Herald of Steel

The one most moved by Alexander's 'new' creation was not Laykash or even Alexander but Grahtos.

He did not have the time to praise Alexander because Alexander had quickly moved on to treat Laykash but Grahtos understood the significance of this invention, particularly for horsemen

His own brother had died from a femur injury and that was how he had come to know firsthand why femur injuries were considered basically death sentences, but now knowing that such a simple cure existed, he felt the future of all horsemen had become brighter.

'I will join the commander's group,' Grahtos made a fateful decision, truly believing that Alexander's future was limitless.

The man that occupied Grahtos's mind had finished securing the injured leg with the splint and then checked the boy's temperature, only to find it scorching hot.

Laykash was running a terrible fever.

"Put a wet towel on his head, And get someone to feed him thin gruel," Alexander ordered of the medical personnel who had come to listen to Alexander's lecture.

As soon as he was finished, Alexander noticed a waiting soldier whisper something to Grahtos and soon Alexander was informed that the body of the blonde man was here.

Alexander then followed Grahtos to observe the corpse and as he laid his eyes on the dusty, dirty blonde man wearing a gorgeous tunic, his wound by now turning black and producing small amounts of pus, Alexander asked, "Does Ptolomy know this guy?"

He asked this because he was curious about the identity of the slain man, as he assumed it had to be someone pretty high up the chain of command, someone who had Amenheraft's absolute trust and confidence and was willing to put himself in the striking armor and draw all aggro towards him just to save his king.

Alexander certainly admired such bravery and hoped one day to gather a group such fiercely loyal to him.

"I'm sorry, commander. But I wasn't there when King Ptolomy entered the city." Grahtos said with a lowered head, reminding Alexander.

"Oh yeah! I forgot you were at the palace." Alexander fixed his mistake with a light smile.

Then he asked Grahtos, "Please put the corpse in a cold, dry place. I will display it to the public the day after tomorrow and so it can't be allowed to spoil."

"Display it to the public?" Grahtos repeated Alexander's words.

But when quickly complied as he pointed out. "Commander, how about the dungeon? It's cool there."

'It's also damp there,' Alexander commented to himself.

But he soon thought of a workaround and gave the order, "Tie the body very tightly with dry clothes. Use multiple layers so no moisture can enter. And then put the body on the bed in an empty cell."

"I will do it personally," Grahtos reassured.

Alexander was pleased by this and then he issued a different command, "Grahtos, before you do that, take half my bodyguards to replace the current guards. Those guys are tired so feed them and then order them to sleep. They will have the night shift."

"Yes, commander!" Grahtos saluted.

"And order the outer city gate to be closed immediately. Under no circumstances is it to be opened again. I don't care if Ramuh himself comes in person to demand the gates be opened. Before tomorrow morning, before they receive explicit orders from me and me only, the gates will remain closed. If a messenger comes, tell him to either send the letter under the door or wait till I wake up."

"If the gate is opened at night, the guards there will be personally judged by me." Alexander threatened some grave consequences and then let Grahtos leave,

With all this done, Alexander decided it was time to have lunch.

He invited Cambyses and a few of the leaders who were not too busy, and with each of them carrying their own rations of bread, cheese, and meat, along with some wine from Agapios's personal collection, made their way to the royal dining room.

As they pushed open the door, here the assemblage ran into a bit of an awkward situation as they had seemingly caught the royal family having their lunch.

Alexander, the leader of the group found out the eight ladies had cleaned themselves up and changed out of their old, dirty clothes, which made their elegance truly flourish.

Like how the dust covering jewel can be washed away to reveal the pristine shine below, these head-turning beauties were now in their most glorious bloom and they were a stunning sight to behold.

There was Hellma's mother- the queen mother with her adult charms, wearing a white strapless one-piece that snuggly bound her bountiful breasts.

Ptolomy's wife wore a black conservative full-sleeve dress, with only her neck and beautiful collarbones being allowed to enjoy the light, while she let her long curly hairs drape over her shoulders.

Her three daughters all wore matching outfits- a gorgeously decorated white gown with beautiful red rubies studded on them, and their raven black hair tied up in a bun with an ornate silver hairpin holding it in place.

Hellma wore a similar one-piece like her mother, with her red hair being styled straight with a simple hairpin at the black, while her mother's fluffy red hair decorated her head and shoulders.

And at last, there were the twins, who had changed to a pure white chilton with black onyx pearls embroidered on them, that seemed to make their unblemished, chocolate skin glow in contrast and make it appear even more prominent.

Seeing such a concentration of beauties in one place, momentarily, knocked Alexander's concentration out as he became momentarily dazed.

But he regained it just a moment later, as he flashed a charming smile, "Your Majesty, it is quite the fortune that he can meet under these auspicious circumstances. We will likely be working closely together for a very long, and what better way is there to deepen our relationship than to have a meal together."

Finished saying this, Alexander then promptly plopped down on a chair and gestured his followers to follow, without any permission from anyone.

This blatant disregard for royal etiquette was a power play from Alexander, designed to display to the royal family the change in the power structure that had occurred and to destroy the innate haughtiness of the royal family, thus making them treat him as one of his equals."

To achieve this, Alexander committed grave crimes such as entering the dining room while the royal family was eating, interrupting the royal family's meal, sitting at the same table as them without permission, and inviting guests to join them without their consent, just to name a few.

And although this caused a frown to form on all but one man's face, who had learned his lesson when Alexander hit him, because the man of the house- the king had not said anything about his table being shared with uncultured brutes, the ladies, although very angry, chose to keep their mouth shut.

They had also been told the full story of how the man, no the boy, had managed to steal the city right under Amenheraft's nose and knew he had the muscle to do anything he wanted here, at least for the time being.

Alexander relished at the sight of these snobbish pricks wanting to curse at him, but being forced to hold their tongue and decided to poke them a bit, "Your Majesty, I heard Adhania was experiencing a dreadful drought and its people were dying like flies. But seeing the type of food on your plate, I am relieved to know that is not the case."

The lunch these royals were having consisted of full roasted chicken, large thick pieces of fish, soft, luxurious white bread, and many types of vegetables, all likely cooked in butter or lard or something similar by the smell of it.

'And this guy says he is fighting for the people. What crap!' Alexander sneered in disdain.

Alexander such openly mocking him right in front of his family both embarrassed and angered Ptolomy and his family, but had no choice but to grow a thick skin and smile shamelessly, "Hehe, commander, this is just an exception. They had been locked up in their cells for days without any food and this is for them to recover their energy."

'Bullshit! The only meal they missed might have been today's breakfast.' Alexander scolded the king in his head as he could clearly see the ladies were although a bit exhausted but mostly fine.

Spending days inside that damp, cold, and moist place with no food can't produce the rosy cheeks Alexander could clearly see.

And as Alexander guessed, everything Ptolomy said was untrue as though Amenheraft had captured the women for rebelling against the crown, he had taken special care to make sure even in captivity, these women's basic necessities such as good food, nice beds, and proper clothes were met.

They were royals after all and treating them as common criminals would tarnish the reputation of the royal family itself.

And this was why Ptolomy had found the women in relatively healthy condition with even their attire being quite gorgeous.

"Haha, my apologies, my apologies." Alexander let out a loud laugh at Ptolomy's shabby excuse.

And then got to the core of the issue. "It is vital for the royal family to eat and be healthy. After all, Amenhearaft will be attacking the city in about a month. And we will need the royal family to lead us to battle against him."

By the end sentence, Alexander's eyes had turned into a crescent as he sent a penetrative reminder of the imminent danger to Ptolomy.