Published at 18th of May 2024 1:22 pm

Chapter 895: Naval Battle of Thermae (II)

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Seeing the situation, the Eastern Phoenicians immediately separated a warship to pursue the fast-sailing trireme while the other four closely followed the two corvus warships. Then, when they saw the corvus warships heading straight towards the coast, they realised that the enemy ships were trying to run aground on the beach, which would undoubtedly defeat their plans to sink them. Thus, they once again increase their speed.

During the chase, they gradually formed up with two ships in front and two in the back.

Then, the sailors of the corvus warship gradually slowed down their rowing speed, giving the Eastern Phoenicians the illusion that they were gradually narrowing the distance through their efforts.

Miltiades stood at the ship's stern, his gaze fixed on the approaching enemy ship at the rear. Meanwhile, he listened intently to the lookout's loud and incessant reports from the mast, detailing the distance between the enemy ship and the flagship, as well as the spacing between the enemy's leading and trailing vessels.

As he stared at the approaching ship, tiny beads of sweat covered Miltiades' face as the naval ram flickered in and out of the water. Then, when the enemy ship was only about fifteen meters away from the flagship, Miltiades suddenly shouted, “Turn!”

The sailors, who had been waiting, immediately sprang into action: the helmsman swung the rudder, the sailors below paddled harder while those on the outboard reduced their paddling. The neat and unanimous action of the whole crew caused the speeding flagship to make a sudden turn outward.

It was too late for the pursuing Phoenician ships to change course, and the powerful inertia of the rushing ship made it continue speeding forward despite the sailors having already stopped paddling.

Then, almost simultaneously, the corvus warship next to the flagship also made a turn. Just as they completed the manoeuvre, the two Phoenician warships at the forefront had already brushed past them.

“Turn inward!” Miltiades and the captain of the corvus issued the same command.

They had issued that order because the two Phoenician warships at the rear, upon witnessing the Theonian warship in front of them make a turn, also adjusted their bows and surged diagonally forward, targeting the stern of the Theonian warship with their naval ram. Thus, Miltiades' flagship and the other corvus ship hastened their turning to secure their stern and position their bows towards the approaching enemy ship.

If the soldiers had remained in the warship, Miltiades would not dare order the flagship to make such tactical manoeuvres. However, now that the flagship has taken out the many soldiers and regained its previous agility, the sailors could finally demonstrate the result of their year-round training. As the enemy ship approached, the flagship's bow was already veering towards the enemy ship. Then, the deck controller seized the opportunity to drop the twelve-metre-long drawbridge that they had installed on the front mast.

“Bang!...Bang!...” With two resounding bangs, both the flagship and another corvus warship successfully captured the enemy ship.

“Hurry up! Hurry up! Charge!...” The boatswain loudly reminded the soldiers of the friendly city-state huddling in the cabin.

As they finally experienced the long-rumoured Theonian-style naval battle for the first time, these soldiers excitedly rushed onto the deck, swarmed over the drawbridge, and rushed towards the enemy ship's deck.

“Damn it! Those fools forgot to pull out the drawbridge!” Miltiades cursed. Despite the boatswain reminding these soldiers several times in advance, they obviously forgot in the heat of the moment as they had no experience cooperating with the corvus drawbridge.

Why do these soldiers have to pull out the drawbridge as soon as they cross? Because there were three other Phoenician ships not far from the flagship, and the nearest one had already begun turning its bow. If the flagship were still connected to the enemy ship, they would only be sitting ducks.

So, two of the flagship's deck operators immediately ran across the drawbridge(a corvus warship has a total of five to eight deck operators) and fought to pull up the spikes at the lower end of the drawbridge.

The other operators quickly lifted the drawbridge, while the helmsman and sailors also began manipulating the flagship to leave the enemy ship.

But it takes time for the flagship to go from a standstill to sailing speed, and at this moment, the lookout nervously shouted, “The enemy ship is coming! It is charging towards our stern!”

Miltiades stared nervously at the enemy ship coming fast from the rear, his fist clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palm, though he was oblivious to it. Moreover, despite hearing the quicker-than-usual and louder chant of the sailors struggling to escape the danger as best as they could, transitioning a warship from stationary to sailing fast took time, a resource the flagship lacked most at this moment.

As the bow of the enemy ship was about to collide with the stern of the flagship, the lookout held onto the mast and shouted, “Our warship! Our Warship!!” (in naval battles, it is reasonable for the lookout to come down from the mast to avoid being thrown to his death in the event of a collision. However, they couldn't care less at the moment when the entire flagship was at stake)

Miltiades saw a warship cut through the waves like a flying arrow, and before he could see it clearly, he heard a crashing sound as the ship smashed right into the side of the enemy's ship, slicing into it like a sharp dagger.

It was the same fast-sailing trireme that had lured the enemy away earlier, taking the enemy ship, chasing it in a wide circle, and then using its speed to shake off its opponents and come to the rescue quickly.

With the screams of the Phoenicians beside him and the shrieks of the Phoenicians in the rear, Miltiades, still in a high state of alertness, shouted, “Quickly! Quickly! Turn around!”

However, they still hadn’t resolved the crisis. The Phoenician warship that had previously pursued the fast-sailing trireme also followed closely.

The flagship tried to turn back, but it was too late, and Miltiades could only watch as the enemy ship's bow crashed into the side and stern of the fast-sailing trireme that had come to their rescue.

This particular warship of the Theonian Navy resembled a willow leaf, with its narrow hull and slender body. Its strength lies in its speed, while its weakness lies in its resistance to ramming. Thus, when this warship ignored its pursuers in the rear to defend the flagship and bravely rammed the enemy ship that threatened the flagship, it placed itself in the most dangerous situation.

Due to the enemy ship in front of them blocking the way, the fast-sailing trireme had little room to cushion itself and thus bore the entire force of the impact. As soon as the enemy ship's bow completely penetrated the warship, the rear of the warship cracked open, and the seawater quickly turned red with blood.

“Hurry up!” Miltiades gritted his teeth and shouted.

Despite the sailors in the cabin being unaware of what was happening outside, they continuously rowed at the fastest speed, causing their arms to tingle, but they still gritted their teeth and persevered.

The flagship rushed over, dropped the drawbridge, and hit the enemy ship's deck.

“Pick up your weapons and follow me to charge!” Miltiades shouted into the cabin.

The sailors were surprised since their responsibility had always been rowing, leaving the task of attacking the enemy to the marines.

“What are you still waiting for? Follow the orders!” The boatswain urged.

Once it dawned on the sailors, they picked up the spears and swords left in the hold by the soldiers who had jumped overboard earlier.

“Kill!” Miltiades waved the sword he had picked up with anger on his face as he personally led the sailors towards the enemy ship.

Just at that moment, another corvus warship, due to untimely evacuation, was struck in the rear by the Phoenician warship that had turned around. Though the damage wasn't significant, the influx of seawater forced the sailors to seal it urgently, hampering the corvus' speed and agility and leaving it vulnerable to another hit.

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

With the three ships Miltiades led to face the attack of five enemy ships, they achieved a four-to-three exchange ratio, which is evidence of how well-trained and well-coordinated the Theonian fleet was. Unfortunately, Miltiades' mistake in his decision caused most of the Theonian ships at the rear to be scattered. Faced with the attack of the Eastern Phoenician fleet, they were in danger of fighting an outnumbered battle, especially the corvus warship. Without the protection of other warships on their flanks, the corvus warship would not only fail to show its might but also expose its weaknesses of slow speed and inflexible turning.

One after another, Theonian warships sunk, and only a few managed to rush directly to the beach.

As the Eastern Phoenician fleet advanced eastward, the returning Theonian warships, which were sailing westward one after another, were like adding firewood to the fire. Besieged by the Phoenician ships, they found themselves in a precarious position. Sensing the unfavourable circumstances, the Phoenicians began to turn around and withdraw to the east.

Now that the Eastern Phoenician fleet found such an excellent opportunity to wipe out the enemy, they naturally wouldn't let them escape so easily. Thus, they separated some of their ships to follow closely after them.

Despite the soldiers onboard the Theonian warship jumping into the sea one after another to reduce the warship's weight and ease their escape, the enemy still managed to catch up with the corvus warship, forcing them into battle due to their slow speed.

The naval battle, lasting less than half an hour, ended with the Eastern Phoenician fleet defeating the centre and rear of the Theonian fleet. Most of the Theonian ships either sank or fled, with only a few managed to struggle aware from the enemy ships.

When the Phoenician warship continued to chase east and was about to reach the waters near Minoa, a faint sound of salpinx suddenly rang out from ahead. Then, the several lookouts on the fast-sailing triremes, who were retreating hastily eastward, almost simultaneously shouted, “Our fleet! Our fleet is coming!”

The captains, who were nervously watching the enemy ships behind them, turned their heads and looked east. In the distance, dozens of Theonian warships emerged on the sea, arranged in the familiar Starry Night formation, swiftly advancing toward them.

Then, they snapped up their spirits and shouted loudly to the sailors in the cabin, “Brothers, cheer up! Our reinforcements are coming!”

Upon hearing these words, the sailors tightened their grip on the oars, regaining their strength. Then, they steered the warship to both sides, clearing the way for the fleet's attack.

At the same time, the Phoenician warships also noticed there was something unusual ahead, and they stopped their pursuit and began to approach each other to form up.

The Theonian fleet, sailing rapidly from east to west, comprised thirty-five ships out of the forty-two ships from the remaining second division of the First Fleet. Among these were twenty-five corvus warships and ten fast-sailing triremes, and they were all commanded by Straphacus.

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