Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Attack on Asprustum?
After a while, a young man holding a child handed the child to a woman beside him and stood up.
The woman held him back and whispered with concern: "Be careful!"
The young man avoided the woman’s gaze with a sense of guilt and whispered: "You too!" After that, he strode out of the crowd.
Under his leadership, many people also said goodbye to the people next to them and walked out.
Fagris patted the young man’s shoulder and asked comfortingly: "Young man, what is your name?"
"Printors."
Fagris glanced at the woman holding the child and comforted him: "Don’t worry, after we repel the enemy, you will be able to reunite with your wife soon."
He thought the two were husband and wife, and the young man nodded solemnly.
The 5,000 soldiers of the Third Legion, led by Hieronymus, advanced towards Asprustum. Their pace wasn’t so much slower than that of the troops of Laeus, who had advanced north of the Neto River, but rather a deliberate delay to ensure smooth execution.
Hieronymus, as he followed his troops, spoke to Izham: "Are you sure your soldiers have all entered Asprustum?"
"Of course! I saw them enter with my own eyes. If it weren’t for my appearance being different from the Greeks, I would have accompanied my brothers! Commander, I hope you can attack the city as soon as possible. I’m afraid they’ll be discovered if we wait too long!" Izham pleaded.
"I understand," Hieronymus promised immediately, then asked, "How many have entered?"
"Fifty-six soldiers," Izham replied, knowing his men intimately. As the alliance grew, so did the legion, and so too did his mountain reconnaissance team, now comprising a company.
Hieronymus was somewhat surprised. He had not expected so many soldiers to have infiltrated the city, which gave him greater confidence in capturing Asprustum. He signalled his bugler to hasten his advance.
Even without Hieronymus’s urging, the soldiers’ pace was already accelerating. These 5,000 soldiers, all from Nieutum, had missed the previous battle and were eager to fight and achieve victory.
The upper reaches of the Neto River were neither deep nor wide, but their banks were high. Hieronymus was the first to reach the northern bank. Seeing numerous enemies on the other side, bows and arrows drawn, he immediately gave the order: "Seventh Cohort, attack!"
The light infantry of the Third Legion quickly formed a long, single-file skirmish line and scrambled down the riverbank, fearlessly braving the incoming arrows as they waded across. After suffering minimal casualties, they reached the other side, but the enemy had already fled.
The heavy infantry followed, carrying wooden ladders and rafts, and easily forded the Neto.
The city of Asprustum lay not far ahead. It sat on elevated ground, making the entire approach a climb—a breeze for the Lucanian soldiers, bred for their mountainous life. Finally, they halted before Asprustum and, at the command of their officers, began to form up.
From the ramparts, the Asprustum soldiers gazed at the massive enemy below, each with a nervous expression. Behind them, the newly arrived civilians made their nerves even more uneasy.
General Fagris, observing an elderly man trembling and repeatedly dropping his round shield, stepped forward to offer comfort.
"Don’t be afraid! The enemy can’t take us! Since this city came to us Crotonites, it has never been conquered! Decades ago, we suffered a defeat in the south (referring to the war between Locri and Ligim against Crotone). The Brutti, seeking to recapture the city, arrived with a force larger than the Dionysians now stationed, but were ultimately defeated!"
His words reassured the soldiers.
As Fagris walked along the battlements, inspecting the entire fortification from west to east and seeing sufficient soldiers on every crenel, he gained confidence.
Although Asprustum, like Castellon and Crimisa, was a small city, its strategic location had led the Crotonites to repeatedly expand and strengthen its defences. Consequently, it boasted seven-metre-high walls and a four-metre-wide moat, fed by a tributary of the Neto River, forming a wide moat. Furthermore, it was nestled against a steep mountain to the west and a major tributary of the Neto River to the east, also steep and deep. Consequently, it had only two gates, north and south, allowing for concentrated military forces and facilitating defence.
Izham carefully observed the enemies on the wall. Suddenly, a light flickered on his face. He ran to Hieronymus and excitedly whispered: "Captain, my brothers are on the wall! They’re up there!"
Hieronymus, usually serious, was moved and eagerly asked: "Where are they?"
Despite his excitement, Izham remained cautious. He didn’t point, but whispered: "On the far left side of the wall!"
Hieronymus immediately looked towards the far left. It was noon, and the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly on the heavily armed soldiers on the wall. But there was one spot that stood out. The dazzling round shields were neatly arranged in a row, and the reflected light flickered in a very regular pattern. It was obvious that the men were flipping their shields simultaneously. Who would engage in such a tedious and exhausting task before a major battle?
Hieronymus smiled faintly. "Izham, if Asprustum is captured, your troops will be the first to achieve this!"
"Thank you, Commander!" Izham exulted.
With the mountain scouts as his backup, Hieronymus quickly formulated a plan: "Openly attack the rightmost wall to draw the defenders’ attention, then secretly attack the leftmost wall."
The attack horn blew, and the soldiers, like starving wolves in the mountains, howled and surged towards Asprustum. Captains like Bagule, Asistes, Lizam, Xima, and Uraza led the charge.
The Crotone soldiers began to fire arrows at any enemy within range, but casualties were minimal for the heavily armoured and heavily helmeted Dionysian heavy infantry. The Tolucanian soldiers of the Third Army, inspired by the battle horn, even broke the arrow shafts that hit their arms and thighs and continued to advance with injuries...
They soon reached the edge of the moat. According to the pre-rehearsal, the soldiers running in the front quickly placed the five-metre-long and three-metre-wide rafts they were carrying on the moat; then the soldiers carrying ladders stepped on the rafts, crossed the moat, and ran straight to the bottom of the city wall; followed by the soldiers holding round shields and sabres...
At this time, the attacks on the city wall also began to become fierce, and arrows, javelins, and stones rained down, and the casualties of the Dionysian soldiers suddenly increased...
....
Lysias did not expect that the situation would become so bad as soon as he returned to Crotone.
The people who had fled into the city spread the news of the Dionysian army’s approach, and panic spread throughout the city.
Many in the council were also extremely panicked. They believed that the Crotone army had been defeated again, and the capture of Crimisa had allowed the Dionysian army to move south smoothly. So they angrily declared: "If Milon dares to escape back, he will be punished!"
Lysias retorted: "I just returned from Crimea, and when I left, the city was still securely under Myron’s control. It’s impossible for the enemy to capture Crimea in just a few hours, and even reach the north bank of the Neto. Given the timeline, it’s impossible. The Dionysians must have bypassed Crimea! I have to admit that the Dionysians are too bold. They have no ships, and it’s impossible for them to cross the vast Neto. As long as Myron holds onto Crimea, the Dionysians who invade the Croton Plain will be like rootless duckweed, ultimately forced to retreat."
"The Dionysians can’t cross the Neto, but they can attack Asprustum!" someone said worriedly.
"How could Asprustum be so easy to capture? The Brutts have failed so many times before! I hope the Dionysians attack it; it would be a perfect opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Dionysians!" someone retorted.
"What good will it do us to continue fighting like this? We in Crotone have already suffered tremendous losses. Farmland has been destroyed, houses burned, prices are soaring, the treasury is depleted, and trade has been severely impacted by the labour shortage. We have also taken many citizens captive! The people are already dissatisfied with us. Why not negotiate with the Dionysians?" someone said pessimistically.
"Peace?! Didn’t you just hear what Lysias said about the Dionysian peace terms?! That damned Dionysian archon wants us to dissolve the alliance. How can we agree to that? Once Asprustum becomes independent, Corumnia, Cilicium, and Trina will no longer be our allies. Who knows, tomorrow the Locri and Brutti will destroy them and march on Crotone!" someone shouted bitterly.
"Negotiations are like buying and selling. The Dionysians have made their demands, so we can continue to negotiate and lower them..."
"We can negotiate, but only after we’ve repelled the Dionysian attack! Only then can we speak to the Dionysians with confidence!"
The council had been arguing endlessly over whether to negotiate peace with Theonyms. Fortunately, they knew their priorities, and emergency measures were quickly implemented: warships were sent to the Neto River to patrol the banks, preventing Dionysians from sneaking across and building bridges.
Meanwhile, freedmen were hired in large numbers, some to guard Crotone, others to station on the south bank of the Neto River to monitor the Dionysians on the other side, and a small number were sent to Asprustum to strengthen its defences. Furthermore, a dispatch was made to Crimea, requesting that Myron launch an attack on the Dionysians besieging Crimea to force the invading enemy to withdraw.