ancient greece mediterranean ruler

139 Threat
"So what?!" Melanthius glanced at him sideways, with an unconvinced look on his face that was slightly red due to drunkenness: "Where he and I came from is an arrangement of fate, and of course he is doomed. Failure!"

He asked loudly again: "Turiyi and Amendolara are allies. I heard that when my army approached Turiyi, Amendolara promised to send reinforcements, right?"

"It is true. The messenger of Amendolara once said, 'Just give them a few days to assemble their troops, and when their reinforcements arrive, Turui will definitely be able to hold it!'" Ancitanos replied, he sent Amendo Lara's original words were slightly accentuated, and Melanthius's face turned even redder.

Melanthius turned to Timaras beside him: "Tomorrow, you will send someone to question Amendolara, 'Why are they enemies of Crotone? Ask them to immediately terminate the alliance agreement with Thurii and join us. Make an alliance!'"

Timaras hesitated for a moment: "Amendolara and Tarantum are allies!"

"Yes, it is in alliance with Tarantum, and it can also form an alliance with Thurii. Why can't it form an alliance with us?!" Melantheus said forcefully.

"Okay." Timaras agreed reluctantly.

Melanthius twirled the wine glass, his eyes shining: Davos, what will you do?
.....................

News of Crotone's capture of Thurii quickly spread throughout Magna Graecia, and Thurii suddenly became the focus of attention.

The city-states such as Tarantum, Locri, and Ligium are paying close attention to the development of the situation. Even the people of Syracuse in Sicily who are preparing troops and supplies to attack Carthage are also paying attention. After all, Locri is Dionysius, an ally of Syracuse, even married Doris, the sister of Demodocus, the current chief general of the famous Locle family, and Locle and Crotone were mortal enemies. The strength of Crotone is by no means what Lockry and Syracuse want to see, and it is also related to a longer-term strategic plan in Dionysius' mind.

.....................

The Crotone envoy came to Amendolara and brought Melanthius's order for Amendolara to surrender, which made the political atmosphere in Amendolara tense.

There was a heated debate at the Senate meeting.

Cornerus, Laphias, and Stromboli believed that Crotone came with a great victory and was so powerful that Amendolara, who had just experienced the war, could not stop it. In order to prevent the territory from being devastated again, , can temporarily compromise and agree to Crotone's request.

The more stubborn Scombras, Tritodemus, and Protesilaus suggested that they could delay time first and ask Tarantum to test pressure on Crotone, depending on the situation.

Almost all the new citizen elders were hardliners. They had long been angered by the arrogant behavior of the Crotone envoys after they entered the city. They firmly stated that Amendolara must not succumb to the threat of Crotone. If Crotone If he sends troops to invade, he must know how powerful Amendolara is!
After the Crotone army occupied Thurii, Davos expected that something like this would happen. As a leader who relied on military prestige to convince the mercenaries, he relied on military strength to become Amendolara for life. Archon, he cannot be weak or give in, because that will shake his power.So he resolutely said: "Since Amendolara has made a decision before, we must stick to it to the end! Don't shake Tarantum's trust in us! Let alone let the Magna Grecians think that Amendolara is a person who will give in." A city-state that is powerful and unjust for profit!"

Davos's powerful words brought an end to this Senate meeting.

When the Crotone envoy received Amendolara's reply, he was stunned for a moment, and then threatened viciously: "Aren't you afraid of what happened to Tulii?!"

"You can give it a try." Davers replied coldly.

………………

The envoy who returned angrily brought a reply from Davos: Dear Commander of Crotone, the people of Amendolara are in awe of your victory.However, abiding by the covenant signed in the name of God is a tradition passed down by Amendolara for hundreds of years. I hope you can understand! …”

After reading it, Melancius laughed angrily, and tore the letter into pieces: "This consul of Amendolara is quite courageous...hehe...a man who was born as a mercenary knows how to keep promises?! "

He paced back and forth in the hall and made up his mind: "It seems that we need to teach this disobedient country a lesson! Timaras, you go gather 8000 people, and we will go to Amendolara !”

Timaras said anxiously: "But Tarantum——"

Melanthius waved his hand: "Don't worry, I won't mess around."

........................

After Crotone's army left the city, they quickly marched north.

Amendolara's scouts immediately reported back, and the people of Amendolara immediately became nervous after receiving the news.

Cornerus, Laphias and others once again suggested to Davos: temporarily surrender to Crotone and join its alliance.

Davos pushed back with a sentence: "I have never been forced to sue for peace with swords and guns!"

The new citizen elders were full of fighting spirit, clamoring to mobilize troops to give the arrogant Crotone people a head-on attack, but they were also suppressed by Davos.

He ordered: Everyone return to the city and prepare for defense!

Due to his authority, the team officers reluctantly followed the order and left.

........................

The Senate of Tarantum also paid close attention to the movements of the Crotone army. They received the news later than Amendolara, and the consul immediately held emergency consultations with the senators.

The senators all said: Crotone ignored Amendolara as an ally of Tarantum and attacked brazenly. This was a contempt for Tarantum!It must be severely protested!
However, most people expressed caution about whether Tarantum would participate in the war once the Crotone army went to war with Amendolara, saying that it would depend on the development of the situation.After all, Tarantum and Crotone are both powerful states in Magna Graecia, and each has a group of allies. Once a war breaks out, it will never be resolved in a few battles.

Archita took the initiative to apply to see Crotone coach Melanthius in the Senate, and was finally approved.Tarantum sent another envoy to Crotone by boat. The sailing time was short, and it only took half a day to reach Crotone with a favorable wind.

While the Senate of Tarentum was still discussing, Melanthius had already led the army across the Savicello River and arrived at the foot of the mountain two hours later. He looked at Amendolara, which was located on the hill, and the city walls. The station was full of fully armed soldiers. Under the direct sunlight from the east, it looked like a luminous wall, which made people unable to open their eyes. They couldn't help but say: "The soldiers of Amendolara still look good. If I really If we attack it in the morning, the sunlight alone will cause my soldiers to suffer."

He ordered the troops to line up in a phalanx, which was more than a mile long. While slowly approaching the city wall, they beat the round shields and let out battle cries, which shook the sky...

However, under the strict orders of the team officer, the soldiers of Amendolara just stood quietly at the top of the city without saying a word.

Alcinis couldn't help but said: "Captain, the Crotone people are too arrogant. We should roar twice and fight back."

Captain Ktipes cursed in a low voice: "Shut up, this is the order of the consul. Do you want to violate military discipline?!"

As soon as Alsinis heard this, he stopped complaining.

"Anyway, remember, as long as the Crotones don't attack, we will watch their performance. As long as they dare to attack, hum..." Ctipes reminded.

"Understood!" Alsinis squeezed the spear in his hand. Even though the enemy team below the city seemed extremely large, Alsinis actually expected them to attack so that he could display the skills he had trained so hard during this period.

Seeing that the people of Amendolara did not respond, Melanthius immediately stopped the advancing team and sent people to shout at the city, asking to see the consul of Amendolara, Davos. Unexpectedly, there was no response at the top of the city either.

Melancius thought that Davos was afraid and did not dare to talk to him directly, so he simply sent some soldiers to curse outside the city:
"Davos is a coward and doesn't dare to face the Crotone army!"

"When the people of Amendolara saw Crotone's army, they didn't even dare to vent their anger!"

……

After hearing this, the recruits' faces turned red and they began to complain. Then they were scolded by the veterans: "You will know whether you are a coward or not until you fight. What's the use of just talking. As for the consul, he led us to defeat Persia many times." When they are in human form, these Crotone people are probably still enjoying the cheers of the audience on the sports field."

In fact, these veterans were also holding their breath, but they were experienced and accustomed to obeying Davos's orders, and at the same time they were unwilling to waste their energy on unnecessary things.

The voices of the Crotone soldiers became hoarse, but the Amendolara still did not respond.

Melanthius was also bored. He finally ordered: "Burn all these houses as a warning to Amendolara!"

The always silent Amendolara people made Melanthius feel humiliated and angry. He gave an order: All the warehouses and hotels that were about to be completed at the foot of Amendolara Mountain were burned in raging fires. Several Amendolara people Months of hard work were ruined...

The soaring firelight reflected the angry faces of countless soldiers on the city wall. Their eyes widened and they glared at the Crotones as they left in a swagger...

...........................

The news reached the Senate, and the whole assembly was outraged.

Only Davos looked calm. He listened carefully to Asistes, who rushed back, and carefully described the performance of the Crotone army under the city. From this, he inferred Melantheus's character and psychology, and what he had learned. mutual confirmation.

"Do the Crotones want to declare war on us?" Rafias said in surprise.

"The Crotones invaded our territory and burned our houses. This is already a declaration of war!" Felicius reminded.

(End of this chapter)