Although the Locrian fleet had fewer warships, they still launched an attack without hesitation. Warships from both sides sped towards each other and passed one another. However, contrary to the Crotoniates’ expectations, the Locrian ships did not stop to engage in a dogfight but continued to accelerate forward. Consequently, they easily broke contact with the Crotoniate fleet after paying a minor price of one or two warships.

Are the Locrians trying to flee?! Ascamas was quite surprised by the Locrian fleet’s behavior.

However, the Locrian fleet’s actions once again defied his expectations. After putting some distance between themselves and the Crotoniate fleet, the Locrian ships turned around again, posturing for another attack.

Ascamas didn’t think too deeply about it for the moment: What is the point of this superfluous move by the Locrians? His fleet made corresponding moves as well.

The two fleets rapidly approached each other again, but this time the Locrian fleet did not flee.

Warships from both sides interlocked like dog’s teeth, circling and ramming each other.

Naval combat was different from land battles. Land combat placed extreme emphasis on formation; once a formation broke, it often meant defeat. Naval combat, however, saw formations disperse once the battle began. It often devolved into individual duels between warships, where victory depended on the quality of the ships and the skilled maneuvering of the captains and sailors.

With decades of grudges between Croton and Locri, they knew each other very well. Ascamas was fully aware of the fleet’s strength, the crew composition, and even the characteristics of the opposing commanders. He firmly believed that with his fleet having six more triremes and a total advantage of ten warships over the Locrian fleet, winning this naval battle was only a matter of time.

During the battle, Ascamas’s flagship skillfully and rapidly reversed, thrillingly avoiding an enemy ship’s ramming attempt on its midsection. After turning danger into safety, the enemy ship was instead left broadside in front of his flagship’s bronze ram. How could he let such a great opportunity slip? He immediately ordered the sailors to row backward quickly, and the flagship soon shifted from retreat to advance.

But the enemy ship also turned rapidly, directing its bow towards Ascamas’s flagship.

Although the enemy ship reacted quickly, the experienced Ascamas did not give up. As his flagship sped towards the enemy vessel, about to close in and pass each other, Ascamas shouted, “Retract oars!”

The boatswain listening for orders in the hold immediately relayed this to the sailors. Well-trained, they instantly pulled back their wooden oars. The enemy ship, having just turned its bow, had not yet had time to retract its oars. The twenty-plus-meter-long trireme, carrying immense forward momentum, sheared off most of the enemy ship’s wooden oars on the side closest to it, leaving the enemy vessel stranded and unable to move due to a lack of oars.

Just as the sailors cheered and Ascamas prepared to turn the ship around to ram and sink the enemy completely, a fleet of more than 20 triremes suddenly appeared behind the Crotoniate fleet and immediately launched an attack on the Crotoniate warships.

The Crotoniate fleet fell into a dangerous situation, being attacked from both north and south.

In the end, the Crotoniate fleet suffered a disastrous defeat. Fifteen ships were sunk, eight were captured, and another ten were severely damaged. Ascamas led a small number of warships to break out of the enemy’s encirclement.

On the way fleeing to Croton, Ascamas, amidst his dejection, agonizingly pondered: Where did those extra Locrian warships come from?

***

The naval victory inspired the Locrian army besieging Caulonia. Early the next morning, when Crotoniate reinforcements arrived near the city of Caulonia, the Locrian army, disregarding the fatigue from their recent siege efforts, immediately launched a battle.

The Crotoniate army did not shy away from the challenge.

Thus, a fierce battle unfolded in the outskirts north of Caulonia.

In terms of troop strength, Locri had slightly more, but since they had to divert some forces to maintain the siege of Caulonia, the numbers on both sides were roughly equal. However, the Locrian army consisted mostly of hoplites and light-armored infantry, while Croton had a clear advantage in light infantry, composed of 5,000 carefully selected freedmen.

Fearing the impact of the Crotoniate hoplites, the Locrian generals deepened their columns. The Crotoniates, restricted by conditions and having learned many painful lessons from fighting the Theonia army, immediately sent light infantry forward to attack right after forming their lines. The Locrian light infantry, being too few in number, were quickly defeated.

Next, the Crotoniate light infantry began hurling javelins at the Locrian formation, inflicting considerable casualties on the Locrian infantry.

Under these circumstances, the Locrians immediately sounded the horn for attack.

Facing the overwhelming charge of hoplites, the Crotoniate light infantry lacked the strict organization and discipline of Theonia’s light infantry. They had no experienced veterans to stabilize morale, no excellent light infantry commanders like Epitenes, Tspites, or Alphens to command flexibly and skillfully, and no incentives like citizenship or land. Furthermore, Croton’s dense hoplite formation left no gaps for them to retreat. They could only flee the battlefield in panic from the flanks. Consequently, many light infantrymen couldn’t escape in time and perished under the charge of the Locrian hoplites. Those who managed to escape and attempted to regroup under their commanders’ efforts were immediately raided by Locrian cavalry and dispersed again.

However, the harassment by the light infantry also consumed and distracted the energy of the Locrian infantry. Now, only infantry-on-infantry combat remained on the battlefield. One side had just escaped the misery of Theonia and hadn’t fully recovered physically; the other had been continuously attacking Caulonia without sufficient rest. One side had fewer soldiers but possessed the conviction to wash away shame and defend their territory; the other had more soldiers but suffered from slightly lower morale after the light infantry’s setback.

The two sides fought for nearly two hours. Finally, Locri could not hold on and retreated from the battlefield.

In this battle, casualties for Croton and Locri were similar, totaling over 2,000, though Croton’s casualties included more freedmen.

Although Locri was defeated, their losses were not severe. They withdrew from the siege of Caulonia.

Crotoniate reinforcements successfully entered Caulonia and received a warm welcome from the city’s populace, but the situation was not favorable for Croton.

The Locrian army retreated to camp south of Caulonia, still eyeing the city covetously.

The Locrian fleet cruised the sea, blockading Croton’s maritime routes. The pain Theonia had previously endured, Croton was now tasting as well.

At this time, Croton had already deployed its elite troops, while Locri still had spare capacity. Two days later, over a thousand Locrian soldiers landed on the coast between Croton and Scylletium, burning, killing, and looting as they invaded northward into Crotoniate territory.

After experiencing the shock of the naval defeat, the people of Croton were terrified once again upon hearing news of the Locrian invasion. The Council accused Lysias of acting willfully, leaving the city’s military strength empty and unable to dispatch troops to repel the enemy invasion.

Lysias did not refute the Council’s criticism. He was equally shocked by the fleet’s disastrous defeat. At this moment, he could only propose that the Council conduct a city-wide mobilization while simultaneously dispatching envoys to seek help from Theonia and the city of Asprostum.

Under these circumstances, Croton actually had no other recourse. However, having just ended a war with Theonia, the curses against Theonia throughout Croton had not yet faded. Now, having to beg for their help, both councilors and citizens felt somewhat ashamed.

Asprostum was not far from Croton. Thesprotes spurred his horse and arrived at the south gate of Asprostum in less than two hours.

Although Theonia had achieved peace with Croton, the city defenses of Asprostum had not relaxed; instead, they were even stricter. Squads of sentries patrolled the walls, and guards were stationed before the gates. Although few pedestrians entered or left, they still performed their duties diligently, forcing Thesprotes to patiently accept the guards’ inspection.

When the captain of the city guard appeared before him again, he brought orders from Chief Executive Hylos: he was permitted to enter.

As soon as he entered the city, he was stunned by the sight before him: the main street beneath his feet, not particularly wide, was filled with dust. Some people were digging ditches on both sides of the street with pickaxes; others were breaking stones piled by the roadside with hammers and chisels, then paving the cut stones onto the dirt road. Still others were demolishing buildings that obstructed the road’s flow and rebuilding brick walls…

Hauling earth, carrying stones, moving trash… countless sturdy men were busy without pause, turning this place into a massive construction site. Everyone worked with fervor, and hardly anyone stopped to give him a second glance.

“What is all this for?” Thesprotes asked curiously.

The captain of the city guard replied, “Because we will be migrating here in the future, so we are building our own home. The roads in this city are too narrow and uneven, and garbage and sewage are everywhere…”

The captain listed many of the city’s flaws. Thesprotes found it quite amusing. He often came to Asprostum and felt it was no different from Taranto; where were all these problems the Theonians mentioned? He immediately asked, “You aren’t Greeks, are you?”

“We are Lucanians, but we are Theonian citizens!” the captain said loudly.

“Your Greek is quite good,” Thesprotes praised, then changed the subject. “I heard that your Lucania region is all mountains with barren land, and people often go hungry. I didn’t expect you to care so much about living environments.”

“Since our tribe joined Theonia, we stopped going hungry long ago!” The captain shouted, blushing as if insulted. “The places we lived before indeed couldn’t compare to the houses here, but this place is far worse compared to Thurii, which I have seen!”