Herald of Steel

Conquering Tibias was the dream of many an Adhanian king, and most new kings would launch at least one expedition in their lifetime to try luck but reality would soon bring them crashing down every single time.

Tibias was to Adhnia what France had been to England or what Vietnam once was to the Chinese.

In fact, the act of conquering Tibias was turned into almost a meme in the language of Azhak, as there was a saying, 'Go conquer Tibias,' which basically meant 'fuck off.'

Thus one could forgive the pasha for his thoughts on Alexander's ambitions.

After giving some genuine advice to Alexander, the pasha started using his thick, right index finger to gently tap on the grey Cornell wooden table as he slowly spoke, "I have ambivalent feelings about you, you know. On one hand, I'm very glad by how thoroughly you thrashed that waste Amenheraft. I don't know if you know but the people you killed in the battle has almost decapitated his high command, crippling him for years, if not decades."

Pasha Farzah, with his vast intelligence network, naturally knew much more about the specific losses suffered by Amenheraft than Ptolomy or Alexander.

He continued, "Even if Amenheraft does somehow manage to take back Adhan now, he would have a very difficult time gaining control over it any time soon. The base of loyal nobles he had inherited is gone and he will need decades to build it up again from scratch."

The pasha then stopped tapping his fingers and sharply looked at Alexander, "This is a result even I didn't dare dream. And for that, to show my appreciation, I'm willing to overlook how you killed Fatrak…if you give up on that stupid proposal."

Alexander was impressed by how quickly the pasha was able to get his hands on Amenhearaft's casualties.

This was not the twenty-first century with its satellite communication, meaning spies must be buzzing around Amenheraft like flies.

But what he was not impressed by was pasha's insistence for him to give up Azira and Azura.

That was a no-go for Alexander.

And he made it clear to the pasha, "I'm a poor, weak mercenary with no roots in Adhania. As such I might very well be thrown away like garbage once I have lived by usefulness. To safeguard against that, I need some guarantees. I need Azira and Azura"

He then emphasized, "I can't compromise, not on that."

"You don't trust the words of your king and his retainers?" Pasha Farzah changed his tone to a hard, harsh one.

But Alexander gave his usual, memorized reply, "Of course, I do. With all my life, But I also believe in the words, 'Trust but verify'."

"Heh, words to live to by," Pasha Farzah sneered back.

Then his tapping on the wooden bench returned as he asked an off-hand question, "Why did you kill Fatrak? I liked Fatrak."

Alexander returned the question with one of his own, "Do you know how he died?"

This caused a frown to form on the noble's face as he was still unclear of the details.

So Alexander decided to fill him in.

"The fool confronted the king and me along with five of my soldiers in a dark corridor alone, demanding that I take my sword off and then 'surrender' myself for punishment. And when my soldiers apprehended him and held him down, instead of taking the name of the king who was literally there pleading on his behalf to me, the idiot instead shouted your name, saying how you will kill me the moment you entered the city."

Alexander then shrugged his shoulders, and said nonchalantly, "So yeah, I killed him. I killed him for the sin of being stupid."

After finishing, Alexander had expected the pasha to shout and roar.

But to Alexander's surprise, Pasha Farzah showed no anger.

There was not even a scowl on his face over Alexander's frank admission.

Instead, Farzah only sniggered, "You think the boy's true nature was unknown to me? You think that haughty, pompous idiot could have gotten anywhere without shitting all over the place?"

He answered his own question shaking his head, "No, the reason I wiped his ass, the reason I liked him…well pretended to like him was because of his father."

"His father?" Alexander was intrigued.

Alexander could think of only a handful of positions that could draw a pasha's attention.

'I will bet a million dollars he is related to the royal family.' Alexander swore.

"Yes, Djoser. He is a pasha and Amenheraft's eldest brother." Pasha Farzah confirmed Alexander's suspicions.

And then gave him a bit of history lesson, "Alozmer had many boys. But other than three, all others are either dead or married to the daughters of other pashas. They have the title of Emir and some land but are generally weak, holding mostly ceremonial positions. There are two exceptions but generally, that is so."

"But that is not the case with Djoser, who is almost as old as me and is the pasha of the biggest port in Adhania. And that should be of particular interest to you as he is your neighboring pasha- The ruler of Kuleef!" Pasha Farzah finished his sentence with a bit of dramatic flair in his voice, hoping to see some kind of amusing reaction on Alexander's face.

But only got a thoughtful, almost poker face, causing him to curse in his heart, 'Fool, doesn't even know how fucked he is!"

But Alexander didn't think himself screwed.

Instead, he was rejoicing ober the fact that he would not need to generate conflict with Kuleef, they would come to him, giving him a perfect casus belli.

Though Pasha Farzah was disappointed to see Alexander's nonchalant facade, he still continued, "Djoser, is a good man. And a caring father. But he has always been bad at showing this as he had always been strict with Fatrak, placing a lot of expectation on his successor."

Pasha Farzah here paused to let out a small sigh of pity, "This excess pressure might have twisted the boy, making him become rude and confrontational, always throwing a tantrum if not getting his way. And this caused a fracture between the father and son."

Farzah then said with a small smirk, "I coincidentally saw this crack when I went to visit Kuleef on a business trip and decided to exploit it. I indulged my grandnephew's tendencies, allowing him to do what his heart desired, which forced his father into many embarrassing and at times even difficult positions for his son's recklessness. Haha, I managed to get quite a few trade concessions from Djoser that way." Pasha Farzaah fondly recalled.

The frankness with which Pasha Farzah revealed these secrets astonished Alexander, as he was not anyone close to the man.

Alexander also noticed how although the other pasha did not directly participate in the rebellion they tacitly and indirectly showed their support, as evidenced by the fact that a successor of a pasha was in the retinue of Ptolomy.

'Looks like this rebellion has many layers to it,' Alexander took a mental note.

Pasha Farzah, then finished his speech, "So as I was saying. Djoser was a man who showed tough love for his son. Even though they appear estranged, he would not have made the sacrifices he made if he didn't truly care for his son. He will come for your blood." Pasha Farzah warned.

And at last, added sarcastically, "Also, you killing the boy has removed a card I could have played against him and Kuleef. So thanks for that."

'Darn, I could have used that boy. I was too hasty with the sword,' Alexander understood that even he was not immune to the corrupting nature of power.

He swung the sword recklessly because he could, not because he should.

But soon he recovered and smiled at Pasha Farzah, "Well the past is the past. There's no use crying over spilled milk, or in this case cut head."

Alexander spoke cheerfully, in a breezy, light tone that seemed oblivious of the danger ahead.

"Haha, that's not a bad thing to have, an easy-going spirit," Pasha Farzah chuckled at Alexander's ability to not agonize over past mistakes.

And then got to the main point he was trying to make, "So, boy, in return for the valuable lesson I gave you, I was hoping that you might cancel that ridiculous arrangement with my granddaughters. I'm requesting...Again."

The tone with which this giant man said the word 'hoping' and 'requesting' did not mean those words, it meant he was ordering.

The man's eyes had narrowed into a crescent, like that of a wolf and his whole body had tensed up like an animal ready to attack his prey.

'He isn't going to take a blank 'no' very well,' Alexander concluded.

So he made small talk, "Pasha Farzah, your obsession with your granddaughters, surely you cannot be oblivious to how vulnerable that makes you. Is it really prudent for you to be showing such weakness during negations?"

Alexander was truly curious about this as the noble did not strike him as stupid.

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