ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 466 The Great Battle of Taranto ([-])

The paddle frequency of the upper-level paddler also changes correspondingly with the sound of the flute. He pulls his arms back, leans back, stretches his legs, and raises the paddle; pushes his arms forward, leans forward, bends his legs, and lifts the paddle. It was inserted diagonally into the sea water, and with the natural roar of the paddlers, the wood pulp drew an arc backward in the sea water...

Under the leadership of the oarsmen on top, all the oarsmen on the boat paddled hard. Their bodies kept leaning forward and backward. Even the leather cushions they gave birth to were shrinking as the oarsmen's bodies moved forward and backward due to the grease smeared underneath. Amplitude slide.

"Ho! Ho!..." The low chant soon became the same voice, echoing the rhythm of the flute.

Seventh day!Eighth!Nine festivals!Ten festivals! ...The speed of the warship is increasing rapidly.

Zantiparis felt that the whole ship seemed to be floating. The oncoming waves were getting thicker and thicker, hitting the bow of the ship and turning into pieces of water mist, which kept pouring on the deck. …

"Brothers, hold on to the mast and the crow, and be careful to stand firm!" Captain Midorades loudly reminded the ten deck sailors.

As soon as he shouted twice, sea water poured on him, and he suddenly turned into a drowned rat.

At this time, the bugle was no longer needed. The increase in the speed of the leading warship was a signal, and other warships also began to accelerate one after another.

Rows of wooden oars splashed with angry waves, warships cut through the ferocious waves, and the neat chants of the ships were a powerful denunciation of the invaders.Facing the ferocious and fierce attack of the Syracuse Navy, everyone in the Dionia fleet stared wide-eyed, filled with anger, and prepared to fight the enemy to the death!

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Although the people of Dionysia on the shore could not see the panoramic view of the battlefield, they were extremely nervous at the moment, staring intently at the rapid approach of the warships from both sides on the sea.

At this moment, everyone, whether they know each other or not, is holding hands tightly, shouting loudly, cheering for their loved ones...

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As the Dionian warships got closer, the "crow suspension bridge" shaking above the bow of each warship became clearly visible, which made the sailors on the Syracuse warship very moved. Doubtful, they had never seen such a strange device before, so they were very surprised.

Out of contempt for the "rookie navy" of Dionysia, most of them believed that this was the result of the Dionysia people not knowing how to build ships and making random modifications.With this mentality, their charge speed became even faster, and it was difficult to maintain the formation, but they didn't care, because they believed that Dionia's warship was already in their possession.

In Midorades' field of vision: a Syracuse trireme was charging towards him menacingly from diagonally forward, with the bronze ramming horn of the bow piercing the side of his own warship.

He knew that it would be very dangerous if his warship evaded in a large area.Because there is another warship dozens of meters behind the enemy ship. It will take the opportunity to ram into the hull of its own warship that is completely exposed due to dodging. This is the famous "double column tactic" of the traditional Greek navy.

But Midorades showed a sneer. He did not need to give any instructions. The helmsman of the warship who had gone through this period of training would respond correctly.

Sure enough, during the rapid advance, the warship veered slightly to the right and rushed towards the warship.

Seeing the enemy ship magnifying sharply in his eyes, Midorades shouted towards the bottom of the deck: "Shut up!"

"Collect the pulp!" the boatswain shouted immediately.

The oarsmen immediately took back their wooden paddles from the oar window. Because of their nervousness, the process seemed a bit panicked.

At the same time, the ten sailors on the deck had gathered around the foremast. Some of them had untied the ropes tied to the "crow suspension bridge" on the foremast, and then worked together to pull it tightly, while others were turning it. The pulley causes the base of the "Crow Suspension Bridge" to rotate.

The captain of the Syracuse warship saw the Dionian warship rushing towards him from the bow, and a small part of the oar on the right side remained outside the window. He was overjoyed: Although it failed to hit the hull, it was twisted Its oars will also affect the rowing speed of this enemy ship.

When the warships of both sides were about to pass each other, he turned around and prepared to get down to the cabin to take shelter. Because they were so close, it was the time for the deck archers on both sides to exert their power. At this moment, he heard a "boom". With a loud noise, the strange device on the bow of the Dionia warship fell straight down and hit the deck of his warship hard. The whole warship was shaking, and the huge force actually made the front of the warship The rush suddenly slowed down.

Then, the captain heard a shout from the other side: "Brothers, it's time for us to split up and go on stage!"

Under the stunned gaze of the captain, dozens of Dionian heavy infantry wearing black armor emerged from the opponent's cabin and quickly rushed to Syracuse's warship through the device.

It turned out to be a small wooden bridge!The captain realized it at this time, but it was already too late. How could the several Syracuse deck sailors who hurriedly stepped forward to fight be the opponents of these wolf-like Dionian soldiers? To be struck down with a sword is to be knocked down into the sea by a long shield...

The remaining sailors and lookouts could only raise their hands in panic when facing the Syracuse heavy infantry rushing towards them, but the Dionysians obviously did not intend to capture them and stabbed them to death one by one.

The captain was so frightened that his legs weakened and he collapsed on the deck.

I heard a man say: "He is the captain, and we still need him to control this warship."

"It's enough to have a helmsman!" As soon as the other voice finished speaking, the cold dagger slashed across his neck, causing blood to flow freely.

Two soldiers rushed aft to capture the helmsman, while others rushed straight into the cabin.

The oarsmen in the cabin were already panicking and stood up from their leather cushions, trying to escape.

The soldiers of the first detachment of the first division of the First Legion of Dionysia shouted: "Go back to your seats!" At the same time, they waved their long shields and short swords and started killing.

Although there were more than 170 strong men in the cabin, they just wanted to escape, like a pile of loose sand, and Jingchi's body had no protection at all.

Soon, the cabin was filled with corpses and injured people moaning and struggling, and the entire space was dyed red with blood.

The remaining oarsmen were so frightened that they squatted in the small cabin and raised their hands.

"Go back to your seat, hurry up!" At this time, the fierce shouts of the Dionian soldiers took effect.

The remaining oarsmen on the Syracuse man-of-war shivered and sat back on their leather cushions.

Zantiparis and squad leader Aeneas looked at each other, with joy and disbelief in their eyes: this was the first time they encountered such an easy battle, and they captured a three-story ship so easily. Galley!

Although Sekerian has repeatedly declared in previous trainings: "Crow Suspension Bridge" will change the tactics of naval battles and bring a brilliant victory to Dionia!

Only after experiencing this battle personally did Zantiparis truly realize how useful the seemingly ugly "Crow Suspension Bridge" was!
This is thanks to the genius of King Davos!Zantiparis sighed in his heart, but this was not the time to sing praises. He calmed down and whispered to Aeneas: "You can take 30 brothers back to the ship, and I will be here to watch."

"Captain, are 20 soldiers enough?" Aeneas asked slightly worriedly.

Zantiparis glanced contemptuously at the trembling Syracuse oarsmen: "Actually, only ten people are enough."

Aeneas is no longer humble, because they both know that the battle has just begun.

Aeneas led 30 soldiers and quickly climbed onto the deck, passed the "crow suspension bridge" and returned to his own warship. The remaining soldiers struggled to pull out the spikes with the crow's head stuck into the deck. The sailors tightened the ropes on the suspension bridge together, pulled back the 1.2-meter-wide, 12-meter-long wooden bridge with low railings on both sides, and attacked the foremast. The Syracuse warship be able to escape.

"Turn the helm and sail to the sea, or you will be killed!" Under the threat of the Dionysian soldiers' bright daggers, the Syracuse helmsman had to comply.

In the cabin, Zantiparis stood in the aisle full of corpses and blood, leading 15 fierce soldiers, and shouted viciously: "You all listen to me! Pick up your pulp and be good to me." Row the boat! Otherwise -" Zantiparis said, stabbing the side and downwards with the dagger in his hand, and immediately pierced the chest of an injured paddler who was lying down.

The screams of the oarsmen before they died echoed in the cabin, and the oarsmen who had already been frightened dared to be disobedient.

"At...normal...speed..." The piper's teeth chattered as he spoke.

The warship sailed crookedly towards the coast, and there were several soldiers standing on the bow, belly, and stern of the deck. Their eye-catching black armor reminded other Dionia warships to prevent them from being regarded as enemies.

Just as the Midorades warship was connected with the enemy ship using the "Crow Suspension Bridge", another warship from Syracuse was also approaching rapidly. The captain and sailors did not understand that after the two ships in front collided, Why did they not separate, but kept bumping into each other? However, their rich combat experience and habitual "double column" combat cooperation allowed them to turn the warship around a small corner without hesitation, preparing to attack the Midorades warship. The most vulnerable middle part rushes away.

Not far behind the left side of the Midorades warship, a Dionian warship was also moving forward rapidly.

"Charge speed!" the captain shouted loudly.

"Didi! Didi!..." The flute player played the double flute almost non-stop.

At this moment, the oarsmen were highly excited and nervous, leaning forward and back frequently, so that the water splashing on both sides of the warship had not disappeared, and another layer of waves appeared, forming two white parallel lines... …

(End of this chapter)