Chapter 758: The Great Naval Battle of Selinus (IV)
Chapter 758: The Great Naval Battle of Selinus (IV)
Unfortunately, their risky approach had also put them in a dangerous situation, as the enemy ship didn’t capsize, and they quickly restored order.
Then Ilias saw numerous spear-wielding infantry surge from the enemy ship’s deck.
‘The enemy will jump on their ship!’ Ilias’ heart tightened as he remembered Navarch Seclian’s words from their training, “The army often says that we in the navy only know how to fight individually and don’t know what it means to work together… but they don’t know anything at all! Skilfully handling the ship to defeat the enemy requires close cooperation between the captain, helmsman, sailors and lookout!
In our fleet, the corvus warships were the bears, bravely and straightforwardly clearing all obstacles. The fast triremes were the wolves, with their quick and agile movements, seizing the opportunity to ram enemy ships fiercely. And the fast sailing ships were our horses, delivering orders and messages in time. So all ships had to work closely together to fight the enemy and ensure victory in naval battles.
But I have even higher requirements in my fleet: In battle, all ships must support each other and fill any gaps. If anyone sees their comrades in trouble and doesn’t come to their rescue, I, Seclian, will make sure that the captain of that ship will never become a Theonian citizen once I find out about it!…”
“Full speed ahead! The target is the hull of the enemy quadrireme! Prepare to collide!” Roared Ilias as he gritted his teeth.
“Double speed!” Shouted the boatswain.
The Auletes took a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks as he played the pipe non-stop.
Despite their exhaustion, the sailors’ expressions showed excitement, ‘We are going to sink that huge warship!’
Thus, they rowed again with numb hands, and the warship’s speed soared rapidly.
Ilias watched as the enemy ship before him grew larger in his eyes. After shouting, “Brace for impact!!” Ilias quickly and tightly grabbed the mast.
When the sailors in the cabin heard the warning, they immediately let go of their oars, bent down and grabbed the bronze rings on either side of the ship’s seat.
Amidst the enemy’s screams on the quadrireme, the ship rammed hard into the hull.
With a loud bang, the ship’s hull shook violently, resulting in the Carthaginian infantry, who were standing on the deck ready to jump down towards the Theonian warship, to be propelled by a huge force, causing many of them to fall directly into the sea.
The bronze ram of the fast trireme shattered the enemy ship’s reinforced hull but could not widen the gap any further because of the additional layer of planks inside. Although it was cracked, it didn’t break open and only allowed seawater to seep in slowly.
Upon seeing the situation, Ilias immediately ordered, “Reverse! Reverse!…”
They must detach from the enemy ship while the enemy on board is still panicking and then collide again. Otherwise, he would fall into the same predicament as their comrade.
But even the Carthaginians quickly reacted by shooting arrows just as the Theonian sailors began to row backwards.
Due to the close distance, Ilias couldn’t dodge in time and got hit by three arrows. Then with a muffled grunt, he fell into the cabin, where the boatswain promptly supported him.
The arrows also hit the sailors in the cabin, causing them to scream and confuse the other sailors.
“Don’t panic! Let’s row back first! Auletes!…” Shouted the boatswain loudly.
Then the high-pitched sound of the pipe muffled the groans, calming the sailors a little.
Just as they began to row, they heard another loud scream from the enemy ship, followed by a loud bang and another tremendous shaking of the enemy ship, the force of which was transmitted to the Theonian ships still attached, sending the sailors tumbling about in disarray.
The shock brought Ilias back to consciousness. As the captain of the warship, he wore a leather helmet and armour as per regulations, and the leather armour had blocked the two arrows that hit his chest, though he had sustained some minor wounds. However, the arrow that had pierced his arm made him faint due to the pain.
“What…what happened?” He asked in pain.
“It’s the corvus warship! It struck the deck of this enemy ship!” The lookout slid down from the mast and reported.
“Captain! The enemy ship is damaged, and the water is flooding in!” The lookout on the front mast also ran in and reported excitedly.
It turned out that they and the other fast trireme on the other side rendered the Carthaginian quadrireme immobile. Then the corvus warship saw a chance to strike and rammed into the enemy’s bow. The impact was so strong that it pushed the damaged hull towards Ilias’ warship again, resulting in a muffled rattling sound as the bronze ram pierced the bilge…
As a result, the Carthaginian sailors fled in panic.
“Quick! Quick! Row back!…” Ilias exclaimed urgently.
Just as the sailors began to row backwards, several Carthaginian soldiers jumped onto the deck in panic.
After putting some distance between his ship and the enemy’s, Ilias ordered his sailors to grab their wooden oars and, using their superior numbers, drove the Carthaginians into the sea.
Finally, Ilias could breathe a sigh of relief and then felt a sharp pain in his arm.
The boatswain quickly came over and cut off the arrow shaft with his short sword. As for the arrowhead, they could only wait until the battle ended and have the medical camp on the shore to remove it.
Suddenly, the enemy ship in front began to tilt to the left, and its crew jumped into the sea one after another…
Ilias sighed, seeing the situation, “That is indeed a good ship! But it is unsuitable for combat…”
“Captain, look!” The boatswain reminded.
Ilias turned his head to see a fast trireme coming out from behind the enemy ship, heading straight for them. After quickly identifying the number drawn on the other ship’s side and the people on the deck bowing to him, Ilias immediately laughed and said, “And here I am wondering who is so bold. Turn’s out it’s him!”
Ilias bore the pain, raised his right hand and returned the military salute.
Then the corvus warship also turned around, its captain standing on the deck and saluting as well…
Behind the three trireme warships, many of the struggling crew of the Carthaginian quadrireme floated in the sea as half of the ship sunk.
Although the three captains didn’t shout, excitement lingered in their hearts. After all, even though they hadn’t discussed it beforehand, they still managed to work together to sink this huge ship, which was a great honour!
After facing each other, the three ships each quickly searched for their next targets to attack…
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The warship of Theonia’s First Fleet advanced fiercely to attack the Carthaginian fleet. Soon, the two sides became entangled, with the First Fleet holding the advantage. Then in just ten minutes, the Theonians managed to break through the column of the Carthaginian advance fleet, forcing the Iberian fleet to join the battle. However, this just-defeated fleet fared even worse against the Theonian ships.
Half an hour later, the foremost warship of Theonia’s First Fleet broke free of the Carthaginian fleet and charged directly at the cargo fleet not far behind.
Since the cargo fleet was loaded with food and soldiers and consisted of three hundred ships, the port of Selinus could only accommodate some of them at a time. As a result, the ships had to line up outside the port.
The labourers in the port sped up their work due to the weather conditions. However, they didn’t expect the Theonian warship to rush over so quickly, which immediately frightened the various shipowners in the fleet. In their panic, they instructed the sailors to quickly sail their ships into the port to avoid the enemy’s attack.
The sudden rush of ships caused the entire cargo fleet to become disorderly, resulting in congestion outside the port and causing some ships to capsize due to collisions…
Upon receiving the scout’s emergency report, Anibal, who was on the fleet’s flank, was taken aback. He thought he had enough time to deal with the Theonian fleet by deploying enough warships to the front, but in less than an hour, he found himself in a disadvantageous position.
But he couldn’t scold the front and Iberian fleet for their incompetence since even the fleets in the flanks and centre also experienced pressure from the Theonian warship’s attack, despite his location having a slight numerical advantage.
Fulalios decided Theonia’s Second Fleet to adopt an offensive tactic despite receiving the order to defend the flank.
Although the massive hull of the twin-headed serpent flagship caused Theonian warships to retreat, its slow speed and rough manoeuvring made it unable to catch up with enemy ships, so it stayed out of combat and gradually became a safe zone in the fleet.
Anibal stood atop the deck structure, observing the battles around him. He was surprised to see the effective cooperation between the smaller, faster Theonian trireme and the corvus warship, which significantly damaged the Carthaginian fleet.
Therefore, he didn’t dare to send any warships to rescue the cargo fleet at the port now. Instead, after making a difficult decision, he believed that allowing the Theonian fleet to pass through his fleet would relieve the pressure on the battlefield and benefit the Carthaginian fleet’s counterattack. As for concerns about the complaints from the Carthaginian shipowners against him afterwards, he knew he needed to ensure a victory in the naval battle first. Otherwise, he would face even more severe punishment from the Senate for his defeat.
So he simply ignored the cargo fleet’s request for help.
“Commander, a warship sunk over there!” The lookout on the top of the mast suddenly shouted.
Anibal, however, just frowned and didn’t respond. He had no intention of letting the flagship sail there again since the twin-headed serpent had already rescued many sailors, resulting in his ship being full of people and becoming a refuge.
‘The war is worrying!’ He sighed as he felt slightly cold.
‘Cold?’ He was momentarily taken aback and then looked towards the sea, where a slight ripple formed.
‘The wind is getting stronger! And it’s still a western wind.’
‘The wind should get stronger! It would be even better if it’s a big one!’ Anibal prayed inwardly with anticipation.
As if answering his prayers, the slight ripples on the sea quickly turned into massive waves, with each wave growing larger than the last. Soon the gigantic twin-headed serpent flagship began to go up and down with the sea…