The first thing they looked at was the man in the middle: he was a little thinner than the strong men around him, but he was wearing a short-sleeved leather robe with brighter fur to compensate for his flaws. In addition www.biquge.info he must have worn a tawny Persian robe to cover the bare legs that the Dukya mountain people like to bare.

When his light brown, glittering eyes locked on the men of Chrysops, he raised his right hand and heard the old man of Dukea shout: "The great chief of the Dukea Kont tribe greets the guests from afar!" ”

The mountain people struck the wooden shield with their short axes, and their mouths uttered: "Oh, oh, oh......"

The high-pitched, beast-like roar made Davers's eardrums uncomfortable. Because the old man spoke Dukya, the mercenary leaders were a little dazed, and Marigi immediately whispered a translation to them, and soon they regained their composure, and even Davers was curious to appreciate this primitive hospitality.

Mariji, with the consent of the chiefs, also shouted loudly in Ducoya: "Spartan prosecutor Cresoppes sends a friendly greeting to the Grand Chief of Commore!" As soon as the words fell, fifty silent Spartan warriors behind him shouted together: "Hey! Ho! The two roars were accompanied by a uniform pestle of stabbing spears, and as soon as the round shield opened and closed, silence was restored. Compared with the noise of the other party, the Spartan warrior is low-key and reserved, but it gives people an invisible pressure.

Commorro's face changed slightly, his eyes fixed on the fifty pine-like tall soldiers, each holding a large "∧" symbol in the center of the round shield in his hand, and muttering "Spartan ......"

For 100 years, the prestige of the Spartan warriors spread throughout the Mediterranean, even in this remote mountainous area. He raised his right hand, and the roar of the mountain people gradually stopped: "Welcome! Have a seat! He spoke in Persian.

As the overseer of Sparta, and a frequent associate with Persia, Chrysopus certainly understood, and he replied in Persian: "You may also be seated!" ”

Negotiations have officially begun......

……………………………

To the surprise of Davers, the seemingly savage Ducoians were quite shrewd in their negotiations, especially Commoleros, who demanded that the Greek mercenaries be used as coolies and thugs, and their reasons were quite sufficient, 'Our tribe will offend the mighty Persia by becoming allies of the Greek mercenaries, and at the same time will be isolated and ostracized by the other tribes of the Ducoya, and there must be enough benefits for the warriors of the whole tribe to agree to sign the covenant.' ’

The Greek negotiators were no less capable: Chrysopus could be sent by Sparta as a liaison with Cyrus the Younger, and his diplomatic skills were unquestionable; As the main person in charge of the city's high-tech development zone in his previous life, Dafus does not know how many business negotiations he has participated in; Plus Mariji, a businessman who is familiar with Dukeya.

Before coming, the mercenaries had already agreed on the bottom line that they must adhere to: that is, the route of the Greek mercenaries must be determined by themselves and not at the mercy of outsiders. They deliberately showed that they did not attach much importance to the alliance, and when the negotiations were deadlocked, Criano said several times: it is nothing if the alliance is not formed, and the soldiers can force their way in.

In this way, the leaders of the Ksocont tribe felt a headache. After all, they were the first stumbling block in the mercenaries' journey to Armenia, and they had obvious advantages to take, but they had to choose confrontation, and they were the Greeks who had defeated Persia. Of course, they can also choose not to fight head-on, and the mercenaries have no way to take them, but the cottage can't be moved, and the houses and supplies may not be saved, and more importantly, this will hit the prestige of Comoros, and at the same time increase the covetousness of the surrounding tribes to the Ksocont tribe.

After several encounters, the covenant was finally reached:

First, the Greek mercenaries were allies with the Ksocont tribe of Dukea, and the two sides lived amicably and did not invade each other;

Second, the Greek mercenaries decided the route of the march on their own, and the tribes near the route were attacked by the mercenaries and the Ksokant tribe together, and the mercenaries were divided into sixty percent of the materials and wealth obtained, and the Xokante tribe was forty percent, and the captured enemies were handed over to the Ksokant tribe, and the mercenaries were not allowed to kill and plunder indiscriminately without the consent of the Ksokante tribe;

Thirdly, the battle was to be coordinated and commanded by Chrysops and Commores, and if there was a disagreement that could not be resolved, the battle would be cancelled. (This was originally added by Chrythops for fear that Comoros would adopt some tactics that would be unfavorable to the mercenaries for the sake of the tribe's interests, regardless of the lives of the mercenaries.) In fact, this article was never implemented until the end, because after the first taste of sweetness, Comoros was afraid that the mercenaries would cancel the attack plan, so as soon as the mercenaries had objections, he would take the initiative to negotiate with Curitopes to settle it. ）；

Fourthly, if the tribe of Xocante had a special target to attack and was not in the vicinity of the mercenary marching route, the Greeks could be hired to attack, but it was necessary to consult with the chiefs and obtain the consent of the mercenary soldiers

After deliberation, they decided that if the cooperation between the two sides went well, then as long as the target was close to each other, the mercenaries could not accept the hiring, after all, since the death of Cyrus Jr., the soldiers were no longer paid. ）…… The Covenant was effected on the same day and ended when the Greek mercenaries left Ducoa. ”

The final procedure for the covenant to be made is the sacrifice. Lythorps had prepared for this, and he ordered the slaughter of the three white lambs he had brought with him, and the fresh blood food was placed on the stump, and the Ksokante tribe also slaughtered a deer.

They then planted sticks around the stumps, lit fires, and read aloud the words of the covenant written in Persian on two skins. There were no priests among the mercenaries, so they had to be done by Chrysopes. On Dukeya's side, the strangely dressed wizard was in charge of the execution.

When the sacrifice was completed and the two sides began to discuss their next move, a gust of mountain wind struck, rolling up the fallen leaves and blowing out the torches around the stump, and everyone present changed their expressions. The Greeks, including the silent Spartan warriors, reverently chanted the name of Zeus, while the Dukyans fell to their knees and worshiped the mountain god they worshipped, apparently believing that the gods had appeared to them and had approved of the alliance.

As a result, the attitude of both sides was much more positive. Comoros even sent one of his sons to serve as a guide in the mercenaries.

………………………………

Twenty days later, the mercenaries left the mountains of Dukoya and entered the plains.

During these twenty days, the mercenaries, in cooperation with the Ksokante tribe, broke through four cottages and crushed a joint attack by the Dukiya tribes, suffering many casualties in the battle, but capturing a lot of supplies, and maintaining supplies during the long march in the mountains. The harvest was even greater, and most of the captured mountain people, except for the stubborn, were forced to join the Khsocont tribe. It is not known how much the population of the Ksorcont tribe has swelled, but it is clear that Commorro is satisfied, as can be seen from the fact that he sincerely gave Christopus a fine white wolf skin when they parted.

One afternoon, a few days after the mercenaries marched on the plains, they discovered some villages. The mercenaries happily stopped their advance, drove away the villagers, plundered supplies, and camped in the village, where they could finally sleep without worrying about snake bites.

The next morning, the mercenaries marched to the Kentrite River, which is the border between Amelia and Dukoya, and is about sixty meters wide.

The troops followed the guide's instructions to the site where the pontoon bridge was located and found that the pontoon bridge had been burned.

The chiefs looked at the traces of the fire-scorched piles on the shore and their hearts sank: the Persians were nearby!

Chrysops immediately ordered Rydes's cavalry squad to reconnoiter the surrounding area (after entering the mountains, the cavalry squad lost a lot of horses, and only five or six were left intact), and at the same time asked the soldiers to go down to the river to explore the depths of the water.

After receiving the order, several soldiers with good water skills took off their armor and walked into the river, and when they reached the middle of the river in a few steps, the river had reached their chests.

At this time, someone shouted: "Persians! ”

There was an immediate commotion in the ranks. On a hill on the opposite bank, there were many Persian cavalry, and on the plain below the hill, Persian infantry appeared in battle formations, kicking up the dust and mist in the sky, and marching towards the river bank......