The garrison captain of Castlon waited for a long ti, but the cavalry did not return, and the commotion from the Crotone camp seed to have subsided.
Out of suspicion, he personally led ten cavalryn, exiting the city from the southern gate.
They crossed the pontoon bridge, went west through the small forest (where Alpons’ light infantry had already hidden the scouts’ corpses and removed any traces), and found nothing unusual until they climbed the high slope at the bend of the Trionto River.
The sight before them was shocking: the vast flatland where the Crotonians had camped was in utter chaos.
Collapsed tents, scattered weapons, and horses and pack animals running and wailing everywhere.
Even more horrifying were the dense piles of corpses, severely wounded soldiers writhing in pain, and the blood-soaked red ground. At the center of the camp stood many fully ard soldiers surrounding a larger group of disheveled people, from whom rows of captives, hands tied behind their backs and strung together, were continuously being escorted out...
An overwhelming sense of fear gripped the patrol captain’s heart: The Crotonians have been defeated?!
Before these terrifying and unfamiliar enemies could notice them, the captain hastily turned his horse around and galloped back toward Castlon.
"Legatus, the Castlon cavalry has returned to the city," Ledes reported as he hurried over.
"Asistes, inform the seventh brigade and the Lucanian brigade to ambush in the forest. It is very likely that Castlon—or rather, lansius—will send us another big gift! Ledes, continue monitoring the movents in Castlon!" Juleios gave his orders.
"Yes!" Ledes left to carry out the instructions, while Asistes sent ssengers north.
After a while, Juleios asked Asistes, "How long ago did we notify lsis’ cavalry to set out?"
"About half an hour ago... Legatus, there’s too much in the baggage area! So of the pack animals were injured during the attack, and others scattered. We currently lack enough beasts to carry all the supplies," Asistes said with slight concern.
Juleios smiled faintly and pointed to the nearby captives squatting on the ground under the threat of swords and spears. "Aren’t those ready-made ’pack animals’? Make them carry the supplies all the way back to Thurii. It doesn’t matter if they move slowly; it’ll exhaust their strength anyway."
"Oh, why didn’t I think of that! Legatus, you always co up with the best ideas!" Asistes exclaid dramatically.
"If only your ability to work could grow as quickly as your ability to flatter!" Juleios joked. After their great victory, he was in a relaxed mood and shared a laugh with Asistes. Then he said, "Co on, let’s go see the soldiers—they are the true heroes of this victory!"
In the captives’ fearful and sorrowful eyes, they saw a dazzling golden banner slowly approaching from the distance. Under the banner was a general wearing a unique purple, white, and red-plud helt, appearing on the battlefield. The previously ruthless and fierce enemies suddenly erupted into thunderous cheers:
"Juleios!!"
"Juleios!!!"
"Victory!!"
"Victory!!!"
Among the Crotone captives, the clever ones quickly realized that this general was likely the Andolara ruler, Juleios, whom they had insulted during the siege of Andolara. These enemies, who had once been mocked for their cowardice, now had the Crotonians trembling under their spears.
The chief general of Castlon, Amyklis, was shocked upon receiving the garrison captain’s urgent report. He imdiately sent people to notify lansius and his subordinates.
lansius, sleeping soundly in an inn with a high-class courtesan, was forcibly woken and extrely displeased. However, after hearing his subordinate’s anxious report, he was imdiately alard. Clinging to a shred of hope, he said, "Perhaps enemies broke into our camp and were captured by our soldiers..."
Timaras shook his head in deep worry. "The Castlon soldiers said that the banners carried by those fully ard troops, though indistinct from afar, were of a unique shape and design—definitely not Crotone’s banners! lansius, we must rescue them!"
"...Ah...ah, you’re right, you’re right..." lansius, who had been basking in triumph, now found himself struck by an unexpected blow. Unable to suppress his panic, he said, "Quick! Let’s go find Amyklis and have him mobilize all of Castlon’s citizens to join us in the rescue!"
Amyklis, of course, could not fully comply with lansius’ request. He had to ensure the safety of Castlon first. However, he did not dare to refuse lansius outright and offend Crotone, especially since Castlon soldiers were also trapped in the camp. He quickly gathered 700 citizen-soldiers, who were placed under lansius’ command, to proceed with the rescue.
As lansius led his troops in a hurried march toward the camp, Timaras advised him to proceed cautiously. lansius retorted, "According to Castlon’s information, the enemy has fewer n than we do. They probably relied on a sneak attack to win.
Now that they’re still there trying to capture all our soldiers, our surprise attack will certainly catch them off guard.
It will also spur our surrendering soldiers to fight back. With an assault from both inside and out, the enemy will be defeated!" Like a desperate gambler, he hoped for one last big win to recover all his losses.
However, when his column passed through the forest, they were ambushed by Andolara’s light infantry, who had been lying in wait.
Under Epitenis’ command, the light infantry unleashed volleys of arrows, stones, and javelins, inflicting heavy casualties. Amid the chaos, the low-morale Castlon soldiers panicked, and the Lucanians, wielding Greek swords, charged into their ranks like tigers attacking sheep...
"Legatus, the Crotonian reinforcents have been defeated! Aside from a few who escaped back to Castlon, the rest were either killed or captured!" Ledes reported excitedly upon his return.
Juleios nodded calmly, not overly jubilant. "This was a carefully planned ambush; victory was inevitable."
Noticing Juleios’ composed expression, Ledes added, "The Lucanians also captured two Crotonian generals, lansius and Timaras!"
"Oh!" Juleios smiled, not because the enemy commanders had been captured, but because he saw an opportunity. "The Lucanians have earned another great rit and can have another six months of their sentences reduced."
When the Lucanians split the Castlon column into several segnts, lansius’ years of military experience told him that defeat was inevitable.
He imdiately turned to flee, but the Lucanians seed determined to capture him. After suffering a few casualties, they pinned him down and, through sheer force, dragged him before Juleios.
"lansius, we finally et," a calm, youthful voice sounded by his ear.
lansius struggled to raise his head. His handso face was covered in scratches from being dragged over gravel, and his vision was blurred by blood. Blinking hard, he saw a young, unfamiliar face before him.
"Who...who are you?"
"I am Juleios, the ruler of Andolara," ca the reply.
"Andolara? Juleios?" lansius, whose head had been repeatedly struck, was a bit slow to react. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Andolara?! Andolara!! You are despicable! Attacking us in secret without declaring war!"
"Olympian champion, you’re too self-absorbed!" Juleios sneered. "When your army trespassed into Andolara’s territory without permission and burned down our buildings, the war had already begun. As for a sneak attack, I vaguely recall an athlete’s saying: ’The victor proves their strength with actions, while the defeated can only mask their weakness with excuses.’ Am I correct?"
lansius slumped his head in despair and after a mont, softly pleaded, "I hope you can treat my soldiers and kindly. Crotone will pay Andolara sufficient ransom."
"Whether you’re treated kindly is not for to decide."
"Then... who decides?"
"The surviving citizens of Thurii!"
When lsis arrived at the Crotone camp and saw the piles of supplies, he bead with joy. But his mood quickly soured because the carts could not cross the river.
Juleios, calm and collected, said, "That’s easy to solve. We’ll cross at the ferry."
Thus, after the Andolara soldiers and the gathered citizens finished collecting everything valuable in the Crotone camp (including weapons, armor, and linen shirts from the deceased enemies), they ford a long line and headed east. Passing through the forest, they reached a point where Castlon city on the northern bank of the Trionto River was visible.
Juleios could even hear the panicked cries of the enemy atop the city walls. Jokingly, he said to lsis, "Didn’t you say we didn’t have enough pack animals? We can borrow so from the Castlonians."
lsis actually sent soone to request pack animals.
From the city walls, the chief general of Castlon, Amyklis, and others saw a spectacle: fully ard Greek hoplites marched boldly from the southern bank. Behind their shield and spear escort were dejected, bloodied captives carrying heavy loads and stumbling along, followed by jubilant civilians in plain clothes and supply-laden pack animals. The long column bypassed the city and headed toward the ferry.
The expressions of the Castlonians on the walls were tense and a bit bewildered, but not angry or greedy, because more than half of Castlon’s citizen-soldiers had been lost, leaving the city’s defenses insufficient. They dared not provoke this fearso army.
"Where... where did they co from?" a council mber asked nervously.
Amyklis, observing the column’s direction, said uncertainly, "They’re heading north, likely... Andolara’s forces."
"Could they be the rcenaries who defeated the Lucanians?!" General Georgilos exclaid.
"Highly possible!" Amyklis, after Georgilos’ remark, felt more confident in his guess. "Perhaps only they would dare defeat the powerful Crotonians!"
"They... they’ve sent soone!" soone called out in a trembling voice.
Everyone on the walls, from soldiers to generals, beca tense.
"We are citizens of Andolara. Governor Juleios has sent to borrow 100 pack animals from you. Once we’ve transported our goods, we will return them!"
The visitor’s clear voice reached the people on the wall, leaving them exchanging glances.
Juleios! The fad hero of Thurii! The governor of Andolara!
Amyklis smiled bitterly. "This counts as the second ti he’s saved Thurii, but he’s also dragged the Castlonians into trouble."
After a brief discussion among the generals and council mbers on the wall, they surprisingly agreed to the request. It wasn’t because of Juleios’ reputed integrity but, as Amyklis explained: "Andolara has annihilated and captured Crotone’s massive army. The geopolitical landscape in northern Magna Graecia will undoubtedly shift significantly. We must act cautiously. Moreover, many Castlon citizens may have fallen into Andolara’s hands. Leaving a good impression could help us in future negotiations."
At dawn, so of the surviving Thurian citizens watched in astonishnt as the Andolara citizens who had co to their aid crossed the pontoon bridge and headed south. They were anxious: Could the Andolarans be abandoning us?
By noon, all the Thurians, along with so freen and slaves, awoke to find the camp deserted.
Despair consud them.
They collapsed to the ground, wailing in hopelessness. Even when a few people, like Cornelius and Stromboli, tried to reassure them with words like, "The Andolara forces are fighting Crotone’s army and have already won," they refused to believe it. So even cursed angrily in their agitation.
Just then, soone shouted in alarm: "Look! Look! An army is coming!"
The Thurians hurriedly looked back and saw a powerful and majestic army marching across the pontoon bridge. Leading the way was a strange and unique military banner.
"That’s our army! The Andolara army! They’re returning victorious!" Cornelius, Andolara’s city administrator, who had previously opposed war with Crotone during the senate discussions, now cheered like a child, unrestrained.
Kunogorata stared blankly at the approaching Andolara army, with a single thought reverberating in his mind: The Andolarans won! They actually won!! They defeated the powerful Crotonian army!!
The Thurians were skeptical.
But soon, as the vanguard stepped onto the northern bank of the Crathis River and drew closer, they saw clearly: beneath that unique banner was none other than Andolara’s young and gentle governor, Juleios.
Fully armored but without a helt, he smiled warmly, waving to them. The blazing sunlight reflected off his gleaming armor, making him look like a god.
At this mont, sharp-eyed citizens noticed soone walking directly behind Juleios’ horse.
The man had his hands tied behind his back, was completely naked, and stumbled forward as he was dragged along.
Whenever he slowed down, the spears of the guards left a new wound on his body. Why did this person look so much like the demon lansius, who had ordered the burning of Thurii?! Could it really be true that the Crotonean army was defeated by Andolara?!
The facts were undeniable. Behind the vanguard, they saw Andolara soldiers ard with spears, escorting a line of similarly naked young and strong n, burdened with heavy loads, staggering as they marched southward. The column stretched endlessly, disappearing into the distance...
The citizens of Thurii gazed at this unbelievable sight. Tears stread from their eyes as they cried, laughed, and shouted. They hurled objects at the Crotonean soldiers, and so even rushed forward to beat them. Each person seed like a madman...
Juleios stood atop a hastily constructed wooden platform, watching as the Thurian citizens, both young and old, quickly gathered before him. His expression was solemn, yet his emotions were fiery as he spoke loudly:
"People of Thurii! In these past few days, the Crotonians invaded your holand. You lost your loved ones, your hos, and were left helpless, weeping over the ruins! But the gods have not abandoned you. They sent your neighbors—the brave people of Andolara—who feared no powerful enemies and defeated the demons who destroyed Thurii! From now on, with our joint efforts, we will rebuild a stronger Thurii—a city free from foreign invasions, a better ho for all of us!"
Tears stread once more from the eyes of the Thurians. They cheered and, as if worshiping a deity, bowed to Juleios, the hero who had saved Thurii twice.
Juleios ordered the captives, led by lansius and Timaras, the high-ranking Crotonean officers, to be brought onto the wooden platform. He handed them over to the Thurian citizens to decide their fate.
The cheers of the Thurians reached a climax. They surged forward, venting their anger with stones, wooden sticks, fists, and teeth. The Crotoneans quickly beca unrecognizable, reduced to a bloody ss, yet the Thurians did not stop. Even when their enemies fell to the ground, barely breathing, the mob continued their violent retribution...
Watching this grueso scene, Ansitanos sighed and said, "From now on, Thurii will never be the sa..."
Kunogorata, pointing to Juleios, who stood to one side of the platform observing the execution, said with a heavy expression, "Not ’perhaps,’ but certainly, Thurii will never be the sa!"
Ansitanos fell silent.
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