Herald of Steel



Perseus's target of one month to gather all those men was really pushing what was possible.

It usually took much longer than that to gather so many men as time was needed to get the order down the chain of command.

But none of the two men dared to dispute this in fear of the other using it against him to make him appear incompetent.

While Perseus after setting the time frame continued, 

"After you have gathered your men, have them use the river Diannu to ride upstream."

"That way you can directly enter Thesalie. This will be much faster than marching."

Perseus's plan to use the navigable waterways for troop transport was very good.

But this little detail somehow also gave the two the opportunity to quibble and try and wriggle out some more time.

So being the quicker witted of the two, Mithriditus tried to go around the problem another way.

"But…but Your Grace, we do not have enough boats to carry all the ten thousand men and supplies. And it will take time to gather so many, even if we take them from the merchants and trade guilds."

Clearly he was hinting for the king to extend the timeline.

And Lord Theony also quickly joined Mithriditus this time, adding with large nods, 

"Yes. yes And although we can gather the men, …but the supplies….that will take much…."

But he did not get to finish his piece as Perseus flashed his palms and curtly interjected,

"No need to worry. You will only have to carry the supplies required to make the journey."

"As Thesalie is not too far from here, you can make it in only five days if you go by river."

"That will solve both the boat and supplies problems, right?" He smirked with a knowing curl to the lips.

Perseus was not a king who could be hoodwinked so easily.

Especially when it came to military matters.

He was unusually sharp about this stuff.

"...." And hearing Perseus's plan, the two men found their tongues tied.

They found it hard to nitpick here but also found the task too daunting.

They did not want to promise this and then fail to deliver.

But they also did not want to outright claim they were unable to do so as it would lose them a lot of face.

Hence for a while there was a stifling, uncomfortable silence swirling around the court.

"Ahem!" Until it was broken by a gruff from a noble relatively in the back, who, succeeding in drawing attention to him, the relatively influential noble slowly stepped forward with a bit of an unsure stagger and turned to face Perseus before speaking out in a shaky voice, 

"You…Your Majesty…but if the ten thousand men are sent without supplies, how will they survive once they get to the city?"

"Lord Ponticus has already written in his letter that one of his granaries has burnt down and asked for more supplies."

"Wouldn't ten thousand new mouths put too much strain on him?"

This man was part of Mithriditus's faction and felt he needed to step up to help his boss.

And as he said that, not to be outdone, another noble, this time from Lord Theony's faction quickly added, 

"I too agree, Your Highness. The soldiers will not be even able to forage due to the siege."

"Perhaps it will be better to wait and better prepare ourselves so that we can properly help Lord Ponticus."

And being convinced by the duo's argument, another more neutral noble nodded and commented, 

"Mmm, if we wait two months, we can also send the entire twenty thousand Lord Ponticus wanted together, rather than in small groups bit by bit."

"That should be a more effective force."

Judging by the nobles' attitude, it seemed a lot of the nobles were in favor of delaying the reinforcements.

It was both due to actual logistical difficulties and also because by dragging one's feet, they figured they would not have to commit so much of their own men.

And who knows, perhaps Lord Ponticus was really exaggerating and within this time the Zanzan threat will extinguish by itself?

In fact, there were many nobles who felt that way, who felt Thesalie would, or better yet could never fall

And it was not difficult to understand why after reading Tibias's history, where the city had withstood up until now nine great sieges and numerous small ones.

That came to one siege about every forty to fifty years on average, and every noble learned in detail about each and every one of these great sieges by heart.

And Thesalie had withstood them all.

It was because of its legendary defenses that Thesalie was called by so many other names.

The Fortress of Fortress, Bastion of the Gods, and The Impregnable Bulwark, all such were only some of the many impressive names it went by.

So the fact that the city would stand forever was almost etched into the noble's heart like it was a natural part of the world, a fact as true as the very laws of nature itself, an inevitability, like rain always falling downward, or fire always being hot, or the sun being always bright.

So to them, hearing Thesalie was in danger of falling was the same as hearing the sun might not rise tomorrow.

Sure tomorrow might be cloudy, and one might not be able to see the sun, but the sun would definitely be there, no doubt.

Hence many did not take Lord Ponticus's claim seriously, thinking either he was exaggerating, or he had lost his nerve, or simply plain old had made a mistake.

But one person who did not think so.

And that was Perseus.

He knew his young uncle very well and knew he would never lie about such things.

If he said things were dire, it definitely was dire.

And fortunately for Tibias, and unfortunately for Alexander, it was his opinion that truly mattered.

Another man whose option also mattered almost equally was Philips- the crown prince.

And just like the rumors said about how sharp he was, he both understood what his father was thinking and what the nobles were trying to get at.

So interjecting on the former's behalf, Philips turned to address the crowd,

"My lords," He started, "if Grandpa…if Lord Ponticus wrote this letter, knowing him, his situation might be direr than he is making it to be so."

"That is why Royal father is so eager to send aid as soon as soon."

"That is why he wants those ten thousand men there as soon as possible." 

Saying this he paused, his gaze scanning the line of nobles standing opposite of each other.

And for their part, the nobles also gazed back, as they then heard Philips say with an understanding nod, 

"I know many in your hearts think that since Thesalie has stood for the last hundreds of years, it will not fall for the following hundred years."

"But I want to remind you, the past does not guarantee the future."

"The enemy we face this time is nothing like the past. He is way more cunning, and he has so many strange tactics."

"So we must not grow complacent."

"We must not let the glory and success of our ancestors make us think future success is guaranteed." 

"No! Instead, like our ancestors had done in the past, we must strive to our utmost."

"We must never forget Adhania, our most hated enemy, is much bigger than us."

"And so we must always take every move they make very seriously."

"I hope all my lords will remember this!" 

As Philips finished his speech, the nobles could not help but produce a glow of appreciation on their face.

It was truly a moving set of words, and it really worked to make the nobles see a new perspective.

'Yes, if Thesalie falls, what is the point of keeping the men all to myself,' Many nobles thought.

While other nobles who were shrewder and could see much more into the distance commented in their heart, 

'With him as successor, Tibias is sure to have a bright future.'

These nobles were both glad to have a competent king who could provide stability to the realm, but also a bit bitter because it meant they were unlikely to be able to trick or coerce him into giving them more influence. 

It was both a great boon and a minor curse.

But most nobles agreed it was more a boon than a curse given the challenges their country was facing currently.

Especially that new lord of Zanzan.

Though most nobles were yet to wake up to the nightmare called Alexander, a few of the most sharp ones were.

Like Mithriditus, who upon hearing Philips's great speech, stepped forward to say in a very appreciative voice, 

"Excellent! What The Crown Highness has said is really excellent. I could not have said it better by myself."

"Now is not the time for division."

"Now is the time for us to unite."

"Lord Ponticus has asked for help, and we should provide it to him even before he actually needs it." 

"Defending Thesalie is a duty of all of us nobles!"

While Lord Theony, not wanting to let his rival get a step ahead, too quickly joined in, nodding vigorously and saying, 

"That's right, that's right. We have to send the men as fast as possible."

"As it said in the letter, the men are the most important."

"The supplies can be sent by boat later."

It seemed things were about to get harder for Alexander.

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