Herald of Steel



Alexander's offer to share the sugar secret was of course done as a way to remove a potential key ally for Amenheraft, as he feared the city-state might choose to support this rogue king in retaliation for their breaking of the contract.

And it seemed to work as this sincere offering had Klysar very enticed.

But though he was tempted to agree then and there, the Cantagenan man politely declined for the time being, saying, "I will need to consult the Senate first. So I will bring an answer by spring. And hopefully a good one, hahaha"

The prudent man felt that any peace treaty, never mind such a large one, should be run through the senators first and hear their thoughts first, as signing this would make them officially give up their claim on Zanzna.

This was not something he could arbitrarily decide.

But as indicated by his last sentence, the man was also quite confident in being able to convince the old geezers back home to agree to it as the benefits were so high.

So with that, one of the hidden dangers for Zanzan was effectively eliminated for Alexander.

And a few days later, Klysar left the city quite a happy man, his ship laden with many cargoes, all unique to Zanzan.

This batch was just a sample, meant to only test the market, but that did not detract him from the joy he felt carrying them, as the shrewd politician was very confident in these products' success.

The paper was much better than papyrus, the soap and lingerie would be quite popular with the ladies, and the sugar would capture the hearts of all.

He was sure of it.

And he even believed that by using these products not only Cantagena's economy would surge, but the city-state's almost monopolistic position in acquiring the goods, as no one in Thesos had a better navy than them, might even be used as a political bargaining chip to draw other, neutral city-states to their cause.

Klysar could smell the change in the air.

Also, as a side note, the man had asked Alexander about Ophenia during one of their meetings, inquiring, "By the way my lord, have you seen an eighteen to twenty-year-old with blonde hair in the late general's camp?"

"He was her daughter and her relatives are quite worried for her."

Alexander had sweated bullets when he first heard this, particularly because the man had asked it right in front of the Queen Mother and Pasha Farzah.

And so he could not have been happier that he had made Ophenia always keep her hair dyed, though was mostly because he did not want the slightest chance of the Queen Mother somehow connecting that color with Kefka.

Letting the queen know that he had an Adhanian royal descendant as his woman would be too much of a hassle.

It was admittedly a very small chance, but why take the chance?

And this precaution finally paid dividends here, where the revelation of Opehnia's presence would have undoubtedly greatly complicated the negotiations between the two powers.

So Alexander could confidently reply with an intrigued, and even somewhat astonished face, "Blonde? As in naturally gold-colored hair? Well, I think I would have very much remembered seeing such a woman."

Alexander made it sound like this was the first time he was hearing someone describe a person as blonde, before firmly shaking his head, and saying, "No, I'm afraid I have not my lord. And given the time passed….."

Alexander did not need to spell out the details.

If Alexander had not taken Ophenia in, she would very likely be dead, or sold to slavery.

After all, a vulnerable girl with such standout features would attract even a blind man.

"*Sigh*, yes, I figured as much," Klysar shook his head as he knew it was a long shot and had not really held any hope.

While Alexander pointed him to go on a wild goose chase.

"If she is alive, she is probably working in the many pleasure houses to disguise herself. You know how the women there like to color their hair."

"Perhaps my lord would like to check there?"

At this half-serious suggestion, Alexander very keenly noticed the man visibly shake, as if that very thought hurt him.

And Klysar could not keep a straight voice, as in a bit of sputtering tone he afterward said,

"Than..thank you, my lord. But if you find any news of her, may you please inform me? It would help her family bring closure."

"Sure," Alexander gave a perfunctory reply while smirking in his mind, 'Yeah, I know where is she. She's probably sleeping in my bed right now, haha.'

But Klysar left Zaznan none the wise and so with that preventive measure Alexander managed to eke out quite a favorable set of terms with Cantagena.

And later, he would go on to ask Ophenia later about Klysar, as he doubted the man really cared about Ophenia's family, for he seemed to care more about Ophenia.

And his hunch would be proven right, as Ophenia would describe the man in a mocking, dismissive way,

"Oh him! Yeah, I know him."

"He is my ex-fiance- Samaras's father."

"But the old pervert would always look at me with lecherous eyes."

"I bet he even agreed to let his son marry me just so that he could get a chance with me."

"Fucking pervert!"

To say Ophenia held a low opinion of the man would be an understatement.

Meanwhile, after Alexander finished his successful negotiations with Cantagena, unfortunately, he failed to replicate the success with Tibias.

Because no matter how much he argued, Leosydas was adamant about making Alexander give up Zanzan, as he repeatedly pointed out the lives Tibias had lost.

"You sit in that chair because of the blood we Tibians have spilled," He said this over and over again.

Even Alexander's promise of opening trade with them failed.

It appeared that the Tibians simply hated Adhnia too much to engage in friendly neighborly relations.

Or at least the upper echelons did.

And Leosydas's tone only slightly softened when Alexander promised to pay something to the tune of 100 million ropals as rumination over the next ten years, in a kind of a way to compensate the Tibians for their three years of hardship.

Which might kind of not seem fair that Alexander was made to pay for something Amenheraft did.

But this mainly was a stop-gap measure to calm Tibias and prevent them from attacking him in the near term.

He never really intended to pay the full 100 million.

His bribe limit was at best 20 million ropals or 2 years.

And after Leosydas demanded a show of his sincerity, Alexander even gave him a lump sum something close to that, to the tune of 15 million as a goodwill gesture.

While Leosydas returned the courtesy by signing a peace deal that officially ended the three-year war between the two countries.

And though this was only a hollow treaty, with it just stating that peace between the two countries was achieved and no other terms, meaning it could be broken at any time, still, it was a start.

"I will be sure to properly advise the king regarding this." And on the day of departure, it was with these last words Leosydas left for Tibias.

While Alexander seeing the man leave, was pretty confident that Zanzan had succeeded in protecting its borders for at least a couple of years.

After all, 100 million ropals even for him was a lot of money, never mind his much poorer neighbor.

And it was a thought also shared by the other two who helped Alexander come up with the value- Pasha Farzah and Queen Mother.

Everyone thought the food they laid on the table was enough to pacify the hungry, angry beast.

But how would they know that this beast's appetite had been emboldened by factors they had not even considered?

The Kaiser Family had really reacted too fast, courtesy of a few spies in the highest echelons of the Margrave family.

Or perhaps calling them spies would be wrong, because these people, many of whom were Lady Margaret's uncles and cousins, just did not bother to hide the fact about how the iron that was used to defend their territory was obtained.

And this let the maid and staff members who really were spies easily obtain and then pass along the message.

So, when Leosydas returned in early August to Ceon, the capital of Tibias, the king informed him of the 125 million ropals in one year offer he had gotten, and hence Alexander's offer of 100 over 10 years sunk to the depths like a lead balloon.

Instead, the two men now mainly talked about how to prepare for the war.

"Leosydas, what have you seen in Zanzan?"

"How are their defense?"

"How are their walls?"

"How are their armies?"

Perseus launched a barrage of questions to his best friend regarding his target.

And got these answers.

"Their armies are quite small."

"And the people under their control did not seem too great."

"But their walls were definitely formidable."

"It seems that Alexander has strengthened the walls even more."

"Attacking that will be hard."

From this answer, it could be seen Leosydas did not actually feel optimistic about attacking Zanzan due to the walls.

While Perseus only gave a mysterious laugh.

And once the torsion catapult was shown to him, the entire nation of Tibias began a general mobilization, their intention- To launch a sneak attack on Zanzan around October with 35,000 to 40,000 men.