And this is also the first time since its inception that the Dionian fleet has stepped out of the sea near Turiy and really headed for the Mediterranean. Therefore, not only Secrean, but also the sailors of the whole fleet were excited, and even the normal speed of the slurry was a little faster than usual.

The entire fleet, consisting of 150 Raven warships and 30 50-oared clippers converted from ordinary cargo ships, sailed southward offshore in a six-way column, and the Dionian fleet did not carry sails because of the only westward breeze at the time of departure.

Secorian has only one mission today: to completely defeat the Syracuse navy!

Therefore, while sailing across the sea of Krimisa, Sekrian ordered: the whole team slowed down and loaded the crow drawbridge.

And he also ordered: if the enemy's clippers approached, do not rush to expel them, and allow them to come close and observe.

When the winter sun had risen in the middle of the sky, and the Dionian fleet had sailed close to the sea of Crotone, the yellow flag was raised on the mast of the three-tiered warship at the front, and Seklian, who was in the center of the fleet, was in high spirits when he heard this information: it was great that the Syracuse navy, which had suffered a crushing defeat, was lured out so easily!

Regardless of whether the enemy has more ships or fewer ships, whether they will adopt the tactic of "circumnavigation" or "double column", Dionia's crow fleet has only one tactic - full of stars.

"Raise the black flag and red flag, blow the trumpet of attack!" Sekrian gave the order without hesitation.

The sailors began to gulp down the prepared rations, as they had to fight with all their might for the rest of the battle. However, compared to the first apprehension and nervousness, they were now more excited, not only because the last victory gave them confidence, but also because the new law enacted by King Davers before his expedition added more impetus to the sailors who were mostly freedmen, "Win the war, and we will become reserve citizens of the Alliance!" This became their common wish.

The heavy infantry on the ship, on the other hand, were much calmer when they heard the sound of the military trumpet, and they took up the long shield that covered their heads and shielded them from the sun, and stood up from the deck unhurriedly, and began to move their hands and feet unhurriedly......

………………………………

On the lighthouse in the port of Crotone, Dionysius took a few of his men and Phoebidas to look at the blue sea in the distance, countless warships are rapidly approaching, a naval battle is about to begin, its victory or defeat will affect Dionysius's next plan, so Dionysius is also a little nervous at the moment holding hands with each other......

The Ionian ships at the forefront did not increase their speed to the fastest, because after the last naval battle, the Dionian admirals summed up their experience and that the speed of the ships was too fast, which was not conducive to the release of the Raven Drawbridge.

But to the Captains of Dionia, the oncoming enemy ships were also not as fast as the last time, and why?

They didn't have time to think about it, and in the splashing waves, the warships of both sides were already close at hand.

"Boom! …… Rumble! ......" a drawbridge slammed down and was firmly nailed to the deck of the Syracuse warship.

"Hades!!" The soldiers of the First Dionian Legion, chanting the name of Hades, rushed across the drawbridge.

And at this moment, the same sound of "Apollo!!" sounded on the other ship's ship. More than 40 Syracuse heavy infantry came out of the bilge of the warship, filling the deck of the originally few people at once.

The captains of the Dionyas were stunned: no wonder the speed of the Syracuse had slowed down, it turned out that there were also a lot of heavy infantry hiding in the bilge of their ship!

It turned out that Reptines adopted the advice of Dionysius in order to make the fleet compete with the other side.

Sekrian soon received news from the clippers and, despite his surprise, believed that with the abilities of the Ionian legionnaires, he would win this "land battle at sea"!

And for the legionnaires, in addition to being slightly surprised at first, excitement followed: the last time it was too easy to hack and kill sailors, there was not much sense of accomplishment for them, and this time it was a real battle!

"Divide one team over there, and the rest come with me!" The detachment leader, Melisanda, quickly gave the order, and then rushed to the front.

Since the deck of the three-pegged warship was not completely paved with wooden planks, and in the middle was a gap connecting the bilge, so the soldiers on both sides were divided into two teams and fought on the decks on both sides. The widest part of the warship was only six or seven meters, and one side deck could accommodate two or three people at most.

The ships swayed up and down with the waves, making it impossible for the soldiers to push and shove in person, so the battle between the heavy infantry on the ships was more of a single fight and the cooperation of two or three people.

Melisanda held a long shield in his left hand, facing the enemy's bayonet spear, his whole body was attached to the shield, and he slammed into it, and the Syracuse soldier's bayonet broke, and his body staggered backwards, being held by his comrades behind.

Melishanda was like a maggot attached to the bone, quickly approaching the body, taking advantage of the opponent's unstable body, the long shield hit again, the opponent stood unsteadily, and the round shield protecting himself exposed the gap.

The short sword in Melisanda's right hand stabbed out like lightning, only to hear a scream of "ah", and the other party covered his right ribs and fell to the ground.

"Throw away the bayonet and use the saber! With a saber!! ......" Melisanda heard the enemy shouting anxiously to each other, and thought to himself: I have only now understood, it is too late!

He took advantage of the fact that the enemy in front of him had not yet come up, and protected the front with a long shield, but turned around and stabbed at the enemy diagonally in front of him, on such a narrow deck, the opponent could not dodge at all, unless he jumped into the bottom cabin, so the enemy subconsciously avoided his body to the left, and at the same time swung his saber and slashed at Melisanda's wrist.

Unbeknownst to him, Melishanda's teammates took the opportunity to slam the shield into each other, and the enemy immediately stood unsteady and leaned back.

Melishanda seized the opportunity, turned his wrist, and raised the dagger upward, and the sharp blade slashed through the enemy's saber-holding arm, leaving deep scars, blood flowed for a long time, and the weakly held saber fell on the deck......

On every two ships connected by the Raven Drawbridge, the heavy infantry on both sides are fighting fiercely.

Overall, the Dionians have a clear upper hand. Although the Syracuse were also elite soldiers, they faced the First Legion of Dionia.

The First Legion, known as the "undefeated and invincible", not only has the largest number of veterans, but also has the strictest requirements in selecting new recruits and the most difficult training, but there are still many young people who flock to it. At the same time, in terms of experience in fighting at sea, the soldiers of the First Dionian Army were far more abundant than their opponents, and they had not only trained for more than a month before, but also conducted actual combat three days earlier.

The Syracuse heavy infantry was hastily sent into battle, and they were not used to such a way of fighting, and they even carried bayonet guns, knowing that the long weapons were not trained for a long time on a bumpy warship, and they could not achieve accurate stabbing at all.

What is more important is the difference in armament. Corinthian helmets, brass shields, and metal shin armor were too heavy for the Syracuse soldiers to maintain their balance on a rocking ship, not to the fullest extent of their power on land, and to match the more agile and skilled Ionian legionnaires in hand-to-hand combat.

But there is another difference between the battle on the warship and on land, that is, even if the battle is defeated, it is impossible to escape, either to be captured or to jump into the sea. This forced the Syracuse soldiers to do everything in their power to resist the attack of the Ionian legionnaires, and in the end they also fought bloodily.

Some of the Syracuse soldiers used their shields to carry the opponent's attack, and at the risk of being injured, they saw the opportunity to pull the opponent into the sea together. Melisanda, who stabbed and killed several Syracuse soldiers one after another, was accidentally pulled into the sea by the enemy.

But Melisanda didn't panic after falling into the water, because they had been trained in this area. He quickly took off his helmet and flipped the inside of the curved shield, which was actually floating on the surface of the sea, because except for the bronze corner in the center, the shield was mainly made of wood, and was covered with a thin layer of cowhide.

Melishanda tread water with both feet, grabbed the long shield with one hand, and with the help of buoyancy, pretended to be relaxed and beckoned to the legionnaires who were watching him on the boat: "I'm fine, you keep fighting!" Keep fighting! ”

The Syracuse soldier who fell into the water with him was poured into the tightly sealed Corinthian helmet by the cold seawater, which immediately made him feel suffocated by his mouth and nose, and he panicked and wanted to take off the helmet, but in a panic, he could not unfasten the buckle for a while, and the round shield on his right arm sank straight because of the copper skin, coupled with the heavy helmet and shin armor, he could not rise to the surface of the sea even if he tread the water hard, and finally drowned in the sea.

The drawbridge operator of the Dionian warship handed the wooden oars to Melisanda floating on the sea, and Melisanda eventually climbed onto the ship.

As soon as he caught his breath, he heard the lookout on the mainmast shouting: "The enemy ship is coming!" Enemy ships are coming! ”

The crowd was shocked.

I saw that a warship not far away was rushing towards them violently, but now the warship was connected with the enemy ship, and it could not move at all.

"Pull up the drawbridge!" The captain anxiously shouted to the legionnaires on the opposite ship.

Melisanda shouted as well.

The drawbridge was retracted, but the enemy ship was already less than 20 meters away, and the bronze ramming horn in the bow of the ship shone brightly in the reflection of the sea and the sun.

"Right front!" With the captain's urgent call, the helmsman quickly turned the tail rudder.

"Sprint speed!" The captain's voice just fell.

The piper in the bilge was already playing hard and fast.

The top paddler and the bottom two paddlers rowed the wooden oars rapidly, but it took time for the warship to quickly change from stationary to forward, but what the warship lacked most now was time.

The oarsmen on the top floor saw through the paddle window and saw the enemy ship's collision angle magnifying sharply in their field of vision, and they all fled in horror from the paddle seat, and shouted at the same time: "Run!" Come on! It's going to crash! ……”