Chapter 457: The Return of the King (II)

Chapter 457: The Return of the King (II)

Davos even had the leisure to take a few glances towards the fountain of Thurii on the southwest side of the square. The fountain, which Davos had never seen before but had played a key role in his rise to kingship. ‘Could there really be a god in this world?!’

His eye couldn’t help but look at the white Temple of Hades on the hill behind the northwest side of the square…

As he stood on the platform of the Grand Senate Hall, he looked over the orderly first and second legions in the square and the people standing in order on both sides of the legion soldiers. Although these Theonians were all eager to know his answer, they still remained calm under the supervision of the patrol soldiers. The habit of observing social order developed in the Theonia Union over the years was quite effective.

After sighing in his heart, Davos shouted, “The brave men of the first and second legion! You have travelled thousands of kilometres to fight the invading Samnites in the rocky and difficult mountainous terrain. You have fought the Samnites who outnumber us and are far fiercer than our former enemies bravely and without fear, ensuring that the Samnites would no longer threaten the north-western border of the union by completely crushing them! The Senate and the people of Theonia, thank you!

And after all this fighting, you should have gone home to recuperate. However, it is not yet the time! You all should know that just as we were far away in Potentia, the massive army of Syracuse had invaded Magna Graecia. They had defeated the troops of the South Italian Alliance, capturing many of the soldiers of the fifth and fourth legion, bringing down Scylletium, conquering Terina, making Caulonia surrender and reaching near the cities of Aprustum and Crotone.

The cavalries they hired has invaded Croton plain, burned, killed and plundered our land, and brutally cut off the heads of the women, children and the elderly…

Syracuse’s huge fleet traversed the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian seas, cutting off our maritime trade routes, sinking our ships, blocking our ports and landing on our coasts to kill our people and burn our villages…

Our former ally Taranto had also betrayed us when we were in trouble. They had not only captured our ally Metapontum but also attacked Heraclea and sent soldiers to burn, kill and plunder on our lands on Amendolara…

In addition, Petaru, Kaduk and  Bodiam, these statesmen of the Senate, were secretly bribed by Syracuse* at our most difficult time. They had even persuaded some Bruttians to rebel…” (in fact, there was no such thing. But due to these three having long been opposing him, he just blamed it on Syracuse.)

As Davos continued his speech, a commotion finally arose among the soldiers in the square who were listening intently. Many of them had also learned something about the situation while entering the city. Still, they had not expected the whole situation of the union to be so bad that even a statesman of the Senate had betrayed them!!

Davos became serious and said loudly once more, “Brothers, after a hard battle, you should have returned home to rest and reunite with your families. However, can you still stay at your home in peace in the face of the countless Theonians who have lost their homes and loved ones?!”

“NO!!”

“We don’t want to rest! We want to keep fighting!!!”

“We will only recuperate once we’ve all beaten back the enemy!!!”

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

The soldiers shouted in excitement.

Davos nodded. Then with teary eyes, he choked up a bit as he continued, “There is a saying that ‘it is in the midst of danger that you would know who the heroes of the city-state are!’ You may not be aware that after our defeat in the south, Drakos, the legatus of the fourth legion, had personally gone off to the rear himself to protect his comrades so that they could retreat safely. However, he was eventually captured after suffering serious wounds…and those evil Syracusans tried to humiliate him near the city of Aprustum to demoralise the fourth and fifth legions…but for the safety of the union, Drakos…Drakos…died by angrily smashing his head to the ground…”

When the soldiers and the people in the square here that, they couldn’t believe what they heard, especially the soldiers of the second legion, where Drakos served as its legatus. And they all shouted, “Lord Davos, is that true?! Legatus Drakos died?!!!”

“Legatus Drakos, how could such a strong man…die?!”

The soldiers shouted with tears running down their cheeks, and their cries resounded in the square.

After wiping the tears from his eyes, Davos continued, “Before he died, legatus Drakos had shouted, ‘Long live the Theonian legion! Avenge me!’ This is what Drakos expected of us! Thus I, as the Grand Legatus of Theonia, ordered you, as warriors, not to retreat until you have killed and repelled the enemies!”

“Avenge legatus Drakos!!!”

“Fight the Syracusans to the death!!!”

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

The soldiers in the square steeled themselves as they took out their short swords and slapped them to their long shield, letting out a “Bang! Bang!” sound. Then their roars became one as they shouted, “REVENGE! REVENGE!! REVENGE!!!…”

Their cry that came from the bottom of their hearts were like the rumbling of thunder. The soldiers’ anger and sorrow aggregate as it resounds on every inch of the land ravaged by the enemy…

Even Kunogelata, Cornelius and the other statesmen who stood silently in front of the Grand Senate Hall could not resist shouting “revenge”. Even Davos joined the soldiers as he shouted with his right fist raised high.

After some time, Davos finally withdrew his fist, and the soldiers gradually regained their silence.

After shouting so much, Davos gulped to moisten his somewhat hoarse voice as he prepared to continue his speech. But at this time, he aimed it at the people on either side of the first and second legion, “People of Theonia! Theonia has grown from the small Amendolara to the vast territory of Theonia that it is today. Although it has only been a short five years, we have endured many dangers and faced many threats from powerful enemies. And by uniting as one, we have overcome all difficulties and broken through to make Theonia what it is today.

And today, an even more powerful enemy stands in our way. Syracuse is jealous of our rapid rise and wanted to strangle us completely to prevent our Theonia from growing into a nation capable of threatening its hegemony. You must understand that it is no longer a question of whether we stop fighting or surrender, but it is ‘either they die, or we die’! That is why the Syracusans have moved all the troops they could and spent a tremendous amount of money and resources to wage this massive war. They are going to wipe out our Theonia once and for all, occupy our land, turn our children and us into slaves! Just as what they had done to Scylletium!!”

As Davos paused for a moment, only dead silence shrouded the square. Both the soldiers and the people became pale as they shuddered at the thought of the tragic scenes that Davos had described.

“Citizens!” Davos’ voice softened a bit, “I know that in this war that has just begun, some of you has lost your loved ones, some lost friends, some lost homes, some lost land…and we may even lose more. However, we have no other choice but to fight the vicious Syracusans to the end in order to save ourselves, our children and grandchildren from that tragic fate! If all of us unite, if those who have food to eat help those who are hungry, if those who have shelter help those who don’t, if we all help each other as a family, we will get through this difficult time together! I, Davos, the archon of Theonia, assure you that you will soon hear news of victory after victory! Light comes after darkness, so after this difficult time, a brighter future awaits the Theonia Union!!”

Davos’ promise made the depressed crowd excited.

“Lord Davos, we shall never be slaves! We will fight together with you to the end!!”

“Lord Davos, I believe that we will win as long as you are here!”

“That’s right, with Lord Davos being the god’s favoured and with the blessing of Hades, we will never lose!”

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

“Everyone, don’t forget the oracle that Hades gave to us!” just as the people shouted in excitement, a voice suddenly reminded the crowd, “Hades said that we could only become the final victor if Lord Davos becomes the king!”

“Yes! He even used his divine power to bring the spring back to life to urge us to fulfil his divine command!” Another voice shouted.

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

As the legionaries listened with bewilderment, the people on either side of them spoke excitedly of “the oracle…of Lord Davos becoming king” and so on.

Antonios managed to guess something vaguely as he looked at Davos.

On the other hand, Davos remained calm as he looked at the square, which had become somewhat boisterous.

Behind him, the statesmen such as Kunogelata and Cornelius became tense.

At that moment, the sentence that shook them had come out from the mouth of countless people, “Let Lord Davos…become king!”

“Let Lord Davos be king!”

“King Davos!”

“King Davos!!”

“King Davos!!!”

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

With the joining of the soldiers, the shouts became louder and louder. Although they did not yet understand the reason for this, it seemed only natural that their beloved archon and victorious grand legatus, Davos, should be made king and continue to lead them to victory.