Chapter 56
"Everyone, get into formation!" the officers shouted.
The soldiers in the river hurriedly retreated, and were almost washed away by the current.
"There are many large and round rocks at the bottom of the river. It's very slippery!" the soldiers reported to the leaders after they reached the shore.
"It seems that with the Persia on the other side, it will be very difficult for us to cross the river!" Timason said helplessly, and the other leaders agreed. They stared at the other side of the river. The Persia had stopped advancing and were sticking close to the riverbank. Their formation was about a mile long, and there seemed to be no less than twenty thousand people.
"It's Orontas' army!" Kryano said in surprise.
Xenophon said with some regret, "It seems that he got ahead of us."
Zantiparis pointed at the other side of the river in surprise and shouted, "Look, he even recruited a lot of Caldans!"
Caldans? The Devers did not know about this, and turned to look at Felicius in confusion.
"The Caldans are a tribe that lives in Armenia. I heard that they are brave and aggressive, and the Persia like to recruit them as heavy infantry," Felicius explained as he pointed at the other side of the river, "Look, there!"
Following the direction of his finger, the Devers saw some Caldans in the middle of the Persia army. They were wearing leather helmets and robes, holding a long shield in one hand and a spear in the other.
"It seems that Orontas is trying his best to stop us. Unfortunately, the Caldans are no match for us!" Timason said unwillingly.
"But with this river, it's hard to say," Zantiparis said with a slightly pessimistic tone.
"Let the soldiers set up camp and rest first. Send someone to scout this river to see if there is a better place to cross it on foot," Kelisthorpes said calmly.
The order was passed down, and the troops retreated less than a mile away from the Kentrit River to set up camp.
Not long after, Ledes brought back a piece of news. There were no traces of the Persia on the riverbank, but they found some Dukaya spying on them in the forest not far away. This made the leaders frown.
"Go and get Izam," Kelisthorpes said.
Izam was the son of Commoro, the great leader of the Xokant tribe, who had been sent as a guide. In the twenty days he had spent with the Greeks, the energetic young man had developed a strong curiosity about distant Greece. He did not want to return to the secluded stronghold, but wanted to go out and explore. With the consent of Cammolo, the mercenaries accepted him.
When Y 'zam received the news, he was stunned at first, but he immediately swore that those Ducaya people were definitely not sent by the Xokant tribe. He even volunteered to go and investigate.
After getting the approval of the leaders, Ledes took him there. At the end of half an hour he returned to report that they belonged to the tribes which had united in the mountains to attack the Greek mercenaries, and that he had seen some of them.
After Y 'zam left, Xenophon heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I knew it. Cammolo worked very well with us before. How could he start plotting against us as soon as he split up?"
Creano snorted. "Don't be too gullible when it comes to the words of this Ducoy. How do you know that Cammolo's son is not lying?! We have all seen what kind of person Cammolo is. Every time after a battle, he would argue with us for a long time about the ownership of the spoils of war. He would not even let go of a jar. Such a greedy person, now that we are going to fight with the Persia, how could he let go of such a good opportunity to take advantage of us! "
"Moreover, the alliance is no longer effective now. There are no restrictions on him!" Timasong interrupted.
"His son is in our hands!" Xenophon reminded.
"I heard that he has more than ten sons. It is not a big deal for one to die. Besides, who knows if Cammolo had already planned to let him be a spy?! "Creano retorted.
The Devers who were sitting in the corner saw that the atmosphere in the tent was not right. Xenophon was a very active and energetic person. As he became more familiar with the affairs of the mercenaries, he became more active. In the eyes of some of the leaders, he was too flamboyant and would find opportunities to knock him down from time to time. The Devers had advised him to restrain himself. His reply was, "I did not do anything wrong. Hades did not send me here to please someone, but to contribute my strength to save the lives of more than ten thousand Greek brothers!"
In comparison, the younger Devers were more mature. After becoming a leader, other than working hard to win respect and prestige for himself when it was time to perform, he was usually very introverted. When discussing matters, he would listen attentively. This was because he knew that these leaders had been on the battlefield for many years and had rich experience. They were worth learning and thinking about.
"We all know that Cammolo is an ambitious and smart person. A smart person knows what to do at the right time. The most important thing for the Xokant tribe to do now is to quickly annex and digest the four tribes and integrate them into his tribe. Only then can they truly become his strength. So as soon as we left the mountainous area, he hurriedly separated from us. I don't think he will provoke us when the internal situation is still unstable. He knows how strong we are, especially when there are many enemies around him, "the Devers said gently. Xenophon had a good relationship with him, so he had to help him out of his predicament, whether it was in public or in private.
"In that case, the Dukaya mountain people who came to spy on us are like that kid said, people from the tribes that we defeated. They did not attack the Xokant tribe, but dared to provoke the powerful us, "Christiano said mockingly.
"Like you said before, they are here to see if there are any benefits to be gained," the Devers replied cleverly.
Chelissops said, "It doesn't matter if they are from the Xokant tribe or not. On the plains, as long as we are on guard, we do not fear anyone. The important thing now is to find a way to cross the river, break through the blockade of Orontas, and enter Armenia. Otherwise, the longer we delay, the more difficult it will be. "
The leaders were all silent.
A day had passed, but there was no discovery.
On the second day, there was still no good news, but there was a lot of bad news. There were more and more Dukaya mountain people in the nearby mountains, and Ledes roughly estimated there to be more than a thousand people. The Persia soldiers on the opposite side also seemed to be increasing, but the supplies seemed to be decreasing rapidly. The soldiers who went out to collect firewood were also attacked by the Dukaya people from time to time …
The grim situation not only made the soldiers feel anxious, but even the leaders began to feel impatient. While the leaders were discussing, Selophon suggested to let Y 'zam return to the tribe and look for his father, Camoro, to see if he could help the mercenaries drive away the Dukaya people.
This was ridiculed by Timason, and both sides even quarreled.
… …
On the morning of the third day, Xenophon brought two young warriors and entered the tent with his head held high. It turned out that the two warriors had found a place where they could easily cross the river.
Hearing this news, the previous conflicts among the leaders disappeared, and they all became excited.
But in order not to attract the attention of the Persia people on the other side, Chelissops changed into an ordinary soldier's uniform and walked with the soldiers to the place where they could cross the river …
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