Chapter 886: Landfall: Sicily (I)

That's why Servius rushed to find Licinius, both to rectify the situation and partly to push the blame. However, beyond his expectations, Licinius showed no mercy as he publicly listed his faults, leaving Servius furious. Unable to find any valid reason to retort, he could only shout with a face flushed red, "You lowly plebeian! Most of the plebeians in the army fled and surrendered to the Theonians! Did you stay here to be a spy?! The lord dictator should have arrested you, as all of you plebeians aren't trustworthy!..."

A commotion arose from the people nearby when he spoke those words, prompting Servius to leave immediately.

"Bastard!" Licinius stared at the Servius' departing back, his expression becoming terribly sullen.

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

The coast from Carthage to Utica, stretching six kilometres, had transformed into a vast military camp where thousands of citizens from Carthage, Phoenician city-states, natives from the Iberian Peninsula, nomads from Numidia, and even inhabitants from Mauritania and Gaul gradually gathered. With diverse appearances, varied attire, and different languages spoken, the place buzzed with activity as if it had become the centre of the entire Mediterranean world.

But for the elders of the Carthaginian Senate, this vast military camp close to Carthage was a potentially terrible threat. With multiple races gathering here, conflicts occur daily due to language barriers, poor communication, and different customs and interests. As a result, the Carthaginians and Phoenicians living outside the city complained to the Senate that the natives were harassing them. Fortunately, Mago led his generals around and calmed down many disputes. Further adding to their trouble was that for each day such a large army stayed here, it consumed a great deal of food and money...

Therefore, the elders wished to immediately send this abominable army to Sicily to devastate the Theonians. Hence, they dispatched their men daily to urge Mago to lead them and land in Sicily as soon as possible.

For Mago, it wasn't that he didn't want to depart to Sicily as soon as possible. It's just that he was too busy settling these daily disputes and even suffered headaches as these unruly mercenaries would tarnish the image of the Magonids among the Carthaginians if this continued, which wasn't worth the loss. In addition, with the storm having destroyed the Carthaginian fleet and the new warships still under construction, the Theonians became a threat to the maritime route between Carthage and Sicily as their warships often roamed the western waters of Sicily, attacking Carthaginian and allied merchant ships heading to Sicily. Therefore, without the protection of a fleet, how could Mago dare let his soldiers board the ship to cross the sea and land in Sicily?

Suddenly, rain began to fall on Africa's typically sunny, dry, and hot coast on this day, accompanied by a strong sea breeze. As the temperature finally dropped, soldiers, who had endured the scorching heat, rushed out of their tents one after another to relish this rare respite. Even the natives from Iberia, taking advantage of the rain, stripped off their clothes to cleanse their bodies while yelling and screaming with excitement. Yet, their brawny size and intimidating appearance deterred anyone from casting scornful glances at them.

At this moment, Mago also walked out of the command tent, looked at the big flag standing in front of it, and became dazed as, under the blowing sea breeze, the flag fluttered toward the northeast.

Then, Anibal arrived and walked towards him.

During the battle with the Theonian fleet, the storm destroyed the twin-headed serpent ship where the Carthaginian naval commander was seated. Fortunately, the raging waves pushed him to the shores of Mazara, where he was eventually rescued. But he was soon ordered to return to Carthage to be questioned by the Senate for his part in the destruction of the Carthaginian fleet.

Luckily, Hanno had privately instructed Palteshmoun, Eshmounadon and other elders to pardon him, claiming that despite Anibal causing heavy losses to their side's fleet, he also utilised the storm to destroy the Theonian fleet, which had more ships and was more powerful, ensuring the safety of the of Carthage and the western waters of Sicily. Thus, his merits outweighed his faults!...

Hence, he wasn't punished and even allowed to continue serving as the naval commander of the Carthaginian navy, despite his being only nominal now.

Naturally, this ruling of the Carthaginian Senate took place a few days after the naval battle. But if it were now, the elders would not easily spare Anibal; after all, the Theonian warships continued attacking the western waters of Sicily that they had once controlled, bringing a heavy blow to their maritime trade, making Anibal's previous statement of completely destroying the Theonian fleet a lie.

Hence, the Senate and Mago eventually reached an agreement to place Anibal and his Carthaginian fleet directly under Mago's command. This was a far cry from Hanno's proposal of having the army under Mago's command while the navy under Anibal's command, which shows how discontent the Carthaginians at Anibal were.

"Lord Mago!" Anibal came closer and bowed respectfully. He had become cautious and fearful after suffering such tremendous criticism and accusations during this period.

"What did the Tyrians say?" Mago asked.

"The Tyrians...refused to provide escort for our landing fleet..." Anibal then continued, whispering, "They also said...they will not accept our command and will decide the timing and place they would attack on their own..."

"We in Carthage had worked hard for decades to transport wealth for them to allow them to live a comfortable life under the Persian rule, yet we instead get this answer in return?! They had only brought their warships to the western Mediterranean just to show off! So what use is such a motherland to us?!..."

While Mago became furious, Anibal only stood quietly on the side, listening.

"Does Hanno know about this?" Mago suddenly asked.

"I had already informed the Senate, in which they asked Lord Hanno to send someone to negotiate with the Tyrians..." Anibal answered cautiously.

"Moreover, we can't count on the Phoenician's joint fleet for the time being!" Mago's face didn't show any frustration, which shows he had obviously gotten the information beforehand and already expected such an outcome. Then, he glanced at Anibal and said, "I called you here to tell you I've decided to lead the army to Sicily tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?!" Anibal became starled, his eyes looking at Mago widening.

Mago, likewise, looked at Anibal with an unusually resolute expression. Then, he raised his head and pointed to the large flag fluttering before them, "See that? It's a southwestern wind! I have asked several experienced sailors from Carthage and Utica, and they all agreed that we will have the same condition tomorrow! Moreover, the ships I sent out to scout for the enemy's warship and the merchant ships that had returned from the port had all reported that there was no sign of the Theonian warships on the route today, so there's a good chance they won't be around tomorrow either!"

"But...if the weather is still like this tomorrow, the windy and rough sea will make it difficult for us to go ashore! What's more, the weather at sea is unpredictable, in case we encounter..." Anibal stopped, but the fear on his face already indicated what he wanted to say.

"Storm," Mago spoke the word Anibal had wanted to say. Then, with a determined expression, he said, "Since you all have the same thoughts, the Theonians must also have such fear since they didn't send out their warships today. Thus, they will definitely shrink back in their port tomorrow, giving us a great opportunity to land on Sicily! So even without the help of the Tyrians, our army could easily land on Sicily without facing the Theonian fleet...and then, to the surprise of the Theonians, we would launch a sudden attack! If we do indeed encounter another storm, it just means that Baal Hammon no longer protects Carthage, and all our efforts will be in vain...but this is impossible because Carthage had the protection of Baal Hammon and Tanit, which allowed us to survive this lands for hundreds of years and will continue to do so!"

"But-" Anibal still wanted to persuade Mago when he stopped him with a wave of his hand. I didn't call you here to listen to your ramblings but to discuss with me a plan to land as soon as possible. Then we would inform Carthage and Utica to make all preparations as soon as possible."

"Very well, Lord Mago. Despite my opposition to such a risk, I'll comply with your orders since you insist on it," Anibal said, knowing Mago well enough to understand that persuading him was futile. Thus, he spoke in a tone with the intention of having an excuse for himself once the landing failed.

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

On the second day, light rain and a southwestern wind had indeed arrived on the Carthaginian coast, which also affected western Sicily.

In such weather, the labourers of the port of Lilybaeum would normally be idle because only a few merchant ships would be out trading. However, due to the attack of the Theonian warships, it was only in such weather that the Carthaginian and Phoenician merchant ships would be safe. Thus, the port of Lilybaeum has been rather busy since yesterday, and it looked as if today wouldn't be any worse. Hence, the port officials rushed the labourers towards the docks early in the morning.

With almost all Carthaginians coming from wealthy families, there was not a single Carthaginian among the labourers in Lilybaeum, as none of them would engage in such laborious and lowly work. Instead, more than half of the labourers were Numidian slaves, but these Numidians, who had lived inland since childhood, were only suitable for some hard and heavy work. Thus, the more demanding jobs such as guiding the ships to the docks, repairing the ships, loading and unloading goods...and other demanding port work needed to be done by other races with maritime experience. Hence, there were some Greek slaves, mixed Phoenician-Greek freemen, and even Greek freemen among the labourers, resulting from centuries of the Phoenicians and Greeks sharing this one island.