said, "All... all right, but I hope you won't harm the citizens of Crimissa..."

After securing Protesilaos's consent, Olivus immediately issued orders. The First Battalion quickly surrounded the troublemaking Crimissans and, regardless of their wailing and protests, detained them.

The Sixth Army Corps was thus able to enter the city smoothly.

Soon, City Hall issued a proclamation: military control was imposed over the entire city; the port and city gates were closed to casual entry and exit; and residents outside the walls were called upon to temporarily relocate into the city to prepare for the coming war.

The emergency on Daonia's northeastern border not only shocked the citizens of Amendolara but also alarmed the people of Thurii: the footsteps of war were drawing closer to the core region of Daonia, awakening painful memories from a few years ago when war destroyed their homes. Now the invading enemy was larger and more powerful, and Daonia seemed only able to defend without being able to counterattack. Such a frustrating situation began to worry the Daonian populace. While they awaited the return of Magistrate Davos, the "oracle" of Hades was taking deeper root in people's hearts.

That night, there was an urgent knock at the door of Aristelas, Davos's intelligence officer, at his residence in the eastern part of the city (near the inner-city docks and close to the Daonia Grand Arena district, the famous entertainment area of Thurii).

Alert as always, Aristelas had already gotten up and thrown on his clothes before his household slave could go to answer the door.

The visitor was Tlatos. As soon as he saw Aristelas, he said hurriedly, "My lord, our men saw Senators Petalus, Kaduruk, and Bogam each secretly leaving the city with their attendants at dusk, one after another!"

Aristelas was startled and asked in a low voice, "Did the city guards not stop them?"

"The City Magistrate Matonis went to Heraclea. They are senators, after all, and they left through the east, west, and north gates separately, so it didn't arouse much suspicion. Without anyone to back them up, how would the city guards dare to stop them!" Tlatos said helplessly.

After Davos led the army away, as the war continued and intensified, many flaws in Daonia's current political structure had been exposed.

Although someone in the Senate had once proposed "imposing martial law across all of Thurii during wartime to prevent unforeseen incidents," the proposal was not passed because some felt it interfered too much with citizens' freedom—after all, the war was still far from Thurii, and there was no need to make the atmosphere so tense.

Although the Polyxides case had led Davos to grant the ephors more power to strengthen oversight of the senators, and the "establishment of the Tribunes" to provide bottom-up supervision, these were still in their early stages of implementation. Even if some senators had no real power, they still held high status. With Davos away, who would dare to restrain them?

Aristelas did not think about all that. What made him nervous was this: after the assassination attempt, Davos had invested more funds and manpower into his intelligence department and ordered increased surveillance of all cities in Daonia. After the war broke out, he specifically instructed his men to cooperate with the city magistrates in each city to ensure stability and prevent incidents.

Senators Petalus, Kaduruk, and Bogam—these three Bruttian senators—had recently complained about some of Daonia's laws. Earlier, they had been involved in the Polyxides case and supported Polyxides's proposals. Although nothing came of it, they had caught Aristelas's close attention.

Since the war began, the three had held several private meetings, which made Aristelas even more vigilant. Unfortunately, at a critical moment, Tarentum's sudden breaking of the alliance and invasion led to Matonis's departure, catching Aristelas off guard. His intelligence department was, after all, only Davos's private organization, with no public authority, and certainly no power to stop the departure of high-ranking Daonian senators...

Thinking of this, Aristelas pressed further, "Are you sure they are heading toward Bruttian territory?"

The last shred of hope in his heart was quickly shattered by Tlatos's words: "My men saw them cross the Besidia wooden bridge one after another."

But Tlatos's next words slightly eased his mind: "However, as soon as they left the city, I immediately sent a rider ahead to Besidia. Once he confirms Petalus and the others' route, he will ride straight to Cosentia to notify Lord Heilos first."

Aristelas did not fault his capable subordinate for acting on his own initiative. What concerned him was whether this long-distance message would succeed. Although roads had been built from Thurii to Besidia and on to Cosentia, riding a horse through the night, galloping across plateaus and mountains, was certainly a dangerous undertaking.

"Who did you send?" Aristelas asked with concern.

"Adpigis."

"Oh, that clever fellow." Aristelas felt slightly relieved.

Adpigis, once reviled as a "half-breed of Bruttian and Greek," had accompanied Antaoris on his diplomatic mission to Cosentia and then served as a guide during the Daonian Army Corps' conquest of Bruttium. His background and the abilities he displayed in those two missions caught Aristelas's attention. In the following years, he had rendered great service in building the Bruttian intelligence network, suppressing nascent rebellions, and stabilizing the Bruttian region. Davos had promoted him to intelligence officer for the Bruttian area.