Herald of Steel

Alexander's ominous wish for the city to be destroyed left his retainers a bit speechless.

This was not what most had in mind when they thought of conquering it.

They wanted to obtain it as was.

Like the gem it appeared in the dreams of every Adhanian.

Not a burnt-out husk.

So many were reluctant to see this useless destruction and the horrible bloodshed.

But ultimately none of the men there argued.

Not because they were scared of Alexander.

But because the reason he gave showed the act was not useless.

What he said made total sense.

"Lord Pasha said it well. If this works, we won't have to fight a siege for the next ten years! I support it." 

Menes was the first one to utter this out aloud.

And this almost acted as a catalyst for others, with each of the other men quickly nodding and revealing their approval.

Thus the general consensus among the group was cemented.

With this strategy reached, the soldiers were instructed to mentally prepare themselves, as well as being tasked to shout very clearly every day to the Tibian defenders that they had one week to surrender and open the gates.

Or else when the legionaries broke through, the entire city would be razed to the ground and everyone massacred!

The spread of this threat naturally caused unending murmurs in the city, where the large majority of the populace were in favor of accepting the deal.

After all, the enemy had broken through the hardest part of their defenses, and the army of 40,000 sent to resist these invaders had disappeared into the air.

So what point was there in fighting to the bitter end?

Especially when the other side was willing to be so generous.

They had fought the good fight but lost.

So the vast majority of the people were of the mind to accept the results.

Except for one of course- PP.

And unfortunately for the populace, he was supported by a small but powerful group of armed men who made up the higher echelons of the city.

These men mostly consisted of a handful of hardened loyalists who served Lord Ponnticus's household and were the type of people who would rather die than surrender.

Joining them were also a few small nobles who had fiefs around the city and feared what Alexander's annexation would mean for their lands.

Though these men were not as inflexible as the former ideologically driven men and as long as Alexander gave them certain concessions, they would be amenable to a deal.

As for whether Alexander would do so, well that depended.

For being the victor, Alexander would never be the one to send any peace feelers first.

But instead he waited for these nobles to come to him first, after which he would decide their treatment depending on who bowed first and how quickly.

So for now, he was content to wait and let the sapping of the first wall's foundation continue, while half hoping the city would resist till the end, whereupon he could use the total slaughter to send a message to every one of his rivals in the vicinity.

As for what was happening inside the city, well there people were forced to struggle between surrender or martyrdom.

The few of those who could flee had already fled like Lord Theony had.

People like some of the nobles who saw no point in resisting.

As well as many affluent people like wealthy merchants and traders, who could afford the expensive journey.

After all, given the state the city was in, the price of hiring things like a cart or chartering a boat had gone through the roof. 

As for the rest of the citizenry, i.e.- the peasantry and others of low social status, their lives were left to the will of their lords.

Now there was a small group of nobles who had dared to openly suggest surrendering, 

"Traitor! Execute them right here and now!" 

And that was their fate.

PP actually killed them right on the very floor they stood, dying the carpet there rusty.

And after that, there was no one who dared to suggest such a thing again.

But that of course did not mean no one was discussing it.

"Lapitus! What should we do? Lord Ponticus is dead. And PP and the others wish for all of us to end up like him! With our heads on the wall!"

"That's right. He wants to slaughter us all! We must do something!" 

It was in one very inconspicuous guardroom in one of the many keeps that this very question was discussed, led by a small number of mid-level officers, all of whom had very excited, yet also worried faces.

It was as if these men were rearing to fight but were also holding themselves back in fear and trepidation.

Also yes, it was finally confirmed that Lord Ponticus was indeed dead.

And the way they confirmed it was indeed sad. 

For after the soldier who killed him got the bounty, Alexander made sure to put the man's head on a spike on the first wall, for the entire populace to see.

But in his defense this was not as much a cruel, barbaric move, as much as another way to put pressure on the defenders, to show that even their general was dead and that they would be better off if they surrendered.

Many of the legionaries even urged the defenders this.

From all this it could be seen that though Alexander's logic told him that massacring the entire city would help him in the grand scheme of things, his human heart still wanted to give the innocent populace a way out.

Now it was up to them whether to accept or not.

Which was the very thing that was being discussed in that dark room in the middle of the night.

The background of all the gathered men was mostly low, without much power or influence.

And none of them had any grand aspirations such as dying for glory.

They all had their friends and family and would very much like to be alive and with them.

But given their status, they were also obviously afraid to outright oppose the authorities.

Which is where Lapitus came in.

Not only was the man Lord Ponticus's right-hand man, possessing immense influence, he personally was a quasi noble too, with his grandfather having been the steward of Lord Ponticus's family, as was his father.

Meaning if there was anyone the soldiers were going to rally towards, it could only be him.

As for the man himself, facing the soldiers' faces eagerly looking at him to take charge, the broad man with a slightly curved nose and wide forehead furrowed his thick brows and tapped his thick fingers at the small table in front.

He would rather not be here.

He very much would rather not be here.

Lapitus was a loyal soldier.

Or at least he liked to believe he was a loyal soldier.

After all he did serve as the former lord's right-hand man.

So the implicit nature of the question left him uneasy.

Because although the soldiers would describe this little get-together as simply them 'trying to figure things out', if things could have been resolved by talking, they mostly would have been already.

There would have been no reason for small fries like them to scuttle about in dark rooms letting out hushed whipsers.

But since they were here, it really meant one thing.

A conspiracy.

A conspiracy to launch a coup de dat!

One that did not necessarily mean storming the lord's mansion and taking control.

But more like taking control of the second gate and opening it.

'I do not want to break my oath!' And facing this pressure, Lapitus's instinctually said this to himself.

But instantly a small voice whispered next to him, 

'But your oath was to Lord Ponticus. He is dead! You owe nothing to your son!'

The voice sounded exactly like his wife, 

And it subconsciously caused the image of her holding their daughter in her arms to flash before him.

He did not want to lose them.

And that was the battle he had been fighting the entire time, from the moment some of his men came to him revealing about the existence of this meeting yesterday to now.

And what a mighty battle it was, there his loyalty and love sought dominion of his heart.

"The gates are under Kalidus's control! Taking it from him will not be easy!"

And ultimately love won!

Because clearly by saying so Lapitus showed which camp he stood on.

"Haha, great! Captain is with us!" And this naturally caused a cheer to break out among the men.

As long as Lapitus was with them, the other details could be worked it. 

Their biggest fear had been alleviated.

But not eradicated.

For Lapitus's loyalty had not been decisively vanquished.

Hence he quickly added, "But I will not act right away. The ten thousand men promised to us are still due within the week. If they come we will fight to the end."

"And I would also like to visit the Zanzan camp is secret to know the exact details of the proposal!"

"I want to know if they will really keep their word!"

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