Liliba was located in the center of the western coast of Sicily, and the Dionicians controlled it, making it easier to cut off Carthage from western Sicily by sea, making it even more difficult to transport food from the sea, and the food reserves in the camp were not enough to last a month!

After all, Margo is a veteran who has fought in Iberia for many years, and he didn't have to be confused for long, so he resolutely made up his mind.

"You, immediately rush to the north, inform Hasderogba, tell him to abandon the rescue of Palermos, collect as much excess food as possible in the city of Erix, and then lead the army not to return to the camp of Segsta, but to the camp of Selinus!" After gritting his teeth and giving orders to the heralds, Margo led an army of 30,000 men to slowly return south.

……………………………………………

In the Dionian camp in Minoa, Davers tossed and turned, unable to sleep, waiting for news from Lili.

Earlier, after receiving Leotizides' letter, he was attracted by his bold plan of raid, and immediately summoned the commanders of the legions, and also informed Sekrian to come and consult, because Sekrian had been in the port of Lillipian and knew about the situation there.

Originally, after reading a sketch of the defense of the city of Lilib attached to Leotizides' letter, everyone thought that even if the army mixed into the port of Lilipa, it would be very difficult to take the opportunity to capture the whole city, but as long as the port of Liliba could be destroyed, it would greatly weaken Carthage's ability to transport materials to the Sicilian army, which was very worth trying.

But then, Secrean mentions that "there may be tunnels in the port of Lilipa", which makes Davers's eyes shine, and although it is only a rumor, he still decides to give it a try, so he decides to send the Second Army and the Sicilian fleet to assist Leotizides and seize Lilipa.

On that day, a number of Dionia's clippers sailed quickly in the western waters of Sicily, liaising with all parties and planning this big operation together.

When dusk came, and Davers saw off the soldiers of the Second Legion on board the ships of the Sicilian fleet at the improvised port of Minoa, he was mentally prepared: the worst result would be that the fleet posing as Carthage would be spotted by the Lilian patrol ships and would not be able to enter the harbor at all; As a result, the fleet entered the port, captured the lighthouse, the fleet passed through the water gate, and the legion landed in the port, but in the end it was unable to capture the whole city, so it could only destroy the port and return; The best result, of course, was the capture of the city of Lili.

Even the worst result was not much loss to the Dionian army, it was just a waste of everyone's time and energy all day, and a great opportunity was missed.

It stands to reason that Davers, who commanded thousands of troops and experienced a hundred battles, should not suffer from gains and losses like this, but because this military operation is related to the development of the future war situation, it is rare for him not to sleep well.

After daybreak, when Hennepolis entered the tent, he noticed that Davers was in low spirits, so he asked with concern, "Your Majesty, did you not rest well last night?" ”

"Yes, I really envy you, no matter where you are, you can fall asleep as soon as you fall, and you are not easy to wake up." Davers sighed heartily.

"This is because Your Majesty, you are always worried about the affairs of the kingdom, and I only need to write documents and orders according to your requirements, and then concentrate the rest of my energy on writing a biography, life is simple, but it is also relatively fulfilling, and I can naturally eat and sleep well." Henypolis said calmly: "So Your Majesty, you are destined to create a great country, leaving a glorious history, which will be remembered forever by thousands of people, and I can only use a little of your brilliance to illuminate myself, and perhaps let future generations barely remember my name." ”

Henipolis's clever flattery made Davers feel comfortable, and he said with a laugh: "Heney, don't think that if you say good things, you can let me relax the ban, and my biography must not be leaked to others without my permission!" ”

"Your Majesty......," Henipolis put on a pleading look, but Davers turned a blind eye and asked, "Is there a war report today?" ”

"Not yet—" Before Henipolis finished speaking, Maltius walked into the tent: "Your Majesty, there is news from Selinus, the Carthaginian camp was suddenly lit up late last night, and it seems that a large number of soldiers were moving in the camp, and it lasted until the early hours of the morning, and the camp was calm again, but it seems that some troops left the camp. ”

"They must have rushed to Liliba!" Henipolis immediately said excitedly: "This means that our army has entered the port of Lilipa!" ”

He barely slept last night, and Davers' energy had not yet recovered, so he seemed relatively calm: "Very good, we are halfway there, may Hades bless them with the best results!" ”

He stood up: "I'm going to rest for a while, and if there's any further news, I'll be notified immediately." With that, he walked slowly into the bedroom.

Henipolis and Maltius looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

……………………………………

In the afternoon, the senior Dionian generals in Minoa gathered in the big tent, and at this moment Davers said in high spirits: "Ladies and gentlemen, Lilibal has been captured by us!" The fall of the Carthaginian army is not far off! ”

The generals were not surprised by this news, for the ships of the Sicilian fleet had sailed into the harbor, and a large number of prisoners from Liliba were being taken into camp.

"Your Majesty, the city of Lilibal is too important to the Dionian army, and Matonis and Prosous are afraid that they will be fiercely attacked by the Carthaginian army, do you want us to send more reinforcements?" Oliver eagerly suggested.

"I have just received news from Prosus who sent clippers, and until the morning they found no trace of Carthaginian reinforcements, and Selinus has sent back news that there are signs of the return of the Carthaginian camp outside the city......" Davers said slowly, looking around the crowd.

"The Carthaginians gave up on retaking Lilipa?" Alexis looked at Davers uncertainly.

Davers nodded and said: "Judging from the current situation, Marco is probably not ready to recapture Lilibal in a hurry, but still focuses on Selinus, so what we have to worry about now is not Lilibi, but Selinus!" ”

"Your Majesty, since we have captured Palermus and Lilibi, and Eryx is already surrounded by us, and the Carthaginians are attacking Selinus, can we also attack Eryx and take this very important city-state for the Phoenicians?" Trotilas, the commander of the Sixth Army, suggested.

"Our capture of Liliba will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the other Phoenician city-states in Sicily, and it will be difficult to succeed by sneak attacks. Moreover, there are many temples in the city of Erlux, which is a sacred place of worship for the Phoenicians in the western Mediterranean, and the Carthaginian army will definitely rescue it with all its might. Tolmid reminded.

"Can Lizarus and Epithanes force the Carthaginian army not to attack Selinus with all its might? At the same time, it also allows us to concentrate more troops to attack faster when we find fighters. Oliver suggested again.

Davers tapped his fingers on the table, muttered for a while, and said: "Recently, although we have won a series of victories, but the main force of the Carthaginian army has not suffered much loss, it is still a terrible beast, we can't relax our vigilance now, and don't force too much, we must know that the beast that is driven to a dead end will be very terrible, in order to avoid the increase in army casualties due to the dying counterattack of the Carthaginians, we must loosen the ropes, so that the Carthaginians feel that they can still maintain, and will not perish with us...... So Lizaru and they must stay in Hena for the time being.

The Phoenician city-states of Errix, Mazara, and Segesta did not need to rush to attack, as this would distract our forces and give the Carthaginian army one more target to attack. What we need to do now is to consolidate the previous gains, strengthen the defenses, continue to drain the morale and baggage of the Carthaginian army, and at the same time be ready at any time, as soon as the fighters appear, we will strike decisively, kill the Carthaginian soldiers, break their morale, and let this beast trapped in the cage continue to bleed until it finally perishes......"

The generals were thoughtful.

Davers looked around at them and smiled: "The capture of Liliba is indeed a great victory for us, and Sekrian has reported to me that he is ready to plan another operation with Midorades, which, if successful, may lead to the dawn of victory in this long war between us and the Carthaginians!" Of course, we may have to welcome the arrival of the Carthaginian emissary who is asking for peace talks. ”

Davers's words made the atmosphere in the big tent warm again.

……………………………………………

In contrast to the relaxed joy of the Dionian barracks, the atmosphere in the Carthaginian Senate was solemn, and the news of the "loss of Lilipa" was transmitted back a day later by a Mazara clipper ship at a risk, shocking the Carthaginian senators.

If the cities of Hadru Mentum and Ogirgilli were burned down because these two Phoenician city-states had few small people, and Kellypa was a military town built by Carthage with countless gold, silver and manpower, and fell into the hands of the Dionians so easily, could the Carthaginian army really be able to defeat such a powerful Dionian? …… If the previous invasion of Corsica and Sardinia out of control, naval defeat, and the invasion of Africa gave the Carthaginian elders blows again and again, making them no longer optimistic about the development of the entire war situation, the fall of Liliba gave them a heavy blow and deepened their pessimism.

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