Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 897: Naval Battle of Thermae (IV)

Chapter 897: Naval Battle of Thermae (IV)

The captain froze upon hearing that. After a moment, he suddenly breathed in and said deeply, “Navarch, for the past ten years, you were the commanding officer of our Fourth Fleet. You cared for and looked after us like a father, so how could we abandon you and escape?! Please allow me to continue following beside you and fight as I had done in the past!”
“My lord, also allow me to follow you to confront the enemy!”
“And me!”
“Don't forget about me!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The sailors expressed their stances one after another, and their resolute expressions fully showed they weren't just words.
Miltiades felt emotional. He looked at his men and finally smiled with relief, “Great, let's go to Elysium together!”
With that, he raised his short sword that got chipped from cutting down several Phoenician sailors and shouted, “Speed up and charge forward. Our target is the Carthaginian cavalries!”
“ROGER!!!” More than one hundred sailors shouted simultaneously. Then, they arranged themselves in a column closely resembling a ship, with Miltiades at the front. He strode forward while chanting the ode to Hades, “I sing your praises, O great Hades. You are the lord of the night, the ruler of the law and the protector of the Kingdom of Theonia...”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
While the Carthaginian army slaughtered the sailors of the Theonian fleet in Sicily and the soldiers of the friendly city-states on the various coasts from Thermae to Minoa, the Eastern Phoenician fleet didn't return as victorious as Miltiades had imagined. Upon receiving the report through the fast-sailing ships that the Theonian fleet was attacking from the east and had defeated some Phoenician warships, they hastily gathered the scattered warships and sailed east to prepare for battle.
The sailors hailing from Tyre, Sidon, and other Phoenician city-states, who had provided naval forces for Persia for many years, were driven more by commercial interests than a strong will to fight. As a result, throughout the decades-long history of warfare between Persia and the Greek navies (primarily Athens), the Phoenicians had failed to achieve significant victories. Today's outcome, however, saw the Eastern Phoenician Fleet effortlessly securing a resounding triumph. So, they, who excelled in calculation and were skilled in the ways of the world, could completely stop fighting and boast about their achievements to the Carthaginians.
However, with the fleet comprising a coalition of Eastern Phoenician city-states such as Tyre, Sidon, and others, it meant that if the Theonian fleet forced them to retreat, not only would they leave behind the damaged warships on the battlefield, but they would also be unable to rescue the Phoenician sailors who had fallen into the sea or those aboard the corvus warships. Furthermore, abandoning their compatriots from a foreign land a thousand kilometres away and becoming prisoners of a foreign race wasn't only unacceptable to many in the fleet, but upon returning to the Phoenician region, they would also face criticism from their people. Thus, they decided to continue fighting.
Of course, there was another reason they continued to fight: the Eastern Phoenicians believed their triremes far exceeded their opponent and could ultimately defeat them.
The Phoenician fleet eventually gathered ninety-seven ships to face the fleet Seclian led in the sea between Thermae and Minoa. Meanwhile, the Theonian fleet also constantly absorbs the scattered Theonian warships as they advance, allowing the number of warships to reach fifty-one.
Currently, the Phoenicians had almost twice the ship as the Theonians, with half of the Theonian fleet being more or less damaged. Still, the Theonian fleet remained unafraid. The flagship of the second squadron of the First Fleet was currently at the centre of the fleet formation. Then, at the order of Straphacus, they raised three long, blood-red flags at the top of the masts, signifying that they would fight to the end and never retreat.
Meanwhile, the corvus warship Seclian was on had still taken the lead and charged forward. The sailors of all the warships, regardless of their fatigue, continued to paddle and manipulate the warships to charge forward. They wanted to wash away their previous humiliation and bring the pain and death to the enemy.
The Eastern Phoenicians originally wanted to take advantage of their superior number to increase the width of the formation. So, instead of engaging the Theonians in a frontal battle, they would voluntarily retreat to lure them deeper and then be attacked by the warships on both flanks by circling around.
Once the two fleets meet, both sides would usually first form a formation and then launch an attack, but the Theonian warships continued to rush over directly without organising themselves(the Eastern Phoenicians weren't familiar with Theonia's complete Starry Night formation and thought they didn't properly go into formation). Thus, the Eastern Phoenician fleet could only respond hastily, unable to fully implement their initial battle tactics.
At first, the Eastern Phoenicians still thought of circling around the Theonian fleet before slowing down, expanding their formation, and executing their initial strategy. Unexpectedly, the Theonian fleet attacked swiftly and fiercely, with high efficiency. As soon as they came into contact, the two Phoenician warships at the forefront were in danger, a corvus ship hooking one of them and a fast-sailing trireme ramming the other.
The Theonian warships surged as they broke into the centre of the Eastern Phoenician fleet and disrupted the entire line of ships, and the two sides were soon locked in a fierce collision.
The sailors of the Theonian fleet fought with the determination to die, so even if the ship's hull was damaged and seawater seeped in during the battle, they would still charge towards the nearby enemy ships or protect the flanks for their comrades and block the attack of the enemy ships while sealing them off. And if the soldiers of the corvus warships could not return in time after rushing into the enemy ship, the sailors would not hesitate to pull up the drawbridge and turn around to smash it into another enemy ship that was about to sneak up on them. Then, the sailors would pick up the weapons the soldiers, who had jumped into the sea before, left behind and boarded the enemy ship to fight...
It was precisely because they didn't fear death that the Theonians erupted with great strength, allowing them to fight the Eastern Phoenician fleet despite the enemy outnumbering them. And their terrifying will to fight deterred the Eastern Phoenician sailors, who had always acted as vassals of Persia and seldom fought independently. Thus, after more than an hour of fierce fighting, the Eastern Phoenicians retreated.
Despite their exhaustion, the Theonians still had another critical thing to accomplish before they could return to Selinus: to clean up the battlefield and search for their comrades who had fallen into the water, which was why they had fought to the death.
The first person they began searching to rescue was Seclian. The warship he was on had charged ahead and was naturally heavily besieged by the Phoenicians, eventually sinking. However, due to the intense battle, the surrounding warships didn't have time to rescue him.
Despite soaking in the sea for dozens of minutes, Seclian remained energetic. Once on the ship, he asked, “Did the enemy really retreat?”
The squadron leader, Straphacus, immediately reported, “My lord, I have sent multiple ships to track the departing enemy. Once they find anything amiss, they will report it immediately. I have also kept eight warships on combat alert here, just in case-”
“Hmm, your arrangement is meticulous and reasonable, much better than that bastard Miltiades!” At the mention of Miltiades, Seclian became furious, and he immediately asked loudly, “Did you find that bastard?”
“There is currently no news of him.”
“It seems he doesn't have the face to see me and has instead gone hiding!” Seclian sneered and then asked, “How many ships do we still have?”
“...we still have twenty-five left, including eighteen corvus warships and seven fast-sailing triremes. We also have six other warships that aren't severely damaged that we could repair after dragging them back to the naval base...” said Straphacus with a heavy tone.
“This is all Miltiades' fault! More than one hundred warships! It was his wrong decision that caused a bunch of cowards to sink over a hundred warships! Many of our men didn't even manage to engage in a real battle before they watched their warships sink! This is really...really...alas!...” Seclian became so distressed that he even shed tears. Not only was he distressed by the losses of this naval battle, but he also remembered the great storm that had overwhelmed him...
Yes, the Theonian navy, who had once boasted itself as the number one in the western Mediterranean, with four fleets and many ships, had suffered heavy losses just a few months after the war with Carthage. Only a few ships left on the First, Second, and Fourth Fleet. In one fell swoop, the number of their ships had returned to the size of the Navy when they had created it. So, how could he not be in pain?
Straphacus went to console him despite feeling the same pain, “My lord, we have captured some enemy ships and have brought them back to the base. After some modifications, we can have them join the fleet to reinforce our strength.”
“How many?” Seclian hurriedly asked.
“The exact number is currently unknown,” Straphacus answered like that, for there was more than one battlefield in the sea from Minoa to Thermae.
Therefore, instead of criticising Straphacus, Seclian looked up at the sky and said, “It is still afternoon, so have our brothers carefully search every part of the sea and try not to miss any of our brothers who have fallen into the water, as well as the soldiers, or any of the warships, and then let them steer the enemy ships we have captured and return together to Selinus.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Neither of them mentioned the transportation of reinforcements to Agrigentum during the conversation because, under the current circumstance, it is no longer possible to rush to Agrigentum as they urgently need to return to the port for rest.
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The pursuit of the Carthaginian army along the coast led to the fact that many of the Theonian sailors, who had already swum ashore, were forced to swim into the sea again. Then, after being submerged for more than an hour in the icy waters, some of them were already physically exhausted, and it was only thanks to their comrades' help that they could hold out until the arrival of the rescue ship.