There are warships in the bay to make a landing position, and in the river there are warships going upstream...... Cipros was in a dilemma, he only hated that Xiliting was a small city, and there were too few citizen soldiers, so if he wanted to take care of the east, he couldn't take care of the west. But he finally made a decision: send 2,000 men to fast-track the enemy ship on the north shore and prevent it from landing on the north shore.

But when the troops were sent to the confluence of the two rivers, they had to make a detour, because here the Ramato River ran from north to south, just in front of them, and it was impossible to cross the river on foot, so they had to go around to the north.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the ships of Syracuse approached the eastern bank of the Corta River, which flows into the Ramato River from the south, and in fact the sailors were exhausted from the desperate rowing of their oars, and the soldiers on board hurried to get ashore.

At this time, Dionysius was already dissatisfied with the fact that the army had not finished the formation for nearly an hour, the main reason was that there were constantly follow-up troops arriving, and he immediately ordered: do not wait, the whole army will attack!

Tired Syracuse soldiers stepped into the icy Corta River and fought against the line set up by the Siritins on the other bank.

Although the Silitins were small in number and had a weak defensive line, they were recuperated and had an absolute advantage in physical strength, and for a time they made the army of Syracuse soak in the river and not advance an inch.

On this meandering section of the river, which is more than four miles long, the Silitin people fought desperately to defend their homeland, fighting for more than half an hour with the Syracuse army, which was nearly four times their number, and the entire river was dyed blood-red......

It was not until the landed Syracuse soldiers arrived from the west and attacked the flank of the Siriting array that the Silitin began to waver and was finally defeated......

Dionysius sighed: he finally led his army to break through the defenses of the southern Italian army and enter the edge of the flat and wide Afro-Episan plain......

But at this time, the soldiers of Syracuse were already sleepy and tired, and they were unable to pursue the routed soldiers.

Dionysius, having captured the makeshift camp abandoned by the Cilitin, ordered his army to rest on the spot.

…………………………

When the Knapetia army, which had arrived at Trina, received the news that the army of Syracuse had crossed the Corta River, the frightened Assistes immediately led the army back, and at the same time sent someone to explain the reason to Trina.

In the afternoon, Crotone's reinforcements hurried to Siriting.

Instead of welcoming the arrival of the former mother state, Pretines, and the council's top brass accused them of being late, causing the Syracuse to occupy the north bank of the Corta River, putting the city in danger.

Askamas and the other Crotone generals did not defend themselves in the face of accusations, because the situation was indeed dangerous.

…………………………

It's late afternoon. The gallopers from the north broke through the silence of the Dionian camp, and Epitenis and Dracos hurried to the Great Horde after receiving an urgent message from the heralds.

"Two legion commanders, I just received an urgent report from Siriting that the Syracuse people have broken through the Corta River defense line and entered the territory of Siritin." Phellisius said with a stern expression.

"I said a long time ago that the armies of those city-states of the Southern Italian Alliance are unreliable!" Epitenis angrily spat on the ground: "We've won the battle here for nothing!" ”

"How many of the Syracuse army are in Siriting?" Dracos asked urgently.

"According to the letter from Siriting, more than 50,000 people." Felicius picked up the letter on the table, and Dracos snatched it and unfolded it. You must know that he was still illiterate when he was the leader of the mercenary army, and in order to be able to command the army and understand the "Military Law" and military orders in recent years, he specially participated in the adult study class of the Turiyi School, and studied quite hard, made rapid progress, and it was no longer a problem to read letters.

"More than 50,000 people?!" Epitenis exclaimed, and immediately thought: "This shows that the focus of the Syracuse attacks is on the west coast, and the army here is only holding us back." ”

"It seems that this is the case...... "Pheelicus nodded calmly, and he was slightly frustrated that he had not been able to judge Dionysius' intentions in time.

"In the letter, the Silitins demanded that we immediately withdraw to the Silitin and join forces with them against the army of Syracuse." Dracos looked at the two of them.

"In fact, Lord Ansitanos has also written to suggest that we retreat back to the Sirites." Phellisius pulled out another letter.

"Do we have any other way to choose than to retreat to the Cilitin?" Epitenis shrugged: "If we continue to hold on here, let the Syracuse crush the armies of the other allied city-states on the plains of Euferemia, and let them capture the city of Siritin, we 20,000 people will really be fish in a net." ”

Felicius sighed: "Just by doing this, Coronia is probably in trouble......"

In order to reassure the Dioonians for their defense, the Coronians provided them with abundant food every day, and after repelling the enemy's attacks during the day, Coronnia went out of the city from the council to the common people to express their gratitude to them, and also to give a banquet to the Dionian commander and commander, and to bring wine to the soldiers...... Waiting, Phellisius refused the kindness of the Coronians on the grounds that there were provisions in the Dionian Military Law, but every Dionian soldier felt Coronia's gratitude and hospitality to them.

The three of them were silent for a while, and Dracos said helplessly: "This is the case, we have no choice, we only hope that Hades will protect and let Coronia defend his homeland, and when we concentrate our forces to repel the Syracuses, the siege of Coronia will naturally be lifted." ”

"Repulsion?" Epitenis keenly grasped the words spoken by Dracos and asked, "Do you think we can repel the army of Dionysius in the plains of Eufemia?" ”

"Why not!" Dracos pointed to the letter and asked, "According to the letter, there are only more than 50,000 people in Syracuse there, and there are probably more than 50,000 troops in our two legions, plus Crotone, Siritin, and Trina, don't you have confidence in our legions?!" You know, the legionnaires of Dioonia are the best soldiers in the Mediterranean! Drax glared at Epitenis with some annoyance.

"Who said I don't have confidence in our legion! Don't slander people here! When Epitenis heard this, he was furious: if this word spreads, how can he lead the army!

"Alright, both of you don't talk about it!" Felicius shouted loudly, "What time is it, you are still in the mood to quarrel!" If Lord Davers knew what you're doing, he'd regret letting you two be Legion Commanders! ”

At the mention of Davers, Epitenis and Dracos fell silent.

"I don't think I heard it, and you forget it! I don't want to hear any more rumors about these words among the soldiers, you know! Phellisius looked directly at the two of them.

Epitenis pouted at Dracos, who nodded reluctantly.

Phellisius secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, now let's discuss how to retreat tomorrow morning......"

……………………………

On the morning of that day, Pihini, the chief of the Samonai garrison in Poseidonia who had been worried all night, did not expect a miracle.

Dionia's army was still outside the city, divided into two parts: one camping and the other arraying outside the city.

"There are only more than 4,000 people, and they want to take my Poseidonia!" Pisini felt humiliated.

At this moment, he saw what had been pushed in front of the enemy by the soldiers, and his eyes widened in astonishment, and he couldn't help but hold the battlements with both hands, and leaned forward to see more clearly.

Immediately afterward, he saw seven or eight small black dots flying up from the front of the enemy's formation and smashing straight on the city wall, "Bang! Boom! Boom! The loud bang of the ......" dispelled the luck in Pisini's heart: the Dionians also had cannons!

For the rest of the day, the Samonai stared at the stone projectiles that were constantly flying in the air, lest they smash themselves on them, and the already dilapidated walls, which had only been lightly repaired, became even more dilapidated by the constant attacks of cannons......

Pisini only hoped that reinforcements would arrive soon.

The day was spent in the busyness of the Dionian soldiers and the restlessness of the Samonai defenders.

In the early hours of the next morning, the trumpets of the Dionian camp were sounded, and the soldiers who had woken up in the tents turned over and sat up, urging each other to begin to quickly put on their armor.

"Report to the Legion Commander, a large number of enemies have appeared in the north of the camp, estimated to number more than 20,000, and are marching towards the camp!" Scout Captain Crigru reports to Alexis

"More than 20,000 people!" Alexis was not surprised, but was a little delighted. With the help of the guards, he dressed up and walked two steps in high spirits, and said loudly: "It seems that the Samonai people are very ambitious and want to eat us in one bite!" Hehe, but I don't know who will eat who in the end! ”

He was about to leave the tent when the tent was lifted, and as soon as the first captain Lizaru entered, he excitedly shouted: "Commander, the enemy has taken the bait, and more than 20,000 people are coming!" ”

"That's enough for you!" Alexis said jokingly.

Lizaru chuckled. Some time ago, because Alexis took the initiative to retreat in Pothenia in the face of the attacking Samonai army, he was not very satisfied with this and kept sulking. Now the gas is gone, and there is only a strong desire to fight.

"Don't be in a hurry, let the brothers eat enough, today's battle may last longer! Because Lord Davers's order to give us the map of the Third Army is to stick to the enemy as much as possible, exhaust the enemy, and make them devote all their forces to capturing our camp! Alexis reminded again.

"I understand." Lizaru replied, turned to go out, but suddenly stopped again, faced Alexis, and gave a solemn military salute, which included his apology.