Davos saw that the wound on his abdomen was huge, and he could even see the intestines inside. He knew that the chance of survival was slim, but he couldn't bear to give up, so he said to the soldier next to him, "Send him to the medical camp of Menon's camp and say that Davos sent him."
"Medical camp?"
"Oh, I know!" Someone answered, so the soldiers carried the wounded soldiers and were ready to go through the camp of Clearchus and head south. The others looked at Davos helplessly.
Davos anxiously said to them, "Go and inform the officers stationed in the various camps that the Persians have violated their promise and slaughtered the Greek soldiers. I am afraid that the leader who went to the meeting has been captured by the Persians. Tell them to gather their soldiers and prepare for battle!"
The soldiers immediately rushed to their respective camps.
"What happened to Davos?!" At this time, Xenophon arrived at the entrance of the camp.
Davos quickly told him what had happened.
Xenophon's expression was gloomy, and his eyes were filled with regret, "Previously, I had also tried to persuade Proxenus, but he didn't listen to my advice, and I didn't insist… sigh, so, I'm afraid that Proxenus…" Xenophon's trembling voice was a bit choked.
Davos nodded.
Xenophon looked at the Persian cavalry galloping ahead and said loudly, "We should immediately gather the whole army! Attack the Persian camp and rescue Proxenus!"
"This is not a good idea!" Accompanied by the sound of talking, a strong middle-aged man came over, "Although the soldiers have fought with the Persians many times, we have been getting along peacefully with them during this period. Now that you suddenly want to fight with the Persians, the soldiers can't accept it for a while, let alone besieging the Persian camp."
"At the very least, we should drive away the Persian cavalry in front of us, and maybe we can also rescue some soldiers who are out!" reminded Davos.
The man glanced at him and asked, "Who are you?"
"Davos, a soldier of Menon's camp."
"What to do is the officers' business, we don't need a soldier to guide us!" The man scolded angrily.
Davos tactfully stopped talking.
"Xenophon, go back to your camp immediately and inform Agasias to bring his troops here immediately." He then ordered Xenophon.
Xenophon responded and turned around to walk back. Davos immediately followed him and asked Xenophon, and found out that this man was Timasion, the adjutant of Clearchus.
The gathering speed of the camp of Clearchus was very slow, and the soldiers slowly came out of the tent one by one. While wearing their armor, they were still chatting with each other, and it was obvious that they didn't know the danger that they were facing. Timasion was so anxious that he came forward to beat and curse, and finally managed to gather about 500 soldiers.
Before Davos and Xenophon could leave the camp of Clearchus, the officers of the other camps had also arrived with a few soldiers. They are Cleanor of the camp of Archias, Xanticles of the Socrates camp, and Agasias of Proxenus….Amnon's camp had the most people, and their adjutant, Philesius, the squadron leader, Antonios, Kapus, and so on. Of course, there is also the Hielos squad among the soldiers. Their arrival gave Davos confidence.
After everyone gathered, some officers still didn't know what had happened. Several captains of Menon's camp, led by Antonios, asked Davos to explain the situation in unison because he had witnessed the whole thing.
Some officers, led by Timasion, were surprised. Davos was just an ordinary young soldier, so why did the officers of the Melon camp show great respect to him?
Some people looked at Davos with curiosity, because some soldiers who went back to pass on the message had made it public that Davos, the favored of the gods of Menon's camp, had stopped Clearchus from going to the Persian camp to talk, and the leaders did not listen to the "oracle" and suffered a disaster. Soon, everyone knew about it.
So, faced with the complex gaze of everyone, Davos calmly explained what had happened.
The officers quickly reached an agreement: immediately drive away the Persian cavalry in front of the camp, so that the soldiers who went out can return smoothly.
The soldiers began to line up, and Davos returned to Hielos'squad. At this time, Antonios, who was in front of the formation, shouted, "Davos, come to the front!"
Davos was stunned.
Then Kapus began to shout.
"Go." Hielos gave him an encouraging nudge, and his teammates looked at him excitedly.
Davos understood. His heart beat faster, but he did not refuse and squeezed forward with great effort, and the soldiers took the initiative to make way for him.
"Your position is here." Antonios pulled him to the left of Philesius – the front of Menon's army and said to him seriously, "We may have to negotiate with the Persians later, and we need your guidance!"
Antonios then said to Philesius, "Philesi, take care of him for us!"
Philesius answered without hesitation, "Leave it to me!"
For the first time, Davos, who was standing in the position of the commander of the phalanx, was excited and somewhat unnatural. He turned to look at Philesius, who was also looking at him, and gave him a gentle smile.
Before this, Davos had a few contacts with Philesius and learned some things about him from Antonios and the others. Davos had a preliminary impression of Philesius: This 45-year-old Cesarean is a good old man who is proficient in military affairs and doesn't like to compete for fame and fortune. It can be understood just by thinking about it, Meno, who has a strong desire to control, would naturally not choose someone with the same ambition as him to be his adjutant. It must be known that he often goes out to make friends with the Persian nobles and accept some employment missions, and the matters in the camp must be handled and presided over by someone. As time goes by, there is a danger that the soldiers will only recognize the adjutant and not him. Therefore, the good-tempered Philesius was the adjutant that he had carefully selected. And at this moment, it was undoubtedly advantageous for Davos, because Philesius had no friendly objection to the young commander standing in his position.
The Greek mercenaries in front of the camp have about 700 hoplites and 200 light hoplites, with the hoplites in front and the hoplites at the back, and with the blowing of the military horn, the phalanx formation began to slowly advance. The Persian cavalry did not press forward but instead retreated backward, and the sound of fighting gradually became softer, and the dust fog in front gradually dissipated. From time to time, Greek soldiers covered in dust ran back to the camp, but most of them were their comrades and corpses groaning on the ground, and the grief and fear of the soldiers were increasing.
"The enemy is coming," Philesius whispered.
A Persian team appeared in front of them and slowly walked toward them. Davos was nervous and excited, 'Is my first battle about to start?'
When the two armies were about 200 meters apart, a group of cavalry rushed out and came to the front of the Greek army, and shouted in Greek, "The Greeks on the other side, listen, let your officers and captains come forward and listen to my decree of the king!"
There was a commotion in the Greek phalanx, and the officers whispered to each other, but no one came forward. The tragic sight of the soldiers who were just attacked had left a deep impression on them, and Persia's previous act of breaking their promise was alarming.
The Persians shouted again, but the Greek army remained calm.
At this time, a man walked out of the formation, holding a bronze shield and spear, and slowly walked forward.
"Who is that?! How brave!!"
"That's Davos from our camp! The Blessed of Hades!"
"Is it true?"
"Oh, he is so young!!"
…
The soldiers of the various camps discussed curiously. While the officers were still hesitating, Philesius caught up with them. He had promised Antonios that he would ensure the safety of Davos. Then Xenophon also walked out of the formation. How could he fall behind when the young Davos dared to go forward?
"What a mess!" Timasion cursed to cover up his embarrassment and strode forward. Then, Xanticles, Cleanor, Agasias, and more than a dozen officers stepped forward.
The reason why Davos did this was not that he was not afraid of the Persian cavalry's attack, but because he knew that when the mercenaries were faced with a disaster and the soldiers were in a panic, only those who dared to take risks and take responsibility could be supported by the soldiers, and even forget his youth and inexperience.
He didn't walk fast and had been observing both sides with his peripheral vision. When he saw that the other officers had caught up with him, he was slightly relieved. Only then did he realize that the hand holding the weapon was full of sweat.