Herald of Steel

Chapter 1239: Confusion

Listening to his scout's report, Lord Parker felt his anger only bubbled and boiled upwards.

And it was not because he did not think Alexander would quit so easily and that his men were celebrating prematurely, breaking military discipline.

No, such analytical deductions were far, far away from his mind.

The reason was because of what Alexander's departure meant for his general.

Lord Parker was originally contemplating on asking Lord Kite to give chase at once.

But if what the man in front of him said was indeed true, then that hope was dashed even before it could sprout.

There was no way he could realistically hope to rescue Achillas.

And the loss of his lover completely incensed the man.

So much so that he decided to act in a true blue blooded noble fashion.

Lord Parker at first turned to his bodyguards and shouted,

"Question all those that were on watch! To let an entire fleet escape from our nose… they either fell asleep or are all colluding with the enemy! Hang them all afterward!"

It was clear Lord Parker had not brought the scout's makeshift explanation.

And speaking of him, it was the unlucky man's turn next.

Feeling that he had revealed all that he knew, Lord Parker turned his fury on him too, curtly pointing his finger and ordering,

"Kill him too! He is a liar and cheat!"

The man's heart shrank to the size of a pebble, "My … my lord! Please! I swear… I have never…" as the man tried to save himself by letting out this horrified cry.

But it was all for naught.

The nearby guards reaped his life even before he got the chance to turn around and understand what was happening.

The watchmen would be a bit luckier this time, as they were able to avoid the worst of fates, due to Lord Macht timely stepping in to stop this senseless massacre.

After going through the round of intense interrogation that indeed confirmed a few of them had 'dozed' off, these men would be severely beaten, had their pay and rations cut, and then assigned to extremely undesirable posts, such as cleaning the latrine pits and washing clothes in this bitterly, cold weather.

But they would at least manage to keep their necks.

Lord Parker was also cajoled into agreeing with the excuse that since the entire camp was in a state of euphoria, thinking they had just won the war, such a thing would look very wrong to the rest of the soldiers.

Even those officers who believed there was no way Alexander simply fled did not have the heart to dampen their men's mood, but let them continue to boost morale. Enjoy exclusive chapters from m-v l'e|-NovelBin.net

These thoughts were only expressed in the war conference that was held later that night, scheduled for the first time inside the manor.

"My lord, we have taken stock of the entire grounds. There was nothing suspicious. It seems Alexander has truly left with no intention of returning." An officer began the report as such, his voice tinged with joy.

This was what they had been fighting for so long after all.

"Have you found the elders? Where are they?" Lord Parker however was far more interested in the personnel than the land he had just conquered, for he had a very important use for them.

He wanted to use these elders to do exactly what Alexander wanted, have them officially declare his wife as the Margrave's head.

"I'm sorry, my lord. According to the remaining Margraves members in the manor, they have been all taken with Alexander or … worse!" The officer tasked with finding them hung his head low in shame and self reflection.

"....." Lord Parker pursed his lips hearing this, not finding the act too surprising but still very aggravating.

At this point, he even did not know which of the two situations to wish for.

If Alexander truly killed the elders before leaving, that would leave a power vacuum that would be difficult to fill in a short time.

No matter which puppet Lord Parker would prop up in their stead, he would never be able to wield the same prestige and thus legitimacy.

And Miss Linda taking the seat of power depended almost solely on that- legitimacy.

She could say anything, and dress up as anyone, but if no one took her seriously, her rule of the land would be an extremely tumultuous one.

So from this, it might seem that Lord Parker would prefer for the elders to be alive.

However, if one thought about it, that was perhaps even worse than killing them.

If Alexander had truly kidnapped them and they were indeed alive, Lord Parker would not be able to even prop up a puppet candidate and put on a sham show.

All those old fossils would need to be rescued before the Heeat family could puppet the Margraves.

And this realization made Lord Parker's heart burn with rage and irritation, as he clenched his teeth, 'This was supposed to be a walk in the park. A chance that comes once in a millennia!'

"Where is Alexander? What have your scouts been doing?"

Feeling very frustrated, Lord then turned his fury to his officer.

If they could not give him a good answer, he was prepared to strike again, and it would be the officers' turn to pay.

It was thus fortunate that Lord Kite was able to placate his lord, stepping up to declare in a succinct tone,

"We have received report from one of the skiffs that they spotted the large fleet some fifty kilometers east of us, my lord. They are shadowing them as we speak!"

This message was delivered by a messenger bird that only flew to Caira.

".Huuuu..." This was finally enough to calm the enraged lord down.

At least this meant that they were not completely blind to the enemy's actions.

It was that became the next topic of their discussion, as they tried to find out why exactly had Alexander left.

But despite the best minds putting in the effort, the conclusion remained inconclusive, due to a lack of evidence.

"We know from the manor residents recounts that there was no large scale internal conflict. Order and discipline appeared to be normal in the camp. So we can rule out a mutiny." One of the officers relayed this with a large, dark frown on his face, his face masked with puzzlement.

"There are also no signs of them running out of supplies," And as he finished, another man quickly picked up the conversation, "The servants in the manor report seeing heaps and heaps of grain and there was also no decrease in the number of their rations."

If Alexander was truly starving and left due to not being able to hold out, these unimportant extra mouths would have been the first ones to be sacrificed long, long ago.

"The enemy also was not running low on morale. The people of the manor say they would regularly hear loud songs and cheers bursting out of the camp!" A third officer added.

Lastly, Lord Kite piped up to chime, "From what I learned, it almost seems as if Alexander one day suddenly decided to leave after getting reinforcements from Lord Janus…. He was the Margraves family's steward for many years. And recently became a minor lord."

The man added the last part to introduce Lord Parker to this relatively unknown man.

"...Reinforcements…." Lord Macht subconsciously whispered hearing the word, his brows frowning.

"Could it be they left to rendezvous with more men?" He quickly turned to pose with a slightly trembling heart, hoping that the enemy was not thinking the same-

Waiting for a relief force.

"Impossible! There is no such force!" The large black man was however instantly rebuked by a very forceful Lord Parker, who blew away the concern by this prescient statement.

After Lord Macht's failure to take Phyrros Island as well as his inability to quell the following unrest inside the camp, Lord Parker had come to very much belittle the man.

So now, whenever he heard Lord Macht say anything, he would oppose it simply kind of like a knee-jerk reaction.

Lord Macht also understood this, which is why he deepened his frown, feeling very aggrieved.

As a veteran commander, he demanded a minimum level of respect.

Luckily for the Heeats, Lord Kite was able to quickly sense this and before the chasm could widen, decided to readily step forward.

Then shaking his head, he gave a reasonable explanation for his lord's claim,

"Lord Macht, I also do think Alexander left to get more reinforcements. Reinforcement has got nothing to do with leaving Caira.

In fact, if what you see is true, then Alexander should have stayed put even more. Leaving the city walls now means only making things harder for himself."

Defending a fully walled city was after all far easier than fighting for it in a street to street battle.

And thus the discussion regarding Alexander's strange move moved deep into the night, with many theories and hypotheses, each more ludicrous than the last.

Until finally Lord Parker ended the bickering with the words, "Okay, let's stop for today. Whatever Alexander has planned does not matter. We will wait for our reinforcements and then take over the Margraves. All else will wait."

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