Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 988: Long-Distance Raid

Hearing this, Davos privately disagreed. Based on his observations during their time together in Latium, Midorades was not an outgoing man, but he was fiercely competitive. He had never made steep demands of the Ministry of Military Affairs before—unlike Secilian, who constantly asked for more Warships, expanded rosters, and improved port facilities. That was likely because Midorades felt he lacked a stellar track record to justify such requests. In this war, however, his performance had been stunning, eclipsing even that of the Sicilian Fleet. With a record like that, his mindset would naturally shift. The morale and pride of the Third Fleet's crew would rise in tandem, and expecting them to meekly submit to another commander would no longer be easy.

"Your Majesty," Plintors said, "although the Third Fleet only has 150 Warships, they managed to defeat the newly built Carthaginian Fleet guarding Sardinia despite being outnumbered. I believe they can independently handle the current Carthaginian Fleet. Moreover, judging by their recent performance, the Third Fleet excels at raiding enemies on shore. Given that, we could entirely separate the Sicilian Fleet and the Third Fleet—one in the south, one in the north, independent of each other's command. We can simultaneously assign them the tasks of blockading the waters of Western Sicily, harassing Carthage and its allied territories, and annihilating the Carthaginian Fleet..."

"Hmm..." Davos's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously began tapping his fingers against his chair.

"Your Majesty, how could that work? It would be a mess!" someone objected. "Setting aside Secilian's inevitable dissatisfaction, without a unified command, there will be no coordination between the two fleets. Chaos will ensue. They might both sail to blockade Western Sicily at the same time, or both try to raid the exact same target..."

"That is indeed a concern, but Secilian and Midorades are both highly intelligent men. They will consciously coordinate their actions with one another," Davos said dismissively. He then raised his voice. "Letting the Sicilian Fleet and the Third Fleet operate independently to accomplish the same objectives will foster competition between them. I think it is an excellent idea. Competition will force both fleets to unleash their full potential. It will give them more drive and initiative, and that will spell disaster for the Carthaginians!"

"...Understood." Tolmides glanced at Plintors, then asked, "Your Majesty, should we inform Secilian of this?"

Davos shook his head. "The Sicilian Fleet suffered a humiliation recently, and spurred by that, Secilian decided to execute this raiding mission. Right now, what he needs most is patience for meticulous preparation. If we tell him this now, I fear it will throw off his mental balance. Let's wait to inform him until he returns successfully."

"Yes."

Davos gladly approved of the two fleets competing against each other, though he kept one crucial reason unspoken. In the army, no single high-ranking general dominated the field. Alexis and Prosous had slightly better track records, but Amyntas, Hylos, and Capus were not lacking either. Most importantly, his own supreme status within the army was unshakeable. The navy, however, was a different story. Secilian's prestige was simply too high. Since Davos could not command the navy in person, Secilian's word had historically been absolute among the fleets. Even though Davos had implemented countermeasures—such as establishing four separate fleets and leaving the position of supreme naval commander vacant—he still had to rely heavily on Secilian during times of war. Now that an exceptionally capable commander like Midorades had finally emerged, Davos naturally wanted to support him to help decentralize power within the navy.

Tolmides and Plintors nodded in agreement.

"What is the current situation with the various troops?" Davos asked.

"Since the legions have a large number of new recruits right now, combined with the soldiers of Rome who recently joined, they have been busy training these past few days to integrate the newcomers as quickly as possible," Tolmides replied.

"Tell them to hurry. It might not be long before they have to take the battlefield."

...

At dusk, Secilian received Davos's directive approving his raid. He quickly ordered all crew members to rest early, ensuring they would have abundant energy for the next day's venture.

Meanwhile, he stayed up deliberating with several veteran sailors from Selinus to finalize their sailing route. He then met with his three squadron commanders and the infantry commander of the Sicilian Fleet. Relying on information extracted from Phoenician captives from the Eastern Mediterranean, they discussed how to launch a surprise attack on the City of Hadrumetum, keeping busy until late into the night.

The next day, before the sky had even lightened, the Port of Selinus was bustling with activity.

The crews rose early to wash, dress, and eat breakfast. Led by their boatswains, they headed to the docks of their respective Warships. Working together, they dragged the Warships into the water before climbing aboard to take their stations. Following them, the assembled fleet infantry boarded the Corvus Warships in groups of forty, swiftly taking their places on the decks.

By the time all preparations were complete, the first sliver of daylight had just crested the horizon.

Secilian strode onto the Flagship. The captain greeted him with a joyful expression: "My Lord, Poseidon protects us! We currently have a light north wind!"

"Excellent, it's an auspicious sign!" Secilian beamed. He took a large wooden chalice from the captain, walked to the bulwark, and offered a devout prayer of gratitude to Poseidon. He then solemnly poured the wine from the chalice into the sea.

"Let us depart," he ordered.

The Flagship hoisted a green flag. No war horns were blown, for fear of alerting the Carthaginian army encamped outside Selinunte. If they raised the alarm, word would quickly spread to the fleet in Carthage itself.

The captain of every Warship had their eyes fixed on the Flagship. The moment the flag signal went up, they immediately prepared to set sail.

The first to leave the port was the squadron led by Straphacus. During the last surprise attack by the Carthaginian Fleet, Straphacus had remained calm and successfully preserved more than half of his Warships. Secilian confidently entrusted him with the heavy responsibility of leading the vanguard precisely because of his steady and reliable nature.

Straphacus's ship sailed at the head of the formation. Two veteran sailors from Selinus sat on its deck. In an era without compasses, navigating the vast ocean was incredibly difficult, especially at night. Experienced sailors relied on observing the stars to determine their direction. Right now, dawn was just breaking. The stars were still visible in the dim sky, and the rising sun on the horizon served as a reliable marker, making it relatively easy to maintain their course.

All the Warships of the Sicilian Fleet hoisted their sails, riding the north wind straight south.

More than two hours later, the lookout atop the mainmast of Straphacus's ship shouted, "There's an island ahead!"

Straphacus immediately leaned over the bow railing, peering forward. "Is it Cossura Island?!" he asked.

The two veteran sailors widened their eyes to look, but the distance was too great to see clearly.

After a while, when the island's silhouette finally sharpened into focus, they nodded repeatedly. "That's it! That's the one!"

"Hoist three green flags! Order the sailors to advance at sprint speed!" Straphacus commanded decisively. His greatest fear was that the island's inhabitants would spot the fleet and flee on their boats ahead of time.

But he was clearly overthinking it.

The sun had only just leaped above the horizon. Many of the Cossurans had not yet risen from their beds, and no one was out at sea fishing this early.

As a result, the Warships of Straphacus's squadron arrived swiftly, completely blockading Cossura Island's only port on the southern side.

One thousand five hundred fleet infantrymen had already stripped off their armor, strapping only their leather shields to their chests for buoyancy and securing short swords to their backs. They plunged into the sea, swam past the simple iron chains and water gates meant to block ships, entered the harbor, and quickly scrambled onto the docks.

By the time the rest of the Sicilian Fleet gathered outside the port of Cossura Island, the entire island had already been seized by the fleet infantry.

The success of this first step did not allow Secilian to relax. He issued his orders: leave behind half of the fast scout ships to use Cossura Island as a hub, primarily tasked with scouting the waters to the southwest. At the first sign of anything unusual, they were to rush straight to the coast of Hadrumetum to notify the rest of the fleet. Meanwhile, all Warships would not stop here; they would continue sailing south, bearing straight down on the City of Hadrumetum.

...

Pserica, commander of the Eastern Mediterranean Phoenician Combined Fleet and a high noble of Tyre, was actually extremely reluctant to lead his forces to the Western Mediterranean. However, Tyre and the other Phoenician City-States heavily relied on the precious metals provided by Carthage to secure the Phoenician Region's status within the Persian Empire. Thus, they had to help Carthage win this naval war to ensure the sea routes remained clear. As a Tyrian naval general serving Persia, he was the indisputable candidate to lead the Combined Fleet.

Tyrians—especially the nobility—held complicated feelings toward Carthage. Hundreds of years ago, a royal rebellion in Tyre had resulted in a group of dissidents being exiled. They eventually drifted to the Western Mediterranean and founded Carthage. Back then, Tyrian officials dispatched to the Western Mediterranean to manage the mining and transport of precious metals disdained even stopping in this city-state built by rebels.

But who could have predicted the shifting winds of the following centuries? The Phoenician Region was first conquered by Assyria, and later reduced to a territory of Persia. Tyre's control and influence over the Phoenician colonies in the Western Mediterranean were vastly diminished. Carthage, meanwhile, steadily rose to power. It gradually usurped the authority and wealth left behind in the Western Mediterranean by Tyre, Sidon, and other Eastern Mediterranean Phoenician City-States, ultimately becoming the most powerful Phoenician colonial city in the Western Mediterranean.