Herald of Steel

"Okay, then we do this. I will select a few men from your crew to meet with the Iyizardian king as my business delegation. He will carry with him my seal as well as a portrait of Arrya."

"That should solve both our problems, right? You will get to meet all the nobles and Arrya's chastity will remain untainted."

On the surface, Alexander's plan appeared flawless.

"....." Yet, Vidiyan's heart instantly thumped at the proposal, and his throat wanted to instinctively reject it.

This was mainly because every pirate had almost an inborn fear of stepping foot inside that country. All the creative ways the Iyizardians were known to persecute the pirates had been very successful in making these men very fearful of the place.

So about the thought of going all the way into the palace, the innermost sanctum of the whole place, and meeting their king.

Most pirates would feel themselves shaking in their boots just hearing the proposal, much less actually going through it.

"No, my lord. There is no problem," However, Vidiyan was different.

He could see the carrot of nobility dangling just in front of him, making it just too hard for the pirate captain to reject his master.

So gritting his teeth, he at last agreed with a heavy nod,

"If my men carry your letter with the authentic seal and appropriate gifts, it will indeed be possible for them to seek an audience. As expected of you master, to be able to think of such an elegant plant."

Alexander however was able to easily see through the man's weak and lackluster flattering, accurately detecting the true fear and apprehension hidden underneath.

He let out a small smirk in his heart, but then quickly sought to relieve the man.

"Mmm… that is only natural. The paperwork will be done personally by me. It will be authentic even in the sight of the gods. As for the gifts…."

"How about thirty good warhorses, fifty excellent quality steel armor, a hundred swords of the finest quality, and a beautiful full body glass mirror. Will that be enough?"

Alexander nonchalantly listed his 'tithe' without losing even a single breath.

He had already expected to pay this much when attempting to make contact, as was the custom for the time.

In fact this was sort of the custom even in the modern times. For instance, nobody went to a party empty handed. They always brought something like flowers, wine, sweets, gift cards or other presents.

In the same way, a brand new delegation from a faraway place had to bribe the king for a meeting.

This was also done as a way to confirm the party's identity.

After all, given the primitive nature of communication, it was impossible to verify in a short time whether the delegation was genuine. So those gifts at least worked to show whoever sent them was at least rich and powerful, hence worth the king's time.

Thus it was only natural for Alexander to want to spurl, especially during their first contact, as a way to show off his status and not let the other underestimate his envoy.

"....." Vidiyan on the other hand did not have the experience to consider all this.

He only heard the grand list and felt his throat cramp up a bit, before like a bona fide businessman quickly went on to count the value of the gifts inside his head.

'30 warhorses… each should cost 15,000… no 20,000 ropals. That's 600,000 there!'

'The hundred fifty weapons and armor should cost another 100,000 ropals. It is no secret Zanzan's weapons are the best in the world.'

'As for the mirror…' Initially the man struggled to come up with the price of that rare item as he had never handled such a thing before.

Until Vidiyan's eyes subconsciously went to the large number present just behind Alexander in his study.

And observing the size and transparency of the crystal clear glass as well as the intricate silver stand it stood on, 'That is priceless. Millions, if not tens of millions.' he mused with experienced eyes,

The pirate who had plundered many high quality goods in his lifetime so naturally had come to develop a very keen sense of their price.

Thus knowing of the value of the gift, a small part of his heart even could not help but feel a little bit of greed, wanting to keep the item for himself.

Of course this was only a throwaway impulsive thought that affected the man in only the tiniest bit. He would not seriously contemplate it even if given a hundred more hearts.

But needless to say, he was very pleased with the itinerary of the promised gift.

Vidiyan thus quickly brought out another one of his huge signature grins and swiftly chimed,

"Yes, yes, of course, more than enough, it will be more than enough. My lord is most generous, most generous. I promise I can get an audience in the court with such a valuable gift!"

While Alexander keenly noticed that the pirate captain had used the word 'I' instead of 'my men' here.

It was something that he also much approved of, so he quickly nodded with appreciation,

"Mmmm, it will be best if you can carry the gifts yourself Captain Vidiyan. I would feel most secure that way. Of course you can delegate if you fear for your security but… hmmm, I guess I will leave that final decision to you, hahaha."

Now, although Alexander made it sound like he did not care, blowing it away with that breezy chuckle, the pirate captain was still clever enough to catch the underlying meaning.

He could tell if the delegation failed, Alexander was going to hold the man responsible.

"....." This was something that put the man in a great dilemma.

There were naturally tons of reasons he did not want to go.

For one, there was the obvious issue of security. No matter what guarantee Alexander made, at the end of the day, his safety would ultimately lay with the Iyizardian king.

And who could guarantee that the royal would not just chop off the pirate's head just because he did not like his face?

Messengers had been killed over far less.

Two, as the captain of a huge pirate fleet, it was very hard for him to make such a long trip inland, leaving his men behind.

There were many things the fleet needed Vidiyan's personal approval and he did not wish to delegate in fear of creating a precedence and thus diluting his authority.

Lastly, as a pirate he also naturally feared being caught. Especially as an Iyizardian with his thick, black beard Vidiyan was even more eye catching.

'Tsk. I really do not want to go. But… how can I refuse? My peerage is at stake.' Thus a violent battle of tug raged inside Vidiyan, until, one side decisively won,

'Dammit, no risk, no reward. I must do this to gain Lord Alexander's favor. Besides…. It should not take too long. I have not been to that place in decades and I doubt even my mother could recognize me.'

'And even if someone does… so what? I am not a pirate… I will be a man employed under the Pasha of Zanzan. There will be no problem, there will be no problem.'

Vidiyan thus reassured himself as such, although even this very reasonable conclusion could not wipe any the last bit of fear.

'What if something went wrong? What if…' That last phrase continued to stay with him like a plague.

"Do not worry Vidiyan. You will not go blind. Send that male translator. I will have Arrya tell us some details about her family."

The pirate captain's swirling thoughts were at last shattered by this loud chime from the man sitting opposite of him, as he turned to notice Alexander giving him a gentle gaze,

"Send for that translator here. In that way, you will be able to at least answer the most common questions regarding her," The pasha repeated.

Clearly the young man had noticed Vidiyan's considerations and decided to make things easier for him.

"Ahhh… there will be no need for him my lord, I also speak their language. I can translate." While Vidiyan did not reject the proposal but graciously accepted, sending Alexander a very relieved and grateful look.

Hence the fully veiled lady was soon summoned and after being asked to sit beside Alexander, was made to answer a few questions such as her name, her family, how to contact them and where she was heading when was captured.

Arrya at first seemed reluctant to talk to this man who had captured her, rather content to give him some very angry glares.

But with more incentive from Alexander, who revealed why he was asking these questions, the blonde lady finally began to speak with an extremely reluctant voice, revealing more about herself.

The conversation between the two foreign speaking pair lasted for close to thirty minutes, during which Alexander did not interfere with even a single peep.

Then finally, seemingly happy with his gains, Vidiyan turned to at last give Alexander a great smile and chimed,

"Thank you my lord for giving me this chance. I have learned a lot. With his my journey will be much easier."

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

Please come Here!

=>Link to the original /book/herald-of-steel_24388579605084705