Chapter 166: Deceiving a City
Soon, when the convoy reached the city, a man came out of the convoy and went to the gate, and shouted, “Open the gate quickly! Open the gate!”
Moeris recognized that it was Alobamus, and so he hurriedly walked closer to the edge of the wall and stuck his head out, “Chief Alobamus, how come I don’t see chief Avinoges?”
“My brother will come back soon after I settle the elderly, women and children.”
‘Damn it, those Laos bastards, they are too cautious!’ Moeris cursed to himself, then said with a smile, “I will need to inform chief Rhiam, so have your people camp outside first.”
“WHAT?! You want us to camp out in the wild!!” Alobamus shouted angrily, “We have been walking for so long and the children and elderly could no longer stand it! Let us inside, so that we can rest!”
“Chief Alobamus, there are too many of you. If you all come in at once, it will disturb the order in the city.” Moeris secretly sweared in his heart, but he still patiently persuade Alobamus.
“What?! We are too many?! Aren’t you the one that made us move here?! But now, because we are too many! Good! Good! So this is how Nerulum treats us!” Shouted Alobamus, then he turned to the others and said, “Go, let’s all go back!”
Moeris became flustered. The chieftains had finally managed to make the tribe of Avinoges move here, but if they go back now because of him, then his good days will be over.
“Wait, chief Alobamus! I will open the gate and let you inside! But please maintain order and don’t cause trouble!” Moeris shouted hurriedly.
Alobamus immediately turned around and smiled, “Alright, thank you for taking care of our tribe! As thanks, I will give you five sheep as a gift!”
The Lucanians are direct in bribing, so Moeris doesn’t have any worries and yells, “Open the gate!” At the same time, he told his subordinates, “Immediately notify chief Rhiam that Alobamus and his people have come.”
Then Moeris himself ran to the gate and was ready to receive the gift of Alobamus.
Alobamus asked the people to lead the livestock in order to avoid blocking the gate. Then he had made his men catch five sheep and gave them to Moeris.
Moeris repeatedly expressed his thanks.
“Captain, is it okay to slaughter one, so that we can have a good meal?” Greedily said by one of his subordinates.
“Don’t worry, but first, help me get these sheep back to my home!” Moeris kicked his men.
Some slaves were pushing and pulling the carts of Alobamus, one after another, through the gate in an orderly manner. And some slaves were also mixed in the convoy carrying the baggage…
Moeris watched them by the gate and then felt that something was wrong. So he subconsciously asked Alobamus, “How could you have so many Lucanian slaves?”
With an odd smile, Alobamus drew out his dagger and stabbed him.
It was abrupt, so Moeris had no time to dodge it. He could only watch the cold dagger tip pierce into his chest.
“Start!” Yelled Alobamus, while he slashed at Moeris’ other guards.
The “slaves” immediately threw away the heavy objects that they were carrying, and quickly drew out the weapons in the carts.
“Murder!”
“Laos is rebelling!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seeing this scene, the people of Nerulum, who were watching, screamed and fled.
Bagul, who was at the forefront, ordered Litom to lead some soldiers to the wooden ladders on both sides to kill the small number of guards at the top of the wall, and take control of the gate. Then he and Asistes quickly assembled the other soldiers of the fourth brigade, and under the guidance of Alobamus, moved forward.
The other brigades, who had been informed of the attack, immediately marched towards the city of Nerulum.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rhiam got the report from his men, ‘Avinoges has sent his people first.’ He couldn’t stop himself from being overjoyed, but he didn’t dare to move first. So he could only call the other chieftains to discuss how to divide the tribe of Avinoges. After all, his strength is the weakest among several chieftains. The reason why he was elected as the great chieftain was quite complicated.
After the death of the former great chieftain, Wudlei, several chieftains of Nerulum fought for the position of the great chieftain. When a war among themselves was about to break out, the great chieftain of Laos, Tula, sent an urgent message, ‘There is a danger of Avinoges rebelling!’ The chieftains all know the importance of Laos to Nerulum, so once Avinoges successfully rebelled and occupied Laos, Nerulum will face food shortage. Moreover, Laos is a city made of stone, with thick walls, which made it difficult for them to defeat Laos with their own troops. So, they would need to ask the neighboring Grumentum for help. However, the situation between Grumentum and Pyxous is also tense, and war is about to break out. So they won’t be able to help Nerulum within a short time. In the face of crisis and the mediation of the priests, they finally came to an agreement. In order to maintain the balance, Rhiam, who was the weakest and had not participated in the fight for the position of the great chieftain, was chosen as the great chieftain. So now, the new great chieftain had to rely on the other chieftains.
The great chieftain, Rhiam, had waited until all the chieftains have gathered. When he was ready to start the discussion, his men rushed in flustered, “Great chieftain! Not good! The enemy…the enemy has entered the city!”
All the chieftains stood up in shock.
“What’s going on?! Where is the enemy?!” Asked one of the chieftains.
“A…Alobamus has defected! He had also brought in the Greeks!”
“WHAT?!!” The panicked chieftains knocked over the tables and chairs and ran out in a hurry.
“How many enemies are there?” Asked Rhiam.
“Th…there are enemies everywhere! They…they have already entered the wolf tribes’ place!”
The wolf tribe is currently the most powerful tribe in the city, and now they have been captured! Rhiam could only sit on the wooden chair in a dejected way and said to himself. “It’s over…it’s over…”
Under the swift and fierce attack of the brigades of Thua Union, the scattered Nerulum warriors could only retreat and were finally forced to retreat to the sacred forest – it’s where Nerulum worshipped their gods.
Then the soldiers of Thua Union surrounded them, and under the reminder of Bagul, Philesius did not give the order to storm in.
“Abinu! Kesima! Ulasa! Are you there?! I am Bagul! Abinu! Kesima! Ulasa! Are you there?! I am Bagul!…” Bagul stood in front of the sacred forest, and repeatedly yelled several times. Finally, someone responded, “Bagul? You are Bagul?! You are still alive?!”
“Under the protection of God Asinu! Not only am I alive, but am living well! Kesima, surrender with your people, including the other Lucanians! I can assure you that you will not be harmed in any way!” The voice of Bagul echoed in the silent forest.
After a while, there was fighting and screaming inside the forest.
Philesius looked at Bagul, and Bagul nodded to indicate that everything is alright.
Soon, the forest became quiet again, and then the gate to it opened. And a tall young man came out cautiously and looked around.
“Kesima, I am here!” Bagul strode forward.
“Bagul?” Kesima exclaimed in surprise, in what he saw, the majestic appearance of Bagul in his blood-stained Greek armor, holding an intricate helmet with a purple crest on top.
“You have become a Greek?” Kesima hesitantly embraced Bagul.
“No, I am now a citizen of Thua Union, but I am still a Lucanian!” Bagul let go of him, then corrected, while pointing to his side and said in Greek, “Come and meet my commander, Philesius!”
Obviously, Kesima knew Greek. He hesitated for a while and reluctantly came to greet Philesius under the repeated urging of Bagul.
“What is the situation inside?” Asked Philesius bluntly.
“Rhiam and the other chieftains have been captured by us. We…we are willing to surrender…” Said Kesima in a low voice due to being pressured by the momentum of Philesius.
“Then, have them come out and surrender!” Ordered Philesius.
Kesima then looked at Bagul for help.
“Don’t worry, the tribes that are like you that have been forced to join Nerulum will be fine, and only the native tribes from this city will suffer a bit!” Bagul promised them.
Kesima calmed down and he then whistled towards the sacred forest.
The gates opened again and the Lucanians went out…
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Union had managed to capture Nerulum with only minor casualties, and after a midday break, at the repeated request of Alobamus, Philesius, left the second and fourth brigades to stabilize the situation in Nerulum, while he led the third and seventh brigades to the south to assist Avinoges in capturing Laos.
According to the new provisions of the 《Civil Service Law》: The position of a city’s praetor can only be selected from among the Senate. However, when Davos consulted the statesmen of Thurii and Amendolara, who were still hostile to the Lucanians, about the candidate for the city’s praetor of Nerulum, none of them were willing to take up this post, so he can only choose from the statesmen of the former mercenary. As the military officer of Thua Union, Philesius must return to Thurii immediately after finishing this battle, and he still has a lot of military work to do. The first brigade stayed in Thurii. While the second brigade’s senior centurion, Drakos, the third brigade’s senior centurion, Hieronymus, and the seventh brigade’s senior centurion, Epiphanes, were not interested in government affairs. Bagul, the senior centurion of the fourth brigade, has just become a citizen of the union and is also a Lucanian, so he is not suitable to be the praetor of Nerulum for the time being…in the end, it was only Sesta, the centurion of the first centuria of the second brigade, who was suitable for the position.
Sesta himself is interested in administrative affairs, and he is also humble and hard-working. During his tenure as the deputy captain of the fire brigade of Amendolara, he soon became familiar with and mastered the work of the fire brigade. And the fire brigade captain, Anticles, had willingly taken the initiative to yield his position to him.
Hence, Davos proposed that after capturing Nerulum, Sesta will be appointed as the praetor of Nerulum.