Chapter11. Meetings

 Unexpectedly, the Persian emissary did not mention again about letting the Greek mercenaries surrender, but proposed a truce between the two armies. The mercenaries, who were already in a difficult situation, were of course eager to do so. After some negotiation, a truce was agreed upon and the Persians were to supply the Greeks with provisions. This was a blessing for the mercenaries, as their food stores were at an all-time low and they were planning to burn and loot the villages along the way.

 Despite the truce, Clilicus did not let his guard down: the Persian emissaries led the way, while Clilicus ordered the whole army to march in three columns, in a four-column battle formation. Along the way, the soldiers were constantly confronted with ditches three or four meters wide, filled with sewage, and had to cut down trees to build wooden bridges. Devers, who was in the rear-guard supply battalion, had an easier time of it.

 "Look, there's Krilkus!" With the direction of Oliveros' finger, Davos saw a tall, middle-aged man, shirtless, with bronzed, toned muscles and several conspicuous scars, co-carrying a freshly cut section of tree trunk with his soldiers. Walking over to the ditch, he didn't hesitate to take the lead and jump down into the ditch, not caring about splashing his head with sludge, and immediately began to repair the wooden bridge that had just broken.

 "Yeah, that's Krilkus! And where is our Menon?!" Matonis sighed, meaningfully.

 Despite the fact that due to the conflict between Menon and Krilkus, the troops led by them had also had armed fights due to the conflict. But the soldiers are not fools, they all see what the leaders do, who is trustworthy? Who is trustworthy? Who is trustworthy and who is capable? They know it in their hearts. There are more than a dozen mercenary leaders, why is it always Krilkus is the main one? Not without reason.

 This is the way of the commander! Davos said to himself mentally as he kept watching Krilkus' performance.

 Near dusk, the Greeks reached their destination. The villages where the Persian emissaries had settled the Greek mercenaries were not only prepared with comfortable dwellings, but were also provided with abundant food: fruit wines, beverages, bread, palm dates ...

 The soldiers couldn't help but all cheer.

 For a moment, Davos was puzzled: had the Persians really been frightened by the Greek heavy infantry and genuinely wanted a truce?

 Just as he and his companions had tasted the food to make sure it was okay and were ready to feast, Antonius arrived, "Davos, Menon wants to see you!"

 "Now?!" Davos gulped.

 "Now!" Antonius nodded.

 "Don't worry, it's nothing! Menon just heard that Davos helped us with several problems, and out of curiosity, he wanted to see him and maybe get a reward!" Seeing the crowd exuding concern, Antonius made a guarantee.

 Antonius led Davos to a large house in the center of the village and said to the guard at the door, "Menon wants to see Davos, he's already here."

 The guard eyed Davos curiously for a few moments before saying, "Menon is in the middle of something important right now. Please wait."

 After a while, there was no movement inside. Davos was still calmly talking to Antonius. Antonios, however, became anxious: "What has not been done yet, I'll go in and hurry!" After saying that, he was about to barge in, but was stopped by the guard: "Antonios, do you want to cause me to be scolded!"

 Antonius glared at him and the guard finally gave in, "I'm afraid of you, I'll go look again." With that, he turned and ran into the house.

 In a short while he came out, "Go in, Menon is waiting." He said, but his eyes didn't dare meet Antonius'.

 Davos was about to go in when Antonius squeezed his shoulder and admonished, "Menon is not very good-tempered at times; if he says anything about you, you must not argue with him, just listen."

 Davos laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm not a child."

 Antonius nodded. All the way to talk to him to Davos deepened his understanding: this young man has a far more stable than his peers. As he watched Davos enter the house, Antonius thought back: no, he's not a child, who's a child? Menon?

 He smiled helplessly and bitterly, it seems that this young man is not to be messed with either. He turned back to the guard and fumed, "Potax, you're intentionally leaving us out to dry."

 "Geez, Antonius, you're the one who understands. Who but Menon would do such a boring thing."

 "Hmph!"

 "Is that young man the 'God's Favorite' of Hades you guys were talking about? I see that he seems to understand what's going on as well, and he even smiled at me just now ..."

 ...............

 Of course Davos understood what was going on: in his previous life he had seen a lot in the agency, it was just a threat, the more people used this way the less confident they were in their own control, was Menon such a person?

 Davos grimaced and crossed the small courtyard to the main house.

 "Chieftain Menon, soldier Davos has been ordered to come!"

 "Come in." A sharp, clear voice came from the house.

 Davos strides into the house, and there is a man sitting in the middle of the living room, still wearing his shiny breastplate, but it doesn't seem to add any more majesty to him, as his pale face would definitely be considered a clean-shaven one if he shaved off his beard.

 Davos couldn't help remembering some bad rumors about Menon, for example: the ambiguous story between him and Arielus, the adjutant of the Little Cyrus. He was suddenly a little nervous: this man should not be on my ...

 And Menon was likewise sizing up Davos: strong body, average height, average looks, still slightly boyish face without even a beard, but standing there gave him an air of distinction.

 "Well ... I've heard that you're some kind of 'God's Favorite', so I'd like to ask if the Persians are sincere in their truce with us this time? Or do they have something else in mind?" Menon asked in a seemingly careless manner.

 "I'm sorry, Chief. I didn't know!" Davos replied without thinking.

 Dyvers' such a direct answer had caused Menon to flinch a bit, and finally a hint of a sure-fire smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, "So tell me, will we make it home safely this time?"

 "I don't know." Davos' answer remained dry.

 "Asshole!" Menon burst into a rage and slammed his chair, "Didn't you say throughout the camp that you had an oracle! Didn't you tell the others that you knew everything! Now you're not talking! You liar!"

 Davos raised both eyebrows, "Chieftain Menon, I was lucky to have survived the battlefield, but I have never claimed to be a Divine Favorite. This is something that my teammates can attest to. What others think and say is their business, and it's none of my business.

 As for any oracle, I never said anything about it. It's just that sometimes when I'm chatting with my teammates about what might come next, I'm lucky enough to hit the nail on the head. Whether or not you'll get home safely is something for you to worry about, chief, we soldiers are just trying to get some comfort and encouragement by talking and chatting while we're fighting."

 After hearing this, Menon's first reaction was that this guy was so eloquent that for a moment he couldn't catch his handle to counterattack, and the frank gaze of his face-to-face direct look at Menon made Menon feel the other side's boldness.

 Menon was a bit annoyed and fumed for a while before he said with a wave of his hand, "I'll look into what you said. Anyway, don't speculate wildly about the Persians, it will affect the soldiers' morale."

 Davers immediately bowed his head and dutifully said, "Yes!"

 Menon's mood was a bit better then, and reached out to grab a handful of drachmas, saying, "Anyway, this time you came up with an idea to help our troops, and this is a reward for you from me - the mercenary leader Menon. Remember, next time you have any more good ideas, come straight to me and I'll reward you again!"

 Davos reached out and took it with feigned delight, "Thank you Chief!"

 Menon waved his hand to let him retreat, watching him walk out of the house, Menon's expression is still a little frothy: Menon and Davos is an employment relationship, Menon does not have the power of life and death, only the right to dismiss. But dismissing a warrior with brains, he will be reused in other barracks, but the one who suffers is Menon. So Menon just wanted to knock Davos around a bit, not wanting him to expand his influence in the barracks while keeping him under control. But judging from this meeting, it doesn't seem so easy ...

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