He briefly stated his plan, and Felicius looked at him in amazement.
"Will it work?!" Davos urged.
Felicius busied himself with careful thought and said hesitantly, "... It should work, but it doesn't always work."
"No plan is necessarily guaranteed to be one hundred percent successful, but there's not even a chance without trying!" Davos decisively recruited the Xilos Escorts and told them about his plan in detail. Out of their trust in Davos, they agreed to this one risky plan without hesitation.
Who knows, Davos added at the end, "I'm coming with you guys this time!"
"No way! Davos, you're the chief, you can't risk it!" Felicius immediately objected.
"It's only a hundred meters back and forth, and in the blink of an eye, it returns, so what's the danger!
Besides, I'm still a 'God's Favorite' and have the blessing of Hades. If I die, doesn't it just show that this 'God's Favorite' is not reliable!" Davos laughed insistently and sagaciously, pointing at Xilos' again, "You are my good brothers. Now, I'm joining this raid as a member of Xilos' squad!" Causing Xilos and the others to swallow back the words they wanted to dissuade.
"Yes, let us brothers live and die together!" Martonius shouted excitedly.
"Yes, show the others the courage of the Cesari warriors!" Oliverus, who had been silent all this time, also shouted excitedly at this moment.
At that moment, the messenger arrived, "Mithradates went around to Timasone's side and shouted ... Only three soldiers surrendered to the Persians!" Such was the talent of Clearchus in commanding the army that even after his death it still affected his soldiers.
"Mithradates will be here soon! There is no time for delay! Felicius, sit here for me!" Davos said sharply.
"Fine." Felicius reluctantly agreed.
"Acistus, go immediately and inform the squadron commanders to be ready when the time comes ..."
"Understood!" Acistus said excitedly.
"Xilos Squad, come with me and get to the front!"
"Roar! ..." the crowd yelled in unison, drawing curious looks back from the other soldiers.
...............
"Reporting to the Inspector, Mithradates have circled around to Davos' forces!"
Hakri Sopes couldn't help but look to his side and back as he listened to Tormid's report.
Even the troops of Kriano and Timasone, who were situated by prestigious chiefs, had defected, could this inexperienced young man stabilize his soldiers? Hakri Sopes' heart was filled with worry.
"Tormid, you will go to Timasong immediately and ask him to send Cretan archers to follow the attack on Mithradates." He finally made his decision.
"Yes!" Tormid immediately pivoted his horse and rushed backward.
Young man, you hang in there!
...............
Changing into their regular helmets, Davos and the Hylos squad stood in the first column at the moment, the javelins behind them having been tucked away below their shoulders, facing west like the rest of the soldiers, full of wariness, and nervously keeping an eye on the rear of the line.
Suddenly, someone squeezed in beside him, and before Davos could look sideways to see who it was, he heard Acistus say, "Chieftain, I've already conveyed your orders to the various squadron commanders. I am your commander, now please let me fight with you!" Assistus solemnly requested.
Davos nodded.
"Chief, they're coming!" Xellos whispered a warning.
The sound of horses' hooves came from the rear, becoming clearer ...
Soon, a light cavalry of thirty men came into view. The leader of the group wore brightly shining fishscale armor that covered his knees; it had to be Mithradates.
Davos' eyes widened and he gripped the bronze shield in his hand.
"Fucking cowards." Matonis cursed under his breath.
"Warriors of Greece, I am Mithradates, a good friend of young Cyrus!" Mithradates shouted as he reined in his horse two hundred meters diagonally in front of Davos. As he shouted a word, his cavalry repeated it in Greek in unison.
"Moreover, I am a good friend of Menon! I have always been friendly to you Greeks, especially you, Menon's soldiers, and I have been a guest in your barracks many times! Please believe me, Krilcus was punished for breaking the agreement, but you were not! The peace agreement is still valid for you! Come, come to our side! I swear by Bachram, the God of War, the god my family worships! I bear you no ill will, and we will return you safely to Asia Minor! At the same time, Governor Tissaphernes is prepared to employ you again, for Asia Minor has not yet been pacified, and he needs your help, for which he has prepared a rich reward ..."
"Persians with honeyed mouths, don't think we'll fall for that!" Acistus quenched his spit.
At that moment, Davos whispered, "Ready-start!"
Immediately, the Hieros squad began chanting, "Is it true that you can get us home?"
"It really won't hurt us?"
"How much is Tissafonis prepared to pay to hire us?"
...
After a commotion, they shouted in unison, "We surrender! Surrender! ..." With that, they threw down the shields and bayonets in their hands and ran toward Mithradates.
"We surrender too!" The other Heavy Infantry squad, which was close to Xilos' squad, then threw down their weapons and followed suit, soon mixing with Xilos' squad.
"General, look! There are quite a few people who surrendered this time!" A cavalryman said happily to Mithradates.
"That's for sure! Whoever told Menon to have the best relationship with Arrizos! I see we can keep shouting here!" Mithradates said triumphantly, having just shouted and produced such a great result in the battle, giving him a boost of confidence.
Davos ran while keeping a close eye on the movements of the Mithradates' cavalry on the opposite side. At that moment, two Persian cavalrymen ran head-on, causing his heart to tighten.
"Run to the right! Run to the right! ..." they shouted in fluent Greek as they gestured, turned their horses and led the way ahead, signaling them to follow.
"Leave them alone! Pick up the pace!" Davos shouted in a low, urgent voice.
The Greek soldiers disobeyed the command and suddenly picked up speed, running in their direction causing Mithradates to be puzzled.
Just then, the cavalryman beside him shouted in alarm, "Not good! They ... have javelins on their backs!"
He was able to see because the distance to the Greek soldiers was close to thirty meters at this point.
"Ready!!!" Xellos shouted. The squad members all quickly drew the javelins on their backs and took large steps forward.
"Damn!!!" Mithradates panicked and pulled his horse's reins sideways, clamping his horse's belly violently, trying to pivot and retreat.
However, it was too late. Matonis even fell from the powerful inertia after they struggled to throw their javelins.
Amidst the shrieks of the Persian cavalry, ten javelins flew together toward Mithradates, who had no time to dodge, and was instantly shot several times, and his horse, pierced through the neck, wailed and fell with him.
Just as the Persian cavalryman panicked, the quickly rising Hieros squad threw a second round of javelins and two more cavalrymen rolled off.
......
Antonius, who was watching the front closely, exclaimed excitedly, "It worked! They did it!!!"
A cheer went up from the soldiers.
"Go and get Chief Davos!" Capps shouted calmly and sharply.
......
Just as the two squads were about to retreat, Mithradates, who had just fallen to the ground, suddenly moved, struggling to pull out his right leg, which had been pinned down by the horse, his thick armor apparently shielding his vitals.
Now, he was just twenty meters away, and the fleeing Persian cavalrymen were looking on from a short distance away, the situation was urgent. It was no longer allowed for Davos to think too much: "Finish him off!!!" Davos was the first to rush up.
The soldiers wasted no time in catching up with him, and they picked up javelins and spears from the ground as they went along.
With a violent throw, Martonius shot another Persian cavalryman who tried to come to his rescue off his horse, frightening the remaining cavalrymen into fleeing again.
Mithradates shook and raised his dusty face. Looking up at the arriving Davos, he smiled miserably, revealing a mouth full of blood, "... You ... won't get away with this ... "
Without saying a word, Davos dug the tip of his gun straight into his neck.