Herald of Steel



Alexander's attention had been drawn toward Maizdy the moment he had entered the room.

How could it not?

The man was huge, occupying almost two chairs and having his face all wrapped and bandaged, with some of the fat around his face even spilling out from between the linen clothes.

Clearly, this was the troublemaker.

*Shooo*

And hearing the loud shout, Alexander simply shot out a crossbow bolt, its sound as it traveled through the air making the nobles imagine they were hearing the joyful laugh of death harvesting another life.

*Thud*

But fortunately for them, this time, the steel bolt only drilled itself into the thick, mahogany table, landing just far enough from the obese noble to miss him but nevertheless close enough to almost make him pee himself.

And made the nobles look in horror at the huge, needle-like steel bolt glinting light out of its smooth, hard body.

Alexander had these steel bolts specifically made for him.

Weighing much more than a typical bolt, these traded the range and distance for deadlier lethality at close range, able to destroy close targets.

This trade-off was perfect for Alexander, because he already had an army of bodyguards who could take care of the far-away threats, and so the only time he would need to act was if the killers had somehow managed to make it through his screen of men and get close enough to him.

Thus for Alexander's personal protection, the range was not an issue.

The ability to kill any killer reliably was.

"My lord, this is Lord Pasha Muazz's eldest son, Maizdy. Now, please let us stay our weapons," Seeing the fat man still alive and unharmed, water returned to Kyamin's heart, and he hurriedly spoke up to introduce the two.

If the 'crown prince' of Zanzan -Maizdy was to be killed, the treaty would become null and void at that very moment.

"Pasha Muazz? Who is he? Which province is he a pasha of?" Alexander put on a facade of incredulity, while his men at the back promptly reloaded the crossbow for him.

Alexander meant to say that since he controlled the territory, how could they call another person its ruler?

"*Grit*, *grit*" Maizdy ground his teeth in rage and frustration hearing this, a sound that was heard across the room.

But the threat of that weapon and the steel arrows it shot out made him restrain himself, as he could only scream, 'Bastard thief. Zanzan is my father's! Zanzan is mine! Bastard! F*cking Bastard.'

In fact, he was not only angry with Alexander, but with his nobles as well.

Because he was irritated by how these men were being all differential and calling Alexander 'My lord' when he was really an imposter and a usurper.

This was unacceptable, Zanzan had only one lord, and that was his family.

While Kyamin, not being brain dead like that, engaged Alexander with civility, gently answering, "My lord, under the treaty, the status of Zanzan has been left undecided, with both kings claiming different people as its ruler. And for now, both such people are recognized as legitimate. So, until the conflict is resolved, both sire and Pasha Muazz hold the legal title of Pasha."

He had in a scholarly tone described the messy situation regarding Zanzan.

And to his credit, he even made it sound half logical.

Because if one thought about it for more than a second, this did not make any sense.

For example, could Pasha Muazz collect taxes from Zanzan since he was also the legal ruler?

Theoretically yes.

But realistically no.

Or could he appropriate any land of Zanzan to a third party?

Again, Theoretically yes.

Realistically no.

And these examples were just the tip of the iceberg.

So this clusterfuck of a situation, created by the inability of both sides to come to an agreement, gave rise to this illogical situation, while also creating some bizarre loopholes.

"....." Alexander did not bother replying to this absurd situation.

It was as it was.

Instead, he ruminated on why would such a big fish be in this dump.

'Could it be because of him the noble gathered together?' Alexander found that unlikely given how dumb he appeared until now.

While he missed the fact that actually, he had killed the smartest one, the one because of whom the nobles had gathered together with his first shot.

"I see, so it was Esteemed Lord Muazz's son! It is an honor," Alexander heavily nodded, before naturally asking, "So, what is Lord Maizdy visiting a dump like this? And meeting with so men so late, hehehe."

The innuendo was clear.

And it had the rotund man's entire face turn the same color as his broken nose.

To think that an honorable noble would be accused of that!

And by a worm!

"The lord is here to meet his relatives. He really loves his niec…*thud*." An up until now quite noble quickly spoke up before the chubby man would flare up.

And then suddenly he was not speaking anymore. he was simply slumping off his chair.

This time the crossbow found its mark directly through the man's temple, the silverly steel sticking out like the man had become a unicorn.

"If you are gonna kill us, then simply kill us! What's with the games?" Seeing this finally Kyamin snapped, his nerves snapping.

He had had enough.

With two nobles dead in a matter of minutes, he felt that Alexander was simply there to see them burn.

Which was true, but not yet.

"The liar said that Lord Maizdy had come to visit Jable because he loved his niece. Well, if he loved him so much, why take two months to come?" Alexander asked while he cocked the crossbow.

And then further posed, "Moreover, why come to visit this dump, but not take him to his territory? You know, one that's not plague-infested. Some uncle he is, am I right, heh?" He smirked.

Then Alexander's cheerful eyes transformed into a cold, black pair as he scanned the silent as a church mouse group for an answer, before his light, friendly tone changed to a deep, penetrating one.

"I'm here to just ask some questions. Answer them truthfully, and you and your family will not have a hair touched on them."

"Lie...and know that there are six others who are just as eager as you. I hate liars." Alexander's voice made the nobles feel the freezing wintery wind almost warm and inviting.

And this tactic worked, as the slightly later, the sweet words and even more soon drifted into Alexander's ears.

"Me…me my lord. I know everything. Lord Maizdy is here leading the army…"

"Shuuut! Uuuupp!" But that noble did not get to finish the sentence, as the enraged Maizdy had gotten up from his chair to pounch on that skinny man, as if to crush the man under his large body weight.

*Bang*, *Bang*, *Bang*

For a fat man, this Maizdy was surprisingly athletic, as the shower of fists he landed on the noble were either slow or weak, evident by the crisp sound it made with each contact.

It sounded as if bones were cracked and smacked under the strike of heavy muscles.

But unfortunately for the portly man, he could not continue his assault for long, at least not long enough to incapacitate the traitors, as both the soldiers and even the surrounding nobles tried hard to separate the two.

And after the soldiers landed some solid strikes of the attacking man's face, and even a shield bash, the large, whale-like entity while lost its steam, plopping into the ground, with a bloodied face before being dragged like a sack of potatoes to the edge of the room.

"My lord, Maiz…Lord Maizdy has been always a bit hot-tempered, a bit impulsive. Perhaps it would be better if he could be moved to a more secluded room," Kyamin then diplomatically asked, while the men helped that skinny noble up, his face bruised and bloodied.

"No need." But Alexander simply brushed off the request while waving his hands, as he then turned his head back, and addressed, "Justas, Sico, Lymat, you three have been standing for a long time. Sit on that fatso!"

Alexander just asked three of his bodyguards to use a noble as a seat!

"Alexander, have you gone mad? Or do you truly not want to let us leave here alive?" Kyamin shouted at the top of his lungs.

He thought he had seen it all.

But this amount of disrespect,..this.. using a noble, a pasha at that, as a chair was an unthinkable act of humiliation.

Kyamin would not have believed it if he had not seen it.

And facing such humiliation, no self-respecting noble would ever not declare war against the other party.

And not just war, but total war i.e- total destruction of the opposite side.

Like how the Allies took over every inch of Germany in world war 2 and forced an unconditional surrender.

Or even more appropriately, how warlords in China used to destroy every enemy city, killing all its people, and razing the city to the ground.

Not conquer, or annex it.

But destroy it.

Much like what was happening to Jabel

And since Alexander's action would cause a total war if it got out, it appeared the only path was total eradication of the evidence, i.e- killing all the nobles who witnessed it.

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