Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 896: Naval Battle of Thermae (III)

Although Strabacus was the nominal commander, Seclian was the true leader of this fleet. He stood resolutely at the prow of the lead corvus warship, his gaze unwavering. From behind, the captain’s voice boomed, “Faster! Maintain our course!”

A lookout’s cry pierced the air, “Forty enemy vessels sighted ahead, double-column formation! More ships are appearing in the distance!”

“Let’s take them out in waves!” Seclian murmured, glancing up towards the corvus’s bridge near the front mast.

The hastily assembled Phoenician fleet also increased their speed, narrowing the gap between the opposing forces.

Seclian’s eyes were locked on the enemy vessel surging forward. His own corvus ship maintained a high, though not full-sprint, speed as it steered directly towards the enemy’s bow.

When the ships were just thirty meters apart, the enemy vessel abruptly turned, revealing the Phoenicians' awareness of the Theonian corvus warship's formidable strength.

Seclian let out a sneer, ignoring the evading Phoenician warship and pressing onward.

Just as the Phoenician warship maneuvered past Seclian's vessel, it was suddenly rammed violently by a Theonian warship, striking its side like a charging swordfish.

The Phoenician warship was forced into another sharp turn to narrowly avoid a direct impact. Yet, as the two ships scraped past each other, the order came, “Withdraw the oars!”

“Withdraw the oars!” Both sides commanded simultaneously.

While the Theonian sailors were prepared, the Phoenician crew, having just expended great effort to prevent their ship from sinking, were caught off guard. They couldn’t react in time, and the Theonian warship smashed directly into their oars, shattering them.

Having disabled the enemy’s oars, the Theonian warship broke away and continued its charge forward.

As the Phoenicians remained in shock, another Theonian warship emerged from another flank. This one, also a corvus warship, used the Phoenicians' oar-less state to lower its drawbridge onto their deck. The soldiers from the reserve legion on board did not, unlike those from the allied city-state who had rushed across in the heat of battle, become disorganized. Instead, they followed orders, swiftly returning to their ship after cutting down most of the Phoenician sailors. They then raised the drawbridge...

Seclian's 'Starry Night' formation differed from its previous iteration. The traditional layout positioned corvus warships spread out at the front, with swift triremes held back to exploit openings. Seclian, however, arranged the corvus ships and fast triremes at intervals. This modification was designed to accelerate the attack's tempo, aiming to save besieged warships more effectively.

In the center of the fleet formation, Strabacus's ship flew a high red flag, signaling surrounding vessels to fight to the death. Meanwhile, Seclian’s ship, leading the charge, rallied the sailors to advance courageously.

Although the Eastern Phoenician fleet had initiated a successful surprise attack, this was their first engagement against the Theonian fleet. Consequently, their traditional naval tactics proved inadequate against the new strategies Theonia had honed through years of training. Despite their numerical superiority, their disorganized formation crumbled under the assault of the highly motivated Theonian squadron. After a fierce engagement, the Theonian squadron captured and sank ten Phoenician ships, suffering damage to only four of their own vessels, completely shattering the enemy formation before them.

Seeing the tide turn, the Phoenician warships began to retreat.

However, the Theonian fast-sailing triremes did not pursue the fleeing enemy. Prior to the battle, Seclian and his officers had agreed that splitting their forces was too risky due to being outnumbered. Advancing further would invite encirclement. Therefore, while maintaining their speed, the Theonian warships gradually regrouped, preserving their formation.

As the Phoenician ships continued their withdrawal westward, they encountered reports that allowed some hidden Theonian ships to join the main line, bolstering the Theonian squadron’s numbers. Thus, rather than decreasing, their fleet had grown larger after the engagement, reaching a total of forty-five vessels.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Miltiades coughed violently, spitting out seawater as a nearby individual rushed to pat his back, assisting him.

“Commander Miltiades, are you alright?!” the man inquired with evident worry.

Miltiades, however, merely waved his hand, indicating a desire for solitude. He turned his gaze toward the vast sea, his eyes fixed on the spot where his flagship had once proudly sailed. Now, only a fragment of the main mast remained above the waves, a stark reminder of its demise, akin to a drifting, decayed branch. Despite the flagship’s maneuver to encircle the enemy for a period, they were ultimately unable to break free from the enemy's encirclement and were consequently sunk. Their proximity to the shore, fortunately, allowed them to swim to safety.

As his gaze swept across the water's surface, he observed several similar ‘decayed branches,’ predominantly near the coastline. Further out, a greater number of shipwrecks floated, mostly identified as Theonian warships. The scarce intact vessels appeared devoid of crews, aimlessly drifting with the currents; these were the Phoenician warships that had been rendered immobile by the corvus ram.

A profound sorrow seized Miltiades’ heart as he beheld the wreckage and the countless severed heads floating upon the sea. The annihilation of the Theonian fleet, and specifically his fourth fleet, struck him with immense grief.

He remained on the beach for an extended duration, the ebb and flow of the tide lapping at his legs.

The majority of the men beside him mirrored his state, their eyes fixed on the sunken flagship with which they had shared years of camaraderie, making their parting a somber affair.

“Hello there, are you from the Theonian fleet?!” A new voice approached them.

“Yes, we are part of Theonia’s Fourth Fleet, and this is our–” the man next to Miltiades began, but Miltiades quickly silenced him with a sharp smack on the shoulder. As the designated leader for this transportation mission, Miltiades carried a heavy burden of responsibility for the catastrophic defeat and felt a deep sense of shame.

Thankfully, his recent arrival in Sicily meant he was largely unknown. The newcomer merely gave him a brief glance before addressing the sailor: “There are still many of your Fourth Fleet comrades over there.”

Following the indicated direction, Miltiades noticed over a thousand individuals already assembled on the eastern beach.

The newcomer introduced himself: “I am Phracas, the commanding strategos of the reinforcements dispatched from Gela. This location is far too close to Selinus; we cannot linger here, lest the Carthaginians discover us. Therefore, we must proceed eastward immediately, traverse through Thermae, and reach the city of Minoa to guarantee our safety.”

The sailor turned to Miltiades, who gave a subtle nod. He then promptly responded, “Understood. We will depart.”

Phracas observed the dejected Miltiades, recognizing the same despair on the faces of several Theonian captains who had managed to reach the shore. This disaster, following the fleet’s destruction by a storm, was another significant blow to the Theonian navy. Furthermore, the shattering of the navy’s seemingly invincible reputation had severely impacted the morale of its officers. Phracas felt a pang of empathy for their situation, yet his own anxieties lingered: ‘With both the Theonian army and navy in Sicily facing dire circumstances, what will become of Gela?’

He let out an internal sigh and turned his attention back to the assembled group.

The men trailing behind sporadically cast glances back toward the sea. Suddenly, one exclaimed, “We can no longer spot any enemy vessels offshore. Have they retreated?”

Miltiades almost faltered and collapsed upon hearing this. The sight of enemy ships still patrolling the waters would have signified that elements of the Theonian fleet were still actively engaged in combat. But with the enemy’s complete withdrawal, the grim implication was that the Theonian fleet might have been utterly annihilated.

Miltiades’ face turned ashen, and the anguish in his heart intensified.

Abruptly, a commotion erupted from ahead: “Enemy! Enemy!!”

“The Carthaginians are upon us! Flee!”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The sailors were jolted as numerous Numidian cavalry emerged from the northern woods, their steeds thundering down the gentle incline toward the assembled crowd. Close behind, more fully equipped Carthaginian infantry materialized.

Following the preceding night’s raid, Mago had significantly bolstered coastal patrols between Selinus and Thermae. Consequently, the clash between the Theonian and Phoenician fleets near Thermae was swiftly detected. Upon receiving the report, Mago instantly dispatched a combined cavalry and infantry force of five thousand men. Their objective was to assault the Theonian sailors and soldiers stranded ashore due to their ships sinking, while simultaneously preempting any potential intervention from the Minoans seeking to aid the survivors.

As the majority of the Theonians and the allied city-state’s soldiers on the beach were unarmed, panic inevitably ensued. As the Numidian cavalry charged closer, they hurled their javelins into the dense crowd, eliciting spurts of blood and cries of agony, causing the terrified populace to turn and flee in disarray.