Herald of Steel

Initially, when Lord Bernard heard that General Achillas had survived his fall, he was not able to stop cursing his luck feeling he was so close yet so far.

But now, hearing the man was tethering along the brink of death instead of being actually dead, suddenly brought great joy to the handsome lord. Because if Achillas had been already dead, he would have had no value in the upcoming ransom negotiations with Alexander.

Thus, Achillas's survival inadvertently led to the worst outcome for him and the best outcome for his hated rival.

Now, just by exchanging the Heeat family's general, Lord Bernard would be able to get rid of his arch enemy, have his father back and take command of the allied army, all in the same single stroke.

It was like shooting three birds with a single stone.

So how could the man not get excited? The golden opportunity he was presented with was too intoxicating.

'Hahaha, I really have to thank Alexander when I see him next. And ask him to reward whoever made that great shot. Hah hah, maybe I should even make him a lord hah hah!'

Thus the 'over the moon' lord could not even stop himself from rejoicing as such inside his mind, roaring out in pleasure. If he could have, he would have surely kissed that fateful servant.

Hearing Lord Bernard's plan, the others without exception were stunned. Even the usually stoic and always in control Anoon was caught off guard by it.

'Take the other ship and hand over Achillas to Lady Miranda? Swear our loyalty? Feet in both boats?'

All this might sound very sophisticated to a flashy man like Lord Bernard, but to the down to earth Anoon, it sounded awfully complicated. And learning from past experience, complicated plans had the tendency to fall apart like wet sand castles the moment push came to shove.

The man could nitpick several flaws just off the top of his head.

First of all, the other ship was not easy to get to given all the floating debris and human obstacles on the way. They had not approached it yet for this precise reason.

And even if they did manage to navigate the perilous waters and reach the vessel's deck, then there was the grave challenge of getting it out safely.

And from how things stood at his end, Anoon wondered whether that was even possible- for the complexity of the deadly maze in front of him seemed too obtuse to solve.

The floating debris was all shifting constantly in the waves, while new, smaller chunks were being regularly added to the pile every few while, as more and more of the leftover bridge crumbled to dust, thus making the place even more impermeable.

The surrounding waters had long turned unconductible for any kind of ship maneuver.

And if they could find a way, the adjutant genuinely worried whether the vessel would be able to even make those turns, given the battering he had seen it take.

Surely its hulls had to be cracked and leaking in water, while its steering rudders were most likely smashed to bits, making moving it in any direction other than in a straight line mostly likely impossible.

The experienced sailor thus wisely determined the ship was mostly likely not worth calling a ship anymore, but more of a mere floating platform, barely held together by ropes, nails, and sheer will. The man did not think it would be wise to disturb this trinity.

But he did not dare outright object to Lord Bernard's plan, afraid the golden goose would fly the coop.

Neither did he attempt to elucidate the problems.

Instead, putting on a thoughtful face, the black man succinctly chimed with a pleased tone,

"My lord is truly wise. With us in Alexander's camp and you in the Heeat family's, the Bernard branch will benefit regardless. Heh heh, let's not waste any more time. I will order the other ship to meet us midway."

By simply proposing this, Anoon found he was able to avoid all of his worries- if the other ship could move and come to them, then great, all his worries would have been for naught.

But if it could not… well the undisputable evidence would lay right in front of Lord Bernard and the man would be forced to change his decision without any lengthy debate.

It was quite a tactful move, and Ser Robert, who was also able to see through this, could not help but give the man a very impressed look.

He knew that he did not have a smooth tongue like this, and if he was in the other's shoes, he would have butted heads with Lord Bernard in a loggerhead manner, ruining his chance.

'*Sigh*, I am really not cut out for this. Anoon would have made a far better commander than me. Too bad his history….'

"My lord you mustn't!"

Ser Robert did not get to go too far down that track of thoughts for he was suddenly and violently yanked out of it by this great shout, its source naturally being Ser Ballmer.

And as he turned with an irritated face to gaze at the man, he found the man visibly very distressed.

If before this old man had been livid at Ser Robert and Anoon's proposed betrayal, now, at Lord Bernard's wish he looked absolutely terrified, eyes shrunk to the size of a needle and clearly shaking.

Then, having gotten their attention, Ser Ballmer once again iterated in a strong, accusing voice, "This is breaking your oath to Lady Linda. You swore to serve her faithfully! Do you not fear the wrath of the gods?"

Hearing this broken tape recorder, Anoon pursed his lips in an irritated manner, "As I said, there is no oath…"

"Shut up!" However before he would make his eloquent case, the man was very rudely interrupted by the enraged warrior, who, knowing he could outtalk himself out of it, decided to shut the man forcefully like this.

Then, sending a deathly glare toward the black man as a warning, Ser Ballmer once again turned to plead with Lord Bernard.

"My lord, forget all the sophistry this black mothered slave has told you. We are allied with the Heeat family, That is an undeniable truth as true as the sun itself." The man imperiously pointed to the sun to emphasize his point, "And harming their general with much malice will surely earn you the ire of the gods. They will not be fooled by the mere waggings of a less than mortal scum. So please!

Reconsider!"

Finished saying this the old man then turned to give Lord Bernard a very puppy eyed look, appearing as if he was on the verge of breaking down into tears.

"...." And seeing this Lord Bernard too froze.

Lord Bernard was no cold hearted beast and of course, knew Ser Ballmer's loyalty and dedication to his family was beyond reproach.

So what advice he was giving was undoubtedly sincere. And combine this with his belief in the gods, he indeed came to realize that his excuse would likely not hold under the scrutiny of the gods.

Hence he began to get cold feet at the very last second.

'Fuck!' And seeing this reticence emerge within his target when he was so close made Anoon produce a bubbling hatred for Ser Ballmer like no other in his heart.

This old veteran had always hated him due to various reasons, as clearly revealed by how the other side had just called him 'less than mortal scum'. And Anoon very much reciprocated those feeling ounce for ounce.

The black adjutant however did not get to dwell on the man for now but quickly forced his attention to the mercurial Lord Bernard, who was by now giving him some very obvious looks.

It was apparent that he wanted Anoon's help in arguing his case.

"...." But try as he might, even the swift black man found himself tongue tied at the moment. He seemed to have said all that he had to say.

'Fuck!' Thus, as his mind produced a blank, Anoon cursed himself, fearing that he might have to start swimming after all.

"Technically speaking, Lord Bernard has sworn nothing to Lady Linda." Until this sweet chime released him from this prison.

And the salvation came from the unlikeliest of places- Ser Robert.

This man had seemingly managed to notice a flaw in the argument that no one had and steeping up with sparkling eyes and a confident gait, he claimed,

"The person who Lord Bernard swore his oath to is the head of the Margraves family. But as of today, that seat is empty!"

"Lady Linda to date is officially only the duchess of the Heeat family and is still fighting for her throne with Lady Miranda. Thus it could be argued that anything she asked of Lord Bernard was only a favor and not bound by the gods!"

The entire cast of men was stunned by Ser Robert's surprising eloquence and wondered where all that came from.

Well it came from the fact that the man was always a real stickler for oaths and thus had found some of the words used by Miss Linda during their talks to be breaking protocol.

Who knew it would come in handy here like this?

(Next chapter before today ends).

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