Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 107: The war council (2)

"Bring it here," Arial said gesturing to the table. West approached Arial and hand it to him. He then lay it on the table.

"Where did you decide to strike, my Lord?" Arial look at the map. He took all of it in.

West already put the markers of wood on the maps, showing the positioning of the enemy forces and their forces

"North Fort. Lord Henry will assist Northcour."

The war council nodded while they scrutinized the map.

"I agree, my Lord," said Lord Paris, "but how about separating our forces. One should attack North Fort while the other attacks Penrose."

"Can we do that?" Lisa asked and every face turned to Lisa. Many of them looked uncomfortable, and avoided Lisa like a plague

Yes, Lady Lisa is also present in the War Council. While she is nobility, she is also a Knight.

"My lord," Sir Hugh said rather displeased. "It is not well for a girl to meddle in the work of a man."

Lisa looked at him and scoffed. "Do you have something else to say or should we take it outside and see who the real girl is? I am a Knight Sister of the Order of Alan and of a higher rank than you!"

Some of the lords shook their heads, disappointed by Lisa's behavior. Sir Hugh looked like he had been hurt by the barrage of words that Lisa had uttered.

"My lady, I did not wish to insult you," Sir Hugh said, trying to calm Lisa.

"Shut up!" Lisa said, her eyes feral, as if she wanted to kill him right there inside the tent. Arial frowned.

Kyle also looked to Ser Hugh, and Arial could see anger is rising from Kyle, and that is not easy. Kyle is hard to anger but once you anger him there is a hell to pay

Especially if it has to do with his sister

"I agree with Sir Hugh," Lord Eustace chimed in. "I never understood why you chose Lady Lisa to follow in our expedition."

In the Knight Academy there is no discrimination between gender, only strength. Here however, outside, in the real world, discrimination and prejudice are all existent.

Arial was about to put Lord Eustace in his place, but Helia entered the tent.

"Leave her alone," Helia said, trying to defend Lisa. "I am also part of this expedition."

"You are different, my lady," replied the lords in unison.

"How so?" Helia asked.

The lords exchanged glances with each other; no one dared to offend the daughter of a new High Lord and Arial's betrothed.

"You just are," Lord Tuchet answered tactfully. Arial chuckles at his answer as Lord Tuchet look at him and shakes his head helplessly. Arial just nodded.

He understands.

He could not defend Lisa too much since that would only deepen the enmity of the other lords toward her and biased opinion has no business in the military.

As long as you could fight and win battles, then you are precious in the eye of the military.

"Enough!" Arial shouted, fearing that the misunderstanding would lead to animosity.

"Do you all.doubt my choice?" he said looking at the lords. His voice tone while it appears calm, there is a threatening underlying tone hidden in his question.

Some of them shrunk back looking at each other.

"My lord, we did not wish to anger you," Lord Paris replied, "only to advise you. But to bring a' and he look at Helia and knowing his next words need to be chosen carefully he said, looking at Lisa 'lady of questionable birth to join our expedition is a little, you know" His voice trailed off to uncertainty.

"Oh, what should I know?" Arial said defiantly. "Are you also insulting my family, Lord Paris?"

Lord Paris's face turned pale. "No, no, no. I meant no such thing."

"Then it is better to keep your mouth shut, isn't it?"

Lord Paris nodded vigorously, realizing his mistake.

Saying that Lisa comes from a questionable birth is like saying that he too came from of questionable birth

Arial slam his hand on the table and then his eyes look straight at all the lords in this room. His body exude a suffocating presence.

"I will hear no more of this." Arial said in a booming and clear voice. "All I care is whether you can fight in battle. I care not if you are a woman or a man. If Knight Lisa proves to be useless in battle, I will remove her from the battlefield myself; however, the same rule applies to any man. That has always been the case. The military do not admit useless people in its rank. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my lord," they all said in unison.

Arial turned to the map and examined it.

There are still grumbling but they know better to pursue this topic in front of him again. And Arial know Lisa is strong, both physically and mentally and she can handle it herself.

"Lord Paris, I think your idea is brilliant' He looks pleased being complimented.

'Considering our massive number of soldiers we can split our forces and execute that. Then when I manage to gain the North Fort you will gain Penrose and then our concentrated attack will be on the Dented Shield. Me from the front, Lord Paris from the right side and if Lord Henry Summersill manage to attack and destroy the Shield forces in North Court then Lord of Northcour and Lord Summersill can attack from the left side. Their force may call from some help from the Stallford and the Mercia but if we take Dented Shield then it is as good as we won the war.' Arial summarize the battle plan and the best scenario he could think of.

"We can march tomorrow at dawn, my Lord," Lord Paris said, beaming.

Arial nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, very good" replied Arial.

Then, turning to Lord Summersill, he added: "The rest of the southern Lords will stay and consolidate our power bases in the South with the Three Brothers guarding the home of the Althea family. The Eastern and Western forces will take the North."

They decided this plan a long while ago but at that time many avenues of pursuing such course of action was barred from them.

Arial also did not forget telling someone to send a letter to the King to inform him about the progress of the battle.

West Palais looked sullen as he heard the plan. The Duchy of Palais belonged to his family, but now it was Lord Henry Summersill's.

He will not claim to understand his bitterness, but he sympathizes.

"You may all be excused," Arial said. "Helia, stay here."

They all exited the tent while Helia rubbed Arial's back. "Dear, are you not tired?" she asked, clearly worried.

"I'm fine." Arial replied as he motioned her to stop.

"Do not stay in this tent for too long. People will talk, Helia."

"Let them," she said, her tone challenging. "Everyone knows we are betrothed."

"Well, betrothed, yes. But not married."

"Do you not plan to marry me?"

"I do."

"Then what is the harm?"

"You know that better than I do," Arial said as he pulled her closer. "Words are sometimes sharper than swords."

"Yes, but words can't kill like a sword." Helia answered, confident.

But he knows better. Words have certain power and hold over the hearts of man.

Arial smiled. "That is nave, Helia. Words kill. More than you know."

"Fine, maybe you are right, but my brave and strong prince will not let that happen, will he?" Helia stroked Arial's face, tracing her hand around his lips.

"Don't do that," Arial said. It is not that he hated such skin touching, he just felt embarrassed and sometimes it distracts him

"Do what?" Helia asked, innocently.

"This," Arial replied, pointing at her hand.

"I love your lips, you know that?"

"No, I don't."

And then with a glint of mischievousness in her eyes, she kissed him. But it was too fast for him and too short

"What was that for?" Arial asked, a little embarrassed.

"For you to come for more," Helia said, smiling. She giggled, kissed him once more and left the tent.

Arial smiled as he went and sat at his desk to ponder. He didn't know if bringing Helia to the battlefield was the right thing to do.

She had become a distraction, more than he imagined. But there is no denying that he is happily smiling.

He always knows she is going to be distraction. How could the one you love not be a distraction?

If you love someone, and they are not a distraction in your mind, then you are loving people the wrong way

Even if she is not here, she would be a distraction. He would be then worrying about her constantly. Now that she is here, the distinction takes another form.

He wanted to touch her and touch her is some forbidden places that if he told his desires those priest of the church would be red in their faces

He then shakes off his head focused back to his matters.

He looked down at the map in front of him.

Outside, he could hear his troops sharing their battle stories.

In the Kingdom there is only one family who have a standing army and that is his family.

He never trusted the words of lords or their fealty. Trust but verify. And his new policy works smoothly.

Offering them salaries and training, works wonders. Peasant son, poor men and poor women, all flock to the offer.

League of unextraordinary men turned to battle ready troops. And thankfully the lords answer the call.

With the mercenaries and the sell swords, thrown in the amount of the troops, right now the amount of troops he had reached 80 thousand soldiers, the largest army ever raised in the history of the land of Alan.

There will be no words exchange anymore. Alderam has chosen his fate.

And he has a score to settle.

He looked at his soldiers while he thought about the Bloody Feast.

Many good men had died in such a tragic way that night.

Arial vowed that he will bring his vengeance and the vengeance of their family, the grieved widow, the mourning daughters and he will wroth it upon Alderam.

Then and only then he can begin forming amiable relations with other countries to prepare what's to come.

Sometimes, on nights like these, he wondered whether all his actions had steered the course of time slightly from the tragedy that loomed ahead.

He didn't know the answer to that, and probably would never know.

And with all the uneasiness in his heart, and the promise of a better tomorrow, Arial brace for another night in the tent strategizing battle strategies and what will come tomorrow.

*************************************************************************************

Zhang Liao Bao

With the help of the Blood Brotherhood, Liao Bao had found a secret passage in the Imperial Palace.

Who would have thought such thing would happen to him? Being helped by the Blood Brotherhood. Bu of course it is not like the entire Blood brotherhood is helping him.

To be more precise, one of the members of the Blood Brotherhood that helped him to found this secret passage

He never thought he could found it but by all the Gods, he found it

The strange man he had kept hidden in his room for the night had given him a map to thank him for his help.

For hiding him he gave him a map saying that he found the map when he was sneaking around the Imperial Library. He doesn't know how to read, so it is of no use to him.

And he said he owe him.

The man of the Blood Brotherhood also said that if he ever wanders the martial art world and in danger, that he can mention his name. He said he is very famous in the martial art world.

Whether that is true Liao Bao don't know. But he knows this, this map, is something important

It had taken Liao Bao nearly a month to pinpoint the exact location from the map, finally finding it in an abandoned alley near the Palace of Eternal Harmony.

He had pushed the 13th brick on the right side of the alley which had led to the ground giving way and Liao Bao falling down a tunnel and into a library.

Afraid of having made too much noise while falling, he made a quick escape only to come back the next day.

This time he took his time to carefully observe his surroundings.

There are many poetry books and history books all surrounded by dust.

He marveled at all the books and while searching through them, one in particular caught his eye, "Alexander's Repentance", the diary of the first emperor.

He liked history books even if they usually made him feel sleepy.

Liao Bao gingerly opened the book and read the inscription on the first page:

"Dedicated to my fair and beautiful wife, Leliana. She who has left me, after discovering the truth about her lover. Here I dedicate my regret and repentance. If you ever find this, I hope you forgive me Leliana. I was young and rash, stupid and oblivious. This poem is for you."

It was then he knew this is not some autobiography. Instead, just reading the introduction to the poem sent jolts into Liao Bao body

This kind of matter is like the secret of the Imperial family.

He then proceeded to read the poem.

The vast sky belongs to me,

So does the bountiful land

The great empire is mine,

Yet, I cannot have you,

Say not that love is without reserve,

Say not that love is without limit,

Why dwell on love, hate and enmity?

Prosperity only blossoms for one brief moment

The past is gone,

Dissipating in the wind,

Blowing them all to oblivion

How much love, hate, enmity remains unsolved, untangled?

Aging with white hair,

Here pining for your forgiveness,

Only my longing for you will never die,

With my betrayal, I sever the precious relationship

No reminiscing of the old past can bring both of you back,

High on my tower,

I look upon the clear blue sky with teary eyes,

Let the bright moon and the pain illuminate my path to a new world.

Liao Bao put the book down and read the inscription once again. "Leliana, the First Empress," he whispered to himself.

What did she find out? Lover? Who was her lover?  Levitia is dead during that time and he is the only one known to be her lover.

All these questions swirled in his mind. But he didn't have time for that.

As he closed the book, a crumple of paper fell from the slits. He crouched to pick it up and then straightened the paper.

His eyes widened when he noticed what was written on itit was the manual for the Treading on the Wind technique.

He opens the book.

In it was an instruction to learn the technique.

This must be one of Alexander's martial arts techniques, he thought. From what he knew, Alexander himself was an accomplished martial artist.

Of course, compared to Levitia, people couldn't give him any credit. It is like comparing a tiger and a cat, thought Liao Bao with a smile.

If Levitia is known as to be the strongest than Alexander was known to be very fast which is why he is known as Yellow Thunder because of his blonde hair and fast technique.

He was about to place the paper back in the slit of the book when he was reminded of the last time he faced danger.

He never considered practicing martial art, because of its brutality and at the end of the day it's a means to kill people.

But this technique?

He looked again and read it. It's made for escaping. A perfect fit for his personality.

I prefer running away, so why not? He mused. This escape technique would come in handy if I was ever captured or needed to face a strong opponent.

So he spent his days learning that technique, juggling his efforts with his responsibilities as a scribe to the noble lords.

And days passed.

************************************************************************

A litttle bit of plan for the war, a little bit of romance, and a litlle bit of what is happening around in Vern.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the last chapter fo the month. See you next month. Maybe I also made  a policy of the six day rest for this novel like I did for LS. You will see I guess. If there is no chapter tomorrow then I might posted it on the sixth or fifth day of the month.

Like always don't forget to comment and vote the story. Ciao.