Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 129: The Great Naval Battle of Taranto (Part 1)

“At least come over and see our little Eunice, won’t you?” Asuna bent down, speaking softly to the infant in the small wooden cart.

The usually quiet little Eunice, seeing a familiar face approach, immediately babbled “ya ya” and waved her arms and legs, kicking off the thick woolen blanket covering her.

“Madam, look, even little Eunice is protesting!” Asuna joked as she covered the baby back up. Only in Davos’s household, where servants were treated kindly, and because Asuna was Cheiristoya’s trusted aide, would she dare speak so freely.

Cheiristoya looked at her daughter, a gentle light shimmering in her bright eyes. She seemed to remember something and sighed softly. “Little Klo’s father wasn’t there when he was born either. Who can blame Daonia for being constantly at war…”

As the three women were sighing, cries came from the front yard.

It was little Klo! Both Agnes and Asuna’s expressions changed. Asuna quickly said, “I’ll go check.”

“No need. With Heni and Cynthia there, what’s there to worry about?” As a mother, Cheiristoya was far calmer than Agnes and Asuna.

With the war escalating, Daonia kept conscripting young men and sending them to the front lines. Many institutions in Thurii had shut down due to a lack of manpower—the school was no exception. Guards and instructors had either joined the new army corps or become sailors or transport crew. Although the teachers, for the sake of preserving highly educated talent, were exempted from battle by special law, they were still assigned by City Hall to places that needed them, contributing to the war effort—as statisticians in the Ministry of Military Affairs, as bookkeepers for supply convoys…

Thus, teaching at the school came to a halt. Moreover, without the protection of guards and instructors, the students’ safety couldn’t be guaranteed, so Antistanos had to announce the school’s temporary closure.

For safety, Cynthia, Adoris, and little Klo were ordered not to go outside. Bored from being cooped up at home, the little ones were thrilled to see their long-missed big brother Henipolis return, and they excitedly pestered him to play with them.

Henipolis, still a child at heart, had no choice but to take them to the sports field in the front courtyard and play catch with a rugby ball. (Since the children were older and full of energy, Davos had simply knocked down the pool in the front yard and turned the whole area into a small sports field so the kids could play happily and also exercise.)

Little Klo, just over four years old, naturally ran around excitedly with his siblings. He tripped and fell, bursting into loud sobs.

Adoris, caught up in the fun, said impatiently, “You’re not even bleeding—what’s there to cry about!”

Cynthia shot him a glare, and Adoris fell silent immediately. He had always been a bit afraid of this sister, who was two years older.

Cynthia hurried over, helped the crying little Klo up, gently brushed the dust off him, and said softly, “Little Klo, you’re a brave warrior. Warriors don’t cry.”

Little Klo, who often learned from Adoris at home and wanted to be a brave soldier, quickly wiped his face with his little hand and pouted, “I wasn’t crying!”

“Alright, let’s rest for a bit.” Henipolis sat down on the edge of the field, breathing heavily. Unlike the alliance’s citizens, who regularly trained, he spent most of his time in the academy looking up records and practicing writing. He lacked exercise, and after acting as the ball catcher, running back and forth with these energetic kids, he quickly exhausted his stamina. “I’ll tell you a story.”

“What story?” Adoris asked with immediate interest. Henipolis was good at storytelling and often told the children tales before.

“The story of Hades’ wife, the goddess Persephone, and a sea monster. I collected it during my last trip to Sicily. I’m sure you’ve never heard it.”

“I want to hear it!” Adoris shouted at once.

“Me too!” little Klo shouted even louder.

Cynthia said nothing but silently sat down next to Henipolis.

When Aristilas entered the courtyard, he saw exactly that: three children sitting around Henipolis, listening intently as he told a vivid story.

Seeing this warm scene, Aristilas naturally recalled the news he had just received about the “Achradamas rebellion,” and he couldn’t help but sigh deeply…

…

On the morning of December 6th, the weather was clear—a bright sky with no clouds, and a light breeze.

Davos gathered all the soldiers of the First and Second Army Corps at the camp, then led them to the foot of the mountain where the Temple of Hades stood. A crowd of citizens and senators were already gathered there.

Davos was the first to ascend the mountain, followed by the senators and the two legion commanders.

The Chief Priest, Pleisinas, was already waiting in front of the temple. Davos and the group walked solemnly into the Hall of the Underworld of the Temple of Hades.

Davos looked up at the statue of the Lord of the Underworld, who held a Bident, his black hair wild, his eyes wide with fury. A strange sense of closeness welled up in Davos. From his rebirth to now, he had formed an inseparable bond with Hades, and now he shared his fortunes. As long as Daonia existed, the Davos royal house would always be one with him—offering worship and receiving his protection…

With that thought, Davos knelt devoutly and bowed, then declared in a clear voice, “O impartial god Hades, your earthly divine kingdom of Daonia is surrounded by war and in danger. Your descendant (meaning Davos himself) is about to lead the army into a decisive battle against the Syracusans. I hope to receive your blessing and return victorious!”

Having said this, Davos stood up, lit an oil lamp, and respectfully placed it on the central offering table beneath the statue.

Then Pleisinas led forward a small black calf, specially selected from among many Lucanian cattle. It seemed to know its fate, but when Davos pressed his left hand down on it, it neither cried nor struggled.

Davos drew his short sword, touched its neck and back, steeled himself, and thrust the sword in hard. The calf let out a mournful bleat and fell dead.

The acolytes quickly lifted it onto the sacrificial table, cut open its belly, and examined the entrails. The internal organs of a healthy calf would hardly show any abnormalities. So the divination priest, after carefully inspecting them, announced loudly, “A good omen! A very good omen!”

Everyone’s expressions relaxed, and they showed joy. They sang the Hymn to Hades, watching as Pleisinas solemnly placed the fresh blood offering before the god’s statue…

After leaving the Hall of the Underworld, Davos, along with the two legion commanders, also paid respects at the Shrine of Heroic Spirits…

“Dong!… Dong!…” Nine long, deep bell tolls came from the mountain, each stronger than the last. The crowd and soldiers below grew excited.

“A good omen! A very good omen!!…” By the time Davos and his party came down the mountain, the area below had become a sea of joy, as if a victory had already been won.

Just as Davos was leading the First and Second Army Corps toward the military port, Seclian was giving a pre-battle speech to nearly thirty thousand sailors in the port: “Brothers, you’ve trained hard for so long, and today you finally get to engage the enemy at sea. Yesterday, I was summoned by King Davos to discuss naval warfare. Several legion commanders were also there. They actually tried to dissuade His Majesty from fighting the Syracusans at sea, saying things like, ‘Our navy has just been formed, we have no experience, we’re no match for the Syracusans.’ I argued with them, but they scolded me, saying, ‘Our navy has no achievements, we have no right to speak…’”

Seclian’s words made the sailors indignant. He seized the moment and shouted, “Fortunately, the wise King Davos said, ‘He trusts that Daonia’s sailors will fight as bravely as the citizen soldiers and bring victory to the alliance!’ Brothers, let us not disappoint His Majesty’s expectations. Let’s win a glorious victory and show the proud army that we, too, are heroes in the hearts of the people! And with this victory, we can gain citizenship as quickly as the legion soldiers do (since most sailors are freemen)! We can get our allotted land even sooner! Brothers, for the sake of your future good lives, let’s give it everything and defeat the Syracusan navy!”

“Defeat the Syracusan navy!!!”

“Hail to the Daonian Navy!!!”

“Hail to King Davos!!!”

The sailors, fired up by Seclian’s speech, raised their arms and shouted. The noise drew the attention of the citizens who were rushing to the coast upon hearing the news. Even Davos, halfway there, heard their cries and said with a smile, “The navy’s morale is very high!”

Although there had been some arguments with Seclian the day before, Amyntas put aside those petty disputes before the battle began and said cheerfully, “That’s good. It increases our chances of victory.”

“Now I order—” Seclian looked around at the sailors, took a deep breath, and shouted, “Drag the ships into the water!!”

The sailors immediately ran to the dry docks where their assigned warships were stored.

Normally, warships not in battle were kept in dry docks and regularly exposed to sunlight to prevent the shipworms that damaged the vessels, while rotten planks were replaced and maintained, thus extending the ships’ lifespan. Therefore, the military port of Thurii was different from the commercial port. It had no piers; instead, the riverbank was built into a sloping causeway, and the shipyards were constructed on top of it. When ships entered the port, sailors would drag them up the inclined causeway into the dry docks for storage.

Since this military port in Thurii had been hastily built without thorough planning, each shipyard was not only simple in construction but also cramped in space. It stretched from the Temple of Hera eastward to part of the riverbank beyond the marketplace. On both sides of that stretch of the Crati River, shipyards of various sizes were densely lined up.