Chapter 759: The Storm
Chapter 759: The Storm
“O Melqart, thank you for your help!” Anibal repeatedly thanked the chief god of the Phoenicians. He didn’t thank the chief god of Carthage, Baal Hammon, because he was the Lord of the Braziers. Since fire and water are incompatible, naval warfare doesn’t fall under Baal Hammon’s jurisdiction.
Anibal then gleefully thought at how the Theonian corvus warship would be prone to capsizing in the stormy sea, being light on one side and heavy on the other. In addition, the fast trireme, being smaller and lighter, would also have difficulty navigating. On the other hand, the Carthaginian ships on the flank have a favourable upwind position, giving them an excellent opportunity to counterattack.
Then the horn sounded again on the twin-headed serpent, signalling the attack. However, its high-pitched tone now sounded low and dull beneath the clouds and dark sea.
Anibal supported himself by gripping the railing with both hands as he stood on the deck structure of the ship, letting the strong sea breeze hit his body. He kept looking at the sea, watching the warships on either side bobbing in the wind and waves…
Although he was unsure if his subordinates could hear the horn, he firmly believed that the experienced Carthaginians would seize this favourable opportunity to turn the tide back.
“Commander, the wind and waves are getting stronger. Shall we retreat first?!” His deputy held his helmet with one hand, afraid it would be blown into the sea, as he walked up to Anibal and asked anxiously.
“Retreat?!” Anibal laughed as if he had heard a joke. He then pointed ahead and shouted into the wind, “Look!”
Not far ahead, a corvus warship with a drawbridge on its front mast struggled to get through the wave when another wave came over… By the time the wave had passed, the corvus warship had already capsized into the sea.
“HAHAHA…” Anibal laughed heartily while saying, “Do you see that? We have gotten such a great opportunity! So even if you want to retreat, it would be after we defeat the Theonians!”
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The same conversation occurred on Theonia’s flagship, except that Seclian was no longer as energetic as before. Although he had expected the weather to turn sour, he didn’t expect the wind and waves to be so strong, causing great difficulty for the fleet’s ships to navigate. He didn’t even have the energy to complain to Poseidon about how he helped those foreigners when they were on the verge of victory, even after accepting their pious prayers and abundant offerings before the battle.
His biggest headache now is that even if he orders a retreat, the fleet is too widely scattered, with some ships outside the port of Selinus. Moreover, in such harsh weather conditions, they couldn’t withdraw just because he gave the order.
Just as he frowned and pondered, the sky roared continuously, as if thousands of drums were beating on the clouds, startling everyone.
Immediately after, silver-white lightning flashed one after another across the sea and streaked through the sky. The dark clouds grew darker as they descended towards the sea, and the waves grew increasingly agitated, rising higher and higher as if a huge animal was about to devour the lightning.
Then accompanied by strong winds, the pouring rain plunged down, making the sky even darker.
And now, both the Carthaginians and Theonians had lost the will to row and fight. They couldn’t even bring themselves to look at the sea, which had become an endless abyss, and the darkness seemed to consume their souls. The crew, including the generals, had no choice but to huddle in their cabins and pray to the sea gods with trembling voices.
Sitting atop the deck structure, Anibal heard a loud bang as lightning struck the sea in front of the twin-headed serpent. When he looked outside, his already pale face turned even paler: Illuminated by the silver light of the lightning, he saw a massive wall rising from the sea not far away, over ten metres high and rushing towards them as if to crush them…
Anibal was so shocked that his image as a confident Carthaginian commander vanished without a trace. He then muttered with a dumbfounded expression, “How can this be?! How can this be?! How could a storm appear in the southwestern waters of Sicily when it’s not even winter yet!…”
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Nature’s unpredictability is beyond human expectations.
Even the largest warship seemed small in the face of the greatest force in the heavens. And when faced with the fierce wind and massive waves, these ships either got scattered, sank to the bottom of the sea or were thrown into the air and smashed to pieces…
The storm continued until dusk, when it finally calmed down. The heavy rain disappeared without a trace, the violent wind turned into a gentle breeze, the sky cleared without any clouds, and the setting sun turned the sky golden red… the sea finally showed its gentle and beautiful side.
But when one looks towards the shore, a horrific sight comes into view: Human bodies bleached by seawater covered the beach, along with the remains of countless warships. Even the receding waters had numerous bodies and broken planks floating…
Such a terrible sight was not only visible on the coast of Selinus but also on the coast of Mazara, Thermae and even further away…
Leotychides, in the military camp north of Selinus, was concerned about the fleet’s safety. So as soon as the storm subsided, he dispatched troops and the medical camp to blockade the coast near Selinus and begin an emergency rescue.
And as long as the Carthaginians were still breathing, the physicians and nurses would treat them if they had the energy to spare.
The Carthaginian colonial cities and allies on the southern coast, as well as the Greek city-states, also sent personnel to the coast for search and rescue…
Both the Carthaginian and Theonian sailors, who had sailed the seas for many years and experienced many violent winds and waves, might have escaped with their lives in a storm lasting several hours, but the ships they sailed might not. In this great naval battle in Sicily, the Theonian fleet invested around six hundred ships and the Carthaginian fleet more than five hundred, with no winner on either side and all ships possibly destroyed by the storm.
But Carthage fared even worse as almost half of their cargo ships responsible for transporting soldiers and supplies failed to reach the port in time. They were either attacked by the Theonians or ravaged by the storms, eventually meeting their watery grave.
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News of the utter destruction of the Theonian fleet in Sicily hadn’t yet reached Magna Graecia, and Davos and the army he led remained unaware of it, having just arrived in Laos.
The Laos of today is very different from a dozen years ago. Counting the allied Campanian League on the west coast of Italia, with Magna Graecia to the south and Lucania and Campania to the north, Laos is the centre of this long coastline. And on land, it was the transport hub for Lucania and Brutii, making it a prime location. And with the hard work of several officials and the support of the Senate, Laos became a bustling port city in the kingdom.
So despite its small arable land and a population of just over fifty thousand men, not counting the freemen and slaves in the port, it was its well-developed ports and numerous merchant ships that made it possible to send this massive army to Latium by sea with as few round trips as possible.
As the army entered the city, Crotokatax looked around curiously. At the same time, he was puzzled at Henipolis’ strange outfit, “Uncle Heni, don’t you feel stuffy wearing your helmet and even a visor even though we aren’t in a battle now?”
Henipolis muttered quietly, “Don’t talk to me!”
Standing in front of them, Davos turned around and teased, “Your Uncle Henni doesn’t want the people here to know that he’s back.”
“Why? Wasn’t Uncle Henni once the archon of Laos?!” Crotokatax became even more curious.
Davos just shrugged his shoulder and didn’t answer.
The fact that Henipolis didn’t return to Laos ever since becoming Davos’ clerk in the late stages of the South Italian war became his inner demon.
In fact, the rebellion of Henipolis’ uncle and the subsequent civil uprising decimated the population of Laos. Now, more than half of Laos’ inhabitants arrived later, including descendants of Sybarites, Greeks, Lucanians, Bruttians, Campanians… and so on, making it a genuinely multi-ethnic city.
But things have changed for the natives of Laos. More than a decade ago, they were at the bottom of the city, with no money or power. But now, they are citizens of the kingdom, owning land, running maritime trade, holding public posts, participating in electing local councils, and putting forward their own proposals. They are grateful to the kingdom of Theonia and the king who brought about a radical change in their status. So, when they heard King Davos was coming to Laos with his army, the city’s people took their families along and stood on the roadside early, hoping to be closer to the king when he arrived. They wanted to see him more clearly and let him hear their cheers.
Amid a sea of “All hail King Davos!!! All hail the kingdom!!!” the crowd excitedly chattered as they cheered, “Look! The one with the helmet with the long plume and wearing golden armour in the middle is His Majesty Davos! Look how majestic he is! I saw him more than ten years ago when His Majesty led his army through Laos and north to fight the Samnites.”
“Who is the young officer next to His Majesty? It seems that he has a very close relationship with His Majesty!”
“I heard from the merchants of Thurii at the port that Prince Crotokatax would also join the army this time, so this young man should be him.”