Herald of Steel



Jamider (Earl) Nibbar's imposing speech gave the nobles pause.

"..." And thus they stood around the door in flux, not knowing what to do next.

Some consider taking their chances.

While some believed it might be better to stick together.

And as they looked at each in askance, finally, being unable to bear the stifling air, one of the nobles turned around and picked up the courage to ask, "Then what does Your Lord propose? Fight?"

His question was laced with fear and apprehension, meaning if Jamider (Earl) Nibbar made the mistake of saying yes, he would be the first one to bolt.

He very well knew the number of his own men and they were not enough.

"Fight? Without horses? That's what peasants are for!" Jamider (Earl) Nibbar had an incredulous tone to his voice as he pronounced this, as if finding the very concept beyond absurd.

After all, it was common knowledge among nobles that a noble who does not fight on a horse was not a noble, but just common rabble.

Having avoided this trap, the huge man then produced a wide, reassuring grin, and said, "First of all, let us all remember that we are nobles. Blue-bloods. Pure and saintly. So what are we afraid of?"

This implicit statement was made to remind the men that as nobles they were basically untouchable, decreed as saints or semi-divine by the temple of Ramuh.

And though this status was like wet paper in front of the royal family, against others, even against other nobles, it was a mighty shield.

For outside of combat, it was a great taboo to kill a noble under most circumstances, except for exceptional cases such as treason, rebellion, or gross military defeats against invading forces, meaning a noble usually got to die in bed.

Jamidar (Earl) Nibbar's confident demeanor and convincing speech made many of the panicking sheep calm down, and seeing this as he finished by saying, "Whoever is attacking…whoever that may be, be it rebels, or bandits, or even that Jakqum, nobody will harm us. Because we are nobles. So let us stay calm and wait. Because no doubt the main perpetrator will soon come to greet us."

Nibbar seemed to place a lot of faith in his status as a blue-blooded noble and in its efficacy of being able to stop any soldier from killing him, as evidenced by how he puffed up his chest with pride after finishing.

And just like Kyamin's panic was infectious, Nibbar's confidence was too contagious.

And this reasonable speech and his poised demeanor quickly made fear transmute into courage inside the hearts of many of the nobles.

"Tha..that's right. Lord Nibbar said it well. If any of those mongrels dare touch a hair on us, the whole of Adhania will not let them off," A mustached noble squeaked out the reply like an obedient lackey.

And was soon joined by others making similar statements and threats.

It was unknown to who they were saying such words, though most likely it was to themselves in order to boost their morale.

And at some point, a burst of loud, uproarious laughter broke out, initiated by Maizdy, who said, "Hahaha, good, good. Just as I said, if we stick together nothing will happen."

The fat man's skill to so effortlessly and shamelessly make this statement surprised many, though those that interacted with him before knew such was his character.

If anyone thought Pasha Muazz was bad, they should meet his spoiled sons and daughters.

"Hahaha, yes, yes, my lord is most wise, most perceptive. We are honored to have you lead us," Jamider (Earl) Nibbar had been around these wastrels to know how to maneuver around them, and expertly provided the right amount of oil, drawing a big grin from the man.

And as the obese man was pleased with himself for managing to effortlessly steal the credit and as well as being happy with Nibbar for being 'clever', the real clever Jamider (Earl) also cleverly took advantage of the opportunity to say, "Then my lord, I ask you to allow me to step outside the room for a moment. I want to ask one of my soldiers to deliver our desire to meet the opposing party."

This noble was afraid that him arbitrarily steeping outside would spook the nobles and make them think he was trying to save his own hide.

And hence he asked for permission from his 'superior.'

"Mmm, okay. You do that. I too want to see who had the gall to attack us. I will judge him myself," It seemed Jamider (Earl) Nibbar's speech was a bit too successful, as fear had turned into haughtiness for Maizdy.

"I will endeavor to arrange it as soon as possible," Came a gentle smile and an elegant bow, as Nibbar quickly but elegantly shuffled out of the door.

And though many nobles held a tinge of suspicions of the large man being so eager to leave, they knew they could not contradict the man who had appointed himself in charge.

Because those who did did not have happy endings.

Jamider (Earl) Nibbar rapidly walked across the hallways, almost as if he was riding on a hurricane and whipping by a storm, as he soon met up with his head bodyguard stationed at the front gates.

"What is going on? Tell me the truth!" And this was the first thing the Jamider (Earl) asked after he grabbed the strong man from his post and effortlessly dragged him to a corner, his tone hushed and fearful.

The nobles back in the hallway would have been surprised if they could see the look on the big man's face, for the upbeat, confident facade had been torn to reveal a man just as scared as them, perhaps more.

"T..It's them. No doubt it's them, my lord. Many of my soldiers and even other soldiers have said they heard these enemies shout in a foreign language. It can only be them!" This bodyguard blurted out, his spit almost hitting the noble.

"Thesian? Were they speaking thesian?" Nibbar instantly understood the implication, as he spat out even more of his spittle, before closing the distance between the two, trying hard to keep his emotions in check and his voice low.

He did not want to openly cause a scene, especially not when morale was already so low.

"Ye…yes. Most likely. Most likely," This was accompanied by forceful nods to display the confirmation.

Although Alexander had pushed for all the soldiers to speak Azhak, it had been only two months since they came to Adhania and there was not enough time.

In addition, many soldiers simply refused, feeling that the language was a part of their identity.

They did not outright rebel against the order, but they quietly ignored it.

And for the time being, Alexander ignored them because this transition was inevitable.

While another part of the reason was that when in a battle, everyone subconsciously tended to speak in the tongue one was most fluent in, i.e- his mother tongue.

Hence Alexander's men were soon identified, though even if they hid their tongues, their uniform and gear would have been a dead giveaway if the enemy soldiers took the time to observe them.

'Darmmm…' Nibbar cursed that his worst assumptions had come true.

Even though he knew prior that this was the most likely cause, it still made his teeth grind.

"What about the city? Can we escape?" Came the next logical answer.

Given the chance, Nibbar would gladly leave all those imbeciles to the pits.

His and his family's life was more precious than any of those fools.

"I..I don't know my lord. I was asleep… and …and I only woke up some time.. some time ago," This bodyguard's face had gone from blushed to pale in the span of just one sentence.

Because he had just admitted that he was sleeping on his job.

"Yo…yooo…youuu," Nibbar hearing this had the opposite change, his pale face turning flushed red with anger.

This was a man he had trusted to protect his life and he was now openly admitting to sleeping on his job?

This made Nibbar want to knock every tooth out of this guy.

Though in his defense, nobody was expecting such an attack, and it was biting cold, so sleeping seemed a mighty tempting option, a seduction further aggravated by the cushy life he got used to living with the Jamider (Earl).

"So who knows how to get out of the city?" Jamider (Earl) Nibbar was not an impulsive man and decided that chewing his bodyguard out could wait,

For now, the priority was running and he asked for information regarding this by grabbing the armed man by the collar.

"I..I don't know sire," The bodyguard's squealed in terror.

But just as it looked like the Jamider was going to snap the poor man's neck in anger, he squeaked out, "But I heard the soldiers mention that anyone who says he is a noble is being spared. I swear, I swear I heard it, my lord, I swear."

The bodyguard kept repeating this as he felt the grip around his throat tighter, making his tongue almost stick out, and his breath constricted as Nibbar tried to figure out if the soldier was telling the truth or trying to save his hide.

But he was snapped out of his deduction suddenly as a loud announcement was heard coming from the outside.

"Which noble is residing in the house? Come out. Our master wants to meet you. We promise you will be treated will respect and dignity."

The option to run had just closed.