Herald of Steel

"What! That was not what we were told!" At Alexander's brazen demands, Metztil predictably blew his top off, gnashing his teeth furiously at a nonchalant Alexander.

When they met with Lord Janus, he had assured them the alliance would be a one time thing.

But now this man in front of him wanted to tear that apart and instead form a defensive pact lasting 15 years!

'Defend the lands of these outsiders? Joke!' Metztil spat with the utmost vehemence, not even putting such an agreement into consideration.

And this was not even him considering the matter of the offered land, which was too small.

Alexander however seemed to not notice the telltale signs of rejection but insisted in a cool, neutral tone,

"That was then. Now is now! You are not dealing with the Margraves anymore. You are dealing with me.. the pasha of Adhania. A new deal needs to be reached."

Alexander insisted as such, pressuring the other side.

He also changed his title to represent the country itself instead of his province, for he was not sure whether these closed off natives would know where or even what Zanzan was.

And it worked to an extent, as the mention of that great, sprawling mysterious country to the east brought some sort of recognition, followed quickly by a trace of fear.

Metztil might be brash but he was certainly not stupid.

Although he knew little of the closed country, he was clever enough to understand that if another country of any real significance were to join forces against him, his people's lives would once again turn very, very difficult.

Perhaps it would be even enough to throw them to their doom once and for all, thus accomplishing their hated foes' long cherished dream.

Metztil sought to first and foremost confirm this, "Why is an outsider country interfering in our internal matters? Heh! And you dare label the Heeat family as outsiders."

Metztil's sneer was meant to disparage Alexander's address of the enemy as well as reveal that they knew exactly who they were dealing with.

This way, the chief tried to signal that if Alexander pushed them too far, they would be happy to contact the other side and cut a deal with them.

This revelation however had only a limited impact on Alexander, as he found it only natural.

Given the natives had secret trades with the Margraves, it was all too natural for those smuggling merchants to pass on the news of the chaos and ruckus the Heeat family was causing.

As for Metztil's accusation of him digging his nose into places it did not belong, Alexander did not bother defending or even sugarcoating it.

Rather, with a gentle release of his pent up breath, Alexander first laid out the disclaimer,

"We are both busy men here chief Metztil. So since you asked why we are here, let me be frank," and then revealed the cruel facts in their barest form,

"The reason we are here is for the same reason why the Margraves, the Marsh, and the other families came three hundred years ago- trade!

The position of the island you inhabit is geographically too significant for us to not intervene. Whoever controls this island, is able to easily control the ships leaving and arriving at my ports... control the life blood of my people.

I am sure you can understand why such a thing is unacceptable to me. I also have my people to look after… just like you."

Alexander said the last part in a very soft, understanding tone, trying to win Metztil's sympathy.

"...." While the combative chief remained simply silent.

But his formerly mocking, furious eyes did change to form a more complicated set of emotions.

He understood the problem for his people was far from being a simple crazed conqueror wanting to add more territory to his name.

The fact was his island was simply too juicy for the surrounding powers to be left alone. Although he knew this before, this was the first time knowing it from the horse's mouth.

After Alexander pointed this out next, he further added,

"Also, great chief, even if you push me out, your fate will hardly change… you will simply be changing the owner of your chains. There will always be others like me.

If not from Sybarsis, then from my country. If not from there, then from those free cities in the north. And if attacks do not come from there, then there are also countries west and south of here. Fact is, somebody or somebody will always be trying to take your island from you.... because it is that valuable."

"Bam! Then we will kill them all!"

Finally unable to bear Alexander's overly negative outlook any longer, the bulky chief suddenly burst out like this, pounding his giant fist onto the table with immense force as his powerful booming voice reverberated across the room.

And this show of immense defiance brought great satisfaction not only to himself but also to all his surrounding entourage, who found their leader's immense courage illuminating.

Deep down all of them knew that Alexander was indeed true, but till now simply refused to accept it, choosing to still cling to the belief that their way of life was superior.

So they needed this light, for otherwise they felt they would forever be lost to the 'truth'.

"Don't be foolish. That's impossible,"

However, despite Metztil's best efforts at putting on a brave front, the most intended recipient of this message remained completely unmoved.

Producing a big frown instead, Alexander simply ruefully shook his head, "No one can fight the entire world and win Chief Metztil. And certainly, no one can fight the entire world and keep winning. Your enemies will be able to endure tens of losses, while even a single loss for you will mean obliteration."

Now, Alexander was indeed being a bit hyperbolic here, saying that the entire world's eyes were on Galiosos.

Sure, it was an important port and trading hub, but rarely was it the be all and end all.

If things worked like that, then Alexander's Zanzan would have been attacked and swallowed by the thousands of covetous eyes long, long ago.

Compared to the jewel that was his city, Galiosos was simply an unimpressive coal lying by the roadside.

So apart from a few scattered small kingdoms, in the south, the only ones with truly a vested interest in the island would be the Thesians living in those city states, the Sybarians, and from Adhania only Alexander since the rest of the country rarely traded with the outside world.

The situation was thus not nearly as bad as Alexander was making them out to be, and they would certainly not be constantly attacked like they were the world's number one enemy.

However who told the natives to remain so close to the outside world that they could not even recognize such a tall tale?

Of course, Alexander was going to take advantage of such ignorance

True enough, not only did the other side buy it, but their chief even made a very foolish statement, thus reducing his credibility.

This also let Alexander easily get the upper hand as pointed out the impossibility of such a thing, and then 'sincerely' advised the flushed with shame man,

"You can stop putting on a brave front here Chief Metztil. You are not inside your tribe now. No one is eavesdropping on you."

The sentence suddenly jolted the armored man awake, as he quickly turned to look around his entourage, his gaze turning a lot more complicated.

It was clear that there were people even amongst his own inner circle that he could not trust, and feared whatever they talked about here would get leaked to his rival.

While sensing their leader's suspicious gaze lingering on them, all the people standing beside him let out various expressions of shame or anger.

Even if they had differences between them, none of the men approved of their chief openly questioning them, especially not in front of their pseudo enemy.

'How does he know about the state of my tribe?' Metztil however was hardly concerned about what these accompanying men thought.

Rather he questioned himself incredulously as such, finding it incredible that Alexander was able to so easily see through his true state.

This was not normal for Alexander was an outsider who had arrived here just a few months ago.

Metztil could not for the life of him figure out how the young pasha could have gotten such inside information from so far away.

The Margraves and the natives had no official contact.

Of course, the trick to Alexander's little magic show was hardly that impressive. He had simply taken a calculated stab in the dark following the clues left behind by Metztil.

Since the leader had come by himself to the den of the enemy eschewing all dangers, it clearly meant he lacked reliable subordinates.

And how could the leader of the strongest and largest tribe that numbered close to fifty thousand lack reliable men?

Of course by having many rivals who watched and criticized his every move. .net

This consequently meant that Metztil could never show any weakness, or else he risked being replaced.

That was also another reason why Metztil put on such a brave front.

However now, with Alexander's reassurance and seeing he was on the back foot, the man let loose and asked in a hard voice, "Is that why you present us with that joke of a deal? Because you know we have no other choice? This is an insult towards us!"