"In a little while, the wind will be a little stronger." The old helmsman also spoke his own judgment.

The old captain nodded: "Fortunately, there is this southeast wind, otherwise I would never dare to do such a risky thing today." ”

He sighed softly, and then said to the young sailor, "Put the sails down." ”

Just as the sailor lowered the sails, the old helmsman had swung the rudder and turned the bow of the ship, which had been facing east, to the northeast.

The sails fell, the wind was felt, and it began to drumble.

The old captain held the sail control rope in his hands, smiled, and said confidently: "Everyone, pay attention, the ship is about to sail north, and the Dionian warship will chase after it, but rest assured, we will return home safely." ”

Everyone responded with solemn expressions.

This merchant ship, which is 13 meters long and 4.5 meters wide, has only ten sailors, a total of 12 people, in addition to the captain and helmsman. It was the opposite of a warship, light at the front and heavy at the back, with a narrower bow and an upturned stern, a wider stern, sails and rudder at the stern, ten sailors on either side of the hull, and linen covering the tight, high-raised cargo in the center of the hull.

As soon as the old captain pulled and released, the sail quickly turned to a suitable position, and the sail quickly puffed up, and the speed of the whole ship suddenly increased.

The merchant ships behind also followed the ship and accelerated to the northeast.

………………………………………

"Your Excellency, the Carthaginian fleet is fleeing north, and Stefakas is leading the fleet to catch up."

When Sekrian heard the news, he turned his head to look at the waves, and frowned slightly: "Flee north...... It seems that the Carthaginians wanted to take advantage of this south wind. ”

"Do we need to catch up?" The captain asked.

Secrean did not hesitate to decide: "To transport grain to Carthage's 100,000 troops, 300 merchant ships are not enough...... Since Carthage wants to trick us out of here, no! We're here to never let their next fleet enter the port of Liliba easily! However, I can't be careless, let the Clippers strengthen their ties with Stehuacas, and I want to know the movements of the 1st Squadron at all times! ”

"Yes!"

Seclian's order had 200 ships cruise the waters near Lilipa, while the 80 ships led by Stepacas were approaching Mothia in pursuit of the Carthaginian fleet.

Mothia was once the military town of Carthage in Sicily, Dionysius led an army of 100,000 and destroyed it with great difficulty, the Carthaginians did not rebuild it, but built a new military town near it, so more than 20 years later, the city of Mothia is still the same as when it was destroyed, has not been cleaned up, including the causeway that led from the coast to Motia mobilized by Dionysius, because of the existence of this causeway, the shallow sea between Mothia and the coast has become a pocket bayStefacas concluded that the Carthaginian fleet did not dare to enter, otherwise it would be possible to catch turtles in the urn.

Stephacas judged the course of the Carthaginian fleet, because he led the fleet to prepare in advance, took a little advantage, and the distance between the Carthaginian fleet and the Carthaginian fleet was shortened, especially the fast warships collided and sank several merchant ships that fell behind, so that the Carthaginian fleet had some confusion, and even collided with each other and capsized.

This was because the Carthaginian fleet was now located on the west side of the island of Mothia, and on the west side of the island was another small island, Aegusa, which was less than ten miles apart from each other, and the merchant ships behind it felt dangerous and rushed to speed up, which immediately crowded the entire Carthaginian fleet.

But soon the situation improved, because after crossing this stretch of water, a small island of Pharbantia appeared diagonally ahead, and the Carthaginian fleet immediately divided into two groups, one moving forward and the other turning westward, while the Carthaginian crew who had fallen overboard swam unhurriedly to the islands.

After learning about the enemy's movements from the lookout, Stefacas frowned, he roughly knew what the Carthaginians wanted to do: there were many small islands in the sea ahead, and some reefs that could not be called islands, and during this period of time Seclian led the fleet to patrol the western waters of Sicily, on the one hand, to cut off Carthage's sea transportation, and on the other hand, to familiarize the newly built fleet with the sea conditions here. And all the crew regarded the sea area in front of them as a dangerous zone, especially at high tide, some reefs were flooded by the rising water, and ships that were not familiar with the sea conditions could easily collide, resulting in damage or even sinking, and the new fleet of Sicily had such a lesson, so Sekrian deliberately asked people to draw a separate map of this sea area for every captain to remember. But even so, they were certainly not as familiar as the Carthaginians, who had been sailing here for many years, and these cunning Carthaginians must have wanted to use the sea to get rid of their pursuit and at the same time cause some trouble for them.

After a moment's thought, Stefacas gave an order to slow down and increase the vigilance of all the ships, and he also decided not to disperse the fleet for the time being, but to chase the fleet heading straight north, and must stop the near coast and prevent it from entering the port of Erlux, which is not far ahead.

The Carthaginian fleet, which had turned westward, saw that the Dionian ships had not followed, and immediately circled the island of Agosa, turned southward, and the fleet to the north divided into two again, separated by an island and reef, and turned westward one after another......

Under such circumstances, Stefacas had to order the ships to be dispersed, interspersed between the various islands, to intercept and attack the enemy ships, because he could not allow these Carthaginian fleets, which had barely suffered great losses, to slip back to the south, although there must be a main fleet in the south, but let them see that they had been chasing for a long time and had not achieved any results, and no one would have a dull face, not to mention that Seklian had specifically emphasized that "not a single Carthaginian merchant ship should be let go."

And so, the big game of hide-and-seek at sea began.

……………………………………

At this time, in the sea near Lilipoli, the main fleet of Dionysia, cruising in the sea, received news from the clippers sent to the southwest: another Carthaginian fleet, which was smaller than the Sicilian fleet, was heading in the direction of Lilipa.

"Your judgment, Lord Commander, you are right, the Carthaginian merchant ship is here again!" The flagship captain praised.

Secrean looked a little dissatisfied: "The number is a little less, inform the fleet to spread out to the southwest, and before the Carthaginians find out, quickly catch up and eat them as soon as possible!" Maybe the next wave of merchant ships will arrive soon. ”

Just when the Dionian warships received the order and began to line up in formation, the eyes of the clipper widened in surprise, and he saw that the Carthaginian fleet in front of him began to change from a column to a horizontal formation, and adjusted the direction of the sails, and the speed of the merchant ships suddenly increased: Are the Carthaginians crazy?! You should be able to see our ship from this distance, so why don't you run away and rush forward?! Do you still want to fight us with merchant ships?! ”

Unbeknownst to the celebrity, in the middle of the opposite Kataiji fleet, Captain Barikos was manipulating the sails and shouting loudly to the nearby merchant ships: "The time has come to test your courage!" If you're scared, quit at this time! ”

"I have sailed for decades, and I have not seen any kind of wind and waves, and I have even followed Morbar, crossed the Pillar of Hercules, traveled to distant shores, and seen the two-wheeled chariot of the gods (present-day Mount Cameroon)...... Isn't it just death, what is there to be afraid of! ”

"That's right! We old guys live to this day just for this moment! We died, just in time to be in Baal with our former comrades. Hamon's temple meets! ”

"Don't just talk about us, you're young compared to us, you haven't enjoyed enough life yet, you haven't seen enough war, don't be so scared that you don't know how to steer the sails when the Dionian ship comes at close range."

Barikos laughed loudly: "Don't worry, my ship will rush to the front, avoid the collision of all the Ionian ships, and enter Lilili safely." I want the Dioonians to know that none of the real Carthaginians they have defeated before are the true Carthaginians, but that the true Carthaginians are heroes of the sea, which they cannot defeat! ”

"That's right, Barrickos, show the ignorant Dionicians what true sailing is!" The crew of the ship, waving their arms, responded feverishly.

Barikos smiled: "Brothers, get ready, the adventure is about to begin!" ”

He steered the sails, and the small merchant ship, less than 10 meters long and only three meters wide, with a crew of eight, took advantage of the wind and rushed towards the Dionian ship on the opposite side like an arrow.

Under his leadership, 60 merchant ships that were not much different from him rushed to the arms of hungry wolves like sheep with broken heads.

The captains of the Dionian ships were amazed to see the Carthaginian fleet behave, but they would not let themselves be merciful because of the stupidity of their opponents, and under their orders, the Dionian ships all put away their sails, relying on the concerted efforts of nearly 200 oarsmen, and the huge ships also sprinted forward at an astonishing speed, and the bow of the ship shimmered with black glow cut through the waves that were rushing in front of them, and the water splashed on the deck.

The Carthaginian fleet was like a row of waves pushed by the southwesterly wind rushing towards the Dionian fleet, and the Dionian fleet charged almost 1-on-1 with a double-horizontal formation of ships and ships in the front, just like a boxing match at the Olympic Games, which was exciting.

But when the two sides approached, the Carthaginian merchant ship was like a baby facing a giant compared to the Diorian warship, and the difference in size was huge, and the slightest collision would break bones.