Herald of Steel

862 Perseus's Last Stand

Alexander's slight concern about Lord Theony was naturally poked at by Perseus's son during his speech.

Upon hearing Lord Theony's bold, unconcerned laughter, he had addressed Alexander,

"Pasha of Zanzan, are you really comfortable having such a traitor by your side? Do you think it is wise? Will he not betray you when the opportune moment comes just like he did to my father?"

But although slightly concerned, Alexander also made sure to remind the other party that they were no innocent fawn either and that Lord Theony had a real reason behind his betrayal.

"Lord Theony only betrayed you because he was betrayed first- by your father and his court. Don't tell me you forgot how you tried to pin the blame of losing Thesalie to him instead of the actual lord of the city, Lord Ponticus?"

"Why? Just to save a dead man's reputation. Just because he was part of the royal family."

The quick response was something that quite pleased Lord Theony.

While actually behind closed doors, Alexander did consider the offer more thoroughly, sitting with some of his council members to try and think of the best outcome.

Because if possible, the best steward to rule Tibias would undoubtedly be Perseus.

However, the consensus reached in that meeting was that Lord Theony and his family were too important for the immediate future to be exchanged for the terms offered and the only way Alexander could agree was ifPerseus were to abdicate and surrender the whole of Tibias.

And even then it would only be Lord Theony being placed under house arrest.

Such a lukewarm offer was ultimately not acceptable to Perseus and thus with negotiations broken down, both sides prepared for battle.

Alexander's side, now 40,000 strong started their march for Lilybee once the men were gathered and given some basic training.

This took around twenty days, and the entire journey was pretty eventless.

Given Alexander's army size and reputation by now, no city foolishly tried to defend itself till the very last breath.

But all accepted Alexander with open arms, letting him into their city and making available the best accommodations they had to offer so that he did sack their settlements.

Some cities even extended their hospitality to the point they sent carts full of food ahead of the marching army, hoping that this way the huge number of armed men would not go out foraging for food and destroy the surrounding crop fields, but instead quickly leave.

Alexander was of course all too happy to accept all this.

Along the way, he also got to see the countryside scenery of Tibias, and although the scenery here was much like the scenery anywhere else around the country, he did find it very beautiful.

Meandering earthen pathways with forests and woods on either side, Alexander found nature unfolding at its finest- in a symphony of sights, sounds, and scents

Given it was summer, the air was filled with the earthy aroma of soil and the fragrance of wildflowers that danced in the gentle breeze.

When Alexander passed through the forests, which were uncountable years old, he found them to be adorned with towering ancient trees, gnarled branches reaching skyward and creating a dappled canopy overhead, which cast intermittent shadows on the well-worn dirt trail left by the marching men.

A very memorable wood that he passed was an ancient olive grove, where he marveled at all the twisted trunks standing like sentinels, adding a sense of timelessness to the panorama, while on the ground many small critters littered the ground.

Vast swathes of land planted with tall, green wheat, yet to ripen, swayed gracefully in the fields, their rhythmic movements accompanied by the rustle of leaves and the occasional trill of distant birds.

Stone fences, weathered by centuries of weather and time, many times lined the edges of these fields, guiding Alexander through the undulating landscape.

Here and there, patches of vibrant moss cling to ancient rocks, adding a touch of vivid green to the scene.

The countryside was even dotted with some remnants of forgotten civilizations as at one point Alexander came across the ruins of an abandoned settlement, its inhabitants supposedly wiped out more than a century ago by some nearby elder's account, the cause long lost to time.

Thus the only things that remained of that once vibrant town were a crumbling stone archway, the remnants of a weathered amphitheater, and a moss-covered well whose water had long turned poisonous,

There were a few more of these types of ruins that Alexander came across on his way, all standing as silent witnesses to the lives of those who once inhabited these ancient lands, their stories whispered through the rustling leaves and the ageless stones.

But the most regular scenery for Alexander was the sight of the straw or terracotta rooftops of small villages arranged one after another along the banks of the mighty River Diannu, smoke rising lazily from these small settlements, the distant sound of hurried shouts of farmers, the low cries of farm animals, the high pitched cries of housewives going about their chores and the distant giggle and laughter of children playing in the fields all drifting through the wind into Alexander's ears.

Occasionally, the army would have to get on a boat to cross a large river, as there would be no bridges.

And as Alexander was rowed, he found the waters so pristine that he was able to see the fishes swimming around and even saw some soldiers simply catching some for themselves by hand, and simply storing them in their bags, unconcerned about the smell.

Facing all such picturesque scenery, even now Alexander would sometimes feel that the landscape unfolding before him was like the pages of a history book, like he was an alien coming to visit these unfamiliar sights.

Now Alexander did not only spend his time taking in the pristine looks of a past untouched by the pollution of civilization.

As he went on his way, he also made sure to make note of all the infrastructure that would need improving.

Like all those rivers he had to cross by boat because no bridges existed.

Or how even many of the main roads between major cities were simply unpaved earthen roads that had been flattened by the foot through regular goings of people over decades if not centuries.

Or how some of the farmlands could use new canals for a better irrigation system.

At the same time, Alexander also got to see the terrain around here as well as the natural resources he might be able to exploit- which mainly meant good farmland, nice timber, and metal mines.

And along the way, he found all three.

The fertility of the land along the banks of the Diannu did not need to be said, there were many tall forests which were prime timber and he even spotted a few iron, copper, and gold mines, although those sizes were still quite small.

And lastly, Alexander's almost three week travel helped him see the lifestyle and prosperity of the people living in these parts, as well as witness the scars the wars had wrought upon them.

So with those vicissitudes all along the way, Alexander at last arrived at Lilybee and set up camp about five kilometers away from the city.

Then he first and foremost ordered,

"Send messengers to the walls. Tell them that if they open the gates, no one will touch even their hair. But if they decide to resist, they will be killed to the every last man."

The messenger would indeed recite this, as well as the condition Alexander had given Perseus prior, i.e.- abdicate to save his and his family's life and live a cushy life in Zanzan.

*Shoo*

But to this, Perseus's only response was shooting an arrow at the herald's feet as from the top of the wall, the king shouted his response regally, addressing himself with the royal 'We'.

" 'We' have been handed the duty to defend Tibias from 'Our' father, who received it from 'Their' father."

"Entrusted in this fidelity by the sacred ancestral spirits, 'We' have been the bulwark of Tibias for countless generations, repelling countless invaders just like you."

"So how can 'We' accept simply abandoning our duty now just because things have gotten bad?"

"Win or loss! That is in the hands of the fate."

"But me Perseus- the first of his name will never surrender!"

"True Tibias never surrender!"

Perseus swung his armored fist high into the air as he shouted this and the speech was way more than just a reply to Alexander.

It was also a way to galvanize his 35,000 men who, upon seeing the well armed and numerically superior enemy had begun to lose courage.

And so hearing Perseus's very charismatic speech caused many shouts such as,

"Whoooo…"

"Yeahhhh…"

"Fight to the death…," enabling them to recover their morale.

And then knowing that defending against Alexander was futile, Perseus began to march out of the gates, deciding to throw everything at this one last roll.

Some of his generals had instead urged the king to defend, reasoning that other powers might send even more reinforcements if they could hold on a bit longer.

But even if Perseus was not highly skeptical of such a claim, even if he wanted to defend, the walls of the city appeared too inadequate, being only 3 meters high and about 2 meters thick.

Which were not shabby, but given Alexander's access to catapults, Perseus had no confidence in being able to withstand the attacks.

Hence the decision for a pitched battle.

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