Masias pointed to the three-story consul's mansion standing in front of him a few dozen meters away, and said in a cold voice, "Don't worry about hurting our soldiers, because the target is it." ”

The towering roof is not only easy to be hit by ballistas, but it can also crush the Ionian light infantry who are condescending to carry out long-range attacks, clearing them of the destruction of the dense array of Syracuse, and Macias feels that the commander of the Syracuse army is on it, and bombarding it can demoralize the Dionians, so it kills three birds with one stone! The adjutant quickly understood this, and immediately said with admiration: "General, you are right! Heralds! Heralds! Inform the ballista troops outside the town and bring the ballista here at once! ……”

Masias looked at the building in front of him, he seemed to feel that the commander of the other side was also looking down on him, he admitted that he underestimated the combat effectiveness of this Ionian army, and caused a lot of casualties to the Syracuse coalition army, but the trouble they set up ended here, the Syracuse coalition army surrounded them on this unprotected flat ground with twice the strength of the force, as long as the attack continued, victory would eventually come!

Masias is confident in this......

Just as the two armies were engaged in a fierce frontal battle, behind the generals of the war, Masias, there was a loud shout: "General Hibagris! Your Excellency General Hibagris! ……”

Out of the corner of Masias' disgruntled eye, the tyrant of Sikuli's guards hurriedly led the man over.

"The General, it's not good! There was a riot in the city and in the harbor of Sikuli! As soon as the man saw Hibagris, he cried out with a look of panic.

The people around were taken aback.

Hiba Gris grabbed his chest with both hands and asked eagerly, "What nonsense are you talking about?!" When I left Sikuli yesterday, everything was calm in the city, and there was no riot! ”

"It's true, my lord!" The man wept and said in a panic, "This morning, there was a riot among the freedmen and slaves of the port and attacked the city of Sikuli, and Lord Celtas was about to lead the soldiers to defend it, when some citizens suddenly attacked them from behind and opened the gates...... Now only you, my lord, can lead your troops back and defeat those thugs to save our city of Sikuli! ”

When Hibagris heard this, he shouted anxiously: "Kalilatus, go and recall our soldiers, we will return to Sikuli at once!" ”

"Yes, sir!" A Sikuli general hurriedly ran forward.

"Wait!" Masias hurriedly shouted: "Lord Hibagris, I don't know if the news of Sikuli's attack is true or not, it is better to send scouts to investigate first, and then send troops after it is confirmed." "It's hard to get the coalition forces back on the offensive and have a slight upper hand, and Masias doesn't want to let this good momentum be interrupted, so he wants to delay it for a while.

Who knows, Hibagris saw through Masias's intentions, he pointed to the messenger, and said with a serious expression: "Dillas is my slave steward, who has followed me for decades, and there is no doubt about his words!" I'm sorry, Lord Macias, but I must rush back at once and destroy the thugs, not only to save my family, but also for the dozens of tons of grain stored in the city for the army! ”

After being reminded by Hibagris, Masias's face changed greatly, and instead of stopping Hibagris from leaving, he said: "When the enemy here is destroyed, I will immediately lead the troops to Sikuli to assist you!" ”

Sikuli had only more than a thousand soldiers in the battle, and considering that their combat effectiveness was not strong, Macias did not place them in the forefront of the enemy, so it was relatively easy to withdraw. Seeing Hibagris hurriedly lead his troops away, a trace of uneasiness rose in Masias's heart, so he ordered: "Blow the trumpet again, and urge the soldiers to step up their attack!" ”

"I have long said that this Hibagris is a powerless fellow, and Lord Dionysius should have destroyed Sikuli in the first place, and we mercenaries would have managed that small city, so there would be no such chaos......" Paphros, who was also the leader of the mercenaries and now the tyrant of Katanae, sneered without hesitation, causing the faces of the generals of the other city-states next to him to change.

Macias whispered to him with a look of hesitation: "Don't talk nonsense! ”

The officer in charge of the ballista arrived: "My lord, the ballista has been carried!" ”

The ballista officer's report lifted Macias's spirits: "Find a place to set up your ballista and bombard that house for me!" Macias pointed to the Archon's mansion and said in a high spirit.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone shouting from behind: "Lord Pavlos, it's not good! Katanay has been overrun by mobs! ”

Masias was shocked when he heard this, and the tyrant of Katana, who had spoken cool words before, had already run to the rear with an anxious face, while the other city-state generals were whispering.

Papholos soon came to Macias and said with an anxious face: "Macias, I must lead my brothers back immediately!" ”

Macias forced himself to compose, and for his comrades in the same trench, he was not playing any other means, but seriously analyzed: "Pavlos, Katanai has been lost, you rush back at this time, even if you take it back, it has already suffered damage." And if you leave now, you will destroy the battle we have worked so hard to win, and you have seen how powerful these Dionian soldiers are, and if they let them escape, they will cause us even more trouble! ”

Masias could let the Sikuli out, but not the Qartanai forces, as their 3,000 mercenaries were one of the main forces in the battle.

Pavlos listened to his persuasion, hesitated, and his tone was no longer as resolute as before: "I'm afraid this battle will last until dusk before the winner can be decided...... We return to Katanai, and I'm afraid we won't be able to attack tomorrow until tomorrow...... For such a long time, those thugs will strengthen our defenses and cause great difficulties for us to attack the city! And...... And if the brethren had known that I had not led them back to the garden in time, I am afraid that I would not have been in this position for long......"

"With the support of Lord Dionysius, what are you afraid of!" Masias cheered him up: "As for the losses of the brothers, Syracuse will make up for them!" ”

Pavlos was still hesitating, when a messenger arrived on horseback and shouted anxiously: "General Flaeotes, it's not good! Leotini......"

The tyrants and generals of these allies beside Masias have already stirred, and no one who can sit in this position is a fool: Sikuli riots! Katanai riots! Leotinius riots! …… This is no longer an isolated riot, it is most likely a storm of rebellion against Syracuse in the whole of southeastern Sicily!

The populace here has been dissatisfied with Syracuse for a long time! Everyone present knew it, because they were all beneficiaries of Dionysius's rule over Sicily, but at this moment, they no longer cared about the face of the alliance leader, and they all told Macias: I want to return to the city-state with my troops to stabilize the situation!

They did not wait for Macias's reply, and went straight to withdraw their city-state army. Masias used to be able to make the nobles of these allies bow down to their orders, because of the power of Syracuse, and now that the catastrophe is coming, how can they still obey the orders of a mercenary-born man.

When he was at a loss, Paphlos said coldly beside him: "Marcias, I am also going to take the troops back, I advise you to withdraw your troops immediately, these city-states of ours have riots, can Syracuse avoid it!" Don't forget, Master Dionysius and you have drained Syracuse's defenses, and it's quite empty! ”

Masias was shocked when he heard this, he only thought about destroying the enemy in front of him, but he forgot the most important duty he shouldered! He watched as Papholos beckoned his men to rush to the phalanx of Katanai's army, and his heart was cold, he knew that the battle was over......

He looked up at the consul's mansion in front of him, as if he saw the enemy commander sneering at them: it was at this time that there was a massive riot in Sicily, and it was definitely the Dionians who were making trouble in it!

Thinking of this, he was furious and shouted loudly: "Ballista, bombard that house for me immediately!" ”

………………………………

"Legionnaire, the enemy seems to be starting to retreat!" The adjutant shouted excitedly.

Needless to say, in Antonios' view: generals wearing bright crowns rode to various positions of the enemy formation, shouting loudly, and then the enemy array was in a commotion, and then a group of soldiers was seen withdrawn from the array, led by the generals to the west. The thick circle that had originally surrounded the First Legion and the exiled soldiers now had a lot of gaps, and their withdrawal also seriously affected the Syracuse soldiers next to them, who no longer attacked, but looked around, shouted at each other, and conveyed their uneasiness to the other soldiers, and soon the entire ring array fell into chaos......

Could it be that the news of the rebellion of the city-state led by them in Antrapolis has been known to the enemy?! Antonios subconsciously looked at Sherovenis.

"Legion Commander, I think I can take this opportunity to attack!" The adjutant's words brought his thoughts back to him, only to see several stone bullets flying towards them from a distance.

"Watch out for the ballista!" The guards behind him exclaimed, holding the long shield above Antonios' head.