Herald of Steel

In their summarized version, the scouts had omitted much detail about the fog and the initial shadows they encountered, deeming them secondary.

Instead, they had focused on the enemy numbers, where they were, and the threat they posed to the 1,100 men.

And this was indeed the right choice, as Menes obviously did not grill these two over Antonid's, in his mind 'foolish' decision, but immediately set out to organize a rescue force.

The men fighting up there were of very high quality, for in a very similar thought process to Perseus, Menes too had sent expert men to survey the enemy.

After all, what would be the point of sending some raised levies on this specialized mission?

Thus Antonid was chosen for the mission.

He was one of old man Menicus's most trusted officers during his time having led many scouting units prior.

And the people under him were mostly from the various original mercenary groups Alexander had started his army with.

So leaving them to die there was of course impossible, even if they were also 1,000 and Menes still had another 28,000. 

Thus immediately after getting the report, Menes instantly threw his twig to the ground, rinsed his mouth of the ash, and within half an hour 1,000 men were charging up the hill.

But why only 1,000 when Antonid clearly asked for 4,000 to 5,000?

Well it was because Menes had learned from his mistake.

After that chastening he had gotten from Cambyses during the siege of the manor when he had waited by the foot of the hill to gather a large enough force before launching a rescue, resulting on the manor burning down and Cambyses almost dying, Menes promised himself that he was not going to do the same mistake twice.

So as an emergency relief force, he sent those 1,000 ahead, composed of entirely of his own bodyguards as well some of the very best mercenaries that Alexander had hired, hoping the quality of the men would make up for the numerical deficiency while the rest caught up.

*Trumpet*, *Trumpet*

And as these thousand men joined the fry with blaring trumpets, Antonid finally felt life return to his heart.

The sound of those noisy, ear screeching instruments had never sounded so melodious to the man.

The subsequent addition of these men doubled Antonid's forces and the lines immediately stabilized, as fresh breath was introduced into the Zanzan legionaries.

After being under the merciless onslaught of the enemy for so long, the original men were exhausted, and they started to retreat to the back lines, taking their much needed rest.

While the fresh and experienced men started to prepare for a counterattack, wishing to take advantage of their still high stamina to push and retake lost ground.

And sensing the equation change for the worse, the commander of the Tibian force quickly did what Antonid had done.

Send word for help.

"What! Flamino is up there fighting? Why?" And when that scout eventually brought that information to Perseus, this was his response, shock and surprise.

"This is indeed worrying!" And overhearing the report, the man sitting opposite of him, who was sitting with a plate of bread and cheese furrowed his brows and commented so.

If Alexander had been there, he would have been shocked to see who this was.

He would have recognized that bald head anywhere- Manuk!

And what was the former archpriest of the Grand Temple and Amenheraft's right hand man doing in Tibias, right in this battlefield you ask?

Well, it was simple really.

Once the man had learned of Alexander's triumph at Thesalie, he wasted no time taking steps to try and halt the man's progress.

And one of the ways he tried to was to come to Perseus with a formal offer of alliance.

And since there was much bad blood between this country and the man he served, Manuk felt that if he wanted the offer to succeed, he had to come in person to show his sincerity.

So he came, despite the fact it was quite hard for him to make the journey.

Much time was needed for news of Alexander's victory to diffuse, even after Alexander's own intention to spread the message of his accomplishments. 

And then Manuk had to spend a large amount of time verifying this, sending messenger birds and riders to bring firsthand accounts. 

And once it was truly confirmed, other than consoling and placating the jittering nobles in the faction, which itself took a lot of effort, Manuk had to make a few other arrangements on how to counter Alexander too.

After all, he was not going to put all his money into Perseus.

It was only after putting all those plans into motion that the bald priest left Ankoot, with a very short time on his hand to meet Perseus on time.

He first used a large sailing boat to travel down the mighty Naher river south towards Kuleef, and then took a ship from the port city of Ormus.

But by then winter had already come.

And even though the Kyoskin Sea, situated directly south of Zanzan, was much less treacherous than the Mad Sea situated southwest of Zanza, which was why the Mad Sea was called that because its waves were considered mad by sailors, but still, it was a perilous journey.

 The cold winter winds blown south from Zanzan and Ankoot, clashed with the warm, hot sandy dust cloud blown north from The Arubin Peninsula, creating lots of strong water currents that flowed in unpredictable directions, as well as creating typhoons and hurricanes right in the middle of the sea, which resulted in the creating of huge water sprouts that the sailors mistook and even worshiped as giant sea serpents.

And because these water sprouts were a regular phenomenon, sailors called the sea Kyoskin, named after a local legend about a silver snake that could take various forms- be it ordinary household species to huge, world devouring beasts to even humans, appearing mostly as a burly, fishman. 

But sea serpents or simply water sprouts, these were still dangerous phenomena to have a rickety, wooden ship around, thus, Manuk had to be kept close to the coast as he traveled west, passing Zanzan and finally landing on Tibias.

Also as a side note, as he was passing by Zanzan, his ship did port in Zanzan city itself, to rest and restock.

And the man even stayed at the city for three days, residing in an inconspicuous inn with two of his bodyguards, while taking the chance to tour.

And to say that he was surprised by the city's transformation would be an understatement.

Manuk had been to Zanzan during Pasha Muazz's rule before.

And had even stayed in that city during much of the drought when Amenheraft had conducted his invasion on Tibias.

But if he were to be told that and this city was the same one as back then, he would have called you delusional.

And if you told him this change had occurred in just three years, he would have beaten you to death because he would think you have been possessed by the devil.

Be it the wide roads, the still but being built aqueducts, the rows of concrete buildings, or the new port all left a deep impression on the man, as did the places he could not fully enter like the brick factory, the coal briquette plant, cement firm, and others.

Manuk was not an easy man to please but when he saw the crazy, bustling market of Zanzan he was shocked, impressed, and perhaps most importantly alarmed!

There were many in Amenheraft's court who saw Alexander as a secondary threat, one inferior to Pasha Farzah, including Amenheraft, but Manuk was the exception.

And the man's skill in being able to turn a dump like Zanzan into this paid testament to Manuk's fears.

Seeing Zanzan made the archpriest even more determined to form an alliance with Perseus at any cost. 

Manuk met the king just days before he was about to set off, offering his proposal of an alliance and showering him with gifts in gold, silver, and slaves as well as the most significant of all -8,000 fresh men!

He even gave complete control of them to Perseus, so that he didn't misunderstand them as a Trojan horse, smiling and saying, "Your Highness, please see it as a small token of our sincerity."

The significance of this timely 'coal in winter' was not lost on Perseus and although his heart wanted to reject shaking hands with the devils that had ravaged his lands, his head could not.

The numbers were too significant.

But one place where Manuk did disagree with Perseus was in his intention to face Menes head on, urging him instead to stay in the city and wait for the bulk of his 'gift'.

He had revealed, "Your Highness, please, wait for two.. no … one more month. And Matbar (Marquis) Kyaum can send you another twelve thousand (12,000) men."

And this was the same advice he gave now, "Your Highness, order Command Flamino to retreat! We must not fight the enemy here where he was all the advantage. Let us wait and gather our forces"

And Perseus was forced to ponder.

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