Bergum quickly scanned the letter, then carefully said to Nycou, who had not yet regained his composure, “The letter says some survivors from Besidiae fled to Cosenza… Nycou, you can go to Cosenza first to confirm if this is true.”

After speaking, he handed the letter over.

Nycou stared blankly at the papyrus handed over by Bergum, as if it were not paper but a burning fire. He hurriedly avoided it and sat back in his seat, his eyes blank: “What should I do? What should I do? …”

Listening to Nycou’s helpless murmuring, Pangeru and Bergum looked at each other, their eyes also intertwined with shock and confusion: Just now we were celebrating victory, full of confidence to go out of the city and fight a decisive battle with the Theonians! In the blink of an eye, this confidence and arrogance were shattered by this shocking news. What should we do?

They were also pondering painfully…

“I must go back! I must go back immediately! Retake my Besidiae, save my clansmen!” Nycou suddenly stood up and strode out.

Hearing this, Pangeru hurriedly stepped forward to persuade, “Don’t be anxious yet. It’s still unclear what exactly happened in Besidiae. Let’s send people to scout first, and wait for news from Pianlun and the others. It’s not too late to act after everyone has discussed it.”

“It’s not Clampetia being occupied; of course you’re not anxious! If I wait any longer, my clansmen in Besidiae will all be dead!” Nycou rudely dropped this sentence and left Pangeru’s mansion without looking back.

“Great Chief Nycou was right just now; this is not the time to wait.” Bergum walked over and said to the somewhat distracted Pangeru, “Besidiae has fallen; our defense plan against Theonia has failed. Now our biggest worry is that the main force of Theonia will kill their way out of Besidiae city; then we will all be in danger! I must immediately lead the warriors of Ambania to rush to Cosenza, meet with Pianlun there, and then discuss what to do next.”

“You all leave; what about the enemy here?!” Pangeru said in panic.

“Haven’t you seen it? We were all deceived by the Theonians!” Bergum said somewhat angrily. “The enemy here is just bait used by the Theonians to attract us. Their real focus of attack is in the direction of Besidiae!”

Bergum took his leave. Pangeru stood dazed for a while, cursing loudly a few times: “Damned cowards! …” Not knowing if he was cursing the Theonians or those two Great Chiefs.

***

In Vergae city, Cosenza Great Chief Pianlun, Chief Petaru, and Vergae Great Chief Sedorum were discussing troop withdrawal.

It turned out that except for the fierce attacks at the beginning and the capture of a camp, the Theonian attacks gradually weakened due to the stubborn resistance of the Bruttians, and they almost ceased attacking in recent days. Therefore, Sedorum had an idea. He suggested to Pianlun: “Great Chief, judging from the current operational status of the Theonians, their fighting spirit is weakening. We can fully withstand their subsequent attacks. Therefore, I suggest leaving only a small number of Cosenza troops to assist in defending Vergae city. The main force can return to Cosenza first to serve as a reserve force for the entire war, dealing with Theonian attacks from other directions, and at the same time greatly reducing the pressure on food supply…”

Indeed, tens of thousands of Cosenza warriors stationed in Vergae city had nothing to do most of the time. You must know that the union of various Bruttian tribes only happened in the last two years. The contradictions and hatred of decades would not disappear so quickly. Moreover, this was the first time the two cities had been in close contact for so long; conflicts and contradictions were inevitable. Therefore, Pianlun thought Sedorum’s proposal was acceptable, as it would also help reduce friction.

After discussion, he finally decided: He would lead 8,000 warriors back to Cosenza, and Petaru would lead 2,000 men to continue assisting the Vergaeans in defending the city.

Petaru was one of the members of the “Council of Seven Elders,” the highest authority of the Bruttian Tribal League, and the youngest one. Pianlun had no son, and there was no outstanding figure in his tribe. Moreover, as a tribal Great Chief with lofty aspirations, Pianlun had always been working hard to unify various Bruttian tribes, so he was not narrow-minded. He married his daughter to Petaru, the leader of the second-largest tribe in Cosenza city, and did his best to help and promote Petaru. Ignoring the opposition of clansmen and other Great Chiefs, he insisted on making him one of the elders of the newly established tribal league. Not only because Petaru was his son-in-law, to enhance Cosenza’s weight in the League Council of Elders, but he also hoped that after his death, Petaru could use his status as a son-in-law to truly merge the first and second largest tribes of Cosenza into the most powerful tribe in the Bruttian region. Then Petaru’s leadership position in the league would be unshakable, enabling the tribal league to develop continuously and stably.

Petaru readily accepted this decision. He was also willing to stay in Vergae city for a while longer to deepen his understanding of Vergae city and enhance his friendship with Vergae leaders. Although Nycou and others despised Sedorum and secretly called him a “traitor, coward,” the strength of Vergae city was not weak and was worth Cosenza winning over.

The battle had continued until now, and several chiefs felt that the situation in Bruttium was good. The previous worry about Theonia’s strong military force had also eased a lot. Therefore, the few people chatted happily until the messenger broke into the council hall in panic.

The shocking news that “Besidiae has fallen” shocked everyone present.

The always calm Pianlun actually showed strong skepticism about this news like Nycou, until he confirmed the letter from High Priest Philotaru; he seemed unwilling to believe this fact.

If he was like this, let alone others. The whole hall fell into a cold silence…

After a long time, Sedorum said bitterly, “We were deceived! Theonians attacking Vergae and Clampetia was just to disperse our forces and divert our attention. Their real target should be Besidiae!”

As the Great Chief of the newly established Bruttian Tribal League, Pianlun adjusted his emotions after that period of silence. Suppressing the pain brought by this sudden blow, he said loudly, “We still have hope! The main force of Theonia is confirmed to be here, and there are nearly ten thousand Theonians in Clampetia, so there shouldn’t be many enemies in Besidiae. We should immediately mobilize the army and quickly retake Besidiae before the enemy gathers a large number of troops there!”

Sedorum also said immediately, “Even if we can’t retake Besidiae, at least we must blockade the road from Besidiae to the Cosenza plateau!”

Pianlun glanced at Sedorum. He sensed that the mood of this Vergae Great Chief was somewhat pessimistic, but obviously he didn’t have time to haggle too much at this moment. He said to Petaru, “I will ride a horse back to Cosenza first to urge other tribes just joining the league to provide as many warriors as possible, and at the same time notify Nycou and Bergum to bring troops back to Cosenza to rendezvous. And you lead 10,000 Cosenza warriors to rush back!”

“Understood, Great Chief!” After listening to Pianlun’s arrangement, Petaru felt much more settled.

“Elder Sedorum, I’m sorry, here you can only rely on yourself!” Although other Great Chiefs were not used to it, Pianlun always insisted on addressing them by their new league titles.

“Rest assured, Great Chief.” Sedorum replied confidently, “Since Vergae city is not the focus of the Theonian attack, I have confidence in holding this place! But… Nycou hearing this news, I don’t know what he will do.”

Sedorum’s words reminded Pianlun, and his face changed: “You are right; I must set off immediately.”

Pianlun and Petaru left successively. Sedorum was lost in thought.

Saru, who had been silent by the side, stepped forward and said, “Great Chief, do you think… can we retake Besidiae?”

Sedorum sighed, “Who knows… That Archon of Theonia has played us around in circles. After taking Besidiae city, would he be unprepared?”

Saru opened his mouth and stammered, “You mean… you mean… we will lose?!”

Sedorum sighed again, “I’m afraid only Amara and God Brutus know…”

***

War broke out between Theonia and the Bruttians. More than half of the citizens of Thurii city went on expedition. The city became somewhat desolate, only the Temple of Hades was overcrowded. After the shock of the celebration ceremony and the spare-no-effort propaganda directed by Chief Priest Praexinas during this period, the people of Thurii and Amendolara already trusted this Great God known for being strict, cold, and gloomy among the Olympian gods very much.

People were prostrating and praying all over the hillside, hoping that the Theonian army could defeat the Bruttians soon so their relatives could return safely.

Praexinas led the priests, acolytes, and priestesses of the Temple of Hades… comforting the praying people every day, helping them with all their might, providing water, resting places, even doctors…

For the safety of Thurii, the Senate decided to strictly check pedestrians entering the city gate temporarily; only citizens could enter and exit.

Compared to the desertion inside Thurii city, the port and market were as busy as ever: carts of grain, salted fish, meat, and weapons were pulled out from the port and market in an endless stream, heading out of Thurii city, and then uniformly deployed by Mersis. At the beginning of the war, part of these supplies was sent to the military camp west of the city (where the Second Legion originally hid). Most were sent to Laos through the mountains. A small part was shipped by sea via the port to Scylletium and then to Terina.