Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

As soon as Praxileos uttered these shocking words, the Council exploded with commotion, and Demodokas' expression changed as he subconsciously shouted, “Isn't Theonia afraid of attracting Syracuse's army?!”

Praxileos smiled. Through the shrill cry of Demodokas, He saw the hidden fear of the polemarchos of Locri, and this discovery made him feel a sense of pride, “From its establishment to the present, Theonia had faced numerous powerful enemies, and in the end, the weak prevailed over the strong, allowing us to create the powerful Theonia Union of today! We are not afraid of Syracuse, but what about you, Locri? Do you dare face the army of Theonia and the South Italia Alliance?”

Demodokas and the others turned pale…

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

“Lord Praxileos, look at those ships. It seems that they might want to come and attack us. What exactly did you do to the Locrians that made them so angry?!” The captain of the transport ship carrying Praxileos to Locri complained jokingly.

“You'll know in a few days.” Praxileos stood at the bow of the ship, watching the Locrian ships escorting them. He then laughed boldly, “Don't worry. The Locrian strategoi won't allow us to die here. And even if something goes wrong and we all die here, there will be a statue of you and me in the Hall of Valor in the Temple of Hades in Thurii!”

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

“Has that damned Theonian envoy left already?”

“Milord, Theonia's ship has departed smoothly.”

Demodokas exhaled lightly, letting go of his thoughts for the moment.

While Theophantes, who was next to him, roared, “This is infuriating! The Theonians came here to show off and threaten us, yet we still have to keep them safe!”

“Theophantes, you have to understand.” Demodokas immediately put on a serious expression and said in a slightly reprimanding tone, “Whether we fight the Theonians in the future or negotiate to solve this conflict, as long as nothing happens to their envoy, there will be room for reconcilement. You should already know that the combined strength of Theonia and the South Italia Alliance is no worse than that of Syracuse!”

“We Locrians are not afraid of war!” Theophantes angrily retorted, but his voice seemed weak.

Demodokas couldn't even bother to pay any attention to him anymore. He turned to look at Metolephes and said, “Quickly go to Syracuse and tell the great Dionysius that Theonia framed Locri for the assassination of their archon, and they had declared war on Locri. I hope that he would send reinforcements; otherwise, Locri won't be able to fend off the armies of Theonia and the South Italia Alliance alone!”

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

In the city of Laos, Alobamus returned to his residence with an ugly expression. Noticing it, his wife asked with concern, “Has your nephew given you another problem?!”

After hearing what his wife said, Alobamus became furious and snorted, “Nephew? He doesn't even consider me as his uncle. Do you know what new tricks he had come up with today? He wants to build a school!”

“School?! What is that?” The Lucanian born lady rarely bothered to learn anything about Theonia.

“Oh, there is no need for you to understand as it's not a good thing anyway! Just that he also wants to let those children of poor people study in the school. He is crazy!” Alobamus slammed his fist on the wooden table to vent his anger.

“Didn't his teacher from Thurii came here not long ago and warned him not to mess around?! And have him listen to you…” His wife reminded him.

“Listen to me?!” Alobamus sneered, “It's not like you don't know my nephew. Since childhood, he has been stubborn. And now that his father is dead and he has become the archon, no one can control him!…”

Alobamus became angrier, “Go! Go! Pour me some water!”

After his wife left, Alobamus slumped on the couch and remembered his discussion with Henipolis this morning. After he opposed Henipolis' proposal to build a school, his nephew, who had been drinking, blurted out in a fit of anger, “This won't work! That won't work! If everything does not work, what else do you officials have to do?! Look at our allies. The Theonians had managed Thurii so well that I think it's better to let them manage Laos!…”

The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became and because Henipolis is drunk, it means that he is telling the truth! ‘The boy had lived in Thurii for seven years and had even lived in the house of Davos, causing him to be heavily influenced by Theonia! He even dared to give away the family business that his father and himself had fought so hard to earn to outsiders for nothing! Could…could it be that this is the scheme of Theonia's archon….’

Alobamus felt cold sweat as soon as the image of Davos appeared in his mind. Just as he was worried about this, his slave came in and said, “Master, there is a man outside hoping to meet you. He said that he is from Syracuse.”

“Dismiss him!” Alobamus subconsciously shouted, but he suddenly remembered something, “Wait, you said that he is from Syracuse?”

“That's what he claimed.”

‘Syracuse…’ Alobamus pondered with uncertainty. Finally, he said with firm determination, “Take him to the guest room.”

When Alobamus saw the visitor, he became surprised at the visitor's first sentence, “Lord Alobamus, I came to meet you under the order of Lord Dionysius, the supreme military commander of Syracuse…”

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

“Milord, do you think that official of Laos…Alobamus, would agree to our request?” Asked Philistus.

“Alobamus, who enjoyed such a high position for a long time, will definitely have his desire to grow. So how could he just allow his rights to be taken away by a young man who has never done anything for Laos? And according to the intelligence gathered, although the two of them are relatives, they disagree and often quarrel… Previously, Henipolis – the son of Avinoges, has the support of Theonia, so Alobamus didn't dare say anything, but now that he has our support, do you think he wouldn't have other ideas?” Dionysius said confidently.

“Only barbarians like Alobamus can be blinded by power, while a cultured man can keep their minds at peace wherever they live.” Philistus responded with a vague expression of his innocence.

Dionysius laughed and said, “Phili, you are talking about me, but compared to you, my knowledge is still far from enough.”

“Who said that? In Syracuse, besides Philoxenus, you are the only one who could write good poetry, milord!” Philistus praised him from the bottom of his heart, “Furthermore, you are already standing at the top, so you don't have any more desire.”

“Phili, it is not easy to sit in this seat!” Dionysius patted his seat, pointed to his head and emotionally said, “It's like having a sharp sword hanging on your neck that might fell at any time…”

“Therefore, this position is not something anyone can sit on!” Philistus complimented.

“Yes!” Dionysius then change the subject, “I wonder if Davos of Theonia feels the same way…” Dionysius sighed, and his eyes glinted again, “Phili, you are wrong. It's not that I don't have any desire; on the contrary, I have a greater desire!”

“You mean Magna Graecia?” Philistus asked understandingly.

“Too bad that the young man of Theonia did not die in the assassination…he even learned his lesson this time. Rather than sending someone to Syracuse, he instead declared war on Locri, thinking that I would obediently go and rescue Locri. Unfortunately, he underestimated me!” Dionysius' cold words were full of killing intent.

“Milord, I received a report from the north of South Italia, and they promised to mobilise their troops soon!” Philistus said with a hint of excitement, “And in the northeast of Theonia did not object to our proposal.”

“Everything is going well. And since we have paid a great price, we naturally have to get the greatest return!” Dionysius stared directly at the void of the hall as if overlooking Theonia in the north, “After you go back, you should immediately start arranging the preparations for the expedition, so that once the war in the north started, we will also set out immediately!”

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

With the spread of “Theonia's declaration of war on Locri” in Magna Graecia, the city-states in the South Italia Alliance had also declared war on Locri.

For most Theonian citizens, hearing this news made them more excited. After all, they haven't fought in years!

Although they had already declared war against Locri, there was no tense atmosphere in the territory of Theonia. On the contrary, the rugby finals in Thurii are still in full swing, and the legionnaires of the participating teams in various cities have not been transferred back to their respective legions to prepare for war. And in order to show the importance of Hades to Theonia, the Senate of Theonia had even announced that “War shall not affect the Theonians celebration of Hades just as war must temporarily put on hold during the Olympic Games.”

However, the primary purpose of slowing down the military mobilisation is to lead the snake out of their cave. Otherwise, if Theonia were to crush Locri, they would not be able to achieve their real strategic objective of luring and annihilating the Syracusan reinforcements that will come to Magna Graecia.

Fortunately, the news from Sicily during this period shows that Dionysius has begun to gather his army and are preparing a large number of ships and supplies…

And Davos believes that even without war mobilisation, the citizens of Theonia will wash and polished their weapons and equipment at home and prepare to face their enemy…

However, Theonia, as the one advocating the war, must need to set an example for the South Italia Alliance. That is why Davos still asked the Senate to issue a war mobilisation order to the fifth and fourth legions stationed in the Brutii region and Crotone Plain.