Herald of Steel

The old man was no greenhorn to politics or warfare and knew the things the soldiers were doing now were natural and to be expected.

But what he really wanted to do was to hold Alexander accountable for all the atrocities and then have Ptolomy sacrifice him to save the royal reputation.

But with the stirring speech Alexander gave just now, that event seemed unlikely,

'Didn't they say he was a slave just five days ago? How is he such a good rhetor?' The old man and the group's de-facto leader spookily asked in his heart.

He did not need a translator as he spoke Thesian quite well and hence the real, raw speech felt even more powerful to him.

And he started to grow even more fearful of the former slave who was said to be blessed of Gaia.

Although he didn't buy those claims, he even considered the Adhanian royal family's claim of divinity as nothing but more than a convenient tool, he did begin to recognize Alexander as a man of extraordinary means.

Sensing this potential starlet, the old man named Barzan tried a new angle of attack, "Commander is most likely right about the soldiers- those peasant scums of the earth were probably trying to besmirch your shiny name. How can a noble like you be ever compared to them, hehe?"

Barzan tried to wedge a divide between Alexander and his men.

But Alexander quickly fill this vulnerable spot as he defended his men, "Do not paint all my men the same colors using the example of few rotten eggs. There will always be some black sheep in any organization. But most of my men are exemplary soldiers."

This passionate speech moved many men as all their lives they were either seen as faceless drones who worked the fields or greedy bastards who would sell their souls to the devil for money.

Few had dared to so openly credit and praise them, especially in front of royal authority.

Running out of cards to play, Barzan decided to play his last card, "The commander maybe be right about his soldiers, especially given that he could take a city of a million with just fifteen hundred men." He seemed to praise.

Then he turned his words to attack, "But commander it is still inexcusable for you to hit a member of the royal family. King Ptolomy was just over-passionate and overly concerned about the lives of his people and their well-being. So, how could you hit a man in whom divine blood flowed?"

'Divine blood? This idiot? Heh, if I were one of the gods and I have a descendant like that, I would have smitten him at birth.' Alexander cursed in his heart.

Openly he only smiled, "Senior asks why I hit him. Well. you have given the answer yourself, didn't you? Because he had become over-passionate and over-concerned and was not thinking straight. I was afraid that one of my soldiers might not take his outburst too kindly and out of blind loyalty to me, might do something untoward towards the king ..or you." Alexander's sweet melodious voice instantly changed to a hard, cold tone as he uttered the last two words.

'This guy, this boy, has no fear of kings or gods. He must be dealt with as soon as possible.' Barzan made up his mind to oppose Alexander the moment the opportunity presented itself.

Alexander too felt like cutting down this competent man to make Ptolomy more dependent on him and since he held the absolute advantage now, lording over the lives of the fifteen men and one woman, he decided to do it now.

But first, given his eyes caught something interesting, he decided to play a bit.

"Old man, you have been acting all high and mighty all this time. So, I believe it's time I got my chance to question you." Alexander held absolutely no respect for the man as he uttered these words, drawing a slight, almost imperceptible frown from the old man.

"You all seem to be very smart men." He started by addressing the crowd. "So tell me why follow a guy like Ptolomy? I believe none of you can be stupid enough to not know who is the real power, the shadow king behind Ptolomy is."

Alexander emphasized, "I believe none of you can be blind to the fact that Ptolomy is just a puppet for the nobles to erode the royal authority and get their own way. And to do that the nobles and one particular Pasha even tricked Ptolomy to get foreign powers to intervene in their civil war and even proposed to tear his beloved country to shreds."

"And I believe none of you can be oblivious to the fact is grossly unqualified to lead you against his much more competent brother."

Alexander strategically paused to see how the expressions of the various men and one woman changed. Some were shamed, some afraid, some ambivalent, and some steadfast and dogged in their belief, with Barzan being their most staunch supporter.

Alexander then continued to paint a grimmer picture, "Tell me, when Amenheraft returns to this city in a month, can you reliably expect Ptolomy, who has never even led a phalanx formation and has no army to speak of, to fend him off."

"And even if he can miraculously accomplish that, will Amenheraft just give up, let him be captured, and then kindly hand over the throne to the one he views as a usurper."

Alexander vigorously shook his head, "No! Even if Prolomy can somehow win this time, it will not be the end, but only the beginning. The beginning of a brutal civil war."

"Ask yourself, do you think your liege will be able to win the civil war? Can he win the war so decisively that the royalist nobles will rejoin him? Can he do it without becoming a puppet for Pasha Farzah and the other nobles? And last, of all, can he go all this without letting other foreign powers like Cantagena and Tibias or even Exolas from taking advantage and rippling his country apart?"

Alexander raised his octaves each time he pronounce the phrase, 'Can he,' which to many of the Adhanians felt like him hammering a nail of doubt and confusion deeper and deeper into their hearts each time, as by the end many felt their throats parched and their hearts filled with dread.

And Alexander finished his speech by saying, "Do not answer me and lie. Answer your heart and at least have the decency to be truthful to yourself."

This was a clever phycological trick by Alexander.

By not letting anyone speak, he made sure those intractable hardliners who could never be reasoned with or made to switch over cannot make passionate pleas and dilute much of the dread and confusion Alexander had worked hard to build up.

Instead of being drawn into a crowd mentality, Alexander let each of the fifteen use their head and let each come to their unique conclusion.

And although Barzan opened his mouth so say something along the lines of, "King Ptolomy is the only real heir," Alexander simply raised his hand and cut him off by saying, "Senior, whatever you think about your liege, you are free to do so. But keep it to yourself."

Then Alexander gave a little smirk looking at Ptolomy pretending to be knocked and not doing a good job at it.

His eyes were incessantly twitching and his lips quivering as if he was having a hard time keeping his mouth shut.

"Get up! I know you heard everything." Alexander ordered and the thin, lanky man obediently did so.

He looked at Alexander with a complicated expression, unsure of how to feel about the man in front of him.

Was he to be angry for Alexander hitting him and for the atrocities he told his soldiers to commit?

Or was he to be happy that Alexander got his capital back for him and for telling him the truth?

He had never thought of the situation like that.

He only thought the nobles were trying to help him and that it was Amenheraft that was always harming him and his country

But now, with this new information, he was equivocating.

Alexander on the other hand knew exactly what to do.

And he had an unequivocal feeling towards one man who he had decided to kill here and now.

So he addressed Ptolomy starting with a perfect bow, "Your Highness, please accept my apologies for letting my temper get the better of me. These things happen in the heat of battle, hehe." Alexander himself excused him of any wrongdoings as he brushed the incident as a minor foible.

Ptolomy too had learned his lessons and just kept quiet.

Alexander was pleased by this obedient display and soothed, "Your Highness, I'm sure you have heard everything I said. And the fact that your most trusted retinue did not stop or contradict me proves its veracity."

Then Alexander changed his tone to an understanding one, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand none of this is your fault. You were tricked! It's all your retinues fault. It's all their fault!" Alexander directly pointed his index finger to the fifteen people while feeding poisonous, honeyed words into Ptolomy's ears.

"What! Lies, your Majesty, lies. This Barzan has always spoken with the utmost integrity to you," The old man immediately jumped up after hearing Alexander's scandalous rhetoric, his face red with anger as he looked at Ptolomy with impassioned eyes to believe him.

But only got a look of utter mistrust in return.