The Persians were originally ready to defend against the mercenaries' attack, but later they gradually discovered that the mercenaries' running route was the mountain next to them. They were shocked and realized that they had made a mistake. They then gathered their teams and marched towards the mountain next to them...

At this time, the army of Tissaffenis had approached the mountain road entrance, and the mercenaries were lined up near the mountain road entrance. The baggage battalion and the wounded were concentrated in the rear, and were very close to the mountain occupied by the Persians. If the Persians shot arrows with all their might on the mountain, they could barely shoot to the edge of their army. But at this moment, these Persians and Xenophon's troops were running towards the top of the mountain from both directions at the same time...

…………………………………

"Hold up the shield formation!"

"Prepare for the throwing troops!"

"Arrow ready!"

The leaders expressed their serious expressions and issued orders to their troops loudly. In front of the mercenary formation, the Persians slowly unfolded the array as they approached like a tide...

…………………………………

"Quick! Hurry! Brothers, hold on, you are competing for your survival! Adding more force at this moment will make our marching easier in the future and avoid many troublesome battles!" Xenophon took the lead in leading the troops to climb the mountain while cheering them up.

When they arrived at the mountainside, the soldiers felt obviously sore muscles, breathing rapidly, and their speed slowed down. They could see that when the Persians on the side of the top of the mountain were doing the same thing, a sense of urgency prompted them not to relax.

Although the Persians were close to the top of the mountain, the mountain road they were on was steep, unlike the gentle slopes of the back mountain that were hired by the mercenaries.

In the "mountain climbing competition" between the two armies, the Greeks laughed to the last laugh. They took the lead in climbing the mountain top, and regardless of their fatigue, they immediately threw javelins and stones at the Persians who were climbing.

The Persians turned around and fled, even abandoned their original positions, and ran to the foot of the mountain...

…………………………………

Tissaffenis' long-range attack continued, and although his troops' casualties continued to increase, he still did not issue orders to retreat, which made the mercenaries feel very stressed. Just as they were struggling to hold on, the scout cavalry rushed to report: Xenophon sent a message that they had occupied the mountains and drove away the Persians!

"Retreat!" Keritops breathed a sigh of relief.

So, the mercenaries began to retreat in an orderly manner...

The Persian army pressed forward step by step...

When all the mercenaries retreated into the mountain road and the Persians who were still following the attack range of Xenophon's troops, they were hit by the powerful blow of stones and javelins from the top of the mountain, and the horn of retreat was sounded...

………………………………

The mercenaries walked through the mountain road and entered a plain. There were many villages here, and the mercenaries began to camp to treat the wounded and replenish a lot of supplies, because the guides said: The Dukeya Mountain Area is right in front. For this reason, the leaders held an important meeting.

"We Greeks resisted Persia, and the Dukeyas also resisted Persia. According to the guides, the Persians sent about 100,000 troops to attack Dukeya, but they returned in great defeat. Since we and the Dukeyas both have a grudge against Persia, we should be able to get along with each other with friendly relations. Moreover, we only went to Armenia and would not violate the Dukeyas. As long as we send envoys to express our willingness to peace to them, I believe they will accept it!..." Xenophon talked freely, and after this period of training, he became more and more confident.

"Friendly get along? It's easy to say!" Timasong scoffed. He was a little disgusted with Xenophon's ostentatiousness. Whether it was Davers or Xenophon, she was young and capable, and was too arrogant, which attracted the jealousy and dissatisfaction of old mercenaries such as Kriano and Timasong: "An army of tens of thousands of people entered their territory, and they had defeated the Persian army many times. Will the Dukeya people not be nervous?! Wouldn't you be afraid?! I don't believe it! Oh... You said you were just passing Dukeya, but if you attacked when you passed by the cottages and settlements, the price would be too high. Do the Dukeya people dare to take this risk? You should know that the Dukeya people are fierce and barbaric, even with a vast territory, and the Persia that surrounded it is afraid, how could they agree to our request from thousands of miles away?!"

As soon as Timasong finished speaking, Kriano continued: "A few days ago, my soldiers captured several Persian slaves of Dukeya. After inquiring, it was learned that the 'Dukeya people' was just a name for the mountain people in which the Persians lived. In fact, there are many tribes in the Dukeya mountains, and different races often fight and fight each other for the interests of the tribes, and some tribes even die with enemies. The problem now is that even if we can obtain the consent of one tribe, we may be attacked by another tribe. If we want one tribe or one tribe to negotiate, it will take too long to go hungry. You must know that the Dukeya mountains are a poor land and lack of food!"

"It seems that we can only break through!" Hironimus, who was rare to speak, said in a tough tone at this moment: "After we enter Dukeya, we will not take the initiative to infringe others, but if someone dares to infringe on us, we must give him a great deal!"

"At that time, I don't know who is showing it to whom!" Zantiparis said helplessly: "The Persians occupied the mountains before, which caused us a lot of trouble. They were just a few mountains! After entering Dukeya, they were all mountains. Most of us were heavy infantry, and there were many baggages. It was difficult to march, let alone war. The Dukeya people were familiar with the terrain, and climbing was a skill they had learned since childhood, and we could only rely on guides. The mountain road was narrow, and our team could only line up in a long way. The Dukeya people could emerge from anywhere to attack us, but we had no choice but to deal with them..." Zantiparis' words made everyone silent.

Xenophon took the opportunity to say: "So you still have to negotiate with the Dukeya people?"

Everyone ignored him and looked at Krethops.

But Kerithops looked at Davers who had not spoken in the corner and asked, "Captain Davers, what do you think?"

Davers smiled slightly and said slowly: "I just heard everyone's words, but in fact, there are two opinions. One is to negotiate with Dukeya people. The advantage is safety, the disadvantage is too much time, and Dukeya people may disagree; the second is to force the breakthrough, the advantage is time saving, and the disadvantage is great casualties. So, why don't we combine these two opinions into one way?"

Turned into a solution? Everyone looked at each other, and Kelithops was also stunned.

Phelisius next to him felt funny when he saw their expressions: In fact, the officers of Davers's military camp discussed this matter last night. When Davers said his method, everyone was shocked by his strange ideas and had to admit that the possibility of this method was very high. Now facing the leaders, he couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority in his heart.

Everyone asked at the same time: "How did you change?"

"Find a tribe, work with them, and let them open the way for us!" Davers said in a stunning way.

Everyone was stunned.

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

"Add to interests, as long as there is interests, everything is possible!" Davers said affirmatively.

…………………………………

During the three days of mercenaries camping, Persian cavalry appeared many times, attacking individual soldiers who had left the troops, abducted free livestock, and attempted to set fire to the village.

After the leaders discussed, they believed that Tisavunis was doing his best to prevent the mercenaries from entering Dukeya, and burned down the territory and people of the Persian king. In order to prevent him from doing something even more crazy, the army could only enter Dukeya in advance.

So early in the morning of the fourth day, mercenaries were hired to set off their camps and march northward.
Chapter completed!