Douluo: The Adventures of King Skin

"He'sgotthewholeworldinhishands."

——American children's song

Pyrrhus admitted that the land of Lamia would play an important role in his plan, but this did not mean that he wanted the Lamians to suffer such a fate.

When the Chinese army finally walked out of the rugged mountainous area, the sun had already hidden behind the mountains. However, the burning city of Lamia was like a huge bonfire, lighting up almost the entire basin by the bay.

The firelight shone on everyone's face, and Pyrrhus felt that he should say something, but he could not.

**

Pyrrhus finally decided to find a way to capture Lamia first.

The speed of Greek merchant ships was average, and the supply transshipment capabilities of Greek warships were even worse.

As long as the Macedonian strongholds on land are resolved, the range of maneuver of the land and sea coalition will be greatly limited.

However, halfway through the march, the sentinels in the front sent news of the atrocities committed by Cassander's army in the city of Lamia.

Even though Cassander had always presented himself as a city builder, Pyrrhus predicted that in order to suppress Thessaly, he would probably imitate the atrocities committed by his father Antipater in Pharsalus.

I just didn't expect that I would be the first to attack Lamia, who had not actually participated in the resistance.

When he heard the news, he immediately ordered the cavalry troops to advance lightly, but in fact it was already too late.

Houses and farmland were set on fire, temples and city walls were torn down, and thousands of charred corpses hung on the remaining ruins.

The Cassander army had already boarded the ship and left.

…………

…………

When morning came, the faint smoke was still hovering on the coast, and Cassander's warships were still patrolling back and forth on the distant sea.

Pyrrhus sat on a rock by the sea and listened to a subordinate's report on how to put out the fire.

Although it was said to be a fire-fighting, there was actually nothing to save. Greek houses did not have many flammable materials, and the fire went out on its own in the middle of the night, leaving behind a ruin that radiated high temperatures.

Pyrrhus's body was covered in salt stains left by the dry sea water, and his long hair was curled by the high temperature.The subordinate in front of him was similar to him, with a few tears on his dark face.

He remembered that this warrior was from Pharsalus, and they were the most active in fighting the fire last night.

In the end, only a few half-baked people were rescued from such a huge town, and it was not known whether they could survive.

The warrior was talking to him, and suddenly his eyes widened in surprise, "Your Majesty, look!"

Pyrrhus followed his gaze to the sea.Cassander's fleet suddenly changed its movements on the sea and turned around.

Is this a combat operation?

As if a group of enemy ships were about to break through the blockade, a black ship silhouette appeared in the mist.All ships furled their sails and put down their wooden oars. Thirty-oared clippers moved forward to pursue them, while trireme warships maneuvered behind to intercept them in a wide range.

As the distance approached, the figure of the uninvited guest gradually became clear—there was only one boat!

I saw several diagonal triangular sails spread out on the small boat, and several thick oars on the side of the boat.

This boat is like a white water bird, flying quickly across the water, leaving the thirty-oar boat behind it calmly; it is also like a cunning fish, swaying flexibly left and right, and dangerously dodging several warships. Accelerate impact.

As Pyrrhus looked at this strange ship, an incredible idea came to his mind.

He suddenly stood up and shouted on the rock:

"Everyone gather! Get your javelins and shields and come to the breakwater!"

The horn made a powerful low cry.

The soldiers who had had a busy night quickly gathered and headed towards the dock under the leadership of their team officers.

Breakwaters are built on the promontories on both sides of Lamia's port. The tall breakwaters extend into the sea like two city walls, surrounding the entire port in a circle, leaving only a gap that can be covered by long-range attacks from both sides.

The pursuit on the sea continues.

The strange ship rushed all the way to the port, and Cassander's battleship followed closely behind.The oars of both sides paddled at the fastest rhythm, pushing the hull forward quickly.

Moving forward in a straight line at this extreme speed is obviously very disadvantageous for a strange ship with fewer oars, and the distance between the two sides gradually shortens.

At this moment, the soldiers of the Independence Army had already lined up on the breakwater, and the soldiers wrapped leather ropes around their javelins.Although there are no battlements on it, there is enough height to increase the range.

The team officers gave an order, and the leather rope drove the javelin to rotate at high speed. Thousands of iron beams passed over the boat like a heavy rain, and would fall in front of the pursuing trireme warship behind.

"Come again!"

The warrior quickly wrapped the leather rope around the javelin again.

But Cassander's battleships did not dare to come again.

Although there is a deck on the trireme, the oar rooms on both sides are open-air.

The oarsmen sat unprotected on the wooden railings on both sides of the hull. Once they were hit by a salvo of thousands of people, there would immediately be a joke about the navy being annihilated by the army.

**

The boat had already furled its sails and was teetering on the edge of the pier.The sides of the ship were studded with Cassander's arrows and ballistae, and there were traces of burning.

Pyrrhus had already been waiting on the shore. He couldn't wait to see the true face of this mysterious visitor.

There were many more people coming out of the cabin than expected. They filled the entire deck. There were probably hundreds of people. I really don’t know how they were squeezed in.

A few embarrassed figures came down from the springboard first. Pyrrhus saw them and shouted happily:

"Malibus! And Demo Charles! Why are you together?"

"Your Majesty." The embarrassed Axumite saluted Pyrrhus gracefully:

"I returned to Athens from Masselia and learned that you were doing great things in Thessaly, so I wanted to come and meet you. However, Cassander's fleet had already blockaded the coast, so he took it upon himself to convince your collaborators Come together.”

"Pyrrhus, long time no see!" Democharis was also very embarrassed and had a wound on his head, but he was in high spirits.It was the first time in his life that he had participated in such a thrilling journey, and he was still in a state of excitement.

"Your envoy is really eloquent. I came here with the entire newspaper office and printing factory!"

"My friend, you came at the right time, I need your help!" Pyrrhus said gratefully: "Thank you for taking such a big risk to come."

"Since you treat me as a friend, you don't have to say these unscrupulous things." Democharles said with a smile: "And King Demetrius has arrived in Athens. No matter how stupid I am, I can't say it in such a big way under his nose. Bad words!"

"Your Majesty, if you want to be polite, please wait until later." Malibus interrupted the conversation between the two with a smile, "Please let me first introduce to you the hero who led us to break through the blockade——

"Pythias of Masselia, the great navigator, whom you think of all day and night!"

Pyrrhus recognized who Malibus was talking about at a glance, because the man's appearance was so outstanding.

After years of living at sea, Pythias's face was as rough as a wind-eroded rock, his complexion was as dark as a hardwood coated with pulp, and his hair was as stiff as dead water plants. He wore a golden crown on his head, but wore a tattered short coat. It also smells like a mixture of sweat, fishy smell, and something I don’t want to explain too clearly...

Such a sharp look coupled with his calm and firm eyes made him the only one among the crew who didn't look a bit embarrassed!

The purity of this navigator is too high!

Although it is not as exaggerated as thinking about it day and night, but

——Malibus, it’s really hard for you to speak!

Pyrrhus didn't know what to say at the moment, but Pythias was a straightforward person and skipped the greetings when they first met:

"King Pyrrhus, your compass and sail are very useful! But I still want to know the principle..."

"Pythias, first of all, I would like to thank you for coming at such a critical moment! Thank you for taking the risk!" Pyrrhus turned back and called Desiarchus and Stratton over, and continued:

"As for the principles, I actually have a very superficial understanding of it. But I always believe that our understanding of the world is a process of continuous inquiry. I happen to have two friends in this regard..."

Introducing the two scholars to Pythias, the two were also very interested in these things. Although they complained that it was delaying their study of ethics, they immediately offered to board the ship to find out.

Pyrrhus watched them embark.Next door, soldiers of the Thessalian Independence Army were lining up to come down the embankment.He looked back and saw the people who had come with him.

Hippias, Achilles, Metyras, Malibus, Zenas, Democharius, Scopas, Desiachus, Stratton, Pythias... …

It was the first time since he came to this world that he had so many friends around him.

At this moment, he felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment, as if he was finally no longer alone, as if the whole world was in front of him, as if there was nothing in the world that he couldn't do!