Herald of Steel

Pasha Farzah’s eyes flashed with a chilly glint when he listened to Alexander’s offensive plan.

This principle of smoke and bait… using one group to lure the enemy out while sneaking up with another…. the old warlord had to admit, it was very good.

His heart further danced with as he heard the young boy finish,

“My lord, I am also aware that you want to replace your eldest son with Kayvan. And this might be the best opportunity for the young man to gain that much needed prestige.”

“Imagine, we put Kayvan in charge of the army in name. Then once we take Bahu, Mirzah who was leading the baiting army would only have a few burnt villages and towns to show for himself…. while your youngest son will be sitting on the throne of Pasha Raysal! What glory!”

“I will talk to Ptolomy about this.” This tempting allure was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Pasha Farzah.

He blurted out the promise almost instantly, his eyes glowing with a strange, fiery light- when he thought of taking down both Mirzah and Pasha Raysal at the same time… the old man really could not resist.

Hence he also began to very eagerly form the basic outline of his plan right inside his head,

‘I will have Mirzah personally lead the attack… tell him to use the forces we had along the borders with Rusti. We won’t be needing them there anytime soon.’

‘I will also add some of the Bahu refugees we have with that. This will bolster our numbers… making it appear we really are an invasion force. These locals will also know the terrain better and if needed, I can also use these busy bodies to do ‘ all those things’ without getting my hands dirty. Hehehe.. they can even be convenient meat shields if we really need to retreat.’

‘I will also ask the many small groups we have inside the province to start to cause trouble for Raysa, raiding villages and launching bandit raids along remote roads.’

‘Once that old rock realizes all this… I don’t believe he will be able to sit still. Seeing it is my snake son of mine leading the attack… he will think this a full fledged attack, so that blind zealot will certainly give chase. Hehehe! How can he accept the ‘Matrak heathens’ to trampling on his people?’

‘That is when Kayvan will sneak up from behind and voila… hahahaha.’ The hearty laughter Pasha Farzah’s mind soon translated into a pleased grin outside.

And seeing this, Alexander added one last idea into their plan, “If it is possible my lord, I think we can also ask some of the northern barbarians to attack Bahu. I am sure you know some tribes inhabiting those frozen steppes. If we give them some weapons and money, I’m sure they will be more than happy to raid and plunder the countryside.”

The idea caused Pasha Farzah to pause for a bit, his face dropping into contemplative rumination,

“…..I am glad you are on our side, brat!” before he succinctly added with a cool and respectful gaze.

The look in those eyes spoke volumes more than any exaggerated praise could, as Pasha Farzah genuinely thanked the heavens for gifting them Alexander.

‘If I had Cantagena as an ally instead… I do not think I could have held Adhan.’ The old man believed, as he found holding this place much harder than anticipated earlier.

The support Amenheraft had despite his father’s shenanigans was a surprise for the rebelling lord.

….

Following this, Pasha Farzah and Alexander would go on to discuss a bit of the details of how to do this, such as the number of required troops and from where to gather them, determining the amount of supplies and its suppliers, the excuses they should use to gather these men in order to hide their intention, the kind of rhetoric they should give to their enemies and even the deadline for each of the objectives.

After that, the pair went further to discuss a bit about other things, such as their volume of trade, how to further improve cooperation between their provinces, the development in Zanzan, the training of Gaia priests there, as well as many other miscellaneous objectives.

These talks went on until not only had the sun set, but even the afterglow of the twilight had faded, turning the sky pitch black and announcing the start of the true night.

By that point, Alexander’s maids had to place bright lamps on the coffee table just so that the two men could properly see each other.

The conversation finally concluded once the men started to feel the rumbling in their bellies, understanding it was time for dinner.

“Boy! I will send Azura and Azira tonight. Do not fail them!” And as Pasha Farzah got up, he suddenly made this declaration out of nowhere, surprising Alexander greatly.

This was because even in the quite free Adhanian culture, it was very rare for a girl who was not married to be not a virgin.

The likes of Mikaya and her maids were a great exception. Most noble girls were only allowed to

‘explore the adult world’ once they got married and obtained permission from their husbands. Or, more often than you would think- as widows.

Very few maidens… undoubtedly the most daring of the bunch chose to have fun as single ladies. And even they never received the consent of their guardians.

In fact, if they were found out, they were usually immediately wedded, heavily chastised or in some extreme cases even exiled to the temples to become chaste priestesses.

Hence Pasha Farzah’s offer certainly stuck out.

However, since the old man was the one offering, Alexander of course had no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Thank you my lord. I never mistreat any of my girls.” The man gave a dry gulp and swiftly nodded, while in his mind, he charted a myriad of possible reasons.

He figured this boon was perhaps because the old man was over the moon over his new compass, or that he really hoped to secure his help in the attack on Bahu and thus alleviate Kayvan’s recognition, or he was simply impressed with the way Alexander planned to kill Lord Assazd.

Regardless, Alexander was not complaining.

Rather, his heart leaped with great alacrity at the thought of the promised night ahead.

He had been looking forward to this very thing for almost half a decade, so suddenly the time appeared as if it could not arrive any sooner.

“…..” It was perhaps sensing this that Pasha Farzah’s brow suddenly became visibly depressed, a bitter feeling of losing his granddaughters rising inside his heart. Thanks for reading—brought to you by *.

It was not an unfamiliar feeling- he had experienced the same when he handed over his daughters- but this time the intensity was far, far stronger.

“Brat, do you know who your parents are?” The elder man thus suddenly posed with some gruffness, sending a particular gaze.

“???” This unrelated topic caught Alexander a bit off guard. He could not see where this was going.

Neither had he for a second thought about this since he came to this world. Given that he already had memories from this previous life, this familiar connection was deemed irrelevant.

“No. Why, my lord?” Thus he very curtly replied.

“I was wondering where you learnt to talk like that. No lowly slave or peasant could ever speak like you.” Pasha Farzah simply mused in a neutral tone, before turning to give Alexander an appreciative look, “Your Azhak might need some work but the logical structure of your sentences is very good. No one could do this without a very good teacher.”

Alexander’s heart raged a terrible tsunami at this.

‘Hiss… you really cannot underestimate these people. They might be backward but that does not mean their minds are any less sharp. Even without any clues they are able to accurately guess my level of education.’

Alexander was both impressed by Pasha Farzah’s superb ability to appreciate talent and alarmed by it- his transmigration was his biggest secret, yet Pasha Farzah could detect his specialty.

Outwardly however he gave a humble smile and with a breezy chuckle tried to skip past the topic,

“Hahaha, my lord is being too generous. I have actually forgotten everything before the age of ten. All I remember is being suddenly hit very hard on the back of my head and then waking up to find myself in a slave market… all chained. Who was I… who were my parents… and even my name… I have forgotten everything. Even this name- Alexander was given to me by my master- my main wife’s father.”

And what Alexander said here were all mostly true…. only, it was not the entire truth.

Fortunately it was enough to please the elder lord for now, who solemnly nodded,

“Mmmm…I heard, my condolences. But now that you are free, I suggest you try to find your parents. They must still be searching for you, longing for your return.”

“…..” Alexander simply stayed silent, letting Pasha Farzah talk while wondering what had gotten into him.

The old lord was shrewd enough to instantly notice Alexander’s confusion, and in a slightly voice he snarled,

“Boy, are you not curious why I so easily gave my precious granddaughters to you? You think it was just because of your money? Snort! As if I thought you were really of low blood, I would not have given them to you even if you were the emperor of the world ten times over!”