In fact, just as Ocleton feared, the atmosphere that had been harmonious during the last meeting between the two no longer existed, and in this meeting Margo not only refused the request to "stop the attack", but also loudly rebuked: the Hannoites not only did not unite to defeat a powerful enemy at this time of national crisis, but tried to provoke civil strife and betray the interests of the city-state, which is simply treason!

The two argued, and Ocleton left angrily.

Margo vented his anger, but he was not in a happy mood: the original main siege force Numibians had suffered too many casualties during this time, coupled with the suspicion and scrutiny of the generals and officers in the past few days, no matter how much the generals coerced and lured, they basically couldn't work.

Time was of the essence to Margo, and he was in a hurry to get angry, so he decided to let his trusted Iberian army be the main force in the siege.

Although during this time, the Dionian army had been stepping up the construction of the defenses in the city of Selinus, but the time was too short to compare with the completely stone outer walls, and after two days of fierce fighting, at noon on the third day, good news came from the front: report to Lord Margo, General Hasdruba has led his army to capture the inner city to the west!

In fact, there was no need for the herald to make a report, and Margo, who was standing at the head of the outer wall and watching the battle situation, could clearly see the Iberian soldiers in front of him constantly ascending the city, and he immediately ordered: "Tell Hasdroba not to stay at the head of the city, continue to attack, capture the port as soon as possible, and capture the whole city!" ”

"Also remind General Hasdruba to be careful of the Dionians' counterattack!" Pomilka chimed in.

Margo glanced at him, then waved his hand to the herald: That's it! Convey to Hasdruba, go quickly! ”

"Master Margo, after the capture of Selinus...... You're not going to make a new attack, are you? Pomilka asked softly.

The excitement on Margo's face quickly disappeared, and he snorted coldly and sneered: "The Senate has already threatened me to stop sending us military rations, where can I still have the ability to start a new battle!" ”

Pomilka sighed and said with a worried face: "The military rations we have in reserve can only be supplied for less than 10 days, and if Carthage stops transporting military rations to us, then we will ......."

Margo said calmly: "Our navy has been completely defeated, I heard that the Dionian warships have even been cruising in the waters of Carthage every day, it is impossible for Carthage to transport military rations here, what is the use of the Senate threatening us!"

Besides, even if the Dionian fleet really lifted the blockade during the negotiations, would the Senate really dare not supply us with food? Know that there were not only Numbian and Iberian natives in this army, but also citizens from the Carthaginian and Phoenician allies, who were not afraid to arouse the wrath of the Carthaginian populace if they starved to death! ”

Margo, who holds military power, is a scoundrel, and the nursing home really can't take him for the time being...... Pomilka was speechless, and he sighed: "Master Margo, if you do this, you will anger many senators, and when you return to Carthage, I am afraid that you will be interrogated by the senate......"

"I'm not afraid of their interrogation!" A layer of anger appeared on Margo's face, and he said in a deep voice: "I am afraid that some people will put the name of the culprit who caused Carthage to be forced into peace talks, and the honor of the great Magonides will be tarnished!" I would never allow that to happen!

Think about it, since we landed in Sicily, we have conquered Minoa, Agrigento, Econum, and Gera, won the Battle of Gela, invaded Dionia's territory in Sicily, and even intimidated the main army led by the king of Dionya from fighting us! In contrast, Monteadeno's army suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Minoa, and the navy under the command of Anobasas suffered repeated defeats...... Who recommended them all?!

Now that we have conquered the heavily fortified city of Selinus, if the Senate insists on blaming you and me, the people will understand that the real sinners will not be us, who have been winning for Carthage, but some incompetent and shameless senators! ”

Speaking of this, Ma Ge took a breath, looked at the soldiers cheering for victory in the city in front of him, hesitated for a moment and said: "Since Ocleton said that the Ionians are very willing to negotiate peace, and we have captured Selinus, it will strengthen their willingness to negotiate peace, and also let Ocleton have more bargaining chips in the negotiations and pay less price......"

Marco had one of the greatest unspoken fears in his heart: if the Dionians stopped the peace talks and continued to fight, his army would collapse due to lack of food.

But at this time, for him, who has been caught in a dual political and military dilemma, in order to defend his own honor and his family's honor, he does not have much to choose.

Pomilka obviously thought of this as well, so he was not completely impressed by Margo's words, and he said softly, "I hope things go as you say......"

The two soon fell silent, each holding on to the battlements, silently looking ahead.

After some time, the herald rushed in: "Report to Lord Margo, that the Dioonians have built a strong wall in front of the port, dug a trench, and laid out a deer barrassment, and that the number of enemies at the head of the city has increased, and our attack has been blocked, and General Hasdruba has asked you for instructions." ”

Margo's heart tightened, and he immediately asked, "What is Hasdruba's own opinion?" ”

"The general believes that the soldiers are very tired from the fierce fighting, and they do not understand the enemy's defenses, and hopes that the soldiers can retreat and rest until tomorrow when they are fully prepared before attacking."

"Damn the Dionians, how many walls have they built!" Margo, who was desperate for victory, scolded out of shape.

"This should be the last line of defense for the Dionians in Selinus." Pomilka reassured.

Time, time...... Margo thought silently in his heart, he had wanted to end this battle as soon as possible, and then stop the war against Dionia, let the armistice negotiations continue, and win a chance for the army, but things did not go as smoothly as he thought.

"Let Hasdruba lead his troops back for the time being...... "Marco said smugly, slapping his palm on the battlements.

At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that black smoke seemed to be rising in the distance behind his right, and he immediately turned to look, and saw that there was not only fire flickering and black smoke billowing in the northwest of the Carthaginian camp outside Selinus, but also listening carefully, and the sound of fighting was heard.

"What's going on there?!" Bomilka's exclamation was already ringing beside him: "Hurry up and send someone to check!" ”

At this moment, the instincts honed in the Iberian battlefield for ten years made Margo feel that the situation was not good, and he decisively issued an order to his adjutant: immediately send someone to inform Sticamo (the general in command of the 10,000 Carthaginian citizen soldiers, responsible for staying in the camp), that there was a change in the northwest camp, and let him lead the army to quell the rebellion! ……… Then send someone to inform Kisgow (at this moment Kisgow is leading more than 6,000 Phoenician allies soldiers as a reserve for the siege of the city, and is on standby in the city of Selinus), and ask him to immediately lead the troops back to the camp and assist Sticamo! ”

"Yes, sir!" The adjutant immediately went to arrange for the herald.

"Could it be that the Numibian cavalry has rebelled?" Pomilka pointed to the place where the smoke had risen and said worriedly. Because in order to conquer Selinus City, the Carthaginian army built walls on the north and south sides of the camp, which blocked Margo's view at this time, so that he could not see the situation in the camp, but that direction was mainly where the camp of the Numibian cavalry was located, so Pomilka would have this guess.

“…… It's hard to say. Margo groaned, not daring to make a rash judgment, because in that direction there were not only Numibian soldiers, but also Lusitanian cavalry, and a small part of the Numibian infantry, and because of the success of the Dionian army raiding Palermos and Lilibal one after another, leaving a shadow on Margo's heart, he suddenly had an even more terrible guess: Could it be that the Dionian army sneaked into the camp?!

He couldn't help but shiver several times in a row, and once again shouted loudly to the adjutant: "Immediately rush to inform Hasdruba, let him leave 10,000 men to defend the inner city that has just been captured, and lead the other troops to return to the camp immediately!" ”

As soon as Margo gave the order, he saw several scouts galloping from the camp to the city wall, shouting, "Margo! Margot-sama!! ”

"What's the matter?!" Margo hurriedly poked his head out of the battlements.

"Lord Margo, when the Numibian soldiers who had gone out of camp in the morning to patrol the camp suddenly attacked the soldiers stationed at the western camp gate and took possession of the camp gate, and at the same time their camp rebelled, and the Numibian cavalry gathered together and not only burned their own camp, but also attacked the nearby Carthaginian cavalry camp...... When General Sticamo received the news, he was gathering his army to quell the rebellion, and before he could reach the camp to the west, he received news that the Numibian camp in the east was unstable, and some Numibian soldiers were attacking his officers and plotting to start a rebellion. General Sticamo believes that there are not enough troops to quell the unrest in the entire camp in time, and he wants you to send reinforcements. ”

"There must be Ionians in the midst of this, and we haven't cleaned up the Numibian army of spies! And the rebellious Numibian cavalry, who must have also been instigated by the Dionians! Pomilka said vigilantly at this time, with regret in his expression.

In the previous reorganization of the entire Carthaginian army, some Numibian spies who were released back by the Dionians had been unearthed, and if it weren't for Margo's rush to attack Selinus, Pomilka thought that a few more days of rectification would completely guarantee the stability of the Numibian army. However, they were negligent about the Numibian cavalry, and their previous rectification and scrutiny were not strict, because when rumors spread about the Numibian army, the Numibian cavalry camp was very calm, and the eastern and western Numibians were relatively independent and did not have much contact, so both Marco and Pomilka had an illusion that the Numibian cavalry was trustworthy.

After hearing the plea for help from the cavalry under the city, Margo was relieved at first: the movement in the camp was not caused by the surprise attack of the Dionian army!