“Gentlemen, the army from Consentia has entered the Bruttian camp two miles away. According to our scouts, the enemy may number over twenty thousand.” Drakos addressed the gathered officers. Despite receiving intelligence of the enemy’s arrival, he felt no tension; instead, he seemed relieved.

Previously, with two thousand Besidiae warriors voluntarily surrendering, Drakos had a headache over how to settle them. Bagilipi had offered a suggestion: using the pretext that Nycou would soon return with the Consentian army for revenge, all warriors—except for a few wounded who could return to Besidiae city to recover—must remain in the newly built fortress to assist the Theonians in defending against Nycou’s assault. To prevent Drakos from suspecting him of holding too much military power, Bagilipi even voluntarily proposed that the warriors of each tribe be led by their respective tribal chiefs.

Drakos was deeply grateful for Bagilipi’s understanding. However, the battle between Theonia and Besidiae had only just ended. Some Besidiae warriors had lost family members to Theonian soldiers, and the enmity between the two peoples could not dissipate so quickly. In the confined space of the fortress, conflicts between soldiers of both sides were inevitable, causing endless worry for Drakos and Bagilipi. Drakos, who had never been adept at handling such delicate affairs, was eager to shift the soldiers’ attention to resisting the enemy’s attack.

After Drakos finished speaking, Adpigis translated his words into the Bruttian tongue. The chiliarchs all looked eager to try their hand in battle.

Although Krellu was nervous, he knew he had to assist the Theonians in blocking the Bruttian coalition’s attack. Otherwise, if the enemy breached the defenses, the first person Nycou would kill would likely be him.

Bagilipi sat steadily without moving, but his thoughts were largely similar to the young Krellu’s.

Only Brim, clutching his abdomen—which had been pierced by a Theonian spear and subsequently bandaged tightly by a doctor—waved his other hand and exclaimed in astonishment, “Twenty thousand Consentia warriors! Does Consentia have that many warriors now?!”

“I suspect Pianlun has also gathered the Ambalians and warriors from other tribes,” Bagilipi said.

Brim’s astonishment subsided slightly, but he still sighed, “Twenty thousand warriors! That is a powerful army the likes of which Bruttium has never seen!”

“What does that amount to?! There are plenty of city-state armies with over twenty thousand men that have been defeated by my Theonia! Croton to the south! The Messapians and Peucetians across the gulf!… We don’t fear the enemy coming in great numbers; we fear them coming in too few!” Trotilas stood up and spoke impassionedly. This son-in-law of the “One-Armed” Antioris had been merely a squadron leader when the mercenary army first arrived in Thurii; now, he was a chiliarch commanding a thousand men.

His words met with a chorus of agreement from the other chiliarchs.

Brim, unconvinced, wanted to say more, but Bagilipi pressed a hand on him to stop him.

First Chiliarch Adrianx, seeing the situation, glanced at Drakos. Finding that the legatus seemed to have no intention of speaking, and knowing his old friend’s temperament well, he stepped in to smooth things over. “Although Consentia’s forces are vast, we also have thousands of soldiers, and we have the fortress as a barrier. As Lord Davos says, ‘If the besieging side does not have several times the troops of the defending side, it is difficult to take the city easily.’ Moreover, the grand army led by Lord Davos will arrive very soon!”

Clearly, the resonance of the name “Davos” drained Brim of any desire to argue.

Seeing that quiet had returned to the hall, Drakos began to speak. “Tspites, how is the training of the two thousand new Theonian freedmen under your command?”

Tspites replied with satisfaction, “These freedmen sent by the Senate seem to have been rigorously selected. They have all undergone multiple military trainings and can obey orders relatively well. Archery and javelin throwing are their strengths, and they can hold their own for a while in close combat. I have organized them into squads; they are fully capable of playing a role in the city’s defense.”

“That is good.” Although Drakos was satisfied inwardly, not a trace of a smile appeared on his face. With a somber expression, he continued, “Given that the walkways on the newly built wooden walls are narrow and cannot accommodate too many soldiers, when the enemy attacks, Tspites, you will lead the light infantry battalion and these two thousand freedmen onto the wooden walls. Conduct uninterrupted ranged attacks on the advancing enemy. Once the enemy presses close to the foot of the wall, you will immediately command them to retreat behind the wall, letting the archers continue to inflict casualties and disrupt their attack rhythm with lobbed shots.”

“Legion Commander, rest assured! Hades will protect my battalion. I fear the enemy will be repelled by my brothers before it’s even your turn to take the field!” Tspites said confidently.

Drakos was pleased to see such morale in his subordinates, but he wouldn’t praise and encourage them like Davos, nor would he crack jokes to liven up the atmosphere. He simply gave a slight nod without responding, scanned the other chiliarchs, and continued to lay out his battle plan.

“After Tspites’s troops retreat below the wall, the First and Second Battalions and the Besidiae warriors will swiftly ascend the walls! The First and Second Battalions will defend the south wooden wall, while the Besidiae warriors will defend the north. Do not leave any gap for the enemy’s attack!

“The Third and Fourth Battalions will serve as reserves, waiting below the wall. Once a critical situation is discovered, go to support immediately!

“The Fifth and Sixth Battalions will remain to guard Besidiae city!… Gentlemen, does everyone understand their tasks?!”

“Understood! By Brutus, we Besidiae warriors will never let a single Consentian climb the wooden wall!” The young and patriotic Krellu was the first to respond, making a pledge to Drakos on behalf of Bagilipi and the silent Brim as well.

“Legion Commander, this is unfair! Our Fifth and Sixth Battalions also want to go to the fortress to kill the enemy!” Sixth Chiliarch Trotilas cried out in grievance.

Although the Fifth Chiliarch didn’t speak, the disappointed expression on his face said everything.

Drakos looked displeased and said firmly, “This is an order!”

“But—” Trotilas wanted to argue further but was cut off by Adrianx. “Trotilas, you must understand that Besidiae city is extremely important to us! If the Consentians break through the fortress, the city you are guarding will be the last line of defense blocking the enemy from sealing off the mountains, and it is also the advance base to welcome the grand army led by Lord Davos!”

To wake him up, Adrianx didn’t hesitate to be the bearer of bad omens. Trotilas was only impulsive, not a fool. He immediately understood the subtext of Adrianx’ words: If Besidiae city lacks Theonian soldiers to keep watch, and if there is a reversal of loyalty, the Third Legion’s retreat will be cut off. Not only would they fall into immense danger, but the offensive plan formulated by Lord Davos would fail completely!

“I… accept the order,” Trotilas replied immediately.

***

Wooo!… Wooo!… The sound of Bruttian war horns came from the distance.

Tspites gripped the battlements of the wooden wall and gazed outward. The yellow-green grass ahead was covered by dense masses of enemies, surging toward the city wall like a black tide…

It had to be said that the Bruttian formation was relatively orderly and compact, unlike the loose formations of the Lucanians. Two hundred meters from the fortress, the Bruttians halted their advance.

“Drive the slaves up. Fill those pits for me!” Pianlun ordered expressionlessly.

Two thousand slaves—mainly Greeks captured from Magna Graecia by the various Bruttian tribes over the years—were forced forward at spear-point by the warriors. Carrying sacks filled with earth on their backs, they began to walk tremblingly toward the front lines…

“Chiliarch, they’ve entered the trap zone!” a soldier beside Tspites reminded him somewhat anxiously.

Tspites looked at him, smiled, and said, “You’re a new recruit, right? Don’t be anxious. Let a few more enemies enter range.”

One slave threw down the sack on his back and turned to run. Another slave immediately threw his sack into a gap nearby… One after another, the scene was tense and chaotic. Occasionally, a slave would accidentally step into a trap, letting out a blood-curdling scream, which only made the other slaves dump their sacks more frantically.

However, the overseeing Bruttian warriors didn’t just whip the slaves who were slacking off; for serious offenses, they stabbed them to death directly with spears.

Facing the threat of death, the slaves dared not be lazy. They obediently ran to the rear of the formation, picked up more sacks, and continued to pave the road.

“Archers, ready!” Sensing the time was ripe, Tspites raised his right arm.

Over 500 archers from the Seventh Battalion and two thousand freedmen stood on the four-meter-high wooden wall, nocking arrows to their bows in succession.

Eighty meters—exactly within effective bowshot range! After silently reciting a few hymns to Hades, Tspites swung his right hand down forcefully. “Loose!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!… Amidst the continuous twang of bowstrings, over two thousand sharp arrows shot straight into the sky. In an instant, they whistled down, raining evenly into the crowd of slaves. Blood blossomed immediately, and screams rang out ceaselessly…

Pianlun was moved by the sight. Not because of the casualties among the slaves, but because he hadn’t expected the Theonians to have so many archers. Moreover, judging from where the arrows landed, the skill of these archers was not poor.

Could the Theonian army here not be a haphazardly assembled force, but a main force of the enemy?!

The Besidiae refugees who had fled to Consentia earlier told him the enemy attacking Besidiae wasn’t numerous, likely no more than a thousand! Yesterday, when Nycou fled back to Consentia, his account increased the enemy count by another two thousand… This information had given Pianlun considerable confidence in “retaking Besidiae.”

Yet upon arriving here, a fortress already taking shape had surprised him, and now, a single volley of arrows from the Theonians made him wary.

“Great Chief, the enemy has quite a few archers!” Petaru obviously realized this too and spoke with some worry.

Pianlun maintained a facade of calm. “Let these Greek slaves continue to drain the Theonians’ arrows, even if they all die!”

The Bruttian warriors executed over a dozen fleeing slaves, terrorizing the others into submission. The slaves were once again forced to fill the earth, while ruthless arrows continued to shoot ceaselessly from the city wall…