Chapter 86: Undercurrent

Both Cincinnag and Sedrum looked at Akpir.

Akpir watched all this and he knew very well that the Vergaean did indeed not fight with all their might. After all, they are Brutians and not Lucanians. Of course, what Sedrum said might also be true, that they saved the right wing and contributed to them winning this battle! He also knew Cincinnag very well, he is greedy for petty stuff and likes to bullies the weak and is afraid of the strong. Even though it’s his duty to reward and punish him, but he can’t really do it according to their agreement. Pyxous is the most important ally of Grumentum, as it is only with their support that Grumentum had become so powerful today. Moreover, Pyxous is also a powerful tribe in Lucania, criticizing or even punishing the leader of Pyxous in front of the Brutians will inevitably lead to the dissatisfaction of Pyxous and will cause the Lucanian tribal alliance to break apart.

The Brutians inhabited areas bordered the south of Lucania, and their tribes are not unified. Therefore, their strength is weaker, which naturally made them the next target of Grumentum’s expedition after they defeat Thurii and occupy the plain of Sybaris. Vergae is the most adjacent city of the Brutians to the territory of Lucania, and them actively surrendering(under the threat of the army of the Lucanian alliance) gave Grumentum a springboard to enter the Brutti region, and so he can’t treat them too harshly. However, he can’t just make his position unclear, because Lucania is the master, while the Brutians are doomed to be enslaved!…

After making up his mind, he slowly said, “Winning this battle is the result of our joint efforts! Therefore, after we occupy this place, I will give you spoils according to your performance! But-” His sharp gaze made Sedrum’s heart tremble, “As an ally, killing your comrades is an ugly act of breaking your promise, and the gods will punish you! So, Vergae must pay a fine enough to satisfy Pyxous to compensate for their loss! At the same time, we will offer the same number of Vergaean to be buried!”

“WHAT!!!” Hearing this, all the warriors of Vergae yelled in anger.

The warriors of Grumentum and Pyxous then immediately surrounded them.

“Sedrum, do you agree or disagree with my decision?” Akpir stared at the great leader of Vergae with cold gaze.

Sedrum stayed silent as he bowed his head, while clenching his fist, his face turned pale and his forehead was covered with sweat.

“Great leader, you must not agree! The Lucanians have bullied us too much, so we should not obey them! Let’s just go back!!” Salu yelled in anger.

“Yes! Let’s go back! Great leader, Let’s just go back!!…” Said the warriors of Vergae.

“Go back?!” Cincinnag sneered at them and said to Akpir, “You see, these Brutians are not reliable. They want to quit the alliance that they have sworn to the gods to join so quickly! In this case, it’s better to…”

Hearing this, Sedrum was shocked. He suddenly raised his head, and saw the sneering face of Cincinnag and the cold expression of Akpir.

As he looked around, the Lucanians surrounded his people with their shields and spears. Although the warriors of Vergae desperately struggled, they are too few and they only wore leather armor, and they did not even have any shields and only have their speard. Their equipment is too simple…the fingernails of Sedrum dug deep into his palms…as he struggled to squeeze out a sentence, “I…I agree…”

“Great leader!!…” The cry of the warriors of Vergae is like a hammer that struck the already fragile heart of Sedrum. He staggered a few steps and sat down on the ground.

“It’s up to Wudlei to supervise the execution of their punishment.” Said Akpir, as he choose a neutral person as he is worried about them causing a riot due to Cincinnag stimulating the Brutians.

“Alright.” Answered Wudlei, the leader of Nerulum.

“When we occupy this place, I will allocate a piece of land in the plains of Sybris to you Sedrum, so that your people can graze here, as this land is a much more fertile than the land of you Brutians!” After Akpir punished them, he then gave Vergae the carrot.

“Great leader…thank you…” Sedrum held his grief and said his thanks.

Instead of waiting for Cincinnag to speak, Akpir asked kindly, “Gennat, my dear child, how is your injury?”

Gennat endured the pain and straightened his chest, “Leader, I’m okay. It’s just a flesh wound.”

“That’s good. You should protect yourself more, since I don’t want my daughter to become a widow at such a young age, and I am still waiting for my grandson!” Laughed Akpir, and the warriors around him also laughed together, which made Gennat a bit embarrassed and shy.

Cincinnag breathed a sigh of relief, because Akpir still attached great importance to Gennat, and his promise to Pyxous would not change due to this setback.

“So the best warrior of Lucania has been humiliated by a much smaller number of Greeks!” A sarcastic voice came together with the laughter of the soldiers.

Gennat followed the direction of this voice and saw that it was Seville, a tribal leader in the city of Grumentum. He had proposed to the daughter of Akpir, but the great leader married his daughter to Gennat for the sake of tribal interest. And from then on, Seville didn’t have a good opinion of him.

Gennat, unwilling to show weakness, said, “If you have the ability, then why don’t you try capturing this camp!”

“Alright, I will show you the power of the warriors of Grumentum!” Seville was excited and did not refuse. He turned around and called, “Brothers-”

“That’s enough!” Akpir’s deep and dignified voice immediately stopped the young leader’s impulse, “Let’s go back to our camp!”

As soon as his voice fades away, Cincinnag cried out, “Go back now?! We aren’t going to continue attacking this camp?”

Akpir looked up at the sky and said, “It’s almost dusk. Our warriors are very tired, and we have killed the last citizen soldier outside of Thurii, and they won’t be able to stop us from taking root in this land. When we go back, we will have the wounded rest and recover our strength and to prepare equipment. Tomorrow, we will build a city here, a city of Lucania!” Akpir’s voice became a bit agitated, “These mercenaries are not worth our concern at all. If they dare to come out, then we will defeat them, and if they don’t come out, then we will just block them so that they will not get any support from Thurii, and will doomed themselves. As for Taranto’s reinforcement, it is said that the relationship between Taranto and the Messapians is currently tense, so they won’t be able to stay long here!”

The others were lost in thought.

Wudlei asked, “Akpir, are we not going to Amendolara?”

“Tomorrow.” Although he didn’t pay attention to the mercenaries on the surface, their combat strength still surprised him. The tribe that captured Amendolara did not join them according to his order, but if he led his army to Amendolara at this moment, then they will likely refuse to open their gates. Although their strength is 10 times than that of the other party, the Lucanians are not good with siege. Besides, the city is a mountain city, if they couldn’t capture it quickly, once evening comes, their warriors will be extremely tired and won’t be able to eat, and there is still the threat of the mercenaries and Taranto’s reinforcement behind them. Besides that, there is also a group of unstable Vergaean in their midst, and Akpir is afraid that something unexpected will happen. Why should the Lucanian alliance take such a risk in exchange for a steady and assured victory.

“If that tribal leader in Amendolara is smart, then they should go back to the mountains as they had done back then. Otherwise, I will make them know who has the final say in the region of Lucania.” A ruthless sneer appeared on Akpir’s face.

Hearing this, Cincinnag’s face twitched a few times.

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