Herald of Steel

The cleanup following the surrendering of the army took a few days to complete, as Alexander's men worked hard to process these men- identifying and classifying them.

The officers and regular grunts were separated from each other as per the standard procedure, with the former being recognized by proofs such as a seal or badge or simply distinctive, more decorative armor.

This was done because the officers and various nobles were of higher status and thus deserved greater comfort as per the customs of the war of the time, while the regular grunts were asked to discard their weapons and lie down on the ground, then forced to spend a few nights outside the city under the clear open sky.

It was hence very fortunate for the men that it was the middle of summer and the nights actually cool and comfortable to sleep under.

As for the officers, once they were recognized they were escorted to reside in some of the larger houses inside the city, being effectively put under house arrest with guards stationed at all the exits.

It should also be pointed out that his generous treatment was not sorely done out of the goodness of the heat, but to separate these grassroots leaders from their squads.

It was reasoned that this way even if the surrendering soldiers wanted to rebel, they would have no voice to lead.

And lastly, the very top echelons of the army, i.e.- Perseus and his one surviving brother, for the other had died on the frontlines protecting his father during Grahtos's attack, as well as the unconscious Perseus was taken to the city lord's mansion, where Alexander and company too had set up their abode.

There the two men were kept in locked rooms, while the injured and unconscious Perseus was attended by the best physicians Zanzan had to offer, as Alexander tried to make up with the best way to deal with them.

"My lord! They should be immediately killed! One mountain cannot have two tigers! As long as they live, they will always pose a threat to you. Please act quickly!"

And solidly in the 'kill the royal family, cremate them and then scatter their ashes to the winds' faction was of course exactly who you would expect -Lord Theony, as he tried to convince Alexander to act that very instant to carry out the massacre.

In fact, the man did not even like the idea of Alexander taking these three men prisoners, wishing he had killed them as soon as they had surrendered.

So the fact that not only had Alexander given them quite good accommodations, but was even treating the injured king, made the man very frustrated.

'*Snort*! You mean they will always pose a threat to you.' While hearing Lord Theony's forceful urging, Alexander only retorted this in his mind, rolling his eyes disdainfully.

The ulterior motive behind Lord Theony requests was as plain as the day for anyone with half a brain to see.

Lord Theony knew that if Alexander chose to keep the royal family alive, he would always have an alternative to him when it came to the administration of Tibias.

This to the man was of course unacceptable.

And it was a sentiment that Alexander could detect from a mile away.

And it was also not like he could not understand it

If Alexander was in the man's position, he would have perhaps done the same.

Heck, it could even be said that he had already done something similar with Ptolomy.

But it was also because Alexander had done so that he knew just how dangerous it would be for him to allow that to happen.

If Lord Theony was even as half as ambitious as Alexander, he might rebel just like Alexander was biding his time with Ptolomy.

It would be an action that although would greatly benefit him, would be disastrous for Ptolomy.

And Alexander certainly did not want to see his roles get reversed.

Lord Theony had betrayed the liege he had served for decades for him, so what was to stop the man from rebelling if things ever got tough once again?

Or even if the situation never became so dire, perhaps the ever present embers of ambition would one day burst one day into full fledge flames inside the man as seeking an opportune moment, he might simply decide to call himself the king of Tibias.

Lord Theony might think, 'Since I'm already running the day to day tasks of the place, why not take the job 'full time?'

And such a thing might even garner support from the surrounding nobles, as they could develop more fealty towards their fellow countryman whom they saw and interacted with every day than some foreigner living hundreds of kilometers away.

Given enough time, Lord Theony might be able to even cultivate a loyal group of nobles under him to help assist in the endeavor and with enough support from the grassroots, and with a catchy slogan, like 'The glorious liberation of Tibias from the evil occupiers', there certainly existed a distinct possibility for creating lots of headache for Alexander.

Of course to be fair, such thoughts invading Alexander's mind were only far distant, distinct possibilities.

Given the thrashing Tibias had endured under Amenheraft and then Alexander, they would not be able to rebel for at least a decade or perhaps even a few decades.

So Alexander kept the thought to the back of his mind but did not fret over it too much for now.

Instead, with a reassuring smile, he gently replied, "Lord Theony, do not worry. The royal family will never be able to wield any true power ever again. I promise you that."

Although just how much of that promise Alexander was willing to stand by remained to be seen.

Alexander had lots of thought on how to proceed about this but he was not sure which to choose.

After all, there were many examples in history where the conquered royal family was allowed to live on.

But before going to such heavy topics, after dismissing Lord Theony with this on the very day the Tibian had surrendered, for the next few days, Alexander and company only had their thoughts on the celebrations, where the men ate, drank, and cheered to their heart's content, toasting to it seemed almost anything and everything

Alexander could hear the men regale tales of their war stories, such as what challenges they had faced,

"When we saw that huge army heading towards us on that ridge, we thought we were goners.'

"Yeah. I thought so too when those elephants had charged at our flanks. Those are some fearsome beasts I tell you. I'm glad I survived that. I hope I never have to see them again."

Or how they had felt, with one noble slightly ruefully commenting,"Man, those Tibians fought like something else in that last battle. Shame they were defeated in such a way."

Although he was quickly rebuked by the man next to him, "Heh! You only want to fight because you haven't had enough glory."

Or how they felt currently,"Ahhh! I never thought Tibias could be taken in my lifetime. Hahaha, blessed. I'm truly blessed!"

This particular statement was made by Jamider (Earl) Yuusiq, whose face had gone all ruddy with all the drinks he had.

The man seemed happy enough to die with a smile on his face.

And lastly, there were people discussing what they were going to do after this.

"With so much new land and so much loot… Ahhh! What are you going to do with it?' One nobleman asked, knowing with the new plots of land Alexander was to give them, surely their taxes would increase.

He looked very much forward to it, as he turned to his colleague to answer his own question, "I'm going to build a new mansion. My current one is too shabby."

This was not the first time Alexander heard nobles complain about how inadequate their mansions were.

Although that still did not fail to amaze him.

He felt like he was among those billionaires who compared who had the larger yacht, in a petty dick measuring contest.

And knowing these people were his subordinates, inside Alexander felt quite smug.

Although he also could not help but lampoon a bit as even as their boss, he did not have a mansion, as he technically lived in a bungalow.

'Maybe I should build one.' Alexander even mused, thinking it was a matter of prestige.

The grandeur of this party could be said to be a bit lacking when compared to the scale that would have been expected from such a huge accomplishment.

But that was because the only supplies they had access to came from their army rations since the city of Kalamat had already used up their stock of precious ingredients to entertain Perseus.

So they had to make do with what they had.

But despite the lower quality of the items present, the mood in the place did not seem to dampen even an iota, as buoyed by the sheer scale of their feat the men knew this was just the first of surely many celebrations to come.

So they drank and cheered the mammoth undertaking they had just managed to complete, and it lasted quite a few days.

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