Herald of Steel



The bodyguard felt the throat-constricting sensation disappear as the Jamider (Earl) turned his gaze toward the door.

The heavy Thesian accent of the statement hammered nail the identity of the intruders.

"What now?" He thus fiercely growled, feeling Alexander's maw close shut around him.

His gut was telling him to run.

"If my lord orders, I'm willing to cut open a path for you. Just give me the word, Your Grace, and I will do it even if it is me alone." Free of the vice grip, the guard quickly swore in a martyr voice.

But though he sounded staunchly loyal, he was basically saying, 'I'm just one man. Spare me.'

'Craven bastard,' Jamider (Earl) Nibbar cursed under his breath, fearing for his family's life, before finally accepting the circumstances with pursed lips.

"Come with me! Let's go see what's going on!" And then, deciding the best course of action would be to face the situation head-on, he grabbed the guard and tugged him towards the front door.

While the sergeant leading the company stood in front of the huge door with a smug feeling in his heart.

Even a fool could tell that this huge, unmatched amongst its surrounding mansion housed some bigshot, if not the 'biggest'-shot.

And to catch these delicious prey, this man named Hercinidus had raced against other companies to surround this place and won.

'Ahh, imagine the amount of money I will get from this,' And with his reward imminent, the man's mouth almost salivated while glancing at the tall, imposing, magnificent structure, which had turned into a gilded cage right now.

And as his eyes scanned the frightened and scant few guards, each of them targeted with multiple instant bows, he caught sight of two shadows approaching him.

"My name is Jamider (Earl) Nibbar. We surrender. I repeat I'm Jamider…" The man dressed in fine clothing leading the duo said the two sentences repeatedly, while his guard was signaling to the few men around the front gate to throw all their weapons in surrender, which they did seeing it was an order from a Jamider (Earl).

"I'm Sergeant Hercinidus. How many of you are there inside?" It seemed that Hercinidus, instead of accepting the surrender, first wanted to confirm his booty.

Nibbar swallowed the fact that this commoner did not bow to him, as was the tradition when meeting any noble, friendly or hostile as well as the question of what was a 'Sergeant'.

That was not currently important.

"Most of us nobles are here. Once we heard the commotion we gathered in the mansion to discuss what to do next. And we have decided to surrender." Jamider (Earl) Nibbar twisted the truth.

"And the women and children? Where are they? Are they also in the house?" The sergeant asked where these human booties were.

Because he wanted to maximize his earnings.

"Yes, yes. Many of them are here. Please do not harm them. They are all innocent," Nibbar's voice slightly shook as he said this, the real meaning of the word 'harm' clear to all.

He was not as afraid for their lives as he was for their honor.

Because even though nobles were usually protected by the rules of battles, crazed and red-eyed soldiers accidentally 'harming' the women and even children in the heat of battle was not unheard of.

'If only the Lord had not commanded as such,' And Hercinidus's heart itched hearing this.

Noblewomen simply tasted different from the regular peasants that he and his men visited in the brothels, except that new one that just recently opened, and the strong man's loins burnt with desire remembering how he had enjoyed himself for three days and three days when they were allowed to sack the inner district of Adhan.

The number of women and even children he and his brothers had enjoyed those three days made it a memory to relish for years if not decades.

And he very much wanted to replicate that scene here today.

But ultimately he held himself back.

One was because of the monetary reward.

150 ropals was not a paltry sum.

But that solely was not enough for many, who figured that though 150 ropals was a lot of money, it was not a noblewoman.

After all, money could be earned any day, and gold can be gotten in any way, but when could a commoner ever taste a noblewoman?

Never.

The physical beauty of noblewomen, created by the good food they ate, and the sheltered and privileged lives they lived with no physical labor or the attack of the harsh sun, inherently gave all of them soft skins and plump bodies, making them all a delectable feast for these common sods.

And this was coupled with the fact that they had the charm of nobility, of high status, and being high-born.

This mere fact produced a charm that even a much more beautiful, but commoner woman would never have.

Which conversely also made enemy soldiers all the more attracted to them.

These were also one of the main reasons why any captured or fallen nobleman would automatically fetch five to ten times as a regular slave woman, many times regardless of her actual beauty.

Because people bought not the face or the body, but the status.

And thus, when this was accounted for, when the soldiers of Zanzan were presented with the chance to taste a noblewoman potentially worth 20,000 to 40,000 ropal, 150 ropal started to look like a rounding error.

The maths heavily favored the former.

But still Hercinidus decided to follow Alexander's command, and even strictly enforced it among his troops.

And it was not because he was foolish or blindly loyal.

But because of the second reason, which was that it was an open secret that the Pasha did not like such types of acts.

And this dislike towards men who committed these acts was evidenced by the fact that many of those who had not participated in the sacking of Adhan were given first priority when promoting to sergeants and captains (Leader of a battalion consisting of 500 soldiers) in the newly formed legion.

So understanding this, the ambitious Hercinidus decided to sacrifice this short moment of joy for advancing his career.

"None of you will be harmed… if all your guards throw down their weapons and surrender. And if all of you follow me to our camp." Hercinidus thus reassured the Jamider (Earl).

'Whew!' Nabbir very inconspicuously released a sigh of relief, saying, "Thank you, brother, we are relieved." before prodding with the words, "By the way, brother has an interesting accent. Might I ask for your master's name?"

He dared to do this because Hercinidus's answer emboldened him to the fact that these soldiers wanted to capture them, and more specifically wanted to avoid killing them.

So he tried to fish for more information before the negotiations.

But unfortunately for him, he failed in this endeavor, and it even somewhat backfired, as Hercinidus only sneered, "Either you are stupid, Or you think I'm stupid."

And then in a mercurial change of mood, his gentle tone turned harsh as he barked, "Now get everyone inside out. Or if my men have to do it, I cannot guarantee accidental 'harm' will not happen!"

This naked threat made many of the defending men go pale, but the noble himself, Niibar kept his cool, only his eyebrows scrunching up.

'Did I misread the situation?' He wondered, while he quickly thought of a reply to deny this instruction.

He did not want to meet the enemy in his own den.

"Esteemed sir, please calm down. I did not mind mean anything by it," Firstly Jamider (Earl) Nibbar gave a large, professional smile to try and diffuse the situation, with the words 'esteemed sir' said with as much saccharine in it as possible.

This ability to change one's face according to one's needs was a testament to the skills of the veteran noble.

And it worked, as Hercinidus's nose stopped flaring, and he heard the noble continue, "We very much want to follow you to meet your Honored master. But we are a large bunch. Full of defenseless women and children. And so are afraid that so many people may not safely cross the chaotic streets. After all, sir should understand the situation better than me." He paused after making the suggestive sentence, before finishing by saying,

"So, why don't we wait here? Our guards will disarm and surrender to you. And your men can guard us in the meantime. Will not that be the best for both of us?"

The Jamider sure knew how to wag his tongue.

He even posed the last sentence as a question to trick Hercinidus into thinking he was the one making the decision.

Whereas in reality, the decision had been already made.

And the reason for Nibbar proposing as such did have to do with the fact he was afraid that the marauding soldiers might attack the large group during their 'voyage'.

But he was equally afraid some of those imbeciles in the mansion would try to run and make a break for themselves if they sensed an opportunity during the march under the chaos of the dark night inside a burning city.

And that might as well create a blood bath as the enraged soldiers would slice and dice anyone in front of them to pursue the runners.

Nabbir did not trust these soldiers to be reasonable in case of an accident, and he certainly did not trust those idiots that called themselves nobles to react rationally and act considering the large picture when faced with difficulties.