Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 996: Hasdrubal Repeats an Old Trick

Throughout the day, the Daionian Army that had landed in Palermos territory was kept busy until evening. When not defending the southern mountain passes and coastal trails, they spent their time constructing Davos Camp and unloading supplies from the cargo ships.

The night passed peacefully.

The next day, Leotychides was in no rush to attack Panormus. Instead, he ordered his ten thousand soldiers to continue building the camp. The Third Fleet, which had guarded the cargo ships offshore the day before, did not reappear. The bustling camp only quieted down when evening arrived.

However, the mountains south of Davos Camp were far from peaceful. The Carthaginian army was blocked at the pass leading into Palermos territory. A forced assault was unlikely to succeed and would only result in heavy casualties, but Hasdrubal refused to give up. He knew that if the Theonians occupied Palermos, it would further compress his army's room to maneuver. Besides, he was not a man to easily bow to hardship. Time was short. Fearing the undermanned defenders of Palermos couldn't hold out for even a few days, Hasdrubal resorted to his old trick: he dispatched four thousand Lusitanian warriors, ordering them to cross the mountains, reinforce Palermos, and drive back the Daionian Army.

The Iberian army led by Hasdrubal had previously been stationed in Palermos for several months and was quite familiar with the local terrain. Heading east from the southern entrance of the pass and climbing over several towering ridges led to a modest lake fed by mountain streams. This water spilled into the eastern lowlands, gradually forming a small river. After flowing east for ten li, the river turned north, winding its way to the sea. Its course carved out a narrow valley that, while difficult to traverse, provided a direct route into Palermos territory.

The Lusitanian warriors trekked through the mountain valleys the entire day. Only at dusk did they see the small river exit the mountains and flow out onto the flat Palermos territory. This location was east of Palermos, over ten li from Panormus. The warriors halted their advance. Taking cover in the dense forest, they ate their rations and lay down on the grass to recover the strength they had expended during the march.

Late that night, the deeply sleeping warriors were reluctantly roused by their chieftains. Groggily, they marched out of the mountains.

As they marched east, they gradually shook off their sleepiness. Their excitement grew when the moonlight revealed the vague outline of Davos Camp in the distance.

During this campaign in Sicily, they had followed Hasdrubal to capture Saedium, and later massacred Agrigento, Ecnomus, and Gela. They had plundered heaps of spoils, enjoyed Greek women, and slaughtered countless Greek men. Yet their own casualties remained light. This was largely because Hasdrubal never committed them to grueling sieges. During the attacks on Henna and Palagonia, they had merely stood by and watched. They had only fought in one pitched battle, and even then, they faced soldiers from the Greek city-states of the Southern Coast, experiencing little true pressure.

The Carthaginians, the Greeks... these so-called civilized men feared the dark. The Lusitanians did not. In fact, they loved using the night to cloak their movements, creeping up on their enemies to launch lethal strikes. In Iberia, this was exactly how they had dealt with the Carthaginians, ultimately forcing them to sign a peace treaty. Now, they intended to unleash this tried-and-true tactic upon the pitiful Theonians. At the thought of tasting Daionian blood, the Lusitanian warriors gripped their short swords and quickened their pace.

Yet on the march, almost no one made a sound aside from their footsteps. The four thousand men silently closed in on Davos Camp.

The massive Davos Camp was equally silent. Torches burned at regular intervals along the wooden palisade, illuminating the perimeter, but no sentries patrolled the walls. Guards could be seen up in the tall watchtowers, but they were all fast asleep.

The Theonians clearly thought that by blocking the mountain pass, they could attack Panormus without a care in the world, believing no enemies could threaten them from the rear. That had to be why their camp security was so lax! Seeing the situation playing into their hands, the Lusitanian chieftains were overjoyed. They led their soldiers out of hiding and approached the camp in a loose formation.

Pressed for time, the Theonians hadn't laid traps around the camp. This allowed the Lusitanians to easily reach the trench outside the east gate. Several warriors carefully scrambled across the ditch and reached the base of the wooden palisade.

Some of them formed human pyramids to climb up. Others tossed lassos over the wooden wall to hook the top stakes and shinnied up the ropes. Before long, over a dozen warriors had vaulted the palisade and swung the camp gates open.

The Lusitanian warriors waiting outside eagerly rushed into the camp. Unleashing deafening roars, they charged toward the tents. However, the warriors who stormed inside found them completely empty.

Just as shock set in, a resounding bugle call blasted through the camp. A black tide surged forward as countless Daionian soldiers, wielding long shields and spears, emerged from the passages between the tents. They formed a dense shield wall and advanced on the Lusitanian warriors.

The Lusitanians' first reaction wasn't to engage, but to realize they had been baited. Their traditional tactic dictated that if a sneak attack failed, they should retreat immediately and try again later. The Lusitanian chieftains instantly bellowed, "Pull back! Retreat, now!"

The warriors whirled around, scrambling to flee through the camp gates.

But the bugle call hadn't just signaled the Daionian soldiers inside to block the attackers; it also triggered the troops lying in ambush outside. As the Lusitanian warriors rushed for the exit, they found countless Daionian soldiers clad in black helmets and black armor blocking their escape route. Meanwhile, more soldiers swarmed the passages along the inside of the palisade, sealing off their final path of retreat.

"Commander, we've completely encircled the enemy!" Tagerus said excitedly from his vantage point atop a watchtower inside the camp.

Though Leotychides remained silent, his expression grew visibly relaxed. He and Xanthiparis had long anticipated that the Carthaginians might send mountain tribes as reinforcements. He had dispatched the mountain reconnaissance squads from both Theonia Legions to closely monitor the surrounding peaks for any anomalies.

The specially trained scouts were evenly scattered throughout the southern mountains. Around noon, they had spotted the Lusitanian army trekking through the ridges. Rather than alerting the enemy, they split their efforts: some continued to tail the force, while others rushed back to camp to inform Leotychides. The Lusitanians believed their movements were completely stealthy, entirely unaware that Leotychides already held them in the palm of his hand. He had woven a net and simply waited for these clueless moths to fly right into it.

Seeing no hope of retreat, the Lusitanians decided to carve a bloody path out by force. Raising their wooden shields, they threw all their weight into the Daionian shield wall, viciously thrusting their falcata short swords at any Daionian soldier who exposed a gap in their defense.

The soldiers of the Theonia Legion maintained their dense formation, using their spears to keep the enemy at bay. With strong support from the ranks behind them, they used their heavy shields to slowly crush the enemy inward.

The ones truly dealing the killing blows were the light infantry positioned behind the Daonian Heavy Infantry. They hurled volley after volley of arrows and javelins into the encircled enemy.

Aside from helmets and wooden shields, most of the Lusitanian warriors wore no other armor. Consequently, the Daionian ranged attacks inflicted heavy casualties on them.

However, seeing their comrades continuously struck down only stoked their bloodlust. Like wounded beasts, they furiously battered the Daionian shield wall. They used their wooden shields, short swords, bare fists, and teeth—employing every conceivable method to maim and kill the enemies barring their way.

Even though the Daionian forces had them completely surrounded with nearly a four-to-one numerical advantage, the fierce battle raged on.

The people of Palermos were jolted awake by the commotion outside the city. Filled with unease, they climbed the walls to look, only to see Davos Camp ablaze with light and echoing with earth-shattering roars of battle.

They were thrilled at the arrival of reinforcements but also feared for their safety. Almost all of them stood on the walls, praying to the god Melqart for their salvation, yet not once did they consider sending troops out of the city to help.

Of course, even if they had mustered the courage to deploy troops, the fifteen hundred light infantrymen Leotychides had kept in reserve would have made quick work of them.

The prayers of the people of Palermos were in vain. As dawn approached, the sounds of slaughter fading from Davos Camp vanished entirely. The four thousand Lusitanian warriors were either dead or wounded, but not a single one had surrendered. The ground around the camp's east gate was littered with corpses. The Daionian Army had also suffered nearly six hundred casualties.

Early the next morning, Hasdrubal led his army back to the wooden fort at the mountain pass exit, filled with anticipation. Instead of being welcomed by open gates, they were met with the horrifying sight of hundreds of Lusitanian warriors' heads stacked into a gruesome mound. Hasdrubal and his men were utterly terrified.