In the town of Megalos, the soldiers of the first legion returned one after another with the captives. The families of the exiles also rushed back from the port to reunite with their loved ones, many of whom cried after learning their loved ones perished in the battle…
Although the sound of fighting had subsided, tragic sights were constantly staged on the battlefield filled with rubbles and corpses… Tonight, even though Megalos was bound to be restless, it was fortunate that there were no accidents that happened.
Early the following day, one of the Naxosian exiles, Ladician, led 500 soldiers to escort some of the Tauromenian captives to the city north of the mountain, urging them to surrender or they would kill the mercenaries.
The leader of the Catanian exiles, Lasiperatus, led another thousand soldiers to Sikuri to help the rebels capture the Acropolis.
Antonios, on the other hand, led 3,500 soldiers of the first legion and a thousand exiles to board the Theonian fleet while the remaining soldiers and people took care of the wounded and the town.
As the Theonian fleet sailed southward, they didn’t encounter the Syracusan fleet, allowing them to arrive at Taunis much earlier than the Syracusan troops led by Macias.
Taunis was currently in a complex situation: Some wanted to overthrow the tyrants, while others supported those close to Syracuse. Thus the situation of both sides was equal, with each occupying half of the city.
After the Syracusan fleet’s defeat in the naval battle, Paronisus did not immediately return to Syracuse. Instead, he led the fleet back to the port of Taunis, which wasn’t far from Syracuse. Paronisus didn’t want to go back as a defeated navarch, get criticised by Philistus and the people to blame him. Thus he waited for Masias to wipe out the Theonians and return to Syracuse with him so that he could get a share of the glory of victory to avoid getting accused.
However, just one day later, the news about the revolt in Syracuse came and was followed by the revolt in Taunis.
The bad news Paronisus received overwhelmed him and caused him to panic. Although he led a fleet with more than 6,000 sailors, he had lost control of the whole fleet when he was about to go to Taunis’ port to punish the first ship that deserted but was instead faced with the boycott of the sailors. So when the officials of Taunis rushed to the port to ask him for help in hopes that he could lead the army to suppress those violent rebels, he could only express his helplessness.
Then after the sailors learned about the people of Syracuse’s port participating in the revolt, they no longer wanted to stay in Taunis, and all shouted their wish to return to Syracuse. And with Paronisus unable nor dared stop them, the whole fleet left Taunis at dusk yesterday.
That’s the reason the Theonian fleet reached the sea near Taunis unhindered. But despite the port of Taunis was a mess and unguarded, the Theonian fleet did not force their way in. Instead, they landed near the beach and sent the troops ashore. Afterwards, Fulalios changed course and headed for Catania to inform Antrapolis about the landing of the first legion.
After disembarking, Antonios adjusted his troops and immediately asked Seraphinus to rush to Leontinoi with the few cavalries he had left.
However, Antonios apparently overestimated the defeated Syracusan army as the first legion, and the exiles waited from morning until afternoon, a full six hours. During that time, they also ate lunch and took a nap to re-energise and be filled with strength.
Antonios also got in touch with Catania and Leontinoi through the scouts, which allowed him to understand Syracuse’s situation.
After Antonios arranged everything, only then did the Syracusans arrive.
But before the Syracusan army could wake up from their shock, Antonios gave the order to advance.
Then the first legion and the exiles, wearing armour and armed with shields and spears, marched forward in neat formation. Their eyes filled with hatred as they wanted to avenge their comrades who died in the bitter battle yesterday and the city-states that Syracuse had destroyed!
Faced with the approaching enemy, Macias became timid. Although he had more than 4,000 men, his army wasn’t in good shape. In addition, they all lacked helmets and armour. (Many threw away their weapons and equipment yesterday to make it easier to escape.)
Moreover, they were exhausted after travelling so long and getting entangled with the Catanian rebels. Thus they had no morale to fight the enemy waiting for them, so the uneasy soldiers immediately turned around and fled before Macias could even order the retreat.
But just before the Syracusan soldiers could run a few steps, they had to stop again as a team of about 1,000 men appeared in their rear.
At this moment, the Syracusans knew they had fallen into an ambush, making them flustered even more.
“Run to the mountain!…” The soldiers shouted in panic as they scrambled towards the mountains, which seemed to be their only way out.
But just as they arrived at the foot of the mountain, countless javelins and arrows came out from the dense forest.
Amidst their screams, the Syracusans also panicked after finding enemies lying in wait on the mountain. Indeed, the light infantry brigade of the first legion and the Leontinoi had stayed in the mountain.
In the end, the remaining fighting spirit of the defeated Syracusan soldiers died; they then scattered and fled in disorder…
The Theonian soldiers, on the other hand, began capturing prisoners.
By now, Antonios was finally relieved. He no longer cared about his dignity as the legatus and sat down on the ground while watching the soldiers pursue the fleeing enemies like eagles chasing chickens.
“Legatus, someone is coming!” A guard suddenly whispered to him.
After looking at the group of people coming toward him, Antonios stood up and adjusted his helmet and armour.
“Lord Antonios, congratulations in defeated the Syracusan allied army!” The familiar-looking man at the front raised his arms and congratulated Antonios excitedly.
“Antrapolis?!” Antonios looked at him and asked loudly.
“That’s right, Lord Antonios. In fact, we used to see each other in Lord Davos’ residence-” But before Antrapolis could finish speaking, he heard the people around him exclaim. Then he immediately felt a heavy blow on his face that caused him to stumble and nearly fall to the ground.
With a salty taste in his mouth, Antrapolis stretched out his hand and noticed the corner of his mouth was bleeding, which caused him to be infuriated.
“That is for the soldiers of the first legion who died in Megalos yesterday! And also for the people you were ordering around these past few days!!”
Antonios’ cold tone reached Antrapolis, causing his anger to dissipate and become uneasy. As an ordinary citizen of Theonia, he used the word ‘hope’ in his letter to a powerful statesman and legatus of the first legion. He naturally knew that under the banner of Davos, Antonios couldn’t reject him. But with his special status that couldn’t be used on formal occasions, a strange situation where a ‘common citizen of Theonia commanded a legatus’ happened, which would make the other legatus laugh out loud once they learned about it. Thus it was no wonder Antonios punched him.
“From when Dionysius invaded Magna Graecia, countless Theonians have died in this war…Sicily was Syracuse’s backyard that they had operated for many years; with their numerous allied city-state, a large population and rich resources, the independent first legion naturally faced a dangerous situation… Thus I had to do those things to carry out his majesty’s order and end this war as soon as possible! In fact, haven’t we won?! Lord Antonios, you are now the conqueror of southeast Sicily!!” Antrapolis’ words implied that if not for his help, Antonios wouldn’t have gotten such glory. Instead, he would have perished long ago!
Antonios certainly understood what he meant because he had higher emotional intelligence among the senior officers of Theonia. Hence Davos sent him to Sicily and not Amintas. Antonios knew that Antrapolis had given him great help and was just venting his frustration of following his command for the past two days. In fact, he stopped just after punching him once. Otherwise, he would beat Antrapolis to the ground until he couldn’t get up.
“Indeed, this victory wasn’t easy!” He sighed and expressed his gratitude to Antrapolis.
Then the two men fell into silence, leaving the Catanians who were rushing to defend Antrapolis and the guards trying to stop them at a loss.
After a while, Antrapolis, who had a lower status, spoke first, “Lord Antonios, what is your next plan?”
Antrapolis acting reserved made Antonios uncomfortable. Then he asked, “What is Syracuse’s current situation?”
“From what I received, the rebels have occupied the whole city and the port, forcing Dionysius’ men and mercenaries to retreat to the island of Ortygia. As far as I know, Ortygia is Dionysius’ lair, with its three sides facing the sea and one side connected to the city of Syracuse. The island has a fortress and thick walls and was filled with his supporters, so it is impossible for the rebels to capture.” Antrapolis said thoughtfully.
“It seems the first legion’s next mission is to march into Syracuse and assist the people in capturing the island of Ortygia.” Said Antonios in a seemingly calm tone but failed to cover his excitement.