"Sobokos, what's wrong?" Seeing his serious expression, Phellisius hurriedly asked.

"Your Excellency, Commander." Sobkos, who was already in his 50s, was still vigorous and loud, and he gave a military salute very simply: "My scout cavalry reported that about 500 cavalry came from the south and were approaching the camp. ”

"Is it a Syracuda?" Phellisius asked in a deep voice.

"I think it should be...... The cavalry had no protection and were adept at throwing javelins, unlike the Greek cavalry that had gone before. Sobkos replied earnestly.

"Then what are you waiting for! Hurry up and send your cavalry to drive these Syracuse away! Do not let them interfere with the construction of camp by our soldiers. Dracos said immediately.

Sobkos was a little embarrassed and whispered: "Our cavalry is not necessarily their opponent...... According to the return of the scouts, their horse control skills were very high, and the javelin throwing was quite accurate, and our ten cavalry were chased by them, and at a distance of 50 meters, they actually got closer, and they threw a round of javelins, and we lost ...... Five Brothers ......"

"How powerful are the cavalry of Syracuse?!" Epitenis was a little surprised, he knew the strength of the Dionian cavalry legion, and due to the regular training, whether it was horsemanship, fighting, or tactical execution, he felt that he was much stronger than the cavalry of those Greek city-states.

"Probably a cavalry hired by Syracuse. When Syracuse and Carthage were at war, it is said that Celtic and Numibian cavalry were hired, and they were both races that grew up on horseback, and it is normal for them to be better than us...... Master Davers reminded me before I came. Felicius said with a solemn expression.

"Then let the light infantry brigade of our Fifth Legion go out with Soberkos and your cavalry and drive out these cavalry!" Dracos made a suggestion on the spot.

Felicius nodded in agreement.

………………………………

Dionysius led his men on their way, and when they reached the city of Coronia, they saw a spectacular sight a few hundred meters away: thousands of men digging trenches, carrying dirt, and erecting earthen ramparts on the vast flat land...... Everyone is busy, but they seem organized. This is not the only part of the construction site that is in full swing, it stretches to the east and west, and has the potential to block the entire coastal passage on this side of the mountain range.

Dionysius, Phoebidas, Fasipesas and Astagras fell silent for a moment when they saw this.

In the middle of the night, Dionysius pointed to the Dionian camp under construction in front of him, and said to Fasipesas and Astagrass in a reproachful tone: "Look at them, and look at the army you lead!" ”

Fasipesas and Astargras were ashamed, and they understood what Dionysius meant: the same haste, the Dioonians were able to build a camp despite fatigue, while the camp of the Syracuse army was not called a camp at all, it was chaotic, and the soldiers were sleeping in the tents they had set up haphazardly......

"My lord, the Dioonians are desperately building camps to defend against our attack, and no one dares to attack our army, so-" Astaras was about to defend himself when Dionysius interrupted him sharply: "So the troops you lead can sleep peacefully and wait for the Great Greeks to surrender!" ”

The reason why Dionysius was angry was because in the past few years, on the one hand, he learned some of the strengths of the Dionian army based on the information from Dionia; On the other hand, some problems that arose during the battles between Syracuse and Carthage also prompted him to reform the Syracuse army. He clearly separated heavy infantry, cavalry, infantry, cavalry, siege forces, and navy, and coordinated operations under a unified and more effective command. In order to make the generals and soldiers proficient in the use of new tactics, he also studied Dionia, increased the number of military training for citizens, and established stricter military regulations to ensure that the army could enforce them. It was only after this reform that Syracuse would have the upper hand in the Second War with Carthage. However, the scene before him made him feel the gap between his army and the Dionian soldiers in terms of mental will and the execution of orders, so the anger was born of his jealousy and anxiety, and Astargoras was only a tool for him to vent his anger.

This was indeed a bit of a wrongful accusation against Astargas, but when he was still trying to defend himself, another important general of Syracuse, Fasipesas, secretly tugged at his clothes and said respectfully: "Don't worry, my lord, we will gather the army when we go back and let them rebuild the camp." ”

Dionysius looked a little dark.

At this time, the leader of the Numibian mercenaries, Ashirita, stepped forward and said, "My lord, the enemy is now building camps, and it is a good opportunity for a sneak attack, so let me lead my people over to rush over and kill for a while. ”

Before Dionysius could reply, Phoebidas, who had been closely observing the Dionian camp, said: "Don't rush, the Dionian army is coming." ”

Several groups of cavalry and infantry poured out of the passages reserved for the Ionian camp under construction, and quickly formed a formation in front of the camp, with cavalry on both flanks and light infantry in the middle, and then marched on Dionysius without hesitation.

"It's useless for the Ionians to come. Allow me, my lord, to lead my people into attack. I will let my warriors go around their flanks and attack their cavalry, disrupt their formation, and then take advantage of the chaos to storm the light infantry in their midst, and let them taste the power of the Numibian cavalry! ”

"It's time for us to go back!" Phoebe Das said suddenly, with a little panic in his voice.

Dionysius looked at him in surprise, for for the first time since he had set out from Syracuse, he had seen this cold and straightforward Spartan a little out of sorts. However, as the commander of the army, he has more important things to do, and there is no need to entangle with the enemy's small forces at this time. So, he listened to Phoebe Das and ordered to return.

Despite his unruliness, Achirita was still in awe of his angry employer, and he reluctantly called back the eager Numibian cavalry and followed Dionysius.

When Phellisius learned of the enemy's retreat, he said to the two commanders: "You have all seen that the army of Syracuse will attack soon, and we must set up camp as soon as possible!" ”

Epitenis had no objections this time.

…………………………………

On the way back to Locle, Dionysius asked, "Phoebeidas, now that the Dioonians are building a camp in Coronia, obviously trying to defend against our northward attack, what do you think we should do next?" ”

"We must not allow the Dioonians to build a fortified camp here and take advantage of the narrowness of the terrain to nullify our numerical advantage, thus wasting our time! We must invade the city-states of Trina and Siridine as soon as possible, which are wide enough for our armies to fight and force them to engage us head-on, then defeat them and take their cities! With Dionya left without helpers and the main forces trapped in Portentia, this is a good chance for us to destroy them! When the last sentence was spoken, Phoebedas's expression was even a little hideous.

Dionysius looked at him curiously, and although he didn't understand why Phoebitas suddenly had a bad feeling for the Dionians, it was exactly what he wanted.

So, after pondering for a long time, he made up his mind, called the leading generals, and gave an order in a deep voice: "Astagras, Fasipesas, you will immediately reorganize the army when you return." Tomorrow! I'm going to be able to attack Coronia and Trina tomorrow! ”

"Yes, sir!"

Phoebidas listened to their conversation, and was pleased to see that Dionysius had arranged according to his own suggestion, but his mind still reproduced the situation he had just seen over and over again: whether it was cavalry or light infantry, the Dionians were uniformly black, and even he could vaguely see that the leather shields of their cavalry seemed to be painted with the same pattern, although he did not see the Dionian heavy infantry, but the light infantry and cavalry were still like this, and the outfit of the heavy infantry must be quite uniform.

Dionysius had already received detailed information about the Dionian army in advance and was not too surprised. But for the Spartan Phoebeidas, he saw something deeper through the uniform Dionian outfit and oppressive blackness.

Spartan warriors snickered secretly when the citizens of the city-states of Athens, Corinth, and Thebes flaunted their colorful artistic aesthetics and entertainment, and even painted dusty round shields that they had not used once in half a year with a variety of elaborate patterns to show off their individuality and taste. Because since the regent of Sparta came to Kugu to implement reforms a hundred years ago, they have been trained under whips and clubs since childhood, and they have already summed up the essence of war in their hundred years of conquest: that is, they do not care about any means, only for the ultimate victory!

The Spartans claimed to be descendants of Hercules, but in fact they worshipped wolves more. Their army fights like a pack of wolves, emphasizing discipline, wholeness, and psychological deterrence, and even if each individual is very capable of fighting, it is absolutely not allowed for individuals to fight alone.

So, when the armies of the other city-states fought against Sparta, they saw rows of dazzling walls of copper (because Spartan warriors had to polish their shields and bayonets when fighting) and scarlet cloaks dyed like blood, as well as the uniform "∧" emblem on the round shield.