Herald of Steel



Ptolomy's suggestion made Pasha Farzah give a very quick and frank answer.

"If Your Majesty does this, please let me prepare the army"

Meaning it would be war.

And Ptolomy knew that hence the pursed lips, for the religious significance of the pilgrimage was too sensitive to touch.

He would not only be Amenheraft's enemy then, but of the common populace.

"Then we should do nothing? And let Alexander die?" Though Ptolomy did not exactly like Alexander, it was not to the point he wanted him dead.

Sure that man cheated and swindled a lot of gold and land from him.

But that man was still useful.

He was a resourceful general no doubt about it, and in times like this, Ptolomy was grossly short of good generals.

And a good general was worth more than ten cities.

Because ancient warfare really depended on individual leadership.

Furthermore, Alexander had even proved to be a skilled administrator in the short time he was in Adhan, impressing Ptolomy.

So much so that the young mercenary had been even offered the position of prime minister, which, the man had foolishly turned down, according to Ptolomy's recounts.

And even when putting aside his personal capabilities, the city that he controlled was also quite important.

Zanzan served as a bulwark against Tibias, weakened Amenheraft by denying him such a large and productive port city under him, and in a crude way, even acted as a beacon drawing aggro away from Adhan and Matrak.

So both Ptolomy and Farzah were reluctant to see the city fall and Alexander die.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you could write to him. Make him see reason. Offer him good land and a large peerage like Jamider (Earl)," Pasha Farzah thus advised Ptolomy to entice Alexander to abandon Zanzan and return to Adhan.

This was certainly not the best option, as the first thing it would ruin about be their 'new religion' plan.

But it was better than dying and that was the most optimal course of action Farzah could think about.

"Seelima already tried that." But Ptolomy reacted with an exasperated breath, swinging his arms and saying, "But the fool only said to her, and here let me read you the quote," Ptolomy picked up the letter to read the line, "His Majesty tasked me to defend Zanza. And I will do it to my death." Pasha put on a voice trying to mimic Alexander while saying this aloud.

And then an instant later, he flared up, banging his fist on the table, and snarling, "Bastard! When did I tell tell him that? I did not even want him to go to Zanzan!"

Ptolomy could clearly tell that this was just Alexander giving a poor excuse.

'Hahaha, so that bastard was directed to Alexander,' While Pasha Farzah finally got his answer to whom Ptolomy was asking right after reading the letter as well as feeling that kind of unyielding, free-spirited speech to be Alexander's style.

He knew the boy did not want to be subordinated to anybody.

This conversation between the Queen mother and Alexander occurred at a later period following her casual offer at the dinner table, when she met again with him to offer the same option formally in his study later, starting the meeting by saying, "My lord Pasha, back at the table, I let my emotions get the better of me. I'm sorry."

And after Alexander laughed it off with the words, "Hahaha, where, where, I have already forgotten about it," the beautiful Queen mother got to the real topic, urging him to leave Zanzan for Adhan by saying, "There is no shame in doing this. You took over the plague-infested Zanzan just three months ago, and what you have done in the meantime is already miraculous. But this army is really too big. Let us retreat while you still have the chance. Ptolomy will be more than happy to receive you with open arms."

And if Alexander really did not think he had a chance, he would have certainly taken the offer.

Because only a fool would die defending a city against overwhelming odds when an alternative to live to fight another day existed.

But Alexander did believe he could win.

He was even confident about it.

And so he said in a polite gentlemanly tone, "Your Royal Highness, His Majesty's concerns warm my heart," before giving a grand speech,

"But I believe victory is not decided by numbers. It is decided on the battlefield after the battle."

"So as long as I stay in Zanzan, I believe I have the chance of being the victor. But the day I chose to leave, I will instantly become the loser, without even firing a single shot."

"This I cannot accept. And I have no doubt that with His Majesty's blessings, I can prevail!"

Alexander's speech sounded great, full of zeal, charisma, and chivalry.

It would have been a great rousing speech.

But in reality, it also lacking in any pragmatics or being grounded in reality.

And even Alexander would call large parts of it pure rubbish.

Life was not anime where 'trying your hardest' would get you results.

Overwhelming numbers won an overwhelming number of times.

This was a statistical fact that was hard to argue

And that's why Seelima wanted to shout, 'Bullshit! You think you burned down a defenseless city and some kind of hotshot! Listen to your elders and run, you brat!'

But she ultimately held her tongue and pushed down her anger, as he then patiently further advised, "Your Grace, I can understand your reluctance to leave Zanzan. Though I'm only a bit aware, I have seen how much care and love you have shown this city. This city had never been this likely even in its heyday."

The Queen mother then put her hand on her bountiful chest, and pleaded, "And so please trust me when I say this- Losing Zanzan is only temporary. Once we are powerful enough, Adhan will certainly help you get it back. You will always be the Pasha of Zanzan. And Zanzan City will always be yours. But please, for now, let us retreat."

Finishing her sentence, Seelima looked at Alexander with a gaze verging on becoming puppy dog eyes.

This countance was bought on by the fact that over the last three months of staying with Alexander, it had made her convinced that losing him at such an early stage of the game would be too detrimental to her and Ptolomy.

He had displayed very strong administrative abilities which would be very useful for Ptolomy and also she still needed him to give her all the shiny, new stuff he was cooking up in his backyard.

And lastly, she simply liked the boy.

He was smart, charismatic, and very intelligent,

Nothing like the typical image the words 'a mercenary leader' would conjure up.

He even had a charming air of aloofness that she could not put her finger on.

This was all the same aloofness Cambyses had noticed about her husband all the way in his tent.

And so, deep in her heart, Seelima even had the insane idea to one day kill Ptolomy and marry Alexander if the situation arose to such an event.

Though this was just one of many considerations, not a proper decision.

As the Queen mother tried to sincerely advise Alexander, Alexander was a bit surprised by the frankness of it.

The woman genuinely seemed to care about his life.

He had always assumed this ambitious woman could not wait to see him go underground.

And for a moment he was unsure how to react.

'Should I show the troop numbers and new weapons to reassure her that we have a winning chance?' Alexander considered but did not feel like discussing top-secret military intel with outsiders.

Even if that outsider was very very unlikely to leak it.

But looking at the wheat-kissed charming face of the mature woman, whose eyes appeared to be crying her heart out for his safety, Alexander almost felt hypnotised.

Only now could he appreciate just a tiny bit of the charm that had managed to ensnare a king who had countless women ready to spread their legs between her fingers, and make him so infatuated that he even died under her without noticing it.

'Succubus!' Alexander clenched his teeth and lightly bit his tongue to break himself out of this dreamlike wonderland.

And then ultimately decided not to divulge anything and simply said the words The Queen mother had wrote to Ptolomy.

Though in that letter, The Queen mother had neglected to mention how she had stormed out of Alexander's study with large gaits that was perfectly proportional to her irritation after hearing Alexander's reply.

'Idiot fool. Die for all I care!' Were said between her gnashed teeth.

And the next day, Mikaya tried her luck in persuading the bullish noble, but the conversation was almost a carbon copy of the Queen mother's.

Except the fact that the silver-haired woman had also asked, "Alex, if you really have a way to win, please tell me. I shouldn't have to tell you why I won't tell anyone."

And when Alexander did not budge even afterward, she even said, "Alex, if this is just a bluff, I will be really disappointed in you."

To which Alexander only responded by saying, "I would never bluff with my people or my family's life."

Which could mean either he had a bag of tricks with him, or he was just overly confident.

Causing Mikaya to storm out of the study in a very similar way to the Queen mother.