"Don't worry, King."
“I used to come to this area often.”
"We get these storms every now and then, and they're really, really terrible storms."
Leonidas led the elite Spartan warriors, plus several coalition guides who were familiar with the terrain, and left Thermopylae.
The other Spartan soldiers naturally continued to garrison at the pass of Thermopylae, because at that pass, the Spartan warriors could gather together to guard there.
Simply put, it was a narrow pass by the sea, with only one road just wide enough for a chariot to pass through.
That is, an area that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Leonidas and his men's goal was to investigate the movements and formation of the Persian army in order to formulate a more effective defense strategy.
Because, based on the information provided by the coalition forces, Leonidas judged that the Persians had not yet officially arrived at Thermopylae.
Therefore, he needed to know the enemy's movements and how long it would take for the enemy to arrive here.
The group passed through the dense pine forest, crossed several narrow ridges, and gradually approached the activity area of the Persian vanguard.
"That's it, King."
"Crossing here, we can see a small village."
"We can ask the villagers there. Their village is on a high ground. Just a little further ahead, we can..."
"What is that?"
The Allied guide stopped talking here.
Because he saw smoke appearing in the sky ahead.
Black smoke.
Obviously, few people would light a fire during the day, and people usually light a fire at night.
"Could it be!"
Everyone quickened their pace, as expected.
It was once a typical Greek rural settlement, but now it has been completely destroyed by war.
The thatched roof was burned to charcoal, and black traces of smoke remained on the walls.
Next to the well in the center of the village, the bodies of several villagers were piled there casually. Some even died in their houses. It was obvious that they were massacred without any preparation.
Even more outrageous is that the Persians hung some of their dead on a bare tree, and the corpses now hang from it like branches of the tree.
"oh......"
One of the coalition guides covered his mouth, trying hard to suppress the urge to vomit.
Leonidas had a gloomy expression and raised his head slightly.
"It seems our guess was correct. The Persian vanguard has landed."
An older Spartan warrior raised his head and looked angry.
"These devils!"
"They even massacred the villagers!"
"The people here don't even have proper weapons!"
The coalition guide then began to observe the surroundings nervously.
"King! We, we have to leave as soon as possible!"
"The Persians have been here before, which means there might be people from them nearby!"
"Persian scouts may appear at any moment!"
When the coalition guide said this, his voice was trembling.
After all, few people can remain calm when seeing such a scene.
However, the Spartans did not show any fear in their reaction. On the contrary, a determination appeared on Leonidas' face.
The huge rock called wrath made the mountain of Leonidas even taller.
"See, my brothers of Sparta? This is what we fight for."
"We must stop this kind of atrocities from happening again."
Another Spartan looked at the bodies hanging from the trees and gritted his teeth.
"They are defiling our land!"
Leonidas simply left a brief message and continued on his way.
"They're going to pay the price for this."
The team left the ruins and climbed to a higher ridge.
When they reached the top of the mountain, the scene before them made everyone gasp.
"Oh, gods..."
"The end of the world has come!"
The guides stuck their heads out, then quickly retracted half of their heads.
Because he saw that on the plain at the foot of the mountain, the Persian army was like an endless ocean.
The tents almost formed a city, and people were gathering in the remaining space under the tents.
In the distance, convoys carrying supplies came in an endless stream, continuously providing supplies to this huge army.
Moreover, the coastline can be clearly seen from the position of Leonidas and others.
There, the Persian navy's fleet was landing.
Hundreds of large and small ships were arranged in neat formations, and soldiers rushed to the beach along makeshift wooden boards.
Each ship was loaded with soldiers and weapons, and once they docked, an unstoppable stream of people would form.
The Allied guide looked at the scene in horror. He even shrank back completely, not daring to look anymore.
"this!"
"This! This is only part of their army!"
"Even, even their main fleet hasn't arrived yet!"
"How many enemies are we going to face?!"
The Allied guide kept muttering to himself and rubbing his eyes with his hands, as if trying to rub out the scene he saw.
"We can't win! Impossible!"
"So many enemies...it's over...Greece is finished..."
"We, we will become slaves of the Persians!"
"No! No!"
As the coalition guides spoke, they actually ran away.
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