Herald of Steel

Alexander on the surface very neatly gave his reason for the hundred million roplas price tag.

But Ptolomy, having at least a basic sense of prices, only sneered, “Heh, commander, are you sure you are not confusing tustas for roplas?

Then he sarcastically added, “Let me remind you in case you have forgotten, one ropal is equal to ten tustas.”

“So, in essence, you are asking for a billion tustsas! Has the commander turned into a wastrel just because you don’t have to foot the bill?” Ptolomy scathed Alexander.

But Alexander appeared unperturbed by this attack, understanding that swindling so much money even from a baby would be hard.

“Your Majesty is looking at it the wrong way. Amenheraft’s forces are probably larger and definitely more trained than ours. And two to three weeks is impossibly short for any mortal to turn a group of peasants into a contingent of battle-hardened veterans. So, we need that money to boost morale and make the soldiers fight out of greed.” Alexander cleverly made his point.

But even this appeared inadequate to convince Ptolomy, “We are already giving them three meals a day even when we have a chronic food shortage. What more can they want?” He asked.

“And a thousand roplas for each of them! Have these peasants ever seen a thousand ropals in one place?” Ptolomy exclaimed in incredulity at the high prices quoted by Alexander.

“Thirty million, The drought has depleted the treasury and that’s all I can offer.” Ptolomy gave his offer.

Of course, Ptolomy conveniently left out the billions of roplas lying literally on the floor inside his palace right now.

In response to Ptolomy’s vehement opposition, Alexander wagged his silver tongue, “Your Majesty, you have a few billion ropals which I doubt any of your forefathers had in raw cash. So what is a mere hundred million out of a few billion? A few small percentages. Remember Your Majesty, all the money in the world is of no use if it is locked up inside a safe gathering dust.”

Alexander then warmed, “If you do not spend this money, and we lose, then this money will not save you. As a matter of fact, it will then only end up in Amenheraft’s hand while you and me will likely end up dead.”

He then enticed “The next war will likely be the hardest battle of your life, Win and you will experience a meteoric rise. Lose and you will be thrown into the abyss.”

“Can you take that risk just for a mere seventy million roplas?” Alexander asked perhaps the most important question of Ptolomy’s life.

This clear way of representing the fact was a novel concept for Ptolomy and it really put things into perspective.

Could he ever forgive himself if he lost his life because he skimped out on a few tens of millions of coins, a sum he could more than makeup in about a year?

Could he ever forgive himself if he lost in such a way when the heavens gave him back the city he never in his wildest dreams could have thought he would get back?

The answer that Ptolomy came up with was- No!

“Will we win if I give you the money?” Ptolomy asked with a pointed stare.

“Winning is up to the gods. But it will maximize our chances,” Alexander gave a diplomatic, evasive answer.

“Heh, I wish I could talk like you,” Ptolomy sniggered but ultimately agreed to Alexander’s proposed budget.

“Well, I presume that’s all?” Ptolomy’s head was starting to hurt a bit with all the haggling.

“Yes, almost everything I wanted to talk about is done,” Alexander said with a light smile.

“Almost?” Ptolomy asked in surprise.

‘What more ways can he cheat me’ He wondered.

Alexander then brazenly said, “Your Majesty, let’s do away with the superfluous, polite bullshit and talk frankly for once.”

“You don’t trust me and I don’t trust you, So I want some guarantees that the conditions I negotiated will be respected. To that end, I want Azura and Azira as my concubines an….” Alexander did not get to finish his sentence as Ptolomy interjected.

“That’s not upto me to decide,” He curtly cut off Alexander.

Then Ptolomy quickly added, “Amenheraft doesn’t really care about them, but part of Pasha Farzah’s reason for this rebellion is to ensure their well-being. Whatever you want, discuss it with him. I am too weak to help you.”

Ptolomy made his position crystal clear and Alexander understood this was really upto to the former to decide.

So, Alexander proposed, “Then let them remain in my custody till Pasha Farzah demands otherwise.”

This Ptolomy assented to.

And then thinking it was over, attempted to say his closing statements.

But Alexander peeped, “You cut me off before I was finished, Your Majesty.”

He then continued, “I wanted Azura and Azira to check against Amenheraft and Farzah. But I still want someone to check against you.”

Next Alexander slowly spelled out his arguably greatest demand, “I want, Princess Hellma and the Queen mother as guests!”

BAAANNNGGG!

Ptolomy smashed his fist on the hard oak table with everything he had, wanting to really connect that fist with Alexander’s face and seriously contemplating if he should try to.

The force of the hit was so great that his fist got bruised and if one looked closely enough, one could even figure out that the table had become a bit darker red, stained by the small amount of blood smeared on it.

Alexander’s translator even jumped up a bit in fright at this aggressive action, while Alexander only chuckled in his heart, ‘Hehe, found his weak spot.’

Done with this show of force, Ptolomy cursed out profanities, while flinging his arms wildly, “Fuck off. No deal. Just fuck off!”

In the face of this vituperative tirade, Alexander remained cool as a cucumber and steady as a rock, Ptolomy’s outburst only strengthening his resolve to get those women.

After allowing some time for Ptolomy to tire himself out and cool down, with Alexander even going as far as to ask his translator to offer the king some cold water, Alexander coolly said, “I remember when I met you two days ago, in that tent. There you said that you intended to take back some of the lands you promised to the Tibias and Cantagena..”

“I never said that,” Ptolomy hissed in anger at the unjust accusation.

But Alexander pursed his lips and corrected, “Maybe not in so many words, but certainly you implied it.”

“I didn’t imply anything!” Ptolomy violently tried to defend his integrity.

But Alexander wasn’t buying it, “Perhaps not. But that is what it sounded like to me and I’m afraid that I must take that possibility into account.”

Then Alexander made something clear that Ptolomy seemed to have missed, “Your Majesty probably stopped listening after I uttered the words Princess Hellma and the Queen Mother. But unlike Azura and Azira, I didn’t ask for them to become concubines, but instead become guests in my home.”

This nuanced change in status produced a nuanced change in Ptolomy but even still he was livid.

“Guests? Haah, you mean hostages!” Ptolomy huffed out in anger.

Alexander only slightly smiled and nodded with a single word, “Yes.” .

“No, absolutely not. You can have anyone but not those two,” Ptolomy decisively rejected Alexander’s demand.

Then he countered, “If you don’t trust me that much, you can marry one of my daughters.”

“Yes, marriage,” Ptolomy repeated, thinking he had found a way out.

His eyes began to shine like a light bulb and he started vigorously shaking his head, “You can have all three of my daughters and even my wife if you want!”

Ptolomy had a crazed, almost demented look on his face as he made the absurd offer willing to sell his entire family just to get those two.

‘Heh, having a milf and her three identical daughters suck me off at the same time is a fantasy I would be willing to die for.’ Alexander joked in his heart.

And then lampooned, ‘But alas! The naive offer has just exposed how much he loves those two and I would be a born fool not to take advantage of it.”

Alexander afterward gently rejected Ptolomy, “Your Majesty, although being able to marry just a single princess is not even a dream I would ever dare to have, much less three, it is an offer that I will sadly have to forgo.”

He then offered his explanation, “Your Majesty ran away with princess Hellma instead of your family, even at the threat of their execution. And now you have made the offer to exchange your family for her and the queen mother. Will they have any use as a bargaining chip?”

“That…” Ptolomy appeared a bit flushed at being essentially called uncaring.

But Alexander continued with an even more dangerous statement, revealing Ptolomy’s deepest, darkest secret, “It’s clear that you are madly in love with your sister and adoptive mother, much more than your wife and even your daughters. This is why you so readily offered your daughters and wife and this just goes to show how little binding the offer would have on you.”

“And so I can’t accept it.” Alexander made his position clear.