The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe

"Crotoneans, speak up! Let's hear how much you want to bleed Dionysia dry!"Amyntas, Scombras, and the other elders shouted in anger, their earlier guilt now turning into shared fury.

Lysias glanced at Davos. This young man is not to be underestimated…

He cleared his throat and, keeping a calm face, declared loudly:"The Crotone Alliance and Crimisa demand that Dionysia pay five hundred talents in compensation to Crimisa, for the great losses it suffered in this battle—"

"What?! Five hundred talents?! Are you mad for gold?!" Melses roared.

Ignoring the interruption, Lysias continued, "Secondly, to prevent Dionysia's aggression from threatening neighboring city-states again, we demand that Dionysia dissolve its alliance, grant independence to Amendolara and Niutum, and abolish the league entirely!"

"What?! Did I hear that right? What gives Crotone the right to tell us what to do?!"

"We will never agree! This is an insult to Dionysia!"

"Get out! How dare you spew such madness in our Senate?!"

"Only a fool would make such a demand—and only a greater fool would agree to it!"

The council chamber erupted in fury. Senators cursed loudly, and hot-headed men like Amyntas and Scombras nearly leapt at Lysias before Cunogorata and Cornelus restrained them. Chaos filled the hall.

Lysias and Antaeris sat unmoved, as though the uproar had nothing to do with them, until Davos stepped forward.

"Did you hear that? That is our answer."

He raised his voice, speaking each word with weight:"No. We. Agree. To. Nothing."

"That means war," Lysias retorted coldly. "It is you who have broken the agreement first."

"Then war it is," Davos replied evenly. "Wasn't that your true purpose in coming here anyway? You only needed an excuse."

Lysias faltered at Davos's calm tone, as though his strike had landed on empty air. "War! I mean a war between Crotone and Dionia!" he said, grasping for impact.

Davos smiled faintly, turned to the chamber, and asked, "Are we afraid of war with Crotone?"

"Excellent! At last, a fight!"

"I've been waiting to thrash Crotone again!"

"We beat them once—we'll beat them again! This time, we'll burn Crotone to the ground!"

The senators' fiery morale left Lysias unsettled.

"Cunogorata, make note of Crotone's demands," Davos said suddenly. "We'll need them at the next negotiation."

"The next negotiation?" Lysias frowned.

"Yes—after the war."

Lysias's heart trembled. He saw the burning fighting spirit in Davos's eyes…

After the envoy departed, the Senate chamber still buzzed with heated voices. The former mercenary senators brimmed with fighting spirit, but those from Amendolara and Thurii looked more troubled by the looming war.

Cunogorata voiced their fears:"Archon, are we truly ready to face Crotone? For decades it has been one of the strongest states in Magna Graecia, with powerful allies. They can muster thirty to forty thousand troops, and they have twenty-five triremes. We have not a single warship. If war breaks out, they can easily blockade our ports. And this time, they won't underestimate us as they did before…"

Davos listened carefully, sensing their fear—especially from the Thurii. Centuries of Crotonian dominance had scarred them, their city razed three times. He was about to answer when a sharp voice cut in:

"I told you long ago to drive out those cursed mercenaries, but you would not listen! Now Crotone seeks revenge. We should hold accountable those who indulged them!" Polyxes declared.

Agassia and others glared at him.

"What? Am I wrong?" Polyxes snapped, refusing to yield.

"War is already upon us," Burkos said, trying to calm him. "There is no point in blaming one another now. We must unite, not divide ourselves further."

"But this war was caused by that incident!" Polyxes shot back. "If we don't investigate it, it will only happen again!"

At that moment, Antonios rose and spoke:"As Censor, I've received many complaints from citizens. During the rebuilding of Thurii, senators like Burkos and Plessinus visited homes with sympathy and apologies. Yet those who were chief aides to Neonsis—the ones most responsible for the burning of Thurii—come and go from this Senate daily, showing no remorse. I call for a full investigation, so such disasters never repeat."

Polyxes's face paled.

Davos fixed him with a sharp gaze. "Polyxes, do you also think this should be thoroughly investigated?"

"I… I…" Polyxes stammered, shrinking under the Archon's stare.

"Antonios," Davos said evenly, "Burkos is right. We face a war of life and death. Other matters can wait."

Polyxes slumped back into his seat, as though granted a pardon. Antonios gave him a look of disdain, then nodded to Davos.

"Now, as I was saying," Davos continued more lightly, "you've all been busy with your own affairs. Perhaps you don't know our alliance's true military strength. Scombras, do you still think our citizen soldiers number just over five thousand?"

The stubborn old man stroked his beard with a grin. "It must be more by now! Amendolara alone has over six thousand citizens, including reserves. I don't know the others, but surely much more."

"Felixius, tell us the exact numbers," Davos said.

The military officer rose. "My lords, what I will announce is the number of men from Thurii, Amendolara, and Niutum who have completed at least three months of training and are enrolled in the army. This excludes citizens over forty-five and those in protected trades—doctors, engineers, scholars, and so forth."

The senators nodded, giving him their attention.

"Amendolara has about 5,500 trained men. Niutum, 4,300. Thurii, the largest, has 14,800. Of these, 7,000 are official citizens, the rest reserves. At the Archon's order, I reorganized them into three legions late last year:

The First Legion, mainly Amendolara veterans and reserves.

The Second Legion, Thurii citizens and reserves, under Drax.

The Third Legion, Niutum citizens and reserves, under Hieronymus, with Bagule as first captain.

Each legion has 7,000 regular combat troops—21,000 in all. With 3,600 reserves, the total stands at about 24,600. In addition, we field 300 cavalry, led by Ledes."

Davos added, "And beyond this, we can call on 10,000 to 20,000 trained freemen as light infantry. Laos can send us 2,000 to 3,000 men, Castellon a smaller force but at least fifty cavalry."

He swept his gaze across the chamber, his voice rising."If we mobilize everything, we can put nearly 50,000 troops into the field! Of course, ports like Niutum and Thurii must be guarded, so the number sent will be less. Even so, our strength will match Crotone's! My lords, rest assured: never again will we fight outnumbered. On land, we are their equals!"

The senators' spirits soared. Amyntas and others shouted boldly:"When we were fewer, we did not fear Crotone! Now we are many—what chance do they have?!"

"As for the sea," Davos went on, looking at Cunogorata, "we cannot yet challenge Crotone. But neither can their fleet do more than blockade our ports. If they dare enter the Corati River, we will destroy them! Our cavalry will patrol the beaches from Amendolara to Castellon, watching for any landing attempt. If the Crotonians have any sense, they will not risk it. No—the outcome of this war will be decided on land."