Chirisophus' satisfaction with how he had handled the situation with Tibron evaporated the moment Tibron's adjutant rushed in, his face pale with urgency.
"What did you say?! The soldiers have fled?" Chirisophus demanded, his voice sharp with disbelief. His immediate suspicion was that Tibron was up to some form of mischief, perhaps an attempt to sabotage his leadership.
The adjutant shifted uneasily before responding. "Not all of them, my lord. The deserters are mostly those who were part of Darius the Younger's expedition. After we returned to Ephesus, the troops were stationed outside the city. With Tibron under investigation, he has not inspected the military camp for several days…" He hesitated before continuing, "When you temporarily assigned me to oversee Tibron's duties, I decided to assemble the army for a speech to stabilize morale—especially as some soldiers might be uneasy about Tibron's removal. That's when I discovered that over 3,000 soldiers were missing."
