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“May Hades bless you with easy victory!”

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There are two routes from Thurii to Potentia: One is to cross the wooden bridge over the Crati River, then head west to Besidice, then to Consentia, then turn north to the city of Vergae, to Laos, then take a boat to Pyxous, and finally to Potentia, or take land from Laos, pass through Nerulum, Grumentum, and finally to Potentia. The second is to head west from Thruii, trek through the Thua Road, to Nerulum and then northward to Potentia.

Due to the completion of the Thua Road, it only needs three days for a large group of people and horses to arrive from Thurii to Nerulum. Davos, who is well-versed in the speed of war, has naturally chosen the latter route.

On the second day after entering the mountains in the west, Davos received a report from Grumentum that the Samnites had taken the city of Poseidonia.

Davos pondered it deeply. Soon after, he asked Antonios and Amintas to discuss it together. In the end, he changed his original plan and asked the envoy to rush back quickly and inform Grumentum and Pyxous to get ready immediately.

Three days later, Davos led his troops to the Lao fortress, where he accidentally met Henipolis.

“Heni, why are you here?!” Davos asked with slight surprise.

“It\'s been a long time since we have seen each other, milord! I heard that you were going to lead the army to Potentia, so I came here to greet you.” Henipolis smiled happily and greeted him.

Davos was touched as he looked at Henipolis, who was not much different from his age. Still, he asked with caution, “How is the situation of Laos now?”

“Very stable!” Henipolis blurted out. Seeing Davos\' sceptical expression, he added, “It\'s really much better! After teacher Ansitanos advice, I started discussing with my uncle and the others whenever I proposed something. And now, my uncle is even willing to implement some of the bills I proposed…”

“That\'s good.” Davos nodded and didn\'t say more. After all, Henipolis was already the lord of a city, and he didn’t want to dictate the internal affairs of Laos. He then stared at Henipolis and said seriously, “You came just in time, as I was about to go and find you. I have just learned that the Samnites have occupied Poseidonia.”

“I heard that as well.” Henipolis then asked puzzledly, “Does this have anything to do with Laos?”

Davos bluntly said, “I plan to take the army by ship from the port of Laos to Pyxous. After a calculation, we would need 400 transport ships that could load 50 men to carry this army, not counting the cavalry and logistics brigade…Heni, do you think Laos can provide that many ships?” Davos looked at Henipolis with concern.

“There is naturally no problem!” Henipolis readily said. Then he added, “Laos can requisition the merchant ships to transport your troops…but I have a small request.” Speaking till here, Henipolis showed a smug smile.

“What do you need?” Davos asked directly, having no time to tease him.

“As a member of the Theonia Alliance, Laos should send troops to fight together with Theonia according to the agreement. It\'s just that I hope I could lead the troops of Laos to Potentia with you!” Henipolis looked at Davos expectantly. After the initial freshness of being the archon of a city-state, he became a bit bored of having to deal with so many city affairs and facing so many obstacles all day. That is why he wanted to go out and relax, and Davos’ arrival provided him with a good opportunity.

“Alright.” Davos agreed after pausing for a bit. As an ally of Theonia, Laos has to send troops, and with Henipolis leading the troops, it could also give him, who had just assumed archonship, a bit of prestige.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Just after Davos changed his marching route and turned towards Laos, the harbour of Syracuse was filled with thousands of ships, with thousands more outside the harbour. After all, almost all the transport ships and merchants ships of the Sicilian city-states controlled by Syracuse had concentrated on the sea of Syracuse, completely turning the great harbour(a naturally formed circular bay outside the port of Syracuse) into a land paved with ship planks. And in the harbour and the city, more than 100,000 men were running around preparing for the great army\'s expedition across the sea…

Such a magnificent sight had stunned Phidias of Sparta.

Dionysius glanced at him, then pointed to the troops gathered in the harbour and were waiting to board the ship, and sighed, “A few decades ago, Athens sent more than 40,000 troops to Sicily in an attempt to conquer Syracuse. At that time, although we Syracusans did not give in, we have been panicking throughout the day and thought that the destruction of Syracuse would come… But now-” Dionysius vigorously waved his fist forward and accented his tone with pride and arrogance, “If Athens still dares to come, I would only need to send half of my army to stop them from returning!”

Phidias remained nonchalant and said, “Dionysius, isn\'t the reason why you are sending such a huge army is due to the existence of your enemy, Theonia?!”

Dionysius\' corner of his mouth twitched a few times and then laughed, “I\'m afraid that the Theonians are already having a headache on how to defeat the Samnites… Phidias, the reason why I will send such a powerful army of nearly 80,000 men is to deal with the South Italia Alliance. Although each of these city-states in Magna Graecia is not very strong, fighting them together is a bit troublesome. Besides, after defeating those city-states, I would need to station some of my troops in the city in order to make them obey, don\'t you think so?”

Phidias felt irritated from listening to Dionysius\' proud laughter.

When he came to Syracuse before, Dionysius was not so arrogant and respected him somewhat as Sparta’s envoy. But now that Sparta is deep in the quagmire of war, and with Syracuse\'s strength growing dramatically, Sparta\'s need for Syracuse became greater than Syracuse\'s need for Sparta. ‘The times have changed…’ Phidias thought of this, forcibly suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart and stop talking.

Naturally, Dionysius also knew moderation and no longer stimulated the young and energetic Spartan strategos. After all, he still needs him in the battle with Theonia.

A cold silence fell between the two men, both turning their attention to the harbour below the sentry tower.

After a while, the navarch, Leptines, boarded the sentry tower built at the western end of the island of Ortygia. He then respectfully said to Dionysius, who was feeling helpless, “Brother, the soldiers are already on board and are waiting for you to go down and issue orders to lead them to Magna Graecia.”

“Understood.” Dionysius nodded and said to Phidias, “We should go down as well, lest we kept the army waiting.”

Then he turned around and descended the tower, with Phidias following behind.

A magnificent quadriga was waiting under the tower, and Dionysius stepped directly onto the chariot without inviting Phidias to ride with him.

A guard then brought out warhorses for Phidias and Leptines to mount.

“Let\'s go.” Dionysius said. As he shook the reign, the horses neighed and started pulling the chariot.

Following behind the chariot were a hundred cavalrymen, tightly surrounding Dionysius, who was in the centre. The whole procession passed through the tall wall separating the island of Ortygia, then through the centre of the city, where many people were already waiting on both sides of the streets.

The crowd cheered when the cavalry passed, and Dionysius waved on the chariot in response, which confused Phidias, who was riding behind him. ‘Didn\'t the Syracusans hate Dionysius\' dictatorship? Why does it seem that Dionysius is still very popular?’

As a matter of fact, the Syracusans felt mixed feelings for Dionysius. On the one hand, they hated Dionysius\' oppressive rule and excessive extortion; On the other hand, they also enjoyed the protection, strength, glory and pride brought by Dionysius to Syracuse. And if they manage to conquer Magna Graecia, it is inevitable for lots of wealth and land to flow back to Syracuse, which is what the crowd wanted.

Dionysius, who was standing on the carriage at the moment, is enjoying the feeling of waving his hands to the people. Because of the fear of assassination and riots, he had not held a public assembly for more than seven years. Now, he had even begun thinking about the “Triumphant Return” of Theonia that he heard, which bestowed great honour to the victorious strategoi. ‘This time, I must hold a Triumphant Return of my own in Syracuse when I return after conquering Magna Graecia!’

The army entered the port, and the ministers had long been waiting in front of the dock.

“Lord Dionysius!”

“Lord strategos!”

“Supreme commander”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The crowd gave their salute one after another.

Dionysius, dressed in golden armour, got out of the carriage and bid farewell to everyone.

In the end, he faced Philistus and firmly held his hands, “Phili, I will entrust Syracuse to you while I am gone!”

“Rest assured, milord! I will try to do my best to ensure the safety of Syracuse until you return!” Said Philistus solmnly.

“After Macias led his troops to destroy the city built by the Rhegians in Sicily, I will have him return immediately to garrison Syracuse!”