The Persians were prepared to defend themselves against the mercenary attack, but they gradually discovered that the mercenaries were running on the next mountain, and they were immediately alarmed, realizing that they had made a mistake, and then gathered their team and marched to the nearby mountain......

By this time, Tisafnis's army was approaching the mountain pass, and the mercenaries were arrayed near the mountain pass, and the baggage battalions and the wounded were concentrated in the rear, close to the ridge occupied by the Persians. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoIf the Persians had fired arrows with all their might on the hills, they would have been able to reach the edge of their formation. But at this moment, the troops of these Persians and Xenophon were rushing towards the top of the mountain from both directions at the same time......

…………………………………

"Erect the shield!"

"Slinger ready!"

"Archer prepare!"

The leaders looked solemn and gave orders to their troops in a loud voice. In front of the mercenary array, the Persians slowly unfolded the array as they approached like a tidal wave......

…………………………………

"Quick! Fast! Hold on, brothers, you are racing for your survival! A little more effort at this moment will make our march easier in the future, and we will not have to fight a lot of trouble! Xenophon took the lead in leading the troops up the mountain while cheering them up.

When they reached the mountainside, the soldiers felt visibly sore muscles, shortness of breath, and slowing down, but the Persians on the side of the hilltop were doing the same, and a sense of urgency drove them not to let up.

Although the Persians were close to the top of the mountain, they were on this side of the mountain with a steep road, unlike the mercenaries who walked on the gentle slopes of the back mountain.

In the "race to climb the mountain" of the two armies, the Greeks had the last laugh. They preemptively reached the top of the mountain and, despite fatigue, immediately threw javelins and stones at the Persians who were climbing.

The Persians turned and fled, abandoning even their original positions and running all the way to the foot of the mountain......

…………………………………

Tisaponis's long-range assault continued, and despite the increasing casualties of his troops, he still did not give the order to retreat, which put the mercenaries under great pressure, and while they were struggling to hold on, the scout cavalry arrived to report that Xenophon had sent a message that they had taken the mountain and driven the Persians away!

"Retreat!" Chrysops breathed a sigh of relief.

Thus, the mercenaries began an orderly retreat......

The Persian army was closing in......

When all the mercenaries retreated into the mountain pass, and the Persians who were still following entered the attack range of Xenophon's troops, they were hit by the strong blows of stones and javelins falling from the top of the mountain, and only then did they blow the horn of retreat......

………………………………

The mercenaries walked through the mountain road and entered a plain. There were quite a few villages, and the mercenaries began to camp to treat the wounded and replenish them in large quantities, because the guides said that the Dukia Mountains were ahead. To this end, the chiefs convened an important meeting.

"We Greeks rebelled against Persia, and the Ducayans rebelled against Persia. According to the guides, the Persians sent about 100,000 troops to attack Dukoya, only to be defeated. Since we and the Dukia are both enemies with Persia, then we and the Dukya should be able to get along amicably, and we will only go to Armenia through the passage, and will not infringe on the Dukyas, as long as we send messengers to express our will for peace to them, I believe they will accept it! ......" Xenophon spoke eloquently, and after this period of training, he became more and more confident.

"Friendly with each other? Easy to say! Timason scoffed, he was a little unaccustomed to Xenophon's flamboyance, whether it was Davers or Xenophon who was both young and capable, and his edge was too exposed, which attracted the jealousy and slight dissatisfaction of some old mercenaries such as Cleano and Timason: "An army of tens of thousands of people has entered their territory, and they have defeated the Persian army many times, will the Dukeans be nervous?!" Will you be afraid?! I don't believe it! Oh...... You say you're just passing through Dukia, but if you attack when you pass through the cottages and settlements, the price will be too great, and the Dukyas dare to take this risk? You must know that the Dukians are fierce and savage, and even Persia, whose territory is vast and surrounds it, how can they agree to our demands from thousands of miles away?! ”

As soon as Timason's words were finished, Cleano continued: "A few days ago, my soldiers captured several Persian Dukia slaves, and after inquiry, I learned that 'Dukeya' is just a name for the Persians for the mountain people living in this mountainous area, in fact, there are many tribes and different races in the Dukeya Mountains, and they often fight and kill each other for the interests of the tribe, and some tribes are even mortal enemies. The problem now is that even if we can get the consent of one tribe, we may be attacked by another tribe as soon as we cross a few mountains, and if we want one tribe to negotiate, it will take too long and we will starve. Know that the Dukia Mountains are a barren and food-scarce region! ”

"It seems that the only way to break through is to break through!" Hieronymus, who was rarely able to speak, said in a tough tone at this moment: "After we enter Dukeya, we will not take the initiative to violate others, but if someone dares to violate us, then we must give him a powerful blow!" ”

"When the time comes, I don't know who is showing whom!" Zantiparis said helplessly: "The Persians occupied the mountains before and caused us a lot of trouble, and those were just a few mountains!" After entering Dukia, it was all mountains, and most of us were heavy infantry, and there were many baggage, and it was difficult to march, let alone fight. The Dukia are familiar with the terrain, and climbing mountains has been honed since childhood, and we can only rely on guides. The mountain road is narrow, and our ranks can only be lined up for a long time, and the Dukyans can come out of nowhere to attack us, and we have nothing to ......do with them," Zantiparis said and silenced the crowd.

Xenophon took the opportunity to say, "So you still have to negotiate with the Ducoyans?" ”

Everyone ignored him and looked at Chrysopus.

Chrysops looked at Davers, who had not spoken in the corner, and asked, "Chief Davers, what do you think?" ”

Davers smiled slightly and said slowly: "I listened to everyone's words just now, but in fact, it can be summed up as two opinions. One is to negotiate with the Dukia, which has the advantage of being safe, and the disadvantage is that it takes too much time, and the Dukea may not agree; The second is to break hard, the advantage is time-saving, and the disadvantage is that the casualties are large. So why don't we combine these two opinions into one solution? ”

Turning into a solution? Everyone looked at each other, and Chrysopus was stunned.

Seeing their expressions, Phellisius next to him secretly laughed in his heart: Actually, the officers of the Davers barracks discussed this matter last night, and when Davers said his method, everyone was shocked that he had a strange idea, and at the same time, they had to admit that it was very likely to be realized. Now that he was facing the leaders, he couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority in his heart.

Everyone asked in unison, "How has it changed?" ”

"Find a tribe, work with them, and let them make a way for us!" Davers spoke astonishingly.

Everyone was stunned.

Xenophon reacted first: "Davers, what do you mean...... Let the Dukia fight the Dukeya?! Is this possible? ”

"Interests, as long as there are interests, everything is possible!" Davers affirmed.

…………………………………

During the three days that the mercenaries were camped, the Persian cavalry repeatedly appeared, attacking individual soldiers who had broken away from the unit, taking away free-range livestock, and attempting to set fire to the village.

The chiefs deliberated and decided that Tisaponis was doing everything in his power to prevent the mercenaries from entering Duqya, and that he would not hesitate to burn the territory and people of the Persian king. In order to prevent him from doing something even more frustrating, the army had to enter Dukia ahead of schedule.

So early in the morning of the fourth day, the mercenaries marched north.

Tisafnis watched from afar as the long line of Greek mercenaries grew in the shadow of the mountains......