Despite having fewer ships, the Locrian fleet launched its attack without hesitation. The two fleets rapidly approached each other, crisscrossing each other. The Locrian ships, undeterred by the clash, continued their advance, catching the Crotones by surprise. With only a minor loss of one or two ships, they easily broke free from contact with the Crotone fleet.

Could the Locrians be attempting to escape? Askamas was surprised by the Locrian fleet's behavior.

However, the Locrian fleet's actions once again surprised him. After gaining some distance from the Crotone fleet, the Locrian fleet turned again, poised for an attack.

Askamas didn't pause to ponder: What was the Locrian fleet's purpose?

His fleet followed suit.

The two fleets rapidly closed in again, but this time the Locrian fleet refused to flee.

The two fleets engaged each other in a fierce, swirling collision.

Naval combat differs from land combat. Land combat relies heavily on formations; a break in formation often spells defeat. Once a sea battle begins, however, formations are scattered, often resulting in a single-handed duel between ship and ship. Victory hinges on the strength of the ships and the skilled maneuvering of the captains and crews.

Crotone and Locri, having clashed for decades, are intimately acquainted with each other. Askamas is well aware of the fleet's strength, crew composition, and even the character of its commanders. He firmly believes that with his fleet boasting six more triremes, a total advantage of ten ships over Locri's, victory in this naval battle is only a matter of time.

During the battle, Askamas's ship skillfully maneuvered backward, narrowly avoiding a collision with the enemy's midship. Having averted danger, he effectively pinned the enemy ship in front of his ship's bronze ram. This was a golden opportunity, and he couldn't let it slip. He immediately ordered his crews to rapidly paddle backward, quickly shifting his ship from retreat to advance.

But the enemy ship also spun, turning its bow towards Askamas's ship.

Despite the enemy's swift reaction, the experienced Askamas refused to give up. As his ship rapidly closed in on the enemy, nearly closing in and passing each other, Askamas shouted, "Pull back the oars!" The

boatswain, listening in the hold, immediately relayed the order to the sailors, who, trained in their training, immediately pulled back the oars. The enemy ship had barely turned, and before they could reel in the oars, the over 20-meter-long trireme, driven forward by its immense inertia, shattered most of the oars on the enemy ship's side, leaving it stranded and unable to move forward.

Just as the sailors cheered and Askamas prepared to turn his ship around and ram the enemy, a fleet of over 20 triremes suddenly appeared from behind the Crotone fleet and immediately launched an attack. The Crotone

fleet was in a dangerous position, caught between a pincer attack from both the north and the south.

In the end, the Crotone fleet suffered a crushing defeat, with 15 ships sunk, 8 captured, and 10 severely damaged. Askamas, with a handful of ships, managed to break free from the enemy's encirclement.

While fleeing to Crotone, Askamas, in frustration, wondered painfully: Where did Locri get all those extra ships?

The

naval victory galvanized the Locrian army besieging Coronia. The next morning, when Crotone reinforcements arrived near Coronia, the Locrian army, despite their fatigue from the previous siege, immediately engaged in battle.

The Crotone army did not shy away from the challenge.

A fierce battle ensued on the northern outskirts of Coronia.

The Locrian army had more men, but due to the need to divert some of its forces to siege Coronia, the numbers of the two sides were nearly even. However, the Locrian army was primarily composed of heavy infantry and light armored troops, while the Crotone army had a clear advantage in light infantry, consisting of 5,000 carefully selected freemen.

Fearing the impact of the Crotone heavy infantry, the Locrian generals thickened their ranks. However, the Crotones, limited by their conditions and having learned much from their bitter experience with the Dionysians, immediately sent their light infantry forward to attack. The Locrian light infantry, outnumbered, were quickly defeated.

The Crotone light infantry then began hurling javelins at the Locrian formation, inflicting heavy casualties.

In response, the Locrians sounded the attack horn.

Faced with the overwhelming heavy infantry charge, the Crotone light infantry lacked the rigorous organization and discipline of the Dionysian light infantry, nor the experienced veterans to stabilize their morale. They also lacked the skillful and flexible command of outstanding light infantry commanders like Epithenes, Tsipit, and Alpuens, and lacked the incentive of citizenship and land. Furthermore, the dense Crotone heavy infantry formation left no room for retreat, forcing them to flee the battlefield in panic. As a result, many light infantrymen were unable to escape and perished in the Locrian heavy infantry charge. After finally escaping, the light infantry, thanks to the efforts of their commanders, attempted to regroup, only to be ambushed by the Locrian cavalry and dispersed once again.

However, the light infantry's harassment also drained and distracted the Locrian infantry, leaving the battlefield reduced to infantry-on-infantry combat. One side had just escaped the Dionysian siege and had not yet fully recovered, while the other had been continuously attacking Corumnia and had not had sufficient rest. One side had fewer soldiers but a strong determination to wash away the shame and defend their territory; the other side had more soldiers but suffered a blow from the light infantry, leaving morale somewhat low.

After nearly two hours of fighting, Locri finally collapsed and retreated from the battlefield.

In this battle, Crotone and Locri suffered similar casualties, around 2,000, though Crotone suffered a higher proportion of freemen.

Although Locri was defeated, its casualties were not severe, and it withdrew from the siege of Columbia.

Crotone's reinforcements were able to enter Columbia smoothly and were warmly welcomed by the city's residents, but the situation was not favorable for Crotone.

Locri's army retreated to the south of Columbia and set up camp, still keeping a close eye on the city.

The Locri fleet cruised the sea, blockading Crotone's sea routes. Crotone now felt the same pain that Dionysia had previously endured.

Crotone had already deployed its best troops, while Locri still had some remaining. Two days later, over a thousand Locrian soldiers landed on the coast between Crotone and Cilicium, looting and slaughtering their way northward into Crotone territory.

The people of Crotone, already shocked by the naval defeat, were horrified by the news of the Locrian invasion. The council accused Lysias of acting with his own will, leaving the city's forces insufficient to repel the invasion.

Lysias did not refute the council's criticism, equally shocked by the fleet's defeat. He proposed a citywide mobilization and sent envoys to Dionia and Asprustum for aid.

Under these circumstances, Crotone had little choice. Having just concluded the war with Dionia, and with the widespread resentment against Dionia still lingering, Crotone now faced a difficult challenge, a situation both council members and the people felt humiliated by.

Asprustum was not far from Crotone. Sisprotis rode at full speed and arrived at the south gate of Asprustum in less than two hours.

Although Dionia had made peace with Crotone, Asprustum's defenses remained strong, tightening instead. Squadrons of sentinels patrolled the city walls, while guards manned the gates. Though only a few people passed through, they diligently performed their duties, allowing Thesprotis to patiently endure the guards' interrogations.

When the captain of the city guard reappeared before him, he brought an order from the governor, Helos: he was permitted entry.

Upon entering the city, he was stunned by the scene before him: the dusty main street beneath his feet was thick with smoke. Men were digging ditches with pickaxes on both sides of the street. Others were hammering and hammering stones piled along the roadside, paving the dirt road with the cut stones. Still others were demolishing buildings that blocked the path and rebuilding brick walls.

Countless strong men were hauling dirt, stones, and garbage... They were working tirelessly, transforming the area into a vast construction site. The work was so intense that few paused to spare a glance.

"What are they doing?" Thesprotis asked curiously.

The captain of the city guard replied, "We're building our own home because we'll be moving here someday. The roads in this city are too narrow and uneven, and there's garbage and sewage everywhere..."

The captain listed a number of the city's problems, which Thesprotis found quite amusing. He often visited Asprustum and felt it was no different from Tarantum, with none of the problems the Dionysians were talking about. He immediately asked, "You're not Greek, are you?"

"We're Lucanians, but we're citizens of Dionysia!" the captain exclaimed.

"You speak good Greek," Thesprotis complimented, then changed the subject: "I heard your Lucanian region is all mountainous, the land poor, and you often go hungry. I didn't expect you to care so much about your living environment."

"Since our tribe joined Dionysia, we haven't been hungry for a long time!" The captain exclaimed, his face flushed, as if humiliated. "It's true that where we lived before couldn't compare to the houses here, but this place is far superior to what I've seen in Thurii!"

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