Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 994: Amyntas Once Again Shoulders the Heavy Responsibility

"Excellent defensive measures!" Davos said with renewed approval. "It seems the prospect of a siege by such a massive Carthaginian army hasn't frightened you. Instead, it has actively driven you to devise better ways to defend. This is very good."

Davos stepped up to the battlements and looked out beyond the city.

Swirling dust and a clamor of voices filled his vision. Through the gray haze over a hundred meters away, countless figures scurried about like diligent ants. They were digging a long trench around Selinunte, piling the excavated dirt behind it and tamping it down. A sprawling camp lay behind this unfinished earthen rampart, its tents as innumerable as stars in the sky. Further in the distance stood another completed earthen wall encircling the city...

Davos stared for a long while, his expression turning solemn. "It seems the Carthaginians are serious this time. They are truly preparing to attack Selinunte!"

"I am afraid the Carthaginians have no other choice but to attack Selinunte," Alexis remarked.

Davos nodded silently. As he descended from the gatehouse, he made a point to observe the soldiers patrolling the walls. Every one of them looked tense, their muscles taut.

Upon arriving at the castellan's mansion, Davos immediately convened a military council.

"The situation in Selinus is dire, and the Carthaginian attack is imminent. What are your thoughts?" Davos asked, getting straight to the point.

"Your Majesty, Selinus must be reinforced immediately. I am willing to lead the First Legion here to defend it!" Amyntas volunteered. Spending this time in Minoa, he had realized that Davos had no intention of engaging the Carthaginians in a pitched battle anytime soon. Selinus was bound to become the focal point of the next clash.

"Chalcides gave me a great idea just now. In the past, we were used to setting up multiple layers of obstacles outside our cities and camps to hinder and bleed the enemy. Now, with the massive Carthaginian army bearing down on us, it is no longer possible to make detailed preparations outside the walls. But we can build defensive measures inside. Why not construct several Inner Walls and set up more traps? After all, our priority is to protect the port. The city proper has been evacuated of its residents, so we can turn it into a battlefield to slaughter the Carthaginian soldiers and deal them a heavy blow. However, dismantling the houses and constructing these walls and traps in such a short time will require a vast amount of manpower..."

Davos listened carefully, deep in thought. He then turned to Amyntas with a serious expression. "Did you hear Alexis's suggestions just now? What do you think?"

Amyntas replied impatiently, "Alexis's proposal is excellent, but that all comes into play only after the enemy begins their siege. If I were the commander of Selinunte, I would ask Your Majesty to deploy a cavalry legion under my command. The Carthaginians are building their walls at such a close distance that it actually hinders their own cavalry. I would send our cavalry to launch frequent surprise attacks on them.

"Furthermore, I would ask Your Majesty to allocate all the ballistae and gastraphetes to me. I would mount them all on the battlements to launch precision strikes against the Carthaginians, constantly bleeding their ranks..."

Davos pondered this for a moment before speaking decisively. "Amyntas, I appoint you as the commander of Selinus. Lead the First Legion, the Sixth Legion, the First Cavalry Legion, and the garrison of Selinus—a total of 22,000 men. Hold Selinunte for me. If it falls, do not bother coming back to see me!"

Davos naturally had his own reasons for choosing Amyntas as the commander of Selinus. Although Amyntas sometimes lost his cool on the offensive due to his overly belligerent nature, his performance on the defensive was much steadier. It allowed him to fully utilize his wealth of experience, a trait that had been extremely apparent during the defense of Ostia.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty! I will turn Selinus into the Underworld for the Carthaginians!" Amyntas declared loudly, his spirits high.

"I will notify Secilian to draft a portion of his sailors to help your troops complete the construction of Selinunte's defensive facilities as quickly as possible."

Having said that, Davos turned to Chalcides. "Chalcides, you will continue to command your original 4,000 soldiers. Moreover, you are granted the right to attend every military council in Selinunte. Since you are familiar with both the city and the enemy situation outside, you can provide Amyntas with sound advice."

Chalcides felt a surge of excitement. His original position had been appointed by Commander Leotychides, and King Davos's decision to let him continue commanding these 4,000 men officially cemented that assignment. Furthermore, wartime military councils were generally only open to those holding the rank of Legion Commander or higher. Ordinary officers were only allowed to participate under special circumstances. For Davos to allow him regular participation in Selinus's military councils meant he now possessed a status on par with a Legion Commander.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" he said, his voice trembling.

"Alexis still has to command the army in Minoa for me. I can't do without you there!" Davos said, half-joking and half-serious. "Your Majesty, I am more than happy to serve you!" Alexis replied with a relaxed expression.

...

After successfully constructing the camp's outer wall, Mago ordered his soldiers to hurry and build the inner wall. Just as the trench was more than halfway dug and the earthen rampart was gradually being built and tamped down, the situation changed. From the previously quiet North Gate, East Gate, and West Gate of Selinunte, hundreds of cavalrymen suddenly charged out from each direction, launching a surprise attack on the Carthaginian soldiers constructing the camp's inner wall.

Caught completely off guard, the Carthaginian soldiers immediately routed. By the time fully armed Carthaginian reinforcements arrived, the Daionian cavalry had already retreated safely back into the city.

These successive ambushes made Mago realize that the Theonians had reinforced Selinunte and had begun intensifying their harassment outside the city. It was clearly no longer possible for the Carthaginian army to focus entirely on building facilities and advancing toward the walls without drawing the garrison's attention.

Although he wanted to draw out the main Daionian force for another decisive battle by attacking Selinunte, he hoped to do so only after completing his preparations and stripping the city of its defensive advantages. Therefore, he ordered his troops to accelerate the construction of the camp's inner wall while simultaneously deploying fully armed soldiers behind the builders as a defensive screen.

At the same time, he brought in several thousand cavalry to patrol the exterior of the camp's inner wall, keeping a close watch on the movements at Selinunte's gates.

Unexpectedly, the ballistae and gastraphetes on the city walls fired in unison, concentrating their attack on the gathered Carthaginian cavalry and infantry a hundred meters away. The volley inflicted numerous casualties, forcing Mago to hurriedly pull his defensive troops further back.

Naturally, he did not halt the construction of the inner wall. Instead, he dispatched more soldiers to speed up the work. He also brought up his own ballistae, using the cover of the earthen ramparts to launch an attack against the battlements of Selinunte.

...

While Mago was racking his brains to counter the raids from the city, he received a plea for help from a messenger from Palermos: a Daionian army numbering over ten thousand men had landed on the beaches near Panormus!

Mago was taken aback. The Daionian Army was supposed to be either on the Southern Coast or in the central mountains. How could another army of over ten thousand suddenly appear? Could the Theonians have conscripted them from Magna Graecia?

It never crossed Mago's mind that it might be the Daionian Army that had attacked Syracuse. Having seen Syracuse with his own eyes, he refused to believe the Daionian Army could have conquered it in such a short amount of time.

Although somewhat worried about Daionia's military potential, Mago had no time to dwell on the origins of this new force. He realized that the recent tranquility along the northern coast had caused him to neglect this Phoenician City-State, which lay somewhat isolated from the core region of Western Sicily. He had even drafted some citizens from Palermos to help build the walls at Selinunte. If Palermos fell to this attack, it would mean a further reduction in the coastline available to the Carthaginian army, making the Daonian Fleet's blockade even more effective.

Cursing his own negligence, he immediately dispatched mounted messengers northward to notify Hasdrubal, who was stationed near Segesta, ordering him to immediately lead his forces to reinforce Palermos.

Upon receiving the order, Hasdrubal swiftly led his 30,000 soldiers on a forced march toward Palermos.

But little did he know that after Leotychides led the Seventh and Eighth Legions in a rapid coastal landing, he neither attacked Palermos directly nor began constructing a camp. Aside from leaving a small contingent to monitor the movements of Panormus and the City of Solus to the east, the main force took their pre-prepared building materials and rushed to the mountain pass leading south and the entrance to the western coastal path. Every soldier raced against time to dig trenches and traps, arrange abatis, build earthen ramparts, drive in wooden stakes, and construct wooden towers...

Hasdrubal did not choose the coastal path, as it was unsuitable for the passage of a large army. Furthermore, the Daonian Fleet controlled the coastline. If his army marched in a long, winding column along the coast, the vanguard and rearguard would be cut off from each other, leaving them highly vulnerable to an amphibious assault by the Daonian Fleet. Therefore, he led his army through the mountain pass.