Seeing this, the ships also docked one after another, lowered the drawbridge, and groups of Ionian legionnaires boarded the embankment one after another to join the battle.

Other ships bypassed Stefacas's ships and landed on the embankment further ahead, in an attempt to encircle the enemy from the rear.

In just a few minutes, hundreds of Dionian soldiers appeared on the natural breakwater, and many warships were approaching the embankment one after another, while the Carthaginian soldiers who slowly descended the city by ropes were only a few dozen, and they were still encircled.

Ragnarca, who had seen this from the wall, was horrified and realized that it was impossible for him to prevent the Dionians from landing on the embankment, so he immediately stopped the soldiers from continuing to descend the city, and decided to hold this section of the natural breakwater first.

Then he saw by the light of the fire on the city wall: the Dionian soldiers who came up from behind were lined up in a loose line against the wall in front of the lighthouse, and then they made a throwing motion, and countless javelins flew up to the city, and then screamed again and again.

Ragnaca was horrified to remember that the Dionian hoplites could throw javelins, and he had to change his mind again, telling his troops to quickly withdraw from this section of the wall, and concentrate their forces on the tower gate, the entrance to the natural breakwater.

The Carthaginians retreated, and the mountain scouts who were struggling to support themselves finally breathed a sigh of relief, they did not have time to mourn for their dead comrades, but seized the time to treat their wounded comrades, clean up the corpses in front of the entrance of the lighthouse, and then watched the legionnaires from the tower continue to rush up to the city.

One of the team members gritted the shaft of the arrow that was exposed outside his arm, and the other team pointed the arrow at it with a sharp dagger, and Terrantus gritted his teeth and nodded at him.

A cold light flashed, and the entire shaft of the arrow was severed, and Terrentus breathed a sigh of relief, and gently shook his swollen and painful left hand, although the tip of the arrow remained in his arm, at least it was not too much of a hindrance to move.

"Tyrintus!" Heavy footsteps sounded behind him, and after turning to see the comer, Terrantus hurriedly gave a military salute: "Captain Mattonis!" ”

"Congratulations on your great work for the kingdom again! Next, the task of attacking will be taken over by our Second Legion, and you and your men will be here to recover from your wounds, and the medical battalion will soon arrive to treat you. Mattonis looked at the arrow wound on his arm and said with concern.

"Yes!" Terrentius replied respectfully, he thought for a moment, and then reminded: "Commander Matonis, the tower gate in the aisle of the city wall ahead is even more difficult to attack than described by the Carthaginian captives, and the long-range attacks on the towers on both sides are a great threat to the soldiers, so be careful!" ”

"If it's not easy to attack, you have to attack, we're very short on time now!" With that, Mattonis strode up to the city.

Terentus understood the meaning of Martonis's words: Lili's was too important to the Carthaginian army, and the attack of the Dionian army was bound to alarm the Carthaginian military commander Margo outside the city of Selinus, and if the city could not be taken as soon as possible, Carthaginian reinforcements would definitely arrive from Selinus after dawn, and the night attack would be in vain.

Thinking of this, Terrantus couldn't hold back either, and followed Mattonis's footsteps, wanting to watch the Second Legion capture the tower gate with his own eyes.

As soon as Ragnarca led the Carthaginian soldiers to retreat to the tower gate, Imisre arrived angrily, and when he saw him, he asked with a slashed face: "Why did you retreat without fighting for long?!" So easy to let the enemy take control of the lighthouse! Ragnaca, you are afraid of battle, you abandon the breakwater, in case Lilia misses, you are not afraid of being interrogated by the Senate and crucified?! ”

"My lord, the people of the Magonid family regard honor as their life, and they will never be greedy for life or afraid of death!" Ragnarka replied: "The reason why I ordered the army to retreat is because there are too many Dioonians who have landed on the embankment, and it is very unfavorable for us to fight there, and in the short battle just now, we have lost nearly 200 soldiers, if our troops have lost too much on the breakwater, will there be enough troops to hold the whole city!" So it's better to retreat and defend here, no matter how many men the Dionian ships bring, as long as we hold out until tomorrow, and Lord Margo arrives with his army, we will be victorious! ”

Ragnarca's words reminded Imisare, who asked, "How many soldiers have come from Dionia?" ”

"Nearly 10,000 people!" Ragnaca said as much as he could.

Imisaret was taken aback, thought for a moment, and said decisively: "I will hand over the command of the entire Lilian garrison to you, you must resist the attack of the Dionians, and hold on until the arrival of the army led by Lord Margo!" ”

"Please rest assured, I will do my best to defend Lili!" Ragnaca immediately took a stand.

As soon as he finished speaking, the defenders of the artificial breakwater tower sent someone to rush in, and shouted eagerly: "Report to your lordship, a large number of Ionian warships are coming outside the harbor!" ”

"What?! Are the Dionians really planning to concentrate their forces on the city of Lilibal from the port?! Imisare panicked.

Not only him, but the officers and soldiers around him felt nervous.

Seeing this, Ragnaca smiled confidently: "The Dioonians came by boat, it is impossible to carry large siege equipment, and the port area is narrow, even if they come with more soldiers, they will not be able to use it. Look at it, we have such tall and strong walls and perfect defenses, let alone hold on for a day, hold on for a month, and it will be difficult for them to break into the city from here in the harbor. ”

"Moreover, it is a good thing that the Dioons are attacking from the port, we all know that during this time, Lord Margo was bent on a decisive battle with the Dionians, but the Dioonians retreated in the city and camp, and never avoided the battle, and now they are finally here, which gives Lord Margo the opportunity to lead a large army to annihilate them, and also gives us the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, this battle may determine the victory of our Carthage in Sicily!"

Ragnarka's words boosted the confidence of those around him, and made Themisre feel that he had made a decision that he had done nothing wrong.

"General, the Dioonians are here!" The squad officer on the tower shouted.

"You, immediately lead 500 soldiers to bring a large stone and completely block the door of this tower!"

"You, lead four teams of soldiers to collect a large amount of asphalt, wood, and stones, and take them to the tower."

"You, let your archers line up behind this tower gate, ready to shoot at any moment!"

……

While Ragnaca was making detailed arrangements, a detachment of the Second Dionian Legion slowly approached the tower gate in the form of a tortoiseshell formation on the aisle of the city wall, and countless arrows bypassed the tower gate and rained down on the long shield without damaging it.

Instead, the javelins thrown by the Carthaginian light infantry on the tower thumped against the long shield, and even splashed sparks in the dark night, and a few javelins pierced the long shield, accompanied by the muffled grunt of the legionnaires. However, with the mutual support of the Dionian soldiers, the entire formation was still intact.

Approaching the tower gate and suffering another round of javelin throws, the Dionian detachment leader shouted: "Withdraw the shield and throw it to the left!" ”

It was too late, it was too fast, the legionnaires removed their long shields in their left hands, and the javelins that were already in their right hands flew out, and dozens of javelins flew towards the tower on the left, and the Carthaginian light infantry, who were leaning out of the tower and throwing downwards, were caught off guard, and were stabbed one after another, screaming again and again, and some even fell out of the tower and smashed into the ground of the port.

After the Ionian detachment threw javelins at the left tower, they didn't look at the result at all, and quickly threw a second javelin at the right tower, and the javelin attack of the Carthaginian light infantry on the right tower also hit at the same time.

"Raise your shield and retreat!" The detachment leader hurriedly ordered.

The Dionian soldiers raised their shields as they dragged their wounded comrades back.

At this moment, several Carthaginian soldiers appeared again on the tower on the left, and they threw their clay pots at the retreating Dionian soldiers.

The clay pot shattered, and the liquid splattered.

The faces of the Dionian soldiers changed: "It's asphalt!" Hurry back, hurry back! ”

Just as the Dionian soldiers retreated, several flaming torches fell near the clay pot, instantly igniting a wall of fire and turning the Dionian soldiers who were left behind into burning men......

Standing in the distance, Matonis saw the attack of the detachment, and he suddenly felt a pang of worry, and he shouted: "Go and inform Tritias (the captain of the light infantry group of the 2nd Legion) at once, and let him lead the archers to the corner of the city wall, and give me an attack on the enemy on those two towers!" And also...... Hurry up and bring me the wood! ”

"Captain, the soldiers have carried the sassalwood into the lighthouse, but the stairs are too narrow to carry it up...... They're figuring it out. The adjutant explained.

"I don't care what they do, I want it as soon as possible! Listen clearly, it is to transport the sassal wood to the city as soon as possible! If you delay, don't blame me for military punishment! Mattonis, anxious.

"I'm going to inform them!" The adjutant also sensed the urgency of the situation, and turned to run into the towers, but was stopped by Matonis again: "You also have to go and inform the engineering battalion, let them speed up, assemble the ballistas, and carry them to the city, I will use them to attack the two towers!" ”

"Yes!"

………………………………………

The warships of the Third Fleet entered the port of Lilipa, and Midorades breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the Third Fleet had just arrived in the western waters of Sicily, and was not familiar with the sea conditions here, and there were many islands on the route from Palermos to Lillipoli, and it was a night voyage, so Midolades was afraid that the warship would run on the reef and sink, so not only the speed of the entire fleet was slower, but also each warship was equipped with an old sailor from Palermos, who was responsible for navigation and guidance, and he could successfully reach the port of Lilipa, and he could finally rest assured.

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