“After the defeat in the last battle, many of my tribesmen must have fled into Consentia city. They might even be standing on the city walls right now…” Sedorum weighed his words, speaking cautiously. “Ideally… I should go to the foot of the city wall now, call for them to surrender, and even persuade Pianlun to give up resistance. But… a Wolf King without his pack is not fearsome; instead, he becomes a target for hunters. The Consentians will say I… personally surrendered to Theonia out of fear of death. My tribesmen, to wash away this shame, might become even more determined to resist. Therefore—”

Sedorum paused and looked at Davos earnestly. “I hope to return to Vergae first, persuade the chiefs and tribesmen in Vergae city, and then lead them here to join the siege of Consentia. I believe this will be of greater help to Theonia in capturing Consentia!” After speaking, he waited apprehensively for Davos’s answer.

Davos gazed at him for a moment, then revealed a faint smile. “How long does it take to get to Vergae from here?”

“Most of a day on foot, less than three hours on horseback.”

“Then set off on horseback immediately. I hope to receive the chiefs of Vergae in my camp tomorrow!” Davos said decisively and firmly.

Sedorum’s heart trembled, and he hurriedly bowed. “As you wish, Lord.”

“Martius.”

“Here!”

“Take some guards and escort Great Chief Sedorum safely to the outskirts of Vergae. I believe seeing you, Avenogis won’t stop Great Chief Sedorum from entering the city. At the same time, tell the Archon of Laos to lead his army here tomorrow along with the Vergae army.”

“Understood.” Martius hesitated slightly. “Lord, but here with you—”

“Rest assured. With the other guards and the Besidiae warriors led by Rhodom, nothing will happen to me.”

“Yes.”

After Sedorum left, Tolmides, standing beside Davos, hurriedly asked, “Lord Commander, aren’t you worried he is lying?”

Davos watched Sedorum’s departing figure, his expression somewhat complex. “Sedorum is a smart man. There is one thing he deliberately didn’t mention just now.”

Prompted by Davos, Tolmides suddenly realized: “Those Vergae prisoners in the camp!”

“Those are the hostages he left behind. If a Great Chief abandons his own tribesmen and flees alone, and the people of Vergae find out… Sedorum has really put a lot of thought into this.” Davos chuckled softly, a glint in his eyes. “Actually, I don’t care if he’s lying. He alone cannot change the outcome of this war. Instead, it would give me a reason to completely exterminate the Vergaeans!”

That night, peace reigned inside and outside the city.

By the next day, Pianlun, who hadn’t slept all night, rushed to the city wall, waiting for the Theonian attack.

The attack did not come; the Theonians were still building their camp.

But what Pianlun didn’t know was that Davos had already dispatched the First Legion to attack Ambalia, accompanied by a dozen officers from the Fourth Legion, the ballista unit, and Hegesitus.

By noon, the warriors defending Consentia watched in terror as an army of about a thousand men arrived from the north, holding high the flag of Vergae city. They circled around the north, west, and east of Consentia before finally entering the Theonian camp. Following them was an army of two thousand Laos soldiers, who did the same.

This gave the Bruttian warriors a huge shock: Vergae has surrendered!

Especially the Vergae warriors inside the city. When they saw Great Chief Sedorum and their chiefs walking at the very front of the column, they clamored to leave the city and join them. They even clashed with Consentia warriors trying to stop them, leading to a standoff within the city.

Pianlun was in a dilemma. There were about 800 Vergae warriors, and the total number of Consentia warriors in the city was at most 5,000. With the Theonian grand army eyeing them covetously from outside, he couldn’t deploy everyone to deal with the Vergaeans. Meanwhile, other chiefs led by Tagli refused to participate in suppressing the Vergaeans on the grounds that ‘Bruttians must not kill each other.’

At this time, a new situation arose outside the city. The tribes that had previously rioted in Consentia gathered below the walls, shouting to Tagli and the others, persuading them to surrender.

Just as Tagli and the other chiefs were hesitating, Bergum, the Chief of Ambalia, rushed to the city walls with a dozen cavalrymen.

Even Ambalia had surrendered! This fact dealt a heavy blow to the Bruttian warriors inside the city. In reality, the surrender of Ambalia, a small city with few people, was only logical. When 7,000 men of the First Legion appeared menacingly outside Ambalia, a few ballista shots broke the wooden palisades, and Hegesitus called for surrender… the successive actions made Great Chief Bergum, with less than a thousand warriors, quickly make the correct choice.

Ambalia’s surrender made all Bruttians inside Consentia even more panicked. Now, Consentia had truly become an “island,” completely surrounded!

Tagli and the other chiefs finally made up their minds to open the gates and surrender.

Theonian soldiers poured into Consentia cheering. Pianlun, Petaru, and Kadulk were forced to retreat to the inner city with their own tribal warriors. The city was in chaos.

***

Petaru stumbled into the Council Hall.

“Great Chief!” he shouted anxiously. “Great Chief, that damned Kadulk!… Kadulk opened the city gates and surrendered to the Theonians! Should we… should we…”

Sitting on his wooden chair, Pianlun showed no panic. He looked calmly at his son-in-law and spat out a sentence with difficulty: “Surrender to the Theonians…”

Petaru finally got the answer he wanted. Without hesitation, he repeatedly said “Yes” and rushed to leave.

“Petaru.” Pianlun called him back, speaking earnestly. “As a Bruttian chief, you are still a bit too impatient. Think more before you act in the future. And…” Pianlun’s voice became lower as he took a breath. “Take good care of Una!”

Hearing this, unease welled up in Petaru’s heart. “Father…”

Pianlun waved his hand. “Go quickly. Too many of our kinsmen have died…”

Watching Petaru’s figure disappear outside the hall with some reluctance, Pianlun turned around wearily. Hanging on the wall behind him was the flag of the Bruttian Tribal League—a snow-capped peak towering over green grassland, representing the land that nurtured thousands of Bruttians and the God Amara who protected them.

Pianlun stepped forward, affectionately stroking the flag into which he had poured countless efforts. Thoughts swirled in his mind. He had watched as a unified Bruttian Tribal League was about to rise on this land, but…

“Theonia… Theonia…” He repeated the name resentfully, his heart filled with regret.

Of course, he would never know: In the history of the previous world, decades later, Bruttium became a powerful kingdom. Not only did the Greek city-states of Magna Graecia tremble under its military might, but even the Lucanians feared them. Weakened by repeated invasions from Syracuse, Croton, Thurii, and other Magna Graecia city-states were forced to invite Alexander, King of Epirus, to lead an army of ten thousand across the sea to Southern Italy, attempting to destroy Bruttium in one stroke.

In the end, near the Punat River—the very place where Theonia and the Bruttian coalition fought—the Bruttians nearly annihilated the Greek coalition led by Alexander. From then on, the Greek city-states of Southern Italy could only hide behind high walls to survive, leaving no further records in history until the arrival of the Romans…

But at this moment, Pianlun took down the Bruttian League flag, slowly wrapped it around his body, and then drew the short sword at his waist…

The day before Pianlun committed suicide and Davos occupied the entirety of Bruttium, the Third Legion led by Hieronymus arrived outside Pyxus. With no soldiers left to defend, the people of Pyxus opened their gates and surrendered.

Upon receiving this news, Puamote, Great Chief of Potentia, finally made up his mind. He sent envoys to Thurii requesting to join the Theonian League.

A month later, Metapontum and Garaguso successively joined the Theonian League.

At this point, the Theonian City-State League occupied more than half the land of Southern Italy and the Lucanian region, truly becoming the hegemon of Southern Italy.