Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1183: The Prince's Decision

Meanwhile, Adoris's voice and smiling face echoed endlessly in Crotokatax's mind: "Croto, I never expected Father to send you to the Peloponnese. Don't worry, I'll protect you with everything I have!...

Oh, right, this is your first time commanding an army. Don't worry, I'll fully support you...

Croto, I'm here representing the soldiers of the entire detachment to ask: you've kept us building the camp without sending us into battle. Is there some special plan...

Croto, you've finally ordered us into battle. I'll fight with everything I have to bring you your first victory..."

"Brother!..." Crotokatax wailed. His heart was shattered, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.

It took a long while before he could finally force himself to stop weeping; the cremation of the fallen soldiers had to begin.

With a numb, hollow expression, Crotokatax watched Adoris's body slowly char in the blazing pyre...

Only now did Ctesus have the opportunity to speak to him in profound sorrow. "Your Highness, according to the recollections of a gravely wounded soldier from the Third Battalion, after the Spartans broke through Adoris's detachment formation, he suffered multiple spear thrusts to his thighs and chest while trying to save his men. Covered in blood, he was completely unable to stand... Yet even lying on the ground, he continued to swing his short sword, hacking and slashing at the enemy. In the end, the enraged Spartans pierced him..."

"May those Spartans be hacked to pieces!" Crotokatax cursed with venomous hatred, gritting his teeth. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his skin, drawing blood he didn't even feel.

In silence, Crotokatax stroked Adoris's recovered helmet. Only after a long while did his grief-stricken voice break the quiet. "...How am I supposed to face our parents when I return? How can I look my sister-in-law and my nephew in the eye?"

A jolt ran through Plintors and Ctesus. They exchanged a glance, the exact same thought flashing through their minds: how would King Davos react when he learned that Adoris had died in battle?!

Ever since learning of the First Legion's staggering casualties after the battle, Ctesus had been plagued by guilt. His voice was heavy with resolve as he spoke up. "Your Highness, the heavy casualties of the First Legion, the death of Adoris... the blame lies entirely with me! Had I not blundered in my command—had I not hesitated in issuing orders, failing to have the men prepare their defenses in time—none of this—"

Despite his overwhelming grief, Crotokatax remained sharp. He waved a hand, cutting the commander off. "Legion Commander Ctesus, this is not your fault. The blame lies solely with the enemy for their treacherous, shameless tactics! Plintors, we absolutely cannot let those routed Spartans who fled into the mountains escape!"

Crotokatax's words dripped with malice; he looked entirely ready to wage a war of total annihilation. It was a stark departure from the gentle demeanor he had shown before. Plintors understood perfectly—the tragic death of Adoris had been a massive blow to the young prince. Instead of offering any warning, he leaned into the prince's intent. "Rest assured, Your Highness. We have already captured the Spartan army's camp at the Sanctuary of Heracles and seized their extensive baggage train. The routed Spartans have fled into the mountains without any food; their situation will only grow more desperate. Tomorrow, we will send forces swiftly south to lock down Sparta's borders, and we will capture them easily."

"The plan to invade Spartan territory cannot be delayed for long!" Crotokatax spat venomously. "When will the army be fully rested?"

"It will not take long, Your Highness. We can dispatch a portion of our forces into Spartan territory the day after tomorrow," Plintors answered with certainty.

"A portion of our forces? Will we have enough manpower to conquer Sparta?"

"The Spartans are the ones lacking troops now. What's more, we have the naval infantry of the First Fleet supporting us from the south."

"Good. We will proceed as you suggest." Crotokatax nodded. He was just about to say something else when Muklu came hurrying over. "Commander, Tegea has sent an envoy. They are requesting an audience with you."

"Tegea!" Crotokatax's face darkened instantly. His youthful features twisted into a ferocious scowl of pure hatred. "Those shameless traitors actually have the gall to seek an audience! We marched all this way to save them, and they repay us by betraying us and exploiting our trust to ambush our men! The Tegeans are the culprits who caused the First Legion's staggering casualties and led to my brother's death! I will never forgive them!"

Ctesus shared the young commander's fury. If not for the Tegean Army ambushing them from the rear, the Spartan army's feigned retreat would never have amounted to much. He firmly believed that with the First Legion's formidable combat strength, they wouldn't have taken heavy losses even if their formation was broken. It was entirely because they were caught in a pincer attack that he was forced to order the First Legion's soldiers to shift into a static defense on the spot, leaving them completely passive and enduring a brutal beating.

Fuelled by his own resentment, he added, "Commander, after the Spartan Coalition routed, we fully encircled the Tegean Army. Very few of their soldiers managed to slip away. We have captured nearly 2,500 soldiers alone. I say we execute every last prisoner as an offering to the souls of our fallen brothers, or sell them all into slavery.

I interrogated a few of the Tegean prisoners. The Tegean Council mobilized every single battle-capable citizen in their city. It's obvious they harbored malicious intentions and wanted to utterly annihilate our forces in one fell swoop! But by the grace of Hades, Tegea lost all of its own fighting strength instead. We can capture their city with ease.

Commander, it has always been Daionia's tradition to treat our friends with absolute sincerity—but we never show mercy to traitors! We can completely destroy this city. It will serve to strike fear into the rest of Greece, forcing any city-state that dares to oppose us to carefully consider the consequences!"

Ctesus's words dripped with murderous intent. As furious and grief-stricken as Crotokatax was, he still showed a flicker of hesitation upon hearing this. He subconsciously glanced over at Plintors.

Plintors didn't voice his opinion right away. Instead, he calmly recounted a piece of history. "I remember during the Western Mediterranean War, His Majesty led our grand army north to march on Rome. After seizing the City of Rome, he pivoted to attack Rome's allies in Latium. When we besieged the City of Gabii, we were met with fiercely stubborn resistance. Not only did we take heavy casualties, but the City of Gabii actually managed to coordinate with Rome's remaining coalition to counter-encircle our siege forces.

Ultimately, His Majesty broke them and conquered the City of Gabii. He immediately ordered all the Gabiians to be stripped of their status and sold into slavery. From then on, the Latins felt fear. Wherever our grand army marched after that, cities simply opened their gates and surrendered. When Legion Commander Tagetinos led the Ninth Legion to take Tharros, he suffered exorbitant casualties and resorted to the exact same method. Following that, the conquest of the rest of Sardinia Island went incredibly smoothly...

Our kingdom is powerful, but our influence over the Greek Mainland is practically nonexistent. Quite the opposite—many Greek city-states view us as nothing more than barbarians. That is exactly why Tegea dared to betray us so brazenly, and why Elis shifted from extending goodwill to overt hostility... While we must express our goodwill to the Greek city-states, we must also show them appropriate displays of our terrifying might. Doing so will make it vastly easier for our kingdom to establish a firm foothold on the Greek Mainland in the future. For this reason, annihilating the City of Tegea... I believe it is an excellent choice!"

It suddenly dawned on Crotokatax that the commanding officer who had conquered the City of Gabii and enacted that brutal decree all those years ago was none other than Plintors himself. Naturally, he wasn't going to oppose Ctesus's suggestion.

Crotokatax frowned, slipping into deep thought. A moment later, he murmured, "If we eradicate the Tegeans, do we occupy this territory ourselves? If so, it would severely damage our relationship with the Arcadian League!..."

Plintors blinked and remained silent. He hadn't considered this angle, believing that political and diplomatic matters fell outside the purview of a military Staff Officer.

Fortunately, Crotokatax didn't press him for an answer. He merely continued to frown in contemplation. A moment later, he spoke up. "Go bring in the Mantinean guide, Carixenus."

Carixenus arrived before the young commander, his heart pounding with apprehension. As a bystander, he had witnessed the entire battle unfold. Not only had he seen the countless corpses of Spartan Warriors littered across the fields, but he had also watched Daionian soldiers march thousands of prisoners right past him. Among the captives were even long-haired Spartan Warriors... The sheer scale of the victory had shaken him to his core.

He had not been present at the Battle of Leuctra, so he could only imagine what the situation had been like. But this time, the Spartans had fielded an army of nearly 30,000 men, backed by the full strength of the Tegeans. It was arguably the most formidable military force Sparta had mustered in decades. And yet, the Daionian Army had met them head-on and crushed them independently, without any help from the Arcadian army.

In the wake of this battle, there was no longer any doubt: Daionia would conquer Sparta. Meanwhile, the Tegeans' blatant betrayal had thrust the Arcadians, as allies, into an awkward and dangerous position.

Sure enough, Crotokatax's very first words made Carixenus's heart skip a beat. "Daionia fulfilled its treaty obligations, marching all the way here to rescue Tegea, only to be met with their betrayal, resulting in massive casualties among our men... Tegea will pay the price for this! We have decided to launch an attack on the City of Tegea immediately. Once we breach their walls, we will execute every single member of the Tegean Council and sell their entire populace into slavery. From this day forward, there will be no more Tegeans on this land!"