Heir of Aurelian

Chapter 157 Coronation Of A Barbarian King

At the moment, Sarus stood in a circle surrounded by the members of his tribe. The Goths had paid a hefty price during the war with the eastern Romans, so much so that they lost their King, the man who had led them into battle for nearly a decade.

Despite this fact, they had survived the ordeal, and had weeded out the weak among their society. However, now the various chieftains of the Gothic tribe were all gathered together in Illyricum, debating about who next should be King.

There were two major factions. The Roman Emperor Marcellus had crowned Sarus as King of the Goths. However, this claim was unrecognized by many among the tribe. As they would never allow a roman to dictate who their king was.

Thus, there was a large faction of Gothic warriors who supporter the previous King's brother-in-law Athaulf to be the next King. Currently, the two candidates stood across from one another with swords drawn and shields raised. They wore nothing but the trousers on their waists as they fought a battle to the death to determine who would be the next monarch.

Sarus raised his sword and struck with baleful intent towards his enemy's heart. However, the man's shield covered his torso and prevented the mild steel blade from piercing his flesh. Athaulf responded to this attack with a chop toward's Sarus' forearms, which, although powerful, failed to cut beyond the bone. Yet still managed to leave a grievous wound.

The foederati veteran grunted in agony as his forearm was cut, yet did not dare to drop his weapon. Instead, he pressed forward with his shield and the weight of his body in an attempt to knock the larger man down.

Unfortunately for Sarus, Athaulf braced himself, and counterattacked by bashing his shield forward, and thrusting it up to the man's face, smacking him down to the floor with all his might. Athaulf did not hesitate and lunged forward with his sword, attempting to skewer Sarus to the floor like a pig. However, the veteran warrior saw this coming, and rolled out of the way, before finding his way to his feet and front kicking the off balanced opponent to the ground.

Before Athaulf could even lift his shield in defense, the cold steel blade of his oponent slashed through his neck, and severed his head in the process. The shocked expression on the man's decapitated head was a testament to his fate.

The crowd gazed in shock, as Athaulf lie dead on the ground. He was known as a powerful warrior, one who had claimed the lives of hundreds of men in battle. Yet against this dog of the Romans, he had met a bitter end. However, with his death, there was now noone else to stand in the way of Sarus' ascension, and in doing so, the last resistance of the Gothic Kingdom to their Roman overlords had come to an end.

As if to insult the dead, Sarus lifted Athaulf's severed head from the ground, and held it high in the air, while roared towards the stunned crowd.

"I am King! By right of combat. All who dare to stand against me come forward, and test your might! Though I doubt you will fare better than this fool!"

Though there were those in the crowd who were insulted by this challenge, none stepped forward. In doing so, Sarus tossed the decapitated head in a random direction, before walking forward towards the throne that Alaric had built, and sat upon it, before firmly placing the Gothic crown on his head.  Upon doing this, the man called out to the warriors who were present with an authoritative tone in his voice.

"Kneel before your King!"

Every man, woman, and child who was present to witness this victory did as was instructed, and kneeled before the new King of the Goths. There were a multitude of orders Sarus had for his people. Chief among them was the reconstruction of the fortresses that Marcellus had built in preparation for the war with the eastern roman empire.

"From this day forward, we shall rebuild our fortresses, resow our fields, and store whatever grain we have leftover for a bountiful surplus. Let the army of the Goths become unified. All chiefs shall render their men into my service where they will be trained into a proper fighting force. Any bastard from beyond the frontier who dares to step foot into my Kingdom shall be slain where he stands!  It is time to rebuild, into a mighty Kingdom that repays its debt to Rome in full!"

Though the Kingdom of the Goths was now a vassal state to the Roman Empire, Sarus did not intend to sit idly by and defend his borders forever. He intended to extend northward, into barbarian territory, and claim greater heights for his people. To prove to Marcellus that they were not simply barbarians, like the rest of the Germanic tribes.

A new era of civilization was on the horizon for the Gothic People, and Sarus intended to lead them to it. Had Athaulf won the duel, then the Goths surely would have rebelled against Rome, and found themselves put to the sword.

It was only because Sarus was so familiar with Marcellus and his ambitions that he decided to follow this path. For if anyone but Marcellus were to sit upon the Roman throne, he too would follow a path of resistance.

Thus, on this day, a new King was crowned in Illyricum. One who intended to lead his people to a new golden age. Perhaps the Goths would become an example, one that would bring true civilization to the various Germanic tribes who currently sought to overwhelm the Roman Empire.

Only time would tell, for it was equally likely that a man, or woman in this room, would conspire against King Sarus and bring forth his untimely demise. Perhaps the only ones who knew the fate of the Goths were the Gods themselves.

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