Herald of Steel



Mikaya's assessment of the war situation was accurate.

They were in a weaker position, so Amenheraft could unfairly take advantage of the treaty.

"Bad man, did you really have to kill the nobles? Couldn't you have taken them hostages?" The disadvantage of the nobles dying was apparent to even the military nobody Azira, who chided him.

But what was done was done.

And Alexander decided it was best to learn from this mistake and focus on the future rather than moan about the past.

So he turned to ask, "Lady Mikaya, I remember you saying that your brother will be coming late this month. Would be able to arrive with some reinforcement? Because we might have some extra time before the attack, as Maizdy, who was supposed to lead the army is dead. And they will surely spend a while finding a new commander." Alexander hypothesized.

"If you had kept Maizdy alive you would not have needed any reinforcement!" Mikaya gnashed her teeth at this shameless request, adding, "Pa…Muazz must have sent that idiot to get some battlefield prestige thinking it will be an easy victory. That fatso alone would have done more harm to the army than a thousand men could."

It appeared that Mikaya knew quite a lot about Maizdy.

This was in part due to the Maizdy's military records, which though spectacular on paper, were abysmal in reality.

This was a fact that Mikaya's brother had relayed to his sister after he found out about it when he participated in a joint campaign with Matrak and Zanzan against the northern barbarians.

The short story was that Pasha Muazz, being interested in allying himself with Matrak, wanted to arrange a marriage alliance between Maizdy and Mikaya.

And so had traveled to Matrak with a small personal army, intent on showing off his son's martial prowess in a battle against the various tribes north of Matrak as a way to gain Farzah's blessing.

But though they had won, it was simply using sheer mass to crush a tiny tribe, which did not impress the military veteran.

Furthermore, even that supposedly easy battle had appeared dicey at many points, with the Zanzan forces at risk of routing quite a number of times as observed by Mikaya's brother.

In fact that phrase Mikaya used to describe Maizdy was actually said by her brother, with the tiny alteration being he originally used 'ten thousand' instead of just one thousand to show his frustration.

And so, stating the obvious, after her brother's assessment, the marriage proposal fell through.

Though the fact that Maizdy had attempted to force himself on Mikaya in the middle of a feast and got a kick to his crotch for his trouble might have been the bigger reason.

"Both Adhan and Matrak need the men to defend their own territory. We are sorry! But we can't spare any," The Queen Mother curtly and firmly rejected Alexander's request for help, and even added, "If my lord is not confident in being able to defend, His Majesty's previous offer still stands. The land around river Naher is very fertile and good."

The first sentence was said both because it was true and because Seelima was angry.

While the second sentence was to tempt Alexander to go set up his shop there, for The Queen mother was not blind to the treasures being grown in Alexander's backyard.

In fact, she had tried a few times to have a look for herself but had been firmly stopped by the guards each time.

Even her famous, 'Do you know who I'm?' and 'Do you dare defy the royal family?' sayings, which would almost always get the desired result had failed her this time.

It appeared that Alexander's chastising of the two guards had its intended effect, with the soldiers only mechanically repeating, "Only guests accompanying the Pasha himself are allowed inside. Forgive us."

And this only made Seelima even more convinced of the treasures hidden inside.

So secretly, a tiny part of her even wished that Alexander lost the upcoming battle.

"Couldn't we preemptively attack them? Knock them out one by one? Something like what he did in Jabel?" Ophenia at last decided to join in the conversation with her own suggestion making the seemingly sensible on-the-surface advice.

"I'm afraid not," But Alexander shook his head, being the bearer of bad news, and explained, "You are assuming that the men will be collected from near us."

"But it is likely each of the groups will gather at their own noble's fiefs, before traveling to a port where the Djose's ships will carry them to us. So, these small armies are all many many miles away from us, deep inside their own territory."

Alexander then jokingly added, "And by the time we get there, those men might be already in Zanzan, or might even be returning home after razing Zanzan." before finishing by saying,

"And that's even considering we know where all the troops are coming from. We still don't know who all the participants are."

Alexander's highly expounding explanation made the novice about military affairs Ophenia pick out her flaws, as she nodded and shook her head in enlightenment at having never thought about it like that.

While Cambyses further added, "Also we already have a manpower shortage. So taking a large number of men for a month or months will cripple the city."

"Hence, the best option is to build up our defenses and defend the city. We have thick, high walls, so let's use them for a siege. And we have enough food to last us six months if we ration it properly." She then strategically advised.

Alexander did not say yes or no to this.

He had his own plans and would choose a strategy after discussing it with his generals.

So he smiled, nodded, and just kept his mouth shut for the moment.

Another 'modern' suggestion that might have been made was to attack the forces before they could land.

But contested landings were really a modern thing, where a few machine nests could mow down tens of thousands of defenseless infantry.

In ancient times, if you saw an enemy waiting for you at the beaches, then you simply took your ships to another suitable landing position.

It was not like you needed specialized ports and harbors with deep water to land troops like modern ships.

Mostly any shallows would do.

And then what is the other side goona do?

Ships were the fasted vehicle there was and not even a full cavalry army would be able to follow them for long.

Not to even mention a marching army.

So Alexander's best bet was either a siege or to let them land at Hatamum and have a pitched battle somewhere close.

There was also the option of attacking their ships, but Alexander neither had the number of ships nor the adequate number of sailors, or even the weather on his side.

He would not risk his army drowning.

"Thank you for all the advice. Might I trouble Your Highness Queen mother to at least let His Majesty know of my impending battle? So that he may ask for blessings for me from God Ramuh?" Alexander appeared to have finished this conversation.

"Sure," Seelima did intend to do it anyway, though she held off on the urge to remind Alexander that he did not believe in Ramuh.

"Oh, and also tell His Majesty of this. It might help with the negotiations," And as his last trump card, Alexander bought out a second stack of paper from his coat, before handing a leaf of it over to the Queen mother.

"What's this?" She instinctually asked while taking the stack.

And Alexander was happy to answer.

"I had asked the nobles nicely to reveal all their dark secrets. And that's what they wrote. It's quite the read, haha," He mirthfully chuckled as he handed more of the paper to the others, who eagerly plastered their eyes on the curvy words.

And a quick while later Cambyses was the first to utter a sound of utter disgust, "This..ugghh…these beasts dies too good..uggg,"

She made retching gestures and even felt the consumed feast might come back up to rejoin the table.

"Ale…My lord, is ..is this authentic? Did they really write these?" Even though the Queen mother certainly knew the nobles hid many dark skeletons in their closets, she was still shocked by the revelation,

Because though the crimes were not like a bolt in a clear sky, it was one thing tacitly knowing it, and a whole different thing actually having solid, detailed proof of it.

And the details were particularly alarming for her.

And likewise, Mikaya was similarly affected.

She certainly knew things were bad with nobles in general, but the extent of this was an eye-opener.

Previously, she only thought the nobles' excess was related to only extravagance, indulgence, and promiscuity.

And she even considered herself to be a rotten apple of the bunch.

But it appeared she was a saint when at least compared to the nobles of Zanzan.

And her skin especially crawled when reading about Maizdy, even to the point she had mild panic attacks thinking what her life would have been like if she had married that slimeball.

Perhaps she would not have been outright killed due to her status, but just being miserable might have been a luxury.

"I'm new to this noble thing, so are all nobles like this?" Alexander let off this snarky comment as he observed the various colors appear on the noble women, interested to know their take on this.