V2 Chapter 4: Trading a sword for a kingdom

After splitting up with Regan, Lanxer has ridden days and nights without stopping with Levy and ten of his bodyguards while his main force was catching up from behind. He traveled light, bringing with him the bare minimum of supply for twelve people without the white dragon armors of White Winter on their body to attract unwanted gazes. He forced his willowy body to go through with the harshness of his journey, barely holding on with the help of his potions. On the fourth day of winter, Lanxer arrived at the six- petal flower city Shepiran. Without wasting any time, he approached a trading firm operated by one of his Shadowless units at the city outskirt. He allowed his exhausted body and his entourage to rest for three hours at the firm's guest house before conducting his official business with his local spies.

Egan the owner of the trading firm was the vice leader of Lanxer’s local spies operated in Shepiran and neighboring regions. He was one of the many local slaves who Lanxer freed during his first trip to Zard fifteen years ago. He received seven-years training under a training unit of Lanxer’s Man of No Banner operated in the floodplain of Zard. After that, he had three meritorious years of working as a local spy before Hados dispatched him to Shepiran under the guise of a nobleman’s son who wanted to set up a business in the capital. Egan’s role was to create connections with important and powerful local. He was able to live an extravagant lifestyle fully supported by the power of Lanxer’s private coffer. Thus, he quickly established himself to become one of the wealthiest people in Shepiran and formed many important connections with the wealthiest and most powerful of people in the capital of Zard.

Hearing Lanxer’s arrival, Egan has already accommodated his entourage with necessary items, housing, and identities for the swift inspection. Lanxer was received as a friend of Egan and a noble from Silver Snow who traveled to Shepiran. Lanxer changed his clothes and horses according to his new identity. Egan ordered a carriage for Lanxer and Levy to hop on while accompanying them around Shepiran for inspection. Lanxer’s carriage moved around the important checkpoints that his army needed to control before they could gain access to the palace to capture the king’s offices and family hostage.

While accompanying Lanxer’s carriage, Egan rode on his own horse and stopped at the north gate of Shepiran, the gate of Great Bear. The gatekeeper and guards upon seeing Egan, allowed the carriage to enter the city without a hassle.

“It has grown again,” admiring the development of the city, Lanxer muttered as soon as his carriage passed through the long oppressive darkness of the gatehouse at the north gate. He has visited Shepiran on three separate occasions, which two of them were for secret missions. Every time he visited this city, it changed for the better, deservedly earning its title as the flower of Zard. Shepiran was the largest trading city within Zard’s territory and possibly the entire northern realm. Once, it was just a titan’s uninhabited town that has survived the First Divine War, now, it was one of mankind’s most glorious cities and the capital of Zard. Shepiran received its name as the six-petal flower city from its architectural structure, a glorious wall of granite towering over the Lisboron Hill surrounded by six rounds of high walls around it like a giant exotic flower. The imperial palace, court, and office located inside the pistil of Shepiran, within the granite wall whereas everything else stayed within the six flower-petal rounds.

Shepiran had four great entrances that lead into its six petals. The north gate was named after the Great Bear of Madukat. The south gate was named after the Golden Serpent of Kemon, similarly, the west gate after the Smiling Cat and the east gate after the Iron Boar. To enter the granite wall, people had to go through the Dawn gate or Dusk gate.

As he traveled through the limestone paved streets of Shepiran, Lanxer inwardly told himself that he could not afford to have another crucial piece of his plan slipping out of his hands. He has sent Regan with the 800 of White Winter’s best cavalry units the Silver Wind into what looked like a suicide mission, to kill or capture the King of Zard by going against an army of 11,000. He had a tactic for Regan to accomplish that goal, disguising Regan and his best men with Hyrios’ standard and the Great Plain’s nomad to assassinate the king.

If only that would work, Lanxer thought pessimistically while his carriage traveling through the northern districts of Shepiran. He did not dare to put his hope high that Regan would manage to pull that assassination off. Nor Lanxer dared to put his bet on the Silver Wind to kill the king amidst the chaos. With 800 horsemen under his command, Regan can only do so much despite his abilities and experience.

Regardless of whether Regan failed or succeeded that assassination, Hyrios’ reputation will be called into question. That thought neither pleased Lanxer nor disappointed him. He knew that at the moment dozens if not hundreds of eagles and crows were flying through the sky of Zard with conflicting information regarding Hyrios’ betrayal to the throne. Intercepting and filtering out the information that the Court of Shepiran received was one of the many reasons that the campaign has mostly gone according to Lanxer’s scheme so far. According to Lanxer’s calculation, it would take another week for the birds to arrive at the Shepiran’s Imperial birdhouse bearing news of Hyrios’ treachery and the news of revolts at the Western Border and one more day for the news of Imperial Army being attacked by a group of nomad bearing Hyrios’ standard. While such news would at best put Hyrios’ good reputation into question, it allowed Lanxer’s 5000 trailing units wearing the golden dragon armors and standards of the Zardian’s imperial army to enter Shepiran with the least amount of resistance.

Most of Egan’s arrangements went according to Lanxer’s expectation. Egan possessed over two thousand slaves and prepared to use them as a mean of distractions on the day Lanxer’s army entered Shepiran. Since Lanxer’s army would enter Shepiran through the north gate with or without the help of his insiders, Egan’s slaves were tasked to spread chaos in the opposite direction to attract the attention of the city guards.

Around the time Lanxer wetted his throat with the second vial of potion since he arrived at Shepiran, his carriage was passing before the Dawn gate that leads into the Imperial Palace of Zard. Lanxer saw an old face, Azurus, Shepiran’s local spymaster who was working up the rank to be a low gatekeeper in contrast to Egan. Azurus was among the original members Lanxer’s Man of No Banner. Azurus subtly greeted Lanxer without drawing much attention, making a fist on his chest.

Lanxer’s carriage moved toward the direction of Imperial Barrack, one of the most important checkpoints on his list. Just like the city guard’s barracks, the Imperial Barrack of Shepiran, where the Imperial guards lived and trained themselves, located outside the granite wall out of the fear of a potential revolt like what happened during the last civil war. Only the highest ranking of the imperial guards, the king’s bastard sons, were allowed to live within the protection of the granite wall. According to the belief of the military men of Shepiran, in the case that the outer walls were lost and the invader has already sieged the granite wall, because the Imperial Barrack strategically located outside the granite wall, the Imperial Guards could easily attack the rear or flanks of which army decided to attack the granite wall. However, Lanxer only saw an exploit through such deployment.

The king has brought with him 11,000 men to his campaign. Among those 11,000 men, four thousand came from the Imperial Army and the city barracks guarding Shepiran. That left a mere 6000 men to protect the flower of Zard, mathematically a challenge to Lanxer’s army of 5000.

Mathematically, Lanxer’s eyes flickered on the ground of the Imperial Barrack through the wooden frame of his carriage as he probed Egan regarding the detail of his arrangement. The arrangement still left many rooms for desire and Lanxer rearranged them to his device.

On the third night after Lanxer arriving at Shepiran, Egan invited Lanxer’s insiders under the pretense of celebrating his son’s coming of age ceremony according to the schedule to his private manor inside Shepiran. Whereas Egan received his most of his guests as the host of the ceremony, away from music and the cheering of the celebration from the main house, Lanxer met his insiders, among them, the third prince of Zard Entarii the most important piece of Lanxer’s plan.

While Zard married her princesses to other lands for alliances and treaties, the princes of Zard while they were allowed to live on the support of the royal coffer, only the ablest of them were allowed to receive and manage their own land around the size of a count’s fiefdom on White Winter at best. The rest had to find their own path when they reached the age of sixteen, serving the gods, joining the imperial guard, or trying farming or marrying into some noble families who hoped to be a relative of the royal family or whatever.

The third prince Entarii held the official title of the Commander of the Imperial Barrack, which spoke of his effort over the years as well as his developments and ability of the mole Lanxer installed by Entarii’s side.

“Greeting Prince Entarii, I almost did not recognize you. You look exactly how I have imagined your father was when he was younger.” Lanxer stood and greeted the third prince the moment he saw the man’s figure at the entrance. Levy stood at his side and respectfully bowed her head to the prince whereas all of Lanxer’s insiders also stood and respectfully greeted the third prince.

Entarii greeted Lanxer back, “Greeting Prince Lanxer,” He joked with a smile on his lips, “Or should I say War Chief now?” He grabbed Lanxer’s bony forearm and shook arms with a force that made Lanxer felt like his right arm was about to be ripped off, “You should eat more. You are just a bag of bone and skin now.” He commented on Lanxer’s physics, “Speaking of which, I have not even congratulated you for your recovery. I hope that you could forgive with this gift.” Entarii entered the room with his faithful page at his side, bearing a box wrapped in silk.

“Kamara tea leaves?” Lanxer asked.

“The green sprouts as usual” Entarii nodded and confirmed. He remembered Lanxer’s preference for drinking tea brewed from the spouts of the Kamara tea tree over the leaves, signaling his page to deliver the gift to Levy. “I have saved them for you, old friend.” He said and strode around the room to greet the other guests, shaking their arms and exchanging brief casual talk with all of them.

The third prince of Zard has grown up in the manner Lanxer has expected him to be. Once he was a pampered and frail looking boy, crying for his lack of talents and vying for his father’s affection in secret. However, that boy has long gone. He has developed a dashing figure from his military training, a man now.

As soon as Entarii finished with his brief pleasantries, Lanxer called for the meeting to begin. Lanxer reconfirmed with Entarii regarding the damage to Hyrios’ reputation that Letrailos was wrecking at the Western Border, much to the visible delight on Entarii’s face. His hatred for Hyrios remained strong since fifteen years ago, if not stronger now according to Lanxer’s designs. The third prince has never grown over his hatred for being shamed by Hyrios in front of his father in that birthday party as a boy back then and a man now. That hatred aside, Lanxer was glad that Entarii has gained a burning ambition for the throne despite the heir to the throne has already been named someone else.

The king of Zard Thrainian IV loved to see talents blossomed as much as Lanxer’s father lust to ram his dick into a woman’s cunt. Thrainian IV loved to surround himself with talented people so much that it became an obsession. He promoted a merit system based on individual ability to combat the rampancy of nepotism and favoritism among his loyal subjects and offices. This policy even extended to the lowest rank of his subjects, the serfs and slaves. Thrainian IV encouraged the slave owners and nobles to educate their slaves and serfs through his policy, conferring rewards and credits to every talented slaves and serf who they recommended to the kingdom.

Furthermore, every three years, Thrainian IV would host an examination in Shepiran to recruit new talents across his kingdom. At the end of the examination, he would put people whom he considered talented and able to their respective roles. The real genius of this examination was that people of all the classes could take it and there was no such thing as examination fee. Thus, even if a poor slave with no coin in his pocket to feed himself could take the examination and pass it if he had the right knowledge and talent. This Shepiran-three-year- examination boldly removed the hereditary claims to all entry-level government posts and most imperial office posts, barring the nobles of Zard from their monopoly over many government posts and offices.

For years, Lanxer has seen his teacher mulled over the same idea to target the very root problems of the Kingdom of White Winter. Thus, when he saw the policies that Thrainian IV established, he could not help but admire and envy the boldness of the king of Zard.

Unlike White Winter who had a total worth of nine dukedoms and two princedom, which made its politics extremely complicated to deal with, Zard has already managed to limit the power and domain that noble-houses could possess through the civil war over 300 years ago and centralized its military power around the king and the four direction protectors of Zard. Even so, Zard still had its own fair of problems when dealing with noble houses since the nobles own most of the wealth, trades and official titles across the kingdom. Therefore, making a policy to further prying away the grip of the noble houses over the kingdom was a bold move. While it allowed the king to have a better grip over his kingdom, it made him at odds with his nobles and relatives.

Since Lanxer had his eyes on Zard fifteen years ago, he did not miss his chance. Most of the people participated in the meeting Lanxer hosted were nobles and imperial relatives who gathered under Entarii’s wings through the years. Lanxer’s secret friendship with the third prince of Zard began during his first trip to Zard. Lanxer caught the prince took out his anger in the darkness of the night when his father was busy praising someone else’s sons instead of his own.

Thus, Lanxer whispered a careless whisper of a drunken man into the ears of the third prince. If people wondered just how much a quiet whisper could impact the mind of a child who was starving for affection from his father, a lot. Lanxer showed that boy a shortcut and that boy listened. He switched his own page for one of Lanxer’s spy, a capable man, a talent, a person who could read the heart. He stayed by the prince’s side, whispering advice and letting the third prince winning all the credits. And indeed, the third prince was a perfect candidate to be Lanxer’s most powerful marionette. He joined the Imperial Barrack to earn credits and became an important figure among the Imperial Barrack.

“What about you, Prince Entarii? Can you kill your brothers and all the other candidates for the throne?” Lanxer phrased his question like a challenge.

“Do you doubt me, old friend?” Entarii coldly scoffed. The dark expression on his face reminded Lanxer of Letrailos when that shameless man tried to ruin the Kraig’ondor campaign in the past to kill Lanxer and Regan. In a way, Entarii was Letrailos if Letrailos were less talented and more simpleminded, a perfect marionette to gain control over the kingdom of Zard.

“Until I saw this expression on your face, yes.” Lanxer nodded his head and admitted, causing a flash of displeasure on Entarii’s eyes. “It’s extremely hard to kill someone when that person grew up with you, ate in the same table as you and studied under the same teacher like you. It’s a hard choice to make, a great sacrifice of one’s self even if it was done in the name of the greater good for this kingdom and its people. I have always lamented my lack of the courage to do that.” In around and about manner, Lanxer praised Entarii while putting himself in a lower position. He sighed sorrowfully and put a dampen mood to his tone. Lanxer hissed, “For years I have thought about it. Every day, I lived in the fear of the dukes and princes of my kingdom would revolt against the throne as the reign of my useless father grew weaker in every moment. I feared a civil war would tear my kingdom asunder like it did to your kingdom 300 ago. But they were my father, my uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, I… I hated my lack of strength to make such decision every day…” Then, Lanxer coughed with the force of a person’s retching, no longer able to say anything. Levy hurriedly came to his side patted on Lanxer’s doubled willowy back, trying to ease his coughing and pain.

Lanxer flickered his sight around the room for briefest of the moment, measuring the expression of his guests. The flash of displeasure quickly dispelled from Entarii’s eyes like a wisp of a smoke of a dying candle, according to Lanxer’s calculated effort to humble himself and his feigned coughings, “I’m sorry. As you are aware, I have only healed from sickness.” Lanxer killed his coughings before the atmosphere inside the room became strange. He popped a vial of health potion and drained it in a gulp.

Entarii closed the distance between him and Lanxer, grabbing Lanxer’s right arm, wearing a concerned look on his face, “Take better care of your health, old friend. The sight of your suffering pains my heart. You are just a husk of your old self now. Take better care of yourself.”

Had it not for annual reports written by the mole that Lanxer has installed by Entarii’s side fifteen years ago, Lanxer would probably feel incredibly touched by the perfect display of emotion on Entarii’s face. He used his bony left hand to grab Entarii’s hand, giving it a firm shake to display his trust and appreciation for Entarii like a brother in arm of his, “Lest an old man’s health stops the great wheel of history from advancing forward.” Lanxer smiled weakly, speaking with a deprecating tone. “Let’s continue our discussion for the future of your kingdom and mine.”

The meeting progressed accordingly to Lanxer’s terms. He discussed the other insider’s role and Entarii’s most important role during the day his army entered Shepiran under the guise of the defeated Imperial army led by the king of Zard. He skimmed through the terms of the Imperial Edicts, which Entarii has written in advance for their legitimization to complete with the Imperial seal on top and the acknowledgment of the king’s office, pretending to not realize the loopholes on the written terms to put Entarii at ease.

After that, Lanxer repeated his promise to honor the secret deal with the third prince to crown him as the king of Zard and the effort to recognize Zard to be an equal ally of the future Empire White Winter. The meeting went over midnight and concluded by the time Lanxer heard a distant roosters’ crow. Egan helped Lanxer to receive the guests as they returned home while they tried to show their consideration to Lanxer’s health. Entarii played the role of a concerned friend to the very end, reminding Lanxer of his stark similarity to Letrailos. Lanxer presented him a surprise gift belatedly, a silver sword with water flowing pattern on its blade. Entarii kept commenting of how generous Lanxer was, comparing to himself, a Titanite sword for a box of Kamara tea, “If you opened a business, you would definitely be in red all years long if you are this generous.”

“A worthy son of Craxus must have a worthy sword at his side, don’t you think?” Lanxer mysteriously smiled, shaking his head. Trading a sword for a kingdom is too cheap of a price.

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“He’s similar to Letrailos, just as repugnant,” Levy commented when the third prince of Zard went out of earshot distance.

Lanxer inadvertently turned at her, flexed his index finger and raised his brows in displeasure, appearing as if he was lecturing her for her outburst of insolence.

“Let’s me fix your bed, Your Highness. You need to rest now.” Levy spoke without concern, knowing that Lanxer was secretly approving with her comment.

Lanxer did not say anything, waving his hand to tell Levy to Just do it without waiting for his permission.

“Fifteen years of preparation used up in just a single moment,” he looked at the moonless sky and sighed.

This war has gone off prematurely three years ahead of his initial scheme, and thus Lanxer could only give up several elements involved in his plans. The news of the king of Zard led his own imperial army into combat has caught Lanxer’s off-guard. He lamented the fact that Letrailos has managed to evade his death trap, somehow. The Phantom Army strategy that he employed could have gone off much better with more time on his side. Had the kingdom held on for three more years, Lanxer could have rid White Winter of its festering fleshes and asserted its dominance as a new Empire with a single move.

One more year, Lanxer secretly promised, giving a deadline to his plan at dealing with White Winter’s internal issue.

That night, Lanxer slept without dreaming of that black serpentine dragon for the first time since he had that dream. He was not sure if he were more worry about not seeing such an ominous dream than seeing it. He has sent his message to Regan’s father to tighten the defense of Kingscrown despite knowing no army would repeat the mistake of attacking White Winter in the white of winter again.

The night after that, the sky spewed fire. Lanxer woke up to the shouting of Egan’s servants. He stared at the red dusky sky brightened in a storm of fire. A myriad of flaming stars streaked through the sky, angrily tearing holes through the wooly night clouds, trailing long burning tails behind them. It appeared to Lanxer that the gods have unleashed a volley of fire arrows at Escana amidst the night. As Lanxer watched flaming stars arcing toward the direction of the dwarven Starfell Island, he heard the servants’ prayer to Sinintee, “May Sinintee smiles upon our future.”

His thought randomly trailed off to Letrailos. Somewhere in the western region of the Great Plain, Letrailos was probably using this meteor storm as a sign to strengthen the faith of Sinintee again, talking about the gods, the demon lords and the end of the material plane of Escana.