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Insanity Cave

Chapter 20 – Bandit

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The next day, a more exciting news came, Tissaphernes announced that the Greek mercenaries could pillage this area for supplies.

Everyone was cheering, but only Davos was silent, 'Pillaging?…this is a revenge against Cyrus the Younger! But what does the people here have to do with Cyrus the Younger's rebellion?…Don' tell me! It is just because they live here that they will suffer this disaster! Tissaphernes is really vicious! And what about the Greeks?…'

In the afternoon, the mercenaries of Menon rushed into a village.

The quiet village was soon filled with screams and crying…

Davos saw it with his own eyes that his comrades who were usually intimate and friendly had now turned into a bandit. They stabbed the Persian men that had attempted to stop them and kicked over the old who were pleading, they then picked up the Persian women who were crying and broke into every house, they snatched the gold and silver, and also took the animals and food…each of them had a mix expression of greed and madness on their faces, which made Davos felt strange.

Davos was like a wandering soul, that weakly wandered through the village, all the soldiers who saw him looked at him in surprise. There were Persians lying on the ground, covered with blood while pointing and shouting at him, there was a limping old man holding him and begging…although he could not understand what they were saying, but deep inside his heart knew they were angry at him. There is nothing he can do, so what are they pleading for?

He tried to avoid it like a plague by running unsteadily to a deserted place, avoiding the angry gazes that made him felt guilt. At the same time, he was trying to comfort himself in his mind, 'This is war. This is war!! I was just forced…'

Just then, a sudden scream awakened the absent-minded man, it was Olivos' voice!

'I fear that Olivos might be in danger!'

Following the sound, he broke into a house quickly. A Persian man had fallen into a pool of blood in the yard. He didn't have the time to think about it and with one foot, kicked the door open: A naked Olivos fell motionless on the bed. There was a woman curled up at the bed and at the bedside stood a girl around 10 years old, trembling while holding a big rock in her hand…

When Davos saw this, he could probably guess what had happened. Obviously, Olivos fancied the beauty of the hostess, he first killed the man, then forcible carried the woman to the bed and ravaged her. Who knew that the daughter that was hiding ran out and smashed his head with a stone, while he was having fun…

Shameless! He cursed in his heart, but he still shouted out of concern to his comrade, "Olivos, are you okay?!"

Olivos didn't reply, but it woke up the little girl. She turned her head quickly and saw another Greek soldier standing at the door, she was greatly stimulated and screamed, "Bandit! Bandit! Die!! Die!!…" She struggled in throwing the rock at Davos and at the same time rushed at him.

Davos subconsciously blocked the stone with his shield, and he naturally revealed the spear held in his right hand.

The girl did not shriek at the shiny spear, nor did she dodge it, and as if she became insane, jumped straight at him.

Davos couldn't evade and only felt that his right hand sunk, and as soon as the girl's hand grabbed his face, she fell on him powerlessly.

The woman on the bed cried out in despair and rushed over nakedly. Davos stepped back powerlessly and let the woman held the girl with a spear in her chest tightly. The heart-tearing cry was like a sharp knife piercing his heart and made him feel like he was going to faint, but someone supported him.

"Are you okay?!" Davos who was absent-minded, heard the voice of Hielos.

"I'm fine." He pushed Hielos and slowly walked into the yard.

Hielos had discovered Davos behaving strangely, and so he followed him all this time. At this moment, although he was worried about Davos, he was even more worried about the safety of Olivos who was inside the house, thus he quickly entered inside…

When he came out of the house, he found Davos sitting on the side of the road, leaning against the wall, while looking at the sky and not moving, he wondered what Davos was thinking…

Hielos wanted to pull him up, but he felt it inappropriate, after thinking about it, he just simply sat with Davos…

He didn't know how long it took, when Davos suddenly stood up and repeatedly scream strange speech loudly, while tears run down his cheeks.

After a while, he calmed down and asked, "What about the woman?"

"She went insane." Hielos sighed.

Davos was silent for a long time, and said, "Her husband and daughter died, perhaps going insane might be the best relief for her…"

"Yeah." Hielos felt the grief in his words and said, "Olivos is fine, he was just knocked unconscious. He woke up and is currently resting in the house."

Davos didn't speak, and Hielos shivered when he saw the cold gleam in his gaze.

"Now, we need to ask the people of this village whether there is someone who knows the Persian geography best." Davos then stood up.

Hielos hesitated, "We had just pillaged them, I am afraid they won't tell us."

"There's a way to make them to speak." Davos' faint comment made Hielos feel a chill. The current Davos seems to be different from his previous self. Hielos doesn't know whether the change was good or bad…

At dusk, the mercenaries threw down the weeping villagers all over the place, and returned fully loaded. Davos also found the man he wanted — a Persian merchant. In order to make him speak, Davos also asked Hielos to capture his wife and daughter. Although Tissaphernes made it clear that it was not allowed to capture any Persian as a slave, but the troops of Menon ignored what Davos had done and even covered for him.

Davos succeeded in bringing the people back to the camp.

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

"You mean that our team has been moving northwest?" Davos looked at the Persian merchant, Marigi, and asked. The interpreter next to him repeated Davos' words in Persian.

The tall and slightly chubby Persian, who claimed to be a small merchant, cautiously looked at Davos and quickly lowered his head and stroked the grass with a branch, "According to what you had said before, you are going back to Ionia. Ionia is in the Aegean Sea to the west. You passed through Babylon, Opis, and now you are here…if you keep going west, not only will it be a long way, but it's also difficult to cross the Taurus Mountains and you will need to take a detour…"

He once more looked up at Davos, and when he saw that he was listening carefully, he raised his voice, "So you are obviously heading northwest along the Tigris River through the mountains of the Carduchian, then to Armenia and eventually to the Black Sea by boat to go back to Ionia…"

"Oh, it turned out to be like this! It seems that Tissaphernes' route is still reasonable." Olivos suddenly thought about it and shouted.

Davos found that when Marigi heard this, his body slightly shook. He immediately glare at Olivos.

"Shut up!" Matonis scolded in a low voice. Olivos, who likes to argue with Matonis, stop talking.

Davos looked at the sketch drawn on the ground and looked at it carefully for a while, and then asked, "Which place do you think it would give us a lot of trouble when marching on our future routes?"

Marigi said without hesitation, "The mountain area of the Carduchian! There lived the savage and ferocious Carduchians, who won't easily let strangers pass through their lands, but—" He glanced at Olivos and said quickly. "Your troops are huge, and you have the Persians leading the way, so you should be able to easily get through."

"How do you know that we have a huge troops?" Davos asked immediately.

"Because…because before I came in, I saw your camps one after another…" Marigi began to tremble.

Davos patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "Don't be afraid, you have a good observation. Do you know Tissaphernes?"

Marigi immediately shook his head, and suddenly thought of something and began to nod his head hard, His voice trembled even more, "I just heard that…because he used to…to accuse our lord, Cyrus, of rebellion…he was almost beheaded…"

Davos looked at him, and he was avoiding Davos' gaze with guilt.

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8 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 20 – BANDIT"

BUWEH says:

MAY 3, 2020 AT 9:56 AM

After killing a child he became a psychopath. Watch out for further bloodshed and useless excuses like 'This is war. This is war!! I was just forced…' lol. Davos the Psychopath, child killer.

MOONCR1T says:

OCTOBER 25, 2020 AT 6:28 AM

As a modern man no matter what time he should be he should at least act differently. A child defending her mothet from being rape and he just watch the kid stabbed by a spear. No matter what even if youre in a war humanity should remain. Kinda disappointed how the MC handled the situation as if he has no family in previous life. Now im on the edge of dropping this. I prefer reading novels with good mc with sense of humanity.

MUSPON says:

MARCH 30, 2022 AT 4:41 AM

she literally ran straight first is the spear the mc was shell shocked about what he just witnessed and so couldn't do anything

MAHO says:

JULY 21, 2021 AT 5:09 AM

I seriously wonder if the the other two commenters are illiterate retards?

It is clear that he was shocked by the whole situation and didn't have the mind to move his spear away from the insane girls' path, not that he was fine with killing her.

UNDERCOPER says:

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 AT 11:08 PM

it is shocking how the first and second comment blatantly ignore the MC state that happen to be written by the author

DARKRAIN says:

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 AT 3:49 AM

I am in agreement with Maho and Undercoper. How stupid are the first two commentators. It's a goddamn war in 401 BC there is no humanity. The man is shocked from witnessing soldiers pillage and rape it's not like he took part in anything. The child literally charged headfirst into his spear what was he to do?

ACONCERNEDREADER says:

MARCH 1, 2022 AT 7:34 PM

why would the author even write such a thing??

the real problem isn't with the mc but the author!

YEEZUS says:

MARCH 22, 2022 AT 12:04 PM

@ACONCERNEDREADER

You're an idiot bruh. This was such a great piece of writing. It showed that the world isn't black and white. The Greeks aren't "good people" and the Persians aren't "evil people."

This chapter showed that just as the Persian soldiers probably pillaged Greek villages in the past, Greek soldiers are now pillaging Persian villages.

Giving the opportunity, both Persians and Greeks are capable to performing similar acts of cruelty. It's just a matter of opportunity.

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Discord

Insanity Cave

Chapter 21 – Marigi

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"There is still a problem." Davos regained his gaze and seriously asked: "Until where on the road will we be able to leave the jurisdiction of the Persian royal family?"

Marigi was eager to please Davos, and so, he carefully thought about it and drew a circle on the sketch: "Here! After Mespila[1]!"

"Mespila?" Davos looked at the pattern on the ground.

"Mespila was the former capital of Assyria, Nineveh! After passing it, the next place is the Carduchians." Marigi emphasized.

Davos nodded: "Are you familiar with the Carduchians?"

"Not really, I just did business with them by exchanging food for their mountain goods!" Marigi said, with an angry look on his face: "But they are dishonest savages who often don't pay, they will also hurt you and steal something!"

Davos listened carefully, then he turned to Matonis and said, "Take his family to the supply unit and let Mersis look after them, but you must tell Mersis not to abuse him and his family and not to turn them into slaves!"

As soon as he finished talking, Marigi threw himself down on his knees, "I beg you! I beg you! Let me and my family go! I already said everything! Please let us go…"

"It seems that you can understand Greek, but pretended that you didn't." Davos said.

Marigi had no excuse this time and just burst into tears.

"In fact, it's for your own good that I didn't release you and your family. Do you know that your lord — the king's brother, Cyrus the Younger, had died in battle!"

Marigi suddenly stopped crying, and the hands holding Davos' legs also lost strength, he then asked weakly, "His Highness Cyrus really died?"

"Actually, you have already guessed it, didn't you? Otherwise, how can Tissaphernes bring us here, and allowed us to pillage your village, because it was the punishment for Cyrus the Younger's rebellion! I believe this punishment won't be the last time! I fear that all the people close to him can't escape, right?"

Marigi was paralyzed on the ground and lost his senses.

Matonis pulled and dragged him.

"This person isn't like an ordinary merchant." Hielos watched as Marigi got dragged and said to Davos.

"You are right!" Davos nodded. The family living in a dilapidated house, but hid a lot of gold, silver, and gorgeous clothes, he is also proficient in Greek and knew so many thing, and the only thing that made him and his wife like an ordinary Persian merchant was their temperament. Perhaps he is a relative of Cyrus the Younger or his royal merchant. After knowing that Cyrus the Younger rebelled, he fled to a remote village in his territory to escape disaster. If it wasn't for the village head giving him away, he would have missed a big fish.

Davos thought happily, while he has selectively fogotten how he had tortured the village head and his family. He said to Hielos, "Squad leader, I have to trouble you to once again emphasize to Mersis that no one is allowed to harass his family, he is very useful to us! Now that Cyrus the Younger is dead, I want him to truly join us!"

Davos' leadership in the squad was already established which made everyone present not surprised on how a soldier gave an order to his squad leader.

"Alright." Hielos stepped out of the tent without hesitation.

"Pikors, thank you very much! You have been a great help to me today!" Davos faced a soldier and said.

"It's my honor to be of help!" Pikors humbly said.

Davos pulled out 2 drachmas and shoved them into his hands.

"This…this…" Pikors tried to decline.

Davos said, "Please accept it! I really want to thank you for this matter, and I hope that you can keep it secret, and to not let Menon know about it!"

Pikors no longer decline after he heard what he said, he then stuff the silver coins and said, "You can rest assured that I also don't like that guy! I Promise to Hades that I won't say a word about it!" Pikors made a 'keep his mouth shut' gesture and excitedly said, "Next time you have this kind of work, you can just call me!"

"I definitely can't leave you out!" Davos laughed.

After Pikors left the tent, Giorgris immediately asked with concern, "Pikors is a Persian translator of Menon, can we trust him?"

"I heard that whenever Menon meet someone who speak Persian, Pikors doesn't have anything to do. On the contrary, Meno often use him as a laborer. He would be too foolish if he offend us and besides, he will earn some money." Olivos chimed in. After he woke up, he knew that he almost went to hell and immediately thanked Davos, who knew that Davos responded to him coldly and realized something, so he had been quiet until now.

But as soon as he spoke, the tent fell into a brief silence.

"Davos, how did you know that the Persian merchant buried his money in the yard?" Giorgris suddenly asked.

Davos understood that Giorgris wanted to liven up the atmosphere and said, "It's very simple, when we captured Marigi, I found that he wasn't only worried that we would take advantage of his wife and daughter—" Davos said this and glanced at Olivos, "His gaze kept sneaking a glance at the old tree in the yard from time to time, and so I went over and took a closer look, there I found a spot under the tree with a different color and it was a new soil. Of course, I have some suspicion, but I didn't scare him that much, that guy was too timid and voluntarily confessed."

Several people prase Davos' meticulousness, especially Olivos, who spoke the loudest.

Davos then said to Giorgris, "This money is of great use to us, you need to go to the supply unit every day to check it out. Don't let that fatty take advantage."

"Okay."

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

After the Greek mercenaries plundered many times, the marching formation of the mercenaries became even larger and bulky.

For the next few days, just as what Marigi had said, the mercenary troops had been marching along the right bank of the Tigris river, then crossed the river to reach the city, Gainie. They manage to get another adequate supply in here. But the suspicion of the Greek mercenary soldiers against the Persians became more serious, and a new rumors continued to spread among the troops, which leads to increased conflict between the soldiers of the two armies after they camp.

When they finally reached Zapatas river, there was a large-scale conflict between the soldiers and more than 100 soldiers on both sides held weapons and fought, killing and injuring more than 10 people. If the leaders of both sides had not arrived in time and sent troops to separate the two sides, then the result would have been unimaginable.

This led the marching to be cancelled the next day and the soldiers in each unit were restricted from leaving their camp. The constant march these days made Davos both physically and mentally exhausted, they seldom had free time and so, they all slept deeply.

Mersis, who was in the supply unit, seized this moment to slaughter some of the looted animals and made smoked sausages.

Just as Davos woke up, Antonios got into the tent and looked anxiously, "Davos, Menon, Clearchus, Proxenus and the other leaders went to the Persian camp to negotiate!"

"WHAT!!!" Davos was startled.

"I heard that after the incident last night, Clearchus immediately went to see Tissaphernes to negotiate, hoping to elimate the suspicions of mutual distrust and to avoid the recurrence of such hostilities. Perhaps the two sides had a good conversation that made Clearchus to directly spent the night in the Persian camp. He returned safely this morning and sent people to inform the other leaders to follow him to the Persian camps to have further talks with Tissaphernes. It was said that many soldiers and officers of the other mercenary team opposed their decision, but the leaders eventually reached an agreement and they are about to leave." Antonios quickly spoke about what had happened.

"Why was nobody in our camp notify us of this?" Hielos asked strangely.

"Meno didn't consult with others and quietly brought the 2 captain, Kapes and Mirstik." Antonios said with an awkward look. He knew it in his heart that after the last collective "forced" incident, most of the officers and soldiers were no longer willing to obey Menon's order, and after Menon lost his prestige, he no longer want to discuss it with them anymore and therefore, directly sought out the 2 captain who are still willing to listen to him.

Antonios did not explain it in details and said, "I just heard the noise of the soldiers of the nearby Socrates camp and only then did I know about it after asking them."

"Who are the ones that are going?" Davos stood up, he then dressed quickly, and asked seriously.

Antonios' heart "thump" after he saw Davos' expression which confirmed the uneasiness he felt, "Clearchus, Proxenus, Meno, Socrates, Agias these five leaders, and more than a dozen captains."

"Faster! Faster! take me to them, before it's too late!!!" Davos put on a linen and anxiously pulled Antonios out, followed by Hielos.

[1] Mespila was the capital of the former Assyrian empire. Its other name are Nineveh(back in the Assyrian empire period) and Mosul(modern day).

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4 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 21 – MARIGI"

BUWEH says:

MAY 3, 2020 AT 6:08 AM

Psychopath

UHOH says:

JUNE 14, 2021 AT 4:57 PM

Hope the MC doesn't stay this way

JUST A MIST PASSINGBY says:

OCTOBER 22, 2021 AT 12:59 PM

I WANT TO KILL THE AUTHOR. MAKE HIM BEG, SKIN HIM ALIVE, RAVAGE HIS FAMILY INFRONT OF HIM. HE IS NOT A PSYCHO, JUST TRYING HARD TO BE A PSYCHO.

Just kiddin' hate his novel so I'm dropping it. No hate to the translator though, have a good job translating. Hopefully its not a piece of crap like him

BLOODBATHVORACITY says:

MARCH 15, 2022 AT 5:13 AM

I wasn't surprised when he became like this. It's very normal XD. And I prefer this kind of character because it's decisive and resolute.

Besides, morality is merely an illusion use to keep the world at 'peace'. It's just basically for the sake of law and order.

If morality isn't there, everyone won't have a bottom line and the world will be a bloody mess. Like law, it's not absolute.

And this is in the ancient era where we're not fully developed yet.

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Discord

Insanity Cave

Chapter 21 – Marigi

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"There is still a problem." Davos regained his gaze and seriously asked: "Until where on the road will we be able to leave the jurisdiction of the Persian royal family?"

Marigi was eager to please Davos, and so, he carefully thought about it and drew a circle on the sketch: "Here! After Mespila[1]!"

"Mespila?" Davos looked at the pattern on the ground.

"Mespila was the former capital of Assyria, Nineveh! After passing it, the next place is the Carduchians." Marigi emphasized.

Davos nodded: "Are you familiar with the Carduchians?"

As soon as he finished talking, Marigi threw himself down on his knees, "I beg you! I beg you! Let me and my family go! I already said everything! Please let us go…"

"It seems that you can understand Greek, but pretended that you didn't." Davos said.

Marigi had no excuse this time and just burst into tears.

"In fact, it's for your own good that I didn't release you and your family. Do you know that your lord — the king's brother, Cyrus the Younger, had died in battle!"

Marigi suddenly stopped crying, and the hands holding Davos' legs also lost strength, he then asked weakly, "His Highness Cyrus really died?"

Marigi was paralyzed on the ground and lost his senses.

Matonis pulled and dragged him.

"This person isn't like an ordinary merchant." Hielos watched as Marigi got dragged and said to Davos.

Davos' leadership in the squad was already established which made everyone present not surprised on how a soldier gave an order to his squad leader.

"Alright." Hielos stepped out of the tent without hesitation.

"Pikors, thank you very much! You have been a great help to me today!" Davos faced a soldier and said.

"It's my honor to be of help!" Pikors humbly said.

Davos pulled out 2 drachmas and shoved them into his hands.

"This…this…" Pikors tried to decline.

Davos said, "Please accept it! I really want to thank you for this matter, and I hope that you can keep it secret, and to not let Menon know about it!"

"I definitely can't leave you out!" Davos laughed.

After Pikors left the tent, Giorgris immediately asked with concern, "Pikors is a Persian translator of Menon, can we trust him?"

But as soon as he spoke, the tent fell into a brief silence.

"Davos, how did you know that the Persian merchant buried his money in the yard?" Giorgris suddenly asked.

Several people prase Davos' meticulousness, especially Olivos, who spoke the loudest.

Davos then said to Giorgris, "This money is of great use to us, you need to go to the supply unit every day to check it out. Don't let that fatty take advantage."

"Okay."

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

After the Greek mercenaries plundered many times, the marching formation of the mercenaries became even larger and bulky.

Mersis, who was in the supply unit, seized this moment to slaughter some of the looted animals and made smoked sausages.

Just as Davos woke up, Antonios got into the tent and looked anxiously, "Davos, Menon, Clearchus, Proxenus and the other leaders went to the Persian camp to negotiate!"

"WHAT!!!" Davos was startled.

"Why was nobody in our camp notify us of this?" Hielos asked strangely.

Antonios did not explain it in details and said, "I just heard the noise of the soldiers of the nearby Socrates camp and only then did I know about it after asking them."

"Who are the ones that are going?" Davos stood up, he then dressed quickly, and asked seriously.

Antonios' heart "thump" after he saw Davos' expression which confirmed the uneasiness he felt, "Clearchus, Proxenus, Meno, Socrates, Agias these five leaders, and more than a dozen captains."

"Faster! Faster! take me to them, before it's too late!!!" Davos put on a linen and anxiously pulled Antonios out, followed by Hielos.

[1] Mespila was the capital of the former Assyrian empire. Its other name are Nineveh(back in the Assyrian empire period) and Mosul(modern day).

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4 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 21 – MARIGI"

BUWEH says:

MAY 3, 2020 AT 6:08 AM

Psychopath

UHOH says:

JUNE 14, 2021 AT 4:57 PM

Hope the MC doesn't stay this way

JUST A MIST PASSINGBY says:

OCTOBER 22, 2021 AT 12:59 PM

I WANT TO KILL THE AUTHOR. MAKE HIM BEG, SKIN HIM ALIVE, RAVAGE HIS FAMILY INFRONT OF HIM. HE IS NOT A PSYCHO, JUST TRYING HARD TO BE A PSYCHO.

Just kiddin' hate his novel so I'm dropping it. No hate to the translator though, have a good job translating. Hopefully its not a piece of crap like him

BLOODBATHVORACITY says:

MARCH 15, 2022 AT 5:13 AM

I wasn't surprised when he became like this. It's very normal XD. And I prefer this kind of character because it's decisive and resolute.

Besides, morality is merely an illusion use to keep the world at 'peace'. It's just basically for the sake of law and order.

If morality isn't there, everyone won't have a bottom line and the world will be a bloody mess. Like law, it's not absolute.

And this is in the ancient era where we're not fully developed yet.

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Discord

Insanity Cave

Chapter 22 – Stop

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The soldiers guarding the gate of the camp, look at Davos and Antonios as they directly pass them. And only after Hielos did they try to stop them. Davos had no time to heed their shout and followed Antonios as he ran north. After running for a while, he then saw a group of people ahead.

Clearchus was having a conversation with the Persian king's younger brother, Ostanes, who came to meet with them, when they suddenly heard a shout from behind, "Stop! Stop! This is a conspiracy! A conspiracy of the Persians!…"

The 5 leaders and more than a dozen captains, plus 200 soldiers escorting them who intends to go to the market when they passed by it, were shocked and immediately stopped to look back.

Davos rushed to them, faced with the many gazes that were strangely staring at him , he said it loudly while he panted, "This is a conspiracy!… Tissaphernes is ready…ready to kill all of you! If we do not have a leader, we will fall into chaos which will lead to the annihilation of the whole mercenary troops!"

Several leaders subconsciously looked at the Persian envoy, Ostanes.

Ostanes pointed angrily at Davos and shouted, "Who is he?! How dare he say such thing! It was you who asked for the talks, Tissaphernes just responded to the request of Clearchus and treated him warmly. Is this how you repay the Persian general, Tissaphernes?! This is not only an insult to him! It is even more insulting to our king!! I will leave! And I will report this to Tissaphernes and suggest that he report it to his majesty, so that his majesty will cancel the agreement with you Greeks!"

Several leaders hurriedly stopped his horse and even apologized.

Davos didn't think that this meeting was the request of Clearchus, nor did he gave much thought to it and said eagerly, "Even if the meeting resumes, not all the leaders and captains should go to the Persian camp! We have all been on guard against the Persians! Who knows whether Tissaphernes being friendly to us for ten days, is to lessen our vigilance?! Have you forgotten his previous treachery?!"

As soon as Davos stop talking, Menon jumped out and vented his resentment for these ten days, "Audacious madman! Shameless liar! Not only did you deceive the soldiers in my camp, but you also incited them to oppose me! Now you want to destroy the peace between us and the Persians! You want to make everyone unable to go home!! Someone catch him for me!!"

However, none of the soldiers obeyed his orders. Firstly, he had only 2 captains with him, and didn't bring other followers. Secondly, some of the soldiers recognized that Davos was the rumored "God's Favored" in Menon's camp for quite some time, so they started talking in low voices.

At first, several of the leaders who heard Davos' words, hesitated. Who knew that Menon's scolding immediately made them disgusted of Davos. Despite his bad character, Menon and them have been working together for quite a long time, and several leaders also knew that his ability wasn't weak. An ordinary soldier actually dared to oppose his leader, which was undoubtedly a big taboo for the leaders.

Clearchus had a different ideas. He was surprised to think that Menon had found a soldier to act here and wanted to destroy the meeting. Because there was another purpose of the meeting: Tissaphernes promised him that he was willing to openly point out the one that was communicating with the Persian army and creating rumors among the mercenaries.

Clearchus had been speculating that it was Menon. Because Menon had always openly competed with him for the command of the Greek mercenaries since they entered Persia, and he is currently been staying with Ariaeus, who was already close to Tissaphernes, and he had many secret meetings with Socrates and Agias which is definitely in order to oppose him. This time, he must expose this vile character in public, and thus consolidate his command. Because he firmly believes that only he could bring the mercenaries back to Greece intact. This is also why he hated the Persians, but had to endure this humiliation and the burden of peace talks with Persia, and he also hated anyone who tries to destroy the unity of the team.

So, he immediately 'pushed the boat along the river' and said, "Now that Menon had already said it, take this clown and send him back to the camp to be lock up. We'll judge him once we get back!"

He looked around and said firmly, "Now I will go to negotiate with Tissaphernes! Those who believe in me can follow me, and those who don't can go back!" After that, several soldiers went over and held down Davos, Antonios tried to blocked them and was also taken down.

Clearchus marched northward, Proxenus slightly hesitated and followed. Menon heavily spit on Davos' face and proudly shouted, "When I return, you are dead!!" After that, he laugh while moving forward. Most of the soldiers also followed their leader, and only a handful of soldiers who had heard of Davos' "miracle" remained in their place.

Davos didn't care about Menon at the moment, he was pressed to the ground and ate a mouthful of dirt. He struggled and shouted in the direction where the leaders left, "Clearchus, you fool! Your stubbornness will not only harm you, but also the whole mercenary troops! You will regret it! Oh right, you might not have the time to regret it!…"

However, his cursing did not bring back Clearchus, and the figures of the leaders grew farther and farther away and blurred. Finally, Davos calmed down and sat down on the ground. Previously, he thought that Clearchus was a "famous general" and should be very clear-headed, but he was so stubborn that he doesn't listen to any opinions. In fact, Davos did not know that most Spartan men are conservative and stubborn, and once they made up their mind, they often do not look back. The most famous one was the Spartan strategos in the Battle of Plataea[1]. Before the battle, the Greek coalition commander ordered the troops to retreat, but a Spartan strategos thought that retreating in front of the enemy would be against the Spartan tradition and refused to retreat even after many persuasions, which made the Spartan troops lag behind the formation and almost led to their defeat.

The advance party continued to move forward, while the soldiers escorting Davos pushed him back. Instead, the soldiers who were left behind introduced themselves and comforted Davos.

At this time, Antonios got free and asked, "Davos, are the leaders really in danger?"

"The sheep negotiating with the wolf, what good results will it lead!" Davos sighed. Such deception were countless throughout the history of ancient and modern China and foreign countries. The success of Tissaphernes' strategy was mainly due to their illusion about the peace talks, while the others trusted Clearchus more than their fear of their own safety. Or that his influence was still not enough!

"What should we do?" Antonios was slightly nervous.

'What to do? Of course it is to help ourselves! ! ' Davos suddenly remembered Xenophon. Why did he boast that he led the retreat in his book? It was because of the — more than 20 mercenary leaders and captains were killed and the entire Greek mercenary leadership faced a change! !

Thinking of this, he threw aside his frustration and renew his spirit, "Fast! Let's go back!"

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

Along the way, Menon added fuel to Proxenus as they talked about Davos' "misdeed", which succeeded in arousing their anger, he then secretly hid his excitement, 'This time, I can completely get rid of this huge trouble!'

Before arriving at the Persian camp, most of the soldiers that were going to the market, bid farewell to their leaders.

Entering the Persian camp, Clearchus saw the same scene as he saw when he left here yesterday and some relaxed Persian soldiers looked at them curiously and talked to each other about, "Why are there so many Greek barbarians coming to our camp?" Such things instead made Clearchus and the rest at ease.

When they arrived at Tissaphernes' tent, Ostanes went in and informed, "The five leaders can come in, while the others need to wait outside the tent temporarily!"

Clearchus was the first to enter. The light inside was dim, he squinted his eyes and found that there were many people inside the tent. He was shocked and before he could react, he heard a shout, "Capture him!!"

[1] Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Megara), and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I (allied with Boeotians, Thessalians, and Macedonians).

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2 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 22 – STOP"

TSUKUMIZU'S says:

NOVEMBER 14, 2020 AT 6:19 AM

Yeah, because it is a great idea to take advice from a random soldier shouting at you.

YEEZUS says:

MARCH 22, 2022 AT 1:53 PM

Davos be like : Hate to say that I told ya so, but I TOLD YA SO!!!

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Insanity Cave

Chapter 23 – Shock

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More than twenty strong men rushed out on both sides, and Clearchus and the four mercenary leaders fell to the ground and were immediately tied with ropes.

The captains and the soldiers waiting outside the entrance were also surrounded by heavily armed Persians, who cut down the unarmed Greeks with sharp blades, spears, and large shields.

"Satrap, congratulations, your plan was successful!" There was a wild laughter inside the tent.

The candle was lit and the light was restored.

Clearchus saw three people in the center of the tent, Tissaphernes, Orontes, and Ostanes laughing proudly and he screamed in anger, "Tissaphernes, you mean and shameless villain! You deceive us with lies, slaughtered my soldiers, and you broke your oath to your supreme god, Ahura Mazda, when you signed the contract! Are you not afraid of the wrath of your gods?! Are you not afraid that your king will suffer from tens of thousands of people cursing?! Are you not afraid of the disaster that will come to your family?!!…"

"Hehehe…" With a smile on his face, Tissaphernes took a glass of wine from his attendant, he carefully tasted it and walked up to the mercenary leader, before he slowly said, "Clearchus, let me tell you something. Our great king had already returned to Persepolis the day after the death of Cyrus the Younger. Of course, he has never given any instructions about 'peace talks with you' which I just made up to deceive you… As for whether the gods will punish me, you don't have to worry, since they wouldn't!" He said it in an aggravated tone, "Mazda, will reward me for capturing and killing a group of savages who invaded Persian territory and massacred Persian people!…Oh, I will also tell you one more thing, those rumors were ordered by me!"

Seeing the horror on Clearchus' look, he was in a happy mood and drank all the wine in his glass.

Proxenus spit at him, but he dodge it.

"Liar! Coward…" Proxenus shouted.

Tissaphernes was not angry, and proudly said, "Liar?! Lying?! No, no, no! I would rather call it wisdom! Unlike you Greek savages who only knows how to fight, we Persians prefer to use our brains to find ways that will cost us less in exchange for greater victory! Just like how I made you less alert by negotiating a truce. Of course I know that you will still be vigilant, but once you get used to this kind of peace and stability, you don't want to go back to the tense and hostilities of the past, and so you want to work hard to maintain peace. Therefore, I deliberately sent soldiers to clash with your mercenaries, swearing, fighting… and then spreading rumors so that you won't doubt me, then who will you doubt?"

Tissaphernes' eyes swept over the captured leaders and ridiculed them, "I guess it was Menon, isn't that right?! You see, I know all the dirty things inside your camp! And I also know that you are a very responsible leader, Clearchus. The more conflict between the two armies, the more worried you will be, and on the contrary, you will come to my place to negotiate on your own initiative! Oh look, you did not only came to my place on your own initiative, but also sent me a big gift!…"

"Stop talking nonsense and kill us if you want!" Clearchus shouted while his face turned red.

"Lord Tissaphernes, forgive me! Please spare my life!!..." Menon struggled and pleaded, "Even if you let me become your slave, as long as you forgive me! I'll go and persuade those foolish mercenaries and let them surrender to you! I can also subjugate Asia Minor for you! I am willing to do anything for you, I am just asking for you to spare my life!!…"

"Anything?" Tissaphernes blinked, as if he was interested, "Go bark like a dog first."

"Woof woof woof!…" Menon actually barked.

"Oh, this is the Greek savages!" The Persians in the tent were all happy.

"Menon, you shut up!…" Clearchus, was ashamed and scolded Menon.

Menon turned a deaf ear, he simply knelt down and looked at Tissaphernes with pleasure.

"Very good! Very good!!…" Tissaphernes smiled, clapped his hands and walked toward Meron.

Menon curled both his hands, sat on the ground, spitting out his tongue, and barking happily.

Tissaphernes came up to him and gave him a sly smile, he then quickly pulled out his sword and slashed down Menon's neck.

In the shouts of everyone, blood gushed out and the head of Menon rolled to the ground , with his face solidified a shock look.

"Idiot! You thought that I didn't know that you were desperately swearing at me in front of Cyrus the Younger and took the initiative to attack my house!" Tissaphernes stepped on Menon's head with his left foot and his face got splashed with blood and was cold as ice.

The four leaders were sullen as they looked at the headless body on the ground. Even Clearchus, who always held a grudge against Menon, had grief on his face. They felt sad for the death of their own comrade.

"Place this man's head on a jar with saltpeter, and immediately escort it to Persepolis along with the four criminals, so that his Majesty can personally judge them!" Tissaphernes ordered.

After the four mercenary leaders were taken out, Socrates mournfully regretted, "I wish I had listened to that young man!…"

Clearchus was expressionless and said nothing.

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

"Ariaeus asks to see you my lord!"

"Let him come in."

Ariaeus walked inside the tent and saw a shocking pool of blood on the ground. As soon as he slowed down, he heard Tissaphernes say, "That is the blood of Menon, I just cut off his head with a sword!"

"Rashnu knows (the god of judgment of good and evil in Persian mythology), that this is the punishment he deserves!" Ariaeus hurriedly said, looking at Tissaphernes who had a playful smile, and immediately said, "Lord Satrap, I have sent the cavalry to kill all the Greeks who are wandering outside their camp, as you have ordered."

"Very well, I will report your merits to his majesty!" Tissaphernes understood that for the troops of Cyrus the Younger, he had to deter them as well as get close with them. After all, they are nearly 10,000 troops, and when he returns to Asia Minor, he had to rely on these local Persian nobles.

"Now that the main leaders of the Greek mercenaries have been taken down, those foolish Greeks are probably in a panic and don't know what to do. You and Ostanes go to the Greek camps and try to get the Greeks to surrender…"

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

Antonios hoped that the soldiers would escort Davos to Menon's camp, because no one in there dared to do anything to Davos.

Davos refused and obeyed the soldiers' request and went to Clearchus camp. Because it is the vanguard troops, the camp were also located in the northernmost part and close to the Persians so that he could easily get information immediately. He asked Hielos to call Xenophon and let Antonios return to Menon's camp to prepare himself, then he thought of something and pulled over Matonis and whispered to him, Matonis then looked at him with amazement and finally nodded.

As they watched Hielos leave, Davos suppressed the tension in his heart as they headed for Clearchus camp. The soldiers who escorted him could not help but ask, "Is Clearchus really in danger?"

Davos asked, "Who is in charge of your camp in the absence of Clearchus?"

"The captain of the first unit, Timasion."

"Then you'd better go and tell him to be ready for defense." While Davos was talking, the guard of the camp screamed in shocked and pointed at the front, "Look, the Persian cavalry!!"

Davos and the soldiers looked back together and saw countless Persian cavalry galloping back and forth hundreds of meters in front of the camp, stirring up the dust all over the sky, and shouting from time to time in the dusty fog.

"This…" The soldiers looked nervously at Davos.

Despite the fact that his guess came true, Davos didn't have a trace of joy, 'The war is finally coming!' and he was also nervous.

"Fast! Get back to the camp!" He called the soldiers accompanying him to quickly enter the camp and close the gate.

At this time, a soldier came out of the dust fog ahead, running while covering his bleeding abdomen with one hand and stumbled.

The guards and Davos immediately rushed forward and returned to the camp with him.

"I…we are on our way to the market…the Persian cavalry…then suddenly rushed toward us…many of our brothers died…Agias…Go and inform Agias…he is in danger…" The wounded soldier weakly said.

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Insanity Cave

Chapter 24 – Showing up prominently

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Davos saw the huge wound in the man's abdomen and he could even see the intestines inside, he knew that the man's life was slim, but he couldn't bear to just give up, he then said to the soldiers besides him, "Bring him to the field hospital in Menon's camp as soon as possible and tell them that Davos sent him."

"Field Hospital?"

"Oh, I know!" Someone answered, so the soldiers carried the wounded soldier, and was ready to go through south of Clearchus camp. The others looked at Davos not knowing what to do.

Davos anxiously said to them, "Quickly inform the officers of each camp, that the Persians violated their promises and massacred the Greek soldiers. I am afraid that the leaders who went to have a meeting have been captured by the Persians, and so they have assembled their soldiers and were ready for a battle!"

The soldiers immediately rushed to their respective camps.

"Davos, what happened?!" At this time, Xenophon arrived at the gate of the camp.

Davos quickly told him about the summary of what happened.

Xenophon looked gloomy and his eyes were filled with regret, "I had also previously persuaded Proxenus, but he didn't listen, and I did not insist on persuading him…I'm afraid that Proxenus has already…" Xenophon's trembling voice sobbed.

Davos nodded silently.

Xenophon looked at the Persian cavalry galloping ahead and said loudly, "We should immediately call the entire mercenary troops! We need to attack the Persian camp and rescue Proxenus!"

"That is not a good idea!" Along with the voice, came a sturdy middle-aged man, "Although the soldiers fought with the Persians a lot of times previously, but we had been peacefully camping with them during this time. Now you're suddenly going to war with the Persians, the soldiers can't adapt immediately, let alone sieging the Persian camp."

"At least we should get rid of the Persian cavalry in front, and maybe we can save some of the soldiers that are outside!" Davos reminded.

The man glanced at him and asked, "Who are you?".

"Davos, a soldier under Menon."

"What we need to do is a matter for the officers, we don't need a soldier to teach us!" The man yelled angrily.

Davos wasn't interested to continue talking.

"Xenophon, you immediately go back to your camp and inform Agasias to immediately bring the troops." He once more ordered Xenophon.

Xenophon responded and turned and left, Davos immediately followed him and asked Xenophon who that man is, and now knew that he is the adjutant of Clearchus, Timasion.

Clearchus' troops slowly gathered, the soldiers were wearing their armor while they slowly came out of their tents, and they were still chatting with each other. Obviously, thy did not know the danger they were facing, Timasion was so anxious that he beat and scolded them again till he managed to gather around 500 soldiers.

While Davos and Xenophon had not yet left Clearchus' camp, the officers from the other camps have arrived with a small number of soldiers, they were: Cleanor of Agias camp, Xanthicles of Socrates camp, Agasias of Proxenus…while Menon's camp had the largest number of people, including his adjutant Philesius, the captains Antonios and Kapus, of course Hielos' squad were also among the soldiers. Their arrival made Davos relieved.

After the meeting, some of the officers still doesn't know what happened and several captains headed by Antonios of Menon's camp asked Davos to tell them what happened, because he had witnessed the whole thing.

Some of the officers headed by Timasion were surprised at how Davos, who was just an ordinary young soldier, had been greatly respected by the officers of Menon's camp.

The others looked at Davos curiously, because some of the soldiers who went back started to preach without restraint, saying Davos of Menon's camp was favored by the gods and had tried to prevent Clearchus and the others from going to the Persian camp, but the leaders did not listen to his "Oracle" which resulted to this disaster. And it soon became known to everyone.

Therefore, Davos facing the complex gazes of everyone, had calmly go through what had happened and briefly explain it.

The officers of each camp quickly reached an agreement, to immediately drive out the Persian cavalry in front of the camp so that the soldiers outside can smoothly come back.

The soldiers began to line up and Davos returned to Hielos team. At this time, Antonios who was in front of the formation shouted, "Davos, come to the front!"

Davos was stunned.

Then, Kapus also began to shout.

"Go." Hielos gave him a nudge of encouragement, and his teammates looked at him excitedly.

Davos understood. His heart beat faster, but he did not refuse, and with great effort, he pushed forward and the soldiers took the initiative to open a way for him.

"Your position is here." Antonios pulled him to the left side of Philesius – this is the front of Menon's troops and seriously said to him, "We might have to negotiate with the Persians later, so we will need your guidance!"

Antonios once more said to Philesius, "Phily, take care of him for us!"

Philesius answered without hesitation, "Don't worry about it!"

For the first time, when standing in the position of the phalanx commander, Davos was both excited and somewhat forced, he then turned his head and looked at Philesius, who was also looking at him and giving him a gentle smile.

Previously, Davos had had several contacts with Philesius, and learned something about him through Antonios and the others. Davos had a preliminary impression of Philesius, this 45-year-old Thessalian is a good old man who knew military affairs well and doesn't like to fight for fame and wealth. If you think about it, you can see that Menon, who has a strong desire to control things, will certainly not choose an equally ambitious person as his adjutant, due to how he often goes out to meet Persian dignitaries in order to accept some mercenary tasks, and the affairs in the camp must be presided over and must be handled by someone for a long time, there is also the danger that the soldiers will only recognize the adjutant and not him, therefore, he carefully chose the good-tempered Philesius as his adjutant. At this time, it was without a doubt that Davos had it easy, because Philesius had no objection to a young man standing in the position of a commander, and his attitude was very friendly.

The Greek mercenaries in front of the camp had about 700 hoplites and 200 peltast. The hoplites was in front and the peltast at the rear and with the sound of a bugle, the formation began to move forward slowly. The Persian cavalry didn't come up, but they instead retreated and the stifling sound started to fade and the dust in front was gradually dissipating. Every now and then, dusty Greek soldiers ran back to the camp, but there were a lot more corpses of their comrades on the ground, their grief and fear was increasing.

"The enemy is coming." Philesius quietly said.

They saw a Persian troops appearing ahead and slowly approached them. Davos was nervous and excited, was his first battle about to begin?

When the two armies were about 200 meters apart, a group of cavalry rushed out from the opposite side and came to the front of the Greek army, and shouted it in Greek, "The Greeks on the opposite side listen, let your officers and the captains come up and listened to the decree of the king!"

There was a commotion in the Greek phalanx, and the officers whispered to each other, but none of them came forward. The impression of the soldiers who had just been attacked was too deep, and the previous violations of the Persians were alarming.

The Persians shouted again and the Greek army was still calm.

At this moment, a man stepped out of the mercenary troops, armed with a copper shield and a spear, and slowly walk forward without hesitation.

"Who is that?! He is courageous!!"

"That is the Davos from our camp! He is favored by Hades!"

"Is that true?"

"Oh, he is so young!!"

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

The soldiers were curiously talking about him, while the officers were still hesitating, Philesius caught up to him. He promised Antonios that he would keep Davos safe. Then Xenophon also stepped out of the troops, how could he fall behind if Davos, who was younger, dared to move forward.

"What a mess!" Timasion scolded in order to hide his embarrassment and move forward. Subsequently, more than a dozen officers such as Xanthicles, Cleanor and Agasias also move forward one after another.

Davos did so not because he was afraid of the Persian cavalry's attack, but because he knew that when the mercenaries was in great trouble and the soldiers were panicking, only those who dared to take a risk and take the responsibility could be supported by the soldiers and might even forget that the was young and inexperienced.

He walked unhurriedly, and was always taking a glimpse at both sides, and when he saw that the other officers were catching up, he was slightly relieved. Only then did he found that the hand that was holding the spear was full of sweat.

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Insanity Cave

Chapter 25 – Negotiation Breakdown

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As he approached the Persian cavalry, Philesius told Davos that the Persians in front of him were Ariaeus, Artaozus and Mithridates, the three of them were the most trusted subordinates of Cyrus the Younger. Another Persian that Davos knew, was the former Persian envoy, Ostanes.

The officers stopped about 20 meters from the Persian cavalry.

"Please come closer!" Ariaeus pointed at his horse.

The officers did not move.

Ostanes couldn't help but sarcastically said, "Are the Greeks so timid?"

"Because the Persians have repeatedly violated their oath, therefore we can no longer trust the Persians anymore!" Xenophon retorted.

"Yes, the Persians are shameless villains, they can even deceive their God!" Cleanor scolded angrility, his words resonated with the other officers.

"Please keep quiet! Listen carefully to the decree of the king!!" Ariaeus shouted.

"That is your king, not ours. If you still want to read it, then we will go back!" Davos also shouted.

"We Greeks are free, unlike you Persians who are slaves to your king!" Timasion said it sarcastically and pridefully.

Ariaeus was so angry that his nose got crooked, he then turned to look at Ostanes and Ostanes nodded at him, he helplessly unfolded the papyrus in his hand and loudly read it, "All of you Greeks, I, Artaxerxes, the Persian king, the king of all races, declared that Clearchus had violated the oath of alliance and destroyed the truce, therefore the gods had punished him. Proxenus, Menon, Agias, Socrates the other four leaders had accused him of conspiracy and are now being treated with great courtesy by my Satrap, Tissaphernes! In order to prevent such terrible betrayal from happening again on your way home, and also for the sake of safety—" Ariaeus increased his voice and solemnly said, "I ask that all the Greek soldiers to hand over your weapons, because the money for these weapons came from Cyrus the Younger who had rebelled and his money came from the Persian treasury, which belonged to me! Surrender your weapons and I swear to the supreme god, Mazda, that I will ensure your smooth arrival in Ionia!"

"HA HA HA!!…" Davos laughed loudly, "The wolves trying to scam a deer to be their friend in order to eat them. The wolves who have tasted the benefit also wants to trick all the other deers into breaking their horns so that the wolves can safely and daringly enjoy their meat! Hahaha… How foolish a man must be to fall into such a trap once more, or do you mean to say that your king have a problem with his head?!!"

"Audacious!!" Ariaeus pointed angrily at Davos, "You'll be burned by insulting the king!"

"Enough, Ariaeus, you shameless vile man! And some of you were the few of the closest comrades of Cyrus the Younger, are you not ashamed in front of the gods!" Cleanor pointed to Ariaeus, Artaozus and Mithridates, and shouted angrily, "You have sworn to the gods that we would be allies against the Persian king, but now you have betrayed us and even cooperated with the inhumane vile man, Tissaphernes, and not only did you deceive Clearchus, but you also tried to sell out the rest of us! Knowing what you had done, Cyrus the Younger will curse you, even in hell!"

Ariaeus unnaturally shrank his neck, and subconsciously glanced at Ostanes who was next to him, who acted like he had nothing to do with him, which force him to say it again, "His highness really wants to send you back home safely, because the rebel, Cyrus the Younger, has already received the most fair punishment, and you were all just deceived by him! The mercy of the king doesn't want to let the Persian land to suffer another senseless war! However, after the report of Proxenus and the rest, Clearchus began to conspire against lord Tissaphernes and the Persian army more than a dozen days ago and spread rumors in an attempt to alienate the Greeks from the Persians, we have taken actions against him!"

"Since you said that Proxenus has exposed Clearchus and received your reward, then let them come here, which will naturally resolve our suspicions and as the leaders, they can also make better suggestions for the reconciliation between us!" Xenophon was still trying to save Proxenus.

"That's right, let our leaders come here and we will then trust you!!" The officers loudly shouted.

"Uhm…Proxenus, they accepted the feast that lord Tissaphernes prepared…and are already drunk…so…" Ariaeus stutteringly said, Ostanes got slightly impatient and said, "His highness has ordered that you hand over your weapons immediately, in order to ensure your safe return, otherwise we will not provide you anymore help!"

"Ares, us Greek warriors will never abandon our weapons and be slaughtered by others!!" Timasion hit his bronze shield with his spear and screamed.

"Whoever wants to take our weapons, will need to fight us for it!" Cleanor yelled.

"Proxenus and the rest couldn't come, is not because they were drunk, but because they have been killed by you, right?!" Xenophon sadly said, and wanted to force Ariaeus to tell the truth by seriously saying the result, but he didn't expect that he would arouse the anger of the officers.

"The Persians want to kill all of us!"

"Revenge for our leaders!"

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

The enraged officers surrounded Ariaeus and when Ostanes noticed that the situation was turning bad, he turned his horse around and fled, Ariaeus then followed them back. After running for a while, Ostanes looked back and saw that he was far away from the Greeks, he remembered how he got frightened away by a group of barbarians and was ashamed and angry, so he shouted, "Greeks, you have missed your best chance, and soon you will regret it!!"

"I don't know who will be the one regreting it!" Xenophon unyieldingly answered.

Watching the Persian cavalry leave, everyone was worried and it was certain that the mercenary leaders won't have a good end, the Persians had torn their faces, what should they do now?

Surrender to the Persians? Even the Persian king's brother, Cyrus the Younger, got his head and hands brutally cut off and most of the officers did not think that their fate would be a lot better after surrendering! Either they are killed or become a slave. For this choice, it was unacceptable for the officers, nor can they accept it.

Otherwise, they had to fight the Persians again in this strange land! Now they were led by the Persians on a route that they have never traveled before, thousands of miles away from their home, they can only feel their way forward without the help of the Persians, and they do not know how many hostile tribes and villages they have to face, but they also have to be prepared for the attack of the Persian army. The most distressing thing was that the Persian can't fight against them head-on, but they also can't catch up with the Persians, and once they fail, the entire mercenary troops might get destroyed. It was because of these difficulties that everyone was depressed and didn't know what to do. When they left the camp, the soldiers still had some spirit, but when they returned to their camp, they sighed and looked worried.

Returning to the camp, when the officers in charge of the units gathered again, Davos naturally followed Philesius and participated in the discussion. Of course, as a newcomer, he seldom talk and was mostly observing these officers. In a heated debate, they are more likely to expose their personality, the grumpy Timasion, the shrewd Cleanor, the Prudent Xanthicles, and Agacia who has a good relationship with the other officers…

Xenophon was much more active, he not only had many heated arguments with the others, but also agitatedly said, "Everyone, Clearchus and the rest have been captured by the Persians, we must immediately elect new leaders to replace them, then convened a general assembly for the whole mercenary troops in order to renew the determination of the soldiers to fight the Persians and their confidence that we can return home on our own. Otherwise, leaving the chaos to go on like this, will result in our demise before the Persians even attack!"

Davos thought that Xenophon was right, although he had just started his military carrer, he had been a village official in his previous life, and he was also the leader of a high-tech development zone and had managed more than 10,000 men. Therefore, he knew the importance of uniting their thoughts and inspiring confidence in a group.

Timasion seemed to resent Xenophon's excessive display, he did not look at Xenophon at all and turned to face the others and said, "Don't worry, Cheirisophus[1] will be back soon!"

[1] Cheirisophus was a Spartan general who fought with the Ten Thousand under Cyrus the Younger.

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Chapter 1222 - hh

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