Herald of Steel

When Ser Robert made his choice known to Anoon, the latter was understandably peeved, thus flattening his lips in frustration.

He most certainly did not want to surrender himself to Alexander empty handed, like a destitute beggar, with nothing to provide the man in exchange for his safety.

However, internally the black man was also not that surprised by Ser Robert's choice. He had already suspected this would most likely be the route taken given his commander's personality. Ser Robert was too soft when it came to the well being of his men and too rigid when it came to in his principles according to him.

And so if he had the time, Anoon was very much of the mind to cajole him into choosing the more advantageous first or second choice.

However, all such ideas soon turned to soap bubbles upon hearing one of the spotters cry and noticing the familiar red horse emblem painted on the sails of the incoming ships coming out of the horizon.

This clearly announced the arrival of a fresh new wave of reinforcements from Lord Parker, who had of course seen the bridge collapse in front of them

As well as the fact that those few lucky Heeat men who had managed to escape the bridge during its very initial collapse had of course run to alert their lord of the perils his men were facing.

And the fleet displaced this time seemed much bigger than the prior ones.

Seeing this large force, Anoon did not dare to dally any longer.

These vessels might still be some time away from reaching them but at the same time, he also needed to cover a large distance. And if he did not get enough of a head start, it would be too easy for him to get caught by the pursuing vessels.

Anoon definitely wanted to avoid getting lynched.

Thus quickly forgetting about getting a present for Alexander, Anoon sighed one last breath of regret and then started to fully concentrate on shedding all the extra weight he had on him, in order to best prepare himself for the freezing swim ahead.

*Clang*,* Clang*, *Thud*

It took less than a minute for Anoon to discard all the bronze and letter armor he had, leaving only a very thin tunic above and a pair of slack pants below.

And as the man exposed himself, he visibly shivered following his nakedness, the cold winterly wind immediately biting into his exposed skin with ruthless savagery.

Few could believe that the ambient temperature could be this low and the air so punishing given how bright and sunny everything was.

It was in the middle of the afternoon of a clear sky and yet, the slight touch of the cold winds made all hairs on the man stand up.

It was to the point that the man was seriously reconsidering his options and Anoon's heart once again urged him to go talk to Ser Robert and ask him to reconsider.

However, the ebony man knew how bull headed his commander could be and so rationally determined holding hopes for such an outcome would be a futile waste of his time.

So quickly pushing all the reluctance down, the man decided to instead put his time to far better use, such as doing a bit of stretching to warm himself up before taking the final plunge.

"Maybe we can go talk to him?"

Until suddenly this suggestion from Ser Robert graced Anoon's ear, which came as quite a shock for the adjutant.

So much so that he did not even bother to lower his arms from above his head, but only froze in place and turned around to respond with an incredulous face.

This was probably the first time in his life that Anoon had heard his commander backtrack on something after he had already made the decision.

And as if becoming aware of the anomaly himself, Ser Robert blushed a bit and quickly wiped his head to the side, trying to explain himself,

"Well.. you know….maybe after we explain himself Lord Bernard will come with us. Who knows? Can't hurt to try?"

Looking at the sulking face his subordinate cum friend was putting on before starting the perilous swim, the rigid commander had for the first time in his life felt a little bit guilty and so offered this concession.

"......" And it was something so surprising for Anoon that initially he did not know what to reply with.

Before suddenly breaking into his wide pearly whites, being of course very happy to take the offer. He did not know what had caused this change in Ser Robert, whether it was the damn cold or something else, but he was not complaining.

So with a great nod and a large grin, he gestured for Ser Robert to lead the way.

"Yo… you imbeciles! Look at what you have done! What face do you have to show yourself in front of me?"

Predictably, this was the greeting that awaited them as they approached the foul tempered lord, who by now seemed to have exhausted himself to the point he was leaning against a nearby barrel, huffing and puffing as if he had asthma.

He had also piped down his mutinous rants some time ago after seeing none of the surrounding men had any time to care.

But still, the pepper was hot and the dormant fires in Lord Bernard's heart immediately blazed up upon seeing the two culprits.

In his eyes, it was them who had ruined everything.

"Mistakes were made by both of us. No use crying over spilled milk!" Towards the accusation, Anoon kept his reply short and to the point, in a tone that betrayed any emotion.

This was because Lord Parker's ships were getting close every second and there was little point in playing the blame game now. So the man did not get into the fact that it was Lord Bernard's fault for ordering to attack Alexander on the bridge instead of going to help Lord Kite, while it was their fault for trying to save the Heeat soldiers.

Instead, with his opening remark made, the higher ranked Ser Robert quickly took over and got to offer in a pointed tone,

"Given the circumstances that unfolded today, we have come to see the Heeat family for what they really are. I do not believe it is prudent for our family to ally with such a power. Lady Miranda was right. What do you say?"

The wording might have been a bit polite here, but the meaning was clear- 'We are thinking of defecting. And we want you to join us.'

"....." There had been very few times in his life that Lord Bernard had been left so speechless.

And this was one of them, as hearing this, the man's eyes widened to almost comic degrees and his lips appeared to crack and quiver.

Initially, he even suspected that he had not heard them right. Because even though Lord Bernard was a lot of things, one thing he was not was a traitor.

On the contrary, he could be said to be quite loyal- loyal to the cause, loyal to Miss Linda, and even loyal to his father. This was also one of the reasons he got the job.

So although he hated the way the Heeat family threw their weight around, to switch his allegiance at the drop of a hat just like that was still unthinkable.

"....ha… has the oath you took been eaten by rats Commander Robert?" Thus Lord Bernard found himself a bit hyperventilating as he squeezed out these words, fury and rage bubbling out from within.

The fact that they were even insinuating such a thing made him want to throw, for it was such an affront to his noble name.

"....." And hearing his immediate superior call him out like this of course made Ser Robert flinch, as all the weight of those obligations came rushing back to him.

For a moment, it even made the man wonder if he really was going mad because otherwise, he did not think he would have ever considered breaking his oath like that. It would have been unimaginable to him even just a few moments ago.

"......" So towards this naked attack on his soul, the straightforward man found himself buckling.

Hence it was fortunate that someone like Anoon was there to step up when the other side faltered, as closing the distance, the black man once again chimed, now in a much more passionate voice,

"The losses we suffered today means it would not be prudent for any three of us to return to Lord Parker's camp. We have lost close to two thousand men in a single afternoon! This is devastating. They will surely be looking for a scapegoat. And all three of us will likely be implicated."

"Me and Ser Robert for losing so many of the family troops. And you Lord Bernard for failing to rescue General Achillas and his men. Surely you can see this!"

"Come with us! Order the ship to sail towards the Royal Harbor. We can even take General Achillas from the other ship along the way. Imagine the rewards Lady Miranda and Lord Cassius will bestow upon you then!"

Lord Bernard's heart could not help but thump at that!

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

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