Herald of Steel

(Sorry guys, I was really sick these days. I will make up the missed chapters soon, Cheers!)

As Ser Robert pointed out the flaw in Ser Ballmer's statement, the latter understandably went ashen, while Lord Bernard felt rejuvenated, his eyes glowing up with glee.

And seeing this, Ser Ballmer tried one last time, crying out so in a desperate plea,

"My lord, please think it over! Lord Parker is too powerful! How can switching to Lady Margaret save us? Save our family? That is a ducal family! They have the backing of all the nobles in the country."

"And that Alexander is pathetic. We outnumber him ten to one! The Heeat family will crush him any day now."

"So please! Do not let a momentary setback blind you to the truth! Such things happen. Both Lord Parker and Lady Linda are reasonable people. I am sure they will understand what happened here today if you explain it to them."

Ser Ballmer was still under the mistaken impression that Lord Bernard was trying to do this due to fear of reprisal following today's results. And so the loyal bodyguard tried to reassure the man that such things happened in warfare and were no big deal.

And it was indeed one of the reasons why Lord Bernard considered his strategy.

So this, as well as many of the other words that Ser Ballmer said, although exaggerated, struck a chord with the man and it made Lord Bernard ponder for a second.

'The strength discrepancy is indeed too lopsided, just as Ser Ballmer said. So can Alexander truly win? The odds seem too stacked against him. But then again…the man has won every engagement till now! So maybe he has something we don't….. Hmmmmm, what to do… what to do….'

And seeing Lord Bernard's thought face brought great hope of Ser Ballmer, who immediately went butter up the deal even more, as he produced a kind of base and sycophantic smile that he never thought he would have to pull,

"Besides, if you think about it a bit in detail, it would be quite hard to explain yourself to Lord Parker if he were to truly ask how General Achillas was taken. The changing ships, the escape, the pursuit…. as they say, the devil is in the details. When you think about it like that… there is no need for you to take such a great risk, hehe."

Giving an oily chuckle that he had never produced before, the man then suddenly turned hateful, as he turned to look at Ser Robert and Anoon and venomously spat while pointing with his hands, "Also, at worst, we can blame it all on these two idiots! Remember what they did to you? They not only violated a direct order but even imprisoned you. This is clear treason!

They and their family all deserve to hang!"

It was very clear that to further anchor his point home, the man was also trying to sow discord between the two parties by digging up past conflicts.

"....."

Unfortunately, this was so transparent to everyone involved that the attempt appeared quite childish and perhaps even a bit amusing.

They did not think the straight laced military man had it in him. So watching him try his best to adapt after having failed to win the battle of the words, felt like seeing a toddler learning to walk for the first time, half crawling, half bobbing his way forward.

"Enough Ser Robert! Alexander has shown what he is capable of. He is worth befriending! I will not have myself be questioned by the likes of you." Until Lord Bernard finally felt he had enough of the man and decided to cut the conservation as such.

Although Ser Ballmer made some great points, the man felt his original idea was still better. Because Lord Bernard did not want to simply play safe and go back to the status quo.

He needed Achillas gone, both for himself and his family.

Thus waving his hands imperiously, he firmly declared, "The decision has been made. Whatever I do, I do it for the benefit of my family! Now go! You will follow my orders!"

The announcement brought a great deal of joy to Ser Robert and Anoon, as they were relieved that they would not have to take the perilous plunge.

While at the same time, Ser Ballmer felt crushed.

"...." And so for a moment, this aged warrior went silent, lost in his own thoughts.

"N…. no! I will not let this happen!" Until suddenly he erupted like this, in a booming voice loud enough to draw the attention of many of the surrounding crew.

If anyone was under the impression that Ser Ballmer was going to go down silently, well now was the time to bury that assumption for good, as understanding that he would not be able to convince Lord Bernard with his words, the warrior man decided to at last resort to what he always did best- use force.

Hence shouting out so with a blazing pair of eyes, he let off,

"I have served the Margraves faithfully for so too to see it fall under the hands of a pampered wastrel like you. I will never go with it! Do whatever you like! But although I might be unable to stop you from leaving, I will certainly inform Lord Parker of the truth of the matter here today. And he will be the judge of you! As will the men here with me!"

Clearly hashing his threats out for all to hear, Ser Ballmer then turned his focus away from Lord Bernard to the other pair before the latter could even respond, and his face twisted into a manic countenance the moment he laid eyes on them.

This time, his words were far more acidic and loathsome, with him lifting his fingers pointedly to shout at the chief architects of this disaster,

"And I will see to it that you two treasonous bastards are hung! I should have killed you the moment you decided to raise your sword against the lord!"

"What? You thought I could not kill you just because you outnumbered me? I could have carved through all of you like butter with one hand tied behind my back! The only reason I did not was because of the lord. *Tsk*!"

As Ser Ballmer made that regretful spat, many might have thought that he was only boasting here.

But those who knew the man and saw him in action felt it might not be too far from the truth. The old man's skills in combat were nearly unmatched among his peers, and if not for his fear of Lord Bernard getting killed in the ensuing melee, the ruthless warrior might have actually tried to break through regardless of his disadvantage, taking perhaps as many as ten men with him before falling.

Thus the likes of Ser Robert and Anoon felt greatly relieved that the man had been thoroughly disarmed, with not even the small dagger around his waist left untouched.

Ser Ballmer however was still not done with his piece, as he had one last person to vent his frustration on, Anoon.

And his time his face had the most menacing expression out of all, as he snarled with a clenched fist, wishing to bash in the man's face with his bare knuckles,

"You black mothered slave! I know it was you who got Robert to do all this. You fucking rat!"

"I will kill you! Mark my words scum, I will kill you the very next second I get my sword! I should have killed you long...agghhhhhh...."

Ser Ballmer would never get to finish his great threat as finally having had enough of the man's tireless tirade, Anoon decided to put an end to all of it here and now.

Thus while Ser Ballmer was too distracted by his own monologue, Anoon stepped forward with a blinding flash, his right hand shimmering with a long, silvery blade that was dislodged from his hip, which an instant later found itself pressed deep into the neck of the large man, making him stop in his tracks an instant later.

"Guggggggeee" Blood then began to immediately pool into his man, making him gurgle out the crimson liquid, staining his lips and chin, while his eyes went wide with terror and shocked incredulity.

The man was certainly having a very hard time understanding what the hell had happened, and how he could have been struck down like this.

But all that did not seem to matter now.

*Thud* He fell face first with a dull, great thud, his vision already blackening, with the last words entering his mind not being some shout of concern for him, but, "I have always also hated you, bastard."

Anoon had long dreamed of slitting Ser Ballmer's throat and finally, his wish had come true, while the rest of the crew seeing this were understandably all shocked.

That however seemed of no concern to the man in question, as drawing his dagger, he only chimed, "There are too many Heeat ships headed our way, We need to move!"

This was indeed true.

After becoming totally frustrated with stepback after stepback he was suffering, Lord Parker had finally lost his patience and sent a large fleet altogether.

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

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