ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1019 The Naval Battle of Carthage (End)
After Malbar got the news, his face changed drastically, and he immediately ordered: All warships give up the siege of the Dionia fleet in front of them, and quickly withdraw to the port!
Although the captains of the warships of Midolades and Dionia could not understand what the enemy was shouting in the city, the bell of the lighthouse and the sudden change of tactics of the enemy in front of them all indicated that the battle situation had changed.

What is this change?The Sicilian fleet must have arrived! ... This is a plan that Sekelian and Midolades have planned for many days to lure snakes out of the cave. Due to the location of the Third Fleet and the number of warships (the Sicilian fleet has too many warships, the Carthaginian fleet may not dare battle), so they acted as bait. After the battle, the Sicilian fleet, which had already ambushed between the western waters of Sicily and the waters of Carthage, judged the time and rushed to encircle them. Since the battle location is basically determined, there is no need to worry about getting lost. And missed the opportunity.

The Third Fleet still adheres to a defense-oriented strategy, but widens the distance between warships to cover more sea surface and prevent enemy ships from bypassing them and approaching the port.

The irony is that Morbar had previously deliberately lured the Third Fleet to the front of the port entrance so that its rear would be subject to a sudden attack, but now when the Carthaginian fleet wanted to withdraw into the port, they found that the Third Fleet The fleet was arranged in a circular formation in front of the port, completely blocking their way back.

Should he flee elsewhere, or force his way into the port? ...Morbar was faced with an important decision. Time was running out. The veteran also lost his previous calmness. His whole body was soaked in cold sweat. Finally, he issued an order: "Attack forward, forcefully break through the enemy's formation, and return to the port!"

Moreover, he commanded the flagship and charged forward first.

The reason why Morbar gave up retreating elsewhere was because he knew that the Carthaginian crew was very tired after the fierce battle and it would be difficult to escape the pursuit of the Dionian reinforcements.Moreover, there are a large number of soldiers on the Dionian warships. Even if the Carthage warships seize the beach on the nearby coast, it is easy for the warships to fall into the hands of the enemy, because at this time, Carthage has an empty force in the city and it is impossible to send enough troops. Soldiers came to guard these stranded warships (two days ago, there was a tip that the chiefs of the inland Numibian tribes had secretly gathered in an attempt to plot against Carthage's rule, so the Senate hastily sent out 3000 citizen soldiers. Go to quell the rebellion, with only [-] soldiers left in the city).

With Morbar's flagship as an example, other Carthaginian warships also put aside their previous caution and patience, and launched a charge to the Third Fleet one after another.

At the same time, three red flags were hoisted on the flagship of the Third Fleet and the bugle was blasted, expressing Midorades' determination to require each warship to fight to the end and never allow the enemy to open a passage.

For the crew of the Third Fleet, they had paid too much for this battle and never wanted to fall short at the last moment. Everyone worked hard to block the enemy's breakthrough.

The naval battle, which had lasted intermittently for four hours, suddenly entered a fever pitch.

Unexpectedly, the first victim was the flagship of the Carthaginian fleet.When it rushed towards the circular formation, the Raven warship aligned its bow. Morbar ordered the helmsman to go straight forward and not to avoid. When the deck of the flagship was hit by the opponent's drawbridge, Morbar led the people on the deck. The few soldiers rushed to the bow of the ship, followed by nearly 200 oarsmen. He wanted to use the advantage of numbers to block the attack of the Dionian fleet soldiers on the deck.

The attack of the Dionian fleet infantry, who had been recharging their strength, was fierce. They used leather shields to deflect the spears thrust by the deck soldiers, and at the same time, relying on their armor, they rushed forward and stuck to the enemy. , the dagger in his right hand kept stabbing at the opponent...

Even though they were on a swaying ship, the movements of the fleet soldiers were still very brave, fast, and precise, as if they were stepping on solid ground. This was the result of years of hard training, resulting in not many soldiers on the Carthage flagship. The deck soldier was quickly stabbed down.

Morbar lost the guards in front of him. Facing the menacing Dionian people, the old naval commander did not flinch or fear. With his thin right hand, he drew out his sword and stabbed at Dionia Soldier.

Immediately afterwards, his sword was knocked off by the leather shield of the Dionia fleet infantry, and at the same time, the dagger of the fleet infantry also penetrated his chest.

When he fell down, the expression on his face was not pain, but more calm. He was born in the most powerful era of Carthage, and spent a lot of time in the navy in his long life, serving Carthage. He made a great contribution to Ji's prosperity, and eventually died on the sea. He had no regrets.

"Lord Morbar!!"

"Avenge Lord Morbar!!!"

……

Then the Carthaginian sailors who rushed to the deck from the cabin saw their respected old hero of the city-state lying in a pool of blood. They were very angry and no longer afraid of the heavily armed Dionian fleet infantry, each holding wooden oars and daggers. They swarmed up, preventing the Dionians from continuing to advance.

For a time, the Dionian fleet infantry was blocked at the bow of the ship, the space was small, and there were even many infantry blocked on the suspension bridge, unable to get to the deck, which also caused the suspension bridge to be unable to be removed in time.

While the two sides were fighting, a Carthaginian warship bypassed the flagship and rushed directly towards the Crow warship.

The Crow Warship was unable to move because it was connected to the Carthage flagship. The crew could only watch helplessly as the hull of the ship was hit by the bow of an enemy ship approaching at high speed. In the loud noise, not only the Crow Warship was hit by A large opening was created, and seawater surged in.Moreover, in the violent shock, many Carthage sailors and fleet infantry on the deck of the Carthage flagship also fell into the sea, causing screams and exclamations... in chaos.

In this chaos, the sailors on the Carthage flagship deck, relying on the large number of people, pushed the enemy to the side of the ship when the formation of the enemy in front of them was chaotic and the offensive weakened for a while. Multiple fleet infantry were squeezed into the sea...

Subsequent Carthaginian warships followed the example of the flagship, causing the Crow warship at the forefront of the Third Fleet's circular formation to be severely damaged. The Carthaginian fleet gradually broke through the periphery of the circular formation and began to cut inward.

Midorades learned the detailed battle situation ahead from the lookout, and felt the urgency of the situation. He resolutely issued an order: "The Carthaginians are working hard, and we can't do anything if we don't! Go and notify all the crow warships." , once the drawbridge hooks the enemy ship, all the sailors in the cabin will get on the deck for me. If an enemy ship comes to ram, they will all join me to fight! Even the Carthaginian sailors dare to do this, we Dionians You will only be braver than them!"

"Yes!" This time the captain did not remind Midorades that the order issued was too complicated, because during the previous pursuit of the Carthaginian fleet, Midorades learned the previous lessons and recalled several clippers. , are currently crowding around the flagship.And due to the circular formation of the Third Fleet, the warships were located around the flagship, and the distance between the warships was small, so the order was conveyed quickly.

Since then, this naval battle has entered a more brutal stage, with not only the collision of warships, the fighting of soldiers, but also the fighting between the crews of both sides...

The elders standing on the breakwater city were worried, and the people still watching in the port area were even more anxious. In order to ensure that their relatives could break through the blockade of the Dionian fleet, many ship owners drove their own cargo ships in desperation and risked their lives. Faced with the huge risk of shipwreck and loss of lives, they bravely rushed towards the behemoth Dionian warships outside the port to assist their own naval operations.

It didn't take long for the Dionia 3rd Fleet to seem to be surrounded, but they did not appear in chaos. Each warship always stood firm in its position, tenaciously blocking the Carthage fleet's advance...

The plight of the Third Fleet did not last long. The Sicilian Fleet finally arrived. The 250 warships had already been arranged in a wild goose formation with only two ships in a row (the first one was a fast warship and the latter one was a crow warship). Formation, with the force of encirclement, launched a rapid attack on the Carthage fleet that was fighting the 3rd Fleet.

The Carthaginian fleet, which failed to break into the port in time, immediately fell into siege and lost the unified command of Morbar. Some Carthaginian warships wanted to continue rushing into the port, while others turned around and headed elsewhere. Escape in different directions... As a result of fighting independently, their resistance was quickly crushed. Except for a few Carthaginian warships that escaped by chance, most of the warships were either damaged, sunk, or captured by the Crow warship.

The two victorious Dionysian fleets no longer pursued the fish that slipped through the net. The third fleet stayed outside the port. While rescuing the crew members who fell into the sea, it also left the port to assist the Carthage fleet before launching a massive attack. of numerous cargo ships to vent their anger.

The Carthaginian cargo ships rushing to escape to the port were chased and crushed by the Dionysian warships, and countless capsized.

The Sicilian fleet is sailing to the west - the location where the Third Fleet and the Carthage fleet first fought. There are also many Carthage cargo ships there, and they have rescued the Carthage crew members who fell into the sea ashore. , but out of anger, they did not stop there. Under the leadership of Barikos, these ships continued to cruise in this area, using wooden oars to knock out the Dionian sailors floating on the sea, causing them to drown. , and even Barricos was planning to dive into the sea to see if he could scuttle the warships that were immobilized by the infantry of the Dionysian fleet.

At this moment, the Sicilian Fleet arrived. Because this fleet arrived at the battlefield and won the naval battle not long after joining the battle, the crew members were still relatively strong in physical strength, and they were facing the same battle that had made them suffer. Carthage merchant ship, so the desire to fight is very strong.They relentlessly pursued and swept all the Carthaginian ships on the sea, and even Barikos' merchant ship was eventually knocked over...

(End of this chapter)