After all, the Theonian camp was close to the city of Taranto and far from the battlefield, so it did not need to be built very complexly or solidly. Therefore, the next day, when Davos attended the war council, the entire camp was in a state of rest. According to military law: During non-wartime, one person from each squad in the camp may be granted leave to go out, but must return before sunset.

Currently, they were in a semi-combat-ready state, and it was uncertain when the army would march to the battlefield. Therefore, Antonios, who concurrently served as Military Officer, issued an order: All soldiers going out can only wander near the camp and must return upon hearing the military trumpet.

Soldiers staying in the camp were not idle. Most of them were keen on some competitive games organized by the upper echelons of the legion, such as tug-of-war, rugby matches, football matches… etc. The soldiers never tired of them. However, one thing was prohibited: gambling was not allowed. Once discovered, it would be punished by military law.

A small number of soldiers obtained leave to go out with the aim of seeing the famous South Italian city of Taranto. After all, most of them were not merchants or wealthy people; they labored in the fields all year round and had no time to travel to Taranto, which was separated by only a bay. But since the regulations did not allow entry into Taranto city, they could only stroll around the market in front of the camp.

Thus, the merchants of Taranto began to shout vigorously.

“Come and see! A divine object from the great eastern country of Egypt—hippopotamus hide! Look how thick it is! Scratch it hard with a knife… See, not a single mark! If you use it to make leather armor, it will be both light and strong, and you won’t have to worry about getting hurt in battle at all!”

“Brother, have you seen this kind of straight sword? Look, double-edged and very sharp! …It doesn’t matter, try holding it… Is it a bit heavy?! This is a short sword used by the natives of the Iberian Peninsula. I heard that the reason the Carthaginians have never been able to conquer the Iberian Peninsula is that they suffered losses from this weapon!”

…

Because they wanted to earn the soldiers’ money, most vendors in the small market were selling weapons, followed by food.

“Taste this date from Libya. Don’t look down on it because it’s small; it’s very sweet, much sweeter than figs!”

“Salted ostrich meat from the Bedouins! If you haven’t tasted it, come and taste it! …What is an ostrich? …Uh, let me tell you, it is the biggest bird I have ever seen, as big as a horse, but it can’t fly, only run. It runs faster than a horse in the desert!”

…

It must be said that as a famous trading city-state in Magna Graecia, Taranto’s commodities were richer and more diverse than Thurii’s, which could be glimpsed in this temporary market.

The soldiers strolled through it with great interest. They were not just browsing without buying. As citizens and preparatory citizens of Theonia, the land distributed time and again was enough for them to be well-fed and well-clothed. afterward, they sold surplus grain and livestock in the market to get extra pocket money. Plus, with the sharing of booty after every victory in battle, their purses were relatively full.

Olivas was also among the personnel who took leave to go out. He temporarily handed over military affairs to his adjutant and strolled in the temporary market to relax.

At this moment, he stood in front of a metal ornament stall, picked up a palm-sized gold ornament, and examined it carefully.

“This is a statue of the Egyptian god Horus, from the hands of famous carving masters of the Temple of Memphis. Look how exquisitely carved it is! Wear it, and you can receive Horus’s protection!” the merchant recommended vigorously.

Olivas shook his head gently, put the item down, and said regretfully, “The item is good, but unfortunately, I believe in Hades.”

“Hades won’t blame you for occasionally worshipping other gods. The domains they govern are completely different…” The Greeks’ attitude toward gods was close but not obsessed. They believed in polytheism: sing whatever song fits the mountain, worship the sea god when sailing, worship the war god when fighting, worship Hermes when doing business, worship Apollo when competing… That was why the merchant persuaded him so.

But Olivas still shook his head and left the stall.

The merchant cursed angrily behind his back: “Theonians are all dead-brained!”

If it were before, Olivas would definitely have turned back to argue with that merchant, but now he felt his status was different and disdained to haggle.

Walking further forward, he saw several large tents set up ahead. Several beautiful women stood in front of the tents, and a fat merchant shouted loudly: “The cheapest price! The most comfortable enjoyment! You only need to pay five drachmas, and you can be happy with the most beautiful girl in Taranto…”

Olivas frowned. Ever since that incident on the way to Persia, he, who had always been promiscuous, had thoroughly reformed. Now, as soon as someone mentioned the word “whoring,” he felt immediate disgust.

He turned to walk back, but Timias took a fancy to him, rushed over to grab him, and shouted anxiously, “Don’t go! Seven drachmas, two girls, how about it? I’m taking a big loss here!”

Olivas said nothing. He swung his grabbed left hand hard. Timias stumbled back a few steps and sat on the ground.

This Taranto theater owner had spent half the day trying but hadn’t made a single deal. He finally lost his temper, stood up, and cursed loudly, “Damned Theonians! A bunch of bumpkins! Don’t know how to enjoy pleasure! What military law regulations! Never heard of such things in the Taranto army. That’s just some rotten stuff your low-born Archon came up with to rule you easily! He wants you to have no freedom, no democracy, and obediently listen to his orders! You still don’t know how to resist; you only deserve to be ruled by a dictator and obey his orders like slaves! …”

Listening to this, anger shot straight up Olivas’s spine, and he strode over.

Other soldiers nearby who heard these words were also indignant: This fatty not only insulted them but also insulted their great commander!

In an instant, Timias was surrounded so tightly not a drop of water could trickle through.

He looked at the angry faces in terror and screamed with a fierce countenance but a weak heart, “What do you want?! This is Taranto! —”

Before he finished speaking, Olivas said, “Beat him!” He threw a right punch first, hitting directly on his fat face…

The Tarantines in the market heard screams coming from the crowd surrounded by Theonian soldiers, but no one dared to step forward to stop it.

“Woo! Woo! Woo! …” The military trumpet sounded at the right time.

“It’s the assembly call!” the soldiers exclaimed.

Almost at the same time, all soldiers in the temporary market put down what they were holding and ran back to the camp quickly. In the blink of an eye, there was not a single Theonian left in the market.

The speed at which the Theonian soldiers returned to camp made it seem as if the previous liveliness was just a dream. Only the theater owner lying on the ground was still groaning…

When the camp gates opened again, fully armed troops marched out. They exited in formation simultaneously from the east, north, and south camp gates, thus speeding up the exit.

The merchants of Taranto saw that these Theonian soldiers, who had been laughing and joking in the market before, still looked relaxed at this moment, but this casualness did not affect the neatness of their marching columns or the speed of their actions.

With the two legions leaving the camp, the camp was not left unguarded. There were also some baggage battalion soldiers and a reserve force composed of over a thousand Theonian freedmen. As a supplement to the legion, they usually served as guards and laborers for the baggage battalion, and in critical moments, they would also participate in combat. Therefore, the tasks of the reserve soldiers were equally complex and arduous, but every time there was an expedition, countless freedmen scrambled to join, because it allowed them to accumulate merit and shorten the time to become preparatory citizens.

In reality, a Theonian legion, besides the seven battalions of combat soldiers, also had a medical battalion, engineering battalion, baggage battalion, reconnaissance squad… its true number far exceeded 7,000 men. If marching within Theonian territory, Davos would try to arrange a single marching column. Although this column would extend the team very long, the flat and solid road system would actually speed up the march. However, the outskirts of Taranto, the richest city-state in southern Italy, turned out to be dirt roads. It was the same wherever they walked, as long as they didn’t step on the farmland. Thus, Davos simply divided the army into four columns, with five files in each column, marching forward abreast with a wide front.

Dust flew all the way, and the noise shook the sky.

Many Taranto people watched from the roadside. Facing Theonia’s mighty military appearance, the Tarantines had mixed feelings. However, in the time of the city-state’s crisis, reinforcements of such numbers and appearance also gave the terrified people a sense of security.

Before long, the Theonian army arrived outside the city of Taranto.

When Eumachus received the notification, the speed of the Theonian army’s assembly startled him greatly. One must know that the Taranto citizen-soldiers were still gathering at the square one after another.

Although Diomilas was also somewhat stimulated, he still retorted, “Theonian soldiers are all in the barracks; they can set off as soon as the trumpet blows. Unlike us, who have to notify every district and every street…”

Eumachus had to rush out of the city to apologize to Davos and ask the Theonian army to wait outside the city for a while. At the same time, he invited Davos into the city to his mansion for some wine and rest. After all, it was noon in early autumn, and the sun was still scorching.

Davos tactfully declined Eumachus’s kindness. How could he leave his suffering subordinates behind to enjoy comfort alone?

Before long, Triphias led a thousand Heraclean soldiers out of the city to join the Theonian army.

After another while, the two thousand Metapontum soldiers led by Tudepris also arrived.

More than an hour later, the city gate of Taranto finally opened wide again, and noisy human voices poured out…

“Oh! Oh! Is this going to the battlefield or to the graveyard?! Crying like that, is it necessary! Isn’t it just fighting a battle with the natives! …” Because of the morning incident, Olivas had no goodwill toward the Tarantines. Seeing this messy send-off scene, he kept making sarcastic remarks.