As soon as Davers's body leaned back in his chair, he stopped talking, and grief enveloped him instantly...... In this era, Davers has never stopped fighting, and he has long been accustomed to seeing life and death, even if the mercenary soldiers who have suffered together fall in front of him, it is difficult to stir up ripples in his heart. But when he learned the news today, he lost his temper......

In fact, Acheta didn't get along with him for long, but the two fell in love at first sight. This gentle and elegant Tarantum nobleman, who was seven or eight years older than Davers, was like a generous big brother who helped Davos many times. While Davers was still unknown, Acheta, as the patriarch of Tarantum and the general of the expedition, had no complaints about helping him repel the Lucanians; After Davers seized Amendolara, Acheta was not only not dissatisfied with Davers's deception, but also took the initiative to let Tarantum form an alliance with Amendolara, and at the same time persuaded Davers not to seize power by violent means. Despite the estrangement of relations between Tarantum and Dionia, Acheta continued to campaign for friendship between the two states, allowing him to buy food from Tarantum when the port of Turriy was blockaded by Crotone......

Davers was immersed in the memory, his eyes began to moisten, he suddenly took a long breath, and with a solemn expression, Polydorus said loudly: "Dionya is an ally of Tarantum, and it is Dionia's responsibility to help the ally repel the enemy's invasion, and I will immediately apply for a meeting of the Senate!" I am confident that all the Patriarchs of the Ionian Senate will not hesitate to agree to send troops to the rescue of our friendly allies! ”

Polydorus was convinced: Eumarcus was right, the relationship between Acheta and Davers was extraordinary, it was said that the Senate in Dionya was controlled by Davers alone, and with his permission in advance, there was no problem with this request for help!

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When Polydorus addressed Tarantum's request to the senators in the Senate chamber, there was a statement by Davers, and almost no one objected.

Most of the patriarchs from Amendolara and Turriyi remember the help they received from Tarantum during the most difficult times. Cuno Gorata and others said: Keeping promises has always been the norm of the Dionians, who are already a powerful alliance of Greater Greece and should have the courage to take on the responsibility of defending the Greek city-states of southern Italy and show our sincerity to the surrounding city-states!

These words reached the hearts of everyone, and the Senate unanimously passed the resolution of "sending reinforcements to rescue Tarantum", but there was a dispute over the number of troops to be sent.

Some of the patriarchs, led by Cornerus and Burkos, believed that the autumn harvest season in September was approaching, and if too many young and strong laborers were to be drawn into the war at once, even with the assistance of slaves, the harvest of the fields would still be greatly affected, and it was recommended that the number of people sent should not exceed one legion at most.

A small number of Turriy senators, led by Polyxis, believed that the Dionian Alliance had fought too much in the past two years, and the people were tired and in urgent need of recuperation. Moreover, with the help of Metapontum and Heraclia, the strength of Tarantum's army has not been greatly weakened, and Dionya only needs to send three or four thousand men to show our sincerity.

The military elders such as Antonios and Capus objected, arguing that the Mesapi and Puchetti would be strong and that Dionyas would send too few reinforcements to help the Tarantum end the war quickly. The war lasted for a long time, which on the contrary affected the return of Dionian reinforcements and caused discontent among the population. Moreover, the number of people sent is large, so that they can take the lead in the war and avoid being arbitrarily arranged by Tarantum, which leads to the sacrifice of soldiers in vain......

They advised: it is better to send two legions to Tarantum.

The opinions of the military elders persuaded most of the senators, but the sheer number of 14,000 men in the two legions made the senators hesitate, and finally the decision was handed over to Davers.

Davos, of course, agreed with Antonios, saying: "Now that it has been agreed to send reinforcements, it is necessary to show Dionia's sincerity and courage as an ally of Tarantum to the fullest, and with the assistance of the two legions, together with the armies of Tarantum and its affiliated allies, we should be able to repel the enemy very quickly, so that the citizens can return as soon as possible and take care of their farms......"

As Davos spoke, he consciously or unconsciously put Dionia's army in the position of the main force, completely forgetting that he was only a guest in Tarantum. And none of the patriarchs felt strange, but took it for granted.

This time, Mersis doesn't have to worry about sending troops. When Polydorus learned that Theoria had sent a huge contingent of 14,000 men, he was overjoyed and said to Davers: "The rations and supplies for the Dionian reinforcements will of course be provided by Tarantum!" ”

The agricultural department in Burcos, on the other hand, had to be kept busy to ensure that each soldier's farm was well taken care of when the owner left.

Grummentum, Crimesa, and Asphorustum had just been annexed, and it was not easy to send troops to fight. As Dionia's most stable rear in the Lucania region, Niutum also shoulders the responsibility of sending troops to stabilize Grumentim at any time, and will not send the citizens of the city to Tarantum unless there are special circumstances. Therefore, the citizens who Davers chose to go on the expedition were all in the two cities of Turiy and Amendolara, which were very close to each other, that is, the garrisons of the First and Second Legions. This also saves time and effort for the supervision of farmland in Burkos.

At the same time, the Senate began to recall the soldiers belonging to the 1st and 2nd Army Corps, who were about to go to Corinth to participate in the Isthmus Games.

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The Isthmus Games, one of the four major games in Greece, are held in the summer and autumn of the second year of the Olympia Games and are a celebration of Poseidon the god of the sea.

Davers didn't know much about this, but when Crotone's chief general, Lucias, said goodbye to Hades after the celebration, he lamented the excitement of the Dionian rugby game, and inadvertently mentioned that Crotone was about to line up for the Isthmus Games, and Davers took it to heart.

Today, the mercenaries led by Davers have not only taken root in Great Greece, but the Dionian Alliance he created is one of the most powerful alliances in Great Greece, not far behind the powerful Sybaris a hundred years ago. But the deeds of Dionya are still heard of in Sicily, but from Sicily to the east to Greece proper, it is largely unknown, and even more so to the Ionian islands of the Aegean Sea, not to mention the Greek states of Asia Minor.

With Dionia's current strength now past its dormant stage, it needed to strengthen ties with the Greek city-states in the eastern Mediterranean, whether it was to increase trade or attract free people, which would be of great benefit, so Davers's proposal in the Senate to "organize athletes to participate in the Isthmus Games" was enthusiastically responded to by the senators.

The Greek city-states of the Western Mediterranean were not less enthusiastic about participating in the four Greek games than the Greek people, and they were far more active than the city-states of Asia Minor, and the main reasons for this were as follows: first, the four major games were held either in the Peloponnese or near the Gulf of Corinth, which was closer to Greater Greece and Sicily than to Asia Minor; Secondly, these colonial city-states in the western Mediterranean are strategically located, fertile land, and rich in minerals, so most of them are relatively wealthy, far more than the mother state of Greece proper, and there is no opportunity to compare in normal times, so the games have become a stage for these "city-states and tyrants" in the western Mediterranean to show off their luxury, donate a large amount of gold and silver to the temple treasury of the games, and hold large banquets to entertain the athletes of the city-states...... And so on, so that the people of Greece who live a simple life are stunned, and out of jealousy, they ridicule the Greeks of the Western Mediterranean as "poor people who have nothing but gold and silver".

The Greeks of the Western Mediterranean are not only showing off their wealth at the Games, they are also very impressive in the Games. Crotone is a well-known professional winner of major sports events, Syracuse is another, Tarantum, Lokri and Agrigento athletes have won many championships, and Cybalis, former Turiyi and Napoli have also won excellent results in the games. They were keen to show the native Greek state that they were colonizers or descendants of colonizers who were far better than the citizens of their home states.

Davers's proposal was nothing more than a continuation of the glorious traditions of the Great Greeks.

After the announcement of participation in the Games was announced in the cities, the citizens of Dionya signed up in droves, forcing the federation to hold a tryout, and finally ten people were qualified to compete in Corinth, including: Tegetinos in wrestling, Matonis in javelin, Amintas in the "Armed Run", and Sobicos in the carriage...... Now they must all return to the 1st and 2nd Legions and prepare for Tarantum.

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Although it had only been a few months since the Dionian League stopped the war, and the enemies they were about to face were quite strong, it did not affect the enthusiasm of the citizens to go on the expedition, in addition to the fact that the war allowed them to accumulate merit and obtain citizenship or land, the establishment of Valhalla and the Temple of the Magi in the Temple of Hades also greatly stimulated their pursuit of honor.

While the citizens of Turiyi and Amendolara were actively preparing for the expedition to Tarantum, at the consul's residence, Davers, the military officer Pherisius, and the two army commanders, Kapus and Dracos, were listening carefully to the Tarantum envoy Polydorus's detailed account of the situation of the two major powers in the Apulian region, Mesapi and Puchetti: "I think several adults have heard a story that has been passed down for a long time......"