Herald of Steel

Alexander gazed at the body of water called the Life sea and marveled at the unnatural wonder.

It was a salt lake, and like the dead sea of his previous life, its salt content was so high that people could not sink in it.

But unlike how the people of his world called the Dead sea dead because people could float on it like a dead person, here they called it the Life sea because the people swimming on it would not die by drowning, which symbolized birth and life.

For the Adhanians, in their holy scripture Takqa, it was even said that the birthplace of all life on earth was in this sea and it was because the life energy there was so strong here that people could not drown.

But this was not the most magnificent spectacle of the sea.

It was the fact that it was entirely pink!

Yes, the entire one hundred kilometers long, twenty kilometers wide at its widest point sea was not blue but pure pink, making it appear like a giant shining jewel when viewed from above.

This phenomenon was caused by a rare plankton that was native to this place, but the people of Adhnaia did not understand this.

Inside they claimed it to be the blood of Ramuh, which fell on earth when he fought against the other gods, and many Adhanian rituals and ceremonies, and festivals were based around this sea.

To them, this was the equivalent of the Muslim's Kaaba or the Catholic's Vatican city and because of the Life sea, this city meant so much to everybody.

Whoever held Adhan, held Adhania.

This was the spiritual heart of the country and tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the country would come each year to perform their pilgrimages here.

In this way, Adhan almost defined Adhania.

And hence, although Alexander had not managed to kill Amenheraft, by taking away his seat of power, he had crippled him for eternity.

Even if the king could somehow take back the city, he would still be forever known as a failure who let the city of pilgrims fall to a foreign force.

At least that's what Alexander told himself to soothe his aching heart, such words acting as a balm to relieve some of the pain.

Snapping himself out of such thoughts, he then strode forward to the priests and priestess and smiled, "Thank you for choosing wisely. Now both of us don't have to witness any unpleasant sights."

Then he barked vulgarly, "Soldiers, touch any of them, and I will tear out a new asshole, you assholes."

This was the way most soldiers spoke to each other and if the commanders used too formal or soft words, it was seen by most as either a weakness or as being rich and pompous.

'Too high and mighty for us,' Many soldiers would think.

And so this was the way Alexander normalized his exchange with the soldiers as

"Hehe, commander, you got it!" Came the reply.

Then Alexander gave a sly smile, "Now, why don't you guys help us carry some of the loot!"

He wanted them to be accomplices to his crimes!

"What! You…scoundrel..." One of the twins shouted at Alexander like he had just stepped on her tail.

"Esteemed leader, we have already fulfilled our promise. Why are you making things hard for us? The treasures are here, take it." The old priests pointed to the coins and gestured to Alexander to have it all.

"Haha, so we are going strictly by the condition I stipulated, huh?" Alexander let out a cackle.

"Then remember that I never said anything about letting you guys leave unscathed. I only said that the statue would be left untouched. And remember these men have fought very hard the past few hours and are in dire need of some entertainment." Alexander made a subtle but very direct threat.

"*Whistle*"

"Commander's the best."

"I want those silver-haired witches,"

Cheers, jeers, and lewd looks were immediately thrown at the women and even the men just as Alexander finished, making them shiver involuntarily at the thought of what would happen to them.

They were once again reminded that they were still at the mercy of these cruel, barbaric men.

"You...scoundrel, you promised," Another of the twins felt driven up the wall by Alexander's antics as she copied her sister, though because of their lack of slang vocabulary it was starting to get repetitive.

"Haha, and what did I promise? I only told my men not to harm you to show my goodwill towards you for cooperating with me so quickly" Alexander reasoned.

"But, how were my good thoughts repaid? With curses and insults," Alexander somehow turned the blame to them as he pointedly stared at the two girls.

"That…this.." This clever wordplay caught the twins tongue-tied as they struggled to give a decent reply.

All their life up until now, they said whatever they wanted and the others obeyed.

"Hey, you two, what's your name?" Alexander was by now starting to get curious about these zealous twins who were scolding him at every opportunity with no regard for their safety.

"Azira." The left one sang.

"Azura." The right one sang.

"You look like adults, but your behavior is like children." Alexander then turned to the old priest standing beside them, and asked, "Why is that?"

"They are the twin princesses. They have led sheltered lives and are not familiar with the way of the world. Esteemed leader, please forgive them. They know no better!" The priest then politely bowed.

He himself was in quite a pinch as he could neither forcefully restrict these young ancestors nor make them scarce and could hope they held their tongues and Alexander was a reasonable man.

Alexander was quite surprised seeing Amenhearaft's so close kin, his own daughters still here, and asked the next natural question, "What are they doing here? I thought Amenheraft had escaped with all his immediate family?"

"His Majesty implored the princesses to get on the boat with him. But the Highnesses were adamant. They refused all coercion, choosing rather to die in the temple than abandon it."

"Heeh" Alexander smirked and then gave a penetrating scan of the two commenting, "I thought you two were fearless. But it seems I was wrong. You two are plain stupid."

If it was not Alexander here, but any other person, the fate of these twins would have been tragic.

"Bahh, we are not afraid of anything." One of them spat out in anger.

"That's right. The only one we fear is father and God Ramuh," The other nodded in agreement.

Alexander was impressed by this defiance and this made his male ego want to break them to his will.

So he said, "Yosh, I have decided. I want you two to hand over the first coins. Now bring it."

Alexander then held out his palm and gestured to them to fill it with coins.

But how can mere words from a man break these fanatics' will, who despite the urging of others spat out, "Hmph, you wish. Do your worst."

Alexander seriously wondered how much bravado the girls would have once their clothes started getting ripped off and the scalding pain of being invaded unlubricated went rippling into their bodies.

But he did not want to do such things.

Instead, he smiled and clapped, "*Clap*, *clap*, *clap*. As expected of someone of royal lineage and carrying divine blood." He praised, drawing somewhat pleased, somewhat confused looks from everybody else.

Then he continued, "The two highnesses' courage and fearlessness have even moved this poor soldier's heart and made him gain immense respect and reverence for you two. Please accept my bow." Alexander said as he performed a perfect bow.

This act of respect and worship somewhat cooled the anger of the sisters as they began to feel good about themselves for not bowing to a bully.

But Alexander's next line destroyed such feelings.

"But I wonder if your grandpa shares the same conviction as you two. He is quite old and it could be quite the tragedy if something were to happen to his bones." Alexander found himself playing the role of a second-rate villain in a B movie.

"Did Your Highnesses know that it can take months for someone to die from a broken bone injury?" Alexander playfully asked.

Then he began to give an exaggerated and very inaccurate portrayal of a leg injury, "First, the leg swells up. Then it becomes deformed. Then black pus starts to come out. Then the entire leg becomes 'eehh' big as pus continues to form under the skin, turning the leg black and making it look like the size of an elephant. Then the festering and the rotting starts. And at last, maggots begin to crawl out of the leg as finally, after so much agonizing pain for so long, after months of unspeakable torment, at last, it ends."

And he finished the threat by saying, "Now, you don't want that to happen to your sweet old grandpa, do you?"

This dark portrayal of the to-be fate of their beloved teacher, instantly moved the girls' hearts as they looked angrily and with tears in their eyes at Alexander.

'To think that we ever thought that this scoundrel had a bit of goodness in him,' The girls cursed themselves for their naivety.

The sheltered princesses were very soft in their hearts and had even spent the entire last three years working diligently handing food rations and comforting all the people who came to the temple in search of solace, regardless of their status.

The two princesses were called the 'Saintesses of Ramuh,' by many and were adverse to any pain and suffering.

So, Alexander's threat hit them at their weak spot, and although the old priest said, "Your Highnesses, please don't worry these old bones." the twins could not defy Alexander any longer.

So, with venomous flames billowing out of their eyes and a sad, blank look of despair and dejection plastered on their face, each picked up a hand full of roplas and then approaching Alexander almost threw them onto Alexander's two waiting palms, all while keeping their heads down and not even bothering to look him in the eyes.

But Alexander only chuckled at this, as he clenched his hand full of coins into a fist and did a triumphant banzai pose, "Let the gods witness that, I. Alexander have not stolen anything from the temple of Ramuh. But instead gifted its riches by its guardians."

This proclamation made the girls and every other Adhanian turn white-faced in horror at the realization that they had fallen for Alexander's scheme.

They had sold out their god!

But Alexander paid no heed to this as he shouted, "Now, let the looting begin."

"Ooohhh." Came the enormous cheer that echoed off the high walls of the temple.