Davers looked up at the sky, then looked down at the tired but excited faces of the city, and said calmly, "Everyone, hard work! Please follow the rules of the Dionian Military Law for building camps in wartime, half of the soldiers of each legion are responsible for the defense of the mountains, and half of the soldiers are under the command of the engineers to step up the construction of camps, so go ahead and carry it out. ”

There was a big gap between Davers's order and their expectations, and Amintas, Matonis and others were slightly disappointed, but they still responded loudly: "Yes!!" ”

Seeing the crowd gone, Davers remembered something again, looked around and asked, "What about Tolmid?" ”

"Your Majesty, he has rushed to urge the legions to build camps." Printors replied.

"Go to Tolmide at once, and ask him to inform the commanders of the legions to send a part of the soldiers and engineering battalions, and to repair the original port of Minoa as soon as possible, so that the Sicilian fleet can be stationed, and this matter will be left to you."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Printors was ordered to go.

Davers turned around and continued to stare down the hill.

At this time, a large force of Carthaginian infantry was arriving on the west bank of the Pletany River, and the Carthaginian cavalry, which had been gathered on the bank of the river, retreated to the rear on both sides, giving way to the front, and all the soldiers were lined up along the riverbank, gradually having the rudiments of the military formation......

Davers's gaze finally focused on the group of horseback generals in front of the Carthaginian infantry phalanx on the west bank of the Pletany River, and in the center there was a general wearing a golden helmet without a hat, wearing a golden breastplate, a dark red armor skirt, and a blue coat, he pointed to the hills, and said something, and everyone around him gathered around him to listen.

Davers whispered solemnly, "Margo......"

The man Davers saw was indeed Margo, and he was squinting at the mountain: Dionian soldiers were constantly emerging from the ruins of Minoa, forming a defensive line......

"My lord, the Dioonians don't seem to have any intention of fighting us." A general makes a judgment.

"If it were me, I wouldn't let the soldiers fight just after the march." Another general tactfully reminded.

Margo raised an eyebrow and didn't speak.

It was not until he saw that the Ionian soldiers on the hill not only did not attempt to descend, but also began to arrange deer barricades in front of their defensive arrays, that he had to give the order: "Leave the cavalry to continue to monitor the enemy's movements, and be careful against their surprise attack!" You lead the soldiers to build the camp! ”

……………………………………………

While Davers led his army westward along the south coast, the Dioonian army, which was the main force of the Third Army, did not rest much after entering Agilion, and continued its westward march on the second day, led by the newly formed Sichael's troops.

Curiously, no Siker tribes were seen along the way, and no attacks were encountered, and two days later the army reached Enna, the central town of Sicily.

This is another empty city.

The battle-hardened Lizaru and Epitenis were not pleased, but were a little more cautious, sending more mountain scouts and Sikel warriors to reconnoiter the enemy's movements.

A day later, Lizaru received word that there were a large number of Carthaginian soldiers gathered near the city of Kefaroition, as well as a number of Sikel warriors, with a preliminary estimate of more than 30,000 troops.

Whether it was the defeat of the Cautini at Campania by the Third Legion, or the defeat of the Cautini at Campania, or the defeat of the reinforcements from the north while attacking Rome from the vertebral bridge, these battles undoubtedly reflected this characteristic. For the first time as a temporary commander of several legions, he became quite cautious after entering this strange mountainous area. Upon receiving this information, he immediately consulted with Epitenis and Creru, and finally decided that until the detailed disposition of the enemy forces to the west was ascertained, the army should remain at Enna, and that the news would be communicated to His Majesty Davers on the south coast.

……………………………………………

Although it was already early November, the sun was still scorching at noon on the beach in Minoa.

Davers led the main senior generals of the army to stand by the improvised port, enduring the sun, patiently waiting for a large fleet of ships outside the harbor to enter.

As passenger ships docked and countless soldiers boarded the dock, the port, which had been abandoned for a while, suddenly became lively.

"Your Majesty, here they are." Henipolis reminded in a whisper.

"Go, go and meet the hero who conquered the Samoneh!" Davers smiled and strode forward.

Others followed.

"Your Majesty!" Alexis also strode up to Davers and gave a solemn military salute.

"You've worked hard!" Davers looked at him with great emotion, and after returning the military salute, he took the initiative to step forward and give the general who had made many military achievements a powerful hug.

"Alexis, you're a little slow, we're missing you!" Amintas's mood was a little complicated, but this did not affect the camaraderie between him and his old comrade-in-arms, who also gave him a warm hug.

Immediately afterwards, Martonis, Olivers, Trotilas and other generals greeted him one by one.

"Your Majesty, the commander of the Tenth Legion, Melisanda, reports to you!" Melisanda saluted neatly, and his voice was unusually loud.

The smile on Davers' face was even brighter: "Oh, Melishanda, you did a great job in the previous battle!" I'm sure your parents will be very proud of you when they see the battle report! Did Samone ever go home after the war? ”

"Not yet."

"Then win greater merit in the next war with Carthage, and go home full of honor." Davers patted him on the shoulder, encouraging.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Then Melisanda bowed to the other generals, most of whom were comrades of his stepfather, Phellisius, who were always a little awkward when they spoke to him in the voice of an elder.

Another person stepped forward and bowed to Davers with special etiquette: "Hello, Your Majesty Davers! ”

"Great Leader Polert, I didn't expect you to personally lead the troops here, thank you so much!" Davers hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, and said with joy and gratitude.

"For more than 10 years, Bothenia has been protected by Theonia, relying on the generous assistance of Your Majesty, the people of the various tribes of Portetia have been able to overcome the difficulties many times, and we have always regretted that we have not had the opportunity to repay this generous kindness, and finally have this opportunity, of course, we must go all out!"

Paulette's words were sincere, and Davers nodded again and again, but corrected with a smile: "Dionya and Portentia have long been a family, let's not talk about any words of kindness and gratitude like outsiders, let us continue to fight side by side like brothers." ”

"Yes! Be! Pollett nodded in response.

Davers turned his gaze to the other person beside him, "Are you...... Tatoni chief of Abenirum ? ”

"Do you remember me?!" Tatony was a little surprised.

"It's been you leading Abenirum's team to the Hades celebration in Turiyi for the past few years, how could I not remember." Davers smiled and said solemnly: "This time, thanks to the great help of your Abenirum , we Dionya finally won the Samonai War!" ”

"You're welcome, we're already family, aren't we!" Tatony replied bluntly.

Davers was stunned for a moment, and then laughed: "Yes! You're quite right! It's my slip of the tongue! After a while, at the banquet, I will give a drink! ”

Davers then met with the chiefs of the reinforcements of Cautini, Putney, and Caracheni.

Immediately afterwards, Davers made an exception and held a simple banquet in the camp's tent to welcome the leaders of the reinforcements of Portentia and Samonay, and the whole atmosphere was quite enthusiastic.

When the feast was over, the guards removed the scraps, and then placed a map of Sicily in the center of the tent, and the military meeting began.

Tolmid, the chief of staff of the Ministry of War, stood in front of the map with a wooden stick in his hand, and bowed slightly to Davers, who nodded to him, and then turned to face the crowd and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Your Majesty has asked me to tell you about the current situation in Sicily between us and the enemy...... In Minoa, where we are, we have concentrated nearly 50,000 men of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, Roman Reserve Brigades, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Cavalry Corps, and now we have 16,000 men from the 10th Legion, the Bothenia Legion, and the Samonai Army, for a total strength of 66,000 men. In the lowlands west of the city of Minoa, the army of the Carthaginian commander Marco had set up camp there, and according to the information detected by the scouts and sentinels in the past two days, there were about 60,000 infantry and more than 7,000 cavalry—"

"More than 7,000 cavalry?!" Melisanda exclaimed, then realized her faux pas again, and cast an apologetic glance at Tolmid.

Tormide took over and said, "Yes, Carthage has a very large cavalry, and its combat effectiveness is very strong, which is why the Carthaginians have been setting up at the foot of the mountain for the past two days to fight us, but Your Majesty has always avoided fighting them at this time. ”

Tormide said, pointing his stick at a town icon on the map not far north of the city of Minoa: "This is the town of Sikaire, Kepharoition, which is garrisoned by more than 30,000 people from the combined Carthage-Sikel army, according to the report from the soldiers of the Mountain Scouting Brigade. And our 3rd Legion, the Lucalya Reserve Legion, and the Sikail warriors, 20,000 men, have taken possession of Enna and are confronting them. ”