Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 981: The True Purpose of the Carthaginian Navy

Baricus had indeed executed his mission flawlessly; the fleet under his command had stalled the main Daonian Fleet for well over three hours.

To Morbal, however, the results were far from satisfactory. Sinking thirty-five Daonian Warships at the cost of seven of his own was a tally he only managed after observing the Carthaginian Warships' initial assault and adjusting his tactics. It still fell drastically short of his original goal: the complete annihilation of the Daonian Warships he had lured out.

He fell short because the Daonian commander of this fleet had rallied more than half of his warships in time. Instead of leading them out of that confined area to rescue the stragglers on the periphery, the commander formed an irregular circular defensive perimeter within that space, concentrating his defenses on the relatively open western side.

After wiping out the other isolated Daonian Warships, the Carthaginian Fleet regrouped to encircle the survivors. They launched a few probing assaults, but the Daonian defensive formation proved too tight, leaving Morbal unwilling to risk a full-scale offensive.

Upon receiving the news that the main Daonian Fleet was approaching to reinforce them, Morbal finally made his decision. "Signal the warships to assemble on the western side of Hera Island to complete the final mission."

"My lord, what about our sailors stranded on the islands?" a subordinate reminded him.

"Everyone dies. You and I are no exception..." Despite his words, regret gnawed at Morbal. He sighed again. 'During the planning phase, I should have reminded them to swim toward Sicily if they went overboard!'

While the Carthaginian Fleet dominated the surrounding waters during this time, the stranded Daonian sailors ruled the rocky islets. Although most of the Carthaginians who fell overboard had been rescued by nearby friendly vessels, a large number of the merchant sailors whose ships had been sunk by the Daonian Fleet earlier had swum to the reefs. How could they possibly be a match for Daonian crews bolstered by fleet infantry? They were all either killed or captured.

As Secilian led the fleet into these waters, his mood instantly plummeted, for he constantly saw shattered warship wreckage drifting across the waves and heard the surviving Daonian sailors on the nearby reefs cheering and shouting for rescue...

Yet, upon seeing the forty-odd surviving warships and listening to Straphacus recount the entire engagement, Secilian swallowed his temper. "We've all been played..." he muttered bitterly.

When Straphacus continued, "According to the reports from the Fast Warships, the Carthaginian Fleet is forming up on the western side of Hera Island—"

Secilian's rage flared again. "The Carthaginians ambush us, scrape together a petty victory, and suddenly think highly of themselves? Now they actually want a pitched battle with us! Good! Good!! Good!!! Order all warships to round Hera Island. We will fight the Carthaginian Fleet to the death!"

Secilian first detailed several warships to recover the stranded crews from the reefs, then led his remaining force of roughly two hundred and forty warships straight for the western side of Hera Island. Just as reported, the Carthaginian Fleet was already waiting in formation.

Secilian immediately blew his war horn and hoisted the red and black flags. As the entire fleet advanced toward the Carthaginian Fleet, all the warships rapidly shifted into the Starry Night formation.

However, the Carthaginian Fleet suddenly turned their bows away from the Daonian Fleet and sailed south.

"Don't let them escape into Lilybaeum Port!" Unwilling to let them go, Secilian issued the order to pursue.

However, a gap of roughly two li already separated the Daonian Fleet and the Carthaginian Fleet. The Corvus Warships were relatively slow. The Fast Warships could easily catch up, but the Carthaginian Fleet remained in tight formation and had just won a victory. Secilian dared not let the Fast Warships push too far ahead; if they separated too far from the Corvus Warships, they could easily suffer losses from an enemy counterattack.

In truth, the Carthaginian Fleet had no intention of engaging the Daonian Fleet again, nor did they plan to enter Lilybaeum Port. Instead, they led the Daonian Fleet on a tour through the waters near Lilybaeum and Mazara before finally turning westward. Their destination—Carthage.

Unwilling to concede, Secilian led the fleet in pursuit for a while longer before he finally had to turn back.

By now it was late afternoon, verging on dusk. Over the past day, the Sicilian Fleet had been toyed with, ambushed, and led on a fruitless chase... After this series of frustrating events, both Secilian and his crews were physically and mentally spent. With no energy or stamina left to continue patrolling the western waters, they sullenly sailed their warships back toward the Port of Selinus...

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

Davos and his main army were stationed in Minoa, not far from Selinus. There was no hiding the news that the new Sicilian Fleet had suffered a defeat in its very first battle.

Naturally, Secilian had no intention of hiding it. Though it wasn't a major defeat, he did feel ashamed. He penned a truthful battle report, intending to dispatch it to King Davos via a fast ship early the next morning under the pretext of "continuing the patrol of the Sicilian waters." He planned to delay a personal apology; instead, he would lead the fleet back into the western waters, hunt down an opportunity for a swift victory to win back his dignity, and only then present himself before Davos.

But things did not go as planned. Before he could even lead the fleet out of the port, a royal messenger arrived from Minoa and read out Davos's decree, ordering him to hurry to Minoa and present himself to King Davos immediately.

Heart pounding with unease, Secilian arrived at the military camp in Minoa.

Upon seeing him, a stern-faced Davos handed him a Papyrus Scroll before Secilian could even speak.

Secilian quickly finished reading it, his face revealing his shock. "Over a thousand merchant ships fully loaded with military rations docked in the bay north of Eryx yesterday?!"

North of Eryx, two slender ridges stretched westward into the sea for a li or two, curving inward like the horns of an ox to form a massive bay. The Phoenicians had indeed built two ports in this bay, but both were small. Never before had so many merchant ships anchored there.

"This is intelligence secured at great risk by the Kingdom Intelligence Department's spies in Sicily," Davos said coldly. "It was only delivered into my hands late last night. There is no mistake! While the Sicilian Fleet was being toyed with by the Carthaginian navy, I'm afraid you didn't consider that the true purpose of their actions was actually to transport military rations to the Carthaginian army on the Island of Sicily, who were nearly out of food! Everyone in the Sicilian Fleet, including you, acted like enraged bulls, staring only at the enemy in front of you and completely forgetting your true mission! Now that the Carthaginian army has food, they have enough patience to endure a standoff with us, which will certainly cause us great trouble! Secilian, this time, you have disappointed me."

A profound mix of shame and shock hit Secilian: everything the Carthaginians had done yesterday was all because of this?! Yet from start to finish, the Carthaginians had not shown the slightest intention of escorting a massive transport fleet or intercepting the Sicilian Fleet's northward patrol. But it was true that he and his subordinates had focused entirely on the enemy, without a single thought of sending warships past Eryx to scout north. Yesterday's events had already frustrated him immensely, but he hadn't expected to have lost even more!

Seeing him fall silent, Davos said coldly, "What?! Have the Carthaginians frightened you?!"

Secilian lifted his head and looked at Davos. "No, Your Majesty," he said in a deep voice. "I admit that I lost to the Carthaginians this time, but there will not be a next time!"

"Good. That is the ever-victorious commander of the Daunian Navy I know." Davos nodded, his tone softening. "The Theonian Military Law explicitly states: 'A commander must always remain calm and cannot allow any negative emotions to affect his reason and cause him to make an erroneous judgment.' This time, anger blinded your eyes and led you to make these mistakes. I hope you can learn from this. Please remember that you are the commander of the Sicilian Fleet. The orders you issue dictate not just the survival of the Sicilian Fleet, but the victory or defeat of the entire war in Sicily! Stop acting like a mere ship captain, obsessing over ramming an enemy ship! You must broaden your perspective and focus on the entire battle situation! Do you understand?!"

This time, Secilian nodded thoughtfully.

"Since the founding of the kingdom's navy, its development has always been smooth without encountering major setbacks. This has led to extremely high morale in the navy, but it also easily breeds arrogance..." Davos continued to remind him. "Yesterday's failure is also a blessing. It will allow the naval soldiers to calm down and treat the enemy more seriously. Carthage is, after all, a maritime power in the western Mediterranean with a deep foundation. Their newly appointed naval commander is no simple figure either. He is a Carthaginian hero who once led fleets far across the ocean, fighting at sea for decades. If you can defeat a general like him, it will make your victory even more valuable!"

Davos looked at Secilian, who had already cast aside his depression and regained his high fighting spirit, and asked, "What are your thoughts on those Carthaginian merchant ships that toyed with you?"

At this moment, the storm in Secilian's heart had fully settled. He thought for a moment and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, I admit that these Carthaginians' sailing abilities are indeed very strong. But we interrogated the captured Carthaginian merchant sailors last night. We learned from them that this Carthaginian naval general named Morbal specifically gathered all the highly skilled sailors from Carthage and the nearby Phoenician City-States. Over half of them were his old subordinates. He motivated them with the message that Carthage was in a dire situation and urgently needed heroes to save it, while simultaneously promising high pensions. That is how he assembled those two Carthaginian Convoys, using them to bait the Sicilian Fleet.

"Although his tactics ultimately succeeded, it was a method of killing the chicken to get the egg. In truth, it excessively depleted the Carthaginians' maritime strength. This perfectly illustrates that after our consecutive naval victories, the Carthaginian navy's manpower is already stretched thin. They were forced to adopt such extreme measures to gain some advantage, but this method can neither be sustained nor deceive our navy again.

"Your Majesty, I have already formulated a new operational plan targeting the current state of the Carthaginian navy. I believe you will soon hear news of the Sicilian Fleet's victory!"