“The king’s army is coming! The king’s army is coming!!…” A scouting cavalry galloped from afar, shouting repeatedly in Persian and Greek.
The soldiers, who were about to stop for a rest, became agitated.
“Patikias, are you telling the truth? Artaxerxes is really coming?!” Seeing the cavalry who had just jumped off the horse, Cyrus the Younger1 asked immediately.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness. Artaxerxes2 is coming! Artagasses are here too! And that…damn Tissaphernes3 is here as well!!” Patikias gasped and said it in a hoarse voice.
“Very good, my friend! Very good! He is here at last!!” Cyrus the Younger jumped off the horse excitedly, and as he let his servant put on his breastplate, he shouted to his adjutant, Ariaeus4, “Notify the whole army and prepare for battle!!”
“Yes, Your Highness!” Ariaeus hurriedly calls the messenger, “Notify the Greeks immediately, and quickly line up on our right flank! Prepare to fight!”
The messenger sped away.
Ariaeus also called all the persian generals. Cyrus the Younger allowed them to lead soldiers on their left flank, while he led 800 cavalry in the center.
Artapatus carefully asked, “How many enemies are there?”
“About 60,000…or 80,000…” There was a little fear on his face when Patikias recalled what he had seen.
“So many people!!” The attendants exclaimed with fear.
“Haha! Are you scared? My friend.” Cyrus the Younger came forward and gave Patikias a powerful hug, and he did not mind Patikias’ dusty and sweaty body at all. Then, he turned around and got on the horse and shouted, “Friends, are you afraid?!”
Of course, the followers of Cyrus the Younger expressed their courage one after another.
“Even if Artaxerxes had more soldiers, he is still the timid Artaxerxes! Don’t forget, a small hound could scare him to pee!” Cyrus the Younger’s vulgar words made the people around him laugh.
“And I have you! And my army! Together we defeated the mighty Athens! The Athens that had repeatedly defeated us in Persia!” Cyrus the Younger’s eyes swept through each person and the men straightened their chest.
“We still have the brave Greeks! They fought side by side with us!” Cyrus the Younger looked to the right where the Greek heavy infantry began their slow formation. Seeing this, he felt confident, “We are unstoppable! We are invincible!!”
“For victory” Artapatus shouted first, then everyone screamed one after another, “For victory!!”
In the face of high morale, Cyrus the Younger raised his right hand, “Friends! Warriors! After this victory, I swear to Mazda, the Supreme god, that I will do my best to repay your friendship and dedication!!”
“Cyrus, THE GREAT!!” No one knows who shouted. Immediately, like a flash flood, a loud shout erupted.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Hey, Matonis. Is there something going on?” Davos couldn’t help but slap the shoulder of a soldier that is in front of him.
“How many times have you asked? No! No!” Matonis wiped his sweaty neck with his left hand and irritably shouted, “Why hasn’t the enemy come yet? The sun had already reached the middle of the sky! If we wait any longer, we’ll be scorched by its flame!”
“Matonis, Even if your meat is roasted, I don’t want to smell it. One of this days, I’ll vomit when eating meat.” A soldier’s glib remark next to him caused a burst of laughter among the soldiers.
“Shut up! Olivos, you lecherous guy, if you want me to put your hand in your mouth and let you taste your own meat, then continue talking!” Matonis fiercely threatened while waving his sturdy arm.
“Oh, I am so scared!” Olivos put on a frightened look and caused another burst of laughter.
“Everyone stand up and stop making noises! Meno5 is coming!” As soon as Hielos’s voice fell, he heard a sharp voice coming, “Little children, what do you think this place is! Is it your family’s dinner place?”
A well-proportioned soldier with a red feather on his helmet stood in front of the square, pointing at them and scolding, “This is the battlefield! If you don’t go all out, then Hades will be happy to visit you!”
“The rotten-mouthed Meno!” Someone in the troops shouted.
“Who said that?! You come out for me!!!” They all laughed and were glad to see Meno jumping in front of them and shouting angrily.
Then someone shouted loudly, “Look ahead!!!”
The soldiers then looked ahead. Soon, the smile on their face was quickly replaced by panic.
Smoke and dust rose everywhere in sight, covering the hills, trees and houses, all of which were grey.
After a while, a thin black line drilled out the smoke and dust, it began to stretch to both sides, gradually becoming thicker…
A moment later, when the soldiers could barely see the outline of the enemy, countless lights began to shine in the dazzling sunlight.
The cold light emitted by the armor, spear and shield… seems to be like the endless Galaxy in the night sky; The sound of footsteps, shouting and hissing of horses gathered into a rolling wave, which made the earth tremble, not to mention the human legs.
Just as Olivos felt like he was about to fall, he heard Hielos shout, “Ready to fight!”
“Ready to fight!!”
“Ready to fight!!!”
Greek mercenary soldiers put on their helmet, took off the shield hanging on their left shoulder, held their spears, and began to strike their shields.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!…” The loud noise made Olivos realize that he is also in a powerful army, and his mood gradually calmed down.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Persian king’s army is still moving slowly and orderly, The chariots are at the forefront, followed by the archers without armor, next came the light cavalry, and finally the infantries with long-shield and spear, the sparabara6. The heavy cavalry is divided into two parts, some of them are to protect the Persian King; some are deployed on the far left wing of the army…
The vast Persian army is like the thick clouds in the sky before a storm, slowly pressing and suffocating.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
At this moment, Cyrus the Younger, with several followers, galloped left to right, giving instructions to every Greek mercenary leader…
With constant cheers, he had reached the far right end of the Greek army formation, and he could even see the roaring Euphrates river not far away.
“Honor to you, Your Highness!” Clearchus7 performed a military salute.
Cyrus the Younger looked at the Greek whom he trusted most, then pointed to the central location of the Persian King’s army and said, “When the battle begins, I want you to lead your men straight into the center of the enemy. Kill Artaxerxes, the victory of this battle must be ours!”
1. Cyrus The Younger son of Darius II of Persia and younger brother of Artaxerxes II Mnemon.
2. Artaxerses II of Persia was a Persian King from 404 BC till 358 BC.
3. Tissaphernes was the Satrap(Governor) of Lydia.
4. Ariaeus was a Persian general who fought alongside Cyrus the Younger.
5. Meno was one of the Greek generals who had work under Cyrus the Younger as a mercenary.
6. Sparabara were the front line infantry of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
7. Clearchus is another Greek general and a mercenary under Cyrus the Younger.