The news that spread thrilled the anti-Spartan League while it alarmed Agesilaus. Sensing the situation turning bad, Agesilaus immediately ordered the troops to abandon the previously occupied ports and cities in the Gulf of Corinth to avoid getting surrounded from all sides.
Unfortunately, his order came too late. Under the leadership of Iphicrates, the motivated allied troops separated to attack and try recapturing the port of Lechaion and the port of Sicyon…as a result, they almost reached deep into Boeotia and cut off the way back of the stationed Spartan allied troops in the many port towns in the Gulf of Corinth.
Agesilaus hurriedly ordered his younger half-brother Teleutias to lead the fleet to bring back their scattered troops and place them in Lechaion and Sicyon. They would focus their defence on these two important town ports in Corinth, which resulted in the Spartan allied troops' offensive momentum being severely hindered and had to change into defence.
Consequently, the anti-Spartan League had to stop their offence after their attack on Lechaion was repelled.
Thus the two sides were locked in a stalemate again.
But the daring Iphicrates wasn't content with the status quo. He then led his light infantry troops while carrying their rations to boldly invade the central area of the Peloponnese, the most loyal subordinate of Sparta – Arcadia. They then began raiding the villages, plundering food, destroying the farms and repeatedly ambushing the Arcadian troops that came to attack them, resulting in the Arcadians not daring to fight them. But because they couldn't ignore their frenzied destructions, the Arcadians could only ask Agesilaus for help.
After receiving the Arcadians' request for help, Agesilaus was in a dilemma. Currently, the Spartan allied army was facing the offensive pressure and high morale of the enemy while having a shortage of troops. Moreover, Iphicrates' troops were the most troublesome, and Agesilaus regarded him as a formidable enemy. If he were to send fewer soldiers, Agesilaus feared the cunning Athenian strategos would defeat him. But if he sent more men, he feared the enemy in Corinth would take advantage to counterattack.
But Sparta still had to save Arcadia. As the leader of the Peloponnesian League, they were vastly different from Athens, the former leader of the Delian League.
Athens' attitude towards its allies could be said to be domineering: Their allies had to pay tribute, dispatch troops, and support the democrats close to Athens. Moreover, the Athenian merchants have privileges in their allies’ territories, and in case of local disputes, they must settle them in the Athenian court. What’s more, after joining the Delian League and later wanting to withdraw, the Athenian army will go and attack them…
The Spartans, on the other hand, treated their allies much better. As long as they did not betray Sparta, the Spartans tended to negotiate with their allies in deciding matters. That is because they do not have Athens' huge population, nor Athens' abundant financial resources, nor Athens’ powerful navy. And even among the soldiers of the Spartan alliance, the genuine Spartan soldiers occupy the minority. Sparta relied on the prestige established by the Spartan warriors over the past centuries, but they couldn't do anything without their allies. So even though Sparta defeated Athens, and they had become domineering and had changed their attitude towards their allies, the essential thing remained the same – Sparta still needed their allies.
As a king, Agesilaus knew about this matter extremely well. Thus he finally decided to return to Sparta and explain to the Gerousia the reason for their setback while asking them to send more reinforcements to Arcadia.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The following day, Martius, the captain of the guard, entered the tent as soon as Davos finished his breakfast, “Your majesty, Mithridates wants to see you.”
Davos' heart thumped, “Let him in.”
Mithridates anxiously entered the tent and immediately knelt on one knee, “Your majesty, I have come to ask for forgiveness! After receiving your order yesterday, I sent more warships to patrol outside the port of Scylletium. And just as you expected, an enemy ship did rush out of the port late at night. But even though our warships tried their best to block it, the enemy still escaped our encirclement with their skilled ship handling and fled to the south. Our two fast-sailing ships had gone in pursuit, but I still haven't received any news…”
“Why did the Syracusans willingly take a great risk of sailing late at night to escape the Theonian fleet's blockade?” Henipolis, who remembered his conversation with Davos yesterday, suddenly exclaimed, “Dionysius! It must be Dionysius who had escaped!”
Mithridates shuddered at hearing Henipolis’ words, so he hurriedly looked at Davos only to see the wise young king frowning. Then Davos relaxed his frown and smilingly said, “Don't rashly jump to the conclusion that Dionysius ran away just from this piece of information. Mithridates, the sea outside the port of Scylletium is so wide that even if we gather all our warships, we may still be unable to fill it. Moreover, we can only send four to five fast-sailing ships to patrol at night. So if the enemy wants to escape, our fleet won't be able to stop them.”
“Your majesty!” Mithridates was deeply grateful for Davos' understanding.
“But for an enemy ship breaking in and out as if our fleet doesn't exist is a humiliation to the Theonian fleet! It is a humiliation to every Theonian sailor and captain!!!” Davos turned serious, “Our fleet must no longer be complacent just because they have defeated Syracuse many times! We had forgotten that we are not as good as Syracuse in terms of ship handling, nor the tacit understanding of formation changing and coordination of the entire fleet! It was the corvus and the strength of our legion the reason our fleet had won many times!…”
Mithridates face flushed with shame at Davos' words, so he hurriedly said, “Your majesty, please rest assured that I will definitely work with Lord Seclian to intensify our fleet’s training after we return! And in one year…no, half a year later, you will see significant improvement of the Theonian fleet!”
Davos nodded happily and said, “Very well, I'll look forward to seeing a more powerful Theonian fleet in half a year!”
Then he said, “Mithridates, get up. If I punish a valuable strategos just because one or two enemy ships escape, I'm afraid it won't be long before Theonia run out of good naval commander.”
Davos' teasing words slightly relaxed the nervous Mithridates. After standing up, Mithridates asked hesitantly, “But Dionysius-”
But Davos interrupted him, “That is not your concern. What you need to do now is to strengthen the port's surveillance to prevent the Syracusan fleet from escaping. Also, dispatch 30 triremes to Rhegium as soon as possible to reinforce Seclian's fleet, allowing them to gain maritime superiority in Sicily! Can that be done in two days?”
“It won't even take two days, your majesty. I can dispatch the needed warships to Rhegium today.” Mithridates immediately gave his assurance.
After seeing him off, Henipolis immediately asked, “Your majesty, what if Dionysius really escaped?!”
At this moment, Davos had already made up his mind and said, “What's there to panic?! The escape of Dionysius means that the Battle in Magna Graecia has ended, which is good for us!”
“But it might affect your majesty's plan about the revolt in Sicily and the first legion!” When Davos sent the first legion to Sicily, Henipolis heard Davos talk about his plans. Hence he expressed his concern.
Davos looked at him and softly said, “Heni, you overestimate Dionysius! Even if he is capable, you must not forget that he left the entire army he brought behind in Magna Graecia and fled back to Syracusan by himself. He is simply just a deserter! What would the Syracusans who lost their loved ones think?! What would their allies in Sicily think?! Although I don't know the situation in Sicily in the past two days, Dionysius won't have an easy time calming the people's anger! He had ruled Syracuse and Sicily with military might, but now that most of his troops are left here-”
He then pointed to the city of Scylletium and said with a sneer, “Without enough troops, how can he suppress the Syracusans who want to overthrow him?!!”
Henipolis' eyes brighten up, “So it's a good thing that Dionysius escaped!”
Davos was silent for a moment. In fact, his words were to comfort himself, ‘If Dionysius dared to flee alone, he must have a way to deal with Syracuse's predicament. After all, he had managed Sicily for many years, so once he successfully escaped back, my plan to disrupt Sicily might fail and may even allow this tyrant to wipe out the first legion before leading reinforcements to attack Magna Graecia…’
Thus Davos felt a sense of urgency, so he said, “First of all, we must make sure whether Dionysius escaped or not!”
Hence he called over Izam of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade and ordered him to send his men from all directions of the city to monitor the enemy's movements closely and report back at once.
Throughout the morning, the city of Scylletium remained calm; they neither sent an envoy to Theonia's camp to seek a truce nor their cavalry that used to patrol in front of the city every day showed up. Even though the number of soldiers on the city wall remained unchanged, Dionysius, who usually appeared every morning to observe their situation, hadn't appeared today…
After learning all of these things, Davos concluded that…
In the afternoon, he again sent the soldiers of the mountain reconnaissance brigade to take turns in front of the city to shout, “Syracusans, you are here guarding the city so seriously, but your tyrant Dionysius had already escaped!”
“Syracusans, surrender! Dionysius abandoned all of you, so why are you still here fighting?!”
“Why did Dionysius escape?! Our first legion has captured Sikuri and Catania and is now attacking Syracuse! If Dionysius didn't escape, he would no longer have a home to return to!”
“We aren't deceiving you. When you attacked our camp yesterday, have you seen our first legion?! No, right?! It is because they have already landed in the Gulf of Naxos! But Dionysius blocked the news so that his escape would be easier!”
“Dionysius didn't appear in the city wall today, did he?! It is because he has already run away! If you don't believe it, check his tent and see if he is still there!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Theonian soldiers’ shouting at the bottom of the city wall was like boulders thrown into a calm pond, producing countless waves.
