Herald of Steel

The reason why Perseus's surrounding was so gaudily decorated was of course very intentional, for it was to reassure the soldiers that their king was still with them.

But unfortunately, that also had the side effect of also letting the enemy know that the king was with his soldiers.

So unless Remus was completely blind, there was no way he was going to miss such a juicy target that was visible for miles.

And indeed he was trying to beeline his troops towards that small group.

Something that all the busy and delusional men around Perseus missed.

So being the only one with a working brain who could clearly see Zaphir would never be able to hold the 2,000 legionaries and they were all soon about to be cut to pieces- Manuk made up his mind.

He was going to do that.

And once the thought was cemented, he slowly approached Perseus, getting real close to him, and very intentionally positioning his horse right next to that prized satchel, as he then with a smile, cheerfully chucked, 

"Hahaha, thank you, Your Majesty. With this agreement both your sides with surely prosper."

Here Manuk was of course referring to Perseus agreeing to the defensive alliance. 

Up until now, Perseus had received and swallowed all the gifts Manuk had given him, but neither gave a yes or no, only asking Manuk for more time claiming he needed to think.

The reason why Perseus was hesitant for so long was because he was aware that Adhania was in a civil war and Amenheraft being attacked was not an if but a when.

And he did not want to get dragged into a war that he had no part or interest in due to this defense treaty.

He was in no shape to fight another man's war.

But now, seeing the result of the battle and knowing what lay in store for him, even if he won, Perseus knew he had little other choice than to seek help.

He needed a strong bodyguard like Amenheraft to protect him in his weakened state that was scheduled to last for years and though he would far prefer to lie with other powers, most preferably from Thesos, they sent no such envoys and Perseus knew from his long interactions with them that he was unlikely to get any even if he sent messengers.

So true to the phrase- 'Beggars cannot be choosers', Perseus decided to make bed with the man claiming to be the real king of Adhania.

"Haha, yes, I thought it was time I gave you an answer, Envoy Manuk." Seeing Manuk was not peeved about his abrupt dismissal, Perseus too flashed a cheerful smile, and to further smooth over the rough edges, he added, 

"I too believe that this alliance will bring out realms together. Hahaha"

"Hmmm. Hmmm." To the reply, Manuk too showed his enthusiasm by heavily nodding his head, though his mind was really preoccupied with the sight of that horn.

And then he gave Perseus one last chance before he committed this great act of folly, "Will Your Majesty not reconsider retreating? There is still time. Next time we will have 10,000 more men. Next time we will have a better chance of winning."

But the moment he said this, the amicable atmosphere between the two men that had formed just now shattered like thin glass.

Perseus's face hardened like granite and with a fiery stoic voice shouted, "We have already lost 10,000 men in this battle!"

"The enemy will also soon get 10,000 reinforcements just like Petricuno said. So what use will those 10,000 men be?"

Following so he snarled,  

"Do not tell me what to do with my army Manuk! I must win this battle, for my country, for my ancestor, for myself."

"Got away!"

Perseus's face by now had turned almost unrecognizable due to the anger as he widely swung his arm to dismiss the man.

While Manuk seeing so pursed his lips and produced a helpless sigh, muttering almost to himself, "Well that is unfortunate."

And then it happened.

Suddenly, as Perseus was seething at the sight of his military decision being questioned, Manuk lunged his large arms towards the horn placed in the satchel at Perseus's feet and, 

"Voila!" 

He got it- The battle horn that he had eyeing for so long!

It was his.

And surprisingly, since no one was expecting such a thing to happen, it was very easy to get.

The item, being an intimate possession of the king, a king that very much liked to go to war, it went without saying that it was a masterpiece to behold.

The golden colored instrument was large and heavy, made from a huge bull to commemorate the Tibian ancestors. 

It was exquisitely carved, and ornamented with supplementary cuts of precious wood, and decorated with various studded jewels and pearls.

For the Tibians, this horn was simply not an instrument, but a divine vessel carrying the blessing of their original ancestor, one that would bring them good luck on the battlefield.

And now Manuk had it, having obtained which he started to bolt away from Perseus as fast as his horse would carry him.

And seeing an outsider snatch this precious artifact, something that was even religious in nature, the amount of anger Perseus felt at the moment could be imagined.

"What!" For a brief second, Perseus was stunned with silence, even producing an insane voice he did not know he had,

"Priest Manuk have you gone insane! Give it back!" Then he roared like a madman, before turning to his bodyguards and viciously shouting, 

"What are you imbeciles gawking at? Go get it back! Go kill him and get back the War Horn!"

Attentutated by the pressure of the battle he had been under for so long, this act made Perseus give the brutal command to kill another country's emissary.

Normally this would be an extremely unwise move.

But then again, what Manuk had done was indeed worth such a response.

In fact, the fate of thieves stealing such a valuable thing might not only be a swift death. 

Hence hearing their king's will as well as feeling indignant at themselves for letting this happen, the five men around Perseus all willed their horses to start galloping, attempting to give chase towards the thief.

"Do not come! Or I will blow this! And your lines will disintegrate!"

But just before Perseus's trained warrior could start running to hack the bald priest to bit, the man loudly threatened such, placing his mouth on the trumpet and mimicking the act.

A move that worked very well in persuading the attackers, for all the bodyguards, being expert soldiers themselves, knew exactly what would happen if the men heard the distinct booming sound of the trumpet.

There was no way they were going to mistake that sound for anything else, and being themselves under attack for so long, and many even witnessing the collapse of their right wing, it would only be natural for them to assume the fight was over.

"Manuk!" And Hearing this, Perseus dropped all the honorific suffixes and boomed, cursing, "You traitor. I knew you were a snake sent by Adhania. So this is why you came here. To steal our horn. To think I trusted you."

"Kill them! Kill them all!" Perseus madly screamed as then pointed to the seven bodyguards Manuk was hiding behind, who by now had formed a defensive ring around their priest.

These men came with Manuk as his protectors and even when outnumbered to more than a hundred to one, none of them displayed an ounce of fear. 

Being fanatical zealots they had no qualms about dying right here, right now.

While the other set of bodyguards, even getting such a clear set of instructions from their king, were far more hesitant and held back their deadly charge.

But not because they were any less zealous.

But for the very simple reason that Manuk still had his lips on the horn.

Unless they could accurately hit the arrow through the ring of men right into Manuk's throat or head, Manuk would likely die before he could let his pipes sing, disintegrating the lines and putting 20,000 men up for death or enslavement.

Hits to the chest or even the heart would not work, for arrows were not bullets after all.

And besides, many of the bodyguards paused because they understood Perseus claiming Manuk was a spy really did not hold water if one thought about it for even a second.

Simply stealing the battle horn was hardly worth so much effort and if Manuk wanted Perseus to lose, he would have simply left the king to fend for himself while he retreated with the 1,000 men.

Why put himself in so much harm's way? 

"Traitor? You idiot! I wish I had the luxury to betray someone as imbecilic as you. If you are not such a vital strategic piece, I would have stabbed you myself."

Manuk also, having finally had enough, at last raised his voice from behind the curtain of men, and it was one of utmost annoyance, as he vented his frustration, before making his demand, 

"Now you stupid king, listen! We are gonna retreat and you are going to give the order. Now!"

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