Herald of Steel



Faruq's plan was bold but actually quite feasible if he could get the others to agree with him.

The keyword being 'if'.

A phenomenon perfectly demonstrated the very next second by Lord Nyantim, "My men have suffered too much today. That new kind of bow is too much to stand against. Sorry!"

The nobleman saw no point in risking his elite troops for the sake of others.

"Right. I stand with Lord Nyantim too," And Lord Liakit, who commanded the archers expressed solidary with his compatriot, sharing the same thoughts as him.

The two lords clear opposition made Faruq's plan untenable, and the man could not help but lament.

'Tssh! If had known before, I would have placed Azab and his men on the right, and the archers and slinger on the left. That way, the enemy's right could be pinned, while Azab broke through the weaker right flank.' Faruq regretted his initial decision to split his mercenaries and felt he had missed his chance at an early victory.

And then lampooned that now he had to grovel at these people.

Though in fairness, splitting one's cavalry to attack both flanks simultaneously is a classic technique, meant to clip both wings of the army while protecting the infantry's flank.

And if Faruq did do that, though there was the chance that the Jahal mercenaries would be able to overcome Alexander's left flank and his reserves to win ultimate victory, there was also the chance of the slingers and archers routing before that happened, thus exposing their infantry's own flanks to crossbow fire.

That would be a disaster.

But it was a gamble Faruq was willing to take.

And so, as time was in short supply, he got the point straight away.

"I understand your concern my lords. But this attack will not last long, at best an hour. So your men will be safe." Faruq reassured.

But was quickly interjected by the other lords, who wanted to rebut, "Still, that seems too…"

"We will double your reward." Like he was interrupted, Faruq too decided to interject the two lords' whining and simply decided to throw money at the problem instead of doing into long, tedious arguments.

After all, Djose was wealthy enough to double the reward they promised each of the nobles for cooperation.

And Faruq repeated the statement to make sure the others had not misheard him.

"Let me say it again. If you agree to send your men today, just for an hour, I promise whatever royalties you were promised, I will double it. Do you agree?"

"That… " The two lords looked at each other as greed grew and floured inside them, as they were both certainly tempted by this, but then they remembered it was Djose who was footing the bill, not Faruq.

"You do not have that kind of authority to make such promises," Hence they stated, exercising caution when it came to trust in the man's word.

But Faruq was ready for this, as he confidently said,

"You should know how much my father wants to kill Alexander. I assure you he will pay it if you explain the difficulties of the situation." and then even provided an alternate method of payment, "And even if he doesn't, I will let you sack Zanzan, and make up the difference from there."

Faruq was ready to pay through the nose to win this battle as illustrated by his decisiveness and determination.

Because this battle was politically that important to him.

His father greatly trusted him to win it, with rich rewards promised, and though no threat of punishment was made, the implicit warning was there.

Faruq could not afford to mess this up.

Not if he wanted to take over Kuleef as an illegitimate child.

While Faruq made his offer, the two lords tried very hard to balance the cost vs benefit of the offer.

But ultimately the upside of the offer won out.

The two men reasoned that since they had already suffered large losses, a kind of sunk cost fallacy had set in, making them gravitate toward the offer to try and recoup their initial investment.

So they at last agreed with a nod, saying, "Okay, we will do it."

But not before adding a kind of disclaimer statement, "But let us say beforehand, we cannot hold on for long. So whatever you want to do, you have to do it fast."

"Sure," Faruq kept his answer short and curt.

For he believed the maneuver would be short and decisive.

"I do not want double the reward. But I want the Jihsan mines," Next it was Ural's time to open his mouth, and it was not just wide, but a gaping maw.

The amount of greed expressed in that demand was something that only those in the know-how would be able to truly appreciate.

The mines that Ural wanted was a huge copper mine that lay over disputed territory between the Marquiss and Pasha, and there had even been covert skirmishes between the two great houses over this vastly lucrative mine, even though they were really good allies and even relatives.

So for Ural to want this was preposterous.

Because no one but Pasha Djose could make that deal.

"Is it your that are ribs broken or is it your head?" Faruq was incensed by this demand.

He initially had a favorable view of Ural because of how quickly he had come to this emergency military meeting despite the injuries.

But now it appeared it was just to make fun of him.

Faruq thus turned his body away from Ural frustratingly and decided to commence the plan without him.

After all, Ural was not as important as the other two who would be needed to hold the flanks, and though having Ural would significantly boost their chances of success, he was not as critical as the other two.

If the two lords had demanded this, Faruq might have reconsidered, but not for Ural.

"Now, don't be so hasty, Faruq." But Ural was not turned off by this hostile display, as he kept calm and went to explain why he made such a ludicrous demand.

"I'm well aware how important this battle is to you. So tell me, are some mines worth risking Kuleef's throne over? And besides, don't you think it is unfair to use us to win the Pasha's throne for you without giving us the proper recompense, hmmm? "

Ural had a sly smile and oily tone of his voice as he said this, smugness overflowing from his face as he felt he had managed to grab Faruq by the balls using this insider information.

And as Faruq turned to face him, he had an intense urge to punch the guy.

"....Even if I wanted to give it to you, you know I do not have the power. So what do you really want?" Faruq icily said.

If he had jurisdiction over the mines, he would have truly given in to Ural's demand.

But Ural was really asking for the impossible.

"Then swear to the gods in front of all of us that you will hand it over to me once you have the power. I can wait," Ural suggested.

If Ural could get those mines not only would they be a boost to his territory, but the fact that it was him that got it would be a stellar mark on his political career.

He would be a fool to let this opportunity pass.

".....: Faruq narrowed his eyes as his head worked overtime to calculate the pros and cons, and finally the ambitious young lord, gave the most logical answer,

"Okay. With the gods as the witness, and the people in here as guarantors, I hereby swear to transfer the Jihsan mines as soon as I take the position of Pasha of Kuleef. If I fail to fulfill this promise, let the curse of the heavens be upon me."

There was no need for complicated paperwork or legal procedures as Faruq said this, because in this period such a swear was far more binding than any legal contract and judicial systems of the modern times.

Such practices were deeply ingrained into the cultural norms of the society, and so when Faruq swore the deal, Ural was pretty confident in its bindingness.

"Haha, good, good brother-in-law," Ural smiled heartily smiled hearing this, ecstatic at having finally secured this lucrative territory his family had been fighting since the time of their grandfather.

And then, to truly show his appreciation, the injured man even walked over to give Faruq a bear hug and laughed and said, " Haha, don't worry, we will not embarrass you too much when you do transfer the deeds. We will just say you gave it as a gift to your nephew. You know Zaisha is pregnant again, hahaha," as Ural again broke into hearty laughter.

Zaisha was Fatrak's sister and born from Djose's main wife,

And since she was a legitimate child, an illegitimate child like Faruq had barely talked to her outside of formal occasions, and even there the conversation was strictly restricted to hi and hellos.

So to propose that Faruq would be giving such a lucrative piece of territory of a child from a woman he barely knew the name of and nothing else was ludicrous.

And thus it was really Ural's way of poking fun at Faruq.

Faruq bore with the insults for now, because winning was the most important thing now, but also darkly thought, 'The wind does not only blow in one direction, Ural. My chance will come.'

People had killed for less after all.