Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 972: Coercion

Before long, the conversations among the soldiers gathering in twos and threes began to shift: "Did you hear? The day before yesterday, I learned something shocking from Pharbas, Hicetas's most trusted servant—"

"What shocking news?!"

"Hicetas secretly met an envoy from the King of Daonia right in his own living room!"

"What?!"

"Hey, shut your mouth. Stop spouting nonsense and slandering Lord Hicetas's reputation!"

"It's the truth! I heard it from a drunk Pharbas myself at the tavern. He said the Daionian envoy brought a promise from King Davos: if Lord Hicetas leads us people of the Port District to submit to the Kingdom of Daunia, we'll immediately become citizens of the Kingdom of Daunia! We'll receive fertile plots of land, and we can hold all sorts of public offices based on ability rather than birth. Our children will even get nearly free education, and we'll finally get to truly serve in the military (the Greeks took pride in serving their city-states, but this mainly referred to cavalry and heavy infantry; the low-status poor and registered freemen could only serve as light infantry and sailors, which held absolutely no honor). We could earn rewards for our battlefield achievements and even get promoted to generals..."

"Just like the Catanians now?!"

"Yes! When the time comes, we'll be citizens of the Kingdom of Daunia just like the Catanians, and we'll naturally enjoy the exact same rights!"

As Catana's neighbors, the people of the Port District had not only witnessed it develop from ruins into a bustling city over the past decade, but they had also heard countless times from passing maritime merchants about the wealthy, free lives the Catanians led. They had long been incredibly envious, especially since many Catanian citizens were originally registered freemen or even slaves living in the port of Syracuse.

"Did Hicetas agree?!"

"If he had agreed, we wouldn't be here. But haven't you noticed his mood has been a bit off these past few days?"

"Oh, no wonder I thought he was acting strange. When I ran into him on the street and greeted him, he seemed completely deaf to it, just keeping his head down and pondering something..."

"Hey, we are citizens of Syracuse! Daionia is our enemy! Hicetas was right not to agree! He should have arrested that envoy right then and there and sent him to the Council!"

"Exactly, Hicetas was foolish. If the other generals find out, he won't be able to explain his way out of it. He might even be punished and lose his rank!"

"Stop being so self-righteous. Since when did those people in the Inner City ever treat us as Syracusan citizens? They stole our rightful land and gave us only a pitiful handful of seats in the Council! Proposals concerning our interests never even pass!..."

"That's right! Exactly! Since the Syracusans don't welcome us, why should we risk our lives defending them! Do you know how much more miserable our lives in the port used to be? We were constantly oppressed by the people in the Inner City. Forget about owning land; we didn't even have the right to attend the ecclesia. We were barely better off than slaves. It was only with the help of the Theonians that the commoners of our port united and forced the Council to make concessions and grant us some rights. But are we just going to be satisfied with that?!"

"If we want to live like the Catanians, now is our golden opportunity! I heard the Theonians have already captured Euryalus Fortress. Those men in the Council are terrified! They've already sent every man in the Inner City out to defend against the Theonian attack. Otherwise, they never would have transferred us to serve as reserves in the place the city folk consider most sacred. If Hicetas leads us to submit to Daionia right now, we can help Daionia conquer Syracuse and truly become their citizens!"

...

Hicetas had once believed Artemis was the only Daionian spy hiding within the Inner City of Syracuse, but he was wrong. Perhaps the Daonian Intelligence Agency had stationed very few personnel in Africa and the Iberian region because those territories were beyond their reach. But how could Aristiras possibly ignore a neighbor like Syracuse, which held such a vital strategic position and shared so many grudges with Daionia? Over the past ten years, no fewer than ten operatives had been planted in the Port District, and countless port residents had been influenced by them to harbor favorable views of Daionia. Thus, the moment Artemis and his men began executing their plan, soldiers across the entire plaza were soon gossiping about the "secret meeting between the Daionian envoy and Hicetas."

The first to notice the unusual atmosphere in the plaza was not Hicetas, who was still lost in thought on the platform, but his rival down in the plaza, Selecaecus. As one of the senior officers of this unit, Selecaecus was deeply shocked when he overheard the soldiers' conversations. However, he immediately realized this could be a prime opportunity for him. He hastily gathered several other senior officers who were also at odds with Hicetas and marched onto the platform, aggressively demanding, "Hicetas! So you've already colluded with Daionia and are preparing to betray Syracuse!"

Startled from his daze by Selecaecus's accusation, Hicetas took a moment to process what had just been said. Glaring at Selecaecus and his hostile companions, he snapped back angrily, "Selecaecus, have you lost your mind fighting for a general's position?! Colluding with a foreign enemy is high treason. If you recklessly slander me like this, don't blame me for being merciless!"

Selecaecus was completely unfazed. He sneered, "I'm not slandering you. Use your own ears and listen to what the thousands of men in this plaza are saying! They are all witnesses to your treason! You don't need to lose your temper with me. When the Council sends its men... heh... you'll have plenty of chances to vent your anger!"

Selecaecus laughed wantonly, taking the opportunity to vent the resentment he had built up from constantly being suppressed by Hicetas. Having battled Hicetas for years, he knew the man quite well. Just by observing the shift in Hicetas's expression when suddenly confronted, Selecaecus was certain: the rumor was very likely true!

Hearing this, Hicetas's expression shifted uncertainly. Before he could make any further excuses, Selecaecus, already confident in his conclusion, decided not to argue any longer. He turned and walked down the platform, intending to return to his own troops to wait for the Council to deal with Hicetas. Then, he would smoothly take over the power he had long coveted. However, a group of men blocked his path.

"Samoratis," Selecaecus said, raising his head arrogantly and looking at him with disdain. "Your uncle is finished. From now on, you'll have no one to protect you. Cross me again, and you can forget about staying in the port. Get out of my way!"

Samoratis stared at him coldly. "I'd like to see who exactly in the port—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a man beside him suddenly lunged forward. Drawing a dagger hidden in his clothes, he swiftly stabbed Selecaecus in the chest several times.

Selecaecus immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. Unable to utter a single word, he collapsed heavily to the ground, clearly beyond saving.

Samoratis was stunned by the sudden turn of events, unable to react for a moment. "You... what are you doing?!"

The senior officers who had followed Selecaecus were even more horrified. Shrieking, "Murder! Murder!..." they tried to turn and flee, only to be caught one by one by a thoroughly prepared Artemis and his men, who stepped forward to apprehend them.

Then, Artemis clapped the assassin forcefully on the shoulder and praised him loudly, "Well done! You take the top credit today!"

The assassin gave a simple, honest smile. The fresh blood splattered across his face mingled with his dark skin, giving him a rather terrifying appearance. "Thanks, boss!"

"Criscus!" Samoratis exclaimed, finally recognizing the assassin. He was completely astonished.

This Criscus had arrived at the Syracuse port two years ago, claiming to be a refugee from the Greek Mainland. He had been working as a manual laborer at the docks, hauling cargo. He seemed like an honest and simpleminded man who always put in the most effort while earning the least, and he was often bullied. Out of the goodness of his heart, Samoratis had proactively ordered his subordinates to bring the man to his own pier to treat him more fairly... But he never expected that such an honest, simple man would turn out to be such a ruthless figure, and seemingly one of Artemis's subordinates to boot... The realization made the hairs on the back of Samoratis's neck stand up.

At that moment, as if sensing what he was thinking, Artemis looked at him sternly. "This is the only way to force your uncle to make a decision as quickly as possible!"

With that, he strode toward Hicetas.

Samoratis hesitated for a second before following closely behind.

Hicetas had already taken in the situation in the plaza, and he had witnessed everything that had just occurred. Facing Artemis as he approached, Hicetas appeared rather calm. "You arranged all of this?"

Artemis understood exactly what he meant. Instead of answering directly, he said, "Selecaecus already sent someone to the Council to inform on you. And... look—"

Artemis pointed toward the plaza. Some of the soldiers under Selecaecus's command, seeing their officer murdered, were angrily trying to charge the platform to demand justice. They were forcefully blocked by Samoratis's men, and a scuffle had already broken out between the two sides.

"Not just for yourself, but for all the people of the Syracuse Port District, you must make a decision immediately!" Artemis said in a deep voice.

"Do the Theonians actually care about the people of the Syracuse Port District?!" Hitacus, feeling utterly stifled and miserable at having been played by Artemis, scoffed.

"Uncle!" Samoratis, standing to the side, blurted out.