The next day of marching, Davos rode on his horse, his spirits high, his mind still lingering on the pleasures he had shared with Cheiristoya the night before. Cheiristoya was not only beautiful, but her body was as sensuous as it appeared—snow-white, smooth skin, undulating curves that he found irresistible, coupled with her remarkable flexibility. He had indulged himself, venting all the pent-up desires accumulated over nineteen years in his young, strong body, their lovemaking lasting late into the night. If Olivus hadn't covered for him outside, they would surely have been discovered, so Davos forgave Olivus for his "crime" of eavesdropping.
When passion subsided, Cheiristoya lay in the crook of his arm, shyly expressing her willingness to be with him. At that moment, Davos felt the distance between himself and this world had narrowed considerably. This newfound attachment also gave him more to think about regarding his future direction. Davos, hailing from a modern society and being an adult, knew well that passion was fleeting. Cheiristoya came from nobility and had been a concubine of Cyrus the Younger, accustomed to a life of luxury. Now, he was merely a mercenary, an ordinary commoner in Greek society—not even a citizen—with no fixed abode, drifting from place to place. It might be fine for a short while, but in the long run, Cheiristoya would likely tire of it... Of course, he kept this thought buried within himself; now was not the time to dwell on it, for the immediate task was to return safely to Greece.
The appearance of the Persians ruined his good mood.
This time, Tissaphernes had changed his tactics—no longer attacking head-on, but harassing them. The Persians followed closely, maintaining a safe distance, and from time to time a squadron of horse archers would charge in, loose a volley of arrows, then immediately retreat. This caused little actual harm to the mercenaries, but it kept their nerves constantly on edge, slowing the march and sapping morale.
The leaders were helpless. The only thing they could do was to mix slingers, archers, and heavy infantry together, so that when facing the swift Persian horse archers, they could force them to be less aggressive.
Meanwhile, the Greek mercenaries encountered other difficulties. As they drew closer to the Dukeya mountains, the plains gradually gave way to hills, and the terrain became rugged. The massive phalanx formation of the Greek army could no longer maintain its integrity, especially when crossing rivers and traversing narrow mountain passes, where the entire formation broke apart completely. The Persian cavalry exploited these gaps, using arrows to sow greater chaos among the mercenaries.
After deliberation, the leaders decided to pull out the companies of smaller mercenaries that had been attached to Cheirisophus from the vanguard (since Persian attacks had so far come mainly from the rear and flanks) and form four or five companies, each about two hundred men, deployed on the flanks and inside the rearguard. Whenever a wide gap appeared in the formation, or when it was compressed by narrow terrain, they would charge out to form a new rearguard, blocking the Persian cavalry's advance and providing a shield for the archers and slangers following behind.
Thus, the mercenaries marched on, constantly devising ways to counter the harassing Persian cavalry. This situation persisted for four or five days. When a continuous range of mountains finally appeared ahead, the entire army breathed a sigh of relief, for they all knew that cavalry could not climb mountains.
Panting heavily, they struggled up the rugged mountain paths, crossed the first ridge, and arrived at the foot of the second ridge. Exhausted, the column stopped to rest.
Most of the soldiers took off their armor, wiped away sweat, and sat down to rest. The guards of the baggage camp, while resting, also had to check on the injuries and damage to the pack animals and wagons. The entire army was crowded in the narrow strip between two mountains, preparing to rest a while to regain strength before continuing the march.
The attack came without warning. Countless arrows and flying stones whistled in, catching the mercenaries completely off guard. Soldiers screamed, women shrieked, pack animals scattered, and the entire column fell into chaos.
The first to react were Cheirisophus and his eight hundred Spartan warriors. These Spartans, unlike the other soldiers, had not thrown away their weapons and armor after descending the mountain, and thanks to their rigorous training, they still had plenty of stamina. When Cheirisophus saw that the attack was coming from the second mountain ridge, he gave the decisive order: "Spartans, forward!"
The Spartan warriors immediately followed him, raising their shields and charging up the ridge.
The Persian light infantry shot rapidly, volley after volley of arrows pouring down the slope.
After the initial panic, the mercenaries responded swiftly—they were all seasoned veterans of war. They quickly grabbed the round shields at their sides and crouched beneath them. Only the personnel of the baggage camp, aside from the guards, were mostly slaves or women taken in plunder, with no combat experience. Driven by fear, most of them, instead of taking cover, ran about screaming, and thus suffered many casualties under the dense rain of arrows.
At this moment, Davos was frantic with worry. In the past few nights, to avoid any awkwardness, he had not gone to see Cheiristoya during camp. Now, with the situation critical, he had no idea if she was safe.
"Asiastes, tell the officers to form a shield wall and move toward the baggage camp and the medical camp!" he shouted.
"Yes, leader!"
In fact, he didn't need to order it. Philistos, Capus, Antonios, and the others had already led their men to raise their round shields overhead, forming a shield array and moving toward the center.
Olivus and Matonis also immediately raised their shields and rushed forward to protect Davos.
But Davos yelled, "Mariji! Mariji, are you all right?!"
"I'm fine!" Mariji called from behind him.
"Quick, protect him! Don't let him get hurt!" Davos ordered.
Though Matonis despised this Persian, he always executed Davos's commands without hesitation.
Now acting as the temporary leader of the guard unit, he ordered Georgios and several others to move up and guard Mariji.
Mariji stared at Davos's back, silent, his eyes full of gratitude.
Davos had no time to check on Mariji. He knelt, peering out from under his shield toward the baggage camp, which was in complete chaos.
Anxiously, he hurried toward the center. When he saw that the medical camp had also raised a shield formation, he relaxed a little. To avoid any suspicion, he called out first, "Helpus! Helpus!"
"I'm here!" Helpus's voice came from under the shield array. "We're all fine!"
Hearing that, Davos completely relaxed. Just then, Heilos came over and briefly explained the situation: The doctors and female slaves in the medical camp were safe, largely thanks to Cheiristoya. When the first volley of arrows came down, she immediately called out for them to take cover under the baggage carts, and then Heilos directed the more than a hundred wounded soldiers accompanying them to form a shield formation, protecting the majority.
Heilos praised Cheiristoya's quick, calm reaction in the face of danger, which gave Davos a new appreciation for this woman. Perhaps this was why, among Cyrus the Younger's concubines, only she had escaped the Persian plunder.
The baggage camp fared much worse. Mesis was unharmed under the protection of his guards, but many slaves and women were hit by arrows, and several pack animals were killed. Faced with Mesis's crestfallen face, Davos, already hardened to the realities of life and death, did not send troops to protect these non-combatants who were now scattering in panic. Fortunately, the Persian attack didn't last long. It stopped because Cheirisophus's force was nearly at the summit.
The Persians, of course, had no intention of fighting the mercenaries head-on. They quickly retreated.
Cheirisophus left the Spartan warriors on the ridge top as a precaution.
Descending the mountain, Cheirisophus called the leaders together to discuss a response. He said, "The Persians are all light infantry. We can't catch them. Though they've retreated, they're likely to continue attacking us with arrows from the third or fourth ridge. Our army is too large to easily avoid."
Though he said "discussion," he had already thought of a solution on the way back down the mountain. "I carefully surveyed the terrain from the top just now. These ridges are not tall, and they don't cover much area. We can send a detachment to circle around from the right side of the next ridge to its rear, while I lead my warriors straight up from the front. If the Persians try to occupy the high ground again to attack us, we'll cut off their escape route."
Cheirisophus jabbed at the rough sketch on the ground with a stick: "Then we surround them and wipe them out."
Mountain Battle