"The enemy might be trying to intimidate us into seeking a truce or even retreating by showing us this over- inflated number."
Regarding Perseus's presumed strategy, this was what that officer hypothesized.
And this thought was shared by Menes too, who commented with a nod,
"Mmm, it's not a bad plan given their circumstance. If I was in their shoes I might have done the same."
"Too bad he met me." He snickered.
The scout officer hearing Menes's pleased tone thought the man was simply praising him, but in reality, the tall man was referring to how he knew of Perseus's true condition.
Those intelligence reports proved vital, being the sole reason he was able to accurately guess the tactic.
After all, otherwise, no one going to see a camp supposedly holding 40,000 men and come to the conclusion that half of them were fake.
That was impossible.