ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 490 The Battle of Crotone ([-])

And this is also the first time since the establishment of the Dionia fleet that it has left the sea near Thurii and truly headed towards the Mediterranean.Therefore, not only Sekerian, but all the sailors in the fleet were very excited, and even the paddle frequency at normal speed was faster than usual.

The entire fleet, a total of 150 crow warships and 30 50-oar clippers converted from ordinary cargo ships, sailed southward on the offshore sea in a six-way column. Since there was only a westward breeze at the time of departure, the Dionia fleet was all No sails were brought.

Sekolian has only one mission today: completely defeat the Syracuse Navy!

Therefore, when sailing through the sea of ​​Crimea, Cyklian ordered the whole team to slow down and load the Crow Suspension Bridge.

And he also ordered: If there are enemy speedboats approaching, do not rush to expel them, but allow them to get closer for observation.

When the winter sun has risen to the middle of the sky, the Dionysian fleet has sailed close to the sea of ​​Crotone. At this time, the mast of the three-layer propeller warship in the front raised the yellow flag, and Sekerian in the center of the fleet , after learning this information, his spirits were lifted: How great that the Syracuse Navy, which had suffered a tragic defeat, could be lured out so easily!
Regardless of whether the enemy has more or fewer ships, whether they will adopt a "circular navigation" or a "double column" tactic, Dionia's crow fleet has only one tactic - sky full of stars.

"Raise the black flag and the red flag, sound the attack bugle!" Sekerian gave the order without hesitation.

The sailors began to gulp down the prepared rations, because they would have to fight with all their might in the coming battle.However, compared to the anxiety and nervousness for the first time, they are more excited now, not only because the last victory gave them confidence, but also because the new bill promulgated by King Davos before the expedition was for the majority. It was the sailors of the freedmen who added more motivation, "Win the war, and we will become prepared citizens of the Union!" This became their common wish.

The heavy infantrymen on the warship became much calmer when they heard the bugle. They picked up the long shields covering their heads to block the sun, stood up from the deck unhurriedly, and began to move their hands and feet unhurriedly... …

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On the lighthouse in Crotone port, Dionysius took several of his men and Phoebus and looked at the blue sea in the distance. Countless warships were rapidly approaching. A naval battle was about to begin. Its The victory or defeat will affect Dionysius's next plan, so Dionysius is also holding hands with each other a little nervously at this moment...

The Dionysian warships at the forefront did not increase their speed to the fastest, because after the last naval battle, the Dionysian naval admirals summed up their experience and found that the warships were too fast, which was not conducive to the Crow Suspension Bridge. of release.

But to the Dionia captains, the oncoming enemy ships were not as fast as the last time. Why?
They had no extra time to think about it. In the splashing waves, the warships of both sides were already close at hand.

"Boom!...Boom!..." Suspension bridges suddenly crashed down and were firmly nailed to the deck of the Syracuse warship.

"Hades!!" The soldiers of the First Legion of Dionia shouted the name of Pluto and rushed across the suspension bridge.

At this moment, the opponent's ship also shouted "Apollo!!", and more than 40 Syracuse heavy infantrymen rushed out from the bottom of the warship, filling the deck with only a few people at once.

The captains of Dionia were stunned: No wonder the Syracuse warship slowed down. It turned out that there were also many heavy infantry hidden in the bottom of their warship!
It turned out that Leptinius adopted Dionysius's suggestion in order to allow the fleet to compete with the opponent.

Sekelian soon got the news from the Clippers. Although he was surprised, he still believed that with the ability of the soldiers of the Dionia Legion, he would win this "land battle at sea"!

For the legionnaires, apart from being slightly surprised at first, excitement followed: it was too easy to kill the sailors last time, and there was not much sense of accomplishment for them, but this time it was real fighting!
"Split a team and go over there, the rest follow me!" Captain Melisander quickly gave the order, and then took the lead and rushed to the front.

Since the deck surface of the trireme was not completely paved with wooden planks, and there was a gap in the middle connecting the bottom cabin, soldiers from both sides were divided into two teams and fought on the decks on both sides.The warship is only six or seven meters wide at its widest point, and one deck can accommodate up to two or three people traveling side by side.

The warship swayed up and down with the waves, making it impossible for the soldiers to push each other. Therefore, the battle between the heavy infantry on the warship was more of a single fight and the cooperation of two or three people.

Melisander held a long shield in his left hand and faced the enemy's spear. He pressed his whole body against the shield and slammed into it. The Syracuse soldier's spear broke and he staggered back. He was supported by his comrades behind him.

Like a maggot attached to a bone, Melisandre quickly moved forward. While the opponent's body was still unstable, the long shield collided with him again. The opponent's standing was unstable, and the gap in the round shield that protected him was exposed.

The dagger in Melisander's right hand thrust out like lightning, and only heard a scream of "Ah". The opponent clutched his right ribs and fell to the ground.

"Throw away the bayonet and use the saber! Use the saber!!..." Melisanda heard the enemies shouting anxiously at each other and thought: I understand now, it's too late!
Before the enemy in front came up, he used his long shield to protect the front, then turned around and stabbed the enemy diagonally in front. On such a narrow deck, the opponent could not dodge at all, unless he jumped into the bottom cabin, so The enemy subconsciously moved his body to the left, and at the same time, he waved his saber and slashed at Melisander's wrist.

Unexpectedly, the teammate next to Melisander took the opportunity to slam the long shield hard, and the enemy immediately became unstable and leaned back.

Melisander seized the opportunity, turned her wrist, and raised the dagger. The sharp blade scratched the enemy's saber-holding arm, leaving a deep and bone-shattering scar. Blood flowed, and the saber that could not be held tightly fell to the deck. superior……

On every two warships connected by a crow suspension bridge, the heavy infantry from both sides were fighting fiercely.

Overall, the Dionians have a clear upper hand.Although the Syracuseans also sent elite soldiers, they faced Dionia's First Legion.

The First Legion, known as the "always victorious and undefeated", not only has the largest number of veterans, but also has the most stringent requirements for selecting new recruits and the hardest training, but there are still many young people flocking to it.At the same time, in terms of experience in fighting at sea, the soldiers of the Dionia First Legion are also far richer than their opponents. They not only trained for more than a month before, but also conducted actual combat three days ago.

The Syracuse heavy infantry were hastily sent into battle and had not yet adapted to such a fighting method. They even carried stabbing spears. You must know that long weapons are not trained for a long time on a bumpy warship, and they cannot achieve accurate stabbings at all. .

More important is the difference in weaponry.Corinthian helmets, bronze shields, and metal greaves were too heavy. It was difficult for the Syracuse soldiers to maintain balance on the rocking ship. They could not fully exert their power on land and could not compete with Dio, who was more flexible and better at close combat. Compared to the Nian legionnaires.

But another difference between fighting on a warship and on land is that even if you are defeated, you cannot escape. You will either be captured or jump into the sea.This forced the Syracusan soldiers to do their best to resist the attack of the Dionian Legion soldiers, and in the end they fought bloody battles.

Some Syracuse soldiers carried the opponent with their round shields to attack, risking injury and seizing the opportunity to pull the opponent into the sea together.Melisander, who stabbed and killed several Syracuse soldiers one after another, was accidentally pulled into the sea by the enemy.

But Melisander didn't panic after falling into the water, because they had been trained in this area.He quickly took off his helmet and turned the inside of the curved shield over. The shield actually floated on the sea, because except for the bronze horn in the center, the shield was mainly made of wood and was covered with a thin layer of cowhide.

Melisander stepped on the water with his feet, grabbed the long shield with one hand, and used the buoyancy to pretend to be relaxed and waved to the legionnaires who were paying attention to him on the boat: "I'm fine, you continue to fight! Keep fighting!"

The Syracuse soldier who fell into the water with him was poured into the tightly sealed Corinthian helmet by the cold sea water, which immediately made him feel as if his mouth and nose were suffocated. He wanted to take off the helmet in panic, but panicked for a while. But he couldn't untie the buckle, and the round shield on his right arm sank because it was covered with copper skin. In addition, the heavy helmet and greaves made him unable to surface even though he stepped on the water, and finally drowned in sea water.

The drawbridge operator of the Dionian warship handed the wooden oar to Melisander floating on the sea, and Melisander finally climbed onto the warship.

As soon as he took a breath, he heard the lookout on the main mast shouting: "The enemy ship is attacking! The enemy ship is attacking!"

Everyone was shocked.

They saw a warship not far away charging towards them menacingly, but now the warship was connected with the enemy ship and could not move at all.

"Pull up the suspension bridge quickly!" the captain shouted anxiously to the legionnaires on the opposite ship.

Melisander also shouted.

The suspension bridge was retracted, but the enemy ship was already less than 20 meters away. The bronze ram on its bow shone brightly under the reflection of the sea water and sunlight.

"Right forward!" Following the captain's urgent cry, the helmsman quickly turned the rudder.

"Sprint speed!" The captain just finished speaking.

The piper in the bottom cabin was already playing hard and fast.

The top oarsman led the two bottom oarsmen to rapidly paddle the wooden oars, but it took time for the warship to quickly change from stationary to forward, but what the warship lacked most now was time.

The enemy ship that was cutting through the waves was already close at hand. The oarsmen on the top floor saw the enemy ship's collision angle sharply enlarging in their field of vision through the oar window. They all fled the oar seat in panic and shouted at the same time: "Run quickly." !Run! We’re about to hit you!..."

(End of this chapter)