The messenger continued to relay the Senate’s command: “Lord Diomilas believes that the Messapian army attacking Manduria is likely their last reserve of strength. Therefore, the Senate orders you to ensure the safety of Brindisi, then lead as many soldiers as possible back to rendezvous with the reinforcements from Heraclea and Metapontum. You are to march on Manduria, utterly defeat the Messapians, and thoroughly secure our newly occupied territories!”

Achilita lowered his head in thought. Previously, in the struggle for Manduria and Brindisi, Taranto had paid a price of nearly five thousand casualties. The Messapian losses would not have been lower than Taranto’s; the heaps of Messapian corpses buried after the battle were proof enough. Although the Messapian League consisted of seven or eight city-states, the only one that could truly be called a major city was Rudiae. To field another force of ten thousand men meant the Messapian manpower must have reached its limit… But why didn’t they attack Brindisi, which was wedged into Messapian territory, and instead chose to attack Manduria, which was closer to Taranto and easier to reinforce?

But then he reconsidered and immediately cursed himself for being confused: Brindisi was garrisoned by 8,000 Taranto citizen-soldiers, while Manduria had only 2,000. It was obvious which city was easier to take.

He looked up at the messenger, who was still waiting for his reply, and asked, “How many men have Metapontum and Heraclea sent?”

“Due to their heavy losses last time, it is said that the two cities have only sent 3,000 men this time,” the messenger replied.

Achilita’s expression darkened slightly. Having fought alongside their allies before, he knew well what their casualties had been. Yet, the final fruits of victory were enjoyed solely by Taranto, while Heraclea and Metapontum received only some remuneration. But isn’t this exactly how Theonia defeated its rivals and grew so rapidly?

Thinking of this, the guilt in his heart faded, replaced by concern for that city-state alliance across the bay which gave him such complex feelings. “Has the Senate… sent envoys to Theonia to ask for help?”

The messenger hesitated, then shook his head with a strange expression.

Achilita’s mind turned, and he understood immediately. It wasn’t just Diomilas, one of this year’s newly elected Archons who had always disliked the Theonian League; others likely shared this sentiment. For a great power of southern Italy with a history of 300 years, asking for help from an upstart alliance less than two years old was truly a loss of face and honor. What would their allies and the other city-states of Magna Graecia think! Moreover, Theonia was not like Heraclea or Metapontum, which regarded Taranto as their leader. Theonia and Taranto were equal allies in a defensive pact, and Theonia’s overall strength might now even be… stronger than Taranto’s. To ask for Theonian aid without paying a certain price would be impossible. Thus, unless Taranto was in a desperate crisis, they would never send an envoy to Theonia.

Achilita pondered for a moment, then said decisively, “I intend to leave Pebarisus to lead two thousand soldiers to guard Brindisi. I will take 6,000 men back with me. You will travel with me, as I do not have enough cavalry to escort you back alone.”

The messenger breathed a sigh of relief and agreed hurriedly. He had been terrified by the elusive Messapian light cavalry; the cavalry squad escorting him had lost over a dozen lives just to get him safely into Brindisi.

In the afternoon, the freedmen who heard the news gathered, watching with unease as 6,000 Taranto citizen-soldiers marched out of the city. Although Taranto looked down on the upstart Theonian League with its lack of historical depth, it had begun to learn from Theonia in handling occupied territories. After capturing the two towns, the Senate immediately promised foreigners and freedmen in Taranto that if they were willing to move to Brindisi and Manduria, they would receive land and become Taranto citizens, with Brindisi and Manduria becoming dependencies of Taranto. Therefore, despite knowing the risks, many freedmen had happily brought their families. Now that war had broken out again and more than half of Brindisi’s defensive force was leaving, how could they not be nervous?

Between Brindisi on the east coast of Apulia and Taranto on the west coast lay a range of mountains running east to west; otherwise, the terrain was flat. Thus, Achilita’s army had two routes to Taranto: one was to bypass the mountains to the north and march straight west to Taranto; the other was to march directly west, pass through Manduria, bypass the mountains, and reach Taranto. Achilita naturally chose the former. Apart from the single Messapian town of Egnatia (Gnathia) to the north which required caution, the route was very safe. Choosing the latter meant remaining constantly vigilant against raids from Messapian towns centered around Rudiae, hidden in the dense forests to the south.

Achilita’s army had not been out of the city long when they bypassed the mountains. At this moment, scouts reported: a small group of Messapian cavalry was spotted spying nearby.

Achilita did not pay it much mind. Although Taranto had captured Brindisi, Messapian cavalry still roamed the area along the road between the two cities, affecting personnel movement and supply transport. Taranto had sent soldiers to attack these cavalrymen many times, but relying on their fast horses, the enemy would flee long before contact, only to reappear once the troops returned empty-handed. Taranto could do nothing about these Messapian riders and considered waiting until Brindisi was thoroughly stabilized to build new villages and outposts between the two cities, thereby occupying the area completely. Until then, Taranto formed special units to secure communication and transport between the cities; heavy infantry paired with archers dealt well with these swift cavalry, and this was exactly what Achilita was doing.

After bypassing the mountains, the terrain leading to Taranto was flat and open. Achilita divided the marching column into five files. The fewer light infantry were in the center, flanked by heavy armored citizen-soldiers on the outside. The entire column stretched for about three li. The distance between Taranto and Brindisi was about a hundred li (approx. 50km). Achilita estimated that at their current marching speed, they could arrive by evening.

Achilita controlled the pace of the troops, moving forward unhurriedly.

However, as time passed, more and more Messapian cavalry appeared. They prowled around the marching column, hunting down Taranto’s scouts, forcing Achilita to recall his already scarce cavalry. Consequently, he could no longer know what was happening in the surroundings beyond the troops’ line of sight.

As a commander, although Achilita knew very well that after the last war there were no powerful Messapian forces near the north of the hills between Brindisi and Taranto, this feeling of blindness made him uneasy. He immediately ordered: “Troops, increase marching speed! Reach Sigeon as soon as possible!”

Sigeon was a village north of Taranto. Before the capture of Brindisi, because it bordered Messapian territory, it had been built into a small fortified outpost with sturdy earthen walls and multiple watchtowers to defend against Messapian incursions.

The military trumpet sounded. The officers, receiving the order, began to urge the soldiers who were laughing and playing around.

Just then, a loud military trumpet sounded simultaneously from the front of the column.

The soldiers in the vanguard were stunned: Is that our army arriving?

“That is the signal for attack!” some soldiers began to cry out in alarm.

As commotion rippled through the ranks, Achilita’s command came down: “Stop advancing! Immediately deploy formation to the west! Light infantry in front, heavy infantry behind!”

The officers sprang into action, directing the soldiers to form ranks.

Under the protection of his cavalry, Achilita rode to the front of the column.

A hundred meters away, loose groups of Messapian cavalry stared at him like wolves, while he looked past the gaps between the enemy riders further ahead. Doubt filled his mind: The main Messapian force is at Manduria. If their army is coming here, how many soldiers could they possibly spare to block my troops from returning to Taranto?

While he was deep in thought, the Taranto marching column began to slowly deploy into a battle line facing west. Officers and soldiers shouted to each other, finding their positions, the noise shaking the heavens.

In front of the array, Achilita and the nearby Messapian cavalry faced off in silence…

Here they come! Achilita’s eyelids twitched. He blinked hard and opened his eyes wider: on the horizon several hundred meters away, a row of small black dots appeared, gradually growing larger and longer…

As the approaching force drew nearer, Achilita and his men could see more clearly: they wore similar round shields, bronze helmets, and carried spears; they marched in similarly dense formation. However, this did not confirm they were Taranto troops, for Messapian soldiers were equipped the same way—thanks to the Athenians!

When they came even closer and the raised banners became visible, the adjutant screamed, “General, it is the army of Egnatia!”

Egnatia was the northernmost city-state of Messapian territory, bordering the land of the Peucetians. Whenever there was a conflict between Messapia and the Peucetians, Egnatia bore the brunt, so as a border city, its military capability was relatively strong, and it was closest to Brindisi. When Taranto stormed Brindisi, the people of Egnatia had come to reinforce it but were repelled by Achilita.

Achilita had specifically set up outposts northwest of Brindisi to monitor Egnatia’s movements. Now that Egnatia’s troops appeared here without Achilita receiving any warning, it was obvious the northern outposts had met with misfortune.

At this moment, Achilita had no mood to mourn. He stared tight at the enemy formation, his mathematician’s mind quickly calculating that the enemy force numbered less than 3,000 men.

Barely 3,000 men dare to block my return home?! Achilita did not feel relieved; instead, he felt even more suspicious.

But the moment allowed him no time to ponder. The previously quiet Messapian cavalry shouted and charged. He hurriedly led his cavalry to turn their horses and retreat into the formation, while the light infantry positioned at the very front of the phalanx stepped forward, ready to loose the arrows in their hands.