After Mirtias left, Leotizides immediately said: "Tagru, hurry up and inform the troops who are going to rescue to rush to the port immediately."

"Yes, Commander." Taglu received the order and did not immediately execute it, but asked with some confusion: "Are the Carthaginians too risky? They sent an army of tens of thousands of people to travel through mountainous areas with inconvenient transportation and inconvenient food transportation, and wanted to capture Agrigento through Selinus and Minoa. Once our reinforcements arrived and their attempts were lost, these tens of thousands of Carthaginians might not even need us to attack, and they would be defeated because the food was not supplied in time..."

"Yes, this Carthage commander Ma Ge is really a risk. It seems that he believes in the capabilities of his army very much." Leotizides looked at the wooden map hanging on the wall, his eyes flashing with a gleam: "So our reinforcements must be fast."

……………………………………

Since the Dionian army occupied Selinus, half of its port was quickly converted into a simple military port, which not only allowed the Sicilian fleet's warships to be docked and replenished, but also pushed ashore for maintenance and repair... The fleet has a stable and safe foothold in the western Sicilian, providing convenience for its patrol and attacking the western waters.

Now, more than 150 warships of the Sicilian fleet are docking at the dock. Soldiers from friendly city-states on the south coast such as Minoa, Agrigento, Gera, Kamanlina, Eknom, as well as 1,000 soldiers from the Dionian Preparatory Legion, a total of 6,000 soldiers are boarding the warships in batches.

In order to transport the reinforcements to the port of Agrigento at one time, Miltias did not even allow the fleet soldiers to board the crow warship, just to make more space for warships.

In response, Secrean expressed his objection. He believed that the entire fleet cannot be used to transport soldiers. At least half of the warships need to be used as escorts. This is a vigilance that a naval commander must have.

Miltias refuted: Only half of the warships would mean that half of the soldiers would have to carry out the second transport. Now the enemy is in urgent need of emergency. If Agrigento is broken due to insufficient troops, who will bear the responsibility? Moreover, after completing the transport of troops, the Sicilian fleet must also cruise to the west, so it cannot be delayed.

The two sides parted again unhappy.

Seclian simply boarded the first Clippers to leave the port, and was unhappy.

In order to save time, each warship would set off immediately as long as it was loaded with soldiers. Therefore, when Miltias boarded the last flagship and left the port, the entire fleet spread eastward for four or five miles, showing a winding single straight line. Since each ship was loaded with soldiers, the navigation speed was slow.

Miltias was also a little anxious about this. He looked at the soldiers lying on the deck with a frown, and estimated that it would take to travel from Selinus to Agrigento at such a speed. It would be afternoon when the transport was over, and the fleet would not be able to patrol any longer.

At this moment, he hoped that there would be a strong northwest wind like the day the Carthage army landed, so that the navigation time would be greatly shortened.

And just as he was thinking about it, the lookout hand suddenly screamed above his head: "Attention! Pay attention! There is an enemy situation in the southeast!!"

Miltias was shocked and then wondered: Carthage's warships were destroyed, where did the enemy situation come from the sea in the southeast?

While he was confused, the lookout hand on the mast shouted anxiously again: "The Clippers raised two blue flags! Two blue flags!"

The blue flag means that the Carthage warships appear, otherwise the Clippers will raise the yellow flag at the first time, but the two blue flags mean that the ones appear nearby are a fleet, and the number is equivalent to that of the Sicilian fleet. Regardless of whether it has hostility or not, it poses a considerable threat to the Sicilian fleet.

Miltias felt panic. He pulled the side of the boat and tried hard to look southeast, but could only vaguely see a few small dots on the sea in the distance.

Among the four major fleet leaders, Miltias and Flarios had no experience in independently commanding large-scale naval battles. During the Southern Italian War, Miltias was just a captain of a three-layer oar warship. After the establishment of the 4th Fleet, the Ministry of Military Affairs provided Davers with multiple candidates for fleet commanders. Their qualifications, record and ability were similar, and Davers had difficulty making a decision. In the end, he chose Miltias because Miltias had served as the captain of Davers' shipboard, and Davers still had some impression of him, and this one added points to him.

After becoming the commander of the Fourth Fleet, Mirtias spent most of his time leading the fleet to cruise the Adriatic Sea, attacking pirates, and helping the army transport supplies. The only so-called naval battle was to attack the Mesapi when Dionia conquered Mesapi and Pucheti when he attacked the Mepu Combined Fleet. Because the opponent was too weak and he almost didn't take much effort, he defeated it.

Now when Mirtias might encounter the first naval battle, the situation is so complicated: the opponent is an enemy or a friend, and it is impossible to distinguish it, so that he cannot make a sudden decision to fight. Not only does his own fleet have no formation, but each warship is loaded with soldiers, which slows down and weakens the ability to fight. But at this time the entire fleet is located on the sea near Germet, so there is also difficulty in retreating. As a small town, Germet's narrow and simple port cannot accommodate the Sicilian fleet at all.

Under such circumstances, he was inevitably a little panicked. He tried his best to calm himself down and then issued the first order: "Rise the flag of Apollo and blow the trumpet!"

With the sound of the military trumpet, the golden flag rose to the top of the mast and fluttered in the wind.

The warships in front of the flagship heard the sound of military horns and saw the flying flags. They turned the bow of the ship and moved closer to the Mirthias's ship.

The flag phrase of the Apollo flag is: focus on the flagship and move closer to it, and the distance between the warship and the warship is shortened, making it easier to command and defense.

Mirthias's idea at this time was: the fleet is now full of soldiers, which is not conducive to combat, and his flagship is located closer to Selinus. When all the warships approach him, if this strange fleet really launches an attack, then he can lead the fleet back to Selinus first.

The distance that the Dionian fleet extends on the sea is too long, especially the warships in the front. Looking at the hand, they cannot see the flag on the last flagship or the signals sent by the clutch cruising behind. They can only see that the warships in the rear make tactical maneuvers before they can make corresponding changes. The transmission of this message seems a bit slow at this critical moment.

……………………………………

The Clippers that Seclian was riding in had already set a distance from the entire fleet because he had left the earliest. Since he sat on the bow after he got on the ship, the crew saw that he was in a bad mood and no one dared to come forward to disturb him. The whole ship was extremely quiet.

At this moment, his expression suddenly froze, he touched his ears, and asked the captain who was watching the sea conditions, "Did you hear it? There seemed to be a military horn."

The captain shook his head blankly, listened with his ears for a while, and then answered truthfully: "Sir, I didn't hear it."

The captain's words did not reassure Secrean. He stood up, looked at the rear, then looked up and asked, "What's the abnormal movement of the warship behind?"

After a while, the looking hand on the top of the mast replied: "They have not changed much."

"Sir, maybe you heard it wrong." The captain said.

Seclian seemed to have not heard of it, and there was a sense of uneasiness in his heart. Perhaps this uneasiness was buried when he learned that Miltias had put the entire fleet full of soldiers without escort warships, but now this feeling became stronger.

He no longer hesitated and said decisively: "Come on and go back and take a look."

The captain complained in his heart that he was suspicious, but he did not dare to object in person. After all, Seclian was the former commander of the navy, a hero admired by the generals of the victory and crew, and his prestige was too high.

………………………………………

Just as the Deonia warships turned around and returned one after another, the fleet was approaching the Sicilian fleet. Many small black dots had appeared in Mirtias's vision, which made him feel frightened.

At this moment, he heard the exclaiming of the lookout hand on the mast: "Two yellow flags! Two yellow flags have been raised! It is the enemy! It is the enemy!..."

Miltias's last luck was shattered. Now the other warships have not yet fully moved closer. It is too late to retreat to Selinus. Fortunately, while waiting, he has already made a preparatory plan: "Blow the trumpet again, let the warships dock on the nearest beach, put down the soldiers, and then return to fight!"

Of course, the following words cannot be expressed in flag words, so his flagship must set an example and let other warships follow suit. So after issuing the order, the flagship sailed straight towards the coast.

The Dionian Clippers, who were cruising on the southeast side of the fleet, actually did not know the coming fleet, but as the opponent's warship continued to approach, the formation slowly unfolded, the sails descended, and the oars began to accelerate and slide. This was the standard preparation process for the fleet to enter the battle, and of course the enemy was undoubtedly the enemy.
Chapter completed!