And how it would have rejoiced any great captain , who was bent on conquering the world , like Alexander or Napoleon , to raise a crop of armed soldiers as easily as Jason did ! For a while , the warriors stood flourishing their weapons , clashing their swords against their shields , and boiling over with the red-hot thirst for battle . Then they began to shout -- `` Show us the enemy ! Lead us to the charge ! Death or victory ! '' `` Come on , brave comrades ! Conquer or die ! '' and a hundred other outcries , such as men always bellow forth on a battle field , and which these dragon people seemed to have at their tongues ' ends . At last , the front rank caught sight of Jason , who , beholding the flash of so many weapons in the moonlight , had thought it best to draw his sword . In a moment all the sons of the dragon 's teeth appeared to take Jason for an enemy ; and crying with one voice , `` Guard the Golden Fleece ! '' they ran at him with uplifted swords and protruded spears . Jason knew that it would be impossible to withstand this blood-thirsty battalion with his single arm , but determined , since there was nothing better to be done , to die as valiantly as if he himself had sprung from a dragon 's tooth . Medea , however , bade him snatch up a stone from the ground . `` Throw it among them quickly ! '' cried she . `` It is the only way to save yourself . '' The armed men were now so nigh that Jason could discern the fire flashing out of their enraged eyes , when he let fly the stone , and saw it strike the helmet of a tall warrior , who was rushing upon him with his blade aloft . The stone glanced from this man 's helmet to the shield of his nearest comrade , and thence flew right into the angry face of another , hitting him smartly between the eyes . Each of the three who had been struck by the stone took it for granted that his next neighbor had given him a blow ; and instead of running any farther towards Jason , they began to fight among themselves . The confusion spread through the host , so that it seemed scarcely a moment before they were all hacking , hewing , and stabbing at one another , lopping off arms , heads , and legs and doing such memorable deeds that Jason was filled with immense admiration ; although , at the same time , he could not help laughing to behold these mighty men punishing each other for an offense which he himself had committed .
In an incredibly short space XXXXX time -LRB- almost as short , indeed , as it had taken them to grow up -RRB- , all but one of the heroes of the dragon 's teeth were stretched lifeless on the field .
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