Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1209: Landing in Thessaly (1)

"Callistratus, calm down!" Chabrias snapped, his expression stern. "Look at the Daonian Warships out there. They vastly outnumber us, and their combat strength is formidable. My previous attempt to lead the fleet in a sneak attack on the Laconian Gulf ended in failure. If I recklessly lead the fleet to break through their blockade now, we'll only be surrounded. Our already meager number of Warships will be completely wiped out, and by then, we will entirely lose control of the Aegean Sea!"

"Even if they truly intend to land, we've long been prepared. The only place the Theonians can land is Marathon Beach, where a temporary defense camp has been built and thousands of soldiers are stationed. The moment anything unusual is spotted, the city can dispatch thousands more. We can absolutely guarantee the safety of all of Attica."

"Athens is heavily defended, so of course I don't need to worry about that," Callistratus said anxiously. "I'm worried that Daionia might attack our other allies. If they fall under a Daionian assault, the Greek expeditionary army currently fighting the Daionian Army with everything they have in the Peloponnese will inevitably be affected!"

"Don't panic," Chabrias said calmly. "First, we must determine whether the Theonians are truly going to carry out a landing. The Daonian Fleet has blockaded the Saronic Gulf, but they couldn't possibly blockade the northern coast of Attica as well, since it has almost no coastal towns. We do, however, have quite a few fishing villages along that northern coast..."

"I'll immediately send messengers to notify the northern coast fishermen!" Callistratus's eyes lit up with sudden understanding. "I'll have them row their boats out and carefully scout the Aegean Sea for any anomalies!" He spun on his heel and sprinted away.

Chabrias turned his gaze back to the sea and let out a soft sigh, a twinge of shame rising within him. He had led his navy to victory over the Spartan fleet several times in the past, but now, facing the sheer might of the Daunian Navy, he was truly feeling a bit of cowardice...

...

Not long after the First Fleet blockaded the Saronic Gulf, the 3rd Fleet had also bypassed Euboea Island on the northeastern side of Attica and approached the Pagasetic Gulf.

The mountain range on the northern border of Thessaly stretched southeast into the sea, then curved inward to approach the mountains along the southern coastal border. This geography formed a natural breakwater, as well as an almost circular gulf with an entrance only about ten li wide.

About twenty minutes later, the Daionian troopships arrived. The Third Fleet immediately sailed into the gulf, advancing straight toward Pherae, the only port town inside the bay, which only heightened the tension among its citizens.

Stationed in the city of Pherae at this moment was Acidamas, Jason's capable assistant. Upon receiving news of the Daonian Fleet's approach, he did not panic. Instead, he immediately ordered the city's garrison to rush to the port's breakwater and mount a defense.

Pherae's territory ranked near the bottom among the various city-states of Thessaly, and its urban district was even smaller. Its wealth stemmed from possessing the only commercial port in all of Thessaly. Because the entire Thessaly Region was almost completely surrounded by mountains, making foreign overland trade extremely inconvenient, Pherae utterly monopolized the advantages of maritime trade. Naturally, the people of Pherae were deeply concerned with the safety of their port.

After Jason became tyrant, he put enormous effort into the port's defenses. Not only had he reinforced the breakwater, heightened the landward walls, and narrowed the water gate, but he had also added a Military Port within the harbor and built a fleet... Therefore, even though the Daonian Fleet had arrived so suddenly, Acidamas wasn't the least bit worried that they posed a threat to the safety of the Pherae Port.

But it wasn't long before he received a report from his scout cavalry: "A Daionian fleet has appeared on the Almyros Coast, and many Daionian soldiers are landing there!"

The Almyros Coast was the only low-lying coastal land bordering the sea in eastern Thessaly. Why had the Thessalians chosen to build the city of Pherae in such a cramped location to the north, rather than constructing a seaport town in the much larger Almyros?

This was because several rivers within Thessaly flowed into the gulf here. Silt washed down by the rivers had accumulated over the years, forming a vast expanse of swamps and mudflats. Thoroughly filling and draining it to finally turn it into land suitable for human habitation and farming would require continuous effort and advanced land-reclamation techniques. Decades ago, the Thessalians had still been viewed by the Greeks as barbarians. Coupled with the fact that they already possessed an abundance of rich, fertile land within their borders, they felt no urgent need to build a city here. Thus, the Almyros Coast had been left in its primitive state to this day.

Upon receiving this news, Acidamas felt a touch of panic. Although he knew the Almyros Coast was covered in deep mud, making it incredibly difficult for men and horses to traverse, the information he had gathered about the Kingdom of Daunia in recent days left him uneasy. He immediately dispatched someone to notify Polydorus while he mounted his horse and led his guards out of the city.

Standing on the mountain ridge south of Pherae, Acidamas had a clear, sweeping view of the vast Almyros basin. Many ships were moored along the coast, including a few Daonian Warships. Daionian soldiers—primarily fleet infantry—were continuously disembarking from the vessels and standing on the pitch-black mudflats. If one didn't look closely, they were almost indistinguishable from the mud. However, there was a conspicuous yellow marker on the mudflats that was constantly extending and expanding...

Acidamas stared intently for a moment before his heart rate suddenly spiked. The Theonians were building a road across the mudflats!

Just as he was overcome with intense anxiety, Jason's brother Polydorus arrived. Accompanying him was another brother, Polyphron.

After carefully observing the situation in the Almyros basin, Polydorus, who had been granted temporary military authority over Thessaly by Jason, comforted Acidamas. "You don't need to worry. Our garrison troops have already entered the defensive camps in the mountains surrounding Almyros and are fully prepared for battle. Moreover, with the Theonians building a road at this pace, by the time they make it off the mudflats, the Citizen Soldiers urgently mobilized from the various city-states of Thessaly will have already arrived. It's impossible for the Daionian Army to break through our heavily guarded camps and enter the heartland of Thessaly!"

With that, he looked up at the sky and added with brimming confidence, "If they don't retreat by dusk, they'll suffer countless mosquito and insect bites throughout the night. When we attack tomorrow, they might just throw up their hands and surrender!"

Compared to Jason, Polydorus was much more steady and prudent, so his words dispelled Acidamas's unease. Acidamas immediately bid farewell to the two brothers and hurried back to Pherae to soothe the panicked citizens and stabilize order within the city.

"Polydorus, why don't you let me lead the light peltasts down to attack the Theonians and give them a taste of our strength!" Polyphron volunteered loudly.

Polydorus waved his hand in refusal. "There's no need! Attacking now will only scare them away. We shouldn't do a single thing. Let's give the Theonians the illusion that Thessaly's rear is truly defenseless. Only after they've exhausted themselves from a long period of grueling labor will we consider a surprise attack."

Rebuffed, Polyphron felt a flare of irritation. Staring at his second brother's departing back, he spat on the ground and cursed under his breath, "Coward!"

...

What the brothers Polydorus and Polyphron didn't know was that the Daionian Thirteenth Legion and the fleet infantry landing on the Mirdoros coast were nothing more than a feint meant to pin down Thessaly's rear guard. The true landing site wasn't here at all.

Half an hour later, the horrified citizens of Peleus watched as a massive Daionian fleet approached the coast near their city.

Thessaly's northeastern border was cut off by a contiguous mountain range consisting of Mount Olympus, Mount Ossa, Mount Pelion, and a series of other towering peaks. Yet, amid these seemingly impassable mountains, there was one place that could be traversed relatively easily to smoothly enter the northern territory of Macedonia. This was the river valley pass carved through the mountains by the Pineios River. Over the years, the silt carried by the river had accumulated at the estuary north of the mountains, forming a small basin. It was here that the Thessalians had built a small city named Peleus.

Because Peleus was located outside of traditional Thessalian territory and sat flush against the borders of Macedonia, many Thessalian citizens didn't actually view it as a true member of the Thessalian city-states. Peleus itself, for the sake of its own security, frequently aligned with Macedonia. Consequently, the various Thessalian city-states to its south often alienated Peleus and refused to interact with it. Coupled with a lack of abundant natural resources, its port trade had never managed to develop.

This remained the case until Jason became the tagus and formally integrated the city into the Thessalian League. To promote the prosperity of Thessalian trade, Acidamas even dismantled the checkpoints south of the river valley pass. This caused not only Peleus's maritime trade to flourish but its overland trade to develop as well. Because of this, the Peleusians were filled with immense gratitude toward Jason and always actively answered his calls to action. Even though Peleus was not a large city, when Jason previously mobilized to form a Thessalian army to march south, Peleus provided nearly 3,000 soldiers. This constituted almost the entirety of the city-state's young and able-bodied citizens. Now, watching the Daionian soldiers swarming the coast like a tidal wave, the terrified citizens were struck with profound regret.

"Hurry! Faster! Brothers, faster!..." Matonis, the fifty-something-year-old Legion Commander of the Second Legion, showed no sign of his heroic vigor fading with age. Being the first to land, he stood upon a reef, his roars thundering over the waves as he continuously urged his soldiers onward.

Spurred on by their old commander, the soldiers of the Second Legion leapt off their ships and didn't even pause to catch their breath. Led by their respective squad captains, clutching their shields and spears, they trampled through the soft mud with uneven, stumbling strides, swarming rapidly as they sprinted south.