Afranius's scouts returned with the whereabouts and make up of the Pontic force.

"Sir, the Pontic force is around 20,000 strong and loosely divided into 10,000 heavy infantry, 5,000 light infantry, 5,000 skirmishers and a token force of 100 cavalry."

Afranius smiled to himself. This force would make easy pickings.

"Where are they headed?"

The scout who had served under Afranius since before Alexandria smiled to himself.

"That is the most interesting part of my report, sir."

"What do you mean?"

The scout moved over to the map set out in Afranius's makeshift tent.

"If I may, sir...?"

"Proceed."

The scout pointed to the map.

"We are here just a few miles from the coast. The enemy are approximately 40 miles west of our position. They have failed to send out sufficient scouts so they may not know of our position. They also may not have the discipline or organisation of your force but because they are lightly armed, they can move at a similar pace to use."

The scout traced his finger from the enemy position directly towards the Roman position.

"If we travel at a similar rate of speed in an attempt to meet them, we will most likely meet them here."

Afranius did a double-take when he saw the name of the position.

It could not be a coincidence, especially after his earlier victory at Alexandria Magna with Sextus Pompeius.

It had to be the will of the gods!

He could not let their gift go to waste.

Afranius immeditately had the call made to break camp. The entire army would march to meet the Pontic rebels and face them in a pre-ordained battlefield of the gods choosing.

Within the hour the army was ready to go. Astride his horse, Afranius gave the order to march. His second-in-command asked him a question as the column started to move

"Are we going to meet the rebels, sir?"

"Yes, we are."

"If I may say so, sir, we will be outnumbered and this march may not give us time to survey the battlefield before facing our opponent. Is there some reason for our urgency?"

Afranius was tempted to strike his underling for his impudence but quickly reined himself in realising that he was yet to divulge their destination.

"Our urgency is due to the will of the gods, my friend. In the past year, we have beaten the Persian in battle and fought on the field of Issus."

The commander almost chuckled

"We do seem to be following in the footsteps of the great Alexander."

"We do indeed." replied Afranius with no hint of laughter

Then the commander realised where they were heading. Seeing this realisation, Afranius confirmed his suspicions.

"Yes, my friend, our destination is the river Granicus."