Chapter 94: To The Desert (3)

The desert was cooking in the sunlight. The sun was hotter and more dangerous reflected by the sand than when it was shining in the sky.

In the heat, Henry stayed close to Eisen as he rode Jade. The power of the magical horseshoes was incredible, as it allowed the horses to gallop on the sand as though it were a dirt road. It also reflected away all the hot sunlight, managed the horses’ body temperature, and protected their eyes from dirt. It was a treasure among treasures, perfect for horses in the desert.

‘It’s a good thing I helped using my own spell.’

No matter how good of a blacksmith Vulcanus was, he wouldn’t be able to put this much magic into such a large number of horseshoes in such a short time. Therefore, Henry’s spell had helped them complete the task.

“Hahaha! It’s been a while since I’ve run this freely!”

“I agree.”

“This magical horseshoe is incredible! As soon as the subjugation is over, I’ll give you a very big reward for preparing this item!”

They were on the road for two days.

* * *

On the second day, the Shonan army finally saw the capital, Khan, located in the southern oasis.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Khan too.’

After he incorporated Shahatra as a tributary, Henry never set foot in Shahatra as a sign of respect for the desert nations’ traditions. Khan was still new and unfamiliar to him.

“Let’s go.”

“Alright.”

There was a tall white wall on the border of the capital that Henry had built as a gift after establishing a relationship with Shahatra. A white staircase to enter the capital, called the staircase to the sun, was in the middle of the wall.

Just as the Shonan army was about to go up the staircase to the sun…

Step step step.

They heard footsteps marching in unison: Benedict’s soldiers.

‘As expected, they were watching us.’

Since they were the eyes of the desert, there was no way that they wouldn’t see the Shonan army approaching.

Henry jerked his chin at a nearby officer.

Salute!

At Henry’s gesture, the officer stepped forward and shouted as loud as he could, “We are the imperial army! Caliph Benedict, come out and show your respect for the imperial army!”

The soldiers gathered on the staircase began to part like the Red Sea to reveal Caliph Benedict at the very top. He had short, white hair and was wearing typical Shahatra armor. He looked down at the Shonan army. A moment later, Benedict jumped to the ground.

Whoosh!

He jumped into the air like a hawk and as he did, he obscured the sun and looked like a black dot for a moment.

As it dropped toward the ground, the black dot slowly became bigger and landed in front of Henry and Eisen like a meteorite with a tremendous roar.

Thud!

Strangely enough, despite the huge impact, not a single speck of dust moved where Benedict landed. This was also part of La’s powers. He was a man with a giant physique like Eisen, suitable for a military leader.

He bowed and greeted Eisen.

“Count Eisen of the Patrician Families, nice to meet you.”

“How disrespectful of you.”

Slap!

Eisen slapped Benedict’s cheek as he was still bowing. However, it sounded strange, as if he had hit a stone and not flesh. Everyone watching held their breath at Eisen’s unexpected behavior.

There was a moment of silence.

Everyone was nervous because he had slapped the head of the rebel army.

Except for one person.

‘Oh wow, look at this guy.’

It was none other than Henry, who smiled in admiration as he watched Eisen slap Benedict’s cheek.

‘He’s a natural when it comes to situations like this.’

Any ordinary person would have never even dared imagine doing this, but Eisen’s action was actually extremely commendable. Benedict had shown off his strength to Eisen, who was a count of the imperial army and who might have been the emperor's envoy. It was basically looking down on the empire.

However, despite Eisen’s slap, Benedict’s head only turned slightly.

“I apologize.”

Nothing had changed. Benedict immediately lowered his gaze and apologized for his rude behavior. “I apologize if my behavior came off as rude, but I had no intentions of making you feel that way, count.”

‘He’s out of his mind.’

His words were apologetic, but his tone said otherwise.

Eisen withdrew his hand, but his eyes were still full of anger.

“Are you looking down on the great emperor?” said Eisen.

“Of course not.”

“If you show this kind of disrespect one more time, I’ll make sure you pay the price.”

Even though they were under the scorching sun, the warning was fierce enough to create goosebumps.

Eisen was truly mad, but because of that, there was no need to continue this battle of tension.

“I will escort you to the palace.”

After a rocky first meeting, Eisen and Henry finally headed to the palace. Henry observed the atmosphere of the capital surreptitiously.

‘It feels empty.’

It was common for an oasis inhabited by people to be full of energy, but the capital was very empty, as if not a single ant was around. Everyone was walking on eggshells as they watched the new leader.

‘I can already see a tyrant in him.’

Henry once again felt the need to get rid of Benedict. The situation was not much different inside the palace either. The traces of civil war had not yet been erased. There was blood everywhere, creating a brutal atmosphere.

A throne had been placed in front of the throne. Benedict and Eisen sat facing each other with a fierce expression in front of it.

Eisen glanced at the Shahatra throne behind Benedict and quickly made eye contact with Benedict again.

“A rebellion?” said Eisen.

“It’s simply a family squabble.”

“Then the civil war will end soon.”

“Yes.”

“I will not ask what caused the civil war because it doesn’t matter, but since your goal is to take over the throne, we can take the royal family who were in power before, can’t we?”

“That’ll be a little difficult.”

“Difficult?”

“Because you can’t obtain the throne of Shahatra simply by occupying the palace.”

“It’s not a simple matter?”

“Yes. It is a long process to gain the throne, and in order to carry out the process, I need the royal family.”

Benedict’s attitude was by no means submissive. He used honorifics but without any respect, as though he and Eisen were counterparts.

Feeling disgusted, Eisen said, “Then explain what the process is in detail. Don’t leave out a single piece and tell me everything.”

“It is a religious problem. Khan has all the object that proves that he is the king of Shahatra.”

“And what is that object exactly?”

“It is La's Badge.”

“La's Badge?”

La, the only god who reigns under the sun of Shahatra.

If the desert’s best warrior was La’s Sword, the ruler of the desert was La’s Son.

It was quite a complicated process to become La’s Son, and one of them included retrieving La’s Badge.

Benedict continued. “Please return the Khan royal family to us. If you do, I will double the annual tribute as soon as I become ruler.”

Eisen’s pupils dilated. However, Henry put his hand around Eisen’s ear and whispered.

“Count, you cannot make a decision right away. If he wants something badly enough to double the tribute, you can get him to give you more than that. I’m sure it’s not just La’s Badge that he wants at the moment.”

The role of a vassal included giving appropriate advice. Eisen’s pupils immediately contracted, and he answered, “I’ll give it some consideration, but right now, you are just the leader of the rebellion and not in a position to demand anything from us. I will discuss with Khan, the king of Shahatra and send you a messenger about the results.”

Now that they knew what Benedict wanted, they could ask Khan for more details. Benedict frowned slightly and reluctantly replied, “...Alright.”

Even though he was angry, Eisen was right, and if he killed Eisen simply because he didn’t like Eisen’s answer, it would be like declaring war on the empire.

This marked the end of their conversation. Although brief, especially considering the amount of time it took to get there, they still managed to obtain important information that the other two counts didn’t have. They could start strategizing now.

‘La's Badge, huh…’

La's Badge proved that one was La’s Son. Henry had never seen it. It was something secret like the Khan’s Eye. However, there was no reason to ask for the entire royal family just to get La's Badge.

‘What more do you have, Herarion Khan III?’

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