Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 946: Merciless Military Law

Normally, even during military councils of this importance, the atmosphere remained lively to ensure everyone felt free to voice their opinions. Today, however, the mood was incredibly heavy. Even coughs were stifled. The only sound echoing clearly through the hall was Brelius's voice.

The fifty-something Legion Commander stood in the center of the hall, his head bowed in dejection. His face was wooden as he recounted the battle from two days ago:

Brelius had led 4,000 soldiers to relieve Palagonia. Although they initially routed the intercepting enemy, they were soon surrounded by the Iberian army arriving from Agyrium. He immediately ordered his troops into a circular formation to mount a stubborn defense.

The bitter fighting lasted over forty minutes. Just as their lines were about to break, Leotychides arrived with 10,000 soldiers—but his forces were also quickly encircled by the Carthaginians.

Sometime later, the Carthaginian assault suddenly slackened. They only learned the reason afterward: the allied state of Leontini, acting on Leotychides's orders, had dispatched 4,000 reinforcements of their own. Taking advantage of the Carthaginian defensive forces being drawn north to fight the Daionian reinforcements, the Leontini troops launched a rapid assault on the Carthaginian siege lines from the east. Upon hearing the news, the Carthaginians hastily split their forces to intercept them, granting the Daionian Army a desperate reprieve and allowing them to hold out until evening.

Seeing that the sortied army had not returned, Cyprolus decisively ordered the defending generals to execute Leotychides's contingency plan. They rushed to the battlefield with a second wave of 6,000 reinforcements, assembled mostly from the remaining forces in Katane and the new military camp. Their sudden strike against the Iberian army caused significant chaos.

Leotychides seized the opportunity and ordered a breakout. The cover of night greatly blunted the effectiveness of the Carthaginian cavalry, ultimately allowing the Daionian Army to retreat to Katane...

After listening to Brelius's account, Davos maintained a stern expression. He turned his head to ask Leotychides, who sat beside him, "Is what he says true?"

As a theater commander, his rank superseded that of a Legion Commander. Thus, despite being a relatively junior high-ranking general in the Daionian military, Leotychides sat at the head of the council alongside Cyprolus, the Governor of Sicily, and Secilian, the commander of the Sicilian Fleet. Ignoring the somewhat peculiar glances from the other generals, his expression remained perfectly composed as he calmly replied, "It is true."

Leotychides thought for a moment before answering, "As of yesterday, a total of approximately 6,000 soldiers have failed to return..."

A chill ran through the hearts of everyone present.

Davos sighed softly. "Six thousand men! More than half of them were likely merely wounded, but because of your rout, they have now become Carthaginian prisoners!"

His gaze turned sharp as he looked at Brelius. "Tell me. Why did you disobey orders and launch an unauthorized sortie?"

Brelius's lips moved, but in the end, he remained silent.

Davos stared at him unblinkingly for a long moment. His right hand began to tap against the back of his chair as he spoke in a cold, measured tone.

"As a Legion Commander, perhaps you felt obligated to rescue the legionnaires trapped within Palagonia... Perhaps your previous sorties went smoothly, and so you were confident this one would succeed as well. And so you ignored your superior's orders, overlooked the abnormal shifts on the battlefield, and rashly led your troops out. Not only did you place the Seventh Legion in mortal peril, but you also forced Prosous to deploy his forces to save you. As a newly promoted commander, if he had held his ground and left you and the soldiers of the Seventh Legion to die on the battlefield, it would have permanently stained his military career, no matter how justified his inaction was. He would have faced the resentment of his peers and the curses of the citizens. He likely would never have been able to establish himself in the military again!"

Hearing this, Leotychides felt a surge of gratitude. King Davos not only perfectly understood his predicament, but was also actively explaining to the assembled generals why he had been forced to risk a rescue mission—things Leotychides could not easily say himself.

"Fortunately, Prosous responded properly, and the army was ultimately able to retreat back to the city. But the loss of 6,000 men and the destruction of the new camp... that is still a staggering loss!" Davos tapped the back of his chair harder and harder. He had arrived in Sicily full of ambition, leading a massive army, only to be struck by this disastrous news the moment he landed. It was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head. Every time he thought of it, his anger proved difficult to quell.

"Tolmides," Davos suddenly asked in a raised voice, "under Military Law, what is the penalty for disobeying orders and causing massive losses?"

Tolmides's heart clenched. He glanced at Brelius, whose head was still bowed, and hesitated before answering. "According to... according to Theonian Military Law, disobeying orders and causing a defeat in battle results in... dismissal from duty in lighter cases, and... execution in the most severe."

Amyntas, Matonis, and the other generals all broke into a nervous sweat for Brelius. Although he was a Bruttian, he had been leading troops for over a decade. Thanks to his straightforward and hospitable nature, he got along quite well with these mercenary-turned-Senators, both in the army and within the Senate.

"Then Brelius is stripped of his rank as Legion Commander of the Seventh Legion. More detailed disciplinary measures will be determined by the Ministry of Military Affairs after the war, based on the total losses incurred from this battle."

Despite Davos's icy tone, Tolmides breathed a sigh of relief.

Davos had chosen the lightest possible punishment. While he had stated the Ministry of Military Affairs would hand down a detailed verdict after the war, how could the Ministry dare to impose a harsher sentence on a Senator and representative of the Bruttians? Davos had raised the club high, only to let it fall gently upon Brelius's back.

However, for Legion Commanders like Amyntas and Matonis, being stripped of military command was undeniably the harshest penalty. They felt a pang of sympathy for Brelius, but no one dared speak up in his defense while Davos was so furious.

"Brelius, do you accept this punishment?" Davos asked coldly.

"I... accept it." Brelius raised his head, gritting his teeth. "But I beg Your Majesty to allow me to fight on against the Carthaginians as an ordinary soldier!"

Hearing his response, Davos's expression softened slightly. "There is no need for you to serve as a soldier. The Seventh Legion requires a new Legion Commander. You may temporarily serve as the Second Adjutant of the Seventh Legion to assist the new commander in leading it. Are you willing?"

Being demoted from a Legion Commander to a Second Adjutant with little real power left Brelius somewhat dispirited, but being able to continue fighting alongside the soldiers of the Seventh Legion was already far more than he could have hoped for. He immediately answered, "I am willing!"

"Until the new Legion Commander arrives, you will temporarily act as the interim commander of the Seventh Legion. You may now return to your seat and participate in the remainder of today's meeting."

"Yes, Your Majesty." As Brelius made his way back to his seat, the others offered him comforting looks. He nodded in acknowledgment to each of them, but in his heart, he felt no regret. Aside from the two reasons King Davos had just outlined, there was a far more deeply rooted motivation behind his insubordinate charge.

Back during the devastating defeat at the Battle of the Lamato River, Drakos, then the commander of the fourth legion of Theonia, had personally led the first cohort to intercept the pursuing forces and cover the retreat of his men. In the end, they were completely surrounded by the enemy. They were either killed in battle or taken prisoner, and Drakos himself died a humiliating death outside the city walls. Brelius had been fortunate enough to be rescued.

Over the past decade, however, the despairing scenes of being surrounded by the enemy had surfaced in his dreams countless times. He constantly thought, 'If only reinforcements had arrived back then, Lord Drakos and the soldiers of the first cohort wouldn't have...' It had become an untied knot in his heart. So, when the seventh brigade of the first legion under his command was trapped in Palagonia and facing certain doom, he simply could not bring himself to stand by and watch, no matter how perilous the situation.

Davos did not care what Brelius was thinking at that moment. His piercing gaze swept over the gathered men, his expression grim and his voice stern. "Gentlemen, in the coming war against Carthage, the victor will become the absolute hegemon of the western Mediterranean. They will reap vast tracts of land and immense wealth. The loser will not only suffer a drastic decline in power, but may even face annihilation. Therefore, both Carthage and Daionia have no choice but to go all out. This will be a protracted, grueling war of attrition. Both our forces and those deployed by Carthage will exceed 100,000 men!

"One hundred thousand men! This is not just an enormous number; it signifies a massive escalation in the scale of the war! It means a drastic spike in the consumption of resources! It means immense difficulty in managing our armies! It means an unprecedented challenge in commanding our troops on the battlefield! Therefore, to guarantee the kingdom's ultimate victory, and to prevent this war from dragging on and burdening our kingdom and our people, I demand of everyone seated here—"

Davos's sharp eyes lingered on the fiercely independent faces of generals like Amyntas and Matonis before his voice abruptly skyrocketed in volume. "You may debate freely during military councils. But once a resolution is formed, no matter your personal misgivings, it must be executed to the letter! Only then can we guarantee the smooth operation of the entire army's command structure. If anyone disobeys an order, or fails to execute it with all their might, I swear that their punishment will be far more severe than Brelius's!"

Davos's final, murderous sentence sent a chill through the hearts of everyone present. Even the haughty Amyntas instinctively avoided Davos's gaze.

The hall plunged into a sudden, dead silence.

Davos stroked his jaw and softened his tone once more. "Tolmides, send a dispatch to the Ministry of Military Affairs. Summon Xanthiparis to Catana immediately to take up the post of Legion Commander of the Seventh Legion. He has worked tirelessly to build the Lucanian Reserve Legion, and recently scored a brilliant victory over the Samnites in Campania. It's time he received a formal command! At the same time, have the Ministry notify the Locri military camp to hastily organize reserve troops and ship them here to Catana to replenish the ranks of the Seventh Legion."

"Yes, Your Majesty."