Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

“It would be our pleasure, Lord Theris. It is only natural for us to unite and help each other in this unfamiliar land!” Asistes replied at once.

“That's right! That's right!” The others agreed.

“We are much more interested and motivated precisely because we would govern a new region,” Antrapolis added.

“It's a great joy for Lord Theris to be appointed first after coming to Latium together! Since the circumstances aren't suitable, Theris can owe us a banquet first!” Nicomachus said jokingly.

“That is naturally not a problem. Just consider it my reward for hiring you to help me with the work,” Theris interjected.

“Then this banquet must not be cheap since hiring us is expensive,” Asistes also joked around, making everyone laugh.

Amid their laughter, Theris nodded slightly to Nicomachus, thanking him for using this method to dispel possible jealousy in everyone's hearts. After all, they had come to Latium together, but he was the first to be appointed and placed in such an important position.

Nicomachus smiled back at him.

Theris then turned around to look at the disembarking officials and the transport ships approaching the dock…

After feeling the weight of the responsibility placed on his shoulder, he eagerly exclaimed, “My lords, we must hurry to the city hall!”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The sun stained the horizon with blood red as it set in the west.

After a day of fierce fighting, the sound of battle had disappeared in the city of Ferentinum. Instead, cheering filled the city as the bright red military banner of Rome fluttered at the top of Ferentinum's wall.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Dictator Camillus!”

“Great Camillus!”

“Lord Camillus!!!”

As the Roman dictator, Camillus, stepped into the city of Ferentinum in full armour, every soldier who met or saw him stood straight and saluted to pay their respect to him because this veteran with outstanding military achievements had once again won a brilliant victory for Rome.

Camillus smiled and praised the bravery of every soldier he passed by. However, he wasn't happy as he appeared because although they had taken over the city, he still had yet to wipe out Ferentinum's defender completely.

During last night, some of the Ferentinum defenders took advantage of the night to break through Rome's encirclement. Since the city of Ferentinum was located at the foot of the Hernici Mountains and was a relatively large mountain city, the Roman army, even with its nearly seventy thousand soldiers, couldn't surround the city tightly. In addition, the Hernicans had focused on defending for more than ten days without giving up their capital, so the Roman soldiers relaxed their vigilance, which allowed the enemy to break through and escape into the mountains successfully. However, that had also forced Camillus to launch a full siege on the city of Ferentinum today.

At this time, Furius rushed over.

“How's the interrogation of the prisoners?” asked Camillus.

“A captive confessed that the ones who chose to break out last night were the reinforcements from Volsci and some of the Hernicans tribal warriors, around three thousand men…”

‘Three thousand men!’ Camillus frowned since even though three thousand men are insignificant in the face of nearly seventy thousand soldiers, the Roman army was unlikely to stay here much longer. On the contrary, these Hernican and Volscian remnants would cause considerable trouble for the Romans colonising this area.

While Camillus had a headache over this issue, Furius added with a grave expression, “Dictator, I learned another critical matter from the captives. Before they broke out, the Volscians told them that the Theonian reinforcements were coming and would probably fight the Romans fiercely, so they advised them not to defend the city of Ferentinum to death. Instead, they should preserve their strength and recapture the city once the Romans went to engage the Theonians in battle. It was only because the Hernicans couldn't abandon Ferentinum that they decided to stay instead of breaking out…”

Camillus' expression immediately changed as he asked, “The Theonians' reinforcements are coming again?! How many are coming?!”

Furius shook his head and said, “The captives don't know about it, and it could even be a lie made by the Volscians to make them break through.”

Camillus pondered for a moment. Then with a look of dejection, he quickly decided, “We have been away from Rome for too long! Now the city of Rome and the western part are somewhat lacking with troops, so we have to gradually return to Rome starting tomorrow onwards-”

While Camillus was speaking, they heard Lucius shouting, “Father! Father!…”

He looked at his son, who hurriedly came from the city gate, followed by a few familiar-looking people behind him.

Camillus squinted his turbid eyes and asked with uncertainty, “That seems to be Milesius?”

Furius affirmed his guess, “That's indeed Milesius.”

Camillus and Furius looked at each other and felt uneasy seeing the city guard prefect of Rome daringly come to the city of Ferentinum.

Milesius hurried south after asking for a hundred cavalrymen to escort him from the city of Sagnia and fought the Hernicans, who had come to intercept him twice. And at dusk, they finally arrived at the city of Ferentinum. He was thrilled for Camillus when he learned that the Roman army had taken the central city of the Hernicans, a feat which more than offset the accusations made against him by the senators.

He staggered as he rushed towards Camillus. After giving his military salute, he said pantingly, “Lord Dictator…the Theonian army landed on the coast yesterday…captured Ostia…and are now marching towards the city of Rome with their massive army…so the Senate ask you…to return immediately with your army and rescue Rome!”

Furius was greatly shocked when hearing this, “WHAT?! Rome-”

“Shh!” Camillus stare at him strictly.

Furius immediately understood what he meant and immediately stopped speaking. Then he looked at the soldiers around them, but they seemingly had not noticed anything unusual.

“How many troops are there in the Theonian army?” Unlike Furius, Camillus retained his calm and asked in a deep voice.

“From…what the mounted scouts reported, they must have over fifty thousand men,” replied Milesius.

‘More than fifty thousand? This isn't a small number!’ Camillus was surprised, especially since he had received the news some time ago that Carthage had already engaged the Theonians in a battle.

‘Shouldn't the Theonians fight the Carthaginians with all their might now that the Carthaginian army is advancing in Sicily? And with us having a truce with the Volsci and now attacking the Hernicans, who are far inland, it shouldn't have any impact on Theonia that would make them go to war with us. It's unreasonable for the Theonians to disregard Carthage, which poses a greater threat to them, and instead launch a large-scale attack on us, who currently poses no threat to them!…’ Camillus was confused and vexed since his poor decision had placed Rome in a dangerous situation.

But this isn't the time for him to regret it, as he needs to decide quickly. After stabilising his thoughts, he immediately ordered, “Furius, immediately notify Quintus, Licinius and others to come for an emergency military meeting in the command tent!”

“Understood!”

“Milesius,” Camillus looked at the exhausted young man and said apologetically, “I know you are tired, but the situation is urgent, and I need your help. Sit down first, recover some strength and drink some water.”

“I can still endure it, Dictator!” Milesius immediately stood straight and said.

Half an hour later, the generals of the Roman army gathered in the command tent. Then a commotion happened after listening to Milesius and the Senate’s order.

Camillus coughed, prompting his son Lucius to shout, “Be quiet! Please be quiet!”

“Generals,” Camillus said with a grave expression, “Rome is under attack, and we must return to its rescue immediately! But the soldiers had just captured the city of Ferentinum and needed some time to rest. Moreover, it's already night, and it's dangerous for the army to march in the dark, so I have decided to lead the army back tomorrow-”

Quintus immediately stood up and objected, “Dictator, Rome only has a few thousand defenders, while the enemy has tens of thousands of soldiers. Even if the Senate conscripted both the elderly and children as soldiers, it would take us two to three days to return to Rome from here. If we delay anymore, many people will die in the city! So we better make haste and return at once!”

“It's already a huge problem controlling the army when returning at this time where we need to march in the dark, and the soldiers are exhausted. Should we encounter the Hernicans or other enemies' attacks, they would only need a few people to cause chaos in our rank or even the rout of our tens of thousands of men! Who would then be responsible for this defeat?!” Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus voiced his opposition.

“Alright, stop arguing. I still haven't finished speaking.” Camillus raised his hand and swung them downward, signalling everyone to calm down. He then said, “Although our massive army can't march at night, a small force could still do so with careful arrangements. Quintus! Licinius! You two will each lead twenty elite centuriae and set out immediately to return along the Trerus River and try to reach the vicinity of Rome by tomorrow night!”

During their attack on Hernici, they had to lengthen the transportation line as the battlefront moved forward. So to prevent the Hernicans and their allies from harassing Rome's supply transportation, Camillus built small defensive camps every three kilometres on the east bank of the Trerus. And those camps were usually defended by two to three centuriae so that they could escort the supply transportation along the route. But now, they have become the Roman army's greatest aid for marching in the dark.