While the siege was raging, the Third Fleet led by Midorades sailed to the mouth of the Tiber and approached the port of Ostia.

The Romans had already sealed off the port of Ostia with chains, and the archers in the towers of the anti-Boti had tested rockets at ships approaching the port as a deterrent.

The Third Fleet bypassed the harbor, and the ships docked on the south bank of the Tiber.

The city of Ostia resembles a rectangle, its long western side is close to the coast, and there are walls built, and if Dionya wants to attack from this direction, it can only be through the sea, which is too difficult, so the Dionian army concentrates on the east and south sides, and the short side of Ostia to the north is the port.

Why wasn't Ostia City built along the banks of the Taipei River? It stands to reason that this is more conducive to the life of the people in the city, whether it is to work in the fields or to get water, it is very convenient, that is because there is a large lagoon next to the east of the port, which is formed by the water of the Tiber River swelling and overflowing the river bank year after year, this oval lake about 300 meters long from north to south and more than 200 meters long from east to west has already become a part of the city of Ostia, and even the Ostia people have left enough tidal flat land on the lakeside of the city to connect to the lagoon when the water of the Taipei River swells and connects to the lagoon. It will not flood the house.

Since the war with Dionia, although the Senate did not have much concern for the safety of Ostia, it still followed the advice of the Carthaginians and built a not too long breakwater at the closest point to the bank of the Tiber River in the lagoon, mainly to prevent the Dioonians from pushing the war ship across the bank of only a dozen meters, through the lagoon, and invading into the city, which was just a precaution for the Carthaginians.

But this time, the Dionian fleet did come, and their ships sailed east along the riverbank, and after bypassing the newly built breakwater, the ships docked on the south bank of the Taipo River, and the fleet infantry dismounted, each carrying a large plank, and under the orders of the officers, 2,800 fleet infantry were assembled (the Third Fleet had 70 Raven ships).

After a few hundred meters of rapid progress, they came to the lake, and they put the planks in the water, on which helmets, shields, leather armor and short swords were placed, and they wore only leather armor and leather sandals, and then they held the sides of the planks with both hands, and their whole bodies floated on the water, relying on their legs as oars, and kept hitting the water. Swimming across the lake less than a mile in arms was an easy task for the fleet's infantrymen who were well-versed in water and highly trained in this area.

When some of the people of Ostia discovered that the lagoon where they usually used to drink and swim was full of enemies and was rapidly swimming towards the city, they cried out in horror, hoping that the defenders would prevent them from coming ashore.

But the vanguard of the fleet's infantry had already come ashore, and they quickly put on their helmets and took up wooden shields and daggers. The slippery muddy mudflats were difficult to navigate, but they were not difficult for the infantry of the fleet, who were mostly fishermen and had been playing on the shores of the sea since childhood.

By the time the defending generals got the news, the infantry of the fleet had basically gone ashore, and the city was already in chaos.

Although the onslaught of the Theorian army strained the defenses of the city, the Roman generals had to squeeze out a small number of troops to the city to block the advance of the fleet's infantry and avoid being flanked from both sides. But in fact, it's just drinking to quench your thirst.

The scouts, who had been watching the movements of the defenders, quickly reported to King Davers the changes in the enemy at the head of the city, and without hesitation, he let the recharged Fourth Legion join the siege at once, which became the straw that broke the camel's back.

At dusk, the Dionian army captured Ostia.

………………………………………

At the same time, the sound of horses' hooves broke through the city of Rome, which had just quieted down at dusk, and the messenger shouted on his horse: "Urgent military situation!" Emergency military intelligence! ...... "so that people on the street can avoid being injured in advance."

This naturally caused many Roman people to wonder and panic: "What happened?!" Could it be that Camillus suffered a defeat?! ”

"Don't talk nonsense, how could Camillus fail! I think our army must have conquered the city of Ferentirum! ”

"If it was to win, the messenger just now would have announced it to us a long time ago, so there is no need to rush to the Senate in such a hurry."

……

While the people of Rome were talking, the messenger rode through the square and pushed open the doors of the Senate.

At this time, the Roman senators were about to leave the meeting hall and go home to rest, when they were shocked to hear the news that "the Dionian army had come from the sea and was about to land on the coast of Latium".

These days, their main business in the Senate was to hear the progress of the Roman army's war against the Helnikians, and just as they were eager to receive news of a final victory, the first thing they heard was that the Dioonians had launched an attack on them.

Aren't the Ionians fighting Carthage in Sicily now?! Aren't they defending against the invasion of the Samoneans?! …… The first reaction of many Roman senators when they heard the news was disbelief.

Compared to the shock of most of the senators, Portitus seemed a little calm, and he asked loudly: "Where did the Dionian army land, are you sure?" ”

The messenger replied, "General Paulus is sending scouts to follow along the coast, and I believe that news will be reported soon." ”

Portitus muttered to himself in thought, "Adi? It can't be, it's too close to Antium, and our army can easily disrupt the landing of the Dionians...... On the coast of Lavenium, it is possible that this small city does not have many citizen soldiers at all......"

Before he could finish speaking, Abinius cried out, "Ostia is not far from Lavenium!" ”

"Ostia! Dionia's target is most likely Ostia!! ......" There was a burst of exclamations in the venue, the senators of Rome were not wine bags and rice bags, most of them had participated in many city-state affairs and foreign wars before becoming senators, of course they could realize how much loss of Ostia would be to Rome, and how much help Ostia would be to the Dionians.

"There are 3,000 defenders in the city of Ostia, and Paulus, Mejus, and Pantius will definitely gather troops and rush to stop them when they find out about the anomaly, and the situation should not be so bad." Lucritius comforted the people.

"The previous battle has already told us that the Dionian soldiers are very strong in combat, and according to the report of the messenger just now, the number of troops that the Dioonians are about to land is probably more than the number of soldiers we sent to the border of Wolsey, plus the 10,000 Dionian reinforcements that were originally in the territory of Wolsey have also rushed to assist them in landing, we must be prepared for the worst, Paulus and they may not be able to prevent the other side from landing, and Ostia is likely to be attacked by the other side!" The cautious Portitus reminded loudly.

"Even if they can land successfully, they won't be able to capture Ostia in such a short time, we still have a chance!" Apleius exclaimed.

His words were immediately echoed by many of the patriarchs. Yes, not only did they misjudge the situation, but the Dionians boldly led their army to attack from the sea again, bypassing the heavily defended towns of Rome, and raiding the empty hinterland of their defenses, so that the southwestern defense strategy they had set up was useless, and they certainly did not want Dionya to take Ostia again, which would make their hearts remorseful.

"I'm afraid that Paulus's army is already at war with Dionia, and I'm sure we'll get the news in the evening." Ambustus reminded the crowd to stop wasting energy on blind speculation, and he said in a deep voice: "All we have to do now is send someone to inform Camillus immediately!" ”

"I don't agree with you. Now that it was dark outside, it was difficult to ride a horse at night, and the valley of the Tullerus River was undulating, not to mention the remnants of the Helnihians roaming the wilderness, it was time to send someone to inform Camillus that it was likely that he would lose his life before he could see him. Losing their lives was a small matter, but if it fell into the hands of the Helnikians and their allies, letting them know of the Dionian invasion would greatly boost their morale and cause problems for Camillus to lead his army to retreat in the future. "Publius. Cornelius. Scipio immediately objected.

Many of the patriarchs thought he had a point.

At this time, a voice sounded loudly in the venue: "No matter how difficult it is, we must send someone to inform Camillus tonight, so that he can lead the army back as soon as possible!" Portitus said in a resolute tone, and he looked around at the crowd in the room, with a very solemn expression: "Elders and newcomers, I just thought of a very serious problem, in my decades of life, war has always been as unpredictable as the temperament of a god, and when you think the situation is going to be bad, the truth will get worse!" We must consider the possibility that the Dionian army will attack our city of Rome tomorrow! ”

There was another uproar in the venue.

Even if the Dionians risked bypassing the Romans' defenses on land and raiding the colonial city of Ostia, they had the guts to go deep into the interior of the Latium region alone?! Attacking the city of Rome with enemies on all sides?!! Many of the senators, though shocked by Portitus' speculation, were completely skeptical: the first Ostia would have taken them a lot of time!