Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 327: Sorrow after the war

The defeat came so quickly that Pian was still unable to believe it because he felt that victory was close to him, “Attack! Keep on attacking! The enemy will soon be defeated!!…” He tried to stop the warriors from escaping while almost getting knocked down.

“Chieftain, go! If you don't retreat, we won't be able to escape!!” The guards forced him to retreat.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Grand legatus, we have won!” Tolmides came to report with glee, “The enemy fled in disorder!”

Davos remained calm as he already expected this result. He then said, “The battle is not yet over, as repelling the enemy is not enough, and it will depend on the final result of the battle!”

Usually, in a frontal clash, the defeated side seldom lose more than 10% of their soldiers. And only after the enemy fled, if the pursuit is carried out well, will the casualty rate of the defeated side will increase considerably. That is because the fleeing soldiers have lost their morale and no longer have the intention to resist.

Thus Davos continued the attack.

The Theonian soldiers simply threw away their heavy copper shields and helmets, held their spears in both hands and continued pursuing the enemy despite their exhaustion, and cooperated with the reinforcements coming from the flank to surround the enemy.

The Besidisian warriors, the light infantry and the freemen led by Epiphanes and Cid, and the mountain reconnaissance brigade of Izam set up a “huge net” from the right flank of the Bruttian army to the rear of Bruttii's centre. Although this “net” is not sturdy, and the mesh is too large, it is still enough to deter the Bruttians who just want to escape.

Amidst the roaring of the Theonians everywhere, some of the defeated Bruttians simply threw away their weapons and sat on the ground.

The cavalry brigade of Ledes pursued the fleeing enemy in a wide double horizontal formation. The cavalries with enough strength were like a strainer rounding up the debris…

And only when it was near dusk that the Theonian cavalry stopped their pursuit. After returning from the Consentia Plateau, the soldiers later gave the cavalry the name “Blood Cavalry”, which eventually became their official name.

By this time, the battle was over. At the cost of 1,500 casualties, the Theonia Union caused 5,000 casualties and more than 5,000 captives to the Bruttian Union, winning a great victory.

Ledes then rushed to meet Davos but was told that the grand legatus went to where they are cremating the deceased.

Walking on the battlefield filled with corpses, the joy of victory has long vanished.

The soldiers placed their dead comrades on the grass neatly. Afterwards, they carefully place two Obols on the deceased’s eyes while praying to Hades with tears coming out in their eyes.

Davos’ pace became slightly heavy after seeing the familiar pale face. Finally, he stopped. A dozen soldiers were weeping around a corpse by the roadside in front of him, headed by a man he happened to know, a centurion of the second legion, Xethippus.

With a jolt in his heart, he came forward and asked in a low voice, “Who is the deceased?”

“Grand legatus!” The officers and the soldiers saluted in a hurry.

From the gap, he saw the face of the deceased, which was a familiar face. Arsinis, an enthusiastic and cheerful young man from Amendolara, and was the hero of the second Crotonian War and the flag bearer at the Triumphant Return. During the last attack in this battle, Arsinis, as a platoon captain, rushed to the forefront, only to be stabbed in the chest by a thrown spear by an enemy who did not flee…

Listening to the grieving words of Xethippus, Davos took two Obols from the soldiers and placed them on Arsinis' closed eyelids. A year ago, this brave young man had dared to compete with him in swimming, but now his body is as cold as stone. At this moment, Davos wished that Hades really existed in this world because, according to the Theonians reverence for the King of the Underworld, he would surely give preferential treatment to these Theonian soldiers who died in battle…

After leaving the group of soldiers, Davos walked a little further forward, then stopped and looked at the several burning funeral pyre in the distance with gloom…

After some time, Davos said to Tolmides, who had been following him silently, “Do you think…Theonia's war against Bruttii…is correct?”

“…” Tolmides was unable to respond for a while.

However, Davos expression soon became firm, and he said with determination, “Of course! In this era, it is either us destroying the others or the others destroying us. There is no other way besides strengthening ourselves!”

Tolmides agreed with Davos' words. In the eastern Mediterranean, he saw how the Persians oppress the weaker race and the tyranny of Sparta in Ionia and Asia Minor. After coming to the western Mediterranean, he also heard about the power of Carthage and the tyranny of Syracuse. However, what Tolmides doesn't know was that what Davos was worried about was Rome, a Latin city-state in central Italia that he had never heard of.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Grand legatus, our brothers of the first legion, and the reserves…are catching up on their rest as they are too tired that almost as soon as they fell to the ground, they fell asleep, not even removing their armour.” Kapus said with some pain.

“This battle…whether it was the first and second legion or even the other teams have all done their best and fought hard!” Davos sighed, then he reminded Kapus, “But it's currently autumn, and the night in the mountains is said to be much colder than in Thurii. If our brothers were to fall asleep after a fierce fight and sweating, they might catch a cold! Now that our medical camp is full, I don't want any unnecessary increase of patients!”

Antonios, who was beside Davos, had once again served as the military officer in the army, as he was already familiar with this position. At this time, he put forward some suggestions, “I suggest that the auxiliary soldiers of the logistics camp take out the blankets and have the soldiers of the first legion use it to cover themselves.”

Davos nodded in agreement. He then looked at Drakos, the legatus of the second legion, who has his head slightly lowered and his hands on his back and his left leg trembling slightly.

Davos looked at him and asked, “Can we complete our camp tonight?”

“Our brothers of the second legion are currently taking the captives to speed up the construction, along with the mountain reconnaissance brigade and the warriors of Besidice. While lord Teriphias and lord Gorkes (strategos of Roscianum) led our allies also to build their camps under the guidance of the engineers…that's why before the night descends, we will be able to complete the camp!”

Teriphias and Gorkes nodded after Drakos mentioned their names.

After thanking them, Davos asked, “How is the behaviour of the captives?”

“We have severely punished more than a dozen prisoners who dared to resist, and with the Besidisians as an example, they became quite obedient.”

Davos nodded. He paced back and forth and said, “Don't abuse them! If you find some Bruttians who are unable to keep working, allow them to stop and take a rest…”

“Understood.”

“What's wrong with the wound on your right hand?” Drakos was thinking about completing the task given by Davos that he didn't notice Davos going behind him.

He hurriedly retracted his hand, stepped back two steps, shook his head and said, “Nothing…it's nothing, I was just accidentally…stabbed by the enemy's spear…”

As he shook his head, Davos caught sight of a bloody wound under his jaw. And Davos, who Herpus revered as a teacher, knew that near this wound is a vital carotid artery. So he could already imagine the thrilling sight and the luck of Drakos.

At this moment, Davos' face sank, “You have rushed to the front again, haven't you?! How many times have I told you that you are the head of the legion commanding more than seven thousand men and not an ordinary soldier! If you were to die, do you know how much impact it will have on the whole battle?! Theonia's military law is just a joke to you, isn't it?! If you don't want to obey, then just don't!…”

When Davos scolded him, Drakos hung his head and did not dare utter a word.

In the eyes of outsiders, a young man scolding a burly man in his 30s like a father scolding his son is a funny sight. But around these high ranking officers of Theonia and important figures of the alliance, they all look serious and tried to hold their breath, which just shows Davos’s might.

“Temporarily hand over the command of the second legion to Adrian and immediately go to Stesichodas. After getting your wound treated, go to the military inspector and accept your punishment!”

As soon as Davos was done speaking, Drakos nodded repeatedly, then turn around and run away like someone getting an amnesty.

“Grand legatus, in fact…at that time, the soldiers were already exhausted, that is why Drakos wanted to use this method to liven up the soldiers…” Antonios explained to Davos in a low voice.

“You all should know Arsinis. After winning the second war with Crotone, he became the flag bearer in the Triumphant Return. And now, he is a platoon captain of the second legion, a very promising young officer!” Davos sighed, “However, I just paid for his fare to cross the river…the lower ranking officer will copy what their commanding officer does. And I don't want to see the officer positions of the second legion getting vacant. That is why this Drakos, who likes to fight in person, needs to be beaten hard!”

With Davos' words, Kapus, Antonios and the others have nothing else to say.