《Pagan Merchant, Merchant of the God of Trade.》 1. The Apostate 1. The Apostate In a land where the Church of Order, Light and Truth competed, Mercurius was a simple Church of Truth member. Shaved head, green eyes and a moderate height, skin tanned in the sun amongst the urban sprawl of what once was a great city, the city of ¡®Byz''. There amongst the ruins of what was once an empire, in the market stalls, an old man sold a small stone statue, a man on a chariot. ¡°The old gods live in this one,¡± the old man said simply. ¡°Quiet old man, you can be arrested for saying such things,¡± Mercurius said, acidly, and with paranoia, turning around to look if anyone was listening. ¡°Hoh, but it¡¯s true, you¡¯ll see.¡± ¡°How much?¡± Mercurius asked. ¡°For this one, nothing,¡± the old man said, ¡°pray to it, and tell me what it tells you.¡± ¡°But that is blasphemy!¡± Mercurius said. ¡°Pft¡­ choose to believe me or not, that is your problem.¡± ¡°Is it now¡­¡± Mercurius thought. Other passers by looked at the strange old man, and the young man who was looking at the statue. ¡°Hide it quickly, they will destroy it,¡± the old man whispered, ¡°it¡¯s a wonderful piece of art is it not?¡± He stared at Mercurius to agree. He leaned over, his eyes staring at the young man, waiting for an affirmative. ¡°Sure, I guess.¡± He looked with confusion at the old man, wandering back to his little home, an apartment in the centre of the city of Byz. There was not much else there but dust, Mercurius worked in the docks, but he had been fired recently. Dust clouded up. The markets were mostly empty, the Church bells of the Church of Truth rang, economic activity was slow, and a decaying Empire was now just a mere rump. Some lunatic preacher began shouting. ¡°The Church of Light are liars, their ways, Emperor Basil pays them tribute. Tribute to Uruq god damn them. And Balna has converted to them, they make the unfaithful pay extra taxes. They even make us share a quarter with their filth!¡± The preacher shouted down at the bedraggled masses. Mercurius was medium height of some 1.78 metres not that much shorter than the preacher, who stared at him and then walked on ahead. Purple flags of Byz flew over the battlements. The city down below looked precarious and poor. What the hell did that old man give me? He hid it in his jacket before putting it on a dusty table top. A stone statue to a strange deity. ¡°Is that the god of trade?¡± Mercurius whispered, ¡°this old man wants me to believe in fairytales.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. He knew of the god of trade from books, some of the old Gods that were once worshipped across the continent, now usurped by the three monotheistic faiths that dominated. He stared at the statue a little longer, hearing the ravings of Church of Truth priests. ¡°Well they can do earth magic, The Church of Light can do fire magic, and the Church of Order can supposedly cast down lightning bolts. Ah whatever,¡± he paused and took a deep breath, ¡°I believe in the god of trade and wish to be a follower of him or whatever.¡± ¡°That will do,¡± a voice said in his head, ¡°simply put, worship me, and you will get God Powers. Trade Points I will call them. You need 100 of them to teleport. That statue creates roughly 1 a second. But first you have to claim it.¡± Mercurius tapped the statue and it began feeding into his power, before meditating to it, 2 Trade Points instead of 1 flooded into him. He teleported to the local pottery manufactory, realising what he had done he gasped. He waited 50 seconds and teleported into what was Balna. The nation north of Byz that had recently converted to the Church of Light; the state had converted, the people were still in the process of abandoning the Church of Truth, the religious taxes making the job easier. ¡°Lets try not get burnt alive by those savages,¡± Mercurius muttered. As it turned out, he wondered into a local Balnan village near a forest. The village was productive, it seemed to produce wood and food, mostly game. ¡°We will convert to the church of light and pay less taxes, enough of this nonsense,¡± a man said. Mercurius wandered in, local peasants immediately stared at him. ¡°Welcome to Marston, what can I do for you?¡± A local notable said, clearly not very friendly. ¡°I am a merchant,¡± Mercurius nodded, trying to convince himself. ¡°Are you now?¡± The man said, ¡°from where?¡± ¡°Byz?¡± ¡°Ah that shithole huh, well if you deign us with your presence, at least show us some coin?¡± ¡°Ah, right¡­¡± Mercurius said, I don¡¯t have any. The village notable immediately began laughing like he heard the funniest thing in the world. Other villagers quickly joined in. ¡°Can I borrow some coin?¡± Mercurius asked. ¡°You have nothing to offer as collateral¡­ hang on, you do,¡± the notable said. ¡°I do?¡± ¡°Sure, slavery is legal in Balna, so how much do you want to borrow, I reckon, given you are a young man, what age are you sir?¡± ¡°24?¡± ¡°50 Balnan silver, that¡¯s what you are worth, I give you a week to pay it back. After a week, give me 60 silver back, that clear?¡± The man said. Well he can help plough the fields or something. Two bags with 25 Balnan silver coins were given. They had the distinct image of the regal king of Balna on one side wearing a crown, and on the other Balna was represented by a ¡®B.¡¯ For fifteen minutes Mercurius meditated, then he went to the library where he stared at a map of the world. There he saw the illustration and description mention the Raja states, and Xong to the east, Moru to the south, Peria a well known church of Order state. He then went to buy wood, mulling over the various choices he could do. Uruq, Hitara or the Church of Light states were possible, but not too enticing. I need a place where a pagan will not stand out too much. But I suppose Balna is a Church of Light country, so they should be willing to do business with their co-religionists¡¯ coins¡­ probably. He did business in Moru first, selling the wood there and returning with 120 Moru silver coins. They had a significant wood deficit, so any wood was very welcome in their markets. He returned back to Marston and gave the notable his capital back, albeit Moru coins were in fact more valuable than Balna coins, but he nonetheless didn¡¯t begrudge taking 60. The figure stared at Mercurius with awe, examining the trader who now resided in the village. Mercurius owned nothing in Byz. Now he had a future. The local notable inviting him in, robbed of a reason to refuse him. ¡°I for sure, thought I would have a slave¡­¡± the notable whispered, ¡°well this works too.¡± What about that old man? I still don¡¯t know how this works, I need his help. If I can find him, perhaps I can work this out. I need more statues, if I teleport too much, I will use up the God Power. Enough Trade Points, and maybe I can reverse the situation. But to think I would become a pagan. Worshipping some lost god from long ago. I need to thank that old man. He teleported into Byz and began looking. 2. Mardonius 2. Mardonius The old man was hard to find, partly because he seemingly did not appear. The markets were empty, and Church of Truth preachers were ranting and raving. The Church of Light had a quarter in the city and their preachers were trying to convert the locals with rather aggressive sermons. ¡°We will smite you and force you to pay extra taxes! Convert to the Church of Light and your lives will be easier. Enough of the suffering. Can you not see that your god has forsaken you. Our god is true, yours is false!¡± Men gifted with fire magic, began blasting flames, and the locals watched in awe. ¡°Verily, do you not see that our god is true!¡± Another Church of Light man said. Mercurius dodged them, and dodged the Church of Truth preachers as well. He walked to the bazaars, and there near a blacksmith was the old man. ¡°Ah I see you have returned, have you done what I said?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°can we talk around the back.¡± He grabbed the old man¡¯s shoulder and teleported him to his dusty apartment. ¡°Damn, what have you¡­¡± ¡°The God of Trade,¡± Mercurius confided in the old man, ¡°you have any idea where you can get more of these?¡± ¡°I have at least one more, but I can make more,¡± the old man said. ¡°Then do so, it is of utmost importance.¡± ¡°The next one will be made of bronze,¡± the old man said. ¡°I am Mercurius, and I¡¯ve already made some coin thanks to your gift, let me buy you a drink at least.¡± ¡°Go trade some more,¡± the old man said, ¡°Mercurius, we are close allies for no one else worships the God of Trade.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°but I will direct my prayers to it, it seems to be doing a lot of good.¡± ¡°It certainly is,¡± Mercurius said. The old man gave another statue, a man on a chariot, a statue made of stone. Mercurius tapped it, and he felt the Trade Points accumulate. ¡°Make me more, and I will bring you coin,¡± Mercurius said. He teleported the man back to the blacksmith where he had been before, the old man now smirked and winked at him. ¡°Can you tell me of iron prices?¡± He said mostly to Mardonius. ¡°Well iron is certainly cheaper in Balna than anywhere else,¡± another voice piped up.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Thank you, that is useful.¡± He teleported to the iron mines in Balna, requiring a few tries before he got the iron he was looking for. He decided to investigate the Raja states. A collection of extremely populous states far to the east. Mercurius had exchanged his Moru coins for iron, and now he received Raja state silver coins. 180 of them. He stopped for lunch in the town of Marston, buying venison and soup for himself. The locals eyeing him warily. Whispers could be heard everywhere. ¡°He has a lot of coins, and he appears from nowhere,¡± The subject of religion seemingly forgotten as Mercurius was a popular figure to gawk at. People did wonder where the money came from. He had spent 10 Raja silver on his dinner, tipping generously to surprised servers. A blonde woman with a big tits and a large rear looked at the new merchant with a smirk. Next time I need to go to the money changer and change these coins. It looks too strange if I walk around with foreign currencies. Nonetheless he waited for his Trade Points to accumulate, bought wood and sold it in the Raja states, went to the city of Busur and gave away his Raja coins for Balna coins, the money changers were surprised, but gave him Balna coins for his trouble. 360 Balna silver coins were converted into 18 gold coins. 20 to 1 is not too bad. He bought 1 gold coin worth of iron, before teleporting it to Mardonius. It had not even been a day, so the old man was surprised. Exchanging the Balna gold coins for Byz gold coins Mercurius gave it to Mardonius. ¡°Use this to fund your operations,¡± he whispered. ¡°I know I was the one who gave you the statue, but the situation is getting unstable here. Many have converted to the Church of Light, and Uruq may even annex the city,¡± Mardonius said in a hushed voice, ¡°you might want to hide your statues. But anyway here¡¯s another.¡± The other blacksmith smacking metal in the foundry showed himself in that moment. ¡°Salutius.¡± He introduced himself, ¡°what exactly are you doing?¡± ¡°Oh, just a ho-¡±Mercurius stopped himself, ¡°have a coin, and maybe another.¡± He gave two gold coins to Mardonius and two to Salutius. ¡°What is this?¡± The blacksmith said. ¡°The God of Trade is generous and wise,¡± Mercurius said most brazenly, ¡°you merely need to accept him.¡± ¡°Is that what that is?¡± Salutius said pointing to the statue. ¡°It is,¡± Mardonius said quietly. The three of them huddled close, not saying their thoughts too obviously to not invite too much attention. ¡°You understand if you wish to join, you must not advertise too loudly, not yet anyway,¡± Mercurius said, scanning around behind him. Salutius was a stocky short man with short black hair and brown eyes, his thin lips curved into a smile, and he pressed Mercurius¡¯s skinny hand and shook it. ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry about it kid, you¡¯ve earned my loyalty. I¡¯ve not even seen gold coins, let alone two of them,¡± he said with a hearty laugh. I now only have 13 of them left. Mercurius thought, what should I buy? Using his Byz gold coins he spent his afternoon buying from the Northern Kingdoms. Buying enormous amounts of timber that he then teleported to the Raja states and sold it for four times the value. He now had 52 Raja gold coins which he exchanged in Balna to the astonishment of the local money changers of the city of Basur. Locals passed him by, the Church of Light priests occupying old Church of Truth holy sites, merchants peddling their wares. Day was turning to night with the onset of evening. Mercurius wondered where he would sleep. Again he returned to his blacksmith friends. ¡°You should try Lori next,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°it¡¯s a church of Truth country, so they won¡¯t find it too strange that you¡¯re there.¡± ¡°Do they have coin though?¡± Mercurius asked. ¡°I guess not.¡± A merchant always becomes greedy I guess. ¡°Your rumours about the impending doom of Byz are not unfounded,¡± Salutius began, ¡°I heard rumours that Uruq might simply annex the city.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Mercurius said, might as well keep the Raja gold coins. Otherwise I will hold something utterly worthless. ¡°Make me more statues, and I will buy some land soon.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Mardonius said. ¡°Teleportation has its uses, I assure you of that,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°We need to find a new place,¡± Mardonius said. ¡°For sure,¡± Salutius said, ¡°the city is no longer safe.¡± ¡°Tomorrow,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I have enough money for purchasing land, usually people fight for it.¡± And so ended the day. 3. Accumulation 3. Accumulation Mercurius slept in his apartment, tossing and turning, he did not sleep well. Nonetheless he did not get robbed, nor did any of his belongings go missing. He decided to go to the money changers of the Northern Kingdoms, a hodgepodge of Church of Order states whose timber yards were boundless. He had accumulated a lot of Trade Points and quickly went backwards and forwards. He left 50 gold coins in Mardonius pocket, as he had 300 Raja gold coins. He met in the blacksmith again, depositing some coins, as three statuettes had been made for him. Mercurius tapped them, six Trade Points a second now flowed into him, he thought about the God Power. ¡°I need to make some enquiries,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°Sure, see you later.¡± The smacking of metal was heard in the background. Their hands were filthy with the residue of burnt metal. Mercurius disappeared around a corner before appearing in Balna at Marston. He then teleported to Busur to change his coins and then came back to Marston. ¡°How can I help you intrepid trader?¡± A local merchant asked. ¡°Where do I get permission to buy land?¡± Mercurius asked. ¡°Land?¡± The trader gasped. A man wearing fur coats, and clearly in the business of selling game and furs, he had never heard of such an ambition before. ¡°Is there something strange in wanting to buy land?¡± Mercurius said. ¡°Balna is an aristocratic country, you get land awarded by the king, buying land is deliberately made expensive so that commoners and merchants don¡¯t do it. You can buy a house, but the land is still owned by the lord,¡± the merchant said, ¡°such is the way around here.¡± Mercurius stared at the merchant with serious intent. ¡°Goodness you are serious,¡± a passerby interjected. Mercurius went to the local administrative office, and what was essentially, a wooden building with a clerk. ¡°Lord Kastor can¡¯t see your requests at the moment, he is at Bethyr talking with some other lords.¡± ¡°I would like to buy some land,¡± Mercurius began. ¡°You mean a house?¡± The short clerk said looking up at him, ¡°a house costs 10 gold coins.¡± ¡°I want land, and permission to build on it,¡± Mercurius said, to the astonishment of the clerk. ¡°Lord Kastor owns the land here, to own land, means to make you a lord. Since you have no aristocratic pedigree and were not gifted land by King Balar, it will cost 2000 gold coins,¡± the clerk said.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. He adjusted his spectacles and looked up at Mercurius who nodded. ¡°2000?¡± Mercurius repeated, ¡°is that just for rights to buy, how much land does the 2000 get me.¡± ¡°A few hectares I believe,¡± the clerk said. He paused and stared at Mercurius, ¡°you can¡¯t be serious?¡± ¡°I will see you in some days, but what rank does that give me?¡± Mercurius asked. ¡°Well, you are effectively buying yourself nobility, so I guess you become a baron. Lord Kastor is a mere count. But anyway, surely you don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Thank you for the information,¡± Mercurius nodded, leaving the clerk to gawk at him. Mercurius was determined to own some land, for it was not just houses he wanted to buy. ¡°Build me a temple, and you will get 100 Trade Points a second, 100 God Power a second.¡± What do you mean? Mercurius said in his own mind. ¡°Conversing with me is expensive, but I just wanted to inform you of the fact, your progress is good. Keep going.¡± Mercurius bought Balna iron and sold it in the Zhong Empire, a fearsome enormous empire to the east that hungered for resources, again Mercurius got phenomenal returns. Turning 50 Balnan gold coins into 400 Zhong gold coins in approximately 4 hours. He had 700 gold coins, spending a gold coin on an even more extravagant lunch and tip. His coins lounged with his blacksmith buddies, while he sat and feasted. ¡°Apple juice?¡± One of the waitresses laughed, ¡°do you not like ale or mead.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t stand the stuff!¡± Mercurius said. The inn keeper laughed, and the woman carrying ale to other tables also smirked. Mercurius¡¯s reputation began to precede him. People openly looked at him with extreme curiosity and wonder. How can he have so much money? Who was he? Perhaps he¡¯s secretly a lord¡¯s son? People were extremely polite to him, the rumours of him buying land had not circulated yet, so people entertained all kinds of delusions as to his origins. For one thing he had not a shred of aristocratic pedigree. He ate well, and drank well, a fat tip given to the servers. ¡°Stay with us,¡± one of the servers said, ¡°we¡¯ll make it worth your while.¡± I am not taken I guess. Mercurius thought. Why not? A ginger woman with an athletic body, muscular abs, strong legs, arms and a worked out arse; and a blonde innkeeper with big tits and a big round rear, both looked at him like he was the tastiest thing, eyes filled with desire and hunger. I guess I can relax. I should deposit my cash with Mardonius and Salutius, I hope they¡¯re not wasting it. He went outside and teleported to his friends, giving heavy bags of coin as they looked at him wide eyed. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you take some, the God of Trade is generous after all,¡± Mercurius said to his confidants. ¡°What are you up to then?¡± Mardonius asked. ¡°Going to relax with some women,¡± Mercurius said simply. The old man laughed a little, the middle aged man laughed a lot more, both tapping Mercurius¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Enjoy the evening!¡± They both said. ¡°2000 gold coins for land and a minor noble title,¡± Mercurius informed them. ¡°I imagine it¡¯s the same everywhere, it¡¯s to avoid merchants gaining titles,¡± Salutius said, ¡°that way the King gives the majority of the titles, that¡¯s so the lords are loyal to the king, no man, no ordinary man could purchase land, it¡¯s basically impossible,¡± Salutius explained. Mercurius addressed them both, getting the attention of the old and middle aged man with his eyes. ¡°I promise lots of riches for you, I first need land to cement our place. To build a temple, to have a base.¡± ¡°A temple,¡± both Salutius and Mardonius said in stage whispers. Shushing themselves and each other mere moments later. ¡°A country¡­¡± Mercurius whispered, to even more awed expressions from the two men, ¡°but I leave the large dreams for later.¡± ¡°Go enjoy yourself, then think of these schemes and dreams,¡± Mardonius said. I still only have 700 gold coins, and those two very well might have been tempted to steal some of the coins, or ¡®appropriate¡¯ it for their own ends, I will not begrudge them, but nonetheless, it¡¯s not a given that I have so much, and the cost of land is still far off. He thought. He took five gold coins, and thought about the evening he was about to have. 4. A Night To Remember 4. A Night to Remember He teleported back to the inn, waiting for the inn to stop serving customers food. People ambled off to their lodgings or back to their homes, but Mercurius flicked a gold coin to each woman, and they grabbed him and led him to a room. They both pressed his wrists, the blonde pressing his front with her tits, the ginger pressing his back with hers. ¡°Young merchant, you must be tired from your travels.¡± ¡°Young lord,¡± the blonde woman said deferentially, her eyes darting up and down. The blonde was blatantly an older woman, in her 30s or 40s, her hair up to her shoulders, the ginger, her hair done short, she was in her 20s and was salivating on his shoulder. The innkeeper¡¯s room was shut, and Mercurius¡¯s robes were taken off. ¡°Oh you shaved yours?¡± The blonde said, ¡°my niece only trims hers.¡± They took off their aprons, their trousers and long sleeve shirts before shoving him on the bed. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s have a wash together.¡± They got hot water and put it in a circular wooden tub, sandwiched between two women, he felt the breasts press into him from both sides. Washing his foreskin before they played with him. He touched both pairs of tits, and he was given the soft rears and vulvas to touch and play around with. The blonde innkeeper jostled his balls and slid the head of his dick on her vulva wetting herself. ¡°I am Lara by the way,¡± the innkeeper said, ¡°I hope you are feeling welcome at our inn.¡± She slotted herself on his penis as the merchant touched her back. ¡°I am Vulcana,¡± the red haired woman said. ¡°Mercurius,¡± he said, feeling absolutely incredible, his voice showing it. Vulcana kissed him, and then made him lick her pussy. It was lightly trimmed but there was still hair in a tuft, while the innkeeper had trimmed but more grown out pussy hair. Mercurius sank back in the bath tub, eventually after so much licking he was fed an aphrodisiac drug through a kiss. The innkeeper smacked with a reverse cowgirl until Mercurius ejaculated inside of her and she bounced a little longer until she orgasmed. Mercurius was then aggressively sucked and licked with two mouths. The ginger got the balls as the innkeeper put the entire penis in her mouth, making loud sucking sounds. The God of Trade is awesome. ¡°I am not responsible for this. This is something the God of Love is responsible for.¡± The God of Trade said in his mind. He exists? You really don¡¯t want to be a priest for them, besides you can only be a priest of one deity at a time. Although I am not jealous like those three. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Mercurius stopped paying attention to the words of the deity, instead focusing on the tongues and mouths that sucked on him. Two pairs of blue eyes looked at him with hunger. Lara¡¯s mouth had cum on it, and she showed him the product of her labour, Vulcana nibbling at where the cum came out, demanding more come out. Vulcana sat on him facing her. ¡°Let¡¯s get out,¡± the innkeeper said. Cum dripped out of her, the soap washed quickly off him before he too was dried. Lara lay on her bed, but it was Vulcana who rode him in a cowgirl. She squeezed him tighter than he had ever been squeezed, his eyes opening and then closing as he felt the suction. The muscly abdomen translated into a tight grip for her vagina, squeezing him until he deposited another load in him, and she quickly finished on top of him. Now both women lay butts out, the cum rolling onto their labia, making Mercurius going more crazy. They lay on the bed, his penis inserting itself as his hips smacked from behind. Cum felt the ginger¡¯s butt like it was soft cake, endlessly gripping it with his fingers, Lara¡¯s vulva was likewise touched. Grabbing her short hair as he felt himself inside of her, he ejaculated once again. Vulcana sucked his penis, mopping up the residue cum and putting her spit all over it. Then he licked and sucked the balls, before guiding Mercurius into her aunt. They went into a missionary position, the aunt engaging in the most lascivious kiss. He felt the worked out tits of Vulcana on his back, as he tried to move. Hot breath hit him from both sides as he tried to work his way to make her cum. She did, the amount of times he had, making him lose his sense of reality. ¡°Water,¡± he begged, to much mirth from both women, who likewise drank. He was given some to drink, before Lara gave a tit job. It didn¡¯t last long before it evolved into her bouncing on his lap. The man was given something that made his libido go crazy, he was harder than a rock, and the moaning from both women didn¡¯t make him get any quieter. He finished inside of Lara, and Vulcana took over. Cum dropped out of Lara and she took his mouth in a kiss. The two worked well as a team, the evangel of the God of Trade had traded a good night¡¯s sleep for sex. A dangerous trade. Vulcana bounced until she orgasmed, both of their pussies wet all over. Again they sucked his penis, Vulcana shaking it around in her mouth before it spurted some more of its contents. Lara in that moment clapped her butt in a reverse cowgirl. ¡°Let me get the last taste of this,¡± she said, smacking her butt as she orgasmed rather quickly. Again she did it, and Mercurius pressed her round arse before eventually finishing once again inside of her. They quickly went into the bath, doused themselves in soapy water, dried themselves and went to sleep, sandwiched between tits and pussies; pussies filled with his seed. ¡°I am a widow, so I wouldn¡¯t mind some kids,¡± Lara said, ¡°you worked hard, sleep.¡± ¡°I am on a safe day unfortunately,¡± Vulcana said, ¡°I wanted the lord¡¯s kids.¡± Mercurius pretended not to hear, while the women clasped him from either side. Sinking into the soft bedsheets, utterly bereft of stress of worry. He woke up in the morning to the feeling of someone nibbling on his balls and bobbing up and down on his penis. Lara happily swallowed his morning load, showing him the full extent of her work. He lay back, and Vulcana clasped him in a hungry kiss. The vagina was tight, determined to squeeze his seed out of him. He held onto dear life as she smacked herself on top of him. He was exhaling at how good it felt and then he finished, she continued for a little bit, accepting the cum that came out of him. She slowly dismounted and the cum rolled out of her. The cotton bedsheets covered in his cum, he had a sudden realisation at how coming to this inn in Marston would be different from now on. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it dear, we won¡¯t make it too obvious, and we¡¯re always willing to help,¡± Lara said sweetly. ¡°Lay down,¡± Vulcana said. Lara put his dick between her tits and started sucking, Vulcana licked it from the outside. Enticing him to finish once more, and he did rather spectacularly, the two women licking the residues and swallowing it before they both slowly got dressed. He likewise got ready, ready for another day of trading. 5. A Foothold 5. A Foothold Mercurius left his morning residence, confident and relaxed. The thought of placing his cum inside two women, tantalising to him as it was to them. He nonetheless focused on the logistics of his operations. I have slightly less than 700 gold coins, enough to do a lot of things. Those old men spent some of it, I know that much. He teleported to his God of Trade sympathisers, taking a significant amount of coin. ¡°I need to do some trading,¡± he told them. ¡°We need to get out of the city, some are saying there might be a siege soon,¡± Mardonius kindly informed Mercurius. ¡°Really? How do you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not 100% sure, but people are whispering about it,¡± Mardonius said. ¡°Oh, here by the way,¡± Salutius said, showing a few iron and bronze statuettes. Salutius grinned at the creations. ¡°Thank you, this will make my life easier,¡± Mercurius said. He now had a total of 12 statues, producing 12 Trade Points a second, this made teleportation much simpler. The God Power ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± never mind, it¡¯s best I don¡¯t say. Mercurius thought. It¡¯s not quite enough. ¡°It¡¯s what?¡± Salutius asked. ¡°Nothing. Thank you my friend, I appreciate it.¡± ¡°Anytime,¡± Salutius nodded, ¡°so where are you going to trade now?¡± ¡°Zong and the Raja states are my best clients,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°they have deep pockets and endless desire for goods.¡± Mercurius disappeared in the heart of the blacksmith. ¡°It¡¯s still freaky he can do that,¡± Salutius said. ¡°It¡¯s part of the power,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°but yeah I agree.¡± Mercurius spent the morning circulating between the Balna mines, Zhong state¡¯s markets and the money changers of both, and then of course the smithy where he deposited his coin. At some point he ran out of trade points, having accumulated some 500 Zhong gold coins. He bought a coffee in Zhong. The language of Zhong was difficult, but thankfully he merely concerned himself with numbers, coins and commerce. Drinking a coffee, a man approached him, wondering about Mercurius¡¯s story. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Just a trader,¡± ¡°I recognise the accent, you are from Byz aren¡¯t you? Me too!¡± ¡°Right,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°what are you doing here?¡± The abrupt nature of the question made the man smile in mirth at the brazenness, the man was friendly to Mercurius. ¡°I am a Church of Order missionary, Zhong has enormous amount of people, I am evangelising to them.¡± ¡°Church of Order? Do they exist in Byz?¡± ¡°They have a small quarter in the city,¡± the man said. ¡°Really?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°10% of the city, Church of Light has 20% the rest are Church of Truth,¡± the missionary explained. ¡°Goodness, the more you know.¡± ¡°You know it¡¯s the year 570 and yet Byz likes to pretend that they¡¯re still an imperial power. The Church of Light is growing too powerful, Asur, Peria and the Northern Kingdoms want me to evangelise to the Zhong, hopefully keep the Church of Light countries busy. A counter balance,¡± the missionary explained. Although what the missionary was saying was interesting, he was talking too much, both in a literal sense, but also arousing the suspicion of local Zhong officials. Spies looked at the missionary with great suspicion and distrust. ¡°I am but a mere trader,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°but thank you for the run down on global events.¡± ¡°I hear Moru might try invade Peria. It all looks rather bleak. The Raja states look like they¡¯re turning toward the Church of Light, very few pagans left there.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Mercurius said, again cautious of saying too much. He sipped his coffee, the black haired, thin eyed Zhong people were bustling everywhere, people eating street food, and shouting for wares. The missionary nodded a goodbye. ¡°Thank you, it is nice to see some of my own nationality.¡± ¡°Likewise,¡± Mercurius said, although I do not share your politics. Nonetheless Church of Order Byz man. Fascinating. He disappeared down a street before heading to the Northern Kingdom¡¯s timber yards, he bought a lot of timber and disappeared to one of the Raja states. Prothu was a pagan Raja state, he sold them wood, which were soon fletched into arrows, much of it going to shipbuilding. One of their cities that was under siege greatly appreciated the wood that could be made into arrows. Mercurius sold his wood to other Raja states, collecting gold coins throughout the early afternoon.500 Raja gold coins. He sat in the smithy with his friends, discussing what should be his next movements. ¡°I have made 1000 gold coins, I still need to exchange them for Balna coins.¡± ¡°Does the King even have that amount of coins?¡± Salutius asked with full curiosity. ¡°Probably, he collects taxes right?¡± Mercurius mused. ¡°I made 8 more statues for you,¡± we have hidden them in the back, no need to invite unnecessary attention,¡± Salutius said. ¡°Sure, any news on politics?¡± ¡°Emperor Basil is going to give more coins, the crisis is averted, but maybe only for a year.¡± ¡°I hear Asur might wage war on Balna,¡± Mardonius said. How does he get this information? I do wonder about that, what a wily old man. ¡°There¡¯s a bar in town where men talk a bit too much,¡± Salutius said, I hear Poltu is going to invade Locus, you know the little Church of Order island nation.¡± ¡°Goodness me, war is abound.¡± ¡°That is how most make their fortunes¡­¡± Mardonius mused wistfully. ¡°May the God Of Trade protect us,¡± Mercurius said. He tapped the statues and continued his trading. He went to various Balna money changers, 20 Trade Points a second was a great boon and allowed him to trade more frequently. I have good allies. Wood or iron, what else could I possibly trade? He bought abundant Lori fish and sold it in the markets of the Prothu city under siege, it made him a few coins, but he soon reverted to selling wood to the Raja states, and increasingly Zhong, who in fact in some cities offered him better prices. Construction was endless in Zhong, their Emperor wanting to create more forts to prevent nomadic polities from invading and raiding. There again Mercurius found very willing clients. Nomadic people offered him gold aplenty for wood and iron which he dutifully provided. The nomadic peoples¡¯ became his best clients, but he noticed he had already 600 gold coins, putting him well within the 2000 gold requirement. 690, 1000 and now a further 600. He exchanged them for Balnan currency and went to the office to propose the same offer he had said before. ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, I am too old to fall for pranks,¡± was the clerks honest response. ¡°Where should I put the coins?¡± Mercurius honestly brokered. The man raised his glasses off his nose, looking at Mercurius with astonishment and incredulity. ¡°Are you¡­¡± for real. It was obvious what he wanted to say, and Mercurius could read the thoughts off his head. All the coins were collected into large bags put onto wheelbarrows in the smithy. ¡°You haven¡¯t stolen too much I hope?¡± Mercurius said, eyes totally filled with prepared rage. ¡°I didn¡¯t take anything,¡± Salutius said, ¡°we know how important it is.¡± ¡°A bit,¡± Mardonius admitted, ¡°but only to make the statues.¡± Mercurius went from annoyed to nodding his head in understanding. He could not fault the logic, and soon he came to the clerk with the required coin. Putting the coins near the clerk¡¯s desk. ¡°I want it in writing,¡± Mercurius demanded. ¡°Of, of, of course,¡± the clerk stuttered, ¡°but just know it is up to a king¡¯s magistrate to decide where your land will be.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mercurius said, ¡°that¡¯s outrageous.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t make the rules kid, I just tell you them.¡± Mercurius grasped his nasal bridge and sighed. ¡°Fine,¡± Mercurius finally said, ¡°so how long will this take?¡± ¡°A day or two,¡± ¡°A day or two?¡± Mercurius whispered breathlessly. ¡°Then you will be a Baron of Balna. Tcht, be grateful, I don¡¯t know how you did it, but buying your own title, that¡¯s the first I¡¯ve heard of it. The King made it basically impossible, even if you were some merchant lord or something, they prefer bigger countries. Zhong, maybe one of the Raja states. Anyway, good day fine sir.¡± S ¡°Good day.¡± Mercurius rested with his remaining 290 gold coins at the smithy, he ate a meal in a local Byz tavern with his friends, waiting for bureaucracy to give him his land he had bought and paid for. 6. Baron of Nowhere 6. Baron of Nowhere It had taken approximately two days and the magistrates of Balna offered lucrative wasteland as a present to the merchant. Mercurius had spent one whole day trading with Hunur nomads, selling them wood and iron in exchange for their various kinds of gold. They had their own coins, but often they had Uruq gold; whether it be mercenary work or raiding, the Hunur nomads were awash with Uruq gold coins. Mercurius had gathered that the Duke of northern stretches of Balna had considered independence, enticed with offers from various Northern Kingdom polities he had switched to the Church of Order and rebelled against the King of Balna Balar had to Marshall his troops and other nobles to try and fight this threat. Mercurius was given a small piece of worthless territory next to the Hunur nomads. ¡°So this is the land I¡¯m getting?¡± ¡°Correct, be glad you¡¯re getting anything. Like I said, I think you are the only merchant lord in our country, I doubt other countries have merchant lords. In fact I said Zhong and Raja, it turns out both states have even higher sums of money if you wish to become nobility. See how crazy it is?¡± The clerk kept blabbering about how lucky Mercurius was, but Mercurius¡¯s temper had not subsided. The land apart from being worthless bit of ice, cold and desolate, is also located right next to presumably hostile nomads who will very likely raid my territory even if I do develop it. Well at least the mountains make it difficult for Uruq to attack me, but even so, what a place? Mercurius had to attempt politeness at being given terrible land, but he struggled with it, stomping off with his note, the other copy kept by the clerk in the Busur magistrate¡¯s office. King Balar is an asshole, and I will enact my vengeance on him one day. His two friends joined him in his frontier piece of property. He chose a green flag with a golden cart, perhaps to signify his mercantile ways; his sigil and flag recorded in the Balnan official documents as he established a small outpost in the middle of nowhere. ¡°Well, we built a shed, I guess,¡± Salutius said, ¡°I suppose when we build a temple no one will be any wiser.¡± ¡°They do expect a certain amount of taxes paid each year,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°temple or no temple.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mercurius said, his blood pressure rising with each passing moment. ¡°30% I believe.¡± Mercurius outright turned around in disgust. These pricks, I swear. They¡¯d charge me a fee for bleeding on them. Mercurius shook his head violently, but Mardonius calmed him down with the words: ¡°We can always lie about how much money we¡¯re earning, besides it¡¯s hardly like they can inspect.¡± ¡°We are too close to Uruq, and of course these nomads, and even mountain tribes of questionable friendliness.¡± ¡°These lands are ours to develop as we please,¡± Salutius said, ¡°you should be happy about it, we won¡¯t have too many watchful eyes. We can prepare.¡± ¡°We certainly can. I hear the eastern realms have tea and spices, I¡¯m sure I can sell them in Peria and Asur for quite a lot, even some of the Church of Light territories will appreciate it,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°Wood and iron getting tiresome for you?¡± Salutius said. ¡°Well I have to carry them, it requires a lot of teleportations,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°granted the money is not bad.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Give us some money for construction,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you want a proper house to sleep in, ¡°our smith is ready, but we will need beds, quilts, a well and what not. You can import water and wine right?¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± Mercurius said. Although that is expensive of course. He sold spices,; peppercorn and cloves and aniseed in Peria and Asur, buying crates of wine and water, the selling of spices earned him quite generous amounts of gold coins, some 400 gold coins, covering Asur, Peria and the Northern Kingdoms. Exporting wood and iron to Zhong and the Raja states whose appetite for said products did not lessen while selling spices of various varieties to Church of Order and Church of Light polities. By the evening he rested in his territory, completely spent. ¡°We made ten more statues, in fact we are commissioning a life sized one.¡± ¡°That generates 10 Trade Points per second.¡± Only Mercurius heard the voice of the God of Trade who informed him of this marvellous fact. 20 or some builders had come, enticed by coin. Mercurius had made 1000 gold coins, having been lazy for two days had paid off, as he could teleport rather flagrantly. He was also annoyed to have found out that talking to the God of Trade cost 1000 Trade Points. Burning my Trade Points for such nonsense is annoying though. ¡°Be quiet.¡± It said in his head. 50 gold coins immediately, with promise of more upon completion, some started building structures, a house for each of the three. Wine was distributed which cost some extra 10 silvers, as well as food, which totalled a few gold coins. The statue makers made the life sized statue out of granite. Mercurius tapped the small ones, enjoying 30 Trade Points a second. ¡°We keep the information of our religion a secret to them until later,¡± Mardonius whispered to his confidants, ¡°it is best that way, they think we are Church of Truth.¡± ¡°Gather money Mercurius, and I¡¯m sure we can use this little piece of forgotten land to our advantage,¡± Salutius said, ¡°they will be confused as to where the money comes from, but they will accept it with time.¡± ¡°For sure.¡± Mercurius took a few gold coins and enjoyed the loins of two tavern women. Perhaps I should introduce some female company to that lot. There are too many men. They¡¯ll get bored. Meanwhile the night was spent getting slobbered on and ejaculating inside warm and tight bodies. ¡°Baron Mercurius,¡± Lara said, putting her hand on his chest. He was merciless that evening, touching two rears and combing his thumb on the vulva¡¯s glistening with his sperm. Proud of himself as he grabbed both rears ¡°Oh Lord Mercurius, I hear your Barony is on the border with those barbarous Hunur.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Mercurius replied. Sitting on the bed while they cleaned his penis and then slept next to him. His cum rolling out of them. ¡°Baron, I will give birth to your children,¡± Lara hummed, ¡°as will Vulcana, just send us money.¡± ¡°Come here!¡± Mercurius said, provoked by her lasciviousness. Mounting Lara on his lap, she squeezed his progeny out of his balls, huffing and puffing, the two of them licking his penis clean. Well I suppose even this expensive Baron title has its perks. And so he slept. The next day, Mercurius visited his compatriots in his Barony. They had successfully built simple wooden houses and the life sized statue, which he tapped. 40 Trade Points flowed into him a second, which he used most dutifully. Selling spices and tea, iron and wood he made 800 in a mere few hours. Returning to his territory, confused builders looked at the suddenly appearing man with suspicion. ¡°At some point you will have to induct them into the religion,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°they look at me with obvious suspicion, wouldn¡¯t you? They don¡¯t see me shooting lightning bolts, fire or earth, so they don¡¯t realise it¡¯s God Power, but they will work it out soon.¡± Mercurius distributed another 50 gold coins, mainly to shut them up, but also to buy their loyalty. It is not the right time to evangelise to them. When our temple is built. He sold iron and wood to the Chenep and Hunur nomads as well as eastern nomads far away, they lapped up the products with great enthusiasm. Wood was like gold for they could make arrows. The steppes were becoming more barren, and wood was highly valuable. ¡°We have 1700 Gold coins,¡± Mardonius said to Salutius, ¡°do you think it¡¯s possible to commission something a bit more ambitious?¡± Salutius looked at the old man with a hint of fear. ¡°If and when we do, we will have essentially committed sedition, there will be a timer on all our heads,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°but sure, we should do it.¡± ¡°The God of Trade knows best,¡± Mardonius said wistfully, Both prayed to it, filling the Trade Points Mercurius got just that little bit more. Mercurius arrived at the base camp and Mardonius and Salutius were a mixture of excited and terrified. ¡°Let us build the temple, the temple to the God of Trade!¡± Mardonius and Salutius said almost too loud. ¡°Really?¡± Mercurius said, ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask.¡± ¡°But we¡¯ll need more builders, afterwards we¡¯ll proposition them.¡± ¡°Things are advancing along¡­¡± Salutius salivated, ¡°it won¡¯t be long now.¡± 7. Construction 7. Construction Mercurius spent the day gathering coins, only for Mardonius and Salutius to splurge 200 on 40 workers, and then another 200 gold coins on another 40. 100 workers total, with all the problems that caused. Iron and wood from the Northern Kingdoms and Balna were sold to Raja markets as well as the nomads, who gave them Raja coins as well as Uruq gold coins in abundance. 20 or so workers were tasked with building housing, not only for the trio of God of Trade devotees but also all the workers who now resided in Mercurius¡¯s Barony. Where there was nothing, the God of Trade has made something. Mardonius thought, nearly crying in the process. The sound of the construction was heard everywhere, timber being cut, cement being made, rocks being smacked into place. Mercurius imported expensive marble in massive blocks that the workers put into place. ¡°It has to be marble! I don¡¯t accept anything else other than marble!¡± ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Mercurius muttered under his breath, ¡°deity thinks money grows on trees.¡± ¡°I gave you an ability that can make money flow. Use it!¡± Mercurius imported tonnes of marble, actually making a loss for the day. 1700 gold coins dwindled to 1500 gold coins, nonetheless iron and wood kept the budget relatively stable. He disappeared, sold spices and tea, sold iron and wood and then went to the money changers to pay in Balna gold coins. The money changers were a bit suspicious of this merchant who always gave foreign currency but they nonetheless complied. Mercurius bought marble mainly from Hitara, selling them wood and iron, to make the difference. The Raja states and Zhong¡¯s thirst for wood was insatiable. By the end of the day Mercurius had made their gold reserves sit at 1550. Another 500 gold coins were dispersed to the 100 workers who were also given food, wine, washing water as well as drinking water, and had built themselves outhouses and basic protection from the cold. ¡°This money we can use to buy clothes for us, and maybe for our families,¡± a common refrain from many. ¡°This Baron pays well,¡± a man said, ¡°incredibly well. Then again he is a merchant, so I suppose he has the means.¡± Many wondered where the money came from. Many more were impressed by it. Mercurius slept in the camp this time, waking up to the sounds of women and children. The builders had brought their families along, migrating on wagons with tales of the gold that had accumulated. They were mostly Church of Light people, but they had no idea they were building a temple to a pagan god. The gold mostly shut them up, but there was murmurings among them. ¡°Is that merchant lord building a palace or something?¡± One man piped up.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Well, if you have all that money, why not?¡± Another worker said, ¡°I¡¯ve never met anyone as generous as him.¡± ¡°By the God of Light, we are blessed!¡± A woman said clasping her hands together. ¡°Hey aren¡¯t idols forbidden in our religion,¡± one curious builder asked, ¡°why have they got statues?¡± ¡°Each worker got 10 gold coins,¡± a man said, ¡°let the lord do what he wants, we are hardly clergyman.¡± There was a smattering of disagreement, some workers being Church of Truth, they pressed the other way, producing a rowdy argument that nonetheless died down soon enough. ¡°Having to pay extra taxes to those curs irritates me,¡± a man grumbled. ¡°Enough of the religious talk!¡± A woman said. Mercurius continued getting imported marble, getting slightly over the required amount, accounting for any errors or mistakes in construction; exporting wood to the Hitaran markets to fiscally compensate. He appeared, disappeared, reappeared to much confusion among the workers. The temple construction took its time, but the workers were highly motivated due to the pay, and the women who had come even helped out as well. Steps were laid out, pulleys pulled up the blocks, and oil lantern fires were made so that workers could continue even when it was dark. It was hardly the biggest religious building out there, but it was coming along. Mercurius spent the night among two women. The inn in Marston was welcoming to him, he bathed with them, and slotted both women on top of him. They giggled as he spewed cum inside of them. All the day¡¯s stress that was bottled up inside of him splurged into their loins. He gave them some coin for their troubles, and they pocketed it, before giving him joint head. Vulcana¡¯s pink tongue was covered in his cum, Lara likewise, this made him even hornier. He smacked both of them in a doggy-style, hammering in his cum, his penis convulsing in another ejaculation. Vulcana squeezed his penis to shoot out more rapidly, and more rapidly it did. After at least a few hours of this, they washed, and then had sex once again, after which Mercurius laid in bed. Ending the process with a blowjob, clasping Lara¡¯s head, feeling the both of them hungrily clasping him. ¡°Well Baron, it is nice to see you again,¡± Vulcana said, clasping her belly, ¡°I think your child is in me, I think I am getting married soon, so we will have to stop this, sorry.¡± Mercurius stared at her in awe for a few good seconds and then nodded. ¡°No problem,¡± he said, ¡°good luck.¡± ¡°Thank you Baron,¡± Lara said graciously and with a big smile. Again he woke to repeat the same process. Buying marble, selling spices and teas to the west, selling wood and iron to the Zhong, Raja states and nomads, and even Hitara. Hitara he found out had a particularly bad drought, so his focus turned to their market in particular, the amount of wood they could get was insufficient, arrows and ships were needed and Mercurius provided the necessary wood in massive quantities. He made up for earlier deficits, bringing his total gold to some 2000. Albeit some 400 gold was given as a donation to the workers. 4 gold each. By mid afternoon after selling copious amounts of wood to the Hitaran markets, 20 Hunaran travellers came to the new construction and helped putting the marble in place. A statue was put in place in the middle of the temple, a small plaza inside with a well and some newly planted trees. The structure had columns and a rooftop, despite this it took a while for the structure to be perfected, the builders beginning to build their own houses in the shadow of such a structure. Salutius and Mardonius gave out the coin and the dole of wine and food. The wives and children looking at the glittering metal with astonishment. It won¡¯t be long now, and they will either convert, or cause a riot or something. I hope they don¡¯t blab to the authorities, otherwise this will get very very complicated. Mercurius spent the night alone, the gold again dwindled down to some 1500 gold pieces, he didn¡¯t bother standardising the currencies, realising that gold was gold. Who knows whether I¡¯ll even be a Balnan lord anyway. I just needed a base somewhere. Afterwards. Well we¡¯ll see what happens afterwards. 8. The Temple 8. The Temple It took roughly five days, five agonising days, but the structure was complete, fully furnished with a large statue in the middle, and a lovely plaza and steps. The workers turned to their own lodgings, but Mercurius stood on the steps and looked at the amazing structure. He tapped the temple and another 100 Trade Points flowed into him, he tapped the large statue and 20 more came to him. 160 Trade Points flowed into the devotee to the God of Trade. Mardonius and Salutius surreptitiously took in the small statuettes into the complex. Mercurius realised he had to address the workers, soon to be citizens of his Barony. Tired, but nonetheless well remunerated. They looked up at him. ¡°Thank you for your fast work,¡± Mercurius said to them all, ¡°this building is not a palace for me, the payments we could give you, it is thanks to the God of Trade! All of this was possible because of him.¡± A lot of gasps and shocked faces stared at Mercurius, wondering what he would say. ¡°That is blasphemy! Idolators¡­¡± ¡°The gold you have is thanks to the God of Trade!¡± Salutius shouted to the crowd, interjecting at just the right moment. There was a lot of whispering and murmuring. Mercurius teleported amongst the crowd and then back to the temple mount. ¡°Do you understand!¡± Mercurius said, ¡°your riches, and I suppose my riches, are due to the God of Trade. Do you wish to refuse us?¡± Many murmurs were heard as people were confused, the Church of Truth contingents were wide eyed in astonishment, the church of Light Balnans¡¯ were surprised by the state of events, they did not expect what they heard. Some were almost relieved to hear the news, but most were astonished that such words were even spoken. ¡°Is the God of Trade the one who brings such riches?¡± A nomad Hunur man asked, ¡°if so, I shall become a worshipper of such a god.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± a Balnan said finally. Once a few deemed it acceptable, a lot more converted rather openly. 50 men and their wives, their children looking confused, the other 50 looked in confusion. ¡°Non believers are free to stay here, although believers will be paid a bonus for worshipping at the temple,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°2 gold per person per week this includes children.¡± ¡°Are you sure you can afford that?¡± Mardonius whispered into his ear. ¡°I¡¯ll make it work,¡± Mercurius replied. Another wave of people began converting. ¡°If the Church of Light will tax people for not being their faith, then we shall pay people to be ours. The God of Trade is generous like that.¡± 20 of the workers and their families refused the faith, outright choosing to walk away, while the remaining 80 workers and their families accepted the full glory of the God of Trade. Some were probably opportunists, happy to accept gold for worship, but even then the extra God Power was felt.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I feel an extra 140 Trade Points,¡± Mercurius said to Mardonius, ¡°our operations can expand.¡± ¡°Is 2 gold per week even feasible Mercurius? Most people barely get a few silvers for a months pay, a lot of people use iron coins, for basic goods,¡± Salutius whispered to Mercurius. ¡°We are cementing their loyalty, besides every week is doable, if we did it daily then yes you are correct, that would not be doable after a while, and especially once the population expands.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget a lot of people would kill for a gold coin,¡± Mardonius whispered in a lecture. ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m giving them that amount, although I don¡¯t like killing.¡± Mardonius and Salutius looked at the trader with a concerned stare. ¡°You are championing a new religion, it will come whether you like it or not. No religion lives without state power. Remember that,¡± Mardonius prophetically warned. ¡°Right¡­¡± Mercurius said, trying to soak in the information. Again Mercurius went to exporting various goods, selling iron and wood to the Chenep and Hunur nomadic confederacies, receiving a significant amount of Uruq gold. He could teleport more frequently without stopping, 300 trade points a second allowed him to purchase and sell and purchase and sell at ever faster rates. Gold was now stored in the temple, befitting the status of the trade gold. 500 gold coins were made in an hour. He bought Northern Kingdom wood and sold it to the Zhong and Raja states. It was only afternoon and he had made 1500 extra gold coins. 3500 gold coins were in the temple, the local devotees were astonished at the work, as was Mercurius. He sat with the Hunur converts who served him soup and wine. ¡°Our God is generous, our God is wise! I apologise for not having told you sooner, but the temple needed to be built first.¡± ¡°It is no problem milord,¡± a woman said, ¡°we are merely glad for the prosperity.¡± ¡°Make sure to thank Mardonius as well, without him, probably none of us would be here right now.¡± Mardonius at that time was with a single Hunur woman. A raven haired woman, who giggled and laughed and proceeded to jump into Mardonius¡¯s lap. Salutius and Mercurius laughed, as he was quickly whisked off to her abode. ¡°Don¡¯t catch a heart attack!¡± Salutius said, to much mirth from people nearby including Mercurius. ¡°Are you sure he¡¯ll be ok?¡± Mercurius said quietly. ¡°He¡¯s old but not that old, don¡¯t you worry and focus on yourself, do you have anyone?¡± ¡°Not love anyway,¡± Mercurius said in a depressed voice. ¡°You did that to yourself,¡± Salutius said, ¡°that kind of pleasure is only temporary.¡± He¡¯s right. Mercurius thought. When people prayed the Trade Points were massively increased, but meanwhile Mercurius bought significant amounts of spices and sold them in western markets, this increased the gold reserves to 4200. Everyone was thrilled with the gold that sat in their vaults. Almost everyone. While the new community of the God of Trade worshipped at their new temple, Church of Light workers, zealots really, went and narked on them to local constables of other nobles farther north. ¡°A pagan has a established a temple to the ¡®God of Trade,¡¯ we saw him use infernal sorcery to teleport around!¡± One disgruntled worker said. ¡°Really now,¡± a small time Lord said, ¡°which lord was this?¡± ¡°Baron Mercurius,¡± the workers said to him. The Lord looked sceptically at first, but since it was more than one person telling him, he chose to believe the rumours. Of course he was a marcher lord, whose whole purpose was to protect the frontier, but if such seditious and blasphemous activities were taking place, he could marshal some forces to correct it, and he slowly did. ¡°Gather the retainers, we need to investigate this.¡± The local hill tribes were quite fiercely devout too, either fiercely Church of Truth or fiercely Church of Light, but for now there was a lull and peace. Mercurius gathered another 500 gold coins through trade before resting for the evening, sleeping in a newly constructed structure, with quilts, beds and even a rudimentary glass window. Mercurius drifted off to sleep, having worked exceptionally hard, his Barony now exceptionally wealthy, with an astounding gold vault. 9. New Associates 9. New Associates Mercurius began the next day trading once more, he bought stone for his citizens, splurging 200 gold coins which were soon used to great effect. Loyalty had definitely been bought, the amount of Trade Points were in the millions, such profound quantities of godly power were of course extremely useful to Mercurius who further cemented his mercantile miracle, getting to 5000 gold coins within a mere hour. While trading among the Hunur, there among their steppe, near the Hitaran border, Mercurius was conducting some trade as usual, when two figures caught his attention. There among the hide tents, in the open sun, two figures were running away from Hitaran horsemen, and then Hunur horsemen blocked the fleeing people causing them to stumble. ¡°They are idolators! They must be punished, those filthy dogs!¡± The Hitaran said, getting his sabre ready to strike them down. A man and a woman, both in their 20s held idols in their hands, cradling them and waiting for the release of death. ¡°Excuse me, I will negotiate their release,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°how much?¡± ¡°It is not negotiable, unbelievers do not get pardoned!¡± ¡°Pardoned,¡± Mercurius repeated, ¡°I will pay for their release.¡± ¡°How much?¡± The Hunur cavalrymen said, ¡°1000.¡± No way in hell do they have that much. Mercurius soon returned with 1000 gold coins, astounding both the Hitaran and Hunur soldiers. They looked aghast at the gold. ¡°We still have to kill them!¡± Mercurius took a hand of one and the other and whisked them away to his barony between Balna, Uruq, mountains and the Hunur. A man in his 20s clasping a woman in her 20s. Both grovelled in front of Mercurius in relief. ¡°Thank you! Thank you!¡± The man said with tears filling his eyes, relief spilling in every gulp of breath. The man looked at the temple with astonishment. ¡°Lord Mercurius, how, who are these people?¡± A citizen of the Barony asked. ¡°They were people in trouble who I helped, I wonder myself?¡± He said, looking at the two figures. A woman with light green hair and green eyes, and a man with crystalline blue eyes and blue hair. ¡°I am Mercurius, evangel of the God of Trade? You are?¡± ¡°I am Ur,¡± the man piped up, ¡°I am the devotee to the God of Water¡± ¡°Gaia,¡± the woman said, ¡°devotee to the Goddess of Agriculture.¡± ¡°Goddess of agriculture?¡± Mercurius whispered, ¡°does that mean you can make things grow?¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Yes it does,¡± both rescued people said, ¡°although it needs water.¡± Mardonius and Salutius came to look at the new arrivals, many were excited. ¡°We must build them statues, and temples!¡± Mercurius said, ¡°the wealth of our community-¡± ¡°We are under attack!¡± A Hunur person said. Roughly 300 Balna soldiers commanded by an enthusiastic lord came, 100 Hunur horsemen likewise came from the East closed in from the distance to enact punishment on the heathens. Native Hunur converts shot arrows at the incoming raiders, the workers all congregating to the temple steps. ¡°There¡¯s too many of them, I know a quiet place, it¡¯s a long long way away from here, but if you wish for safety it will have to be there!¡± Mercurius said, ¡°we must flee. Damn it. I knew it was too good to be true.¡± Balna soldiers fell, but he whisked away statue after statue, and soon his two confidants, and Mardonius¡¯s girlfriend, then it was the two new people with their God Powers. Women and children were whisked, and all the people. Mercurius came back to get his gold, snatching 200 gold, but leaving the rest. The settlement had been totally abandoned, his loyal Hunur were put out of harm¡¯s way before Mercurius took one last look at what was his Barony. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he seethed, ¡°fuck. Fuck. Fuck!¡± He shouted. He had saved everyone, and remarkably quickly, but all his work was now being looted. Snatching some iron, wine and food he returned. He returned once more looking upon the Balnan lords looting his temple, Hunur and Balnan¡¯s beginning to fight each other over the vast treasure. I will get my revenge. I assure you, I will Balna will be mine one day. They will rue the day they messed with the evangel of the God of Trade. The weather was much warmed where Mercurius had taken his lot. He was in Moru, or at least close to it. Moru was likewise a Church of Light nation, but he was situated in the far south of it, barely on the periphery, therefore perhaps they could grow their strength there while they waited. Moru was in the far west, far south of the known world, over there he could grow his strength, and rebuild what was destroyed. ¡°The temple stands for now¡­¡± he muttered, ¡°but we will have to build another one.¡± Mercurius said wistfully. Shacks were made in the sand, now officially stranded far beyond their homes. ¡°The weather is nice here, but we will need water more desperately.¡± ¡°I will make trades, and recover our wealth.¡± Mercurius once again ventured out. Buying Northern Kingdom wood, which was apparently thinning out and selling it in Moru and Hitara for a modest sum. He bought Balnan wood and sold it in Zhong. By the end of it all he had made 800 gold. Buying marble and iron put him back at 150gold coins. He sold spices and teas from the east in Balna and Uruq and earned himself some 2000 gold coins. Collapsing on a quilt near the ocean, in their new camp. Workers slowly worked on their new camp. The ocean crashing in the background, the seagulls inspecting the humans down below and occasionally shitting on them. ¡°A metaphor for life¡­¡± Mercurius said. ¡°At least we are alive,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°we are building statues for the God of Water and Agriculture.¡± ¡°Good luck,¡± Mercurius said. He drank same water, and watched as statues to the two other deities came to be constructed. The water deity had a trident and something resembling a net, the agricultural deity held a bushel of wheat in one hand and stick in the other. Both were replicated in large form. Three first layer¡¯s of marble were put down for three temples, and Mercurius sighed once again. Three of them. Water was being placed on the floor and wheat was grown, to much astonishment of the local crowds. Mercurius noted that the devotion to the God of Trade lessened, and the rate at which water and crops grew quickened. The people are praying to those Gods instead. I can¡¯t be jealous, they¡¯re doing an obvious good. Mercurius brought back material for statue making. Gawking at the statues. Three large statues for the God of Water and God of Agriculture were made, allowing them to slowly grow things, while Mercurius collected materials for his new nation. Marble and iron flowed in, and spices from the east flooded the markets of the west. He would collapse that evening, with barely 500 gold coins. Spending colossal fortunes on a slew of materials. The Baron of Nowhere, was now no longer a Baron, now he could become something even greater. He eventually felt the jolt as the temple was being torn down. He would get his revenge. 10. Flurry 10. Flurry Three temples needed to be built. Without a temple Trade Points would gather at 40 a second, plus whoever was worshipping; Mardonius and Salutius were kind enough to build another large statue, making it 50 a second, the Gods¡¯ of Agriculture and Water were honoured with 5 large statues, with construction work going to the three new temples. Mercurius used the native wood, realising the potential for limitless money. He had to wait a bit for it to produce necessary quantities for export, but he nonetheless exported it to the Raja states with great profits. Spending nothing and selling it in their markets, is a great feeling. I can¡¯t wait to do my worst to Balna, I truly can¡¯t. I can¡¯t believe those bastards destroyed my temple. He sold wood that came at no cost into Raja markets, then went and sold eastern spices in Moru markets before returning with some 800 or so gold. He realised he would have to splurge most of his coin on cement, marble and stone. Houses had to be rebuilt again, and he gave a donative to most of the residents. Three temple structures were built in the soft sand. ¡°One day we will have water for all residents, for now we are focusing on export crops!¡± Salutius said selling the idea of the God of Water. We¡¯ll all have water? The residents thought. The town developed quickly, and a part of the reason for this is local tribes from nearby came to aid the construction. ¡°What are you building here newcomer?¡± ¡°A temple to the God of Trade,¡± Mercurius said with ill advised bravado, ¡°and God of Water and Agriculture.¡± The tribesmen looked with shock and then wonder. They watched trees sprout from the water with tremendous unbelievable speed, to be chopped by the locals. They prayed to the God of Water and Agriculture and wood sprouted faster than ever. Mercurius approached Ur out of curiosity. ¡°By any chance does 100 God Power allow you also to do your powers?¡± ¡°For water yes, agriculture is a little bit more expensive at 120. But then again you must appreciate it is a fabulous power,¡± Ur explained. ¡°For sure,¡± Mercurius said with awe and amazement in his voice. Trees sprouted and some 300 tribesmen settled near the town Mercurius created. ¡°Our clansmen have been experiencing drought in our village,¡± one man said, ¡°please let us settle next to you.¡± ¡°Settle in our town, feel free,¡± Mercurius said, open arms. Wheat was made, water was distributed in ever increasing rates. The temples got more manpower with more men heaving rocks and building houses. There must be 500 people here now. Mercurius sold this new free wood to the Raja states and Hitara for much better margins. Even Moru itself was sold the wood, acquiring 1400 gold. Unfortunately all gold profits had to be reinvested in the temples that were being made and the houses for the new residents. Women and children helped, men helped especially, the God of Trade had a large statue dedicated to the patron deity situated inside, a large statue inside, the Goddess of Agriculture likewise had a dedicated statue inside, the God of Water likewise. All the gold spent on marble depleted the reserves to 50 gold. Despite it being near evening the three temples were finished, and with the three evangels tapping their religious monuments, the temples began producing masses of God Power. Forests grown and chopped by the new residents. Wheat fletched, corn given to everyone, water filling the wells. Mercurius fell over, exhausted beyond belief.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°The new converts from here have been very helpful,¡± Salutius mused, a woman catching his attention. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Mercurius said exhausted and breathing into the sand. ¡°Careful,¡± a woman said, stabbing a scorpion, ¡°that¡¯s a good way to die.¡± Mercurius was carefully housed in his abode. A small hut, with protection from the desert sands. ¡°For now it is humble,¡± A local tribesman said, ¡°but I can see the future, three temples, these three will produce riches beyond our wildest dreams.¡± ¡°In Moru city, we would just be paupers,¡± an old man said, ¡°to think such people existed, praise the God of Agriculture!¡± Mercurius woke up the next day merely selling wood and food that was collected. The Raja states, Zhong and Hitara. Gold piled up, from a mere 200 gold coins, to 2000. Food piled up too. Mercurius had to visit local stone merchants in Moru, returning with granite and even marble for construction of houses. Water filled the wells, wheat was ground down into flour in the mills, and bread was starting to be made. ¡°I thought we were goners, but we have bounced back remarkably quickly,¡± a Hunaran resident said. ¡°That is the power of farming,¡± Salutius explained, ¡°as it turns out, being able to grow your own wood greatly increases your profits.¡± Mardonius looked at the nascent community with tears in his eyes, addressing a large crowd. ¡°We need to build walls, or at least watch towers! We must be prepared for conflict!¡± He continued prattling. Mercurius¡¯s ears were immediately drowned out with a familiar voice: ¡°WELL DONE EVANGEL. YOU EVEN TEAMED UP WITH THE GOD OF FARMING AND WATER. VERY SMART!¡± He shouted in Mercurius¡¯s head. ¡°Fuck me,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°what a god.¡± ¡°I CAN HEAR YOU.¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°They destroyed our temple in Balna,¡± the god of trade began saying in hushed overtones, ¡°gather riches, hire mercenaries and take out Moru.¡± Mercurius stopped and stared into the distance. ¡°Then we really will become enemies of all,¡± Mercurius said wistfully. ¡°You already are.¡± This god is burning my Trade Points to prattle in my head. But he¡¯s right. ¡°It¡¯s not prattle, and of course I am.¡± Mercurius sold free wood to the Moru markets, and to the Hitaran markets, coming back to a bounty of wood cut, the Trade Points were overflowing and he could hit to the Rajan markets without hesitation or pause. Water filled the wells, various grown food products reached the various residents. Mercurius looked at all the mills, all the free food being consumed. ¡°I wonder I give 2 gold a week,¡± he mused. ¡°You give them 2 gold a week?¡± Ur asked, amazed, his blue eyes stared at him. ¡°The God of Trade is generous.¡± ¡°The God of Water makes sure they have enough to eat and drink.¡± ¡°For sure,¡± Mercurius smirked, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way, the partnership of our three deities, will make the world tremble.¡± ¡°Our gods talked to us too, they know what the God of Trade said to you,¡± Gaia said, ¡°dangerous thoughts Mercurius.¡± ¡°You think?¡± Mercurius said. ¡°You might have been chased out of Balna for your paganism, for your temple, but you had a low profile, if you begin toppling nations, we could have religious wars on our hands.¡± ¡°The Moru army is busy preparing to invade Peria, it might be a better time than ever to strike from their underbelly,¡± Mercurius mused. Mardonius and Salutius surprised the trio of evangels, waltzing into their conversation. ¡°There is another way, not just mercenaries,¡± Salutius said, he unfurled a map of Moru, ¡°Church of Light countries employ a lot of slaves. We can buy them, and free them, we can create armies of people to be mobilised on a short notice.¡± ¡°If food and drink and money is distributed¡­¡± Mercurius suggested, nodding with great enthusiasm, a great grin in his mouth. ¡°We can topple Moru quite quickly,¡± Mardonius and Salutius said together. We can take down a country. They all thought. Mercurius got to work, realising what needed to be done. I¡¯m just getting started. 11. The Soft Underbelly 11. The Soft Underbelly All morning Mercurius sold wood to the Zhong, and Raja states, hopping between time zones jarring to his sense of time, each time he returned to his base in Moru leaving gold coins. He had added 3000 gold coins to a total of 5000. He visited the nearest Moru city of Ethrib, going on a spending spree. Before he would buy slaves, he bought 1000 mercenary soldiers. The local mercenary captain was surprised when 400 gold coins ended up in his pocket. ¡°I need another 500 for supplies,¡± the captain said gruffly. Mercurius gave them the gold, and then said: ¡°Come to our town, we will treat you well, I assure you.¡± They marched their troops down south, and Mercurius wondered whether he should teleport them personally to the town. They know of fire magic. Perhaps I should locate them nearby. Oh fuck it I have to do some more trading. He sold more wood and replenished the gold reserves back to 5000. Wheat was sold in small batches but wood was by far the most profitable; the Raja states and Hitara filled his coffers to get to a stunning 6000 gold coins. He then visited the slave markets and freed as many as he could. Giving small donations of gold to encourage the worship of the God of Trade, Agriculture and Water, the slaves were skeptical, some being given tours of the town and the temples. Free food was distributed, these new freemen being found lodgings. With each worshipper to the God of Agriculture accelerating the production process. Ethrib¡¯s slave markets were empty, women, children, old, even cripples who were supposed to have little monetary value were freed by Mercurius. 1500 gold coins were splurged by Mercurius who outbid everyone and made sure to whisper messages as well. ¡°The God of Trade will free the slaves, and abolish this horrid practice,¡± he whispered. ¡°The fire mages will burn us,¡± the slave whispered back in fear. His eyes looked with wide eyed fear at the seditious words Mercurius was whispering. ¡°The Church of Light will fall in Ethrib,¡± he whispered, ¡°their own greed will be their undoing.¡± Another mercenary captain in the north of the city was hired for 1000 gold coins. Mercurius whisked the captain and some of his officers to his small town. Evangelising the God of Agriculture and Water to them. ¡°Everything will change, you might be a Church of Light, but soon we can have a much better society.¡± ¡°You talk a big game, but even Moru by itself is powerful, you know that right?¡± The mercenary lord warned, ¡°I will secretly worship your god regardless, but this is dangerous game you are playing.¡± ¡°Oh I know, I definitely know,¡± Mercurius whispered, ¡°evangelise your soldiers, and it will be a game, I will win.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The other mercenary captain had reached the town, and of course saw the wonders of the fast growing food and trees. Gaia could grow things at fantastical rates, growing 10 trees at a time, while growing crops, the amount of God Power was getting ridiculous. ¡°The power is insane,¡± Gaia whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can funnel it by myself anymore.¡± Crops were grown, ground into flour and bread being made. The town having a few freed slaves helping in the extraction of wood. ¡°They¡¯re not slaves anymore remember! The three gods will be their liberation.¡± Wood was made into neat piles before Mercurius grabbed a few and disappeared once again. A city of 50,000. There were perhaps 10,000 slaves, Mercurius went looking for them, even people who were not theoretically selling. He bought nearly 3000 of them, 500 more slaves than were on the market; freeing them, paying them, feeding them. Whisper networks through Ethrib became his weapon. Mercurius bribed the urban poor and peasantry next; finding them, promising them so much gold to cover rent and food. He bought spices and teas from the east and sold it into Moru markets, earning a 1000 gold profit, before reinvesting his profits in bribing farm workers and urban poor. Some in the intelligence community caught onto his tricks, immediately alerting the governor. ¡°Emir Ras, someone is doing something very strange, our spies have reported that the slave markets are empty!¡± The spy said with a shaky voice. ¡°A slave revolt!¡± The governor said in trepidation. ¡°Someone bought all the slaves.¡± The Governor shrugged at the words, calmed down at the suggestion. Commerce was good. ¡°Maybe he just needed a lot of slaves,¡± the governor said, not worried in the slightest. ¡°All of them sir. That is not normal. Crippled, old, young, ugly. There is no discrimination. It is highly irregular.¡± ¡°What do you think is happening?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, a lot of whispering is going on,¡± the spy paused, ¡°it¡¯s all very strange.¡± A man with scars all over his face, dark and tanned, the governor was much more pale in comparison, he didn¡¯t cover his face, the spy keeping his identity hidden even to the governor. ¡°What should we do?¡± The Governor asked. ¡°I was hoping you would know?¡± The spy replied frantically. ¡°Observe and report to me what is going on,¡± the governor said. Farmers were receiving free crops, massive bags of flour. Bakeries were being delivered huge shipments of cheap flour, Mercurius even talked to guards of the city, bribing them and giving them donations in exchange for their loyalty. Again Mercurius returned to the town, so big it was deserving of a name. The residents settled for Hiru, and it became an important staging point for their plan. When Mercurius returned, the number of evangels for water and agriculture had been increased. A woman named Latha, a Hunur by ethnic extraction was made an evangel of the God of Farming, she helped Gaia grow the crops, increasing production; meanwhile Dendarius a Balnan was made an evangel for the God of Water. Mercurius got a familiar voice in his head: ¡°Choose who you wish to accompany you. Normally I make the choice every so thousand worshippers, but you have done so well, you make the choice.¡± ¡°Salutius,¡± Mercurius said. He was given the power. Together they further infiltrated the city of Ethrib, selling wood to the Zhong to gather some 2000 gold coins before bribing even shopkeepers. The mood of the city was decidedly turning against the Church of Light. They targeted the city of Fes next, a city located inland rather than on the coast, it had some 80,000 people, located near a river and oases. Mercurius and Salutius freed 1000 slaves, splurging their gold, before both disappeared to foreign markets to gather more gold. They returned buying 1000 more. Again they disappeared. ¡°We need more money to successfully convince Fes to join us.¡± They sold enough wood until they had 5000 gold coins total. It was night time, and the markets were closed. The town of Hiru grew wealthier by the second, food, luxuries, gold, housing began sprouting all around. Stone lined up and worked on. The God Power of the three deities had increased to something beyond Mercurius¡¯s wildest imagination. Moru did not quite realise what it was dealing with. 12. Spending Spree 12. Spending Spree The King of Moru was king Khalid, he had prepared 20,000 soldiers for an invasion of Peria, his troops were to take the city of Nova and advance up the Kingdom of Peria in a conquest that would put the Church of Light in a completely dominant position. That morning while he ate pomegranates and planned his invasion, the city of Fes was being infiltrated by two merchants of the God of Trade. They bribed the peasantry, they bribed the guards, they paid for a mercenary band of 2000 with 2000 gold coins, and they continuously freed the slave markets. ¡°These are fine slaves from the south, they work hard, and they are not affected by the sun see,¡± the slaver said. ¡°When we take Moru down completely, we must allow retribution against these curs,¡± Salutius said, ¡°they are despicable.¡± ¡°I know, but for know play it cool,¡± Mercurius warned his friend. They spent another 2000 gold coins, buying an army of slaves who were dispersed into the city of Fes. Again some were shown the miracles of Hiru, and the power of the three gods grew. Flour was given to mills, peasants on the peripheries were given coin in exchange for loyalty. The mercenary captains were given a tour and again the God of Trade was enthralled by the results. ¡°THIS IS AMAZING. THIS IS FANTASTIC. LOOK AT MY POWER GROW. TALK TO MARDONIUS, GET THEM TO HAVE MY STATUES.¡± Mercurius smiled wide eyed, Salutius was in awe at the voice in his head; Mercurius instead employed the local blacksmiths and stone workers, getting them to produce statues to the new deities. Fes and Ethrib slowly had more and more of these idol objects popping up. Large statues to the Goddess of Agriculture. Local villages and towns in-between the two cities were targeted. There in an alleyway in Fes, the two merchants talked. ¡°Aren¡¯t there still three more important cities we haven¡¯t even stepped foot in?¡± Salutius said. ¡°Patience, we will have them all soon enough.¡± A priest to the Church of Light began prowling, burning a statue to the Goddess of Water. ¡°Blasphemy!¡± The priest screamed, ¡°who put this blasphemy here!¡± Mercurius contacted the local street gangs of Fes. ¡°Worship the Gods¡¯ of Agriculture, Water and Trade, and we¡¯ll make it worth your while,¡± Mercurius whispered to them. ¡°Are you the ones doing strange movements within the city?¡± The hoodlum said. ¡°We¡¯ll make it worth your time, we¡¯ll give you a tour first, but here¡¯s some 100 gold coins to sweeten the deal.¡± Again Mercurius showed the hoodlum the splendour of Hiru. He bought the loyalty of several gangs this way, promising them a better deal in the new Moru that was to come. They became his sleeper agents too. He freed another 3000 slaves, splurging almost his entire gold reserves in doing so. Especially the feeding and clothing and housing that came afterwards. Again both merchants went to trade in far away lands. It was late afternoon, and their preparations in Fes were approximately 20% complete. There were mercenaries who were not bought, masses of people in the north of the city who regularly attended the Church of Light ceremonies and where loyalty to Moru would be strong. Wood and hemp was sold in ever increasing quantities in Hitara, varying the currencies used was wise for their operations. They drank coffee in Fes before purchasing 2000 more mercenaries in the north of the city. Again spies were alerted to the suspicious movements.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Sir someone has bought 4000 mercenaries, this is most unusual. The slave markets are empty, strange statues are sprouting everywhere.¡± ¡°You are right to tell your superior, but we are just as confused as you are. The guards at the entrances of the city are not saying anything,¡± the spy chief said. A simple office made of stone, covered in carpets and cushions, it was befitting for a spy headquarters for the city. ¡°Sir some of our informants have gone dark, we are losing our eyes and ears in the city, is someone in the army planning a coup?¡± Meanwhile in Hiru, the takeover of Moru was being planned meticulously. ¡°You have 4000 mercenaries in Fes, 2000 in Ethrib, you have sympathisers in the peasantry and recently freed slaves,¡± Mardonius ran through the numbers, ¡°you even bought hoodlums to our side?¡± ¡°They are useful for intelligence gathering, we still have absolutely no presence in Halab,¡± Salutius said. ¡°That city is a staging point of the invasion of Peria,¡± a former slave said, ¡°it has a large slave population, much larger than Ethrib or Fes, the docks there are a fertile ground.¡± ¡°We need to sleep Salutius.¡± Salutius made more trades, putting their gold back up to a comfortable 3500. They both slept comfortably waiting for the morning. Mercurius and Salutius took the town of Halab by storm, buying all the slaves. 8000 available slaves on the market meant the process was slow. They bought 3000, and then proceeded to trade on the global markets again. Hemp was a staple trade good that was popular everywhere, acquiring 3000 gold from the Raja states that was immediately invested in purchasing slaves, feeding them and giving them tours. Hiru became fabulously wealthy, the wealth flowing to these other cities that Mercurius was plotting in. 5000 mercenaries had already been purchased by the general in charge of subjugating Peria. Nonetheless gangsters, farmers, shopkeepers, mill owners and of course the ever free slaves became a fifth column inside the city. A population centre of 40,000, it had 20,000 slaves, the ones on sale were bought, some even armed, but most were simply armed with statues to the God of Agriculture and with the knowledge that slavery was going to be abolished. Coastal villages in the periphery were sold hemp, their slaves purchased and likewise being propagandised with the new religion. The two evangels of the Trade God kept splurging money and then endlessly selling goods to make up for it. By late morning Halab had 8000 freed slaves, as well as peasantry whose loyalty had been turned. ¡°You can¡¯t rush this,¡± Salutius said, ¡°we need more preparation, buy more loyalty. Make sure the spy networks are useless and military command will not be enough to stop us.¡± ¡°You are right this is going to take a while,¡± Mercurius whispered, I can¡¯t rush this. Moru will soon fall. I can¡¯t be too hasty. Halab and its environs were bribed relentlessly, food flooded dry markets. Farmers were propped up, peasants were given the idols of the new religion, and the priestly class of the Church of Light were avoided. The 8000 slaves, and 5000 urban poor, and 4000 peasants, meant the God of Agriculture and God of Water could afford two more evangels. Hiru became a production centre dedicated to spamming goods to fulfil the ambitions of toppling Moru. Everything was about to change. Patience was needed. 13. Closing in 13. Closing in The Church of Light had no idea what was hitting them. Mercurius and Salutius went to work that morning and were stopped by Gaia and Ur and the new evangels. ¡°You need to create a new God of Trade evangel, a priest, as the town of Hiru needs someone dedicated to its welfare.¡± While they were talking and without consulting Mercurius at all, Mardonius appeared and disappeared. ¡°I will look after Hiru,¡± Mardonius promised, ¡°my brothers will deal with the more pressing issues.¡± ¡°May the God of Trade protect you,¡± Mercurius said. Moru city itself was now beginning to be targeted, there were 10,000 mercenaries for hire, but Mercurius decided it was unwise to purchase them until the day of the operation, instead opting to free slaves. ¡°20,000 slaves for sale,¡± Salutius said in awe, ¡°the city size is 150,000.¡± The two of them sold teas and spices to the rich in the city allowing them to free 2000 or so. Again the process of revealing the plans for liberation were told to them. Trade was furious, hemp sold to the Halab navy enough to buy another 2000 slaves. The day got stiflingly hot, but the two merchants did not let up. Emptying slave market after slave market, giving free flour to mills, giving large bags of flour to peasants, bread to the urban poor, coin in a hand at a time. With each new convert Hiru¡¯s economic power grew, bread, corn, fruits were given to the hungry masses. Blacksmith¡¯s were patronised with thousands of orders of bronze and iron statues. Wood was sold to Uruq to lessen suspicion of the coins being distributed. Church of Light priests were noticing the idolatry everywhere, burning a few unlucky people, they were nonetheless beset upon by a bunch of angry poor people, breaking them apart on the stone alleyways, as Salutius and Mercurius slowly bribed the citizenry and residents to their side. Lir coins from the far east were given a thousand a time to local gangs who quickly switched allegiances of whole neighbourhoods. Amoreb, Lir and Hitara were sold thousands of tonnes of wood, the gold financing a crawling take over of Moru. Rather than hire mercenaries straight away they targeted the city of Mina next to the Poltu border, it was a small city of 20,000, but nonetheless strategic. 2000 slaves were freed, and the urban poor and peasantry were bribed in exactly the same way. Food stocks of the Trade God were given in massive quantities to various segments of the city like everywhere else. 2000 mercenaries hired from the periphery who were delighted at the sight of so much gold and of work. ¡°I hear Jira also needs wood, if we supply them wood, our little revolution, becomes just that little bit more likely.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to cause inflation like this,¡± Salutius said.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we have the God of Farming and Water on our side,¡± Mercurius whispered, ¡°they can bribe the citizenry with food as well as money.¡± Mina went a step further than other cities. Their spies were outright colluding with the rebellion. ¡°As far as we know, the central government will not attack Mina, you have bribed most of the city, Mina will fall practically without a fight, the governor is currently in the next door nation of Poltu, he won¡¯t know what hit him.¡± ¡°But he might bring a bunch of angry Church of Light soldiers to attack us.¡± ¡°Mina is right next to the border, so that is a concern yes,¡± the spy admitted. ¡°Well we are about to topple the Moru government, the other Church of Light polities will of course get involved,¡± Salutius said, ¡°it¡¯s only a matter of time, even if we organise our coup flawlessly, they will raise their levies and then proceed to attack us.¡± The spy was nervous, sweat forming on his brow. Shrugging a little, and readjusting his face covering. ¡°There are still a lot of isolated border forts in the desert, they harbour garrisons which can be mobilised against you if you take too long.¡± ¡°Bribing them might be a little bit too obvious,¡± Mercurius admitted, ¡°look we are going to go back to our activities, write and inform us of any activities by the authorities, I¡¯m sure you have channels.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± the spy said. Mercurius got to freeing more and more of the slave population in Moru. He brought food, he sold wood again in various markets to acquire various coin to not arouse too much suspicion but the spies were going crazy. Diving into the palace chambers to give their reports, irritating the monarch to no end. ¡°King Khalid, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, slaves are being purchased all across the empire, the coin is enormous, but-¡± that was the messenger¡¯s one and only mistake, by focusing on how much coin was made the important message was buried underneath good news. ¡°More gold for the treasury, how is the drought?¡± ¡°Sir someone is distributing food,¡± the spy said. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Like I said sir, I think it¡¯s sedition,¡± the spy said, but he didn¡¯t quite convince the king. Commerce is good and people are being fed is sedition? What on earth is this spy talking about? The spy couldn¡¯t get his words in, but other spies began flooding the royal chambers, all scrambling to get a word in edgewise. The royal hall was splendid, golden chandeliers, sapphire trinkets, he was not a poor king by any measure, but Khalid had gotten his position through hereditary birthright; a overly top heavy bureaucracy which was more interested in collecting funding for the armies than necessarily public welfare. The Church of Light did in fairness care for the needs of the poor, but they were also busy raising troops. ¡°Squadrons of light have accompanied the general in Halab, the invasion of Peria should go smoothly milord,¡± the clergyman said. ¡°Have you noticed anything strange clergyman? My spies say odd things are happening,¡± Khalid said. ¡°Idols are popping up in the streets milord, our agents tried to burn the people responsible, but I fear the streets are dangerous and unruly.¡± ¡°Have the guards do more patrols!¡± Khalid said, ¡°you are allowed to try people for heresy and heathenry. See to it!¡± The King said with much ire. The increased security did not stop slaves being freed. With every slave being freed, the God of Agriculture and Water grew stronger. Wood was continuously sold for profits that were invested in freeing the large slave population. 22,000 slaves were freed by the end of a day. More than officially on sale, approaching some owners of slaves for purchases and offering the money right away. Mercurius and Salutius hemp and wood sales extended into the night in Zhong and the Raja states before they both collapsed onto their beds in Hiru. Moru was on precarious ground. 14. Shah Mat 14. Shah Mat ¡°General Faiz preparations for the landing are complete,¡± a lieutenant told his superior. ¡°Good, Nova will be captured and Moru can conquer the kingdom of Peria without any obstacles.¡± Their army landed on the coast, encountering a 2000 Perian force including some Church of Order shock troops. Lightning bolts were shot by the Church of Order troops creating some casualties with fireballs being shot back, creating some as well. The Moru army smashed forward with 5000 cavalry, flanking and making the Perians collapse into flight. Through rocky outcrops, roads eventually pointed to the grand city of Nova. An important naval hub, and logistical centre for any invasion force. General Faiz was successful, he marched into the city, his fleet having already secured the harbour. The Moru flag was a green flag containing a yellow flame, and it soon came over the battlements knocking down the Perian flag, a brown flag with a yellow thunderbolt. ¡°The Church of Light will rule all!¡± Faiz said, ¡°make sure the disbelievers pay their religious taxes. God is merciful. We are not!¡± The castle walls had banners of Moru unfurled, the cheers of the Church of Light creating an orchestra of gloom for the Church of Order loyalists in the city. ¡°Our city has been taken¡­ nothing will stop them marching inland,¡± a woman said in great fear. ¡°By the lord, why have you forsaken us, surely our lightning mages should have bested them.¡± While Faiz celebrated his victory over the Perians, a new design by forces he had no idea about, were being made. ¡°These are our symbols. Symbols are for the symbol minded, but they are important unifiers,¡±Mardonius said, offering cloth. He had secretly made thousands upon thousands of banners, tasking various Hiru citizens with the production of the flags as well as sigils for the new nation. ¡°Green. Blue. Yellow. The God of Water, irrigates so the God of Farming can grow, and the God of agriculture is taken by the God of Trade for our prosperity, horizontally,¡± Mardonius explained, gesturing to show how the flag would look, ¡°these are sigils, the plough, a wave for water and a cart for trade. With these we shall conquer.¡± ¡°We still need to hire the mercenaries of Moru city,¡± Mercurius said. Wood and hemp was sold in the markets of the world, before acquiring the 10,000 gold necessary. It was late afternoon, but Mardonius had given flags to many of the supporters of the new. ¡°Not yet Mardonius, we need to win supporters in Moru city,¡± Salutius warned him, ¡°this is seditious material you know that.¡± ¡°They need to be captivated, these banners mark the beginning of a new age.¡± All that time ago, with a mere statue you began the chapter of a new age. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Mercurius and Salutius subtly proselytised to the masses. Urban workers, shop keepers, and local peasantry. It was evening, and the revolution was culminating. Mercurius and Mardonius giving food and drink to their supporters across the five important cities, and even the villages. Ethrib, Fes, Halb, Moru city and Mina were all mobilised. Banners and the symbols of the three gods were given to ex slaves and urban poor. Local informants to the authorities did indeed inform of some impending disaster, but the proportion of dissent was dismissed as fanciful. ¡°Large sections of the population are against the regime?¡± A spy in Fes scoffed, ¡°that can¡¯t be true.¡± Again gold was accumulated, so much spent trying to mobilise the masses of Moru against the government that they were only left with 200 gold. ¡°I will try and gather gold,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°enough for a few necessary bribes if necessary.¡± He would end a few hours later at midnight with some 2000 extra gold coins, selling a lot of wood to the Hunur nomads. It is a miracle that they don¡¯t recognise me. I am selling to my enemies, but these people will have delivered one Church of Light country into my hands. They don¡¯t even know what they¡¯re doing, or who they¡¯re messing with do they? Night turned to day, the morning of the year 570, summer; 2000 mercenaries in Ethrib, 2000 in Mina, 4000 in Fes and 10,000 near Moru city marched on the governors palaces. The gates opened without a single drop of blood being spilled. Suddenly like on command ex slaves and urban poor put out their flags from their windows, from their rooftops, from many balconies. ¡°Glory to the God of Trade, Water and Farming! Glory to the three!¡± ¡°Glory to the three!¡± Was the cacophony heard over so many cities. The city of Halab had no mercenary presence, instead relying on ex slaves, gangsters and urban poor storming barracks and intelligence offices. The green, blue yellow flags fluttered, the sigils carried by zealots. Emir Ras lost control of Ethrib almost immediately, every tower fluttering the new flags. Church of Light priests tried to control the masses burning the mobs, only to be broken to pieces. ¡°We will build new temples!¡± Salutius screamed, to ululations by the crowd, ¡°Hiru¡¯s wealth will be shared to all. Our nation is only just beginning!¡± ¡°Glory to the three!¡± Was the deafening reply. In Moru city, there were street battles between loyalists and revolutionaries. 10,000 mercenaries with the help of ex slaves and urban poor managed to subdue royal guards in their barracks. The bazaars were mostly on the side of the God of Trade, the tricolour put over many rooftops. King Khalid¡¯s palace was stormed by 1000 mercenaries. He found a secret exit through a tunnel that led to the docks. His navy although surprised mobilised to save their king. ¡°Where is the King?¡± Mercurius asked one of the mercenary captains. ¡°He¡¯s escaped sir,¡± the mercenary said. ¡°Damn it, he¡¯s going to be a pain in our arse!¡± Mercurius seethed, ¡°ok never mind, secure the city, tell them their king has fled.¡± ¡°Your king has run away!¡± Mercenaries shouted from the palace walls. The tricolour replaced the green flag with a yellow flame, the sigil that represented the three gods unfurled on the palace walls. The city walls were being adorned with the new regime¡¯s symbols. Mardonius was right, the Church of Light sympathisers in the city soon lost heart. ¡®The three¡¯ had triumphed. The city of Halab although occupied by a much more disorganised militia succeeded, Ethrib was taken, Fes was taken and Mina was taken without even bloodshed. Army garrisons were bribed, in other cases the mercenary forces told them the cities were taken to devastating effect, morale in the Moru army collapsed, their forces disintegrating. Moru had collapsed in a morning, its king fleeing on the ocean current toward Poltu, no doubt to organise a counter attack. ¡°All our work has paid off,¡± Mercurius whispered looking over the balcony of the palace of Moru city, ¡°but this is only the beginning.¡± ¡°Their army disintegrated,¡± Salutius said, a little too optimistically. ¡°You know that it isn¡¯t so simple, there are many Church of Light countries, plus that guy who went on an expedition to Peria. He might come back, like I said this is only the beginning¡­¡± Mercurius said wistfully. The sight of a city completely taken over by the God of Trade filled Mercurius with a smile. ¡°You did well evangel. But now begins the true test,¡± the God of Trade said in his head. Now it begins. 15. Reconfiguration 15. Reconfiguration Such a bold coup, meant that an entire country had fallen to ¡®the three,¡¯ the entire civil service, the bureaucracy, the army, the administration had to be completely rethought. The God of Trade, Water and Farming were not fit for a country called ¡®Moru,¡¯ the country was renamed ¡®Yerek,¡¯ after a local word for three. A lot of soldiers surrendered to the new regime, and a lot of peasants would soon find themselves out of a job. Yerek abolished slavery, this time without compensation, slaves were given gold and food, although Mercurius realised too much gold would lead to inflation which would cause its own problems. The sheer scale of converts and worshippers of the God of Agriculture and Water led there to be 6 evangels of each. They could produce enormous quantities of food and water that could feed the entire country, this made the peasantry largely redundant, nonetheless someone needed to collect and distribute the food, but tilling the land was now a pointless activity. Gaia and Latha were known to Mercurius as priests to the God of Farming, they produced enormous amounts of food for Hiru, but there were now four other evangels who increased the food production, and four more evangels for the God of Water, they travelled in pairs, there was another evangel for the God of Trade, Mardonius¡¯s girlfriend. Zelra was a sweet woman, she loved Mardonius dearly, why? No one really knew, but he was happy, and she was happy and that was all that mattered. She helped deliver the tonnes of food. Mercurius and Salutius thought of the temples that must be constructed. ¡°We already have so many worshippers?¡± Salutius said, ¡°you saying we need more God Power?¡± ¡°For sure,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°what is going to come is not going to be pretty Salutius, the entire Church of Light is absolutely fuming that one of their rulers had the rug pulled underneath him.¡± ¡°So we need more,¡± Salutius said. ¡°It will cement our economic situation,¡± Mercurius whispered. Capturing the royal treasury yielded some 40,000 Moru gold coins, these were spent on the procurement of marble. As it turned out, Moru had its own marble reserves in the deep deserts of the south, so the gold reserves weren¡¯t entirely necessary. The south was a place Salutius and Mercurius had not bothered to placate, the people there were confused to hear of the toppling of Moru and the replacement by ¡®Yerek.¡¯ Food parcels, water, wine, the freeing of slaves was appreciated by some. ¡°This is the town of Qar Sara, we produce marble, I hear you want it,¡± the overseer said. ¡°We are to build temples to the Gods¡¯ of Trade, Water and Farming,¡± Mercurius explained, ¡°we know there has been shortages of food, so we shall deliver lots of it.¡± Food and water and wine flooded into the southern deserts. Local chieftains were not pleased with the abolishing of slavery and the new religion frankly annoyed them, but the bribes were welcomed. ¡°Our administration will not demand taxes of anyone,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°maybe dock fees, but we are more than capable of generating funds ourselves. The God of Trade is generous.¡± ¡°The God of Trade¡­¡± one of the chiefs muttered angrily, they clearly did not believe in it, ¡°fucking infidel scum¡­¡± they said underneath their breath.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Roughly 5% of the population were slavers or profited off of slavery, these elements were either seditious supporters of the new regime, or had fled to neighbouring Church of Light countries. The freed slaves were jubilant enthusiastic supporters of Yerek, the God Power acquired by ¡®the three¡¯ was beyond imagination. Without the need for secrecy the God Power increased, as thousands prayed to the new deities, Church of Light buildings were still operational and legal, but they were definitely not friendly to the new regime. The news of no taxes and free water and food spread slowly, but it increased the God Power some more. External trade was put on hold, as thousands of jobless labourers were put to the task of building temples. Food was distributed in large clusters with the help of Mardonius and Zelra in the major cities of Ethrib, Halab, Moru City, Fes and Mina; the smaller towns and villages were given subsidies of food and water, moving evangels around to help in the process. Slavers fled in ships, some aristocratic lords eyed the situation with unease. Yerek unlike Moru was more republican in nature, they had no king, no aristocracy. 2000 mercenaries were sent southwards and were to catch slavers and free the slaves. These actions, alongside the reputation of the regime had already scared most of those who profited off of slavery to run away. Mercurius visited Mina, and immediately began mustering defenders for what seemed like the inevitable. ¡°We must fortify Mina, it is too close to Poltu,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°a temple to the Gods should be built, but we must make sure the city is fortified to withstand a siege.¡± ¡°What is the nearest Poltu city?¡± Salutius asked. ¡°The city of Gharb, it has 80,000 people so is a sizeable settlement,¡± a guard explained. ¡°We will need to undermine the loyalty of the settlement and seize it at some point,¡± Salutius said, ¡°that will make their invasion of Yerek even harder.¡± ¡°Good thinking,¡± Mercurius nodded, ¡°they will have to first take back one of their own cities.¡± ¡°The Church of Light is owed no cities, we will make sure they falter.¡± Internal administration was prioritised, lugging marble to construction sites, making sure food supplies were fully stocked. A spy came running to Mercurius and Salutius, having recognised their faces. ¡°You should be wary of the southern tribes, reconstituting the army might be an idea,¡± the spy said. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°The southern tribes are Church of Light, many depend on slaving for their incomes.¡± Mercurius turned his head and broke into a smile. Crossbows. ¡°I need to do some external trading,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°tell Mardonius I have an idea for civil defence. One that doesn¡¯t exclusively rely on peasant militias and mercenaries.¡± ¡°What?¡± The spy asked, curious beyond anything. ¡°Crossbows,¡± Mercurius said quietly and with great excitement. He sold wood to Balna, and bought their iron, a lot of it, depositing it in various cities. Salutius helped the fellow but soon returned to stocking marble to various temple construction sites. The arming of loyalists to Yerek was simple, but the evangels of the God of Trade began tasking blacksmiths with producing crossbows and bolts. Any one whose loyalty to Yerek seemed generally positive was given a crossbow and some bolts. The entire country was mobilised, local villages and hamlets and the big cities¡¯ population were now being armed and armoured. I hope we are quick enough to deal with the inevitable backlash we have created. Mina was armed quickly, the blacksmiths producing weaponry for the locals to use. Crossbows and bolts, ex slaves and peasants queued to pick up their weapon. ¡°Defend the Republic of Yerek! For the three!¡± A man said lifting his small crossbow up in the air. Mina¡¯s periphery was also armed, Mercurius hopping from place to place to enhance the defence of the new state he had created. Local nobility would be pissed, slavers were pissed, the merchant classes were ambivalent; the merchants had less to sell, but were barely taxed. The low taxes and high welfare produced a population less willing to revolt, but there were obvious economic shocks from completely changing how the economy worked. We don¡¯t have lightning or fire or earth mages. Salutius thought, but perhaps we have something far more fearsome. 16. Shockwaves 16. Shockwaves Peria was overjoyed at the news of the fall of Moru but angry at the rise of a new pagan realm. Nonetheless knocking out a Church of Light country from the competition was appreciated, even if some foul abomination had taken its place. General Faiz held Nova, but now he was under siege, 15,000 Perian troops, with many Church of Order priests shooting lightning bolts at his guards. ¡°What do you mean Moru has fallen!¡± Faiz screamed, ¡°that is ridiculous, that must be false information told to us by the Perians. I want the spy-¡± ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± another spy said, running up to the commander. ¡°How?¡± He said throwing his arms up and down in a tantrum. ¡°Pagans took the major cities, they had a God of Trade or something, our informants in the Churches tell us of a sudden taking of all the settlements,¡± the messenger said desperately. Faiz¡¯s face turned sour, a tanned brown face, he sighed deeply at the news. He nodded and then looked at his soldiers. He put a brave face, but deep down he was flabbergasted and scared. ¡°How much supplies do we have?¡± ¡°Enough for a month sir,¡± a soldier curtly replied. We can¡¯t defend Nova and take on these imposters. How can Moru have fallen? Surely that¡¯s impossible. What kind of trickery could they have possibly done? ¡°This just came in just now sir, the Perians are-¡± he was interrupted by lightning bolts falling next to him. Falling to the floor, the ground shook, and Perians entered onto one of the walls. ¡°Damn it, who is manning the walls?¡± They were being systematically taken out, dried cinders of corpses falling over the battlements. He clasped his forehead in pain. ¡°Reinforce the walls!¡± Besieged? Me. I am besieged. This is supposed to be an invasion. Fuck. What a nonsense. He clenched his fists in anger and frustration. Poltu spies reported on their findings in Moru now ¡®Yerek¡¯ with great haste. Carrier pigeons were being sent frantically. Spies riding to Gharb to give news to the local governor. ¡°King Khalid has been overthrown,¡± the spy said. ¡°How is that possible? Surely his army should have crushed any rebels?¡± ¡°We are not too sure, our spies saw suspicious movements, trades and then their cities were filled with masses of rebels. It¡¯s like someone bribed the masses en-masse, I can¡¯t explain it any other way. It was incredible.¡± ¡°Someone bribed their cities, what else happened?¡± the governor asked. ¡°They¡¯ve abolished slavery,¡± the spy said to much shock.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The governor sat down and looked at the spy almost in disbelief. ¡°Who does the work then?¡± He asked stupefied. ¡°That¡¯s not the point, the worshippers of ¡®the three¡¯ seem to want to liberate the slaves.¡± Governor Karim of Gharb stared at his agents on the field and tapped his finger on the oak wooden table top. ¡°Give me a whore!¡± The governor screamed. ¡°Sir, this is serious,¡± the spy said, flabbergasted. ¡°Give me two whores!¡± He shouted back in defiance. ¡°You couldn¡¯t finish them both last time!¡± A rude guard shouted from behind a wall. ¡°Find him! Flog him! Flog that man!¡± Karim shouted in palpitations, ¡°damn it, what a headache you¡¯ve given me. Report this to the king of Poltu, maybe he¡¯ll have an idea of what to do.¡± ¡°King Ahmed will be told soon sir.¡± The governor¡¯s quarters were garish and overly bright and colourful, more of a place of pleasure than administration. Thousands of troops had already been gathering for other purposes. An aristocrat, albeit appointed to the position of governor, the title was not completely inheritable. This makes my plot against Ahmed almost impossible. If I start a civil war now, who knows what those pagans might end up doing? The city of Gharb was full of whispers. Merchants and soldiers alike, slave and common man talked of the total toppling of the government of Moru. In Lori, the politically isolated Church of Truth nation, built extra sea and land walls. ¡°Build more, if the Church of Light comes here, they should be met with so much rock that they won¡¯t possibly want to chew on it. If they spend their entire raiding budget doing so, they will lose heart!¡± The Earth Mage priest said, as he put rock after rock in place. Messages came from Lori spies that were in Moru. The King of Lori Nathaniel stared over his fortifications as a piece of parchment was put in his hands, he extended the message in front of him and began reading. He wrinkled his forehead in order to read it more effectively. ¡°Is this true?¡± He said, ¡°who made up these lies?¡± ¡°Sir, everyone is saying it¡¯s true,¡± the spymaster said, ¡°I¡¯ve received multiple letters.¡± ¡°Moru is toppled and is now called Yerek. King Khalid fled on the ocean, this is all unbelievable. If someone spat in the Church of Light then we should hold a feast, but by God pagans took them down? How?¡± ¡°The God of Trade, Farming and Water sir, they successfully turned a whole lot of the populace against their king and turfed him out, Khalid was nearly captured our spies from the palace reported. The forces gathering in Gharb were in fact preparing for civil war, but maybe not now, it¡¯s hard to tell,¡± the spy said so thoroughly that the king was just impressed more than anything. ¡°Anything else?¡± King Nathaniel asked, looking with skepticism. ¡°The people are being armed, a lot of them. These pagans are aware that they have the ire of the Church of Light community and nations, so they are trying to arm their supporters as quickly as possible.¡± ¡°Hahaha, goodness me, with what pitchforks?¡± The king laughed in roaring laughter. ¡°Crossbows,¡± the spy said matter of factly. ¡°Ooh good choice,¡± the king admitted almost too quickly, ¡°is there any chance that they will spread their ways, these pesky pagans?¡± ¡°The God of Trade supporters could very well target Gharb next, I believe Lori is too far away for them to target, but the Church of Light nations might want to take us out, we are quite strategically located.¡± ¡°Tell me something I don¡¯t already know,¡± the king said, ¡°what¡¯s the political stability of the new regime?¡± ¡°Pretty rock solid, they freed the slaves and are feeding the poor somehow, ah also there are no taxes, or very few of them anyway.¡± ¡°Kingdom ruled by a madman,¡± Nathaniel joked. ¡°That¡¯s another thing, they¡¯re calling it a republic by all accounts, there is no monarchy in the new system.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just asking for trouble now,¡± Nathaniel said shaking his head, ¡°so they are pagans, worship three gods, and they don¡¯t have a king or any kind of monarchy.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± the spy said. The king burst out into rapturous laughter. A tall blonde man, his island was warm, and he had tanned skin, but his natural complexion without sunshine would be considerably paler. Piercing dark blue eyes, he was an intimidating figure even without finding he was a monarch. ¡°Maybe I should visit this¡­ Republic. Just a diplomatic tour,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Sir,¡± the spy said, ¡°are we sufficiently fortified?¡± ¡°All our priests ever do is fortify Lori city and its environs, I think we¡¯ll be fine, besides my son is around, and we have capable stewards. Don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Of course sir.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t grovel, tell me if any of them are doing a bad job ok.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Lori¡¯s king would visit Yerek, partly to see if any of the rumours were true. Nathaniel probably just wanted to spectate battles as was bored on his island nation, a 30 year old man he had grown bored of just endlessly making his island nation safe. He would witness something. 17. Coalescing 17. Coalescing Salutius rather than fully going on the defensive also began picking apart the city of Gharb. He realised that Moru currency was going to be useless so he sold wood to the Chenep and Hunur nomads, acquiring Uruq gold which he promptly used on freeing slaves. Mercurius found out what Salutius was scheming and joined in. The two of them began the process they had so meticulously done on what was once the Moru kingdom. They bribed peasants and urban poor, and idols to the God of Trade, Water and Farming soon began appearing. 4000 Uruq gold was spent on freeing 4500 slaves. Mercurius and Salutius soon found out the plans of the Poltu kingdom, the local governor Karim had 5000 private soldiers, what he was doing with them was not known by Mercurius or Salutius; they imagined it was going to be used against them. How can he already have 5000 mercenaries hired, he surely doesn¡¯t have infinite pockets like we do. Was he planning a civil war? 20,000 available slaves were up for purchasing, Mercurius and Salutius darting back and forth to free as many of them as possible. Mardonius stopped Mercurius catching him in Hiru. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you planning now? We need to focus on civil defence on building temples, on fortifying Yerek from the inevitable counter strike.¡± ¡°If they come from Poltu, making Gharb weak is a good idea, it will weaken them strategically, they will not be able to invade so easily,¡± Mercurius explained. ¡°There¡¯s boundless desert that their armies could waltz through,¡± Mardonius warned, ¡°do not underestimate them, we caught Moru off guard, but now all their attention will be on us.¡± ¡°Fine Mardonius, I understand,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°we need to strengthen the defences, but that doesn¡¯t mean we should become too insular, the God of Trade is for all Mardonius.¡± ¡°It certainly is,¡± Mardonius replied, ¡°but don¡¯t get too crazy, I have a fear that we might be overrun if we are too ambitious.¡± Marble was transported from Qar Sara to the various temple construction projects, other Church of Light Kingdoms already had small detachments ready to fight against Yerek. Salutius and Mercurius bribed poor peasants, and ex slaves going back to Hiru to ask for more flags. Poltu had a crimson red flag with a golden flame, Salutius thought of the day when the flags would be toppled and the flag of Yerek would be raised; green, blue and yellow raised over the various cities of Poltu. Mercurius noticed that Gharb had thriving fish markets and a thriving salt industry, the salt trade was owned by the governor generating profits he could use for administration. ¡°Do we have salt flats we could use?¡± Mercurius asked. ¡°I believe they are owned by private merchants,¡± Salutius said, ¡°given our other reforms, taking those might be politically¡­ dangerous.¡± ¡°Right, for now let¡¯s focus on what we were doing,¡± Mercurius said, pissing off too many people at the same time, is never wise. Spies noticed the appearing and disappearing merchants. They prowled the streets trying to catalogue the infiltration taking place.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. It seems one man is bald, and the other has short black hair. They¡¯ve been bribing peasants, paying for slaves¡¯ freedom and targeting the more disadvantaged. Extremely dangerous behaviour. Our governor Karim doesn¡¯t even know his city is next on the chopping block. We should warn him. The spies were too late to warn Governor Karim, Karim had already mobilised his private retinue of 5000, gathering 10,000 Poltu regulars, assisted by 200 Church of Light priests. ¡°We will rid the world of these infidels!¡± Karim said lifting a sword into the air triumphantly. While he did so, men rode by offering 1000 camels and 1000 horsemen. ¡°Our trade has been disrupted by this new heathen ¡®Republic,¡¯ we want revenge,¡± the slaver said. He offered his sword in a horizontal way, holding scabbard in one hand, and sharp end gently balanced on his gloved hand. ¡°I accept your services, Moru shall be restored I assure you,¡± Karim said, who knows I might even become a king of Moru, ¡°get the baggage train ready, we ride for Mina!¡± Mercurius and Salutius returned to Mina to warn the residents of the impending attack, they had gleaned enough to know what was coming. ¡°An army led by the governor is coming your way,¡± Mercurius said to the head of the intelligence, ¡°make sure enough of our supporters have crossbows.¡± Men armed with crossbows and helmets, were quickly paraded on the parade ground. Many had a rudimentary understanding of war. ¡°Alright! Time to practice for war!¡± A drill instructor said. Mercurius and Salutius returned to Gharb, selling Hiru¡¯s wood for Raja coin. Slavers in the city grateful for the coin, the slaves even more grateful for the freedom. Mercurius and Salutius would teleport to locations where they thought the marching army would be sending frequent updates to Mina. ¡°Can the city withstand a siege?¡± Salutius asked, ¡°I fear they will surrender when fireballs start flying their way.¡± ¡°With our powers, any city could theoretically last forever,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°we can supply the city, the real question is do the slaves have the heart to fight.¡± While they argued over this fact, a semi competent commander was chosen in the defence. Arbogast an ethnic Locus, an ex slave who had been kidnapped in his childhood by slaving raiders. He was muscular and had been expected to do lots of heavy lifting as a slave, he was giving impromptu speeches on the defence of the city. ¡°We must defend our newfound freedom! If the Republic is to last, we must defend with our lives as well as our pockets. Of course the Church of Light wishes to put us back in chains, we must accept the crossbow, and not let elements of the old regime cling back to power!¡± The speech was powerfully done, eliciting a roar from the ex slaves. However, while he gave rousing speeches, a mob of Church of Light supporters raised the flag of Moru, the green flag with a yellow flame and began chanting seditious chants. ¡°Death to the infidels! Death to the infidels! Long live the King! Khalid, god nothing else!¡± The rebels took over a barracks, and the situation began to spiral out of control, Mercurius and Salutius came back and noted the carnage already unfolding. Fire balls were being thrown, and people particularly women were screaming. Despite the chaos, the investment in crossbows was not without benefit. Crossbow bolts were shot, hitting and killing some of the priests, and killing some of the Moru loyalists. One of the food stores was hit, wheat turning into cinders. Salutius went wide eyed and then relaxed slightly. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s not the end of the world, we can always replace food,¡± Salutius said, ¡°still what a mess.¡± The newly armed and armoured men slowly whittled down and broke up the Church of Light mob, the volleys of bolts successfully defeating them. Agents still loyal to Moru, had probably incited the uprising, nonetheless their clergy were promptly expelled from the city. ¡°While freedom of religion is important, we know of a Poltu invasion force coming, and we can¡¯t risk seditious elements while defending the city!¡± Men armed with crossbows said, far too leniently. Seditious elements remained, and perhaps always would, but a tremendous test for Mina and for the Yerek republic was about to befall it. Night soon fell, but that didn¡¯t scare the Church of Light. 18. Siege of Halab 18. Siege of Halab Faiz had been notified of the fall of the Kingdom he had served, but that didn¡¯t stop him fighting the Church of Order. In fact he faced off the 15,000 strong army anyway. Lightning bolts and fire balls were exchanged both ways, in a stunning display of god power, the two gods¡¯ of war channeling the devotion of the faithful. Faiz used flanking cavalry to hit the Church of Order army hard. General Sanchez in charge of the Perians managed to inflict heavy blows as the native Church of Order priests inside of Nova began shooting lightning bolts at Faiz. Faiz cavalry did indeed score casualties, but the lightning bolts hit and weakened his men, killing lieutenants and damaging morale. His fire mages indiscriminately fired back, burning parts of the city. Sanchez had 15,000 and Faiz had 20,000, so Faiz should have had the advantage, but the Church of Order priests were doing their damage. Lightning bolts slowly assassinated important figures. ¡°Damn it! Find those heathens and kill them! By god these lands are promised to us!¡± Faiz shouted. In the middle of battle, a letter came to Faiz. If you so wish, we will allow you safe passage back to your homeland. I hear pagans rule your homeland. Raise your voice if that¡¯s what you wish. Signed yours sincerely Sanchez. Faiz grimaced, raised his hand and shouted: ¡°We are leaving! Grant what you said you would, or I will slaughter all of you!¡± Faiz had lost 1500 troops, something he was not happy with, he still had 18,500 men left to take back to Moru. I¡¯m not finished here. I will return. He thought grimacing beyond words. Faiz¡¯s ships were boarded and they sailed to Moru. Two days later Faiz¡¯s force sailed to Halab and began siege works. The gates were sealed shut, barricaded with stone, still Faiz used his Church of Light priests to try burn the gates down. Disorder was spotted inside the city. ¡°Our holy men are doing holy work,¡± Faiz said, ¡°look at those pagans burn.¡± Which was true, but crossbow bolts were heard endlessly clicking and dispatching of the Moru sympathisers. Faiz turned to his lieutenants. ¡°What is that sound?¡± He asked. ¡°I have no idea,¡± a lieutenant said, ¡°shall we storm the walls sir?¡± I can¡¯t believe our loyalists haven¡¯t opened the gates somewhere yet. Some fireballs had made fissures in the walls, creating a breach. Faiz smiled, his cavalrymen already willing to report what his eyes could see. ¡°Aim for the breach, some of you scale the walls to divide their attention!¡± Faiz commanded. Finally get my chance to avenge Khalid. However Mardonius and Zelra had found out of the siege, and had more crossbowmen in waiting, he just needed to stall them. Ex slaves, urban poor lined up in the streets.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Get the ammunition ready!¡± Men shouted, beckoning the bolts through with waved hands. Faiz¡¯s cavalry attempted to smash through the breach but wooden stakes had already been prepared to outright kill or at least de-horse riders. Crossbow bolts shot and shot. ¡°Shoot in volleys men, that way they¡¯re always receiving metal!¡± Faiz¡¯s men fell off their horses, and infantry likewise were hit in the head. Fireballs smashed into the towers, causing many to duck and others to even flee. ¡°Come back here and shoot at those pricks!¡± A man said, ¡°someone aim for those mages, take them out!¡± Screaming was constant from the Halab garrison to the point Faiz stared with consternation. ¡°War cry!¡± He shouted to a roars from his troops, ¡°send in the next lot.¡± Soldiers clambered on the battlements, and there they had more luck, but even then people from down below targeted the Moru soldiers, the towers shooting targeted shots at the soldiers as they attempted to storm the city. With every click of a crossbow, a man fell over or was close to, Faiz¡¯s men had high morale and drive to begin with. They took over a stretch of wall, but the peasant militia was being reinforced constantly, even the lousiest shots got lucky sometimes, a Moru soldier in the rump, falling over the walls and into the ground below. The breach was cleared to a small rise of morale in Faiz¡¯s army, but entering the city just revealed small wooden palisades with crossbowmen shooting past the clearing. "Shields up men!¡± An officer desperately shouted. Even then, mere moments later he was struck in the foot and fell over. As one was taken out the formation opened up and the cacophony of bolt fire killed a whole cluster of Moru soldiers. Fireballs pelted the walls, Church of Light priests screaming their damnations against the pagans. ¡°The infidel will burn for their transgressions!¡± ¡°For the God of Trade! For the three!¡± A war cry from the within the city arose. A statue was toppled by a particularly eager Church of Light priest who came foolishly into the city, he was quickly riddled with bolts. Again Faiz attempted to take a wall, and again his men were whittled down rather efficiently. While it was certainly true that the troops guarding the settlement were not high quality they did not need to be. Mercenary cavalry awaited orders from Mardonius as they spotted Faiz¡¯s headquarters. ¡°Let them exhaust their forces a bit more,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°I will see to the defence.¡± All the while ex slaves and urban poor were armed with crossbows, the temple constructions continued uninterrupted, many of the builders prepared to fight if necessary. ¡°Are you sure we are not needed Mardonius?¡± A builder said rather enthusiastically, ¡°not yet, if need be we will fight them in the streets.¡± Another breach was made, and Faiz sent more troops to try storm the breach. He was correct that palisades were not so quickly made. His troops were viciously targeted by bolt fire, they saw an opening and they went deeper into the city, and the houses and apartments near the northern stretch of the city walls began bellowing salvos at them. They had landed near the eastern coast, and attacked the eastern walls, so the walls next to the sea were assumed to be weaker, but the ex slave community there took out 4000 of Faiz¡¯s army. He was down to 10,000, a little bit demoralised but nonetheless confident that the city would fall. Before Faiz even made his camp though, 2000 cavalry thundered into the rear, Faiz himself was taken out in the charge, a spear driven through his chest, the Church of Light priests put up stiff resistance, but were cut by the rushing horses, albeit many of whom were burned. Crossbowmen rushed out from the city walls, a generally ill advised tactic, but the combination of attacks had Faiz¡¯s army crack and crumble, quickly surrendering. ¡°Drop your weapons! Drop your weapons now!¡± Men with crossbows said to the far superior armed and armoured soldiers. Faiz was bleeding into the sand, while the mercenary cavalry had lost some 600 men in the rear assault. Mardonius awarded the commander a handsome 900 gold, 600 as restitution for the dead, and 300 to the commander. The commander graciously accepted and looked at the site of such a victory. ¡°Bitter work, war,¡± he said wistfully and with forlorn, ¡°I should have been a poet.¡± An old man, covered in scars he had seen his fair share of scraps. ¡°Ah, thank you for your services to the Republic commander, no doubt we will need you again.¡± ¡°You are welcome,¡± the mercenary commander said, refusing a handshake. A victory was a victory, even if it came with a cost. The prisoners were lugged back, but without their general and without the priests they were largely harmless and would soon come to understand what Yerek was really about. 19. Siege of Mina 19. Siege of Mina Karim had a slightly smaller army than Faiz had, 17,200, the 200 were Church of Light priests, 2000 cavalry; 1000 horse, 1000 camels, 5000 mercenaries gather by Karim under suspicious circumstances and 10,000 Poltu soldiers, essentially the national military. Under a crimson banner with a golden flame they marched along a coastal road toward Mina. There were cliffs and then beaches, but nonetheless the Poltu army met no resistance as it marched across the border. The city of Mina only had 20,000 residents, and the news of local Church of Light subversion had in fact reached Karim. Either way I can expand my power. I can make Mina a fief, stealing from disbelievers is not a crime, especially polytheists. Not even Ahmed will dispute my conquests. Nonetheless, these people overthrew Moru. That didn¡¯t come out of nowhere. Mercurius and Salutius had successfully bribed the purchasable slaves and now had moved onto the various poor workers in the city. They had successfully brought tonnes of flour into the city, this lowered food prices, free food and drink was the God of Trade way to the hearts of men, not all men could be bribed, but a bribe would at least get you listened to. Peasants in the periphery and local shopkeepers were given free goods, the dock workers, the salt workers and blacksmiths. Blacksmiths and stone workers happily lapping up the free goods, producing statues to the God of Trade, Water and Farming. Meanwhile Karim had been preparing his siege. Cautious by nature he simply blasted the walls with his Church of Light priests. Fireball after fireball until they grew tired of throwing fireballs. It used a lot of God Power, but the Church of Light was vast. ¡°Blast the gates and make as many breaches as possible, I want that city in our hands within a week!¡± He cautiously probed the walls, palisades being put behind each and every breach. ¡°Crafty pagans,¡± Karim whispered, ¡°should we start the siege yet?¡± He muttered to himself. He did not, instead bombarding the walls, perhaps he would have but then a spy came up to him and revealed some information. ¡°Faiz of Moru was defeated outside the city walls of Halab. Most of his army are captives now.¡± Karim was wide eyed at the information staring at the messenger with trepidation. ¡°Really?¡± He asked in a scared voice. ¡°Yes really, Faiz was stabbed in the chest, we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen to his troops,¡± the spy said nodding, ¡°Moru is dead for now, unless you wish to revive it for your own ends.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Who am I speaking to?¡± Karim said to the spy, ¡°you know very well Ahmed doesn¡¯t take kindly to sedition.¡± ¡°Is that why you were raising your own private army, to be a loyalist?¡± The spy spat back. Karim laughed, looked down and then took a glance of anger at the spy. ¡°Who are you? Are you a plotter or a spotter?¡± Karim said, ¡°or both? Ah I shouldn¡¯t discuss these things anyway, your loyalty is with the wind.¡± ¡°Says the plotter,¡± the spy quickly riposted, ¡°united to do something for the realm because of an external threat.¡± ¡°I am a pious man,¡± Karim retorted. ¡°Oh for sure, is that why you are currently blasting Mina¡¯s walls, your piety?¡± ¡°You are a very witty spy, anyone ever tell you that?¡± Karim laughed, ¡°what are you doing here, really?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± the spy said, ¡°nothing at all.¡± He then wandered off. Karim kept bombarding the walls, tasking his men to make a fortified camp, and tasking his cavalry to keep supply lines open behind him. ¡°Taking a city is like making a woman cum,¡± he said openly and loudly, ¡°you have to prepare.¡± People outright sighed and clutched their foreheads in embarrassment, openly shaking their heads at their commander. ¡°Truly a poet,¡± a soldier said. ¡°Think of the women you will bed when we conquer the city,¡± Karim said. This motivated the villainy of some of the soldiers, motivating their drive for conquest. On the other end the city of Mina fortified inner parts of the city, citizens got crossbows even women were equipped with them, bolts accumulating. The walls were now being blown up in parts, fireballs arcing the sky and hitting residential buildings. ¡°At some point I think we will have to hit them back,¡± an ex slave said, ¡°this is getting ridiculous.¡± Mercurius appeared and began addressing the garrison. ¡°Over the next few days, we will orchestrate a revolt in Gharb, which will make the besieging army not have supplies, as you well know, the God of Farming and Water gives us infinite supplies. We can sit them out until the end of time and not lose a single bit of nutrients,¡± Mercurius explained, ¡°so that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡± The whole day was spent repairing walls and building the temples. Mercurius and Salutius continued their bribery of the citizenry of Gharb. Mardonius visited southern tribes on the traditional borders with Moru, he offered them food and water, many accepted, he offered statues to the God of Trade, Farming and Water, some were more hesitant than others, but Yerek had a soft power approach to these nomadic and semi nomadic people. ¡°I understand many of your people were sold into slavery, and some were even selling into slavery,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°our religion is against that, we freed the slaves, we will be under attack by Church of Light countries, they will attack our cities, try to take our villages, try to kill us. I know of your cavalry strength, that is why I am here, I hope that is not too shameless,¡± the old man said to the tribesmen. ¡°We have heard of the overthrow of Moru, and the relative prosperity you bring,¡± a tribal elder said, ¡°our cavalry can of course be recruited, but we want assurances of security.¡± ¡°You are free to drink our water and eat our food,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°we break bread like brothers and share our resources with you. All we is ask is your assistance in what you are good at.¡± Mardonius moved some tribes from neutrality to outright siding with Yerek, and moved hostile tribes to neutrality. The southern border rather than being a sea of hostile peoples became friendly or simply not wanting to intervene in disputes between the Republic and its many troubles. Mardonius had done his job flawlessly, Zelra meanwhile had continued the temple construction throughout the land without a hitch, moving between cities without much troubles. Another evangel to the God of Trade was probably necessary, as the worshippers grew and the needs of the masses grew too. 20. Cut off 20. Cut off After two days, Gharb revolted, the citizenry arrested the garrison and took the city over. The tricolour replaced Poltu¡¯s red flags with golden flames, replacing it with the green, blue and yellow of the Republic. Yerek took over the city in a triumphant roar, the ex slaves and poor taking to the streets and seizing the governor¡¯s palace. Karim who had been besieging Mina would find out about the loss of his seat of power subsequently, but many of his agents were too busy being imprisoned. ¡°That¡¯s the one, that¡¯s a member of the secret police!¡± A poor man said, clubbing the man to death. Poltu had a security service whose goal it was to root out disorder and imprison dissidents. Of course useful, but also despised by many. Mercurius and Salutius wanted to commit proper trials but the urban poor simply killed them. Many of course fled eastwards toward Polt, the capital of the Poltu state. In-between were many village and town oases, rural people who could be swayed one way or the other. Mercurius and Salutius would work on them, but they were interrupted by news of a new evangel to the God of Trade. A man named Nichomacus, a trader from Peria who had been inspired by events in the nascent Republic and decided to join the faith and cause. He had dark hair, and dark eyes and darker skin too, explaining himself as having ancestors from beyond Moru. Nichomacus joined Mardonius in persuading more tribes further south to be friendly to Yerek, he was successful, some coin, but a lot of food and water persuaded one particular chieftain without even much persuasion. ¡°Our clan had to flee from the south due to drought, I will aid Yerek, and will be thankful to them for the rest of my life, what is it you need of us?¡± Mardonius and Nichomacus looked at each other cautiously. ¡°One of our city¡¯s is under siege,¡± Mardonius explained, ¡°we need cavalry to harass the besieging army¡¯s supplies, maybe even attack them directly. Of course the loot belongs to you.¡± ¡°How generous,¡± the tribal leader said, ¡°is that it?¡± ¡°We have tasked others to do the same job,¡± Mardonius explained, ¡°we can always give you more supplies if you need them.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± the tribal leader said, ¡°we greatly appreciate the gesture.¡± 5000 cavalry rode straight for Karim¡¯s rear but he had no idea. Mardonius and Nichomacus did not stop in the night, Karim found out about disrupted supply lines, and immediately broke into a fury. ¡°What do you mean the city fell?¡± He said, ¡°how in the name?¡± He screamed. It was pitch black, and the city of Mina was fully prepared for war, readying the reserves to attack the besieging army. 2000 camel riders and 3000 horse appeared behind Karim¡¯s army, Mardonius told the garrison of the proximity of the tribal cavalry and sallied out. Karim was in his camp, he had watchtowers and sentries, but the crossbowmen began shooting at them.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°We are under attack!¡± One of the soldier¡¯s screamed. It was not immediate, but the army got ready, crossbowmen shot at the camped army, killing the guards up top, Church of Light priests shot fireballs into the dark night, hitting some but often hitting mere ground. In the next few moments camels and horses charged in through the southern and western entrances, Karim attempted to halt the rot but crossbowmen charged the northern and western entrances. The mercenaries opened the gates, drawing blade and spear, assisted by crossbowmen who shot at the beleaguered defenders. Besiegers became besieged, as 5000 cavalry smashed inside, assisted by 2000 mercenary melee units and 10,000 crossbowmen. The Church of Light priests successfully turned some people into cinders, but they were quickly targeted and eliminated. Karim who had banked on his campaign becoming some kind of expansion of his power was sorely disappointed, looking at the situation with the stark realisation that he might die. ¡°Kill them all!¡± He said attempting to rally his men. Crossbow bolts whizzed by, grazing his cheek and he hid behind a few of his men¡¯s shields. They gathered around trying to defend a beleaguered position, but camel riders stabbed shrieking men, the momentum having people rush into tents that collapsed, being pierced like pigs. The crossbowmen stopped shooting, trying to not hit their own, only the best shots taking shots at the small clumps of Poltu soldiers who mounted a resistance. Karim hitched a horse and ran off the battlefield; he had a worse fate than the common soldier who died. ¡°Your commander is fleeing!¡± Became a chant repeated by mercenaries at first and the rest of the Yerek army. The Church of Light priests were vengefully shot by crossbowmen, the army began clattering weapons down. Some 500 crossbowmen had been killed, mainly by flames, 4000 Poltu soldiers lay dead and 11,000 were captured. The tribesmen began looting the baggage trains, the militia were informed and backed off, the mercenaries receiving bribes in gold coins by Mardonius to not be too upset. Zelra noted the construction of all temples in the major cities bar Gharb which had yet to begin construction of any temples to the new religion. Food and water flowed to all the cities, wood flowed to foreign markets. Mercurius and Salutius going on a selling spree in the realm of Lir. Mercurius thought of the Balnan¡¯s once again. Thinking of his vengeance he would perpetrate on them. He teleported to the mountains of Balna, looking at the sight before him, before he then he went back to Gharb. ¡°What were you doing? Where were you?¡± Salutius asked. ¡°Balna,¡± Mercurius answered honestly, ¡°I was thinking of repaying some debts.¡± ¡°Balna will pay,¡± Salutius said resolutely, ¡°but don¡¯t do anything stupid, we should deal with Poltu first, they have still have two very important cities.¡± ¡°Polt and Wersh are important sure, but our old business is not something we should forget,¡± Mercurius said. Salutius began freeing slaves in Polt, a city of some 200,000, while Mercurius began focusing on the peripheries of Gharb. A temple in Gharb immediately began constructionas well as arming the populace for the inevitable counter attack. Forts nearby were taken by the mercenary army and the tribesmen, slowly peeling them off one by one. Villages were bribed, slaves were freed, and peasants were given massive donations of food and supplies in order to buy their loyalty. Slavers once again ran away, and local Church of Light sympathisers despaired at the sight of another important city under the control of some pagan entity. Some forts along the Yerek Poltu border were abandoned at the news of the taking of Gharb and the defeat of Karim. Karim rode as hard as he could to Poltu, but now he was nothing, he had no fief, no soldiers, no money and of course most importantly for him no women. Karim tried to raise rural retinues, but news travelled fast. ¡°These lands belong to Ahmed now,¡± the local chief of the village said, ¡°you gambled and lost.¡± Karim was silently angry, he was angrier that the chief was right. He had gambled and lost, Gharb now belonged to Yerek. Poltu trembled, the news of the fall of the city terrifying nobility and the Church of Light to no end. A true war would soon begin. 21. Jostling 21. Jostling Ahmed had hired his marshal Isa to command troops to take back Gharb, battling over small settlements in the environs. Hamlets, villages and towns were fought over in a tug of war. Isa had 10,000 cavalry, and he rode through town to town attempting to shore up support, meanwhile Salutius was already sowing dissent in Poltu. Mercurius was buying the support of peasants. ¡°We can give you tonnes of food,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°Ah but then, what is the point of working the land,¡± a man said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the economy of Yerek. If 6 people can grow all the food you need, what do the peasants do huh?¡± Mercurius looked at the smart fellow with a bit of fear, for he was a better rhetorician than he was. ¡°Rest, do something else with their time. Nothing is dumber than useless work,¡± Mercurius said, wincing as he said it, for he may have made ten enemies. ¡°I accept your answer,¡± the peasant said, ¡°I hear you solved the problem by building temples, what about afterwards?¡± ¡°Science,¡± Mercurius postulated. ¡°Science?¡± The peasant said, ¡°you want me to make inventions?¡± ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± Mercurius said. He came back with free flour, corn and bucket loads of water. An evangel of water filled the wells. ¡°Production and processing is still necessary I suppose,¡± the peasant thought aloud. Mercurius visited Balna, going to the mountains where he followed a playbook similar to the one he had perfected on Moru. Buying support of the rural peasantry, providing food and water, and limited coin before delivering some marble. ¡°The God of Trade is wise and generous,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°I¡¯m sure he is,¡± a mountain peasant of Balna said, ¡°but why are you here?¡± ¡°To spread our religion,¡± Mercurius said, and to get revenge. He did what he was supposed to and helped the environs of Gharb, but he also visited Balna, and went to Zhong collecting their coin so that he could build a series of temples. In the hills of Balna, tribes were being mobilised. On the Uruq side of the mountainous border remote villages were visited and given statues to the God of Trade and then heavily bribed. This little pet mission allowed Isa to seize village after village before arriving near Gharb. The land was lush around Gharb, oases and irrigation created fertile valleys, it didn''t extend too far beyond for there was sand like everywhere else, but there were aquifers and underground rivers that could be used for farming. Isa fed his horses and camels fodder before sending a messenger away. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.¡°I need information on whether it¡¯s ok to attack Gharb yet,¡± Isa said. A regal figure, a mere marshal of a king he was something akin to a steward, his only real power was what the king vested in him; he had blue eyes and dark hair, and had a lean figure, not too tall but not short either. He had a quick team for taking small villages but was soon met with a proper obstacle. A former military outpost was now manned by newly recruited Yerek crossbowmen. A stone watch tower and small skirting walls, it had a maximum of 400 men. Local villagers staffed it and it would be a pain in Isa¡¯s plans if it were kept. ¡°We can¡¯t begin sieging anything with that watch tower, look how they flaunt us with that idolatrous flags,¡± a soldier grumbled to Isa. He looked at the tricolour and then looked at the local peasants. ¡°These ones are much more hostile to us then the other ones,¡± Isa noted, ¡°prepare to crush some polytheist scum.¡± Meanwhile Mercurius rejoined his efforts back on the eastern border. Bribing people who had just been visited by Isa¡¯s men. ¡°We just had an army of the faithful march through here!¡± An old crone said, ¡°it really is incumbent on you to protect us from them if you wish us to take you seriously.¡± ¡°We will bring crossbows and build fortifications, plus all the bribes that we are famous for,¡± Mercurius explained. ¡°Well¡­¡± the old crone said. She looked at her local peasant neighbours and sighed. While Mercurius was putting himself on too many fronts, Nichomachus hired more and more tribes. The promise of food and water for many of these people, immediately gathered thousands of loyal warriors. Nichomachus made two large camps, foundations for new cities, Kostor near the Poltu border, and Tolra much further to the west. The two camps were supplied with food and water and became foundations for cities. Camels, sheep, horses glugged water hungrily. There were ten evangels to the God of Water and Farming, one each was stationed in each of these new cities, Nichomacus making a staunch argument in favour of it. ¡°These will be permanent bases recruiting the tribes from the south, their cavalry will be indefensible for the Republic, for Yerek, for the God of Trade, Water and Farming.¡± ¡°Can we spare the resources?¡± Zelra asked cautiously. You have 10 in Hiru, what is this woman prattling about. ¡°Of course we can, they will make many followers, and expand our influence southwards, I hear there is a nation called Kanem to the south, far to the south, beyond the sand, and the tribes,¡± Nichomachus explained, ¡°we need two cities, they will help in our war, I know they will.¡± ¡°Will it house their pastoralist flocks?¡± Mardonius wandered aloud. ¡°It will, these people make their living off of their herds, besides it is their skill with camels and horses that we want,¡± Nichomachus said, ¡°they are a treasure, and we should cultivate them.¡± And he did as much. Nichomachus the evangels¡¯ of God of Water and Farming, one of each irrigated and created fodder for the large fleeing refugees. Rather than turning them into enemies, their generosity so overwhelming that they could be used for the stated goals of the Republic. ¡°You have enemies, your enemies are our enemies, for Yerek, the Republic and for the three,¡± a gruff tribesman said resolutely. 4000 more cavalry were recruited and sent eastwards to take the southern porous borders of Poltu. Nichomachus then went to the southern tribes beyond the borders. There he found tribes without food, but an unresponsive unhelpful Poltu. He bribed them as well, realising he no longer had to focus on the tribes in Kostor or Tolra who were now self sufficient. These nomadic communities accepted free water and food with great enthusiasm taking up the banner of Yerek provided they were enumerated sufficiently. Far beyond the border with Poltu villages fell, and the southern porous borders were being taken. Mercurius¡¯s inactivity was now balanced by Nichomacus¡¯s, who had successfully converted huge portions of hungry tribes to the cause and preyed on the southern regions of Poltu. The war however was about to get much worse. 22. Battles in the Countryside 22. Battles in the Countryside Isa had received 10,000 infantry support, Mercurius had come back and realised his error, much of the hinterlands had not fortified in order to stop the Poltu counter attack. Worse still, the Church of Light kingdom of Amoreb had sent a 15,000 expeditionary army, Hitara had likewise sent 15,000, promising to send another 15,000 which they would recruit. Lir was in the process of mobilising 50,000. The Republic of Yerek was about to encounter its first real test. Poltu already had a formidable army, amassing 14,000 under another formidable commander named Omar. These armies were no joke, and Nichomachus¡¯s investment in tribal loyalty suddenly played huge dividends. The south of Poltu was wrought asunder, thousands of small villages changing hands. 8000 camel warriors took village after village after village. The central government of Poltu sent Omar south, he had 10,000 infantry and 4000 horse. Other cavalry allies took villages and border forts of Poltu¡¯s that Isa had recently captured. 5000 cavalry made into small raiding parties. Even Salutius who was doing work in Polt freeing the slaves and feeing the poor heard the rumour mongering within the city. ¡°Yerek cavalry have captured many southern and western villages, will Isa be alright?¡± A woman said to her husband. ¡°Those foul beasts captured Gharb.¡± In other quarters, ex slaves and recently bribed talked quite differently. ¡°Evangel, is it true?¡± One ex slave said, ¡°the God of Trade will it truly liberate Polt?¡± ¡°We have an agent who has been talking to pastoralist communities, he has clearly done a very good job. But it will be you, not them that will take Polt.¡± ¡°They can help though right?¡± ¡°I guess,¡± Salutius said, ¡°but the three have never conquered cities, we make them revolt.¡± ¡°I heard of this, is that really true?¡± The ex slave asked, ¡°many rumours are said of your religion, my former master hated it.¡± ¡°You will be witness to it.¡± The streets were filled with sedition, but many of the more respectable places were still quite loyal to Polt. It was the seat of Polt¡¯s government after all, but nonetheless secret police were out and about eavesdropping on public opinion. Salutius bribed more and more, until some 30,000 slaves had been freed. Agents of the state smacked dissidents, only for dissidents to smack back. This disorder caused the Polt government to set 10,000 soldiers into the streets. The ex slaves disappeared into their new residences, advised to not cause trouble as Salutius continued drumming up support for the Yerek cause. Nichomachus spent an afternoon arming and feeding scattered villages in the southern peripheries; Mercurius spent his afternoon feeding and arming the western hinterlands. Mercurius began organising peasants behind Isa¡¯s lines, peasants armed with crossbows and quickly establishing small fortifications. Isa had begun his siege of the small fortification. ¡°Take them out, and Gharb will be takable!¡± He screamed, ¡°for God! For Light! For Victory!¡± His armed roared, and charged the small tower and the skirting walls. Isa¡¯s men put ladders and tried to come up, hearing clicks that hit them and knocked them over. The tower wasn¡¯t isolated as Isa thought, peasants came up behind shooting at his rear. Church of Light priests shot those peasants down. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.¡°Hit the main tower!¡± He shouted. He was right to do so, casualties lessened, as suppressing fire made it impossible for the garrison to shoot from up top. When things looked hopeless for the garrison, horse archers began peppering Isa¡¯s flanks. ¡°Take the fort!¡± A whistle was blown, the garrison that could flee did so, running from the positions. Fireballs were thrown at the cavalry that artfully dodged, crossbowmen shot at the priests of the Church of Light. Isa put his hand in the air signalling his archers to fire suppressing fire. 10,000 infantry of which 2000 were missile troops that could shoot into the fortification with all their might. ¡°Capture the keep!¡± Isa shouted. ¡°It seems our peasant allies are being besieged by a proper army,¡± one of the tribal chiefs said. Isa¡¯s cavalry came charging, Yerek¡¯s cavalry hit it head on with camels. Camels scared horses, and even Poltu cavalry knew this. ¡°These crazy,¡± one man said, moments before being gutted by a spear. More whistles were heard, crossbowmen aiming precisely for Isa¡¯s cavalry squadrons. Horse archers wheeled about aiming for the Church of Light priests. Isa wore a frown. ¡°Bombard position!¡± The head of the priest squadron said. They throw the fireballs in a loop instead of straight on, aiming for the crossbowmen in the keep, or what was left of them. Moments later, after the flames settled Poltu¡¯s flag was raised over the castle, arguably due to Mercurius¡¯s foolish overextension of priorities. Still Yerek¡¯s cavalry smashed into Isa¡¯s cavalry aided by well directed crossbow fire. ¡°Disengage! Disengage!¡± One cavalrymen shouted. The officer was assassinated by a crossbow bolt before Isa was confronted by even more craziness. A rider armed with an axe bolted straight for him. ¡°Is he insane?¡± One guard said, eying the man directly, echoing the thoughts of many. A hatchet came flying across the battlefield taking a head of Isa¡¯s bodyguard unit, before another was felled. He rode on a camel and took down more and more without being stopped. The Church of Light shot a bunch of fireballs, but he was too quick, already outrunning the fireballs smacking his iron on Isa¡¯s bodyguard. They grunted and heaved at the piercing metal, not noticing 500 other riders having done the exact same thing. ¡°Infantry on the commander!¡± Isa¡¯s lieutenants kept shouting. They killed the lunatic with the axe, but they were all bloody and sweaty and disorientated. 5000 militia armed with crossbows had snuck up behind and began shooting with deadly intensity. ¡°How?¡± A soldier said. ¡°Shields up!¡± A man said, before blood gurgled in his throat. The cavalry sent to deal with 2000 camel riders was taken down, the horses themselves terrified of the smell of the camels. Isa survived, he was waving a sword around and slashing at those who intended to kill him. His Church of Light priests had been mauled, one camel rider slicing them rather grimly. ¡°Protect the faithful!¡± Isa screamed, ¡°kill those scum!¡± The rider was turned to ashes, but infantrymen were falling around him. Camels were supposed to have been surrounded, but instead had punctured through routing a large section of cavalry that had been subjected to brutal punishment. Isa still had enough infantry and Church of Light priests to scare off the attackers. And he did. The camels back with only 1000 riders, but they had bloodied some 8000 of Isa¡¯s cavalry. He had captured the tower had worked so hard for, but he had casualties to deal with, and was now sure of a hostile rear. Meanwhile all the time, horse archers waited. Night time fell, general Omar had a much different experience. His 14,000 army marched southwards to hostile territory. Barricades were formed and the clicking sound of crossbows immediately precipitated a battle. Many lieutenants of Omar¡¯s were taken out. He sent 2000 cavalry to try and envelop them, but 8000 camel warriors annihilated the cavalry in short order. Some of the camels were even clad in armour, the Poltu army waited, trying to storm the barricades of the village of Hirith. A small valley village that had been made infinitely more prosperous thanks to Nichomachus, camels thundered on both flanks and while the peasants shot at the distracted army camel warriors crunched from both sides. 2000 of the camels were clad heavily, but that was more than enough against Omar¡¯s thinly armoured troops. The tribal leader Utbah successfully annihilated the army, cracking its morale after 2000 infantry deaths, the rest scattering for the winds. Omar death by a spear precipitating a rout. Utbah stared at the brevity before him. Like cracking an egg. Nichomachus paid respect to the cavalry leader feeding his fodder and fed and water any peasant, Omar¡¯s baggage train was divvied up between the peasants and the crossbowmen. Food, water and even Poltu coin were quickly pilfered, but not before being equally split between the various fighters. Even with such a victory, it was only the beginning. 23. The Coalition Arrives 23. The Coalition Arrives The Church of Light expeditionary army was led by a certain Mansur of Amoreb. A light blue flag with a golden flame marched across Wersh. ¡°How lovely it is to see you Mansur,¡± the governor of Wersh said, ¡°we were expecting you.¡± Mansur was a tall tanned man with brown eyes and brown hair, not too dissimilar from Utbah. Commanding 5000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry as well as some 200 church of light priests as well as a baggage train for supplies. ¡°We will refill your supplies, for as long as you need them,¡± the governor said rather obsequiously. ¡°Right?¡± Mansur said, side eying him, and looking behind to his troops. A spy immediately grovelled at Mansur¡¯s feet. ¡°The situation is terrible, general Omar was beaten in the field, Isa is left in the west, but you must rescue him before things get bad.¡± ¡°Isa is trapped?¡± Mansur asked, cocking his head in a questioning tone, ¡°these Yerek have really bludgeoned you huh?¡± ¡°Commander, remember you are a guest in their lands,¡± a lieutenant said. ¡°These fools are losing to polytheists,¡± Mansur said. ¡°Those polytheists have already couped a kingdom, let¡¯s not be too presumptuous here Mansur,¡± Mansur slapped the lieutenant with his gauntleted hand. The man in question played it off, as it hit the back of his head. Cunt. Man¡¯s going to get us all killed. Nichomachus occasionally assisted Salutius in his efforts. A whole day had passed since the annihilation of Omar¡¯s army, and the urban poor received more food and flour than every before. With each new load of believers the production process of the Republic became even more impressive. It started in the evening, but ex slaves managed to beat up the secret police, urban poor and even shop keepers arresting the soldiers in their barracks. The extra security detail would be shown up by an unlikely ally. Utbah had waltzed straight in, his camels led straight in by rebels who had taken over some gatehouses. There was chaos in the streets as the tricolour began appearing over gatehouse after gatehouse. The year of 570 had become a momentous one, and yet it was only the summer of the year. Utbah who was supposed to reinforce the revolt of Polt, marched in, and then marched out. He had hired 1000 camel mercenaries and left the city to the confusion of all loyal to the Republic. The port and the royal palace were still in control of Polt¡¯s authorities, while most of the city walls and the population centres were under control of Yerek and ¡®the three.¡¯ ¡°Glory to the Republic!¡± Nichomachus shouted, ¡°we will liberate Polt from the tyranny of the King and his lackeys!¡± Where in the fuck did you go Utbah? Utbah was wearing desert protective gear, but he had dark features, tanned skin, dark eyes and black hair, he gelled it with a gel, shaving his beard meticulously, much of his army had beards, but he did not keep to the tradition. He rode out of Polt, gathering any information.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Has Nichomachus established friendly contacts eastwards?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± a camel rider next to him asked. ¡°We go south then, go to a friendly village and then strike them where they least expect it.¡± I know you¡¯re coming you fiends. I know it, you know, we all know it. While Utbah left 15,000 Uruq soldiers reinforced the port, their fleet docking and reinforcing the situation for Ahmed. The King of Poltu would now be a puppet for foreign powers, swamped by foreign troops. Wersh had become a supply dump for the foreign expeditionary armies, after Mansur came an army from Jira numbering some 30,000 commanded by Marwan. He had heard of the war that Yerek had waged on Poltu, having already taken Gharb and Polt itself was not teetering, they had already amassed their army to take back Moru. ¡°Send the scouts forward, we need to liberate Poltu from these filthy savages!¡± Marwan commanded 10,000 camel riders and 20,000 infantry, a sizeable force to be sure, and one that the Church of Light hoped would stave and contain the revolution that had been spreading. Mercurius and Salutius got to supplying Polt insurgents with crossbows, endlessly bringing in supplies. Perhaps 100,000 of the residents were on the side of Yerek, with 50,000 still siding with the Church of Light regime. The palace walls were guarded furiously, battles in some streets seemingly continuous. ¡°We can¡¯t bribe the harbour as it is crawling with Uruq troops now, it seems we are not facing Poltu, we are facing all the Church of Light countries,¡± Salutius said, ¡°I do not wish to bring slaughter to the residents of Polt.¡± ¡°Shaking off these armies will not be so simple,¡± Mercurius said. Offered free coffees by a local coffee house, they were nonetheless bringing precious resources to the districts loyal to the Republic. Uruq¡¯s troops tried to advance, moving into crossbow bolt barrages, some Church of Light priests getting frustrated and shooting fireballs. The commander of the Uruq detachments was shot dead, and his men were beset with an angry mob, which shot him so relentlessly that he retreated back into the protection of the harbour city walls. ¡°I can open the gates,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°but the harbour is likely still full of their troops.¡± 1000 men had been shot to death, with only 100 residents dead, such casualties filled the revolutionaries with confidence. ¡°What was Utbah up to?¡± Salutius wondered aloud, ¡°Nichomachus said he was hiring tribal cavalry, does he even care about Yerek?¡± ¡°He does,¡± Nichomachus said, ¡°he is, respectfully, a better commander than you two, no doubt you have founded a nation, and instigated revolution. He excels in mobile warfare, and unrestricted by baggage trains, he will do things no one expects.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Mercurius said in surprise, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what that is.¡± Mansur had marched out of Wersh toward Polt, taking the coastal road, he was in fact not that far from the capital of Poltu; the desert winds restricted vision much to the detriment of Mansur who assumed everything was normal. ¡°Have our scouts spotted anything?¡± Mansur said, ¡°No sir, there are villages hailing the Yerek flag, but they are deeper in the interior.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that disgusting name,¡± Mansur spat. His flag fluttered beautifully in the wind, but from the east not the west came his foe. Utbah used his light camels to smash into the Church of Light priests first, his 3000 heavy camels, 1000 of which mercenaries smashed in mere moments later. The cavalry outright panicked and ran, the momentum of the heavy camels, the smell, and the surprise making horses bolt out of the way. Most of the riders were killed, the mercenaries were tasked to mop up the infantry from the south, the marching infantry to disorganised to mount any kind of serious resistance. Mansur was slain mere moments later, the cavalry broke, the infantry broke, the mules and donkeys of the baggage train stopped at the sight of the army disintegrating. 1000 peasant crossbowmen soon began guiding captured prisoners of war, while Utbah began directing the captured loot. ¡°3000 gold pieces,¡± Utbah laughed. 2000 horse riders lay dead, 2000 infantrymen too, 6000 infantry had surrendered, with the remaining 2000 infantrymen running eastwards. ¡°Your commander¡¯s name?¡± One of the camel riders asked a captured soldier. ¡°Mansur of Amoreb,¡± the soldier said, desperately avoiding the blade at his neck. ¡°Amoreb huh?¡± Utbah said, nodding. They probably already functionally own Wersh. Some ¡®assistance¡¯ they must be. Wersh. It must be useful. Where can I get extra support. I¡¯ll have to talk to Nichomachus, he has to create more friendly territory for me. Although I suppose I can. Utbah was deep in thought, but he would make the Church of Light tremble with every step. 24. A Puppet 24. A Puppet Ahmed sat in his throne room, approached by various emissaries from various foreign countries. Hitara and Uruq had already arrived telling him of his need to subsume himself in the larger Church of Light polities. ¡°Forces from the Raja states are on their way as well,¡± the Hitaran general said, ¡°we will crush these disbelievers.¡± ¡°Mansur of Amoreb was defeated, as was Omar,¡± Ahmed muttered in disbelief and shock. Many of his administrators were taking orders from foreign kings. My rivals are all governing my kingdom like I am not here. They tell my generals what to do. I am losing authority rapidly. ¡°Wersh is so far in your hands sire,¡± the Hitaran general said, ¡°I hear Amoreb is trying to take good care of it, they already sent another general in.¡± My border security. Ahmed thought. His facial expression was not much better, clearly nervous. Clearly showing his anxiety and his lack of control. ¡°Our spies report that much of the countryside is owned by this ¡®Yerek,¡¯ they shoot with crossbows at anything that comes to their fortified villages. They seemed to be supplied quite well, so sieging them doesn¡¯t seem to work. And there are mobile cavalry units as you know.¡± ¡°Your highness, Isa is still alive and in position, albeit bloodied, he has 6000 maybe 7000 troops.¡± An Uruq officer bowed in front of Ahmed. ¡°Our general Ali is close and will relieve any siege on him, 15,000 men should be enough, should it not?¡± ¡°Of course sir,¡± the advisor said, ¡°your highness, much of Polt is under the Republic¡¯s control.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not just going to eat all our food are you?¡± Ahmed said directly to the generals¡¯ lounging in his palace. There they sat on his satin sofas, chatting with the palace women and servants. No one paid the slightest bit of notice to him. I have Wersh and I have Polt, this bit of it, my son Saif. Maybe he can do something. What can he do? What can I do? If Polt falls, the nation of Poltu will no more, they will not reestablish it. They will rule my lands instead. ¡°These sons of bitches should be paying us tribute, instead they have us supporting some king who barely controls his throne room!¡± A Hitaran commander said far too loudly. He was right, but it was not his place to say such things. Ahmed looked down to the floor, his precious floor that was being traipsed by hooligans and people of far lower station to him. Without them, I am not a king, and yet with them, how can I call myself a king? ¡°General, how many men can we still muster?¡± Ahmed said to his forces, not his allies. ¡°15,000 in the city sir, what do you want to do with them?¡± ¡°Keep them for now,¡± Ahmed said, I need to conserve my forces. Thankfully I don¡¯t belong to any one nation, I can use the Hitaran¡¯s against the Jiran¡¯s, Uruq against those two. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Ahmed looked around and a bedraggled figure came in. ¡°Former emir of Gharb sir,¡± an advisor felt like he had to introduce the figure. The man prostrated before the king. ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure?¡± Ahmed laughed. Karim looked at his liege, the man he had conspired to overthrow merely a week ago. A man as powerless as him. Karim looked at the various foreign military dignitaries who paid absolutely no respect to Ahmed. ¡°I have returned from my humiliation,¡± Karim said, ¡°how are you going to deal with this situation?¡± He asked quietly. ¡°I am going to use them for what they¡¯re worth, and then I am going to wait for what is possible.¡± ¡°The Church of Light countries have indeed sent considerable armies, but Poltu doesn¡¯t exist¡­¡± Ahmed seethed. ¡°I will go to Wersh, and try to stabilise the situation for you,¡± ¡°The governor there has effectively become an Amoreb vassal, I don¡¯t even think he corresponds with you anymore,¡± Karim said. ¡°And you plan to get rid of him how?¡± Ahmed said. ¡°Right¡­¡± Karim said despondently. This fucker doesn¡¯t even have a plan. Both men thought of each other. There was a balcony overlooking the palace guard that Ahmed retreated to, his throne room he left a guard and Karim to guard. ¡°Don¡¯t let these generals claim it, I have enough problems,¡± Ahmed sighed. He went and looked at the plaza where his troops might parade especially for him. Instead there were Uruq troops doing drills, their light green flag with a golden flame littering the air above them. Do I even have a country anymore? While Ahmed dealt with existential issues, Isa had hunkered down, Utbah terrorised the east, a cavalry commander of the west named Gisco had Isa pinned to his fortress. Ali marched with 15,000 infantry, surmounting a peasant fortress on the way, burning the structure with Church of Light priests. Gisco saw the carnage from afar. Organising his now armoured cavalry and horse archers. He had sent his camels away, to the east, to a more able commander of the beasts. ¡°That is Uruq troops,¡± Gisco said, ¡°I am hardly a flag expert, I know the Uruq flag when I see it, they are going to relieve Isa.¡± Gisco sent 3000 horse archers to pelt the besieged before relieving the village that was being bombarded. Isa blew horns, and Uruq troops began playing drums to signal their troops to move into position. ¡°Look at this puppet kingdom, it doesn¡¯t even use its own troops anymore!¡± Gisco said. A tanned man with green eyes, he stood out as a commander. Riding his heavy cavalry he tried to hide his movements the best he could. His heavy cavalry appeared behind the Church of Light priests, intending to slaughter them, but the Uruq infantry protected them with spears. Missile cavalry disrupted them and whittled down the Church of Light priests who had only managed to torch some village. ¡°They¡¯re all dead sir,¡± a horse archer said. ¡°For this community of peasants, we will make an example of these Uruq savages. Leave none of them alive!¡± He had another 2000 horse archers who rode behind the Uruq line and began shooting. The spearmen were easy pickings. ¡°Withdraw the heavy cavalry!¡± He shouted. Ali the commander was hit in the head with an arrow, and the Uruq army intended to maintain cohesion with capable lieutenants, but the horse archers targeted them. ¡°Break them,¡± Mago said, clasping his hand in an appropriate motion. Horsemen clad in armour with axes and and maces finally smashed into the Uruq army shattering any semblance of morale. ¡°Hunt these men like geese!¡± A horse archer lieutenant said. Isa watched from his castle as the Uruq troops were hunted, and his relief army was scatted in the wind. He then looked to sea, to see the flag of Uruq flying on a warship. Mago watched the fleet dock, and the disembarking fleet streaming next to the castle and capturing the local coastal village largely without a fight. Mago had just delivered a slaughter of some 15,000 troops, but he watched just behind him, credible reports of some 20,000 happily replacing the men he had just beaten. Oi, oi, you can¡¯t be serious can you? Poltu might not really be a kingdom anymore, but this is absurd. Can Utbah and I really be expected to defeat these field armies? I beat one, and another one just appears me behind me. Nonetheless Mago continued picking off Ali¡¯s army, chasing it all the way to several coastal villages, advising his men to not get too carried away on the hunt, for while they were hunting stragglers they would become vulnerable. Retreating back into friendly territory, where Nichomachus had arranged for infinite supplies for their horses and for their men. More armies were coming and it became clear that the Church of Light was by no means beaten. 25. Surprise 25. Surprise Ahmed¡¯s spies, what little of them remained, relayed to him the defeat of the Uruq army, and the arrival of another. General Marwan¡¯s march, and the news that even armies from the Raja states were going to arrive within a month. 3000 of Gisco¡¯s camels had now come to Utbah, who used them to reinforce his army to 12,000. Fully watered and fed within the confines of Nichomachus¡¯s ingenious southern desert strategy, buying the loyalty of countless villages with endless food and water. Nichomachus inspired by his success in the south with Tolra and Kostor, the two cities founded on catering to the nomad population, he decided he would another, this time on the Poltu side of the border; the new city of Gatula had its own resident evangel to the God of Water and Farming, providing water and food to the local nomadic population. With so many converts, providing another evangel was not difficult at all, and provided even more loyalty to the various pastoralist peoples of the area. Horses, camels and livestock of all kinds were taken to this newfound oasis. Many oases further south having dried up, this new permanent one was a boon, the new faith grew rapidly and cemented loyalty, and with that came recruits for Gisco and Utbah. Four days had passed, and Ahmed heard the news that the governor of Wersh: Yezid, had in fact for all intents and purposes defected to Amoreb. Amoreb flags flew over his administrative centres, even the tribes that cemented Poltu control quickly switched allegiances to the neighbouring power. Ahmed read letter after letter of his spies, clasping his head in worry. A middle aged man, he had no idea what to do. Still other Church of Light generals traipsed around his palace halls. In the past sandwiched between two Church of Light countries, our conflicts happened but were marginal, one had to forge claims to territory, and now with this new threat, this God of Trade,my neighbours openly steal my lands. Nichomachus extended his operations to the Wersh region, but they were quite openly pro Amoreb, some men even trying to attack Nichomachus for offering gifts. To think they would resist bribes so forcefully. It would be Utbah with 12,000 men who would face Marwan¡¯s army from Jira. It was said that Jira was where the Church of Light emanated from, destroying Byz¡¯s control of the east, and slowly taxing the Church of Truth¡¯s followers into converting. Their army had come to assist the faithful in purging this infidel threat, their army was massive. Utbah sent emissaries to some of the tribes of Wersh, and they told them quite openly what their objection to Yerek was. ¡°You cannot beat the Church of Light, sure, you have had your successes, no doubt, but there are armies are boundless,¡± the tribal elder said, ¡°you will be beaten, and for what then would we rise up against them?¡± ¡°So if we beat them in battle you will join us?¡± Utbah said brazenly, brown eyes opening in excitement, ¡°I already have you know?¡± ¡°More will come, we are right here on the border, from Yasir and Isra they will send more armies, and more armies after that,¡± the elder explained, ¡°Wersh will be a protectorate of Amoreb.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Utbah could not talk to them anymore, he and his emissaries left the hostile villages and went to seek out battle, to seek out a settlement with these doubting tribes. To cover them in plate, and to get tired quickly, or to don no armour arrive and then be easy to kill. This question has no easy answer. Utbah thought. Marwan was marching along the coastal road, the hostile tribes sent messages to Wersh and to the Church of Light cause, but no one expected Utbah¡¯s actions. He arrived fully clad in armour, and his soldiers 12,000 would arrive from the desert some two days later, only the scouts were not covered in plate, patrolling on the flanks and ahead to find the enemy. ¡°They are not too far from here,¡± one of Utbah¡¯s spies informed him. ¡°We must paralyse their camel riders, that¡¯s what I¡¯m most afraid of. The rest we can chew down on, we will kill their momentum.¡± Utbah looked with his brown eyes at his army, a likewise swarthy group of people. Thank you Gisco for the camels, I will send you some horse when I get the chance. He grinned, thinking of the western commander. ¡°Our goal is to shatter them! Today Marwan discovers our resolve!¡± He said, clasping one fist in an open gauntleted fist. Camel knights cantered across the battlefield, enemy scouts whistled in desperation, but they were too late, Utbah had arrived. Taking the front out in an initial charge, the enemy camels were lightly armoured to Utbah¡¯s delight. The Church of Light priests were caught in the charge, and theability of spearmen to react was far, far too late. 2000 enemy camel riders were dead, the rest not faring too much better, their lances having nowhere to manoeuvre and were quickly swatted down by heavy maces that smashed the bones of the attacked. Marwan like Omar and Mansur before him tried to organise his infantry, unlike the earlier commanders he had retreated to his infantry he attempted to rally, but Utbah really was coming for the mobile units that could chase him. It would take 15 minutes, but Marwan¡¯s cavalry were totally destroyed, Utbah¡¯s men suffering 500 casualties. Some 3000 infantry had died. The rest were forming up, but Utbah smashed into them too. The result was a maw, for Utbah¡¯s men got the better of Marwan¡¯s but there were some casualties to compensate for charging into spears. Marwan had managed to retreat, but his army bereft of leadership was slaughtered. Perhaps 1000 men had managed to sneak away, Jira¡¯s black banners with golden flames littered the battlefield. Some men covered in the uniform, adorned in crimson, the black was blacker now, the dead were put out of their miseries by blade, and unfortunate ones were feasted on by the carrion bird. The squawking echoing across the battlefield. ¡°2000 dead sir,¡± one of Utbah¡¯s lieutenants said, ¡°given our adversaries.¡± ¡°We did well,¡± Utbah completed the man¡¯s sentence, he wore a pained look, ¡°but how many more victories can we win like that? If it is true what those tribesmen say, one day we will have no one left to win victory.¡± ¡°The Church of Light can¡¯t intimidate people with numbers alone,¡± his lieutenant assured him, ¡°the God of Trade had only three followers, and yet look at it now.¡± ¡°They could say the same could they not?¡± ¡°Their prophet killed people to establish his religion, our evangels fed them, traded with the world,¡± the man said, ¡°these two things are not the same.¡± ¡°We fight for him now,¡± Utbah said, ¡°so we are not too different from their prophet.¡± ¡°Humanity is cursed with violence,¡± the lieutenant said, ¡°we defend the Republic.¡± ¡°We fight for the Republic,¡± Utbah said, ¡°no doubt it brings great prosperity to our people. But it is a hefty burden.¡± ¡°Utbah, your name will be spoken with the likes of Mercurius, no doubt.¡± I wonder about that. Utbah flicked the blood off his mace. Then took his helmet off. Then he addressed his army. ¡°Today we have won a great victory! Jira has lost. The Church of Light can send all the armies they wish, we will crush them! We will secure Yerek. For the Republic! For the Three!¡± His words resonated with his men, who immediately cheered, their cries reverberating across the battlefield. They went southwards, and were immediately met with reinforcements. 26. Highwayman 26. Highwayman Utbah met with his reinforcements, some 4000 camel riders who praised the winner of so many victories. He rode to friendly villages just shy of the Wersh province, there friendly villagers gave supplies to the general and his troops. Although he had looted much of Marwan¡¯s baggage train, using the coin to purchase friends in the Wersh province. He decided to nonetheless locate himself in a place where he would be among friends. ¡°Are you going to march on Wersh?¡± The lieutenant bringing the reinforcements asked. ¡°Our task is to destroy mobile armies,¡± Utbah said, ¡°Yerek does not conquer, it liberates,¡± he said simply, ¡°that being said, every army that has passed by land has to come through Yerek.¡± The lieutenant simply stared at Utbah, the words were more of a verbal thought than an actual answer to the question. So will you? Came as a question to everyone. Utbah had no answer, if he marched and took Wersh, he would be in a hostile city, baggage trains would be necessary, and the Church of Light priests could ambush him with devastating fireballs. ¡°Their priests are warriors, ours are not,¡± Utbah said, ¡°taking a town not loyal to us, is going to be problematic for many reasons. Nichomachus is doing a good job, we should rest.¡± He did rest for about a week, hearing of reports from local villages of an another Amoreb army. The commander was a man named Ibrahim who had heard of the fates of other armies and was extremely cautious. Utbah noted the 2000 cavalry that screened in all directions and the infantry that was clumped up, ready to bounce into formation. ¡°Man did his homework!¡± A lieutenant joked. ¡°This means more people might die,¡± Utbah said turning seriously to his officer, ¡°but yes, he did.¡± Utbah chased down the cavalry, his heavily clad camel warriors ignoring the missiles that were flying in their direction before utterly crunching into the infantry. They were fanned out, Utbah had positioned his camel units one behind the other, so that the momentum of a charge was always felt, what cavalry did get charged upon was immediately torn and destroyed, the infantry down below were smashed, their spears smashed into harmless sticks, the soldiers stomped by Utbah¡¯s elite unit. Utbah proceeded to annihilate the enemy infantry to a man, the cavalry scattered. The light blue flags of Amoreb standing as a testament to Utbah¡¯s might, as they were manned by no one, fluttering in the wind. ¡°Reconstitute!¡± Utbah shouted. They did so, for in the distance, an army of Hitara could be seen. 10,000 horse charged into 13,500 camels to a predictable result. Utbah utterly crushed them. The horses were scared of the camels, but also the more heavily clad units would beat weaker units. Again Utbah flicked blood off his mace. Looking before him, and sighing. He was left with 12,500, but his martial prowess scared all. The Republic was concerned Utbah would become a powerbroker of his own, with his own interests rather than that of the common good of Yerek. Nonetheless, no actions were taken against him, offering him all the logistical support he needed, but his fearsome reputation had many wondering what he would become. The Church of Light made scare stories, made him out to be a butcher, and his name began eliciting excited acclamations, the man who had crushed five armies and seemed to be just getting started. The road from Wersh to Polt was littered with the dead, albeit locals did try and tidy the carnage left behind. Utbah yet again looted the pay of the dead, he found a baggage train not far behind, dedicating some local villagers to taking the coins and depositing them for him. In the east, in the Wersh province he hired some 2000 mercenaries, his fame alone making local villages give him better treatment. Nichomachus exploited the changing feelings and began bribing the locals with food and water in the true God of Trade style. Villages were inundated with goods, and the Wersh province¡¯s hinterlands became not so loyal to the Church of Light. Gatula¡¯s success had inspired southern villages especially to openly fly the tricolour of the Republic, and suddenly Utbah had a base of operations even closer to Amoreb.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The news that the Republic dreaded, four days after stunning victories, 50,000 troops under the command of Lir had arrived. There a white flag with a golden flame was paraded by soldiers. Theymarched on Wersh city, stunning the locals into a silenced awe. ¡°Surely the Republic can¡¯t beat this one¡­¡± a man whispered. The Republic is finished now. Was a thought many had. Utbah took it as a challenge, even the newly converted tribes now flew the flag of Amoreb and shooed the camel riders out of their villages. Utbah heard they had 20,000 cavalry, and 30,000 infantry, a formidable force on any day. Utbah went to a fortified village on the coastal road, fortified and armed with crossbowmen who waited the inevitable confrontation with the Lir army. 500 crossbowmen waited in their positions, while the enormous army came to the village that blocked their path. Relatively close to Wersh, it was a new addition to Yerek. Nichomachus, Mercurius and Salutius teleported some 1000 men into the settlement, beefing the numbers up to 1500, making murder holes in towers to stop the advance of such a monstrous army. The Lir cavalry fanned out, and their infantry charged the positions, from north, east and west, attempting to take the town¡¯s main entrances. The evangels to the God of Trade had created a strong garrison, who fired with great enthusiasm at the bodies of men approaching. Fire smashed into the towers by 500 Church of Light priests, the firepower causing the buildings to become embers. Cavalry were crushed by heavy camel riders; infantry stormed the fortifications. Their white banners soon seen over every building as they attempted to storm the stairwells. Utbah had destroyed the charges to the southern entrance of the town, opting to use the smokescreen to advance from the east into the Lir lines. Lir would not see him, until he appeared right under their noses. In normal circumstances, Lir troops could indeed flank these heavily clad beasts, but they plunged deep into the Lir lines, the general who was supposed to be observing the events was taken out in a swing of Utbah¡¯s mace. Fireballs began firing on their own troops, such deviousness was unprecedented, but it had its effect. Nonetheless Utbah continued pressing on, his mace hitting target after target after target. Utbah¡¯s men followed their commander¡¯s example, jumping into death. Fire killed many, Lir iron killed many more. The fortified crossbowmen were killed to a man, but Utbah fought a brave and stunning battle, having taken out the Lir commander out, the Lir army lost heart in many places. Lir cavalry had been the first to run, the infantry were not so lucky. Utbah leaped over burning carcasses, the camels snorted over the smoke, Utbah camel was killed and he fell to the floor, groaning as he did so. He rolled up and began hacking at the infantry all around him. His men continued their relentless assault, officer after officer fell, and with lack of information, the Lir army routed en-masse, this was then followed by the camels chasing them down. Utbah clubbed Lir soldier after Lir soldier, after many hours of relentless pursuit, Utbah gave up. He had been reduced to an army of merely 1500, however he had annihilated 10,000 cavalry and 25,000 infantry, bringing his fame Utbah to legendary levels. He was not jubilant, looking at the bloody sight with shock. Victory at such a price, is not victory at all. This is atrocious. I might as well die. He flicked the blood off his mace, and looked at the sight of the dead in the burning village. Bursting into tears. The smoke hid the commander, the dark battlefield descended into the darkness of night, where Utbah could assume the position of commander once again. 27. Right Under Their Noses 27. Right Under Their Noses Utbah¡¯s victory over Lir reverberated around the entire Church of Light world. Bribes had convinced many to leave the Church of Light, it had destroyed the Moru Kingdom, but it had not so thoroughly shaken the resolve of the fighters facing Yerek. Gisco on the western front had 10,000 horse archers, and 2000 heavy cavalry. He pelted the Uruq army, but they kept the fortress supplied, and shot fireballs that would occasionally hit scores of his cavalry. He camped around Isa¡¯s position, the Uruq army also trying to swat him away. ¡°Utbah seriously destroyed that many armies?¡± Gisco said, ¡°what an impressive guy, I am too cautious for that kind of thing.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course, he charged heavy cavalry into the jaws of death, it¡¯s a guaranteed way to have a bad day, he¡¯s lucky to be alive,¡± Gisco said, ¡°well I suppose everyone is to a certain extent.¡± Gisco wandered around, riding his horse around the green pastures. ¡°Let Isa venture out!¡± Gisco ordered. Whistles were heard, and the horse archers cantered away from the fort that Isa had so diligently captured. The Uruq commander had dreams of taking Gharb and restoring the borders of Poltu. Nonetheless his 20,000 infantry army were poor at chasing mobile cavalry. ¡°Isa, we should take Gharb!¡± The Uruq commander advised. ¡°Take Gharb, I am currently being harassed by a cavalryman and his horse archers, do something about them,¡± Isa said. ¡°Your kingdom is pathetic, this would never happen in Uruq.¡± ¡°Would it now?¡± Isa asked, his blue eyes haunting the Uruq commander. They waited until night before the Uruq army marched out of the fortification and besieged Gharb. The miscalculation was bewildering to Gisco, who didn¡¯t believe it at first. ¡°Is someone trying to fool me?¡± Gisco said, ¡°what do you mean an Uruq commander is besieging Gharb, is he mentally challenged?¡± There in the dark, the city shot crossbow bolts and strafing ballista fire straight through the offending army. The garrison was more confused than Gisco, but they nonetheless took the threat seriously. Gisco dithered until morning, not realising that it was in fact real. Uruq had seized a portion of Gharb¡¯s wall. Raising their flag over one of the battlements, their relentless assault having succeeded. In that moment where they thought they had outsmarted Gisco, he arrived, his 10,000 horse archers shooting into the backs of the men, 2000 heavy cavalry slaughtering the commander¡¯s retinue, and the commander, taking his baggage train. There Gisco at the bottom, made a kiss gesture to the Uruq army.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Enjoy!¡± 2000 Uruq soldiers were paraded in front of Gharb¡¯s citizenry, their victory so complete that Gisco didn¡¯t even bother to show up to parade for it. Instead he now swivelled his march toward Isa. At night, with 3000 crossbowmen from the locale Gisco stormed the keep, sniping the guards from down below with his best marksmen before slowly manning the walls and shooting down at Isa¡¯s men, horse archers armed with thousands of arrows, pelted the beleaguered garrison in their sleep. The tower had been cleared in the dead of night and shot down throughout the morning, until a few stragglers put their hands in the air and surrendered. Isa put up his hands, his despair would soon be felt by his king. Gisco rode up to the captured general, many of his men having bolts and arrows stuck in them. ¡°I see you¡¯re not having a good night huh?¡± Gisco said. ¡°Fuck you pagan scum!¡± Isa said spitting at his feet. Gisco shrugged. ¡°I am not Utbah, I did things a little bit more intelligently, nonetheless I don¡¯t think Poltu can threaten us anymore.¡± Another tremor of an earthquake reverberated through the Poltu kingdom. Ahmed didn¡¯t know why but he awoke from his slumber to look at the city before him. The great city of Polt, garrisoned by many nations was marched upon by the crossbowmen, they took out the guards, they stormed the harbour, aided by local allies, tore down the Poltu crimson flags and marched on the royal palace. The walls were taken over by crossbowmen who began shooting at the Hitaran and Uruq garrison. The fleet was burnt in the harbour by local saboteurs and local allies began rounding up the Church of Light soldiers in the harbour. From the inner harbour, the virus spread into the inner sanctum of the royal palace gardens. Yerek flags were fluttering over the harbour, and the fleet of the allied nations illuminated the night sky. ¡°My god¡­¡± Ahmed said, ¡°by god, what am I witnessing?¡± ¡°We have to get out of here!¡± Karim said, ¡°your kingdom is crumbling.¡± ¡°My kingdom! No, not even those backstabbing so called ¡®allies¡¯ are surviving this.¡± Ahmed managed his 15,000 troops, but he found out he barely had 1000 left. Many had surrendered, the coup was so breathtakingly executed, secret police who had been patrolling the Poltu side of the city tied up with rope, and generals likewise brought before the new Republican administration. The shouts and cries of the Republic forces were heard, the royal gatehouse being taken, with Ahmed leading his 1000 men to break out. In all the chaos and confusion, one would have expected Ahmed to flee, but to his credit he led his men to face the crossbowmen, inflicting losses on them, before retreating back to the palace. 2000 Uruq archers aided in him in turning the palace grounds into a fortress. Despite his most valiant efforts, night would turn to day, and after 5000 crossbowmen casualties, the fortress was surmounted and the flag of Yerek flew over the palace for all the city to see. A symbolic victory, Ahmed¡¯s corpse was dragged around the city. ¡°Your king is dead!¡± Yerek crossbowmen shouted, ¡°what was once our king is no more!¡± Gisco marched in from the west intending to help in the victory, instead he witnessed the stunning defeat of so many coalition forces. 30,000 Uruq and Hitaran forces captured and tied up, their ships mere husks in the bottom of the harbour. The city celebrated the presumed end of the monarchy; but still the war would continue. 28. Reeling 28. Reeling The fall of the Poltu kingdom was felt everywhere. The Fall of Moru was one thing, and many people thought of it as a fluke, but with the Utbah devastating Church of Light armies, Ahmed being killed and dragged around, Church of Light politicians discussed the future. Amoreb fortified Wersh with an army of archers and built towers around the city, openly fearing for the future of their state. ¡°King Hasan wishes to discuss our containment strategy, with Ahmed falling, the future of the Church of Light is in containing the threat of this so called Yerek,¡± a general of Amoreb said. ¡°The large populations of the Raja states would be useful in our fight against these heathens, with the successful subjugation of their subcontinent we could use their vast manpower to bleed Yerek dry,¡± a Lir representative said. King Hasan smacked the marble table in front of him, demanding attention from the foreign dignitaries, sitting in a gazebo, he was nonetheless stressed despite the lovely scenery surrounding him. ¡°Amoreb needs financial support, fortifying our borders is expensive, and Yerek will try probe our defences. We need support that Poltu got too late.¡± ¡°They seized the royal treasury of Poltu as well,¡± some Amoreb officials said, heads facing downwards. ¡°We are dealing with a formidable foe, our underestimation of these infidels has been our undoing, we must launch a true war on them. The Raja states, all of them must send expeditionary forces to aid in the conquest of Yerek. Perhaps it is time to think of unifying them all.¡± ¡°Perhaps the entire Church of light world needs one nation,¡± a Jiran nodded affirmatively. The various nations¡¯ representatives were hesitant at the suggestion, for who would give up power. ¡°Sir, these are reports that Uruq annexed parts of Balna, they openly disrespect a sovereign Church of Light country, they took Bethyr, they took Busur, and they march their troops in the mountains, I hear they also marched into Byz,¡± the messenger said. Hasan looked at all the other dignitaries, seeing a notable absence of Uruq people. ¡°Those slimy sons of bitches!¡± Hasan shouted, ¡°they play empire while members of the community are being threatened!¡± Jiran and Hitaran dignitaries agreed with Hasan, joining in the chorus of shouts. Amoreb was furious at the lack of support. The great city of Polt was quiet after such a momentous night, the tricolour flag flew over many buildings, evidence of battle everywhere. Thousands had died, and funerals for the fallen even for the enemy fallen were taking place. The King¡¯s son had fled, Saif had fled to Hitara, hoping for safe exile. Khalid of Moru had sailed there as well the two of if they have ever chanced upon the other having a lot to talk about. Polt had free pretzels, free wine, free bread of all kinds, peaches, plums, persimmons, pears, bananas and coffee in abundance. An evangel to the God of Water and Farming was now producing water and food for the city, producing such an abundance that a festival to commemorate the day was held. Even Ahmed who had been reviled was given a burial place, many of his secret police disappearing and heading to Wersh and beyond. There were 16 evangels to Water and Agriculture, and only 5 to the God of Trade, another member had been created, not known to the others, who would cause strife one day; Mercurius, Nichomachus, Salutius, Mardonius, Zelra and now a sixth by the name of Syphax. A Locus fishermen, he had become enamoured with the revolution of Yerek, but he had his own designs. The God of Trade could remove the power from his evangel if he so desired, but Syphax put honour to the God of Trade, he did not betray the deity and the God of Trade could feel it in his heart, but he was not loyal to Yerek. Polt began the construction of a temple to the God of Trade, Water and Farming, Qar Sara marble made the foundations of a most impressive structure. So much Trade Points/God Power was being produced across Yerek, but it nonetheless didn¡¯t hurt to invest in the temples. Temples were being built in Tolra to the far west and Kostor near what was once a border, and the new pastoralist settlement of Gatula. The New nation of Yerek was more economically powerful than any of its neighbours, and with economic power, the power of the army had invariably ballooned. The southern pastoralist cities attracted many people seeking work, large flocks of pastoralists brought their herds to be fed, happy to have a permanent base that could and would not disappear with overuse.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Utbah¡¯s work was legendary, Amoreb trembled, their generals posted scouts constantly trying to survey the situation. Utbah retreated from his stunning victory, traipsing back to his supply bases near the province of Wersh. He was stunned to find 15,000 tribesmen on the backs of camels already rallying to him, catching him on the way. Had they been enemies, he would have been done for, instead he could press on with his attack. They already had the tricolour of Yerek, hailing him and wishing him the best. ¡°We have heard of your success! Polt has fallen! Isa was beaten! Ahmed is dead. Yerek lives and ¡®the three¡¯ has great talents,¡± the man said, fist in hand in a bow. ¡°For sure,¡± Utbah said, with a hoarse voice, ¡°Yerek indeed lives.¡± ¡°We must use the momentum,¡± the tribesman said, ¡°we are sorry for doubting you.¡± Is this a ruse? Am I going to get killed now? Utbah thought, scanning the faces of the tribesmen to pick up any trace of deceit. He questioned himself several times, but in the end, he followed the momentum and marched on Yerek. The garrison in question, had a revolt on their hands, and Utbah entered a city thanks to the rioters. It was a tremendous coup, after so many tremendous coups. The wooden palisades of Wersh burst open, and the citizenry threw rocks at the Amoreb troops. Amoreb troops fled from the Eastern gates, the towers now manned by Yerek sympathisers who brandished crossbows. ¡°Did Nichomachus get here?¡± ¡°We bought these crossbows ourselves!¡± One man said, ¡°glory to Yerek! Glory to Utbah.¡± Goodness me, I have something approaching a cult, a fan-club at the very least. The reality was the great victory against Amoreb had switched opinions, even if it was only to join the mighty. Utbah spent the next few days capturing forts, aided by three evangels who quickly turned the countryside into Yerek friendly villages. Isra and Yasir were staffed with massive garrisons, until King Hasan had enough and sent emissaries to Utbah. ¡°In the name of our glorious prophet and the Church of Light we wish peace with you disbelievers,¡± Hasan¡¯s emissary began. ¡°That is acceptable,¡± Utbah said, ¡°to me.¡± The emissaries almost fell down at the response, the twist making them all look at each other. ¡°To you?¡± The emissary repeated in consternation. What the fuck does that mean? The emissaries wore shrouds to cover their faces from the elements, absolutely baffled by Utbah¡¯s response. ¡°I am not a king,¡± Utbah explained, ¡°I do not make policy for the Yerek Republic.¡± Nichomachus, Mercurius and Salutius, even Mardonius soon appeared near the border at the request of Utbah who somehow got Nichomachus¡¯s attention. ¡°A peace?¡± Mercurius said, ¡°fine, a peace is fine, I guess.¡± We must prepare for future war. Amoreb¡¯s proposal was accepted, Yerek settling on fortifying their domains rather than engaging in needless war. The year of 570 was drawing near to autumn and the world had changed. Yerek forced the Church of Light into accepting they were legitimate at the cost of two states being annexed. Nonetheless the Church of Light were obviously not happy about the situation, but instability in several states over the defeats forced them into a temporary truce. Over the coming days and weeks other Church of Light countries likewise signed peace treaties. The fabled Raja state army never arrived, perhaps spooked by the great defeat of the Lir. Peace was won. 29. The Rogue 29. The Rogue The God of Trade¡¯s evangels got to trading with their newfound peace, using the respite to buy more marble from Hitara, selling a fortune of wood. The ¡®peace of Utbah¡¯ created stability. Gisco settled in Gatula, hiring more horse archers for the wars to come, but otherwise negotiated with southern tribes migrating northwards. Yerek had never been stronger, it began minting it¡¯s own coins, although it now had a great supply of Poltu and Moru coins which were both legal tender. The salt flats of Gharb and Polt were given to the workers, giving it to some oligarch was politically risky, and keeping them in control of the state was riskier. The five evangels to the God of Trade began slowly purchasing other salt flats from other oligarchs and doing the same thing; such actions earned respect among the governed. Taxes were low to non existent, and various grown food was distributed, producing a lush land that could afford to produce many families. Delegations from the Church of Truth country of Lori and the Church of Order state Peria came to pay their respects to their new southern neighbour. Lori¡¯s King Nathaniel was a tall blonde man, he stepped in the harbour of Moru city. Peering one way and then the other. ¡°So this is ¡®Yerek,¡¯ how quaint!¡± he bellowed in laughter. The Lori delegation had a few bodyguards, but Moru city was remarkably safe. With the free food and even free wine and beer, there were few vagrants to bother the king, and people looked mostly disinterested. He was not greeted by anyone and simply went into a bar where he drank beer and wine and had a meal, listening to local conversations. ¡°War is over and Yerek won, to think the God Powers of Trade could do such a thing,¡± a man said. ¡°Is Mercurius not being too cautious and not spreading the faith.¡± ¡°You want more war?¡± A woman said, ¡°we will defend what we have and prepare for the next war, but we shouldn¡¯t actively look for one.¡± This is sort of opinion bubbled around. The more extreme interventionists versus the more cautious people who wished to simply exist in peace. ¡°You might have beaten the Church of Light once, but they will seek revenge,¡± Nathaniel said loudly, ¡°you know that right?¡± ¡°We are aware,¡± the bar owner said, ¡°would you like another drink sir?¡± He threw a golden Lori coin, and the bar owner raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips in mirth. ¡°Thank you,¡± the man said, ¡°business is good.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The wooden furnishes polished to a shine, Nathaniel could see that people were relaxed. ¡°So the war has been won?¡± Nathaniel asked. ¡°It has, it has, thankfully. Less people will die,¡± the bar owner said, ¡°war is a terrible thing.¡± ¡°It sure is,¡± Nathaniel said. They will come back and with a vengeance. Peria¡¯s delegation was more formal and boring, they sent a ship to Halab and promised peace for ten years, the Halab citizenry somehow got Mercurius¡¯s attention who promised the ten year peace and possibly more and that was that. The ship left, and the state of Yerek was left to exist. Another evangel was added to the roster, a man named Symachus, a man who had ginger hair and green eyes. He aided in the supplying of various remote villages, the vital work of an evangel to the God of Trade and to the state of Yerek. And so there were six known evangels, Zelra, Nichomachus, Symachus, Mardonius and Salutius and the original Mercurius. Life was peaceful and time slipped by. Autumn of 570, a man with his own ambitions based himself in the Balnan mountains. Spendius a man with black hair and green blue eyes, a secret seventh evangel to the God of Trade. Yerek was now a peaceful oasis, stable and prosperous but did not wish more bloodshed after such a tumultuous war. In the Balnan mountains, a Balnan by ethnicity he returned to the crime scene, the destruction of the first temple. Looking at the ruptured marble, the remnants of what once was. Mercurius¡¯s very limited return to Balna was undone by even the first wave of Uruq raiders. Uruq had apparently installed a client king in Balna and destroyed the Church of Order uprising in the north and made the Church of Truth loyalists in the kingdom be silent, demanding even more taxes. King Balar had been killed and now King Selim effectively a puppet of Uruq ruled. Another peace was signed in the meantime between the Church of Order nations and the Church of Light who had enough of conflict for a while. Spendius bided his time, buying iron from Balna and selling it to the Hunur for small margins. He then did a much bolder thing, he openly preached that the God of Trade would rule. It was blasphemous and it was insane. Local tribes openly spat at him, there the medium height man was spotted by Uruq soldiers who immediately charged at him. ¡°An agent of Yerek!¡± A soldier shouted. ¡°I proclaim a new nation!¡± He said, ¡°the nation of Mendek will live now!¡± The soldiers pursued Spendius and he appeared behind them and stabbed them with a blade, disappearing to target each one individually. The local citizenry were bewildered, seeing three dead Uruq troops. Spendius looted their armour and took their Uruq coins before selling the bloody armour sets in a Byz market. He took the knives of the soldiers and used them as impromptu throwing knives. I will get my country back. No. I will create it. The Church of Light will pay for their crimes. Yerek can do what they want, I have no bad blood with them, but they have not done enough. Spendius spent the night in a cave, while his co-religionists strengthened their Republic, working tirelessly to make sure that local hamlets and villages had supplies. The evangels to the God of Water and Farming meant that a lot of people became redundant seeking to live in the cities, cutting and threshing the crops that were grown by evangels. Spendius would live quite a different life. An outlaw, a rogue was on the outskirts of Balna, in total enemy territory, while Yerek slept and ate, confident in their crossbows and their cavalry armies. A cave with moss, with the occasional bats overlooking some Balnan settlement. Spendius was determined to make his impact. He saw the flickering lamps, the hubbub of human activity. 30. Gathering 30. Gathering Spendius arose the next morning and bothered the village he just raided. The citizenry were cautious, but Spendius was crazy. ¡°The God of Trade has come and will not be denied! The era of the Church of Light has ended!¡± He said. The usual subtleties of Mercurius were not followed, local Uruq guards attempted to arrest him, and he threw knives into their faces. When they charged him, a clattering of bells heard he disappeared and slowly assassinated the guards would be captors. He looted the armour and weapons and sold them in the puppet regime of Byz. They did not know what he was, simply eyeing him with a nod. Albeit the blood on the armour was suspicious. He returned to the village and entered the tavern. ¡°Mendek will overthrow Balna! It will overthrow all kingdoms that are enemies to the God of Trade.¡± When a man threw a knife at Spendius he appeared in front and punched him in the stomach. Perhaps that was a fateful mercy, for this man was a mercenary. ¡°Right?¡± The man said coughing, ¡°are you from Yerek?¡± ¡°Mendek!¡± Spendius shouted, ¡°I am forming my own country!¡± ¡°Your own country?¡± Others¡¯ whispered in consternation. The wooden bar had creaky planks of wood and had a lot of stale ale. ¡°Where is the outlaw?¡± A soldier said as he came in. The barman pointed into the empty air, as Spendius stabbed the three soldiers dead. Again he stripped the soldiers of their armour and weaponry, this time selling it to the Hunur. In the steppe he made the same bold and loud proclamations of his faith. Some laughed, thinking he was a lunatic, but a Church of Light priest shot fireballs at him and demanded some people arrest him. Spendius teleported and gutted the Church of Light priest before uttering: ¡°Accept my coin and be mercenaries in my employ, or face his fate!¡± He said. One chose to fight him, charging forwards before a knife hit him square in the face, collapsing immediately. ¡°Is this what Yerek sends, you are like a criminal?¡± ¡°I want revenge,¡± Spendius said, ¡°I am founding my own nation of Mendek, and I need mercenaries.¡± ¡°Your own mercenaries?¡± The notable said, ¡°well you can fight I grant you that. But you are not a king.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Spendius retreated, instead locating the northern Balnan nobles who had burnt the temple all that time ago. There in the square of a small town he proclaimed the truth of the God of Trade. Again soldiers tried to arrest him, and again he murdered them, quite efficiently. He had already plundered some 50 gold coins, allowing him to hire 20 crossbowmen from the local tavern. ¡°A nation?¡± They repeated, ¡°well whatever, thank you for the gold.¡± Spendius was extremely serious, again he preached, and again he waited for the inevitable consequences of his preaching. Church of Light priests shot fireballs and he gutted them, for all to see. ¡°The God of Trade is true, and Mendek will rule here. The nation of Mendek will be born in Balna, it shall conquer!¡± He shouted. When someone shot an arrow he blipped to behind the archer, smacking the bow to the floor. The count organised his retinue but the count was immediately beset with a furious Spendius. ¡°That is the rogue! The one with the wild eyes and crazy spiky hair, the nose that comes straight down from his forehead! That is the rogue!¡± ¡°Did you destroy the temple?¡± ¡°¡®The¡¯ temple, ah this is a pagan too! That damn cult,¡± the count said. ¡°Answer me!¡± Spendius said, full in fury. ¡°I did pagan, what are you going to do about it?¡± Spendius threw a knife into the man¡¯s head, stabbed him through the chest, before returning back to the vantage he was at before. Again people tried to kill Spendius he bested them. The retinue tried to avenge their lord, but Spendius personally hunted them down. 100 soldiers of the count were defeated. Such grisly killing made Spendius the de facto lord. A rebel lord who had not earned the loyalty of the governed at all. He consulted a local fabric maker for a flag. A golden flag with a black weighing scale, a sword on one side, and coins on the other, a complex design but nonetheless iconic. Spendius took his loot and sold it in Hunur markets, coming back with silver and gold. ¡°The God of Trade needs a temple!¡± He proclaimed to huddled crowds, a little bit terrified of him, ¡°Yerek merely wants peace, Mendek will drive the Church of Light out from Balna, it will take the whole continent. Uruq will fall. Nothing will stand in our way now!¡± He hired 20 spearmen, confused as to the nature of the new system, providing them with looted coin before heading to the next village. ¡°Come on!¡± He shouted. He found royal guards of Balna and his defiance of their authority astounded them. ¡°The God of Trade rules here now!¡± He said openly and defiantly. ¡°What is this blasphemy! Who the fuck are you?¡± Spendius was chased by the cavalry, but he killed them, teleporting around finishing the lot of them off. ¡°Evangel Spendius, aren¡¯t you a little too crazy with your spending of God Power. Get more followers soon. Or I will revoke your privileges.¡± ¡°Of course god,¡± he said aloud. He sold the armour and swords, and horses to various Hunur and Byz merchants, even some Perian merchants. Coming back with 400 gold. He took a neighbouring village without a fight, intimidated by his flag and his spearmen. He took fort after fort, hiring local mercenaries that guarded his new domain. A small town, and a few villages and a fort. He added something to the God of Trade¡¯s God Power, taking small villages and alerting all three polities of this rogue presence. It would be evening, when a small detachment of 200 soldiers sent from nearby lords came to investigate the strange rumours. Strange yellow flags with weighing scales fluttered over local forts. Spendius had the small town of Othar under his control. Soldiers came searching for him from the central authorities, and again he confronted them. His crossbowmen were too few to contain the threat, but Spendius killed the commander and his retinue of 20 horsemen, the infantry running away in fright. Selling the horses and armour, and pocketing their gold. A looter had been born. Some 200 gold coins, the nation of Mendek had funds for other operations. 31. A New Nation 31. A New Nation Spendius¡¯s actions had many local actors questioning the intent and the reasoning. It was similar to Yerek, but Yerek was not so bloody, not so callous, and was far more cautious in its planning. The voice was reported to be a Balnan by accent, and the man was hopping around taking loot and funding small parties of men. The problem was not big enough for Selim the new King of Balna to have heard of it, but some of the marcher-lords had, and were sending men to do something about it. Local Hunur tribes also wondered about this new threat. ¡°Is the rumour about this new ¡®Mendek¡¯ true? Is this not some Yerek psi-ops?¡± One Hunur asked another, ¡°who in their right minds would take over a town like that?¡± ¡°He said that he wanted to spread his religion,¡± a Hunur rider said, ¡°that sounds like Mercurius and Yerek. But they did it differently. Very differently.¡± Spendius would surprise the riders by appearing before them and immediately started spouting things that they had heard about in the rumours. ¡°I want Hunur riders in my army!¡± He said, ¡°the God of Trade requires the mobility and flexibility of your people.¡± ¡°Get away scum,¡± the older rider said. Spendius did not needlessly shed blood, instead going to a more appropriate place, he went to the local clan leader and immediately began spouting his diatribes about the Church of Light. ¡°Ah Mendek,¡± the clan leader said, ¡°we are the Uzuri, we destroyed that temple, but! But!¡± Spendius looked at the bald clan leader who wished him to not kill him so. ¡°Go on state your terms old man,¡± Spendius said. The clan leader was merely fronting. Eyeing his guards who were to kill the local troublemaker. ¡°I will submit our clan to your religion and country if you help me claim the title of supreme chief of the Hunur.¡± Mere moments later, Hunur bodyguards attempted to arrest Spendius. Realising the ruse he teleported behind the guards, killed them quickly and then the clan leader. Spendius proclaimed himself ruler of the Uzuri. Confused clan members gathering around to see the usurper lift a bloody knife. ¡°Even if he said it as a ruse, I choose to make good your former clan leader¡¯s promise. I as your clan leader will extend the rule of Mendek to the whole of Hunur!¡± Spendius gathered 200 warriors, making the artisans produce his flag, and having the audacity to ride around absorbing local clans. Taking out their clan leaders, and turfing out the Church of Light. He went back to Othar finding the situation to be calm, before immediately blipping back to his riders. ¡°Lord,¡± one man said, half bowing, ¡°you have taken out the Primi and Secundi clans but they are comparatively small, the Ostro clan is the largest in the area, and if you are serious about trying to unite Hunur under your rule, you should take it!¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Of course,¡± Spendius said, ¡°of course I am serious.¡± He bribed his fighters well, hiring 500 mercenary Hunur riders who quickly joined his army, making a total of 700 riding them to take Uruq settlements. News had apparently travelled fast, because Uruq was sending a 5000 man army to probe the border. 1000 horsemen and 4000 infantry they were led by a junior officer, it was a big army, but not a generals army. Spendius decided to engage anyway, the spoils of war too enticing for him. He assassinated the commander, then proceeded to savage the cavalry. Hitting one man after another, tossing spear and knife into a terrified force of cavalry, as he appeared and disappeared, killing a lieutenant and then another. The Church of Light priests attempted to send fireballs his way, but were instead greeted with knives in their stomachs. The night made the whole situation even more confusing. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Endlessly repeated as the soldiers were hitting each other. Spendius killed so many horsemen that the cavalry outright routed, in the madness, his Hunur force chased the routing and confused force of Uruq all the way into Uruq territory, annihilating it with arrows and and then sabres. He collected the gold and silver, selling the weapons in Hunur markets before quickly returning to his forces. He collected 1000 gold coins from the dead, and earned another 500 from the selling of weapons. He gave the loot to his troops, who watched as the madman marched on the important citadel of Hisar. He marched straight in without a fight, the guards not really understanding. He bought 1000 spearmen mercenaries with his gold and seized the city. He teleported the governor all the way to the other end of Uruq in Hatun, tired of killing for the day. Returning to steal the governor¡¯s gold and valuables. There was 5000 Uruq gold, which he promptly distributed asking that the populace convert to the God of Trade. His yellow banners were put on the capitol, put on the city walls, Uruq soldiers asked to change allegiance or leave. There was not much of a battle, but an orderly withdrawal of thousands of Uruq soldiers. In the night time confusion the Uruq withdrawal seemed logical, but in reality a much larger force had surrendered a city of 30,000 to a band of 700 without much of a fight. Spendius slept in his cave, safe of human plots. Taking the north eastern citadel of Hisar was a feat in and of itself, and with the funds he had there he promptly raised another 1000 Uruq style cavalry and rode them off to his Uzuri clan allies. Spendius spent some time trying to recruit the mountain tribes between Uruq and Balna, his fame had travelled somewhat, and some locals switched sides, mainly to avoid his wrath. Church of Light priests were kicked out and Spendius blipped around his territories, policing and fighting enemies. He noticed an army of 2000 coming down from the mountains toward his town of Othar, and he confronted them with 200 mercenary spearmen. Again he appeared before the commander, assassinated him, and this time scared his men into surrender. ¡°If you don¡¯t surrender, I will individually hunt you all down!¡± He screamed, ¡°don¡¯t try me!¡± It worked, and they surrendered, instead surrendering to him, he sent them back up the Balnan mountains with his own banners, taking village after village, town after town. When a Church of Light priest tried to burn his minions, he killed them, and continued the process. He went about stealing the Church of Light¡¯s gold from their church vaults, using it to bolster his forces. Everyone know knew about the upstart lord and this new regime of ¡®Mendek.¡¯ Night fell and Balna and Uruq found out about the shocking news of Hisar falling to some upstart, and immediately began organising their troops for fighting. A new war was brewing, and this time, Mercurius had nothing to do with it, but perhaps in a perverse way he had. Spendius used his time recruiting mountain tribe after mountain tribe, perhaps levying 5000 light spearmen. If I take the city of Bethyr, I will control both ends of the mountain. And a hefty amount of iron and who knows what other kind of minerals. And people, a lot of people. A greedy man, with greedy plans. He had already begun a process that was hard to escape from, the clutches of a bloody war was about to begin, and without a lot of the bribery of Yerek. 32. Reactions 32. Reactions Mercurius, Mardonius and Salutius recieved the news of the rogue evangel, a man who had founded his own state. Immediately the other God of Trade Evangels were convened. ¡°Yerek is founded on bribery, not on violence, we made the people wealthy and they revolted and we won a war yes, but we did not do what this man is doing!¡± Mercurius shouted in fury, ¡°he¡¯s making a mockery of the God of Trade.¡± Salutius started talking with the God of Trade in his head. ¡°Why are you not stripping that imposter¡¯s God Powers? Yerek is put in danger because of you.¡± ¡°He evangelises my religion, ok he does it differently, but that¡¯s his choice,¡± the God of Trade said simply. ¡°His choice?¡± Mercurius and Mardonius repeated at the same time, completely dumbfounded. Nichomachus shook his head in disgust at what was, worried for the future. They sat in Moru city, all of them looking at each other. Sitting on a round table, discussing policy of the state. ¡°Should one of us spy on him?¡± Symachus asked. ¡°If it¡¯s one of us, it should be you,¡± Mardonius said to Symachus, ¡°you are the least known evangel.¡± The ginger looked at the old man with a knowing look, nodding. ¡°King Balar has been overthrown,¡± Mercurius whispered, receiving a piece of paper that informed him of the fact, ¡°a man who converted willingly to the Church of Light, get¡¯s the floor taken out from him and gets killed.¡± ¡°His regime ultimately destroyed the first temple,¡± Salutius said, ¡°I have no pity for him, but yes, King Selim is a puppet of Uruq. Now we have to deal with this Mendek.¡± Mercurius looked at his compatriots and sighed. He got everyone¡¯s attention with his eyes, teleporting and bringing some fresh orange juice before looking at the council of evangels. ¡°What are our two mounted generals¡¯ loyalty? Utbah and Gisco, if they turn on the Republic we will have a problem,¡± Mercurius thought aloud. Nichomachus dark eyes looked sternly at Mercurius. ¡°It should be impossible given the situation of the three cities I have founded,¡± he said, ¡°but then again, Utbah in particular has men loyal to him, tribes loyal to him. The situation is precarious for the Republic.¡± ¡°Wersh could turn on us?¡± Mercurius whispered. ¡°It¡¯s not totally impossible, but our welfare makes it less likely,¡± Salutius said, ¡°but still not impossible.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°The Food and Water evangels mean a lot of people lose their livelihoods,¡± Mardonius said sagely,¡°the countryside becomes less important.¡± ¡°In many ways the Yerek revolution improved things, but we cannot be complacent, more people need crossbows and the cavalry generals can¡¯t grow too powerful, we need some way to deal with this madman proclaiming his own nation,¡± Mercurius said. In Uruq, the conversation was a bit more dramatic. The king of Uruq king Mehmet was throwing goblets of drinks around, outright screaming. People tried to hush him, but his anger was explosive. ¡°What do you mean some lunatic ran around killing people and then just takes one of our northern cities!¡± He screamed. ¡°I thought we were a country?¡± A large tall, strong man, he was not a stranger to exercise and martial prowess. ¡°Mendek has claimed Hisar sir, I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± ¡°Men¡­¡± Mehmet said apoplectically, ¡°send a 40,000 man army and destroy this motherfucker! Who is this cunt? Not even Yerek does this shit. We had no warning whatsoever. My spies had nothing, suddenly some guy takes a city. We just made Byz and Balna protectorates, what do you mean some random¡­¡± A short bald man kneeled before the king. ¡°The governor of Caer wants to talk sir,¡± a man servant said. ¡°The Hunur are reporting that some of their clans have been absorbed by the lunatic, he¡¯s hopping around causing chaos,¡± the governor said. Mehmet looked at both the manservant and the governor and made a flicking motion with his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t need this right now,¡± he said, ¡°summon the generals, capture that fucking city and end this madness right now! Do you understand me?¡± ¡°Of course your highness,¡± a chorus of people said. The king went outside into the training grounds, ready to vent his anger in sparring. Some ribs of others were broken that day. The Ostro clan would be the loudest and proudest outright riding to face the Mendek challenger to the Hunur confederacy¡¯s throne. The Ostro clan leader had 20,000 riders and was riding to deal with the periphery rebellion. A man named Bleda, a strong muscly man rode his men to defeat the captured clans and to punish the Mendek rebel. ¡°Spendius?¡± Bleda said, ¡°is that some sort of bad pun on the God of Trade?¡± ¡°No it¡¯s a real name,¡± one of the scouting riders said. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Bleda said, ¡°this guy seems like a crank, how did he even manage to cause so much of a nuisance so quickly?¡± ¡°No one is quite sure,¡± the scout said. 20,000 horsemen were a formidable force even on a bad day, they were spread out, awaiting any sign of the rebel. They would ride some distance yet before they would spot him. The Ostro clan had the grey flag of the Hunur flown high, a grey flag with a golden flame, all the Church of Light polities seemed to have that motif, an indication of their loyalty to the new religion. King Selim reigned in Bethyr aided by Church of Light tribesmen and Church of Light priests, he heard the disturbing reports of what was happening in and across the mountains. He had a quiet anger about him. ¡°So the miscreant took Hisar, and is currently rampaging through the Balnan mountains, shouldn¡¯t his taking of Othar have been challenged by now.¡± ¡°Sir, 15,000 troops have been marshalled from the north, to face him.¡± ¡°Do not waste loyalists,¡± Selim said cynically. ¡°But sir if you put to many hostiles they¡¯ll-¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Selim said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it, they will serve for their treachery to the faith.¡± A relatively small man, it did not seem to stop him, he had plenty of retainers willing to serve him. He tapped the table and a goblet of wine was put before him. He eyed the men before him. ¡°Who forgot to change the carpet?¡± He said, ¡°change the carpet, this belonged to that imbecile.¡± ¡°Of course sir,¡± a scared retainer said. The royal residence was filled with Uruq mercenaries subsidised by Uruq, 2000 of them watched carefully at what Balar¡¯s men would do, ensuring with the point of a sword and spear the loyalty through fear. Spendius had caused all parties to be intensely on edge, three large armies were now hurtling toward him and his newfound nation, and public opinion was that surely that would be the end of him. 33. The Mincer 33. The Mincer Just before Spendius¡¯s big battle, he had a peculiar happening. The sun shone brightly and the wind howled and a voice rang in his head in a particular annoying manner. ¡°You are annoying the God of Trade quite profusely, I will offer a better deal.¡± ¡°A better deal than Teleportation?¡± Spendius replied in his own head, ¡°hey who are you?¡± ¡°I am the God of Battle, I offer you speed instead of teleportation, phenomenal speed, speed that will help you win battles. All you have to do is fight, and worship me.¡± ¡°I am already winning battles,¡± Spendius said rather annoyed. ¡°Yes, but the God of Trade is definitely going to excommunicate you soon, you are not following his ways,¡± the God of Battle explained, ¡°I offer God Power for fighting as well as praying and temples.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Spendius said, ¡°well then so be it, I will be your evangel.¡± Spendius used the available power to preach to the city of Hisar. With that God Power he sped along the mountains evangelising his confused followers. Changing his standard to a black sword and axe interlocked on a golden banner, the God of Battle had an evangel, an evangel who was determined to bring war to the world. With 5000 mountain troops, skirmishers who had small buckle shields and threw spears joined the force. The Balnan force of 15,000 comprised mostly of melee infantry, with some 2000 melee cavalry. This is not good odds for us, not on the flat ground. Any normal general would run away. But I am not a normal general. The new banner was raised. ¡°The God of Battle has preached to me and has convinced me of his veracity!¡± Spendius said, ¡°he says we will win today if we are faithful! If we stray we will lose. Today I take the enemy general¡¯s head! And today we prove that even when the odds are against us the God of Battle is true!¡± Spendius confronted the superior force and superior matched force, for cavalry and melee units were to brace the skirmishers would likely destroy them. In a stunning move, Spendius rode forward with crazed determination. The enemy did not know what to make of it. Fireballs came his way, and his horse evaded the fireballs easily, striking the first line of infantry who were almost in slow motion in contrast. The commander was not from the north, an officer whose presence was glue to the army. Spendius surged forwards threw spear and sword, killing one cavalry bodyguard after another before the general¡¯s head flew off. Spendius heard the gasps from the Balnan army, and they quickly tried to avenge their commander, but Spendius¡¯s blade was too quick, he took one after another, and the frenzy of battle only increased his power. The infantry felt the shower of spears, the cavalry trying to deal with the lone cavalryman. When Spendius dismounted rushing through the cavalrymen''s¡¯ lines, the absurdity soon became apparent. This was not the power of teleportation anymore, it was different, less expensive and in fact because of battle, it replenished itself. Spendius charged into the Church of Light priests, slaughtering them all, before returning to his lines. Waiting for his newfound followers to replenish his God Power through faith and through battle. They did not disappoint, for they heard of Spendius¡¯s deeds and began cheering and bellowing.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Your general¡¯s dead!¡± Spendius returned to the fray, knocking cavalryman after cavalryman off their horses, before rushing and killing a few more officers. The army turned into dust, disintegrating in a way that allowed Spendius¡¯s army to hunt them down efficiently. What should have been an easy victory for the Balnan¡¯s turned into a disaster, with Spendius even managing to take several towns along the way. His new updated yellow flag of a sword and axe began popping up over stronghold after stronghold. He sent his mountain men back on their campaign in the mountains, Spendius raced toward his Hunur domains. Mendek had changed and with it, the world. Spendius had a more balanced force this time, some 1000 cavalry mercenaries kitted in the Balnan light cavalry style, 2000 Hunur steppe cavalry, and 1000 spearmen, Bleda of the Hunur didn¡¯t realise that his opponent had changed. Now the force would not come from the rear like the God of Trade evangels but in a far different manner. Spendius raised his banner handing it off to one of the mercenary cavalrymen. ¡°We shall unite Hunur under my rule! Under Mendek! There shall be no opposition!¡± The battle seemed like a foregone conclusion to many, but Spendius told them he would take the heads of his enemies and at least some of his men believed him. ¡°The God of Battle?¡± Some Hunur riders questioned, ¡°literally yesterday we were told to worship the God of Trade?¡± ¡°Believe him, he has done much,¡± the mercenary cavalryman said, ¡°his feats are not a fluke. It is for the best. He is not a trader is he?¡± They raised the banner, and the thousands of God Power flowed into him. Again he rode straight into the jaws of death, a valiant way to fight and an even more valiant way to die, but Spendius did not die, instead he made his enemy cry. Bleda had many horse archers and they fired, but Spendius increased his speed to ridiculous levels, rolling off his horse throwing knives and swords at enemy¡¯s heads. He took down a few officers before he sped along so quickly slicing the neck artery of Bleda. The Ostro clan leader felled, Spendius cried: ¡°He¡¯s dead!¡± His men charged straight into the fray, the 1000 spear enthusiastically crashing into the cavalry, ready to hit the riders and send them running. Tactically the Ostro clan far outclassed the smaller army, but Spendius had wrought a stunning blow on their morale, taking out their general and dancing around their officers and regular units. Even with 4000 believers on the battlefield to the God of Battle, this already gave 4000 God Power (Battle Power) a second, even excluding other believers, the rate at which the God Power accumulated was doubled in battle, allowing Spendius to mow down units single handedly, he terrified large portions of his enemies who slowly lost heart. ¡°He¡¯s a monster! Run!¡± ¡°If you surrender, I will spare you! Surrender and we can take Hunur bloodlessly!¡± Spendius said, dismounting enemy units with less harm. 10,000 Hunur riders switched sides, surrendering and then switching sides. ¡°Glory to Mendek! Glory to the God of Battle!¡± They chanted. 5000 were dead, and 5000 had fled. Mendek was far more terrifying than previously anticipated. Spendius used the momentum to ride to the heartland of the Hunur clan¡¯s to unite the steppe nomads under his rule. 40,000 troops under Mehmet marched to the city of Hisar, ready to wrest control and end the tyranny, but Spendius decided to ignore that threat and focus on his unification. Now leading 14,000 cavalry he absorbed the Ostro clan before defeating the ruler of the Hunur in a comically short battle. His 14,000 cavalry faced an equal number of Hunur cavalry, but Spendius sought out the chieftain Balambar and killed him, urging his troops to not fight for a dead man, and with that In the autumn of 570 he took the Vizi clan and was undisputed ruler of the Hunur. 34. A new Religion 34. A new Religion The God of Trade was furious screaming inside the evangels heads¡¯ endlessly. ¡°Stop shouting already, you were the one who gave him powers, power to a madman who abused them for violence!¡± Mercurius thought in fury. ¡°Damn it, I hate how you are right,¡± the God of Trade seethed. ¡°What¡¯s done is done,¡± Mardonius said aloud, hearing the God but not Mercurius, ¡°we need to focus on what we can do, it¡¯s better for us that he worships something else, he tarnishes our name if he worships the God of Trade, and openly says it.¡± ¡°Aye!¡± The other evangels said in assent. Mercurius had recently found a girlfriend, a brunette with whom he shared a lot of love. The woman was named Ethra, a beauty with a nicely shaped rear and a cheerful disposition. Given the news of Spendius¡¯s betrayal of the religion, it came as a big shock when Ethra teleported right next to Mercurius. ¡°It seems the God of Trade is wise after all,¡± she quipped. Mercurius kissed and hugged her in a way that the others laughed at, it was a pure emotion of delight. He was pure in his feelings for her. ¡°Do not get yourself in harms way my angel,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°for this is a most brutal arena.¡± ¡°The arena of life is brutal, I hear that this betrayer is most proficient with death,¡± Ethra said. Everyone murmured assent. ¡°The evangels to the God of Trade formed Yerek, and they shall continue to form Yerek, continuing the mission that was left, we must defeat the God of Battle, the God of Order, Church and Truth and of course the God of Light. All of them are our foes¡­¡± she said. Again everyone murmured their agreement. Yerek organised southern expeditions, Nichomachus and Salutius bribed populations of the extreme south in the Kingdom of Kanem to join the God of Trade, Water and Farming, bringing vast amounts of goods to undermine the stability of the realm. The council of evangels had deemed the God of Light kingdom to the south to be a liability to stability, and so opted to destabilise the realm. Again the same playbook was followed, slaves were bought and freed, the urban poor of their cities were given food and water, and statues of the religion. In stark contrast to the God of Battle, very little blood was shed, they bribed the locals into following the new religion, annd follow it they soon did. Meanwhile Spendius was in the main camp of the Hunur presented with a trophy he had not bargained for. The wife of the previous ruler Vistra, dressed in hides and furs presented herself to the new ruler.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Your son shall not be harmed,¡± Spendius said, seeing the five year old creep behind her mother¡¯s figure. ¡°Your grace, I wish only to serve, the strong must rule, and I only wish to continue the line of the strong.¡± A black haired woman with almost black eyes, she looked at the new ruler of Hunur suggestively, grinning. ¡°I am the clan leader of the Vizi, and I shall pledge my allegiance to you, ¡¯Spendius¡¯ devotee to the God of Battle,¡± she said. ¡°Sir word has reached us that Mehmet¡¯s army is near Hisar!¡± A scout said. ¡°I will take care of it, I just need to do something first,¡± Spendius said. Spendius looked at the woman, the child went to play with other children, and Spendius followed the buxom raven haired woman to her tent, thinking of making his own. A mere rogue not that long ago, he pinned down the woman with her consent. She had a hairy cunt that was wet with anticipation. The crazed eyes locked with the dark eyes before him, slotting himself inside of her warmth. She took off her top clothes, pressing her tits on his chest, as he moved inside of her from above. He had been subtle about going into her tent, using his God Power to whisk both of them in there without anyone noticing; he smacked aggressively inside of her and she moaned before he grabbed her hair and did her from behind. Spendius¡¯s penis was squeezed tightly, occasionally using his powers for battle to go just that bit quicker, grabbing her raven hair and then shoulders. He shuddered inside of her, and she licked it for it to go hard again before putting him on one of her chairs and bouncing on his lap. She orgasmed shortly after, and he would again much to her amusement. His sperm rolling out and staining her pussy hairs. ¡°Ruler of Hunur, Mendek,¡± she said, engaging in a kiss, ¡°remember I am the queen of Hunur. Vistra. Your children,¡± she said pointing to her vagina, ¡°will rule this place. Will succeed you.¡± He grabbed her rear and laughed. She giggled and purred in a kiss. ¡°For sure,¡± he laughed. He did up his trousers and quickly left to go campaigning. Spendius rode 10,000 Hunur cavalry down south to Hisar to relieve the siege. It would take him three days with his troops, so he simply sped along and joined the garrison of some 3000. Rather than wait for reinforcements he chose to sally out in what seemed like the stupidest decision a commander could make. The commander Ahmet was taken out in a daring raid, before his 1000 cavalry began racking up casualties on the siege lines. Such brazenness had the Uruq confused. Their officers were killed with throwing knives and spears, Spendius could afford to be reckless with his spending of God Power, taking out commander after commander and starting fires in many places in the camp. What should have been an obvious victory for the Uruq turned into a nightlong slog, at the end of which 5000 Hunur cavalry came to truly finish the job, strafing arrows into beleaguered men and then running down stragglers. With no chain of command, orders were not given on how to resist Spendius. 1000 of Spendius¡¯s spearmen had died, but it had allowed practically all the 40,000 to be ruthlessly hunted by Spendius and his cavalry. The God of Battle was extremely pleased. Spendius redirected the 10,000 Hunur cavalry to besiege Caer which soon fell to Mendek forces. Spendius had made Mendek annex Hunur totally, and defeat three large armies, now openly taking Uruq settlements. In this moment a rider came riding to him breathlessly. ¡°The Chenep are attacking!¡± ¡°Of course they are,¡± he said, he whistled, ¡°your men are to preach the God of Battle is true and take the towns along the road, don¡¯t waste yourselves on forts.¡± ¡°Of course sir,¡± the officer said dutifully. ¡°I am going to assist our eastern border.¡± And off he rode, hurtling at inhuman speeds that the horse could only handle for the grace of the God of Battle. 35. Moves 35. Moves Charadach of the Chenep had invaded Hunur territory with 35,000 cavalry, and some 500 Church of Light priests, a formidable army even without the literal firepower. Hunur commanded 10,000 Vizi clansmen and 10,000 Hunur from the central clan, racing toward his men he told them to worship the God of Battle, and they did so dutifully. Again he raced off on ahead to face the enemy commander and to slay him. Such heroics compelled his men to brace with the incoming charge and to fight. A massive roar, and the clash of metal was heard, with the horses whinnying in panic at the macabre spectacle about to unfold. It began raining, turning the flat ground boggy, as the cavalry armies began lethargically murdering each other. Spendius raced through and murdered the general and his retinue, knives and spears flew into officers¡¯ heads. Men fell to the floor coughing blood, blades retrieved and thrown into a new set of officers. One man even managed to parry a blow, only for another blade to hit the man¡¯s stomach and for him to come crumpling into the ground. The Chenep heavy cavalry stayed true, but much of the lighter cavalry heard the commotion of their commander dying, immediately breaking into flight. Spendius came to the heavier units and killed their officers, which precipitated the entire army breaking down and disintegrating, the heavier units surrendered themselves to Mendek¡¯s hand. The battle was a crushing blow to the Chenep and despite Spendius¡¯s own men losing some 6000 in the beginning, and were generally not in condition for further operations, Spendius hired some 3000 cavalry mercenaries and marched on to take the Chenep. Spendius marched with gusto, capturing the Chenep ruler on a hunt, his golden flag swords and axes now adorning the Chenep main camp instead of the brown flag with a golden flame. Spendius opened the chief¡¯s tent and a red haired woman looked at him in a most confused manner. ¡°What happened to Charadach?¡± A guard said. ¡°I have captured him,¡± Spendius said, ¡°these lands are my lands, you people are now my people.¡± ¡°The blue clan leader, and the leader of Chenep¡­¡± a man whispered in awe. ¡°How?¡± The woman said, ¡°no. Hail Spendius of Mendek. Ruler of Chenep,¡± she said, kneeling on one knee, ¡°for all intents and purposes you are the clan leader of the Blue clan.¡± Spendius walked over to the throne room, hides and furs laid out, wine on the table, guards looking at him most astonished. He sat down on the throne and said: ¡°The God of Battle has given me victory over you, submit,¡± he said, ¡°I am your ruler now.¡± The red haired woman sat on his lap and said: ¡°Chenep is yours,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°Good, let us have a feast to the new ruler of Chenep! Me!¡± Spendius said, to much laughter from his mercenaries.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The previous ruler was put in a humiliating position, chained to a piece of wood outside, meanwhile Spendius had all but coronated himself. ¡°I am Gorria, leader of the Red clan, the eastern clan, you are Spendius I presume,¡± she said, her hand extended toward him. She wore thin almost transparent lace and a pale face, freckles and was an equal height. She led Spendius to her chambers, she had no children with Charadach and she grabbed his dick before undressing his trousers. ¡°Great emperor, you must be tired from your journeys.¡± He watched her take his penis and devour it inside her mouth, pale blue eyes looking up at him as she did so. She took off her blouse and panties before plopping her rear firmly on his erect penis. The bedding was on the floor but it was warm and comfortable, she smacked herself on top of him getting his penis wet with her warmth; it didn¡¯t take long as he soon ejaculated and coated her red pussy hairs in a thick cum. The adrenaline of battle soon subsided into the adrenaline of being inside of this woman, grabbing her round big bottom and taking her from behind, it squeezed all his semen out of him, and she panted in an orgasm. ¡°You shall be my governor of Chenep,¡± Spendius said, ¡°raise my child well, I will need other retainers here, I want you by my side.¡± ¡°Of course lord,¡± she said, ¡°you do me great honour.¡± He jumped up on top of her. ¡°Once more!¡± He said, to giggles from her. Mercurius made love with Ethra in a much amorous way, she bounced on top of him, and they finished saying they loved one another. Mercurius likewise finished inside of her, deciding they wanted a future together, caring for a family and being husband and wife. He grabbed her bottom having finished twice already and plunged himself inside her vagina. It was wet his cum and her wetness, she soon went into a reverse cowgirl bouncing on top of him before he once again finished inside of her. ¡°I hope you are with child soon,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°I love you so much.¡± ¡°I love you too,¡± Ethra said in an amorous smile, ¡°forever.¡± ¡°And ever.¡± Mercurius never knew such bliss, and yet he knew the world was more dangerous than ever. Reports from Symachus that Spendius had annexed the Chenep and Hunur came off as extremely dangerous. ¡°Are you thinking about politics again?¡± Ethra said. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s hard not to, it¡¯s hard not to think about that lunatic.¡± ¡°I know, it is, isn¡¯t it, ¡° Ethra said, ¡°he wages war so openly, so brutally.¡± Nichomachus and Salutius had been successful in Kanem, the Kingdom was overthrown, their king running eastwards presumably to go to Amoreb or the Raja states. ¡°What should we do with Kanem then?¡± Salutius asked Nichomachus. ¡°I guess we give them a native God of Farming and Water and let them be, they will no longer pose a threat to our southern border¡­ probably,¡± Nichomachus said. They did as much, settling one God of Water evangel and God of Farming evangel in their capital city of Kan. ¡°Should we not administer the territory?¡± Salutius asked. ¡°We will help with logistics, but yes probably semi unofficially we do, but soon we will annex it.¡± Zelra openly discussed the future expansion of Yerek with Mardonius. ¡°Should we take Nova?¡± ¡°That would break our truce with the Church of Order,¡± Mardonius cautioned, ¡°it would look too aggressive, plus we would make enemies unnecessarily, perhaps we need to make investments in Symr in Uruq. Slowly peel away the Church of Light there, it¡¯s unclear what the best course of action. This new God of Battle makes everything murky.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should start making investments in Mendek,¡± Zelra said. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Mardonius agreed. 36. Chomp Chomp 36. Chomp Chomp Spendius¡¯s empire of Mendek had taken the world by storm, they had taken the northern cities of Uruq and were poised to annex the country of Balna. To make things worse for all foes of the God of Battle, a new evangel had been created, Maurice, a man similar in some aspects to Mercurius and different in all others. He had brown hair, green eyes but had a temper and had a lust for battle, and did not have a good nature. With Spendius¡¯s conquests and defeats of Uruq, Maurice revealed himself as an evangel to the God of Battle, and talked to the ruler himself. ¡°Humble Lord.¡± ¡°Lord,¡± Spendius said. ¡°Lord,¡± Maurice corrected, ¡°you turn to the west and take on Balna, I will aid in the conquests of the south.¡± ¡°The south?¡± Spendius said, ¡°are you so sure about that?¡± ¡°I can take the rest of Uruq.¡± ¡°I will lead armies to also attack Uruq, we can finish them quickly,¡± Spendius grinned darkly, ¡°they won¡¯t know what hit them.¡± Using the Chenep and Hunur armies, Spendius, rode through the lush green countryside with his army, taking towns and forts along the way, intending to take Uruqa in one fell swoop. Maurice on the other hand led 5000 infantry mercenaries and went down south along the eastern frontier of Uruq, first besieging the city of Azer and then after promptly taking the city advancing down to Van, hoping to take the city of Hatun and secure the whole eastern border. It was barely a day and the Uruq flags had been wrested off so many battlements of so many settlements, now the God of Battle¡¯s emblem adorned city after city, the sheer awe of such a feat producing some followers. The sword and axe on a golden flag fluttered in the wind, Mendek troops marched through the city of Azer and quickly out of it again. The governor¡¯s gold was used for weapon and supply procurement, Maurice hiring 2000 mercenary cavalry and getting his troops plenty of food and drink for their march down south. 20,000 Uruq army comprising infantry had set off from Uruqa in order to halt the madness, but Spendius used his 20,000 cavalry to quickly annihilate the army. As usual he led from the front, taking out the enemy commander, many officers and even some of the common soldiery, before the cavalry swept in for the kill. ¡°Don¡¯t kill too many! These lands will be ours soon!¡± Again such words produced awe, Spendius managed to subjugate village after village, pausing in the evening to spectate upon the city of Kert. ¡°Should we take the city of Kert?¡± ¡°I leave that to Maurice, having another evangel allows me to accelerate my plans.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Instead they marched down straight to Uruq. Mehmet¡¯s woes in the north were met with surreptitious ones in the south. Symachus and Xelra were buying the loyalty of the city of Symr and contemplating the city of Hatun, idols to the God of Trade, Water and Farming began sprouting up, and the city authorities noted the emptying of the slave markets. They had heard rumours of what had happened to the Moru kingdom, but these had become fables to many, who did not believe that such a thing truly happened. Nonetheless the city of Symr¡¯s allegiances clearly changed. The flag of the revolution, of Yerek, of the Republic; it went by many names, had entered many homes, and even more hearts. The prosperity of the city of Smyr had increased, and the authorities did not notice the increase in the crossbows being distributed to many of the lower classes and recently freed slaves. 570 autumn and the country of Mendek had not freed slaves, in fact to pay for the large armies Spendius had been doing the opposite; capturing people and selling them into slavery, to make profits to support his state. Spendius had rested well in the night, but his horse army rode in the early hours to go for the jugular of Uruq. Uruqa was defended well, but Mehmet had not been expecting such a thing, his armies crushed recently he had not sufficient time to raise more. Chenep and Hunur soldiers loyal to Mendek cheered endlessly as they rode through village after village. Maurice had likewise captured Van, taking a side route to take the city of Kert. His 7000 man army was considerably smaller but was motivated by gold and quick easy victories. It finally happened in the afternoon Spendius arrived at the gates of the Uruq capital. The great city walls were built by a Byz governor many centuries ago when Byz was an imperial power, and now they were Mehmet¡¯s, but Spendius was about to change that. He used his God Powers to rush up the walls, take out the guards and crank the gate open, after which his cavalry streamed in. The sheer momentum of his actions demoralised many into surrender, after which he rushed into the king¡¯s palace. A fine marble structure was quickly breeched and entered, the guards being felled by Spendius¡¯s quick blows, his soldiers hooting and hollering to further demoralise the enemy. ¡°Surrender and we¡¯ll spare your worthless lives!¡± Much of the common garrison followed the advice, but the palace guard put up a bit more of a fight. King Mehmet himself was lassoed and brought before Spendius, his boot put on his head in the most ignominious way. ¡°His lands are my lands now!¡± Spendius shouted, to the terror of Mehmet, and the delight of his troops, ¡°and everything else.¡± Spendius said most evilly. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t!¡± Mehmet said in fright, only to be knocked down with the butt of Spendius¡¯s sword. Spendius took the royal treasury, and had the wives of Mehmet put before him. A blonde and a raven haired one, Spendius took his time combing through their garments, ogling them. He looked at Mehmet and taunted him with a smirk. ¡°To the conqueror goes the spoils¡­¡± While Spendius had taken the capital, Maurice had used his mercenary cavalry to enter the city of Kert and take it ahead of the tired advancing infantry, who merely took towns and villages along the way. The campaign in a day, left only Smyr and Hatun in the hands of the Mendek empire, Smyr under Symachus¡¯s direction led a revolt which threw out the garrison, while Hatun surrendered itself to Hitara in exchange for protection. Uruq was gone. Spendius and Maurice had in so short a time, totally destroyed a country. With their stunning victory followers to the God of Battle increased, and so another evangel would be created, much to everyones'' displeasure. 37. Rivals 37. Rivals With Mendek¡¯s conquests of so much land and effectively destroying the central government of Uruq, the pro Yerek residents of Smyr assumed control of the city rather effortlessly. Symachus did not like the speed of the take over, hoping to win more people over to the side of the Republic, but he nonetheless continued the large gifts to the population centre of 20,000. The local environs were bribed too, the tricolour being waved around by enthusiastic supporters. ¡°Slavery will be abolished throughout the Republic¡¯s lands!¡± Symachus said to much adulation from below, ¡°we will combat these brutes of Mendek!¡± ¡°Will you declare war on them?¡± An ex slave asked. ¡°We will do whatever is necessary for the world¡¯s freedom.¡± ¡°Even war?¡± A woman asked. ¡°Even war,¡± Symachus promised. The faces looked resolutely at him, many wondered what the future would bring. The south was now beginning to be a bastion for Yerek. The nation of Mendek under their brutish warlord of a ruler soon discovered the news of the rebellion of Smyr. Spendius was not pleased, looking at his two lieutenants. Maurice and another named Clearchus, a blonde and blue eyed not so gentle man who had been gifted God Power by the God of Battle. ¡°Smyr has revolted and joined the God of Trade peaceniks,¡± Spendius said, ¡°we should conquer the city of Smyr and end their madness, I know how annoying they can be.¡± ¡°What about Balna?¡± Maurice asked. ¡°We will take Balna soon enough, and Asur, and Peria and Hitara,¡± Spendius promised, ¡°all lands belong to Mendek.¡± ¡°You wish to make war on the Church of Order,¡± ¡°They must learn their place,¡± Spendius said, ¡°under my foot.¡± Spendius tutted. ¡°The former ruler killed himself, rather than live as your slave,¡± Maurice said, ¡°very sad.¡± ¡°Adela!¡± Spendius said, placing his hands on her hips. ¡°Yes my lord,¡± she said with a relatively put on smile.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Remember what I promised you,¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± He put his mouth near her ear. ¡°A baby in here,¡± he said pointing at her belly, ¡°and you get land, perhaps the city of Kert. That other bitch refused me, she will get nothing.¡± ¡°Of course lord,¡± she said, ¡°you do me a great honour.¡± ¡°My generals,¡± he said to his staff at the palace of Uruqa, ¡°get them some fine women!¡± ¡°Of course lord,¡± some maids said. They eyed some maids and were promptly taken to some rooms to fornicate. Spendius took the buxom ex queen to the royal chambers, taking her clothes off, her bra revealing big tits which she promptly wrapped around his dick. ¡°You aren¡¯t lying?¡± She asked too sweetly for what he was. ¡°About this, absolutely not,¡± he said, ¡°my children will have lands, and my generals I suppose.¡± A hairy vulva sat on top of him bouncing on top of him, she was not sure she was the most fertile, but she would nonetheless try. His cum splurged inside of her, and she tried again, bouncing on top of him, trying her best to cum. Ethra and Mercurius had a much more amorous time with their love making. Making love in each other¡¯s arms, hugging each other and promising their lives to be together. ¡°The Republic must survive, our children I want them to be free and happy,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°For sure,¡± Ethra said, ¡°the fact that a power is threatening the world scares me Mercurius,¡± she said, ¡°I don¡¯t want my kids to be ruled by some tyrant.¡± His cum was leaking out of her, and he embraced her and said: ¡°Our kids.¡± ¡°Ours,¡± she repeated. It would be the afternoon but Spendius had already begun campaigning. His 20,000 cavalry supplemented with Uruqian cavalry rode in a south westerly direction, while Maurice headed straight for Smyr. Clearchus was in charge of 5000 mercenary cavalry that headed for Hatun. Mendek had only just conquered Uruq and was now marching on all fronts against all enemies. Byz was preemptively surrendering, waiting to hand over their city to whoever marched on the walls. But while Mendek moved so did Yerek. Mercurius, Zelra and Symachus had already begun infiltrating the city of Hisar and Caer, buying slaves and purchasing the loyalty of the lower classes. The change in loyalties were noticed by the mercenary garrison and the new security services. When an agent of the law was killed in Hisar, messenger birds were already being flown to Spendius to alert of the danger. Meanwhile many weeks away in Amoreb, Salutius and Mardonius began purchasing the loyalty of the border cities. The war had only just finished not that long ago, but Yerek was preparing for a war with Mendek. Day turned to night, and with it, Hitara¡¯s alertness immediately increased tenfold. Their armies mobilised and ready to fight the war against Spendius¡¯s upstart nation. A new coalition would soon be born. While Yerek meticulously planned and bought the loyalty of new cities, Mendek marched through the countryside pillaging, and promising violence on anyone who didn¡¯t obey. Harsh punishment on dissent was established with Spendius¡¯s henchmen promising slavery for those caught fighting them. Another day passed and Spendius entered the domains of Byz capturing it without much of a fight. The city¡¯s king forced to kneel while Spendius put his foot on his head. The ignominy was palpable, again Spendius did not waste any time finding the King¡¯s wife and promising her land in exchange for her loins. The King of Byz was washing the palace floors with the other servants while Spendius was in the royal chambers with Priscilla the king¡¯s wife. She had light brown hair and a small round bottom and he spent the afternoon emptying his balls inside of her, before doing up his trousers and leaving the royal chambers. ¡°She is the governor here,¡± he said, ¡°everyone listen to her.¡± His soldiers snickered in derision, and many whispers would follow at the lecher and his policies. For there was no justice in his realm, merely his words, and his sword. 38. Terror 38. Terror Mendek spent the next day advancing northwards upon Balna from Byz. Spendius took the city of Busur and then the town of Marston and all the villages and towns in the local region. His golden flag with an axe and sword inspired terror, and people readily gave their coins and valuables in exchange for peace. His Hunur and Chenep cavalry raided freely, taking gold, coins and livestock. He paid for more mercenaries who were willing to join the winning side in what seemed like endless conquests. ¡°We will conquer the entire continent, the Church of Order nations will be next!¡± Spendius promised, ¡°Asur will be conquered in a week, maybe less.¡± His troops took their liberties, and would march up the royal road to Selim¡¯s palace in Bethhyr. Selim was completely surrounded by hostile powers, and his army was weak, but he attempted to fortify the capital at least. Spendius would not be long. Clearchus took the city of Hatun after a short siege. He opened the gates and then his army poured through, inflicting much destruction. Symachus had left a surprise for Clearchus. Well armed men with crossbows began picking off some of Clearchus¡¯s mercenaries. Clearchus tutted and used his God Powers, but even then he suffered abnormal casualties. Some 500 of his men were killed by Yerek supporters, killing 3000 of the miscreants who dared show such defiance. ¡°Anyone harbouring enemies of Mendek will be flogged, and crucified for all to see!¡± Clearchus said in a fury, ¡°if I see even one of those damn flags I will burn the whole street down. Anyone related to a rebel will be punished severely!¡± Mendek had clearly chosen some coercive policies of control. Their armies were brutal with dissidents and many people had been sold into slavery. Clearchus marched his troops eastwards toward the city of Cilica ready to make war with Hitara in what any sane person would deem a perplexing strategy, for the Mendek forces were stretching themselves thin. While Clearchus fulfilled his responsibilities, Maurice appeared before the determined city of Smyr. ¡°Death to tyrants! Death to tyranny!¡± They shouted down at him and his army. ¡°The God of Battle only accepts those who win as righteous, their insults are nothing but the sounds of donkeys, and they will be treated like donkeys upon our victory! Kill them all and enslave the survivors!¡± Maurice screamed. Maurice was met with a determined garrison who hailed crossbow bolts down at his army, Symachus had anticipated the siege and was picking off his officers at random. ¡°Damn it! I will open the gates!¡± Maurice screamed. He did as much, rushing upon the beleaguered defenders who attempted to shoot him, but failed mostly, maybe grazing his cheek or legs, but were turned into butter before Maurice¡¯s blade. He did indeed open the gates, but Maurice was met against God Power from the other side. A ginger man with green eyes, shot and killed important men in his mercenary army, and the crossbowmen were more determined than ever to rid the besiegers from their front. Maurice opened the gates, but noticed his army was being picked off, and the crossbowmen were still delivering devastating losses. A man appeared before him, throwing a knife and then disappeared.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Mendek will rule! Kill these blaspheming polytheists and their foul Trade God!¡± Maurice screamed. Brown hair and green eyes, and a bloody cheek, he had slaughtered the garrison guarding the gates, but watched as his 7000 man army was whittled down by crossbow fire. Maurice put the banner of Mendek on the battlements, but the determined garrison and city militia shot at it and it soon came off. Symachus appeared on the walls rallying the defenders. ¡°I will kill their officers! You focus on killing their troops! They cannot beat a determined force. They only know fear! Do not be afraid of them!¡± Maurice charged down the walls, but Symachus appeared behind the evangel of the God of Battle, with a grin. Maurice turned quickly and Symachus teleported even more quickly. The crossbowmen could focus on targeting the soldiers down below, the gates were open, but the Mendek forces could not take advantage. The city shot the besiegers with zeal, the rate of fire was impressive, and Maurice stared in fear as his forces were getting the worse of the fighting. ¡°This is not over!¡± Maurice said, ¡°Mendek will rule, and you puny traders will only be able to hop around aimlessly!¡± ¡°I look forward to it,¡± Symachus said, flicking his fingers off his head in a farewell gesture. ¡°Retreat! Retreat!¡± Maurice said in a pained voice, ¡°we will get them next time!¡± 2500 of Maurice¡¯s forces were dead, with 500 of the garrison dead, mainly at the gatehouse. 4500 troops of Maurice¡¯s retreated, mainly to help in the invasion of the east organised by Clearchus. The city of Smyr cheered audibly much to the commiseration of the Mendek forces. Symachus addressed the victorious defenders. ¡°We have shown them our will! The God of Trade will not abandon people! We will fight them until the end!¡± ¡°And we will be free until the end!¡± A man shouted. We must never abandon these people. If I wasn¡¯t here, the tide of battle could have gone very differently. Clearchus having taken Hatun had moved on Cilica, taking border forts and looting important noble estates. He had expanded his army by 2000 making it a total of 6500. He marched on Cilica, entering a city with a larger garrison than his at the onset of night. Taking the gatehouse and slaughtering some Church of Light priests who dared throw fireballs at him, Clearchus killed a substantial amount of defenders before his infantry army armed with sword and shield entered in the city and took the city after a brief but bloody battle. He marched down the main street, taking the governor¡¯s residence for himself, and much like Spendius looting much more than gold. The governor was not in, but he took some of the finer women in the palace for himself. ¡°Mercenaries should be hired, and women and gold collected, we are not a charity! The God of Battle rewards those who fight for him, and gives the ultimate ignominy for those who dare defy his will!¡± Clearchus shouted. The crimes of war were not lessened, with soldiers acting like brutes, they perhaps stopped at excessiveness, but not stopped from horrific cruelties on the conquered. Women, men and even children were carted off to be sold by Clearchus, and those who were left were all the more willing to comply with the new authorities. Enthusiasts not so much as opportunists. The Church of Light¡¯s influence had drastically decreased, but soon the world would find out it was not only them that war would touch. The poverty of the city was not lessened, and perhaps increased, taxes were left higher, the ruled left with the same burdens as before, if not more. 39. Annexations 39. Annexations Spendius marched on the city of Bethyr, 25,000 cavalry scoured the countryside heading for the bastion of Balnan rule. 6000 tribesmen he had sent into the mountains paid dividends with 20,000 infantry descending from the mountain slopes carrying his banners. The blade and axe with the golden banner fluttered ominously over the hills and slopes. ¡°I will do the honours of breaking the defences open for us, you just wait,¡± Spendius said, ¡°it will soon flutter our flags.¡± ¡°Of course lord,¡± one of his Hunur officers said, ¡°we await your signal that the gates are opened.¡± Oh they will. Spendius thought. He sped along the green grassy knolls and accelerated up the city walls so fast that no one even noticed him. Spendius took out three confused guards before rapidly advancing into the gatehouse. Stone and metal, it was an advanced structure and any normal army would take months to penetrate the structure. The Church of Truth priests had relied on stacking large amounts of rock and stone to avoid besiegers, but the Church of Light defenders instead shot fireballs at the big armies approaching. Spendius had cranked the portcullis open, and ran down the gatehouse to knock out the wooden supports blocking the entrance of enemies. The guards dead, the God of Battle shouted in Spendius¡¯s head. ¡°You are doing very well my evangel. You have the potential to conquer the world.¡± Spendius merely smiled. His cavalry poured through, and Spendius took out the Church of Light priests who would fire at them. He sliced their jugulars and they were no longer a threat. The light infantrymen from the mountains came pouring down, and Spendius sped along to another gatehouse, his cavalry already pouring into the city and accepting surrenders from confused Balnan soldiers. ¡°Surrender now and your worthless lives will be spared!¡± Spendius said. And the fall of the city happened, another gate was opened for the mountain tribesmen and Spendius sped along to the palace. He caught the puppet king personally, putting a manacle on him, as he looked terrified at the conqueror of his lands. Spendius looked at the figure with a degree of superiority. ¡°Please spare my brother,¡± a pale skinned dark curly haired woman said. Not that much different in height from her short brother, with a rear that Spendius approved of and breasts he could ogle. ¡°I will,¡± he said, ¡°would you like to rule the city of Bethyr, or do you simply wish to be part of the common rabble?¡± His eyes betrayed his perverted intentions, the brother, the former king could only watch as Spendius put his hand on his sisters chest and walked to the royal chambers.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Come on!¡± An Uruqian styled cavalrymen said kicking Selim¡¯s shoulder, ¡°time to go to your new home. Best not to think about it.¡± Spendius would spend the afternoon bouncing the woman on his lap, cumming inside of her, hips cum rolling out of her hairy vulva, before he smacked her rear and got dressed. ¡°Stay as my governor in this place, my child in your belly,¡± Spendius said. She sucked his dick extracting the residue cum out of his penis, he touched her head encouraging her to continue. I will stay another day in this place. She is a nice lay. Mercurius made love to his woman, holding her tight, ejaculating inside of her and enjoying a lovers embrace. Shaved both of them, both pressed their skin close to one another, breathing each other¡¯s scent, enjoying each other¡¯s presence. ¡°Forever,¡± she said. ¡°Forever,¡± he replied. ¡°It¡¯s good that Symachus repelled the invasion of Smyra, Mendek can be beaten.¡± ¡°They can be, to think it was established by some rogue disciple of the God of Trade, the God of Trade shouts in my head about it from time to time.¡± ¡°He thought it was a more aggressive expander of our ways, instead he joins another God and becomes their terror,¡± Ethra said, ¡°anyway enough politics, let¡¯s go for another round.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Mercurius and Ethra, were like many in Yerek who knew the wealth of their realm, and so were comfortable having families. Yerek¡¯s peaceful bounty produced many who were comfortable to have families, people expanding their progeny, food and water aplenty and money becoming something of an afterthought for many. Clearchus had bought a prostitute, a blonde woman he brought on his campaigns. Now marching on the Hitaran city of Eda, he had conquered castle after castle, taking many slaves from men and women alike. The total coffers of Mendek must have been at least 100,000 gold coins despite purchasing mercenaries as a lot of gold was made selling people into slavery. The feudal structure of the countryside was maintained if not made worse, taxes were definitely not decreased, only terror keeping the peasantry in check. The grand capital of Eda entered the sights of Clearchus as he lay siege to it with typical Mendek vigour. Hitara¡¯s king Hussein did not waste time attempting to fortify his capital, but Clearchus would show that the God of Battle was not be trifled with. He surmounted one wall and took out the gatekeepers, his troops following close behind. The garrison was five times the size, under any normal military doctrine Clearchus would wait until his forces were at least more in number before laying siege, but he now took the guards at the gate before his troops would burst into the city. He descended on the garrison commanders killing them, his mercenary troops following close behind. The sand stone city residents were stunned by the fast movements and the felled Hitaran soldiers. There was no siege practically, just a burst in through the gatehouse that led into the city, and a lot of soldiers being quickly defeated. Clearchus did not waste time, rushing through the streets to find the king, defeating the guards and killing the king and parading his head from the battlements of the royal palace. Despite massively outnumbering Clearchus¡¯s men, he successfully subjugated a city of 150,000, guarded by 30,000, barely losing 500 in the process. Clearchus¡¯s losses seemed to be mainly from arrow fire, the product of running through the open gatehouse. The flag of Mendek was raised high and Hitara seemed doomed as a kingdom. Clearchus sat on the veranda of the royal palace, ordering the palace servants around like a king. He had five maids he stripped and proceeded to have his way with in the royal chambers, unlike Spendius not having an appetite for royal women. The tyranny of Mendek seemed like it was only beginning, and another evangel was soon to be created by the God of Battle. 40. Amoreb 40. Amoreb Amoreb¡¯s king Hasan would not be so unlucky as to fall to Mendek, instead his realm was devoured by the popular will. Thousands had been converted in Yasir, Wahatan and Isra, slaves had been freed so often that the royal coffers were bustling from the indirect taxes levied on the slave trade. The peasantry had more food than ever, the cities were bustling with marble, the bellies of the underclasses filled to the brim, and the country seemingly a bastion of stability. Autumn seemed to be sliding into winter, and the year of 570 would see the perplexing rise of idolatry. Church of Light priests tried to corral the masses back into line, guards attempting to put people back in order. ¡°I hear that Hitara has fallen to Mendek,¡± a soldier whispered to another. ¡°Are we next?¡± ¡°Have neither of you been outside,¡± another soldier interrupted, ¡°every house has those idols to the God of Trade, at this rate they¡¯ll build a temple even without Hasan¡¯s permission.¡± The light blue flag with a golden flame fluttered in the morning sun, it mirrored the sun and the sky most beautifully, but Amoreb¡¯s sun was setting, two rival polities clearly vying for it. Some people openly walked with crossbows, a symbol of Yerek that openly put the authorities on edge. Unlike Poltu, Amoreb was more liberal with its policing, but such flagrant lack of respect and lack of authority did not bode well. The bars had people openly carrying the tricolour. They were mostly a rabble, but the bar was filled with respectful and quiet people, albeit carrying seditious symbols. ¡°Yerek will rule these lands soon¡­¡± an old man said, putting a statue to the God of Trade on the still, ¡°can I have a drink?¡± ¡°It is as you say, soon enough, we will not have to pay for our bread, I have some family in Wersh, they say that money is barely used and only for luxuries, what a life they must live.¡± ¡°I hear the Raja kingdoms are unifying,¡± one man said, ¡°one Raja kingdom under the Church of Light.¡± ¡°To think everyone was scared of the Church of Light invading everywhere,¡± an old crone said, ¡°now they are the ones on the back foot.¡± ¡°Mendek is a threat to us all,¡± a man said, ¡°even the Republic fears them.¡± ¡°The Republic is a mercantile state, allied itself to two other deities to deliver prosperity,¡± a man openly bragged, ¡°it¡¯s strength is not the army, Mendek¡¯s is the army.¡± The peasants spoke so brazenly that the secret police began chastising them. Sizing up the people at the bar with exasperated expressions and tone.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°You can¡¯t discuss this shit here, this is Amoreb!¡± One of them began. ¡°For now,¡± a woman replied. The agents of the law pursed their lips in pure fury, but they were so hopelessly outnumbered that they simply sat next to the city folk and heard the conversations as it developed further. ¡°The evangels that have come to Amoreb, have brought so much supplies I wonder how they do it, I have heard rumours of their farming evangels.¡± ¡°The God of Farming?¡± The agent of the law asked, hopelessly lost in their task for they now asked like common travellers. ¡°Yes, supposedly they grow food with God Powers, they can supply their whole country with bounty, and even wood,¡± an old man said, ¡°I do wonder how it fully works though.¡± ¡°They will have evangels here, and temples I¡¯m sure of it!¡± A woman said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen one of the Trade evangels, dark skinned and handsome!¡± ¡°There were several,¡± the bartender said, ¡°Mardonius, Nichomachus and Zelra from what I¡¯ve heard, they¡¯ve blatantly subverted the city, right under their noses,¡± the bartender said, his eyes staring at the soldiers with obvious suggestion. ¡°Right under our noses?¡± One of the soldiers said. ¡°Did you think Utbah was going to cross the border?¡± The bartender asked half joking. ¡°A part of me did,¡± the soldier admitted, ¡°and you, what did you think?¡± ¡°Personally I think Utbah is a liability to the Republic,¡± the bartender said. ¡°Oh?¡± The soldier said. ¡°He¡¯s a soldier with his own loyalties,¡± the bartender said, ¡°no doubt he did a tremendous service to the Republic.¡± ¡°You talk as if we already live under it,¡± the soldier said. ¡°It is only a matter of time,¡± the bartender replied. People swigged some beers inside the bar, people sat on comfortable sofas or hard chairs by the bar. It was wooden mahogany, small lanterns put in various places, with a distinct lack of external light beyond the doorway. Green cushions and red painted tables in some parts, and an upstairs. While the patrons drank, the revolution went underway. Paupers and ex slaves marched on several barracks, the soldiers themselves joining in the taking of half the streets. All three major cities quickly fell to the Republic, as well as most of the countryside. ¡°Yerek will protect us from Mendek! Down with the King!¡± The tricolour replaced the old flag, and the Church of Light priests despite their throwing of fireballs were chased off the streets. King Hasan and his family managed to escape thanks to some overzealous Church of Light priests, but their kingdom crumbled rather peacefully. Beyond a few hundred burnt corpses, there were few casualties. King Hasan rode into exile to Jira. His retinues shouting at him to resist more forcefully against the subversion. ¡°You should have mobilised the army!¡± One of them shouted, ¡°killed more people, you¡¯d have a kingdom at least.¡± ¡°I was a king who respected my people¡¯s wishes, I will not go down in history like king Ahmed, wilfully slaughtering people. And I do not wish to remembered in a manner like Spendius will be, that cur will have everyone cursing him, mark my words,¡± Hasan said. ¡°At least he has a realm,¡± a snarky general openly disrespected him. The King stared at his subject, and the general stared back. Dark hair and eyes interlocking one another, the King not even bothering to reply. ¡°Let Yerek and Mendek fight,¡± Hasan said, ¡°then we take back our kingdom afterwards. Maybe the Raja state rumours are true, we will get expeditionary armies coming to help us.¡± ¡°Ever the optimist, while we tread through sand, completely destitute,¡± the same general said, with pure fury in his voice.¡± ¡°Do calm down,¡± the king said, ¡°two of our enemies are going to fight each other soon.¡± To that there was silence, for there was truth in those words. 41. Disorder 41. Disorder Spendius invaded Asur, there was not even a semblance of a casus belli beyond difference in religion. Once again Spendius employed his Hunur and Chenep soldiers, heading for the important city of Asuf. The Asur kingdom had a 15,000 army with some 500 Church of Order priests, 2000 heavy cavalry, and 13,000 infantry of varying armour levels. The Asur commander named Jacques had dug trenches near a stream hoping to block any army from crossing the water and entering deeper into Asur territory. To some degree perhaps Jacques thought he could invade Balna and establish his own realm, or at least add to his domains in the east; a pale figure with a mild disposition not prone to extreme happiness or anger, he seemed content with life and was not scared easily. Spendius hoped for reckless charges, but instead Jacques ordered his lightning mages to cast lightning bolts at the approaching Mendek army. The lightning bolts scared the horses, making them skittish and making the riders equally weary. ¡°Do not fear, we will fell these cretins like all others!¡± Spendius said riding first. He rode quickly, too quickly, Jacques heard of this immense speed, opting to devastate the rest of Spendius¡¯s army. 3000 horse lay dead, as arrows and lightning bolts devastated the light armour cavalry. Spendius sped up to the lightning casters, slashing their necks and torsos and creating a panic. Heavy infantry armed with halberds attempted to clobber Spendius, but again he moved just that little bit too fast for them. The army could have held him at bay perhaps, but his horse archers began peppering the Asur army. Jacques was killed in a stroke through the chest, slicing right through his breastplate with sheer speed, falling off his horse and dying for all to see. His priests soon joined Jacques in his fate, laid waste, and with that Spendius could focus on smashing the army before him. Assassinating the chain of command and then his cavalry army charged from behind chasing the lily livered all the way to Asuf. None survived, and Spendius marched on the city with no opposition impeding him along the way. ¡°I will open the gates, you simply sweep in.¡± He did as much, but again, he suffered attritional casualties. He managed to clear the gates, open them, and allow his troops entry into the stony, mossy city, but the light cavalry fared poorly against Asur¡¯s heavier units. Some 5000 were killed, Church of Order priests managing to inflict heavier casualties with their artillery like barrages, but soon enough the flag of Mendek flew over the battlements. Spendius had lost 8000 horsemen; 6000 Hunur, 2000 Chenep he sent them back to Balna, looting Asuf¡¯s treasury to pay for 4000 heavy knights and 3000 heavy infantry, alongside 5000 Uruq cavalry. Spendius was depressed, but what he did not realise is that the city of Asuf had never fallen to any invader ever, the Church of Light had tried many times and had suffered many humiliations, and yet Spendius had succeeded. Some miles away in Balna a new evangel had been created. Hereward a ginger man with crazy hair and red eyes had been a rebel in the north of Balna, and yet now he served Spendius, inspired by his many victories, the God of Battle called to him, and he accepted the call. Leading 2000 crazed axemen, he himself wielding such a weapon, he marched and took many border villages and fortifications in Asur and the so called ¡®Northern Kingdoms.¡¯ He headed straight for Nord, forging his own legend even without Spendius¡¯s or Mendek¡¯s direct assistance. ¡°As an evangel, I am a lord, it is only right that the God of Battle has someone who relishes in the thrill and din of battle! We will bring the world to heel under one God! Our God! The God of Battle!¡± He screamed with much enthusiasm.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. His troops let out quite a war cry at his words as they advanced along toward the grand city of Nord. Spendius on the other hand went south toward Portus, an important strategic hub, a harbour and nexus of trade. It would take a day, but Hereward arrived at Nord, the capital of Asur, a prize worth 100,000 people, he had managed to augment his army by 1000 along the way, taking some 1000 heavy spearmen. He met a small 5000 man army led by a local lord disturbed by the advance of his forces. Hereward crushed the gentleman before he even knew what hit him. Hereward following a similar strategy to Spendius, except he became a berserker who began bruising the rest of the lord¡¯s troops. ¡°Run! It¡¯s a monster!¡± Was repeated endlessly by confused Asur troops. Seizing 2000 gold coins, he deposited the gold in a small village, hoisting the flag of Mendek and advancing along the royal road. It would be late afternoon, the dark blue flags with a yellow lightning bolt were an imposing sight, Hereward however was not intimidated. All his troops had crept on the city walls before he began massacring the guards, and his troops clambered up ready to take the city. Hereward¡¯s daring was astonishing, 15,000 garrisoned troops would and could put up quite a fight against any army, but Hereward had already begun neutralising the Church of Order priests as his troops filed down the avenues with great stealth as they approached the royal palace. Hereward did not even know the name of the enemy king, but king Louis was in the royal courtyard lunching with his family when he was cruelly butchered, alongside his family. They hacked him to pieces and the shocked attendants were soon delivering Hereward¡¯s terms to the rest of the city. He had seized Asur and decapitated its leadership. He then went about terrorising the garrison into his army. Such a move was unprecedented and was achieved through gold and scare tactics. ¡°Anyone beats me in a fight and I¡¯ll leave the city!¡± He wagered, wanting to intimidate the public with a show of strength. His challenge was accepted, and he brutally mauled the gentleman armed with a mace who came to face him. The battle barely lasted three seconds. The others acquiesced more readily. Hereward pressed these newly recruited troops to join him in his campaigns. ¡°Convert to the God of Battle or face fines! Everyone must kneel before the new churches, new priests must evangelise the faith!¡± Isn¡¯t that what the evangels are supposed to do? A soldier thought silently, not willing to incur the wrath of this lunatic. While Hereward intimidated the city of Nord, Spendius approached the city of Portus with his mercenary army. His mercenaries were pelted at and had lightning bolts thrown at them. The city had heard of the news and yet had refused to surrender. ¡°You can kill our king. You can kill everyone, but we will never surrender!¡± A zealous priest shouted, shooting lightning bolts. Spendius ducked and men behind him were zapped into ashes. He huffed at the action, for he nearly was killed in the heat of battle. Despite his risk taking, he had relied so heavily on his God Powers he thought it was almost impossible to kill him. He ran up the walls, and his 3000 heavy infantry followed behind, the knights readying to go through the breach. The Uruq styled cavalry were being whittled down by lightning, 2000 already dead. Even the heavier units began getting hit. Commotion started on the walls, and Spendius took them over, the heavy units barrelled in, and Spendius attempted to whittle down the lightning users until there was finally silence. The battle took all day, uncharacteristically. So many of Spendius¡¯s troops had been turned into charred remains he had to pause and look at the situation. ¡°Hereward has taken Nord the capital of Asur and killed the royal family,¡± a soldier said, reading off a carrier pigeon¡¯s note. ¡°The fool, no wonder these people fought with such ferocity,¡± Spendius said, ¡°congrats to him in taking such a prized city though I guess.¡± Spendius had lost all his heavy infantry and 1000 heavy cavalry as well as 2000 Uruqian styled cavalry. Leaving him with 3000 heavy cavalry and 2000 Uruq cavalry. He now controlled a population centre of 50,000 where he levied 3000 cavalry, and bought 4000 more. These Asur styled cavalry were formidable, and the ones paid in coin were loyal. The shock of the fall of Nord, did mean that Mendek had authority in ruling these people. The God of Battle gained more followers, people shocked by the military success of Mendek. Only Oest was left in Asur, and Peria fortified its border, shocked by the recent incursions of Mendek. 42. Eastern Jostling 42. Eastern Jostling Clearchus marched his army around Hitara, subjugating the city of Suria without a fight. The sandy dunes interrupted by oases and palm trees and lush green groves where he could feed his army. He was determined to march on Wahatan and seize it, his spies had reported the presence of many flags of the Republic. Clearchus was joined by Proxenus, a dark haired gentleman from the regions he had just conquered. Proxenus became a devotee to the God of Battle and rode through the hinterlands terrorising the peasantry into submitting. Mardonius and Nichomachus had begun buying the slaves of Eda, freeing them and purchasing the loyalty of the lower classes. Mendek goons were hunting and killing people in macabre ways; people were impaled, hanged, burned, drawn and quartered, set upon by dogs and their creativity in depravity was limitless. ¡°They can kill you, but they can¡¯t break the Republic¡¯s spirit,¡± Mardonius said, ¡°I will hunt those miscreants who do such terrorism.¡± Villages were bribed but told to be careful with their outward showing of loyalty. Mardonius returned and sniped men who had done such crimes on supporters of the Republic. Zelra had been supplying the many villages of Amoreb, not willing to risk herself in the jostling now happening. Clearchus and Proxenus marched south, besieging and killing some pro Republic villagers who shot at them. ¡°The feeble God of Trade,¡± Proxenus whispered, ¡°my brothers died fighting those cunts.¡± Did we not kill many Hitarans too? Clearchus thought. Clearchus had 15,000 troops, Proxenus likewise had 15,000, each army consisting of 5000 cavalry and 10,000 light infantry. ¡°One of us should take the city of Lirun,¡± Clearchus said, ¡°I am not comfortable with such a formidable bastion that is close to the border that will invariably send reinforcements to their brethren.¡± ¡°You do it,¡± Proxenus said, ¡°I will try to solidify Mendek rule in the region.¡± Clearchus marched on the Lir city of Asr on the border, he marched a long distance taking him approximately two or three days, in the meanwhile Proxenus quashed pro Republican revolts and tried to recruit more troops in Suria. The Church of Light churches were converted into preaching centres for the God of Battle, subversion was noted and secret police went out to torture people. ¡°Die!¡± A soldier said to a Yerek sympathiser. Mardonius appeared behind the soldier, clicking his crossbow and ending the poor man¡¯s life. Hitara was deliberately being subverted and destabilised in order to stall any invasion attempt on Amoreb province. The Church of Light stalled, stunned by many defeats, their spies observing the absurdities of the new border. They endlessly wrote of the torched villages, the massacres, the cruelty and instability of Hitara.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Clearchus had successfully taken the city of Asr on the border with Hitara and three days later he took Lirun; taking the two Lir cities prevented any intervention and increased the number of God of Battle followers. With this, another evangel was made, three versus three. Robert was a small man with dark hair and eyes and developed muscles, he had a lot of facial hair unlike many of his counterparts and was a ferocious dog for Mendek. He had upon getting his powers begun slaughtering Yerek sympathisers outside of Suria. He had a touch with death when Nichomachus threw a knife at him, and he expertly dodged it. ¡°We will murder you!¡± Robert snarled, ¡°I assure you, Mendek will never forget, we remember everything!¡± Yerek proselytising had also increased the number of evangels for the God of Trade. Oxyartes was a young man, barely 19, who was skinny and bookish, but nonetheless he took to many fronts. Whether it was helping feed southern camel herders, or villagers in the south, or purchasing slaves in Bethyr their freedom, he focused on the city of Hatun with great ferocity. Buying the slaves and feeding the urban poor, he hoped to irritate the Mendek commanders tremendously. The city had increased taxes, had more slaves than ever, and much of the urban poor were not happy. With the onset of winter he provided much needed supplies, even being so bold as to station a newly minted God of Farming and Water in the city. Oxyartes had pale green eyes and brown hair, and he intended to become the nuisance of the East. Several more days passed, and Proxenus and Clearchus launched an invasion of Amoreb, heading straight for Wahatan with all their forces. Some confused villagers had no idea which way the wind was blowing, and many opted for neutrality hearing of brutalities and ruthless punishments. ¡°I hear they kill anyone who even whispers for the Republic¡­¡± a boy of 14 said, ¡°but Mendek don¡¯t care, they want gold, glory. Nation after nation conquered. I wish to join them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± his 18 sister said, ¡°those curs just want women and gold.¡± The brother stared at his sister for a little bit, wondering what the argument was. ¡°They do not develop the land,¡± their father said, ¡°they just take it.¡± In the distance a village could be seen burning. The father and mother turned away. ¡°Get inside!¡± The mother shouted. Both parents were haggard with stress. A Pro Republic village was torched in the distance, the smoke smellable, some locals put Mendek¡¯s banner on the battlements of the village hall, and hoped the looters would pass. ¡°Sometimes I wish Hitara would just come back,¡± the grandmother said. Astonishing words, but not completely without reason. Hasan¡¯s spies observed the unfolding events from the city of Jitun in Jira. He was given a small residence by the governor, and the events in Hitara and Amoreb were detailed to him with great interest. It seemed Hitara was on fire, and Amoreb was soon to be set completely alight by the events soon coming. Robert rushed northwards heading to deal with a town near Eda which had revolted against Hitara, and Maurice marched to Hatun hoping to end the rebellion there. Hatun fell to Yerek, Oxyartes loudly proclaiming the revolution there. ¡°We have revolted here, and Yerek will rid the world of such warmongers!¡± Oxyartes said, his stick arms impressing nobody, but his voice making many cheer, ¡°we will end the rule of tyrants! Yerek will not abide by these slavers and tyrants making lives worse for everyone!¡± ¡°Death to the tyrants!¡± Thousands screamed. Oxyartes kept speaking. ¡°We will plant a seed in every bastion and city, and it will grow. I as an evangel will help it grow and disturb every one of these blood thirsty maniacs. We might not prevail always, but we will always persist, I will resist them! Will you?¡± His ranting and raving produced a determined city, even going so far as building a temple to the God of Trade despite the insurrectionary status of the city. Crossbows were handed out, and the city awaited its fate. 43. The Garb of Victory 43. The Garb of Victory Hereward marched and took Oest and marched down south to Castra. He had used Asur troops to do it, keeping hostages of many to keep the peace in the countryside. Despite Hereward¡¯s best efforts much of the countryside still had rebel priests shooting lightning bolts at them. Nonetheless Mendek had annexed Asur and was marching on Peria, not bothering too much with the wastes north of Asur. Spendius likewise marched his now 10,000 heavy cavalry army toward Perun the capital of Peria. Spendius¡¯s empire spanned many leagues and many cities, its might was tremendous. ¡°I wonder what the royal family of Peria taste like,¡± Spendius laughed aloud. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Hereward should be punished for killing the family of the king of Asur, cunt.¡± ¡°He conquered the territory sir?¡± An officer exasperatedly explained. ¡°I don¡¯t like the way he did it,¡± he said. This isn¡¯t morals is it? He¡¯s just upset that the women were killed. Perhaps Hereward did them a mercy. Or not who knows. This lecher, goodness me. The officer shrugged and continued riding down the roads. ¡°When we conquer Peria, we will sit and feast on Moru province, those lands are rich, and will be ours,¡± Spendius smirked, ¡°Mercurius must be found and killed to make an example to to the others.¡± Definitely not a moral concern. The officer thought, smirking. ¡°Of course sir, we will make sure he is found and killed.¡± The others laughed, forcing themselves and being cajoled by the group into acquiescence. Spendius spotted a Perian army ahead of him, and put his hand up. ¡°Get ready for battle boys! Time to end a kingdom.¡± He rode ahead, his troops not even organised for a fight yet. Spendius took out the commander of the 15,000 force ahead of him, he then laid waste to the lightning priests and then completely bathed in blood, he then proceeded to begin slaughtering the army in front of him with reckless abandon. His army finally joined him after five minutes, smashing into the Perian army and scattering them. He captured the baggage train and splurged the coins on bribes for his soldiers and to purchase 2000 infantry from nearby towns. With these men he marched on another capital once more. It would be two days and Hereward would come upon Castra. His troops siphoned off into 10,000, leaving many as garrisons he marched on Castra with ferocious speed. He took the gatehouse and took the gatekeepers, 5000 regular infantry rushed through the gatehouse and took many Perian soldiers prisoner. Lightning mages attempted to strike the evangel, but he moved too quickly and began to butcher them. The streets ran red with the blood of the defenders, but Hereward¡¯s heroism quickly subdued many. The duke had run away, rushing out by horse, but he was caught by Hereward¡¯s men who hacked him to death. Such a gruesome fate was seen by everyone and was a reminder to not mess with the general.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Take the treasury and expand the forces!¡± Hereward said, ¡°anyone who opposes Mendek will die! I will kill them!¡± He shouted, laughing and giggling. His red eyes were like that of a lunatic and further made people acquiesce. He ranted to the city of Castra for an hour, and people listened for an hour, terrified out of their wits. The Perian resistance shot lightning bolts at him, and he dodged and began collective punishment. Killing children and men, nailing people to pieces of wood. The inhumanity. This is Mendek. A man thought, and nearly said. A person shot a crossbow and killed one of Hereward¡¯s soldiers. ¡°Yerek will liberate the world!¡± Hereward turned around like a mannequin, his head fixed in place, his eyes bulging with rage. ¡°Kill that motherfucker!¡± He screamed, ¡°kill anyone like him!¡± While Hereward marched on the capital, Spendius marched closer to Perun. Lightning bolts came for his men, soldiers rushing at him from all sides. ¡°These pricks¡­¡± Spendius seethed, ¡°nail up anyone you catch doing this shit.¡± He rushed into the brush, so quickly that he found exactly where the assailers were, driving a nail into one head and into their hands. The screams of anguish were heard and felt even by his own men who winced at the macabre torture. He killed 20 Church of Order priests, and many random skirmishers. Spendius soon reached the capital of Peria, its most important city. Lightning bolts descended to try and kill the Mendek army, but Spendius surged forward as he always did. ¡°Does it not get boring for you sir?¡± One officer asked. ¡°Boring?¡± He laughed, ¡°the only thing I will be boring is an enemy¡¯s skull,¡± he said to a few laughs and a lot of internal wincing. He took the gatehouse, and the flag of Mendek was soon fluttering over the battlements, the army rode in smashing the defenders who came to prevent the Mendek take over. ¡°For the king!¡± Someone shouted. King Sebastian himself came brandishing lightning bolts at the attackers, much to the shock of everyone involved. ¡°We fight for god and country!¡± He shouted. A most regal figure brandished lightning bolts at Spendius. Spendius was shocked for a few seconds, all the kings before hid behind their men, but Sebastian kept throwing lightning bolts that knocked off horsemen. Nonetheless Spendius sped along the ground and killed lieutenant after lieutenant in order to advance his conquest. The King created a lightning field around him, shocking Spendius further. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone do that before¡­¡± he muttered. Spendius threw a knife and the King slumped to his knees. Everyone has a weakness. Even a powerful man like that. The entire royal family had fled, Spendius looked for them, but found an empty palace, where exactly the princes had run to, was not known. The stone palace was not as illustrious as some of the other ones he had looted, but it was far more ornate inside than outside. Meanwhile loyalists to Peria fought him in the streets but Spendius and his army crushed them. ¡°Anyone resisting Mendek will be nailed to wood and made an example of!¡± Spendius proclaimed. 3000 of his heavy cavalry had died, killed by lightning bolts and the occasional missile fire. Perun a population centre of 100,000 was captured, the royal treasury firmly in the grasp of Mendek. The rich citizens were looted, and mercenaries hired to replenish the army. ¡°Mendek will rule!¡± Spendius said. Approximately 20,000 of the population would convert at the sheer awe of the Mendek victory. For how could such military victory happen without the grace of god? While Mendek obliterated Peria, the Republic already had investments in Nova and the Portus of Peria. Mercurius was freeing the slaves there, readying for the war with Mendek on this front. Total war with Mendek. To think one lunatic could do this to the world. I thought the Church of Light were the worst of it. They have been taken down in several countries, but now a much worse threat has come. Much worse. Mercurius was perhaps not quick enough in his investments, for Mendek would surely come barrelling down south from their newly acquired possessions, Spendius¡¯s hunger was for the whole world and the Republic was now going to find out just how hungry they were for it. 44. One Sun! 44. One Sun! While the world burned in the west, the Raja states were being united by the Rajun order. Hundreds of millions would be under one ruler. Radases ruler of all of the Raja states, previously split into 15 kingdoms, now united under one ruler. A large brown haired and brown eyed gentleman, he had 200,000 soldier armies all across his realm. An orange flag with a golden sun now extended all across what were colloquially known as the Raja states. ¡°Rajun will help our brothers in Lir and Jira and drive out the infidels who trespass on our lands!¡± Huge cheers erupted at his words. The large giant of a man put a mace into the air. ¡°Will we conquer the Zhong empire?¡± A soldier erupted. Radases paused for a moment, it was politically unwise to answer one way or another; it would be extremely militarily unwise to wage war against Zhong with Mendek and Yerek not dealt with, but it would be politically unwise to seem weak to his people he had just united, for Raja still had polytheists among them, people who needed to be mobilised with victory. Radases would have to be careful to not seem weak but at the same time use his military resources carefully. His campaigns were the reason Raja forces did not save Poltu, but now he could use a combined force under one ruler to assist the Church of Light. He expanded taxes against the unbelievers and recruited more and more men for the impending war. ¡°Sir, I hear king Hasan resides in Jira.¡± ¡°Jira must accept our rule, the Church of Light is ours to rule by divine right,¡± Radases said, ¡°if they resist they are unbelievers.¡± The clerk looked at his liege with fear and concern at such words. Are you serious? The clerk thought with panic. Zhong ruler Dao Ci had been fortifying his border. Building new walls and repelling nomadic groups that pestered his northern border, the news of the new unified Rajun troubled him greatly. Zhong was often more interested in its own politics than anyone else¡¯s. Usually. Dao Ci was only 30, and had inherited the throne, but he had been a relatively good steward of his realm. A tall lean figure with a thin wispy beard that emanated from his chin. Building constantly and listening to a semi competent court. There was bickering at court over religion, but philosophy was more important. Whether the Church of Order, Truth or Light or some other god would come to be the official religion was a constant question; but the court was also interested in whether they would have a centralised appointment system or a permanent aristocracy, powerful clans wanted permanent aristocrats, something akin to what the Church of Order countries had, whereas lower born members of the court wished for an appointment system, which at least could have some meritocracy. The two philosophies of court, a strictly legalist system or a more aristocratic ideology permeated and divided Dao Ci¡¯s court. The legalists dominated by lower class appointees did not want any foreign religion, whereas the aristocrats, powerful families had differing ideas for an official religion. Dao Ci so far had governed with appointees, but to avoid total instability he had appointed many powerful families, a defacto aristocracy. Ifar a Church of Light family that lobbied for the Church of Light to become the official religion, Cao a polytheist family which wanted one of the pagan gods to become the official religion and the Zu family were crypto Church of Order for now simply lobbied aristocrats rights and privileges. Dao Ci would have to arrest the powerful Ifar family if war with Rajun came to be; for how could they be trusted?Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Mendek and Yerek are also a concern, but surely we have no sympathisers with them in our court. They are far too young for any of our lords or retainers to have sympathisers. The peasantry and citizenry are not educated on what Yerek is, but it could be dangerous if they were made aware. The court separated into a parliament of sorts. The silk tapestries leading to Dao Ci in the centre, and the aristocrats and their supporters on the right and the legalists and their supporters on the left. Even among the meritocrats, they had divisions among those who wanted any lowborn to become part of the king¡¯s council or to demarcate by wealth. Dao Ci looked at the powerful agents of power and slammed his fist. I can use the appointees to limit the power of the aristocrats. The merchants to limit the power of the more uppity lower appointees. The army to limit the masses. ¡°As you all well know Radases has united the Raja states into Rajun, this new powerful state could invade us, under my authority as supreme lord of Zhong the Ifar family will have their lands and wealth under the state¡¯s jurisdiction until the threat passes.¡± ¡°This is outrageous!¡± An Ifar clan member shouted, ¡°even if Rajun is Church of Light we don¡¯t have to war with them. You can become Church of Light!¡± ¡°Since when does religion dominate our state?¡± A meritocrat shouted. ¡°Quiet,¡± Dao Ci said, ¡°the Ifar family know their ideology is dangerous and yet make these asinine proclamations, it is a dangerous element counter to national security.¡± The Ifar clan kept quiet. A Zu family member piped up in a most duplicitous manner. ¡°What should we do then with their lands, perhaps someone else could manage them.¡± ¡°They will become royal lands until the threat has passed,¡± Dao Ci retorted. Dao Ci observed his court, and went back to his office to plan fortification. ¡°Sir, they want to know your plans for war,¡± a clerk said. ¡°The Ifar might already be working for Rajun,¡± Dao Ci said discreetly, ¡°or others.¡± Dao Ci stared at his clerk, with a knowing smile. Perhaps you are the spy for Rajun. You can never know. Zhong kept a highly sophisticated intelligence network and made religious agents register or be put straight in prison. Zhong¡¯s spies could only uncover so much, and who their real allegiance was to, was always a question. Radases prepared his army, he kept his populace second guessing, maybe he would invade Zhong, or maybe not. Nonetheless he had only recently solidified Rajun and that meant political machinations. Marching through the tropical rainforests near to the harsher more arid terrains of Lir ready to annex the state in order to unify the Church of Light world. Jira would perhaps be next and after that the infidels to the west. Radases was coming, whether Yerek and Mendek were ready or not. 45. Western Meal, Bad Digestion 45. Western Meal, Bad Digestion Peria was beset with infiltration in the south and outright invasion from the north, while the east boiled over into a total war, the west moved with typical Mendek speed. Spendius and Hereward advanced south taking village after village, town after town, and generally were a nuisance to the peasantry and townsfolk they encountered. The royal family had been bested, but the local lords were not so willing to become slaves of Mendek. Hereward headed for the city of Palga which only had 20,000 people, but it was nonetheless an important strategic centre important for the economy as a westward facing port. Church of Order priests acted like snipers occasionally taking pot shots and Hereward continuously plundered their churches and terrorised anyone who sympathised with them. ¡°Anyone caught assisting rebels will be punished!¡± Hereward said, ¡°Peria no longer is a legal entity, these rebels have no rights!¡± Hereward was extreme, even more extreme than Spendius but it did quieten down resistance somewhat. People at least got out the way and avoided the marching army. Hereward got ever larger forces as he continuously bought more mercenaries. It took roughly a week, entering the onset of winter of the year 570. The city of Palga surrendered without a fight, scared into submission the guards had apparently arrested the Duke and handed the city to Hereward. The small stone walls now had golden flag with the black sword and axe adorned all over it. Mendek had come all the way down south. Hereward was extremely pleased with himself, augmenting his army to some 25,000 thanks to plundered gold. Does he think Spendius will pay for that army? Does Hereward think he will? Hippalus, a bald skinny man joined Mercurius in buying the loyalty of the south, and soon thinking of buying the north too; meanwhile Hereward settled himself in Palga and thought of moving on the city of the Nova while Spendius had raced his troops to the Portus of Peria. Hippalus surveyed the city he was about to cause an insurrection in. Counter to Hereward¡¯s expectations a lot of the ex slaves had already been armed, even surrounding villages had been proselytised to and been given the benefits of Yerek. Rumours of Mendek¡¯s cruelty was well known and many people in Palga already knew what to think of Mendek. There was a large urban area, as well as many large plazas built a long time ago by Byz when they ruled the city, markets extended across much of the harbour, with a city wall extending all across except on the western bay. Merchant and fishing vessels sat at the harbour with confused people. Church of Order sympathisers ran into the countryside, determined to inflict punishment on Mendek for the invasion.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I have come to liberate Palga from the tyranny of Mendek and from the brute Hereward!¡± Hippalus began, ¡°anyone who wishes to join me, shoot at those bastards and drive them out of the city!¡± Some sectors of the city had converted to the God of Battle, impressed by the victory of Mendek, but many had been impressed by food and water and wood. Hippalus shot a few of Hereward¡¯s officers, then he threw some knives at some more, and the city of Palga erupted into battle. What had seemed a perfect surrender, turned into a nightmare for the Mendek army. Ex slaves burned some of the tents of the camping army, others shot at the army as it formed, click, click and they fell to the floor. The heavier units did not have time to put on their armour so the simple shot of a crossbow had many completely dead. Hereward used God Powers to slaughter these crossbowmen, but still his army fell and Hippalus began popping up behind Hereward trying to distract him. ¡°You fucking bastard! I will skin you alive!¡± He screamed in fury. ¡°All you know is terror!¡± Hippalus said in perhaps a self righteous manner, ¡°and all you shall feel is my wrath!¡± Knives flew at the Mendek commander, as he evaded them all with lightning speed, and Hippalus appeared endlessly out of reach. The God of Battle¡¯s speed is not a joke huh? Hippalus thought huffing. Hereward had lost control of the situation with thousands of troops being killed, even his elite axemen were getting killed, he was fighting for survival not just of himself but also his entire army. Hereward¡¯s cavalry did not manage to mount up, their horses stolen in their sleep. Many of the night watch assassinated while the rest of the army rested by Hippalus, the city of Palga became a bloodbath. Hereward stabilised the situation, his screaming and ranting and his speedy movements butchering any crossbowman who came his way. He fought his way out of the city, Hippalus unable to fully stop him. ¡°I will get my revenge!¡± Hereward screamed, ¡°I will cut your limbs off you fucking bastard!¡± Crossbow triggers clicked and Hereward inaudibly screamed his damnations. 10,000 of Hereward¡¯s army had been slaughtered in their sleep, 5000 had been captured surrendering themselves and the other 10,000 had fled the city alongside the Mendek commander. An ignominious fate for a supposed conquering army, but the commander was alive, and would no doubt seek vengeance. Spendius arrived at Portus of Peria and noticed that the flag he was supposed to see was not there; the brown flag with the yellow thunderbolt was replaced with the tricolour of Yerek. ¡°These Republic fucks get everywhere¡­¡± he whispered in damnation, ¡°get me some liquor and a whore. God fucking damn it!¡± Mercurius had engineered a coup in the city not even a few hours before Spendius had arrived. He had alongside Ethra brought massive amounts of grain and water, and even brought an evangel to the God of Farming and an evangel to the God of Water much to the awe of the local citizenry hastening their handing over of the city. Spendius camped his augmented force of 15,000 augmented along the way and stared at the fortified city. Green, blue and yellow stared him in the face, and he was not happy about it. 46. An Obstacle 46. An Obstacle Spendius and Hereward had established a front taking as much of Peria as Yerek had allowed, which was everything north of the cities of Palga and Portus of Peria, Nova had apparently stayed with their Perian lord. In the east everything had gotten crazy. Proxenus, Robert and Clearchus were in Hitara battling Nichomachus and Mardonius, with Oxyartes and Symachus in the south of Uruq. The battle lines were intensifying with more and more of the fighting going on in the east. Proxenus and Clearchus marched 15,000 armies down southwards toward the city of Wahatan hoping to catch the garrison off guard. Instead they were stopped by numerous well fortified and supplied villages. ¡°What in tarnation¡­¡± Proxenus said squinting as he looked at the sight before him, ¡°they put stakes up and everything.¡± ¡°Sir, should we march around the village or besiege it?¡± A lieutenant said. ¡°We need to clear any obstacles, prepare the elites. I¡¯ve dealt with this kind of nonsense in Hitara.¡± The difference was that the villagers were armed with heavier crossbows, when Proxenus¡¯s men came to charge the village defences the heavy shots took out some men clean, causing the rest to duck and some to even run. ¡°Get them back sieging the village!¡± Proxenus screamed, ¡°morons¡­¡± he seethed. The village was fortified on all cardinal directions, and the locals were on roofs shooting down at Proxenus¡¯s army. ¡°Oh these people really want to party huh?¡± Proxenus said. Proxenus led the way into the village, hopping over stakes and speeding along the main village, jumping up onto the rooftops. ¡°Hello Proxenus,¡± Nichomachus said, ¡°I was expecting you.¡± ¡°You Republic fucker!¡± The black man taunted the dark haired paler man throughout the village, while Proxenus¡¯s army waited outside of missile range for the signal the the village had been sufficiently weakened. Proxenus swiped and swiped, Nichomachus appearing behind throwing knives and even rocks at the Mendek general. ¡°Your tyranny ends here!¡± Nichomachus proclaimed, ¡°I will have your army turning and running.¡± He teleported just in time to not get decapitated for Proxenus came close to ending the evangel¡¯s life. Nichomachus teleported and assassinated one of the Mendek lieutenants, causing confused shouts. In retaliation Proxenus gutted the crossbowmen on the roof. ¡°Our general is fighting one of their evangels!¡± A soldier said, ¡°for Mendek! The God of Battle will conquer the world!¡± ¡°For our rightful land!¡± The Mendek army charged and Nichomachus turned, almost getting stabbed in the chest. Nichomachus blipped away throwing knives at a few cavalry lieutenants enraging Proxenus to no end. Doors were bolted shut, but he nonetheless killed a few reckless militiamen, swooping into buildings, Nichomachus saving a few of the crossbowmen before again engaging the swift and annoying evangel. ¡°Do you not getting tired of running?¡± Proxenus said, ¡°your Republic will fall and all you will do is run.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°You sure run your mouth,¡± Nichomachus retorted. ¡°The Republic is weak, and I will hang the lot of you!¡± Again they went from fighting inside the houses to fighting on a house roof. A sandstorm blew sand around the village, swirling and blinding all sides. In the meantime Clearchus¡¯s army marched parallel to the village heading straight to Wahatan. Salutius was supplying already existing villages in Yerek with Ethra, meanwhile Mardonius sat on the battlements of Wahatan. ¡°We fight for the Republic! Against the tyranny of Mendek! And against the oppressive Church of Light!¡± Mardonius shouted, ¡°my fellow God of Trade evangels will make sure this city is properly supplied!¡± It was getting hotter and Proxenus¡¯s men were being peppered and shot at, officers shot in the face by Nichomachus and disorder coming into the army. Proxenus began slicing peoples¡¯ jugulars. Clearchus¡¯s scouts saw the commotion at the village, their eyes widening in surprise and shock. Is Mendek not invincible? Proxenus wanted to take the village as it blocked the road leading deeper into Amoreb. The locals shot his cavalry and infantry alike. Nichomachus teleporting around to cause the maximum amount of chaos. A Mendek elite soldier ran into the centre of the city with the sword and axe banner; the war cries were obnoxiously loud, deliberately trying to intimidate the militia crossbowmen. They will crack if I do not help. They would have cracked already had I not been here. Nichomachus wanted to assassinate the flag carrier but someone else had beaten him to it. The man fell over and the garrison much to his surprise began cheering. ¡°Go back and terrorise someone else!¡± Someone screamed. Both sides were now shouting, a series of insults flying back and forth. Proxenus danced around, slicing villagers being peppered by crossbow bolts and Nichomachus¡¯s knives. Noon hit and the dead littered the village streets. Mendek soldiers had attempted to breach many buildings to no avail, while Clearchus journeyed to Wahatan, Mardonius assisted in taking out Proxenus''s army, he took out an officer before returning to Wahatan. The villagers switched crossbows for ultimate rate of fire, firing in volleys that had the Mendek army totally bereft of initiative. Proxenus was exasperated, desperately flailing around trying to kill anyone and everyone, but being stopped by an annoying evangel. Nichomachus got hit on the face, teleporting away from Proxenus to kill his officers in revenge. Blood tricking down his black face, his afro hair being shaved off by missile fire and blades. Proxenus had more free rein but noticed his army shot into flight. 6000 were already dead with only a measly 300 villagers dead in return. Proxenus went berserk and Nichomachus had to shadow him to prevent him from slaughtering too much of the garrison. Some 400 defenders still shot at Proxenus¡¯s troops making them collapse. Caltrops and needles had horses and regular infantry hopping around in pain. Proxenus stared at Nichomachus with absolute awe and consternation. Nichomachus took Proxenus in the back, shooting a knife into the back of the evangel of Mendek. The God of Battle winced and the God of Trade rejoiced in this moment. Ending the Mendek general, Nichomachus stared over the tired defenders. Salutius was asked to supply crossbow shots to the beleaguered village while Nichomachus shot knives into the backs of the besieging army. With the death of their evangel the Mendek army was made mincemeat of, local villagers kept shooting the soldiers. 3000 cavalry were dead, 8000 infantry were shot, the 4000 routing troops fled into the hinterlands, leaving Yerek victors over a village. ¡°Are you ok?¡± Salutius asked Nichomachus, ¡°you took out of one of them, but even so, the madness will not end.¡± Nichomachus was not okay, he was dehydrated and covered in blood, nicks and cuts from close calls and panting from the adrenaline of battling such a formidable foe; Salutius in his short stature looked up to his fellow commander, bowed and nodded. ¡°I will take my leave, I am hopping around Yerek, helping villages, I hope I was of valuable assistance,¡± he said humbly, clasping his hands in a bow, and left. ¡°You were,¡± Nichomachus said quietly, Salutius having already left. The war between Mendek and Yerek had only begun. Nichomachus only had survived by a close margin, and so he fell on his rear exhausted by battle; he stared at the carnage that had washed on the village. Dead everywhere, mangled bodies, rotting in the afternoon sun, vultures pecking at people, blood staining the buildings, flies buzzing for a feast, many more meals would be ready for them. 47. The Grandfather of the Revolution 47. The Grandfather of the Revolution Mardonius stood on the city walls looking down at the army coming toward him. An old man he contemplated all the things that had led him to this point. An old man who had sold statues in Byz, Salutius and Mardonius had been friends but often Mardonius simply had various antiques he found interesting, things from another age. The wind picked up, and he stared at the men down below coming to besiege Wahatan. ¡°This city is quite the aged city¡­¡± he whispered, ¡°like me I guess.¡± ¡°I am sorry sir?¡± A man said with a siege crossbow. ¡°Do not worry my friend,¡± Mardonius said with a gentle hand, ¡°just an old man musing on life.¡± The man nodded. Mendek¡¯s flag could be seen fluttering in the distance. Salutius appeared. ¡°Nichomachus took out the evangel rumoured to be Proxenus. Mendek has retreated from the village,¡± Salutius said, nodding, ¡°I hope you are well.¡± ¡°I am well,¡± Mardonius said humbly, ¡°how fares the rest of Yerek?¡± ¡°Prospering¡­¡± Salutius said, ¡°do not imperil yourself too much, you know how these Mendek evangels fight right? They are very quick.¡± ¡°I have heard of the rumours,¡± Mardonius quietly said, ¡°they fight dirty.¡± Clearchus marched his army up to the walls, and quickly scaled up the walls in the typical Mendek fashion. Mardonius shot a crossbow at one of his officers, exchanging a typical greeting between the two factions. Mardonius returned to the walls, the crossbowmen shooting salvos down at the approaching Mendek soldiers. Siege crossbows shot thunderous shots that took off several of the approaching Mendek soldiers, not used to such stiff resistance, thinking that Clearchus would soon clear the walls and allow them entry to the city and an easy victory as always. Mendek did not get an easy victory, the endless sound of snapping crossbows made the Mendek horse bolt into stopping, waiting for their commander¡¯s actions. Clearchus gallantly surged forward, killing one crossbowmen after another, bolts flew in his general vicinity, nearly shaving off his head, but he parried them effortlessly. He took three people with ease, slicing throats and tumbling the defenders down the walls. Mardonius threw a blade at Clearchus and he was startled, throwing a knife back, only for Mardonius to retreat with a crossbow that he fired in Clearchus¡¯s general direction. The two fought each other on the battlements, the city a panoply before them, and them a sight for the city; thousands watched the sight as the old man, the grandfather of the revolution fought for their city, fought for their liberty, fought so they would not be looted. The man shot crossbows, flung knives, and Clearchus eventually despite the interruptions scrambled through the gates, cutting man after man. Mardonius grabbed the evangel and teleported him away from the building, a risky and near fatal decision, but one that saved many lives. The Mendek soldiers were already nearing the crossbow range, expecting to be able to enter the city, but Mardonius fought the man to a standstill. The longest 10 minutes in Wahatan¡¯s history, for the entire city watched the spectacle of an old man teleporting and a younger man whizzing about so fast they could hardly see him. Both fought so well, and yet neither died. Both sweaty, Mardonius had sweat in his eyes, teleporting back to avoid the strokes of death.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You fight well old man, it is a shame you serve the wrong god!¡± ¡°The God of Battle is a foolish choice young man,¡± Mardonius chastised the man, ¡°even without money we need trade. The God of Battle leads us only to misery.¡± ¡°Misery?¡± Clearchus repeated, ¡°that is your god and your Republic, a miserable state that doesn¡¯t have a proper military, a proper religion and even a proper monetary system!¡± ¡°We give to our citizens and you take from them!¡± Mardonius said loud enough that even the people down below could hear. ¡°You make your people weak!¡± Clearchus said. Soldiers looked in awe, at the battle of ideologies, all looked upwards or to the side. ¡°Don¡¯t bother shooting soldier, you might end up killing Mardonius,¡± a commander said, ¡°only if that Clearchus gets close.¡± The gatehouse was again attempted to be cleared, but Mardonius again shot at the man. ¡°You are one tenacious old geezer huh?¡± Clearchus said. This time aiming for his legs, feinting and then aiming for his chest. Mardonius was on the tallest battlements, shooting down, then appearing behind Clearchus who leapt with ultra quick speed, and again Mardonius evaded the man. In this battle of wits, Mardonius went from place to place, and after another five minutes of shouting and shooting, Mardonius said: ¡°Yerek and the Republic will live. People will always fight for it! Mendek can only survive off of corpses. Spendius has created nothing of value!¡± ¡°Mercurius is a fool, a blasphemer and deserves to be hanged! Anyone who does not accept our supremacy will meet the blade!¡± Clearchus said. Mardonius tried to be too smart, shooting the man from the back, but Clearchus anticipated this, leapt and struck Mardonius in the shoulder. Mardonius smirked throwing a knife at Clearchus¡¯s foot before teleporting once more only to struck across the back. The whole city gasped. Nichomachus joined in the defence of the city, seeing the bloody figure of Mardonius he threw knives in a fit, suddenly Salutius came back, and the two of them terrorised the Mendek commander. Mardonius groaned behind them, and the Mendek commander had a grin on his face. ¡°Damn it! No¡­ this can¡¯t be.¡± Nichomachus said. Salutius was not even saying words, tears flowing down his face. ¡°The Republic will live! I have bested one of their generals.¡± Clearchus tried to retreat, but Salutius and Nichomachus chased him all the way back to his camp. In the proceeding moments, they pinned down his hands to the ground slitting his throat and avenging the death of Mardonius. The Mendek army slipped away, not even bothering to besiege the city. Mardonius wheezed his last breaths, distracting the ire of Nichomachus and Salutius. ¡°Thank you¡­ these times have been like a dream.¡± ¡°No don¡¯t!¡± Salutius said, ¡°we have so much more to hear from you, you were supposed to die of old age in your bed.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Mardonius whispered, ¡°the stories will be much more interesting this way don¡¯t you think¡­ I must go,¡± he breathed, eking out. And so the grandfather of the Republic, the God of Trade and the revolution perished, to wailing crowds down below, people not that familiar with the true majesty of the man, only just introduced to the religion he had helped create, the man who had started everything. 48. Grief 48. Grief Mercurius went to Wahatan, tears in his eyes, Nichomachus took over in the Portus of Peria, Mercurius saw the bloody figure, the man who started it all. ¡°Ah¡­¡± he said collapsing onto his bottom, ¡°I should have come back to check, there was still so much more to say, so much more to do¡­¡± Salutius was inconsolable, tears flowing out of his eyes. Zelra had tears in her eyes, a beautiful woman, a Hunur woman who had vengeance in her blood. ¡°Those fiends have my people as their slaves,¡± she whispered, ¡°I will wage war on them always.¡± ¡°Always¡­¡± Mercurius repeated, ¡°he was nothing to begin with, he now rules a realm spanning much of the continent. He annihilated several countries and left us in this state.¡± Wahatan did not know him well, but they mourned his passing, the old man who had started it all. Throughout the southern deserts, all across Poltu, all across Moru and even in the new cities of Smyra and Hatun, tears were shed that the grandfather, the man who gave the first statue to the God of Trade had passed. ¡°Oh God of Trade, Mardonius was more than a friend, more than a brother in arms, if I was the first evangel, then he was¡­ before the first.¡± ¡°Oh great citizens of Wahatan, you lay witness to a mighty soul and a mighty heart. Never forget his sacrifice, never forget his example!¡± The God of Trade said aloud, confusing most, but stunning many more. ¡°How can we?¡± Zelra said aloud in a reply. The city was lined with mourners to witness the true majesty of the figure who have defended the city. Mercurius, Salutius and Zelra looked at the corpse of Mardonius with a mixture of regret and sadness. Masses of food and water were given to the spectators as they gawked at the figure being carried by the garrison through the streets. 100 Mendek soldiers had died, and an equal number of the garrison, two evangels one on each side now dead. Clearchus hardly had the emotional impact that Mardonius had. No one mourned for him, Mendek would not have vigils for him, men, women and children would not cry for him, he was dead now and forever and perhaps Mardonius would never truly die. The streets had flowers, some people even adorned their houses with their statue to the God of Trade, a memento to the man who had handed the first statue. The lore was not well known in Wahatan, but they knew enough to at least honour him.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°The one before the first,¡± a man said, handing a small necklace to Mercurius. ¡°Keep it for yourself,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°that¡¯s what he would have wanted, I do not need it.¡± Ethra appeared staring at the body of the man. ¡°You ok?¡± She said, consoling her man. ¡°I suppose he is like a father to me, the Republic should never forget him.¡± ¡°It''s true, he is quite the figure,¡± Ethra said, ¡°the man who gave the statue that began it all, that began Yerek, the Republic, and the God of Trade.¡± ¡°Without the God of Trade there would be no God of Farming and Water,¡± Mercurius whispered, ¡°many things would be different without him. I thought he was just a lunatic when I first met him¡­¡± Mercurius said, wiping tears off his face. Mercurius didn¡¯t eat much, instead he sat by a fire near the dead body of a man he could say he loved like a father. Evening hit Wahatan, the morning spent mourning, and the afternoon having been a still affair. ¡°Should we burn him or bury him?¡± Mercurius whispered, ¡°I do wonder.¡± ¡°A blacksmith should be burned, his ashes spread on a tree in the city. That¡¯s what I think he wanted,¡± Salutius began, ¡°then he can watch over us always.¡± Members of the garrison, particularly some men that Mardonius had personally saved by fighting Clearchus were breaking down crying in front of his corpse. On their knees, crying from their eyes and whispering how they should have tried harder. ¡°I was right there¡­¡± one man whispered breathlessly, crying inconsolably. ¡°Do we have to burn him?¡± One of them said, ¡°this man protected us from certain death!¡± ¡°He is the legend who saved this city!¡± A woman said, ¡°he deserves a shrine at least.¡± ¡°A shrine, a tomb, a tree,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°everyone deserves some dignity at death.¡± ¡°He was just a man like you and me,¡± Salutius said, ¡°I know he didn¡¯t want special treatment, but how can I agree to that, he was the one before the first.¡± ¡°The one before the first¡­¡± Mercurius repeated wistfully. Men and women had damp eyes, crying for this martyr for their city. ¡°Mardonius will always be remembered by this city,¡± an old woman said, ¡°even if we change religions which we won¡¯t, we will remember that an old man stood on top of those walls and fought for us.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Mercurius said breathlessly, ¡°that means a lot.¡± Zelra could not control the tears but cooled her breathing. The wind bit at them a bit more, a sound to interrupt all the wailing and tears. ¡°Our child is coming along, they will never know their father, but either way I want them to know he fought like a hero. I will avenge him. No matter what. Mendek will pay for their invasions, for their trespassing.¡± ¡°Mendek will pay.¡± Mercurius looked to the north, Hitara was ripe for subversion, the Republic could knock away at the foundations of Mendek rule and liberate the east. The only issue was, Clearchus¡¯s army had survived and another army was soon to be raised. Robert lay in wait, stabilising the province and preventing the collapse of the Mendek regime. In the east greater dangers lay, an empire was beginning to crawl out of was once colloquially called the Raja states, a ferocious beast that could contend with the Republic¡¯s teleportation and Mendek¡¯s inhuman speed. While a great hero was cremated in the fire for all to see, an empire and faith of fire was coming back for vengeance. 49. Vengeance 49. Vengeance Radases had marshalled more men under his command than some entire countries had people. Eastern Lir was annexed by 200,000 troops marching through their land. 100,000 men marched through Jira taking the seat of light. Rajun was now undisputed the ruler of all the Church of Light. King Hasan of Amoreb had surreptitiously fled through what was Lir toward the Zhong Empire, and perhaps past the Chenep to other nomadic populations. ¡°Hasan sir, if Rajun now rules everything, why are you afraid of them?¡± ¡°They have absolute authority to do whatever they want,¡± Hasan said, ¡°they could kill me and say it¡¯s for stability. I am a dead man walking if I stay there. No doubt the King of Lir and Jira will be mere puppets from now on, or dead.¡± The great holy site ''the Seat of Light¡¯ was under Rajun¡¯s control, Radases now bordered both Mendek and Yerek. Armies trespassed the border, thousands of Church of Light priests ready to blow up any army. Mendek was not in a great position to retaliate but did so. Robert confronted a much larger Rajun army of 100,000 by himself. Clearchus was replaced by a new evangel by the name of Antiochus, an equally blonde and blue eyed man who was quite tall. Proxenus¡¯s army was replaced and another evangel by the name of Demetrius who had short black hair, and was a medium height. Demetrius could only muster 5000 troops, while Antiochus went to confront the horde of Rajun troops. Rajun forces besieged Yasir and Wahatan at the same time. Mercurius decided to stay at Wahatan helping the forces there resist the Rajun invasion. Salutius went to assist Yasir, a new evangel to the God of Trade ¡®Xeniades¡¯ a dark haired gentleman with dark eyes and a short stature also assisted the defence of the city, hopping between Yasir and Wahatan to supply and hamper the supplies of the Rajun. The Church of Light forces had the Republic pinned down. Meanwhile Rajun forces confronted Robert on a small desert valley. There 100,000 stared down a mere 15,000 mercenaries. The Lir city of Lirun had fallen and the fate of Hitara hanged in the balance. General Khalid of Rajun marched his troops in a massive concave formation, intending to completely surround the Mendek forces and put them to rout. Instead Robert did the standard Mendek practice of surging forward and killing the leadership, which he promptly did. Khalid of Rajun lay dead, and his officers likewise were being butchered by the man who fought so quickly they could not even see him. The Church of Light priests were next, being slaughtered by quick strokes and quick movements, Robert absolutely bathed in blood. They nonetheless shot enough fireballs to kill 5000 of Robert¡¯s troops without breaking a sweat. Despite the horrific casualties, Robert¡¯s men charged into the superior force devoid of leadership and it soon began routing. Fireballs hitting their own men in the confusion of the sand being kicked up. Mendek¡¯s 5000 cavalry was mostly intact, and ran after confused and disorientated men. Another 100,000 troops had been marching nearby ready to assist Khalid¡¯s beleaguered army, only to be met with another Mendek army. General Antiochus met the other army and fought in the same manner, his cavalry assisting in the destruction of this first army. By any estimation 200,000 was a large number of men, not so easily thrown away, in the confusion of the desert sand, and the boiling sun, the heavy cavalry of Rajun¡¯s became hot and agitated wondering what was taking so long. What should have been an easy victory, became a bloody bog. Antiochus and Robert slaughtered the commanders and then proceeded to run down the survivors. Flag carriers were assassinated, officers were murdered, and with each destruction of the chain, the whole structure fell apart. The Church of Light was supposed to have their vengeance was instead run down for all to see. Local villagers stared at the horrific spectacle, clasping their heads and faces in terror. Mendek suffered losses, nearly 20,000 troops dead to kill 200,000. Antiochus and Robert ran them all the way to Lirun, there Antiochus and Robert replenished their forces and went deeper into Lir, hoping to catch the Rajun forces off guard. Demetrius acted as the home guard, staving off any subversion.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Because of the sudden defeats and the attritional style of warfare that the Yerek evangels were employing Rajun forces soon decided to withdraw out of Amoreb in fear of too many losses. Symachus decided to go out from Smyra and focus on undermining the original Lir city of Pars, Rajun control of Pars was undermined in the typical Republic way. The slaves were freed, the lower classes were given grown food and water and the various peasantry around the city were also given assistance; in this way masses of people developed sympathies to the Republic at the expense of the Rajun occupiers. Once again Yerek and Mendek divided Lir for themselves, Mendek forces surging deeper in order to occupy and profit from the region, while Yerek intended to bribe the locals into siding with them. The onset of winter made things slow down slowly for Mendek and for the Rajun, who did not intend to freeze their troops in the winter cold. Yerek however continuously undermined both Mendek and Rajun possessions in only a way they knew how. Mercurius targeted the city of Van. A city full of terror at the Mendek occupiers, but slowly over the course of a week built a massive following in the city. Maurice had besieged Hatun, intending to stop the proliferation of the Republic in Uruq, but now hearing of rebellion creeping up on him. Salutius took to disturbing the peace of Silica, he bought and freed slaves and encouraged freemen to rebel against Mendek. The death of Mardonius to some may have weakened the Republic but instead it strengthened their resolve, and their willingness to fight and to punish Mendek for having killed such a figure. Despite the evangels resolve, not everything was as it seemed in the Republic. 50. Betrayal 50. Betrayal Utbah hero of the Republic languished in Wersh, such a great man who had done so much to preserve and stop the enemies of Yerek. Utbah commanded great loyalty of the tribes of Wersh, and now he was given an offer that was tantalising, the God of Battle offered him to be an evangel and Utbah accepted. Evangels of the God of Trade fought the war as it progressed. Mercurius had made significant progress in Van as had Symachus in Cilica, thousands of new converts hiding in the shadows of their cities. In the west Hippalus and Nichomachus contended with Hereward and Spendius defending their cities from slow sieges. Mercurius¡¯s intrigue seemed to be working, until Utbah declared what he did. Zelra and Ethra reported the extraordinary news. Wersh fell to Mendek, many of its tribes switching sides in honour of their most legendary hero Utbah. Many citizens refused to convert to the God of Battle and barricaded themselves in the city of Wersh. ¡°How could you betray the revolution!¡± A shout was heard, ¡°I am loyal to Wersh not Utbah!¡± ¡°Utbah is a hero! He protected this city not Mercurius!¡± A voice was heard saying. Mercurius soon returned, flabbergasted that someone like Utbah would turn. I knew it was a possibility, we all thought he might think too much of himself and betray the revolution. But to do it like this! This man. To think we would have to rid ourselves of the hero Utbah. Mercurius thought. Wersh descended into civil war, and the city soon became a battlefield between those loyal to Utbah and those loyal to the Republic. Salutius and Mercurius soon came into the city, shaking their heads with utter revulsion at the state of affairs. ¡°This fair city is a city of the Republic to be given away because of the whim of some general is despicable!¡± Mercurius said chastising the crowd, ¡°this is Yerek and always shall be!¡± Utbah rode in with 15,000 camel warriors, sizing up the two evangels, senior evangels to the God of Trade. ¡°The God of Trade is weak, and needed me to defend its lands. We made great sacrifices and for what? The sacrifices are endless, many have lost loved ones. I swear allegiance to Mendek a country that is founded on battle.¡± Mercurius stared at the man he had so much respect for. How can a man change so much? Was he always like this? Did he become like this now? ¡°Did we not pay you enough?¡± Salutius chastised him.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Utbah came in for the kill, and the two God of Trade evangels teleported on top of nearby buildings. ¡°Utbah cease this madness!¡± Mercurius pleaded. ¡°You do not give me orders anymore!¡± Utbah said. ¡°We must get Nichomachus back here, he can talk to these tribes!¡± Salutius said, ¡°I am not qualified to deal with this madness.¡± Symachus switched to the western front, dealing with the city of Portus of Peria, holding off attacks by Spendius while Nichomachus dealt with the southern tribes. He tried his best to persuade the herders of the superiority of Yerek. ¡°The Republic is giving you free feed and food, we do not want to infringe on your rights and we don¡¯t want to burden you. Mendek is a country of looters whose first evangel to the God of Battle taxes his citizens to the brim to pay for armies. We abolished slavery, they use it to pay for many things!¡± Nichomachus said. The local herders liked what they heard. Most stayed loyal offering their camel riders to the Republic. ¡°Utbah is powerful¡­¡± an old man said, ¡°he was a powerful commander even without God Powers.¡± ¡°We evangels will try our best to deal with him!¡± Nichomachus said, ¡°we have already lost Mardonius in fighting this Mendek.¡± ¡°May the God of Trade bless his soul,¡± the old man and many others whispered. Mercurius and Salutius successfully threw knives at Utbah chasing him out from the city walls, his camel riders being shot and picked off by the locals of Wersh. Nonetheless some locals armed with pikes carried the banners of Mendek into the central square. ¡°Utbah rules here! Not Yerek!¡± A man said, ¡°Utbah is ruler!¡± Crossbowmen shot at him, shouting their damnations at the traitor. ¡°How could you!¡± They shouted. Utbah had already looted many villages still loyal to the Republic, and now the loyalists would get some revenge. Rider after rider fell off, shot in the neck or head. Utbah watched as his elite troops were slowly being whittled away. ¡°None of us wanted this!¡± Mercurius said, ¡°how did it come to this?¡± ¡°The Republic is not fit for purpose!¡± Utbah exclaimed, ¡°I will be Mendek¡¯s governor in the south.¡± ¡°Greed has infected you!¡± Salutius shouted. Salutius and Mercurius did their best to keep Utbah at bay, he surged forward with military speed, nearly taking Salutius¡¯s head off. Mercurius slinging a knife into the man¡¯s heel. ¡°Damn you!¡± Utbah said, throwing a knife of his own before surging for Mercurius¡¯s neck. Mercurius teleported out of the way several times, this time Salutius tailing the fast evangel to the God of Battle. All the while Utbah¡¯s men were being shot at, knocked off their camels. The city of Wersh had swelled to 30,000, and many of these villagers who had come to settle there were loyal to the Republic. The evangel to Farming and Water urging many to go out and fight. Men with spears and swords tried to storm streets loyal to the Republic, leaving piles of corpses behind. ¡°Look at what you have done!¡± Mercurius chastised the man, ¡°you have done this!¡± ¡°And you haven¡¯t?¡± Utbah said, ¡°you could have surrendered and all this could be avoided.¡± ¡°Surrender to tyranny?¡± Mercurius said, ¡°do you not know anything about the Republic?¡± ¡°I fought the Church of Light, not the Republic!¡± 4000 camel riders were dead, as well as 5000 Mendek supporters in the city, with 4000 loyalists likewise dead. The torrent of crossbow bolts chased Utbah out of the city, but he was still alive. ¡°What a mess¡­¡± Salutius whispered, ¡°we need to chase him out of the entire world.¡± Utbah ran to Amoreb, heading away from Wersh toward the city of Jitun in Jira, a conquest he would take for himself. Mendek had failed to subvert Wersh province, but had left devastation in their wake. The war was not over, it would be a long process. 51. Utbah鈥檚 March 51. Utbah¡¯s March Utbah¡¯s army was chased out from village after village. Loyalists to the Republic ever increasing shot and cursed at him, those loyal to Mendek were shot at in Wersh, but at least another 5000 ran out of the city and followed Utbah. Utbah hired another 2000 mercenaries using his personal war chest, 13,000 camel riders and 5000 infantry marched through Yerek territory bound for the Rajun city of Jitun. The sun was hot and beat down on them, some died of dehydration but even Utbah had sense to lug some water. ¡°We are heading for the city of Jitun! That will be our new home!¡± Utbah said, ¡°there I can enact my rule on a city in a true manner!¡± Ethra focused on rebuilding efforts in Wersh, bringing wood and stone for rebuilding, massive subsidies were given and efforts at stopping any more defections. Utbah¡¯s presence from Wersh was rooted out, with many of his followers fleeing to him or having already died. While Yerek began rebuilding and recovering from the devastation Utbah marched his force straight for Jitun, a city of some 120,000 and a worthy base for his operations. Utbah had saved his own gold reserves carrying some 5000 gold coins a worthwhile sum to purchase mercenaries and generally cause trouble. He decided against accompanying his own infantry instead delegating the task to one of his lieutenants who walked them through the desert and through the province of Amoreb near the southern sea where they could be given ships and sail to him. Yerek had no real fleet so the chances they would be intercepted were low, meanwhile his 13,000 camels travelled light and went across the desert sands to Jira. He could have attacked the Yerek city of Isra but decided against it fearing the casualties he could incur from such an action. It¡¯s best I avoid such a quagmire for my own sake. These pesky flies are even trying to harass me and my army. Mercurius and Salutius shadowed the army, taking out officers much to Utbah¡¯s chagrin. Such assistance was not awarded to me when I was battling hordes of the Church of Light, these bastards. These fucking bastards. The last few words came out, and his troops grinned and cackled at their commander¡¯s words. ¡°For sure milord,¡± one of them said. A lord with their own land, that would be nice. None of this peacenik common land business. I will be a lord god damn it, I will have my own fief, women, land and lots of gold for all my desires. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Mercurius stared at Utbah¡¯s army, whittling it down somewhat alongside Salutius. ¡°They seem to be running away which is good,¡± Mercurius mused, ¡°still what a disappointment,¡± he said. ¡°Hopefully they run all the way away from our country,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°the last thing we need is bandits.¡± ¡°Most of the people loyal to that ass have gone to him,¡± Nichomachus said, ¡°I am glad to see he is running. Unfortunately through our territory.¡± Mercurius and Salutius continued tailing Utbah making sure he would not take Isra. Nichomachus returned to Portus of Peria at the onset of the afternoon sun, where he found Spendius had begun an assault on the city. Nichomachus and Symachus spent a week making life difficult for Spendius, and Utbah marched on the city of Jitun. Finally reaching the city with a hasty march through the desert sands. He found a fortified city with many Rajun soldiers guarding the city walls. The orange flag with golden flame fluttered proudly over the walls replacing the flag of Jira the black flag with the golden flame. Utbah marched his troops near the walls and he surged forward onto the battlements and onto the gatehouse. He took out the guards with gusto, fighting even faster than the other generals, his men moved fast, surging through the gate he had quickly opened. He promptly slaughtered any Rajun troop who got in his way, capturing thousands of them that began promptly surrendering. The governor¡¯s palace soon fell to him, and he quickly assumed control. There he came across a decision that would irk him. Do I really need to pledge myself to Mendek? Am I going to be someone else¡¯s dog? I conquered this city. Sure the God of Battle gave me the powers, but it was me who did the work. Why should I fork out taxes for him? Utbah pondered on matters of state. Not immediately putting the Mendek flag up. His troops were loyal to him, not to Spendius or the state of Mendek. So he put up his own flag, a flag of a black camel on a golden banner. Utbah to Mercurius and Salutius¡¯s amazement had declared independence rather than side with Mendek. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s perfect,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°his selfishness will bite him.¡± ¡°He might be twice as annoying as Spendius, so be careful,¡± Salutius warned. The two of them stared at the sight with amazement. ¡°We still need to undermine his control¡­¡± Mercurius mumbled, ¡°otherwise it will be difficult.¡± Salutius agreed, nodding and then teleporting himself to Suria ready to undermine the rule of Mendek there. Mendek despite the distractions of the day was too busy trying to capitalise on their conquests into Rajun territory. Antiochus and Robert pressed on into what was Lir, taking territory and routing Rajun forces there. The stability of the Rajun state seemed precarious, so many crushing defeats was about to make the entire state fracture into the Raja states of before. ¡°Sir Utbah revolted against Yerek and has since established Jitun as his fief,¡± ¡°He outright conquered a Rajun city?¡± Antiochus asked in confusion, ¡°is he friendly?¡± ¡°He fought like a God of Battle evangel,¡± the spy said. ¡°What on earth is going on?¡± Antiochus thought aloud. No one quite knew. Rajun was on the back foot, Mendek was conquering but being subverted and Utbah¡¯s allegiance was to himself. The revolt was not successful, but Utbah was still a threat and the Republic had to take him seriously, slowly investing in revolts in Mendek. Spendius and Hereward used their new westerly domains to launch a campaign of attack in the west. The world was getting even more chaotic than before. 52. Utbah鈥檚 New Residence 52. Utbah¡¯s New Residence Utbah treated Jitun as a fief, taxing the residents to enrich himself. He taxed people extra based on their willingness to convert to the God of Battle, his position was still debatable; whether or not he would side with Mendek or be his own polity to the east of the Republic. Yerek began an offensive of sorts in the city of Suria and southern Hitara. Villages began loudly proclaiming their new loyalty, many burnt out villages said absolutely nothing, but the city of Suria had murmurings of rebellion. Utbah sat in Jitun reinforced by his infantry reinforcements, tribal allies from Wersh. ¡°We could take the seat of Light and make the Church of Light completely collapse,¡± one of his officers said. ¡°It would also focus all their wrath on us,¡± Utbah muttered. ¡°But it would demoralise their realms and allow easier conquests,¡± an officer postulated. ¡°How they react is unknown to us,¡± Utbah said. A rider from Antiochus approached, hailing the castle walls to not get shot to ribbons. Utbah and a small retinue greeted the man. ¡°We were just discussing strategy, who might you be? And what do you want?¡± Utbah said with no decorum. ¡°Antiochus asks for your assistance as a Lord of Mendek. You may become a duke with special rights to any territories you take. Spendius asks a small fee for affiliation.¡± ¡°Small?¡± Utbah asked. ¡°10% give or take,¡± the man said coughing. Utbah turned his head and looked into the sky, pretending to be slightly disgusted with what he heard, then he broke into a smile. ¡°Fine, long live Mendek!¡± His officers looked at him with suspicion. He looked at them with a sly grin. ¡°These lands are now ours,¡± Utbah laughed, ¡°the banner we fly is a small consequence.¡± The flag of Mendek was raised alongside the ducal banners of Utbah, he was lord of Jitun, but a lord under the protection of Mendek. All the while Yerek and the Republic intensified efforts to destabilise the Mendek position in the east. That afternoon he set off marching 20,000 camel soldiers down southwards, it took approximatelythree days but he routed an 80,000 Jitun army after killing the general. Reports that Radases had been overthrown were circulating, the great realm of Rajun no longer existed and the ¡®Seat of Light,¡¯ a most holy city for the Church of Light was taken by Utbah largely without a fight. The city of 80,000 paid their religious taxes to Utbah and he looted the treasury, sending a token amount to Spendius and Mendek.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Spendius will not know how much there was, and would not receive this loot without me to begin with,¡± Utbah proclaimed, ¡°so don¡¯t worry he shouldn¡¯t be too upset.¡± His soldiers largely agreed with him, perhaps a slight difference was that his soldiers were generously rewarded by Utbah, earning a loyal army at least. 100,000 gold pieces were looted, 2000 had been sent to Mendek as part of the ¡®10%¡¯ although it evidently wasn¡¯t; instead Utbah gave his soldiers 5 gold coins each, a huge bounty, making them as rich as landlords. 10,000 people were carted off as slaves and sold in the slave markets to make more money, again the revenues split with his troops. Utbah beheld the great Churches of Light, putting shrouds over them to show they were now shrines to the God of Battle, many of the priests had to recant the faith or be exiled, many chose exile. The city was ornate, lots of marble and sandstone, and only a few wooden buildings for the urban poor; the city had for a long time welcomed pilgrims from all over, they had been the ones accepting the religious taxes of faiths in their lands, plundering the coffers of others, and now Utbah plundered them, and took their gold for himself and his army. His army paid for prostitutes and alcohol, buying out the markets. His officers replacing some of the local lords, given land as theirs. ¡°I hear there are cities to the south, and of course the vast bounty of Lir, which is the reason the Church of Light conquered Lir to begin with,¡± Utbah said quietly, ¡°to think I used to adhere to that religion.¡± You adhere to another rapacious one that wishes for conquest and loot everywhere. You were not satisfied with the Republic paying you, you lashed out and ravaged Wersh. Well not like I can complain I have three slave girls to help me, haha. The officer thought, grinning like an idiot. The officer was given a stare by Utbah, and he pretended to be on best behaviour, straightening his back and wiping his smirk off his face. While Utbah looted what was once Jira, Spendius launched assaults on Nova, hoping to capture it from the last Perian lord, snatching it off the lord in a night raid, he took the city with minimal casualties marching 15,000 troops into the city and switching the flags before the depths of night. Spendius looted the treasury only finding 5000 gold coins which he used to hire more mercenaries marching on the Republic¡¯s stronghold of Portus of Peria. Palga stayed with Hippalus who began the process of buying support in Castra and Perun. The Republic¡¯s gold reserves kept fluctuating from 30,000, to 50,000 and then down to 20,000 as slaves were bought and freed and masses of the lower classes bribed with food and goods. In effect Yerek subsidised the Mendek state, the coffers of Mendek swelling from the taxes on the slave trade. Borders began to stabilise as much as possible. Mendek did not believe in borders, everything they could take they would. From the Seat of Light in the east all the way to Nova in the west, Mendek was a huge empire. Utbah already had another evangel from his efforts. A tribesmen and lieutenant named Zubayr, a large man and champion of Utbah¡¯s troops who was awarded evangel status by the God of Battle, and was going to be used in an upcoming conquest. The conquest of the city of Khalar, the last city of Jira, and an important port and an opportunity for Utbah to control even more trade and gold. 53. Dissected 53. Dissected Maurice had been attempting to attack the city of Hatun again, but he had been careless and his sleeping place was discovered by Oxyartes who had the Mendek evangel assassinated. With this he bought the slaves of Van and Kert who promptly rebelled putting out the Mendek garrison. The year of 571 began with numerous successes for the Republic in Uruq. Symachus began subverting Cilica once more, and Xeniades assisted in subverting Uruqa. Mendek had many secret police and soldiers patrolling, but the city¡¯s wealth had probably gotten worse with the Mendek administration; Mendek was most concerned with squeezing as much of the wealth out of the citizenry as possible, excessive welfare was not really a concern, this allowed large standing armies but completely neglected social welfare for the poor and disadvantaged. Furthermore Mendek actively profited off of selling slaves, using them for less expensive labour and for selling to various nobles to pay for administration. The Republic took advantage of this lack of care and over the course of a few days had converted large swathes of the Uruq heartland of Mendek. These were some of the Mendek first conquests, but city after city came under heavier strain with more converts to the God of Trade, Farming and Water. The tricolour and various idols began appearing more often and when the city of Kert had it¡¯s next tax collection, the men in charge were shot at with crossbows and chased out of the city, the tricolour being raised over the important buildings and the Republic all but taking over. Xeniades, Oxyartes and Symachus worked well together, converting Hisar, Kert and Hisar, as well Uruqa. Maurice¡¯s death brought confusion to the central territories of Mendek, a new evangel to the God of Battle named Xunur raised in Hunur brought 10,000 cavalry down south to try and stabilise the situation, but with each passing hour more and more villages joined the Republic in turfing out Mendek. Gallows intended to scare Uruqian citizens into being faithful to Mendek gave more support for the Republic. Again Spendius attacked Portus of Peria, Hippalus a skinny bald man stood in his way, Nichomachus had gone on the offensive buying the loyalty of the northern Perians. Hippalus stood alone as an evangel to the God of Trade. Spendius launched his most brutal assault, 20,000 against a garrison of roughly equal size. Hippalus tried to disrupt the assault by Spendius, crossbows endlessly clicking their weapons to devastate Spendius¡¯s men. Spendius rushed up on top of the gatehouse and slashed man after man down. Blood spurted and covered the next man¡¯s face, allowing a few easy kills. Spendius yanked the gate open, a man attempted to shoot him from the floor, but had his hands chopped off, and then his throat. ¡°Stop screaming!¡± Spendius said, ¡°just die already.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Hippalus attempted to stop him, throwing knives and disappearing. Spendius did indeed accrue casualties, men dropping like flies as they streamed through. ¡°The liberty of Portus of Peria will not die today! It will not die any day! Spendius can take it, but he will not take you!¡± Hippalus teleported away, a hair¡¯s breadth away from being decapitated. The city guard continued fighting, crossbows clicking away. 5000 of Spendius¡¯s 20,000 were already dead. The city continued resisting, Hippalus got water to drink and rejoined the fight, attempting to corner the lord of all Mendek. For 10 minutes, Hippalus shadowed Spendius, and Spendius correctly guessed the location of Hippalus¡¯s next teleportation, cutting him straight through the chest. Hippalus flopped to the floor and Portus of Peria was promptly subject to more of the Mendek army. Spendius began slaughtering crossbowmen, but the city was still quite resolute in resisting him. He conducted a genocide, his men slaughtering 20,000 of the citizens. Despite his overwhelming speed, he lost a further 7000. Nichomachus returned, but the citizenry were surrendering to the terror of Mendek. ¡°Convert or die!¡± Spendius promptly shouted. Nichomachus returned and rallied portions of the city, crossbowmen returning to make Spendius pay. Hereward however reinforced Spendius, prompting Nichomachus to flee out of being outnumbered, after which much of the city capitulated. Spendius had lost 12,000 out of his 20,000 but he had defeated the Republic in the campaign and taken the city of Portus of Peria. Loyalists to the Republic were hanged, burnt and many were tortured; beaten and singed for Spendius¡¯s soldiers¡¯ amusement. Despite Spendius¡¯s success in the west, the Republic had successfully eaten away at the heart of Mendek rule in Uruq. Kert, Van, Azer, Uruqa and Hisar revolted against Mendek. Xunur was powerless to stop the advance of the God of Trade evangels. He and his army were chased out of Uruq, completely powerless to the Republic. Mendek was cut in half, despite having won a great victory at Portus of Peria. Three new evangels to the God of Trade accelerated the growth of the Republic. Aristonikus a brown haired green eyed man of short stature who began focusing on Mendek¡¯s Balnan possessions; Sostratus a black man of medium stature who likewise also began focusing the Republic¡¯s ire on Balna and Cleophon a ginger woman of exceptionally tall height who began completely undermining Mendek rule of the region. The rate of conversions accelerated with the Republic convincing more and more of Mendek¡¯s subjects that their rule was intolerable and that life with the Republic would be better. Six evangels against one was not a fair fight and the vast quantities of goods and crossbows made revolt almost inevitable. The hinterland¡¯s were not much better, only remote villages that had not seen Yerek food and water wavered, not up to date with the information; but the reality was soon clear to all, the Republic had ground down Mendek in Uruq and was soon going to proliferate everywhere. Hitara seemed more stable, but the city of Suria had defected to the Republic thanks to the efforts of Symachus, Mercurius and Salutius. The war had entered a critical stage, perhaps Spendius would launch an invasion of Moru province, but his empire had been cut in two, dissected down the middle with only the nomad populations connecting his empire. 54. Attrition 54. Attrition Spendius had killed Hippalus and conquered Portus of Peria. Despite his apparent victory he had trouble replenishing troops, relying on Hereward¡¯s 20,000 to pacify the city that was evidently hostile to Mendek. Spendius¡¯s victories in the west and east were undermined by massive losses in his central territories. Sostratus, Cleophon and Aristonikus endlessly bought and sold goods to pay for massive freeing of slaves and subsidies, Xeniades, Symachus and Oxyartes likewise bought and sold and turned Balna against Mendek, overthrowing small garrison after garrison. Gold from the Raja states and the Zhong empire funded the freeing of slave after slave, which in turn facilitated more evangels to the God of Trade. Masses of people were armed with crossbows, evangels to the God of Farming and Water plopped into cities to facilitate quicker distribution of goods. Themison and Archippe both former slaves, the former dark and short hair and the latter bald but blonde had he bothered to grow it out were both new evangels to the God of Trade and soon joined in the cascading momentum of the Republic. The cities of Bethyr and Busur both revolted in favour of the Republic, leaving only the mountains to be somewhat loyal to Mendek. Spendius spent two days constructing a fleet, his armies restless as they sat on the southern shores of Peria. Nichomachus attempted to coax the city of Castra into revolting. Mercurius and Salutius watched events closely hopping between locations restlessly. ¡°We have Spendius in the west, and Utbah in the east,¡± Salutius warned, ¡°both could be very dangerous if they decided to go on the march. Symachus and Xeniades and the rest of them are doing phenomenal work. I can¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°Spendius has few evangels in his core territories thinking they are safe, he will lose those territories now.¡± Xunur was facing nine evangels all by himself, he had no way of defeating them or protecting himself, while the Republic bribed the Republic they increasingly began bribing the Hunur, who in turn turned on Xunur. Vistra was imprisoned by her clansmen and the Hunur turned the God of Trade. The Chenep were undefended and likewise quickly turned to the God of Trade as the Evangels teleported endlessly bringing in endless goods. Due to the militarised nature of the nomadic groups crossbows weren¡¯t really needed, but food and water was greatly appreciated; like Gatula pastoralist cities were organised that gave feed for the herds of the various herders. Rather than demanding coin and men like Mendek all the God of Trade evangels asked for was worship of the God of Trade, Farming and Water. Statues began appearing, and Mendek was now firmly split into two.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Nichomachus attempted to rally resistance in Portus, but the people there were broken, many dead littered the once populous city, it was a nightmarish grim spectacle, a failure of the Republic to act on time and with proper speed. Many people were pissed off that the Republic did not send proper reinforcement. Nonetheless despite Hippalus¡¯s death and the death of many, news that the Republic had eaten out Mendek¡¯s heartlands was welcome news. Balna and Uruq had fallen, and the evangels had moved onto the Mendek province of Asur. Demetrius could not hold off Yerek subversion losing the city of Cilica to a revolt being left with only Eda and much of the hinterland. Once again two more evangels were created to the God of Trade who yet again accelerated developments for the Republic. Hereward marched on Palga and Spendius guarded the fleet, his army almost outnumbering the smouldering city. Hereward arrived with 20,000 troops determined kill the Republic¡¯s hold on Palga and end Yerek influence. Mendek influence had collapsed in other provinces which he was not aware of, but Nichomachus was, he knew that every moment the God of Trade accelerated it¡¯s hold, freeing the slaves, purchasing the loyalty of the citizenry and supplying an ungodly number of crossbows so that a revolt would be possible. Despite the successes, Nichomachus was left largely alone, while other God of Trade evangels accelerated their successes at the expense of Mendek. Utbah and his lieutenants still had room to expand to and mitigate the losses, but Spendius was trapped without anywhere to conquer, slowly having his empire eroded. Hereward arrived at Palga with an army equal to the entire citizenry of Palga. Nichomachus defended the city most valiantly, shooting crossbows and throwing knives, but Hereward was a maniac who was extremely adapted to fighting. Three days into the siege, and many nights of the two fighting each other, Spendius arrived with his army and Nichomachus had to go summon reinforcements. Salutius and Mercurius arrived. The tango was bloody and awful. Mercurius shot at Spendius, and Spendius attempted to slice his throat. The crossbowmen shot at the 28,000 troops, and the battle got more heated. Men were dying, Salutius set the camp on fire, Hereward and Spendius increasing their speed, incensed that they would do such a thing. Salutius nearly lost an arm trying to catch Hereward¡¯s axe strike. ¡°He¡¯s faster than you!¡± Mercurius warned, ¡°don¡¯t try to go quicker than them! You will die!¡± The city of Palga held on until the night, and into the morning. Despite the gatehouse guards deaths, the city held on for dear life. ¡°Thank you for coming to my aid¡­¡± Nichomachus whispered, ¡°I would have died had you not come.¡± ¡°The revolution is not going to waste lives,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°I thought Hippalus could cope, I was wrong and he paid with his life.¡± ¡°Spendius is an exceptionally good fighter, even without the God Powers,¡± Nichomachus said. The three of them were covered in nicks and cuts, Salutius in particular was panting, not out of tiredness but at the close call with death. ¡°Do you think they know their Empire is falling apart?¡± Nichomachus asked. ¡°Hereward probably not, but maybe Spendius has an idea,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°there he is camped outside the city.¡± ¡°Do you think we could assassinate him in his sleep?¡± Salutius asked. ¡°I hear that the recent successes in Uruq came about because of that,¡± Nichomachus said. The siege continued, but Spendius might not have realised it, but his entire empire was under siege and was coming undone, piece by piece. 55. Unravelling 55. Unravelling While Mercurius, Salutius and Nichomachus defended Palga, two new evangels Mago and Himilco burnt the fleet that Spendius was depending upon to launch an invasion of Moru province. Mago had thick black hair and dark eyes, Himilco was bald, but had dark hair roots, the two immediately went to bribing the city of Portus of Asur. Mago, Himilco, Oxyartes, Xeniades, Cleophona, Sostratus, Cleophona, Archippe, Themison, Mago and Himilco focused on the province of Asur, the rate of bribery and freeing of slaves, initially swelling the local governments coffers only for revolt to completely destroy the Mendek administration. Asuf, Nord, Oest and Portus of Asur quickly revolted. Zhong and Raja states custom officials did wonder what was going on, wood flowed into their markets in such quantity, sometimes the God of Trade evangels had to trade their goods in Mendek markets to avoid too much suspicion. Resident evangels to the God of Farming and Water were plopped in recently successful revolts in the cities; food, water and wood began to be distributed in the cities from within them. It had not even been a day, and the evangels to the God of Trade were supplemented by Cleon, Samo and Hadrami, they immediately began undermining Mendek rule in Peria; Nova, Castra and Perun were inundated with goods and it¡¯s slave population freed with increasing haste. The city of Portus of Peria received the increasing number of God of Trade evangels with disdain, disgusted by their untimely arrival. ¡°Had you fiends come earlier, maybe our city wouldn¡¯t be charred and ruins!¡± An old woman badgered them. However, she had no way of knowing that the reason there were so many evangels was partly because of the distracted Mendek armies and the ability to concentrate in one front. Over the course of two days, all the cities revolted bar Portus of Peria, which refused to revolt out of fear for previous losses. Spendius and Hereward had killed thousands of defenders, Mercurius and Salutius not able to mitigate the losses despite their best efforts. Thirteen other evangels to the God of Trade, who had been able to unravel Mendek territories taking 5 and now nearly 6 provinces. Spendius and Hereward were beset with teleporting evangels, officers were assassinated, the camp burnt and Hereward unable to escape was riddled with knives in the back. The large group chased Spendius whose army was now attempting to storm the city. ¡°Mendek will conquer all!¡± Spendius 25,000 man army attempted to storm the city, but instead was left leaderless in the next moment. Nichomachus and Salutius collapsing to the ground riddled with blade cuts, Spendius the ruler of Mendek defeated. The Mendek army kept fighting, but was systematically dismantled by the God of Trade evangels who took out the command, and had the soldiers disorganised and soon riddled with crossbow bolts.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Well met¡­¡± Mercurius said, looking at the band of people that had come to his aid, ¡°I never would have imagined there would be quite so many of you.¡± Cleophona was a tall woman, and put out her hand to Mercurius who shook her large hand while looking up at her. ¡°The God of Trade is wise,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°We have Asur, Peria, Uruq, and even Chenep and Hunur and of course Balna,¡± Cleophona said, ¡°Mendek¡¯s eastern conquests have been Lir, and not much else,¡± Symachus said, ¡°losing their founder will hurt them.¡± ¡°Losing half their empire will hurt them a lot more I guess,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°goodness me there are a lot of you.¡± A lot of laughter was heard, before the 16 of them went to tell Portus of Peria of the good news. Demetrius attempted to besiege Eda, only to be swamped by 16 evangels who neutralised him, and soon had the city of Eda revolt and declare for the Republic. Utbah, Zubayr, Robert and Antiochus were left as evangels to the God of Battle, Mendek¡¯s leadership passing to Utbah. Despite this the God of Trade evangels went on the offensive, swamping recent conquests of Utbah in Jitun, the Seat of Light and Khalar. 571 Winter, the onset of spring. Three days would pass as the God of Trade began overwhelming Utbah in Jira province. Robert and Antiochus had managed to conquer the entirety of Lir, on the doorstep of the great Raja states. Balk, Lakhmi, Karun, as well as the already conquer Lirun and and Asr were taken with relative ease. Despite the victories, the number of evangels did not increase; the God of Trade eroding the recent successes of the God of Battle. Utbah could not believe the news, and had no idea that so many evangels to the God of Trade existed. ¡°How could our rule of Jira be undone so quickly? What the fuck happened?¡± Utbah asked, having gone on campaign in Lir, hoping to invade the Raja states and increase his power. ¡°I don¡¯t understand either,¡± Zubayr said, ¡°Yerek was on equal footing with us, what happened?¡± ¡°Sir, Hunur, Chenep, Uruq, Balna, Asur and Peria all fell to the Republic. Their number of evangels comes from their overwhelming victories!¡± A messenger said. ¡°That cannot be¡­¡± Utbah said, ¡°the Republic is winning?¡± I just left them and they start winning? My luck is terrible. What am I doing? Why did I leave anyway? Utbah was paralysed in thoughts, he did not know it, but he was the effective ruler of Mendek. An empire that had been totally undermined and unravelled, with each city falling, only accelerating the progress of the Republic. Utbah and Zubayr had numbered days, Mendek perhaps even less than days. Mendek only had Lir, a recently conquered province which they were squeezing gold out of, the Republic in contrast was subsiding a massive territory with an enormous amount of evangels to facilitate distribution. Mendek was no longer so scary, devoid of so much territory that could provide it gold for armies. The Republic was on the march, Yerek¡¯s flag flying over masses of territory, and now it had no equal. 56. Can鈥檛 run. Can鈥檛 hide. 56. Can¡¯t run. Can¡¯t hide. Utbah and Zubayr were now plagued by evangels to the God of Trade. The Recently conquered kingdom of Lir was taken practically in an afternoon. Antiochus was caught in a market, thrown knives hitting his feet and jugular. Robert was caught drilling his troops in Karun, so many teleporting people shot knives and blades into him. Zubayr was caught in Jenab right on the border with the Raja states, Antiochus was neutralised in the city of Balk, killed on his horse, Utbah was left riding a 10,000 man army that was killed heading to the Raja state of Uttar. The Republic had won, there was no one realistically left to oppose the Republic. Lir was invested in, and its cities overthrown in revolution. The various Raja states immediately sent embassies, as did the Zhong empire who quickly sent old men to ask for peace. The God of Trade evangels accepted, not wishing to have endless war forever. From Lir in the east to Peria and Moru in the west, Jira in the south and Chenep and Hunur in the north, the Republic reigned. The evangels went to supplying the various locations with food and wood, water and supplies. Mendek had been vanquished and a long process of preparing now had to begin. Villages and rural areas had to have supplies teleported in, and local farmers in the countryside had to change their professions. Two more evangels to the God of Trade Sophronicus and Priscus teleported around helping the new administration. The difference between then and before was stark; villages became vacated as people wanted to live closer to the evangels of Food and Water, the reality was that money had become less and less necessary for many. The rural economy that had relied on harvests, paying taxes and employing oneself into the army instead became dependent on food shipments. Wood, food, water was distributed endlessly. From the deserts of Lir, Moru, Amoreb and Poltu to the colder climes of Asur and Peria. Every city had an evangel, food localised to the area, wood localised to the area. Artisanal work, labour on salt flats, building roads was still paid with money. Mercurius sat in Balk drinking a coffee with Salutius. ¡°We could march on the Raja states,¡± ¡°Where are we going to get the gold to pay off the slaves?¡± ¡°That is a point, we do have a lot of their gold in our lands, sprinkled around.¡± ¡°We are not taxing the citizens,¡± Mercurius said adamantly, ¡°Locus and Lori are still independent, perhaps we should annex them first.¡± ¡°We have so many Trade Evangels we could probably fight garrisons with them,¡± Salutius grinned, ¡°Mendek was beaten in Uruq, they let the Trade Evangels grow too quickly and with it their empire has perished.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Ours will too, we have some structural issues,¡± Mercurius admitted. ¡°Like what?¡± Ethra asked him. ¡°Like masses of people who suddenly don¡¯t have jobs in the agricultural sector,¡± Mercurius said. ¡°They can do other things, besides we still need people to thresh the crops grown, we still need people to cut the wood produced etc. we are not finished with agricultural work, it¡¯s just less people growing, and more people processing the grown food,¡± Ethra explained. ¡°You are right, but that invariably drives people into the cities,¡± Mercurius said, ¡°with food no longer really a profit making endeavour, it complicates land issues, it makes Yerek have to adjudicate who owns what? Are we going to keep the old aristocracy landed? If so, who are they going to tax? If they don¡¯t earn any rents from the various people living on the land, they will become disloyal start revolts and make a mess of the Republic,¡± Mercurius said, wistfully and full of doubt. ¡°Revolts will start soon if we are not careful, thankfully most of our popular revolts are fully fed and armed, but there are doubtful elements,¡± Salutius began, ¡°the Church of Light never fully went away.¡± ¡°Nor can it,¡± Mercurius corrected, ¡°there will always be people who disagree, always. With the death of Mendek, we have a lot more internal enemies than external.¡± The Republic spent the entire spring of 571 building up reserves of gold, making villages resplendent and purchasing the loyalty of the urban poor and peasantry. Landlords and aristocrats were transformed into ordinary citizens, who enjoyed all the benefits of the freed food, wood and water, but throughout Lir and Jira aristocrat revolts had to be put down, with regrettable deaths. At least 15,000 dead, 5000 of them being loyalists to the Republic. Despite the bribery, despite everything, instability in the countryside, religious enemies, aristocrats festered. Yerek managed to bribe much of the rural areas solidifying their hold on much of the Yerek Republic. Locus and Lori were annexed, their kings peacefully put into retirement, the two island nations made into constituent parts of the Republic. Temples were built everywhere, even the Hunur and Chenep who didn¡¯t have settled cities, built temples to the God of Trade, Farming and Water and were given generous stipends by the Yerek state. Like Gatula, Tolra and Kostor, Hunur and Chenep nomads were given permanent bases to feed their flocks. The Alsar confederacy, a nomadic group to the east of the Chenep was still functionally independent sending an embassy for peace. ¡°Our people simply wish to trade with yours,¡± they said, rather simply, ¡°we don¡¯t wish to interfere in your affairs,¡± yet anyway, we will strike when the time is right. The man said and thought. The Alsar representative had a ponytail and shaved head, a custom of his people, he was not sincere with the Yerek God of Trade evangels, and they were not going to tolerate a hostile power on their border. The independence of other states seemed to be on a time limit. The great power of Rajun had disintegrated into squabbling fiefdoms leaving the Republic with no equal. Zhong was a mighty power, but it had its own problems. The Republic was on the march, ready to mop up the last remnants. 57. Accelerating 57. Accelerating 571 Summer. The Raja states held a sentimental place in Mercurius¡¯s heart, it was in these distant lands that he acquired so much of his gold for starting his endeavours, it was there that the Republic was financed. Now after so much trade with these people, he stood alongside many of his God of Trade evangels on the precipice of invading it. Yerek never truly ¡®invaded¡¯ anywhere, preferring to get the people on their side rather than marching troops, but the evangels had already begun bribing the country of Uttar. The Church of Light countries had economies predicated on slavery, so it was quite easy for the Republic to free them and bribe the cities of Uto and Tolsa. 20 or something evangels to the God of Trade moved onto the next states on the list: Seema and Promden. Promden was promptly assisted by the Zhong empire determined to not let it fall. Instead war with Zhong became inevitable. Another state that had bankrolled the early days of the Republic, was now being bribed itself. The Republic spent the next few days bribing the Zhong city after Zhong city, it was a tremendous empire with enormous resources; the city of Jiang, Xiao Ru, Xiao and Biang were bribed with the slaves and freemen being a secret fifth column in the Republic¡¯s campaigning. The following day, Pola was bribed, Picin and Confin likewise bribed by the ever increasing number of evangels to the God of Trade. Gold from all around Yerek was spent on purchasing the freedom of people, crossbows smuggled into the hands of millions. With such a crazy turnover, at least 10 more evangels were created, who in turn hastened the process once again. Zhong attempted to send expeditionary armies but when the crucial supply base of Xiao revolted, they had to retreat.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Two days later, Raju was bribed, Bandar and Prothu, Prothu being distinct for being the last pagan state in the Raja states to fall, now the shoe was on the other foot so to speak; the vast Raja states were frequented, statues and idols, in some places temples being constructed to the God of Trade even without a formal government take over. Raju and Pata attempted to martial armies, but a soldiers¡¯ mutiny quickly stopped it. Events accelerated faster and faster with no way of stopping them. After only a mere week, the Raja states fell in their entirety. The Alsar confederacy had been untouched but submitted to Yerek suzerainty. Mercurius didn¡¯t even take part in the slow picking apart of the Zhong empire, but within two days the Emperor Dao Ci had been assassinated and civil war had erupted, allowing Yerek to slowly take over city after city. Village after village was supplied, the usual process of paradropping evangels of the God of Water and Farming took place, the administration stabilising and the Church of Light turning into a stateless organisation that had to beg for leniency. The Church of Light was allowed to exist, albeit they would never run a state again. Mercurius spent the next four years living a peaceful life with Ethra; they had children, a son and a daughter, Mercurius would live out his days in the Republic of Yerek in Moru city, growing old, while the thing he spawned took over the world. In those moments he would remember Mardonius, the man who gave him the statue that changed everything. ¡°And with Mendek¡¯s fall, the other nations fell like dominos,¡± Ethra whispered, ¡°it truly is mesmerising how quickly the Republic succeeded.¡± ¡°Mardonius started the process, Utbah destroyed the Church of Light momentum, and Xeniades and Oxyartes routed Mendek in Uruq, completely reversing any kind of progress. The Republic triumphed against all obstacles, and nothing can stop it now.¡±