“Get ready! Move the cranes! Fire the catapults!” Arete commanded.

What makes Carthage broke their agreement? They were always closer with the Parthians since the fallen Persian empire.

“Madam! There are about 300 ships heading towards us! 100 trireme at side flanks, 30 quadrireme at frontline, followed by another 170 quadrireme behind on diekplous position.” The guard at the watchtower reported when the smoke slowly cleared off. He was anxious when he saw many siege ships were heading to their side.

“Informant! Call Lord Amiran and General Hector for support now! And inform Apollodorus for more urgent support from the city!” Arete started to get nervous, as the number of ships indicated that the Carthaginian had caught them off guard.

There wasn’t enough time, even for the support battleships to move from my father’s side.

The Parthians previously came from the Ionian Sea in the noon. Chlorus led the defence, using Archimedes’s parabolic mirror to concentrate the heat of sunlight and set the ships on fire. May be that’s why they choose to attack at nighttime!

He successfully took down hundreds of Parthians warships with limited resources…

Arete clenched her fists, she remembered how Chlorus had been defending the Syracusian’s sea wall when he was still with them. He directed the naval battle as if he knew every waves of the oceans. His talent in naval warfare had gained him attention of the Romans, and then, the next thing she knew, that the Romans called him to join them.

If he can manage that, I can do it too. No! It’s not the time to feed my own ego.

Those are not Parthians, those are Carthaginians! They are stronger and they are fierce in their naval battles. Far superior than the Parthians. And now they are helping them.

It’s almost impossible with my limited resources to even defend the straits!

But with all the disadvantages, I only have one upper hand now!

“Soldiers! Get the corvus! Prepare our biremes! I’m boarding to the quadriremes!” Arete shouted and came down from Aethon. She took away the flag and hand torch from an informant.

The Syracusean soldiers running and carrying the large corvus to the edge of the wall. The drumming sounded, the anchors raised, their two largest quadriremes slowly rowed forward. While the foot soldiers already boarded on the smaller biremes, taking up the role to row the ships.

“That’s crazy!” “It is suicidal!” Arctus and Peatrus both stunned by the command. Although she had get it right about firing the catapult, but attacking such large number of Carthaginian battleships with their limited resources was indeed a ridiculous idea.

While waiting for the quadriremes to move closer to their corvus, Matea grabbed the crane rope of an Archimedes’s claw and swung herself towards the quadriremes with the flamethrower in her hand. The large ships took too long to get in place.

“She’s crazy!” Peatrus saw what she just did.

“C’mon, we can’t let her claim all the glory! Let’s go!” Said Arctus.

They ran to the tip of the corvus and jumped to the battleship. Arete followed next, and the soldiers did the same.

“Takedown as many ships as possible before they reach our wall!” She yelled, and ran toward the highest point of the battleship, waving the flag and torch. The informant at the wall repeated her signal with their larger torches on the ground.

The only advantage we have now, is the war is near our coastal area. And on night time, we able to communicate our battle strategy though the light signal. This is the advantage of greater communication.

I have 24 triremes loaded with naphtha, and 6 quadriremes with artilleries. All of my 30 battleships can sail faster than the 300 Carthaginians ships.

What’s their drawbacks? They came by hiding themselves within thick black smokes. That’s an unwise strategy. Their rowers must have exhausted by now! There’s a reason why we design our ships with good ventilations for the rowers!

Arete waved the torch and flag, directed the six larger quadriremes to sail towards the left and right of the enemies flanks. The other 24 smaller and faster triremes sailing towards the centre of the enemy’s diekplous position at the centre formation (in which ships were sailing together in line abreast).

“Ma’am, the enemy is in diekplous position! If you make our 24 triremes sail inline at the centre, it’s a guarantee fail strategy! They will break us easily!” Arctus shouted anxiously.

But Arete was confident with her strategy. Syracuse coast was her homeland, and she knew every directions of the wind and waves. She knew the reason behind the Carthaginian’s formation. They were too careful on their strategy too. Their left flanks were heavily guarded. They were expecting the Syracuse supporting ships to attack their left side since they could only sail from that side.

Arete planned to break their diekplous operations. Arctus was right, sailing inline was not a good idea to go against them. In fact, she also knew the Carthaginians were great in their diekplous operations. They were once feared as they could masterfully destroy and sink ships with their skilful turns to ram down the inline ships. But Arete knew her triremes could sail faster than their larger quadriremes. Her instructions through the torch light through the informants on the sea wall gained her advantage of fast action.

Before the enemy’s quadriremes able to make their turn to ram the inline ships, Arete already signalled to her triremes to turn away, avoided the first ramming. As the enemy failed their attempt, the momentum of their ship together with the wave of the sea caused them to sail off the line. Given the smaller Syracusean ships a chance to lay their corvus on top of it.

The Syracuse soldiers ran into the enemy’s ship through the corvus. The Carthaginian marines and their light infantries were unmatched with the Syracusean mixture of spearmen and swordsmen. Exhaustion due to long travel under heavy smoke might had weakened them. They soon gained control over the quadriremes.

“Freedom will be granted if you fight for Syracuse! Else, prepare to get burn by the Greek’s fire!” The leading commander shouted in Persian, trying to threaten the Carthaginian rowers to cooperate.

When three Carthaginian battleships were captured, the Syracusean were all in high spirits. But the battle had not end, as the Carthaginian started to fire their arrows towards them.

Arete ordered the captured ships to turn and ram the enemy’s ships. Those Carthaginian had some good design as to ram the ships down.

“Ma’am, their triremes are at our wall!” Peatrus reported.

But that was what Arete least worried about. The Archimedes claws could capture enemy’s ships, crushed and flipped them before they able to ram their walls. And the damaged ships could prevent other ships from getting any closer. The wreckage would not completely sunk because they had laid the support structure under water. The Syracusean troops would lay corvus on top of the wreckage and boarding themselves into the coming enemy’s ships.

She saw more tall Archimedes’s cranes were on their way to their walls. Apollodorus’s support had arrived.

What worried her, were the 170 enemy’s quadrireme which were going to attack them. Although they had slowly captured 10 and took down 20 Carthaginian battleships at their frontline by ramming them down using the captured ships themselves.

The enemy, however, had split their triremes, passing over Arete’s battleships and headed to the walls. Some stay at the west side, guarding for potential supporting ships. And some followed their 170 quadrireme behind. Arete realised that they now were in a more conservative position. She had successfully warned them, with her limited resource, she still able to carry her defence against them. What’s more, she had yet to use their greatest weapon, the Greek’s fire, the naphtha.

Arete instructed her next strategy, sending signals to the captured enemy’s battleships. She ordered her troops to hit the drums randomly but without rowing the ships.

The random sound of drums had confused the Carthaginians. That was their communication channel. War cries could hardly been heard clearly on ocean since the sounds of the wave had suppressed their cries. The lower frequency drumming could travel further, and they specially built their drums to a certain tone so that they could recognised the unique sound.

With the enemy’s communications disturbed, they started to blow their salpinx trumpets. But Arete counter them by louder trumpets. Since the Syracusean had the advantage of burning torches as their communication. Her plan was to push them to use fire.

If they started a fire on their ships, the naphtha will bring us to the victory! I know, father will not approve of this. As it will burn them and kill all of them. I hope… I just hope they will retreat.