Bourkos hesitated, but still prepared to tell the truth. After all, it was an open secret, and he didn't want it to affect the trust they had built between them. "When Thurii was founded, Athens had an agreement with Croton: 'Croton and Thurii shall maintain peace, and Thurii shall not build a city on the site of Sybaris, while keeping Sybaris as it was.'"
"The overbearing Croton! Is it to use a crumbling ruin to show everyone passing through the power of Croton?" Davos asked curiously.
"Perhaps. But it also constantly reminds the people of Thurii never to repeat the mistakes of Sybaris!" Bourkos said, forcing a tough tone.
"Thurii sure knows how to endure," Davos joked. Seeing Bourkos's grim expression, he still had to ask: "Now that we're setting up camp here, isn't that violating the agreement?"
Bourkos pretended to be casual: "The situation is urgent now. I believe Croton will understand."
"Let's hope the people of Croton think the same," Davos replied.
Bourkos said nothing more. He had witnessed Davos's shrewdness before, and he believed Davos had already seen through the nuances.
The group continued forward. The broken walls and stones gradually decreased, and the ground became flatter...
Philistos, walking at the front, stopped and turned back: "Commander, I think we should build the camp centered here."
Davos stood on a large rock and looked around: about two hundred meters to the north was the camp of the mercenary force that had arrived earlier; to the south was the Crati River; to the east was the sea; to the west were plots of farmland.
He jumped down and poked the soil with the tip of his right foot. Beneath the thin layer of dirt, it was mostly hard—probably the stone bricks that once paved the streets of Sybaris. This should be the central area of the old city of Sybaris.
Davos felt assured. He nodded: "Alright."
Philistos turned back to notify the soldiers still disembarking at the dock.
Just then, several dozen men came out from the mercenary camp opposite and ran toward them.
"Hey, where are you from?" the man in front shouted.
Bourkos recognized the newcomer, stepped forward, and said: "Drakos, this is Commander Davos of Thessaly, invited by Thurii. Like you, his mercenaries will also fight the Lucanians."
"Oh?" Drakos, seeing how young Davos was, couldn't help but feel curious and dismissive. When he saw Asiastes leading the guard unit making marks and taking measurements on the ground, his expression shifted: "What are they doing?"
"We'll camp here. From now on, our two armies will be neighbors," Davos said with a smile.
"You intend to camp here?!" Drakos's eyes widened, and his voice rose.
"It's convenient to camp here, and we can support each other," Davos noticed the change in his expression but remained unconcerned.
"Who wants your support?! Don't drag us down! This place cannot be used for camping. You must move south at least three hundred meters before setting up camp!" Drakos ordered in a stern tone.
"Three hundred meters south? Then our camp would be right by the river!" Davos reminded him.
"I don't care! Figure it out yourself, but you must leave here immediately!" Drakos took a forceful stance.
"Drakos, this is Thurii's land. You have no right to make such a decision!" Bourkos shouted at him.
"But your Thurii designated this Sybaris ruin as our mercenary camp, so I do have the right—because we were here first!" Drakos said arrogantly.
Bourkos was about to speak again, but Davos pulled him back.
"I understand. So it seems that here, who's in charge depends on strength," Davos said with a cold laugh.
"Heh, young man, you're not stupid. What, want a fight?" Drakos scoffed dismissively.
Davos called Asiastes over and said quietly: "Go get the troops. Tell them there's a good chance to stretch their limbs."
"Understood!" Asiastes ran back excitedly.
"Martius, what are you waiting for? Follow me!" Davos said, then dashed forward.
Martius, who had been a famed warrior in Heilos's squad alongside Matonis, had tempered his aggressive tendencies since becoming the guard captain. But encountering such a rare opportunity, he was already raring to go. He led thirty guards, fierce as wolves and tigers, charging forward.
When Drakos saw Davos coming, he threw a punch straight at his head.
Davos was ready. He ducked low while keeping his speed, closing in on Drakos's right side.
Before Drakos could retract his punch and turn, Davos's left fist struck like lightning into his ribs. The pain made him bend over instinctively, and then Davos's right uppercut landed hard on his jaw, lifting his sturdy body slightly before he fell backward.
Bourkos watched from behind—in a flash, Drakos was down. A chill ran down his spine. Usually, Davos chatted and laughed with him, appearing refined and scholarly, making Bourkos think this young man had won over his mercenary soldiers with wisdom. He never expected Davos's lethality to be so stunning. Then he saw the other guard members, led by Martius, striking like tigers pouncing on prey—vicious and precise, with excellent coordination, defending each other and attacking in unison. Though the enemy outnumbered them by ten, they were a scattered mess, always caught in a pincer by two or three of Davos's men. Soon, they were all beaten down, with Martius's side suffering almost no losses.
Bourkos wanted to say something, but he heard the rumbling of footsteps behind him.
"Davos, we're here!" Matonis was running at the front.
Davos saw many people rushing out of the opposite camp, but they were noticeably slower than his own side. So he said: "However many they send up, we'll match them. Everyone takes turns, keep beating them until they're all down, but no killing!"
"Roar!" The soldiers howled with excitement, eagerly waiting for the enemy to come.
A large melee of several hundred people soon began, and it ended just as quickly. The outcome was obvious—the soldiers from the opposite camp, seeing their own comrades lying all over the ground groaning, were too scared to come any closer.
Seeing this, Bourkos was glad he had decided to hire Davos's army, but at the same time worried: "Did you go too far? How will we fight alongside Drakos and his men later?!"
Davos rubbed his knuckles and reassured him: "You don't understand how things work between mercenary forces. After this fight, I believe there won't be any more friction, and they'll understand who really has the authority to make decisions here!"
These words gave Bourkos a new understanding of Davos...
...
"Matonis, if it weren't for the two darics a month, I really wouldn't want to come to your army!..." Kteippos, a mercenary who had joined Davos's camp in Byzantium, complained to platoon leader Matonis as he dug a trench: "After ten days on the boat, we finally get to Thurii, and we're not even allowed a good rest—immediately we're digging trenches and building camp..."
Matonis glared at him: "If you don't want to do it, then don't!"
"I don't want to get my ass beaten!" Kteippos recalled something and grew more fearful: "No wonder people used to say your camp is strict—it really is! Getting spanked at the drop of a hat—it's unbearable! We're mercenaries, not the Spartan army..."
Matonis missed the soldiers he used to lead. After half a year of磨合, they were all familiar. According to the military regulations Davos had enacted, they knew what to do and when without him having to urge them. But ever since half the veterans were pulled out and new soldiers from Byzantium were crammed in, minor incidents kept happening along the way, frustrating Matonis—like this blabbermouth in front of him. Matonis didn't want to deal with him, but had to remind him: "Kid, you're digging too shallow! The commander requires a 'U'-shaped trench three meters wide and three meters deep. Look at yours—it's nowhere near enough. It won't pass inspection for sure!"
Fighting