Davos leaned back into his chair and fell silent, grief instantly enveloping him… Since coming to this era, Davos had never stopped fighting. He had long grown accustomed to life and death; even if mercenary soldiers who had once shared hardships with him fell before his eyes, it was hard to stir ripples in his heart. But today, upon hearing this news, he lost his composure…

In truth, Achilita had not spent much time with him, but back then, the two had hit it off immediately. This gentle and cultivated Taranto aristocrat, seven or eight years Davos’s senior, was like a generous elder brother who had given Davos help many times. When Davos was still unknown, Achilita, as a Senator and commanding general of Taranto, had complained not a word about assisting him in repelling the Lucanians. After Davos captured Amendolara, not only did Achilita show no dissatisfaction with Davos’s deception, but he also actively facilitated an alliance between Taranto and Amendolara while persuading Davos not to seize power through violent means. The reason the Theonian League could develop so rapidly later on was partly due to his advice. Even when relations between Taranto and Theonia later began to drift apart, Achilita continued to work actively for the friendship between the two states, enabling Thurii to buy grain from Taranto even when its port was blockaded by Croton…

Immersed in memories, Davos’s eyes began to moisten. He suddenly took a deep breath, and with a solemn expression, said loudly to Polydorus, “Theonia is an ally of Taranto. Helping an ally repel an enemy invasion is Theonia’s responsibility. I will immediately apply to convene a Senate meeting! I firmly believe that the entire Theonian Senate will agree without hesitation to send troops to rescue our friendly ally!”

Polydorus felt a huge weight lift from his heart: Eumachus was right. The relationship between Achilita and Davos is extraordinary. It is said that the Theonian Senate is controlled by Davos alone; having obtained his permission beforehand, this request for aid is already as good as done!

***

When Polydorus presented Taranto’s request to the Senators in the Grand Council Hall of the Senate, with Davos’s endorsement, almost no one opposed it.

Most Senators from Amendolara and Thurii still remembered the help Taranto had given them during their most difficult times. Kunogelata and others stated: “Keeping promises has always been a principle Theonians believe in. Theonia is already a powerful league in Magna Graecia; we should bravely shoulder the responsibility of defending the Greek city-states of southern Italy and show our sincerity to the surrounding cities!”

These words struck a chord in everyone’s hearts. The Senate unanimously passed the resolution to “dispatch reinforcements to rescue Taranto,” but controversy arose regarding the number of troops to send.

A portion of Senators led by Cornelius and Burkos believed: “The September autumn harvest season is coming soon. If too many young and strong laborers are transferred away to fight all at once, even with the assistance of slaves, the harvesting of the fields will still be greatly affected. We suggest sending no more than one legion at most.”

A small minority of Thurian Senators led by Polyexis believed: “The Theonian League has fought too many wars in the past two years. The people are weary and urgently need rest. Moreover, Taranto has the help of Metapontum and Heraclea; its military strength has not been greatly weakened. Theonia only needs to send three or four thousand men to show our sincerity; that is enough.”

However, military Senators led by Antonios and Capus raised objections. They argued: “After the union of the Messapians and Peucetians, their strength is formidable. If the reinforcements sent by Theonia are too few, we cannot help the Tarantines end the war quickly. A prolonged war will instead affect the return of Theonian reinforcements and cause dissatisfaction among the populace. Furthermore, only by sending a large number of troops can we grasp the initiative in the war, avoiding being arranged haphazardly by Taranto and leading to soldiers dying in vain…”

They suggested: “It is best to send two legions to Taranto.”

The opinion of the military Senators persuaded the majority, but the massive number of 14,000 men in two legions still made the Senators hesitate somewhat. In the end, everyone handed the decision-making power to Davos.

Davos naturally agreed with the opinion of Antonios and the others. He said, “Since we have agreed to send reinforcements, we must demonstrate Theonia’s sincerity and boldness as Taranto’s ally to the greatest extent. With two legions, plus the assistance of the armies of Taranto and its vassal allies, we should be able to repel the enemy very quickly, allowing the citizens to return early to tend to their farms…”

As Davos spoke, he consciously or unconsciously placed the Theonian army in the position of the main force, completely forgetting that once in Taranto, he would merely be a guest army. Yet none of the Senators felt this was strange; instead, they considered it a matter of course.

For this expedition, Mersis had no need to worry. When Polydorus learned that Theonia was actually sending a massive force of 14,000 men, he was overjoyed and repeatedly assured Davos: “The military rations and necessary supplies for the Theonian reinforcements will, of course, be provided by Taranto!”

Meanwhile, Burkos’s Ministry of Agriculture had to get busy ensuring that the farm of every soldier on expedition would be well taken care of while the master was away.

Grumentum, Crimisa, and Aprustum had only recently been annexed and were not suitable for sending troops. Nerulum, as Theonia’s most stable rear base in the Lucanian region, also shouldered the responsibility of sending troops to stabilize Grumentum at any time; unless in special circumstances, citizens of that city would not be transferred far away to Taranto. Therefore, the citizens Davos chose for the expedition were all from the two closely situated cities of Thurii and Amendolara—that is, the stations of the First and Second Legions. This also saved time and energy for Burkos’s farmland supervision work.

At the same time, the Senate began to recall soldiers belonging to the First and Second Legions who were about to travel far to Corinth to participate in the Isthmian Games.

***

The Isthmian Games were one of the four great Pan-Hellenic games, fixed to be held in the summer and autumn of the second year of the Olympiad, as a celebration honoring the sea god Poseidon.

Davos originally didn’t know much about this. It was Lysias, the Chief General of Croton, who had inadvertently mentioned Croton’s upcoming participation in the Isthmian Games while lamenting the brilliance of the Theonian Rugby Tournament when bidding farewell after the Hades Festival. Davos had taken note of it then.

Now, the mercenary army led by Davos had not only taken root in Magna Graecia, but the Theonian League he founded was already one of the most powerful alliances in the region, comparable to the mighty Sybaris of a century ago. However, while Theonia’s deeds were heard by many in Sicily, further east to the Greek mainland, it was basically obscure. In the Ionian islands of the Aegean Sea, it was even more unknown, let alone the Greek city-states of Asia Minor.

With Theonia’s current strength, it had passed the stage of dormancy. It needed to strengthen contact with the Greek city-states of the Eastern Mediterranean. Whether for increasing trade or attracting freedmen, it would be of great benefit. Therefore, Davos proposed the suggestion of “organizing athletes to participate in the Isthmian Games” in the Senate, which received an enthusiastic response from the Senators.

The enthusiasm of the Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean for participating in the four great games was no lower than that of the people in the Greek mainland, and far more active than the city-states of Asia Minor. The main reasons were: First, the venues of the four great games were either in the Peloponnese peninsula or near the Gulf of Corinth, geographically closer to Magna Graecia and Sicily, and far from Asia Minor. Second, these colonial city-states in the Western Mediterranean had superior geographical locations, fertile land, and rich mineral resources, so most were relatively wealthy—far surpassing their mother cities in the Greek mainland. Usually, there was no opportunity to compare, so the games became a stage for these “city-state tycoons” of the Western Mediterranean to show off their luxury. They donated large amounts of gold and silver to the temple treasuries of the games, held large banquets to entertain athletes from various city-states… etc., leaving the simple-living people of the Greek mainland dumbfounded, while out of jealousy, they mocked the Western Mediterranean Greeks as “pitiful people who have nothing but gold and silver.”

The Western Mediterranean Greeks did not just show off wealth at the games; their achievements in the competitions were also extremely prominent. Croton was a famous “champion specialist” of major games; Syracuse was another. Athletes from Taranto, Locri, and Agrigento had all won quite a few championships. Sybaris, the former Thurii, and Neapolis had also achieved excellent results in the games. They were keen to show their mother cities in the Greek mainland through the games: Although we are only colonists or descendants of colonists, the achievements we make far exceed those of the citizens of the mother cities.

Davos’s proposal was merely inheriting the glorious tradition of the Magna Graecia people.

After the announcement of participation in the games was declared in various cities, Theonian citizens signed up enthusiastically, forcing the League to hold a selection trial. In the end, ten people obtained the qualification to go to Corinth to compete, including Tagertinos participating in wrestling, Matonis participating in javelin, Amyntas signing up for the “hoplitodromos” (armed race), and Sobecos for the chariot race… Now they all had to return to the First and Second Legions to prepare for the expedition to Taranto.

***

Although only a few months had passed since the Theonian League stopped fighting, and the enemy they were about to face was quite powerful, it did not affect the citizens’ enthusiasm for the expedition. Aside from the fact that war allowed them to accumulate merit to obtain citizenship or land, the establishment of the Hall of Valour (Heroic Spirit Hall) and the Pantheon of Sages (Temple of Sages) in the Temple of Hades also greatly stimulated their pursuit of honor.

While the citizens of Thurii and Amendolara were actively preparing for the expedition to Taranto, in the Archon’s mansion, Davos, the Military Officer Philesius, and the two Legion Commanders Capus and Drakos were listening seriously to the Taranto envoy Polydorus’s detailed introduction of the two major powers in the Apulia region, the Messapians and Peucetians: “I think you lords have all heard of a story that has been circulated for a long time…”