Before the Crotone messengers arrived, Myron had already received word from warships patrolling the coast of Crimea: the Dionysians had invaded the Croton Plain!
Myron was shocked, exclaiming, "I've been tricked by the Dionysians! No wonder they haven't attacked the city yet. It turns out they were just trying to distract me. The Dionysians in the southern camp have already moved south!"
However, he hesitated to attack the Dionysian southern camp. After all, the Dionysian army was watching closely from the city walls. If he mobilized his troops, they would have a clear view from the high platform. If he seized the opportunity to attack, losing Crimea would be even more troublesome!
............
The siege of Asprustum was in full swing. Fagris had not expected the Dionysians to attack so fiercely and fearlessly from the outset.
The ladder was knocked over by the push rod, but it was quickly replaced. Soldiers climbed up one by one, and when the first one was knocked down, the next one accelerated without hesitation. The light infantry battalion approached the city walls, undaunted by the arrows, and similarly hurled javelins and arrows at the defenders on the ramparts.
The Dionysian offensive quickly yielded results, repeatedly breaching the walls. As the Dionysian soldiers scaled the ramparts, the defenders discovered that these Dionysians, clad in Greek-style armor, were tall, powerfully built, with long hair flowing down their shoulders and eerie roars. They were clearly not Greeks. Their ferocious fighting and immense strength meant that killing or driving off a single one of them would cost the defenders several lives.
Fagris was forced to repeatedly deploy his reserves to help the frontline defenders drive back the invaders, especially along the far right section of the wall, where the Dionysian assault was most intense.
General Fagris, an experienced defender, knew that the Dionysians could not sustain such a ferocious attack; if they could withstand this surge, they would be powerless. Therefore, he deployed his entire reserve force, shouting at his soldiers to encourage them to fight bravely.
But he didn't know that at the most crucial moment of the battle, at the command of Hieronymus, the commander of the Third Legion below the city, his personal guards formed a line and collectively waved their round shields towards the left wall.
The defenders on the far left of the city were concentrating on defending themselves against the enemy's attack when a sudden cry rang out from behind: "Attack!!!!"
The "Crotoneans," whom they considered their comrades, thrust their swords and spears at them, easily dispatching the defenders. Without waiting for the Third Legion's soldiers to advance, the dozens of reconnaissance troops immediately launched an attack on the neighboring defenders...
By the time Fagris, still commanding the battle from the right wall, received the news, the Dionysian soldiers had already captured the left wall. A large number of them quickly scaled the battlements, entered the corridors, and charged aggressively towards the center...
Seeing the situation was dire, the Crotonans, already demoralized, immediately threw down their shields and spears and fled for the city.
This flight immediately triggered a domino effect. Under the fierce attack of the Dionysian soldiers from the front and flank, the defenders finally collapsed. Their desperate attempts to escape the city walls blocked the lower walkways. Panicked, the defenders leaped directly from the seven-meter-high ramparts, breaking legs and heads, and lying wailing on the ground.
The civilians within were equally terrified, shouting in terror, "The enemy is coming! The enemy is coming!!!"
Carrying the elderly and children, they hurriedly tried to escape through the south gate towards Crotone.
Crotone's reinforcements, arriving midway, encountered the fleeing civilians. Shocked to learn that Asprustum had fallen, they dared not advance and immediately turned back.
.........…
Crotone's messengers arrived in Crimissa, bearing the council's order for the attack.
No longer the chief general but now a criminal, Myron finally ended his hesitation and dispatched 7,000 troops, including 2,000 heavy infantry, to attack the Dionysian camp on the south bank of the Umbria River.
Davos, observing the enemy's movements from a high platform, immediately ordered Adriancus, Captain of the Second Legion, to lead 2,000 heavy infantry and 500 light infantry across the river to reinforce the 2,000 troops of Captain Martonius of the First Legion, stationed in the southern camp, under the command of Captain Martonius of the Third Legion. With a fortified camp and ready reinforcements from the northern camp, Martonius was confident of repelling these numerous intruders.
However, Crotone's attack was all talk and no action. After suffering minor losses from traps such as spikes and meat hooks in front of the camp, he immediately retreated back to the city. Myron, of course, would not use Crotone's sole combatant force to confront the heavily fortified Dionysian camp. Moreover, the soldiers lacked the courage to attack. Upon discovering the enemy's strong defenses, he blew the horn for retreat.
The Crotone envoy, enraged by the troops' hasty retreat, demanded Myron continue the attack, threatening to dismiss him from command. However, the soldiers rallied behind Myron, leaving the envoy, alone and helpless, to leave Crimea and return to the Crotone council to complain.
The Crotone council was in turmoil. The shocking news of the Dionysian capture of Asprustum struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving all council members stunned. Outside, the public gathered in the forum, clamoring for a swift solution to the crisis.
This time, calls for peace were far stronger than before, with some even suggesting they would accept Dionysian terms as long as peace was restored to the plains north of Croton.
As the council debated the peace talks, two events precipitated their final decision. First, 500 soldiers of the Dionysian Third Legion, pursuing the remaining enemy, crossed the Tacinati River and entered the heart of the Croton Plain, approaching Crotone. Although they quickly retreated to Asprustum, this glimpse still shocked the defenders and residents. As the city was gripped by panic, a passenger ship from Corumnia arrived at Crotone's harbor. A Corumnian envoy disembarked with even more devastating news—Locri had declared war on Corumnia! His army was already advancing, and the envoy had come to Crotone for assistance.
The Crotone Council's worst fears finally materialized: their mortal enemy, the Locri, seized upon Crotone's entanglement in the quagmire of war and brazenly attacked its allies. As leader of the alliance, Crotone was duty-bound to send reinforcements. However, Crotone was already overwhelmed by the Dionysian attack alone, leaving it with no spare troops to aid Corumnia. Without Crotone's support, Corumnia would be unable to withstand the Locrian coalition's attack. This meant Crotone faced a dire situation, threatened with destruction from both sides.
All members of the council immediately ceased arguing and quickly reached a consensus: to negotiate peace with Dionysia as soon as possible!
Lysias was forced to set out north again. To prevent his overly forceful stance from jeopardizing the negotiations, he was accompanied by another envoy: Council member Thesprotes (the same one who had previously stated, "Whatever Dionysius demands, as long as it restores peace to the Croton Plain, it should be accepted").
At this moment, a joyful atmosphere permeated the central tent of the Dionysia camp. The news that the Third Legion had captured the city of Asprustum excited every officer.
"Commander, we should take advantage of the capture of Asprustum and the panic among the Crotones to launch an attack on Crimea. We will surely capture it!" Drax said eagerly. As the commander of the Second Legion, his troops' performance could not fall behind that of the Third Legion.
"Asprustum is already ours. There's little point in the Crotonians holding onto Crimisa. I'm afraid they'll abandon Crimisa soon. We can easily take it; there's no need to sacrifice the lives of our soldiers in a forced assault," Capus said cautiously.
"But allowing over ten thousand Crotonians to retreat will only make our assault on Crotone more difficult!" Drax objected loudly.
Capus was speechless. Indeed, Crotone was a large city, not only vast and populous, but also boasting ten-meter-high walls and a six-meter-wide moat. Conventional tactics would have meant a protracted siege. Unfortunately, Dionysia lacked control of the sea, preventing her from completely sealing off Crotone. A forced assault was the only option. But facing such a fortified city, how many lives would that cost? Could it even be captured? Almost all the generals were worried. If the defenders were reinforced, the chances of victory would be even slimmer.
Daves, however, remained calm. He turned and asked, "Lord Avinogenis, what do you think we should do next?"
After entering the tent, Avinogenis, who had been observing silently, congratulated Daves on his victory. Faced with the focused gazes of Drax and Capps, he didn't hesitate and spoke directly, "Why do we have to attack Crotone? Since we have such a significant advantage now, why can't we force the Crotonites to negotiate with us?"
"The Crotonites are already dying. Wouldn't it be too easy for them to negotiate with us?" Drax immediately objected.
Capps fell into deep thought.
A hint of a smile played on Daves's lips: The consul's perspective is different from that of a mere general!
He was about to speak when Captain Martius of the Guards asked permission to enter, bringing two letters.
One was from Philisius. Daves read it, his brow furrowed in thought. Then he looked at the second letter, marked with a special mark—it was from Aristiras. His brows quickly relaxed.