Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1042: Pursue the Exhausted Enemy With Remaining Courage

The rebellious indigenous fighters seized the City of Mazara. Even as they ruthlessly pillaged the city, they dispatched envoys to negotiate with Daionia, offering a deal: if Daionia transported them back to Iberia, they would cease hostilities and surrender Mazara.

Davos's response was uncompromising: they had no right to dictate terms. Unless they surrendered unconditionally at once, not even their corpses would be allowed to return to their homeland.

Davos's response left the indigenous Iberians both furious and terrified. Seeking to drown their fear in bloodshed, they escalated their pillaging into a full-scale massacre. The citizens of Mazara rose up to resist, but they were no match for these vicious, wolf-like warriors. In the blink of an eye, they were on the verge of being slaughtered to the last man.

Unexpectedly, a dispute over grain broke out between a group of Lusitanians and Celts. The argument quickly escalated into a deadly brawl, which then spiraled into a chaotic melee. The Celts, the Lusitanians, the Iberians, and the Phoeno-Numidian Infantry had operated independently and received vastly different treatment back when they served under Mago. Old grudges had always festered among them. Now, desperate to secure more food and improve their own people's chances of survival, they ruthlessly turned their blades on one another.

Every faction in the city was dragged into the massive, unstoppable bloodbath. Throughout the entire day, agonized screams and the clash of weapons echoed relentlessly across the city, carrying for miles.

Daionian scout cavalry had already reported the infighting in the City of Mazara back to Davos. He rejected his generals' proposals to intervene, merely ordering the scouts to maintain their surveillance.

By the time night fell, rivers of blood ran through the City of Mazara, and corpses littered the streets. Cloaked in darkness, the warring factions were forced to halt their fighting, each retreating to a different corner of the city to keep a wary eye on the others.

Meanwhile, the weaker Phoeno-Numidian Infantry naturally banded together with the surviving citizens of Mazara. They secured the port and began secretly plotting their surrender to Daionia.

At daybreak the next morning, the indigenous Iberians awoke to a horrifying sight: thousands of soldiers clad in Black Helmets and Black Armor had materialized inside the city. Stunned, the rival factions immediately suspected one another of secretly opening the gates to let the Daionian Army inside.

Only then did Davos order the Sicilian Fleet to urgently transport two legions of soldiers, utilizing the cover of night to disembark directly at Mazara's port.

The previous day's bloodbath had already inflicted heavy casualties on the indigenous Iberians. Now, the Daionian Army stood inside the city, while outside the walls, military horns blared endlessly amid rolling clouds of dust.

No matter how fierce the indigenous Iberians were, they were trapped in an absolute dead end. Ultimately, they had no choice but to lay down their arms and surrender.

With Segesta and Mazara surrendering in rapid succession, Carthage's grand army of 100,000 men was completely annihilated. Davos immediately ordered Segesta and Mazara to dispatch envoys to Eryx to persuade them to surrender.

Left with no other choice, Eryx—the religious center for the Phoenician population in Sicily—swiftly opened its gates to Daionia.

...

After Eryx surrendered, Davos led the main army into Lilybaeum—the military stronghold constructed by Carthage. Inside the city lord's mansion, he convened another military council. Aside from Legion Commander Tagetinos of the Ninth Legion, who was far away in Sardinia, every senior Daionian general involved in the war attended the meeting. Even Legion Commander Xanthiparis of the Seventh Legion, stationed far away in Palermos, had rushed over to be present.

"Your Majesty, congratulations on securing victory in the Sicilian War! You have led our armies to conquer the entire island and thoroughly drive out the Carthaginians, achieving a brilliant military triumph unparalleled by any who came before!" The moment the council began, Tolmides led the assembled senior generals in a chorus of congratulations.

This caught Davos off guard. His gaze slowly swept across the faces of his commanders. He saw the excitement radiating from Tolmides, Matonis, Oliphus, Lizarus, Trotidis, and Xanthiparis; the smiles worn by Alexis, Plintors, and Epithenes; a flicker of regret in Amyntas's expression; and the absolute calm on Leotychides's face...

Finally, his eyes settled on Henipolis at his side. The Palace Secretary was covering his mouth, stifling a snicker at Davos's earlier look of shock.

After a moment, Davos's expression turned solemn, and he spoke with deep emotion. "This victory does not belong to me alone. It belongs to all of you exceptional commanders, to our heroic soldiers, and to every citizen of Daionia who poured their strength into this war! Without your brilliant leadership, without our soldiers bleeding on the front lines, and without the unwavering support of our people, today's glorious triumph would not exist! Standing here, I wish to offer you my own congratulations, and more importantly, my deepest gratitude!" With that, he offered a formal military salute to the assembled officers.

Startled by the sudden gesture, the generals froze for a second before snapping to attention and returning the salute.

Seeing how deeply moved they all were by his words, Davos quickly waved a hand and softened his tone. "Sit down, all of you. If anyone sees us standing here so stiffly, they won't think we're celebrating a victory. They'll assume we've encountered a formidable enemy and are preparing for a fight to the death."

The room broke into laughter.

Henipolis even chimed in with a joke. "Your Majesty, you'd be hard-pressed to find a single city-state, nation, or tribe left in the western Mediterranean that would dare wage war against Daionia."

These words brought proud smiles to the faces of everyone present.

Davos offered a faint smile of his own but did not reply.

Once everyone had taken their seats, his expression grew serious once more. "You made a small mistake in your assessment just now. We haven't completely conquered the Island of Sicily yet. The rebel forces of Syracuse remain entrenched on Ortygia Island. Of course, they are no longer worthy of our attention. However, this war with Carthage is far from over. Across the sea on the continent of Africa, the wealthy Carthaginians are likely bleeding their treasuries dry as we speak, frantically spending their gold and silver to hire more soldiers and build more Warships to keep this war going. Therefore, it is far too early for wild celebrations. We cannot afford to give Carthage a single breath of respite. We must seize the moment, land in Africa, and completely defeat Carthage! Only then can we truly rest our minds and cheer for victory!"

Hearing Davos's words, the generals' gazes grew eager, their expressions even more excited: a cross-sea invasion to conquer Carthage would be a tremendous glory!

Looking at these battle-hungry generals, however, Davos remained deadly serious and said in a deep voice, "Ever since this war began, the kingdom has drained its treasury to provide sufficient military supplies for our massive army, ensuring our soldiers can fight without worrying about their rear. Every government department has faced severe financial tightening, and our citizens have been living frugally. Even the newly collected grain from the autumn harvest is rapidly running out...

"Now, we are preparing for a cross-sea invasion. It will stretch our supply lines even further from the kingdom and require an even greater expenditure of resources. Given the kingdom's current financial reality, we simply cannot afford to support such a massive army going forward. As a result, the number of soldiers dispatched will not be too large, and I do not intend to personally lead this expedition.

"Fortunately, we have already annihilated the vast majority of Carthage's military might here in Sicily. They cannot possibly organize another powerful army in a short amount of time. Moreover, we have formed an alliance with the East and West Numidians. When the time comes, their forces will head to Africa to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with our army. Thus, even if we only dispatch a portion of our troops, we will still possess a significant advantage!"

Looking around the room, Davos noticed the varying expressions on his generals' faces, but all of them revealed a similar burning desire: to become the commander of the expedition to Carthage!

Davos didn't give them time to dwell on it or voice their pleas. After a brief pause, he issued his command with absolute finality: "I hereby appoint Alexis as commander. He will lead the First Legion, the Second Legion, and the third legion of Theonia on the expedition to Carthage!"

The moment the order fell, some generals bore looks of 'just as I expected,' their expressions easing with acceptance. Others clearly felt disappointed, but no one dared voice a single word of protest.

Over the years, Alexis had rarely sought battle actively, having grown increasingly indifferent to glory. But now, he immediately rose to his feet. A rare flash of intense emotion broke across his face as he spoke in a trembling voice. "Your Majesty... I will stand united with the brothers on this expedition. We will fight bravely to conquer Carthage as swiftly as possible and repay your trust!"

Davos nodded, offering no further words of encouragement. Looking straight at him, he continued in a heavy tone: "Time is tight. Your expeditionary legions have exactly two days to prepare. In two days, you will board the fleet and set sail for Africa!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Alexis, Amyntas, Matonis, and Lizarus saluted and acknowledged their orders in succession.

"Oliphus!"

"Ah... Here!"

"Sextus!"

"Here!"

"Recently, I received a battle report from Tagetinos. The Ninth Legion under his command has systematically conquered a number of Phoenician City-States on Sardinia Island. However, because he has to leave garrisons behind to secure every newly captured city-state, his forces are currently spread thin. He lacks the manpower to assault the largest city-state on the island—Caralis. Caralis has now gathered the last remaining resistance forces on Sardinia Island, so Tagetinos has requested reinforcements. Therefore, I have decided to dispatch the fourth legion of Theonia and the Roman Reserve Cohort to Sardinia!"

At this point, Davos shifted his gaze to Oliphus and offered a tactful reminder. "To prevent excessive drain on our supplies, we must conclude the war in Sardinia as swiftly as possible. Tagetinos has been campaigning there for two months; he is familiar with the local situation and understands the enemy well. Therefore, he will serve as the temporary commander. You are to obey his orders and fully assist him to conquer Caralis, secure the entire island, and ensure that Sardinia permanently becomes a territory of Daionia!"