Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1147: Recognition

"Also, send someone to notify Tisias. Have him lead the men from Tyndaris to persuade and mobilize as many Helots as possible to help us unload the supplies from the cargo ships..."

Muklu acknowledged the order and left.

Leotychides then turned to Adoris. "Tell the soldiers of the First Legion to stop pursuing the enemy. Halt their northward advance and have them gather at the Spartan Camp immediately to expand it as quickly as possible. Also... where did the Spartans escape into the mountains? Have two soldiers take me there."

Leotychides could roughly guess where the Spartan Warriors had fled, but he needed to see it for himself to prepare the defenses.

...

Having witnessed the power of the Daionian Army's ballistae firsthand, Dorieus realized during the retreat that falling back to the camp would not buy them much time; due to constant foreign incursions, the defensive facilities at the Spartan Camp in Messenia were rudimentary and insufficient. He decisively issued two more orders. First, he handed command over to his Adjutant, instructing him to lead the warriors in a retreat toward the Langada Pass in the Taygetus Mountains, hoping to preserve this force of over 400 men, the majority of whom were true Spartan Warriors. Second, he sent messengers to the City of Pylos on the western coast to warn the garrison that a massive Daionian force had landed in Messenia, ordering them to abandon the small city and retreat north as swiftly as possible.

He himself, however, chose to stay behind. Even if it meant dying at the gates of the camp, he refused to flee. He knew perfectly well that while retreating to preserve their strength against a superior enemy was entirely justifiable, losing Messenia was an absolute disaster for the Spartans. The resentment and rumors of the populace would haunt him forever. As a former member of the Royal Guard and a veteran of over twenty years, he would never allow his honor to be tarnished.

Unfortunately, he only managed to kill a single Daionian soldier before an enemy javelin pierced his thigh, turning him into a prisoner. Those despicable Theonians!

Now, he was being hauled into the main tent by two soldiers. By the candlelight inside, he saw a Daionian general in black armor sitting dead ahead. The man had very short hair and a clean-shaven jaw. He had heard that the Theonians had a bizarre habit of keeping neither long hair nor beards, but looking at this man's face, he couldn't be a day under fifty... Wait. Wait!

Dorieus did not answer. He just stared intently at Leotychides's face, even involuntarily taking a few steps forward.

The guards on either side immediately yanked him back, snapping, "The Lord Commander asked you a question! Answer him!"

Dorieus struggled desperately against the soldiers' grip and shouted in agitation, "Leotychides? You're Leotychides!"

Leotychides was violently startled. He thought that after being away from Sparta for so many years, he had changed too much. Most of the Spartans who had known him back then were likely dead or retired, making it impossible for anyone to recognize him on the battlefield. He never expected his identity to be exposed the moment he set foot in the Peloponnese.

Beside him, Muklu immediately shouted, "This is Lord Prosous, commander of the Daionian Army! He led our forces to defeat the Carthaginian army, captured Syracuse, and conquered Gaul... He is a famous, ever-victorious general of the Kingdom of Daunia! Spartan, cease your nonsense and answer the general's questions truthfully. If you behave, we will consider sending you back to Sparta!"

"He really is Leotychides, the son of our former Spartan king, Agis!" Dorieus stubbornly pointed at the Daionian general sitting right in front of him, declaring loudly, "I could never mistake him! That scar on his chin is from when we were sent out by our instructors to hunt wolves. He was pinned down by the alpha wolf. If it weren't for me, he would have been bitten to death!"

Dorieus spoke with such vivid certainty that the others in the tent subconsciously looked at Leotychides. Indeed, Prosous had a rather noticeable, thin scar on his chin.

Had Leotychides grown out a beard and tied up his long hair, Dorieus might not have been entirely certain. But the current Leotychides, apart from having more wrinkles, looked much the same as he did in his youth.

With Sparta's continuous political reforms over the past few decades, the power of its kings had almost entirely faded. Aside from the right to command armies, only one privilege remained untouched: princes were exempt from the brutal military training starting from childhood. Otherwise, an infant born with a crippled foot like Agesilaus would have been thrown into the valley crevices long ago. But Leotychides was one of the rare royals who volunteered to undergo the Agoge. Naturally, he drew a lot of attention from the other Spartan youths in the camp. Given his personality, he rarely paid attention to anyone else in return, but nearly losing his life to a wolf's jaws had left an exceptionally deep impression on him. Thus, even though the Spartan before him had disheveled hair and a blood-streaked face, he could roughly guess his identity.

'The world really is too small!' Leotychides sighed inwardly. Then he said in a deep voice, "Leave this prisoner here. The rest of you, step down."

Muklu stared at Leotychides. Seeing his calm and resolute expression, Muklu opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing, turning and walking out of the main tent.

The two guards, however, hesitated. "Lord Commander, leaving this Spartan alone in the tent is simply too dangerous!"

"Am I supposed to be afraid of a wounded Spartan? Out!" Leotychides ordered, leaving no room for refusal.

The guards obediently retreated, leaving only Leotychides and Dorieus inside the tent.

The two men gazed at each other. A moment later, Leotychides broke the silence, pointing to a wooden stool nearby. "Have a seat."

Dorieus did not hold back. Dragging his injured left leg, he sat down on the stool.

"I never expected to run into you here, Dorieus," Leotychides said slowly.

"And I never expected a prince of Sparta to become a general of Daionia!" Dorieus said with a mocking sigh.

"What is so unexpected about it? When Agesilaus took the throne, if I hadn't fled Sparta, was I supposed to willingly stay behind and be constantly called a bastard? And then, like my mother... like my mother, suffer endless injustice until I hung myself?!" Leotychides's voice trembled with a rare surge of intense emotion. "At the time, apart from Daionia, which dared to oppose Sparta from the moment it was founded, the other city-states were either Sparta's allies or its vassals. I didn't have many choices... but looking back now, my choice was the right one. That is why I am here today."

"Your choice was right?!" Hearing this, Dorieus flared up in anger. "Without even declaring war, Daionia launched a surprise attack on the precious lands left to us by our ancestors—Messenia! It is a completely treacherous act! Do you know how much hardship losing Messenia will cause Sparta?! How many people will lose their noble status as citizens and be reduced to the lower class just because they lost their allotments in Messenia?!... Just because you hold a grudge against King Agesilaus, you're willing to hurt all Spartans at any cost! Do not forget, you are a Spartan too!"

Leotychides tapped his fingers on the table and said indifferently, "I am a Daionian Citizen now. Attacking Messenia wasn't my decision to make either; that was an order issued by King Davos. Besides, the treacherous ones are Sparta. You ended the peace agreement early, giving Thebes the chance to ally with Daionia. Then you violated the Peace of Callias and led your army to attack Thebes once more. Daionia naturally had to fulfill its alliance obligations..."

"But Thebes has already signed an armistice agreement with Sparta!" Dorieus roared.

"We did hear rumors of that in Daionia, but Thebes never sent an envoy to notify us. Furthermore, Daionia is so far away from the Greek Mainland that there was no way to verify if the rumors were true or false. Therefore, the attack plan was never altered.

"Additionally, there are some citizens within Daionia who originated from Messenia. Years ago, King Davos promised them he would restore Messenia's independence. Today, he is simply fulfilling that promise..." Leotychides said lightly.

"So Daionia has already decided to be Sparta's enemy?!" Dorieus spat out viciously. "Don't think that just because Daionia reigns supreme in the western Mediterranean, you have no rivals! You only managed this fluke of a success because you attacked without declaring war and caught us off guard! Soon enough, Sparta will gather a massive army and retake Messenia. By then, I'm afraid it will be the Daionian soldiers' turn to become Spartan prisoners!"

"If Sparta really sends a great army to contest Messenia, that would be for the best." Leotychides's tone grew heavier. A strange light glinted in his eyes as he looked at Dorieus, and he said meaningfully, "In truth, even if you hadn't spoken, we are well aware of Sparta's current situation. The Spartan Warriors stationed in Messenia don't exceed 500, and all the Spartan Warriors combined number fewer than 2,000. For this reason, the Council of Elders passed a resolution in recent years granting Spartan citizenship to some perioikoi and a very small number of Helots, yet without distributing any land to them. In reality, their status remains lowly, their desire to fight isn't strong, and they even clash with the Spartan Warriors...

"Furthermore, years of continuous warfare have prevented many Spartan Warriors from supervising the labor of their own Helots. As a result, they fail to collect enough to pay their dues, stripping them of their right to the common meals. In practice, they have already been reduced to the lower class, and their hearts must be brimming with resentment. I feel that Sparta's current situation is probably even worse than it was back when they hunted down Cinadon..."