Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1003: The Lilybaeum Garrison's Response

Lilybaeum was a military fortress, originally built to counter the formidable armies of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius. As a result, military camps occupied half the city. There were three in total, located in the southeast, northwest, and southwest. When Lilybaeum was first built, 30,000 soldiers had been stationed within its walls. Following the peace treaty with Daionia, the city's troop numbers dwindled year by year to a low of just 1,000 men. Once war broke out with Daionia, the garrison swelled back to over 10,000.

After Mago landed his army in Sicily, he gradually transferred troops out of the city. The City of Lilybaeum currently held a force of roughly 10,000 men: 2,000 Carthaginian soldiers and 8,000 Numidian slaves. While the numbers seemed substantial, these troops were primarily drawn from units that had suffered disastrous defeats against Daionia. Their morale was rock bottom, and their ranks were severely depleted. Mago had transferred them to Lilybaeum, hoping Imisere would reorganize and train them to restore their morale.

Imisere faithfully executed this order. So far, he had done well, even earning a measure of prestige among the garrison. He was currently riding toward the Southwest Military Camp. Situated right beside the port, this camp housed the 2,000 Carthaginian soldiers.

In Carthage itself, the port and the main city were integrated, not separated by an Inner Wall. This made the transportation of goods and urban trade far more convenient, reflecting the confidence of a dominant power in the western Mediterranean. As Lilybaeum was a military fortress, its port and urban districts were strictly separated. Its Inner Wall was no mere checkpoint; it was a true city wall—tall, sturdy, and lined with numerous watchtowers, identical to the outer walls.

By the time Imisere arrived at the camp, the soldiers had essentially finished assembling. However, a few young Carthaginian officers came scrambling onto the drill ground in a panic, missing their helmets and with their armor incomplete.

Imisere was somewhat displeased, but he held his tongue. Instead, he urgently asked the officers managing the assembly, "What exactly happened at the port?!"

"The sentries just arrived to report," one of the officers replied. "They said the Theonians disguised themselves as a Carthaginian Convoy to slip into the port, and are currently attacking the docks. But... there don't seem to be many of them, and they aren't wearing armor..."

Hearing this, Imisere's mind relaxed slightly. He issued his orders: the heavy infantry would push into the port and wipe out the invaders on the docks; the light infantry would mount the walls and launch ranged attacks against the enemies in the port and their ships.

Even after giving the orders, he felt a lingering unease. He sent messengers to notify the other two military camps, ordering their soldiers to assemble and man the walls to prepare their defenses.

Once the officers hurried off to execute his orders, Imisere finally criticized the young Carthaginian officers. "Lord Mago didn't want you. He said you only spoke grand words and completely lacked the ability to lead troops, which is why he tossed you to me. Now your chance to prove yourselves has arrived. Go out there and fight bravely! Fight for the honor of the Carthaginian nobility! Do not let others look down on your families because of this!"

The several officers hastily agreed: they would never disappoint the city lord!

Imisere watched as they re-equipped their armor with the help of their servants, feeling a twinge of regret. He had not been strict with them in the city, and only now, when true battle arrived, did he discover how utterly incompetent they were.

Fortunately, he had heeded Mago's advice and promoted commoners with real combat experience and bravery into mid-level officers. The daily training and command of the troops relied primarily on them.

The Southwest Military Camp was built near the city gates connecting the port to the main city. Imisere quickly scaled the wall. Sentries had already planted burning torches along the battlements, allowing him to directly overlook the situation on the docks. It was already a scene of total chaos. Countless awakened citizens were shrieking and scrambling for their lives—many still naked. Dozens of Theonians wielding leather shields and short swords were herding them toward the city gates. A mass of civilians had already piled up beneath the walls, desperately pounding on the gates and loudly begging the garrison to let them inside... Meanwhile, on the piers of the docks, dozens more Theonians were escorting captives, forcing them to board the moored cargo ships...

"My lord, there are far too many civilians before the gates! If we open the gates now, they will all rush inside. The soldiers below simply won't be able to hold them back, and it is very likely those Theonians will mix among them and charge in as well..." an officer said with concern.

A young Carthaginian officer immediately retorted, "What is there to worry about? There are only a few enemies. Even if we let them into the city, they would just be walking to their deaths."

Imisere, however, fell deep into thought. If the Theonians rushed into the city alongside the crowd and scattered into the darkness, killing them would indeed be somewhat difficult. Furthermore, among so many residents of the Port District, who knew if Daionian spies had slipped in? If they started causing destruction in the city...

As a vital military stronghold, internal controls within Lilybaeum were extremely strict. Initially, the city only permitted the garrison, their families, officials and their households, as well as military support personnel like blacksmiths, carpenters, and artisans to live within. During peacetime, the flourishing trade had led to some relaxation, allowing Carthaginian nobles to purchase land and reside in the city. Yet one regulation had always been maintained: apart from the military and the established residents of Lilybaeum, anyone else was forbidden from entering the city without explicit permission.

Because Lilybaeum restricted access to the urban district so heavily, the city's internal security was highly guaranteed, which in turn caused the defense of some internal facilities to be somewhat lax. For instance, the Supply Camp, which stored military rations. Although the vast majority of supplies had already been shipped to the main Carthaginian army camps, if it were set ablaze, Imisere's life would not be easy. He would face interrogations from the Senate and furious questioning from Mago...

Imisere's hesitation was noticed by another young officer, who immediately suggested, "My lord, the enemy's numbers are few. We can have the light infantry launch attacks from the wall."

Imisere was hesitant. After all, he was the city lord of Lilybaeum; he didn't just have to wipe out the enemy, but also govern the entire city. The Theonians were few in number and mixed in with the civilians. Given that it was night, falling arrows and javelins would only cause more casualties among the people of Lilybaeum, leading to even greater chaos. If civilian casualties were high, managing the aftermath would be extremely troublesome, and it would impact the operation of the entire port. The loss would outweigh the gain.

"Go notify General Lagnaca at the Northwest Military Camp. Have him lead his troops here immediately. When he arrives, we will open the city gates and attack the Theonians in the port!" After careful consideration, Imisere finally issued his orders. He believed the 4,000 soldiers from the Northwest Military Camp, combined with the 1,000 soldiers below the wall, would be enough to push open the congested gates.

"My lord, it will be too late. By the time Lagnaca arrives with his army, the civilians in the port will suffer far more casualties!" the young officer anxiously reminded him.

Imisere glared at him impatiently. In his judgment: if the Theonians were to slaughter wildly, the civilians would simply scatter, inadvertently resolving the problem of the congested gates and bankrupting the Theonians' scheme. Therefore, they would not possibly do so.

So he said coldly, "Please remember, I am the lord of this city!"

After saying this, Imisere ignored the young Carthaginian officers and instead issued orders to his light infantry officers: "Your current task is to attack the Daionian ships in the port with fire arrows!"

"My lord, the Daionian ships are too far away. They are already beyond our range!"

Only then did Imisere shift his gaze into the bay. Sure enough, he could faintly see that the ships on the sea were hugging the side of the natural breakwater. The distance from this wall to the natural breakwater was roughly 300 meters. Even with the wall standing more than 10 meters above sea level, an archer's range could not possibly reach that far. Therefore, they still had to rely on ranged attacks from the opposite wall and embankments.

A doubt subsequently arose in Imisere's mind: why were there no torches lit on the opposite wall? What were the soldiers in the opposite camp doing?!

Imisere cast his gaze diagonally ahead. The position where he stood was even further from the small military camp on the natural breakwater. Were it not for a few rapidly swaying torches that looked like candle flames, he probably wouldn't have even been able to locate the camp. Because the shouts of the civilians below the wall were too loud, they completely drowned out the faint sounds of slaughter and screaming from the small camp on the opposite shore. In addition, Imisere had never imagined that the enemy would attempt a landing by boat on the un-landable natural breakwater. Therefore, he did not consider that the small camp opposite them had already been attacked; he still assumed those soldiers had been sleeping lazily and were only now slowly running out of their camp.

Because the soldiers in the small camp were dispatched from the Southwest Military Camp, and the officers on the wall saw Imisere's displeased expression, they didn't dare defend them. Furthermore, having just ascended the wall themselves, they still didn't fully understand the situation.

Imisere offered no further criticism, as his attention was entirely drawn to the lighthouse further to the west. Having stayed in Lilybaeum for several years, he was quite familiar with the communication method where the lighthouse keepers lit oil lamps at night and used distinct swaying motions to notify port officials of incoming vessels. Yet he had never seen this situation: right beside the burning flame of the lighthouse, another flame had been hoisted high up.

"What does this mean?" he asked, pointing his finger there.

No one could answer.

Unease began to grow in his heart, and he asked again, "Have the iron chains of the port's water gates been lowered?"

Still, no one could answer. Because operating the water gates was handled entirely by the lighthouse crew, no sentries were stationed in the watchtowers on the artificial breakwater side at night.