Four-Armed Divine Emperor

So the soldiers arrested Tatus, made him turn around in front of the audience, and then asked:

"Is there anyone who can accuse someone of a crime? Is there anyone? Don't lie, don't stir up trouble! The all-knowing and omniscient Master Mage is watching over the entire scene with his great magic. Anyone who lies will be hanged along with the Xerxes!"

So after waiting for about a minute, no one stood up to identify Tatus. Instead, several civilians cautiously stood up to describe Tatus as one of the few enemy warriors who could be considered a "good man" or a "qualified garrison." So Tatus was stuffed with some food and then released. Of course, this release meant sending him back to the camp.

What happened next was not what Tatus could have anticipated.

Fant's brother and uncle were also in Muten's army, serving as logistics officer and the distinguished First Centurion, respectively. They were deeply resentful that their loved ones had been so brutally slaughtered while another centurion, with a "good reputation" among the civilians of their old enemy, was treated with preferential treatment and returned alive. They blamed Fant Fadil's death on "Tatus' betrayal" and publicly announced that after leaving the prisoner camp, they would immediately submit a ruling to the legion commander to severely punish Tatus Behenam, who colluded with the Dervengael and betrayed Fant...

"Fadil." Malik didn't need to think much about it. This surname was as prominent in the West as Hestor, and even more powerful than Hestor where he was.

Just to mention, the first wife of Military Minister Alik was the eldest daughter of the Fadil family, and the heir was also born to the first wife.

There were three concubines with the surname "Fadil" in King Adwin's harem. Although they were not particularly favored, it was enough to show his attitude.

He suddenly felt a bit gloating, looking at Tatus, who was kneeling upright with gritted teeth and a sullen face, and laughed:

"Good dog of Salem, you're so lucky."

"The Faldir's motto is 'family first, blood feud must be avenged.'"

He completely, at least ninety-nine percent, believed what Tatus said.

The centurion's face was ashen, he knelt straight, and clenched his cheeks.

What he said was true from beginning to end, except for a small process and result.

If Tatus had not encountered unreasonable powerful people who insisted on dragging him to sacrifice to the dead souls, how could he have reached this point?

"In that case, I can't accept you. Go ahead and stay in Salem, but I personally suggest you stay away."

Malik stood up. The three female slaves tied in another place in the tent had been beaten to death. He became interested and began to take off his clothes under the help of the slave soldiers as if no one was around.

Tatus knelt on the ground and turned around to face Malik.

"Sir! I, I want a small team, just five people will do. I killed three Dwengael warriors and became a centurion. I want to... give it another try."

Malik scoffed.

"Whatever. Just find a team whose leader has died and give it to him. If he can't lead it well, get out."

He gave the order lazily, then thought for a moment and said:

"I'm really looking forward to seeing if you can do it. To make it difficult for Fadil to touch you, well... let me think, if you can kill thirty Blaeo warriors in a row under Satrap's watchful eye, that would be enough."

Chapter 27: In the making

After Tatus came out from Malik, he was taken to the military camp by the slave soldiers. In this regard, Malik did not deliberately be harsh or make things difficult for the centurion who tried to escape, but treated him according to the treatment of a captain of ten men.

After all, it is really unconvincing to directly entrust the authority of a centurion to a person whose identity is not yet confirmed. There are only eight centurions under Malik, and it is impossible to directly promote a fugitive prisoner with a questionable identity.

Tatus himself did not expect that, even if he had gone through a lot of trouble and had escaped simply to avoid being captured, and then successfully returned to his country's army, he could still continue to serve as a centurion. Unless he had outstanding achievements or outstanding performance, he would have to wait until Salem returned and the Grand Prince made a decision on the Muten Legion before he could resume his position or be demoted.

Led by the slave soldiers, he soon met a centurion whose subordinates served as vanguard in this battle. The mountain people resisted fiercely, and Xerxes suffered heavy casualties. Two of his decapitations were also killed, and he needed reinforcements.

After the slave soldier's brief explanation, the centurion named Pavillion, which means "palace", simply kept Tatus. Of course, ordinary subordinates had no right to refuse the people brought by the commander's personal guards.

Another captive with him was also brought over and became a soldier under his command. A few hours ago, Tatus was still a captive imprisoned in the livestock shed, but now he has become an officer with eight soldiers under his command.

Although this position was as low as it could be, it still made Tatus feel a little warmth of returning to the past, but he did not forget his task, which perhaps was not quite appropriate to describe as "mission".

Although Tatus's mission was almost completed at this point, Al had always thought that this guy was a good person. He was indeed present at the public trial that day. He had a good impression of Tatus, who was considered "above average", but he had no idea of ​​using him for his own purposes at that time. The hostility of the Fadil family later assisted him.

After two talks, he was left with no other options - the contract was concluded. After the captives were released, the uncle and nephew Fadil, who were filled with resentment, would definitely kill him because of the death of their favored younger brother. The legion commander Salem, who had lost the battle, the city and the troops, could not protect himself and was unlikely to protect Tatus. The only way for Tatus was to wait for death.

After losing the outpost that was finally captured after nearly a hundred years of the Western Expedition, someone in the Muten Legion must be eliminated. Salem might even take the initiative to throw him out after knowing this, in order to vent Fadil's anger and to shift the blame as much as possible to reduce the punishment on himself.

Tatus himself understood these principles, and Al had also explained them to him. He did not like to bribe people with simple threats or inducements, but rather to have a real conversation and tell them:

First, you have nowhere to go in Xerxes. No matter whether you return alive or dead, if you are lucky, your family will not be liquidated, but if you are unlucky, men will be slaves and women will be maids. The latter is more likely to happen.

If he surrenders to Aiel and returns alive, Aiel will grant him the status of a follower. Mages can run rampant in the Thurso area. As his follower, his achievements and future will far exceed those of a centurion.

He could refuse, but if he agreed and then betrayed El, El would definitely take revenge on him and his family. If Tatus was willing to work for El, he would immediately arrange for people to help his family escape from the East.

And if everything fails in the end, Ellian also mentioned this to him, not letting him have any illusions, but explaining all the possibilities:

"If you die and the Brio people fail to rescue your family, then I promise you as a wizard that none of Fadil's people will be buried with you."

Anyway, Al's plan was destined to expand outward. Both Brio and Xerxes were his potential targets. Attacking the Xerxes, who were the ancient enemies of the Asta survivors and had a thousand-year-old feud, would bring him great prestige in Brio and huge benefits.

Giving Adwin, who was trying to trick him, a good beating and weakening his strength would also be a good preparation for future expansion.

After crossing the border and entering the western territory, it would not be a problem to clean out a local big family. It just so happened that they were slaughtering pigs for the New Year, and the powerful families of the Xerxes were all rich. The slaves they raised alone were a huge fortune.

At the same time, he also avenged Tatus.

In the end, Tatus resolutely knelt down and swore allegiance to Al. After all, one path was a road with no chance of survival, while the other was risky but also came with opportunities to soar to the sky. Tatus decided to take a gamble, since it would be the worst anyway.

So he was instructed to bring it to the border area, and his main task was actually to bring a vague message to Xerxes, that is, the German Gaels were indeed paralyzed and thought that peace talks would be successful, and this was contained in the information such as "long banquet" and "relaxed defense".

As for the sudden appearance of the mountain people, Al also prepared an explanation for this:

After the Devngels captured Muten, they immediately sent orders to some tribes that had previously been in secret contact with them, ordering them to take large-scale actions against the Xerxes in retaliation for the previous harassment, and at the same time to make these mountain people completely stand on the side of the Devngels.

The mountain tribe that captured Tatus and his party was such a tribe that was assigned by the Devingale people to block Xerxes in the mountain road. However, they were unlucky. They were originally robbers and were ordered to rob caravans and travel groups for a lucrative job, but they encountered Xerxes who had no martial ethics. They negotiated peace in advance and then sneaked across with their army, and were defeated by a wave of olives.

Their presence would make the Xerxes slightly alert, but not too sensitive.

According to the analysis of Devenger's staff, in order to ensure concealment and speed, Xerxes' surprise attack army must have made two simultaneous preparations after being attacked by the mountain people:

On the one hand, they fought against the tribes they encountered and killed as many enemies as possible, and on the other hand, they accelerated their march and passed through the border corridor as quickly as possible.

In this process, their morale, manpower, and energy will be depleted, the battle line will be lengthened, and ambushing the enemy's legions will create a great advantage for the expeditionary force and the mountain people's coalition.

Tatus has only one mission at this stage...to protect himself and then run away after the real battle breaks out.

.........

"How many of us do you think there are?"

Al put the fishing rod in the hands of a mountain woman beside him. The latter was trembling with excitement because she had taken over the holy object touched by the "God".

"Eight thousand people. To be more specific, that's eight thousand four hundred and sixty-one soldiers who can go directly to the battlefield!"

The adjutant puffed out his chest and reported to Al:

"Although nearly half of them are local mountain dwellers, they are still a formidable force, Lord Aiel. If we exclude the factor of the enemy's magician, I have absolute confidence in winning this war for you!"

"Confidence is a good thing."

Al smiled and picked two bright red fruits, which looked like enlarged cherries, from the fruit basket held by the mountain girl to taste.

"Go get ready and don't mess it up."

El's senses were beating, as if something was gestating and about to come out of his belly.

It seems that Ansuna's child is about to be born.

If his previous premonition was correct, the outbreak of the war was not far away.

Chapter 28: Heavy Rain

The mountain people took advantage of their familiarity with the terrain and launched various attacks and harassments against Xerxes. This made Malik Hestor, the front-line commander responsible for clearing the way for the army, increasingly irritated. In the past few days, the number of slaves who were carried out of the commander-in-chief's camp and were tortured to death had increased significantly.

Fortunately, due to the frequent and warm exchanges with the mountain people, there was no shortage of prisoners in the Xerxes' camp, and Malik could always vent his frustration with the armed exchanges with the mountain people on the slaves.

He interrogated the prisoners and found that most of them were local mountain tribes. They were bribed and lured by the enemy and began to become active in the western region, serving as the first line of defense set up by the Devon Gaels.

This made Malik a little anxious, as it meant that this hidden route was not safe, at least for the mountain people, but it was okay.

When the army set out through small roads deep into the border, the biggest fear was that the enemy would discover them in advance. Whether they blocked the enemy openly or prepared an ambush, it would be a big problem for the army on the Western Expedition.

But at least, the difficulties are exposed proactively, so they are still visible and controllable. Otherwise, a remote, hidden, and seemingly very quiet road with unpredictable prospects ahead will always cast a shadow over people's hearts.

They were just some mountain people hired to cause trouble. The Legion only needed to spend a little effort—and kill a few more vassal troops from the border areas—to easily deal with them.

This also gave Xerxes' army a reminder:

They are not hidden.

Even if they act decisively and pursue the enemy relentlessly as soon as they encounter them, there will definitely be some who slip through the net and some who are afraid of the existence of enemies whose military strength has not been exposed from the beginning. They only need to avoid the Xerxes' legions and then rush to Muten day and night to reveal everything to the Devngel legions there who are still in a "drunken state".

No matter how unprepared and panicked they are, as long as the enemy is not stupid, they will immediately mobilize to stop them.

However, King Adwin's original strategy did not expect that he could quietly airdrop tens of thousands of troops to the city of Muten and surround the enemy's elite and the crucial wizard.

King Adwin has confidence in his legion, and he also has confidence in his own mages.

In the head-on decisive battle, he also had the advantage of advance preparation.

As long as the Xerxes' army can pass through the border unhindered and enter the Plain of Vol, Adwin will have a chance to repeat the last Battle of Muten. And this time, if the Devingale fails a second time, even the wizard will unfortunately die in the chaos... Of course, the best case scenario is to be "invited as a guest" by the secular lord as a participating party, and then according to the order of the White Tower, offer generous rewards to keep the other party away from this war or simply stand on the side of the Xerxes.

In this way, there will be two wizards in Adwin's territory, and he can even become a powerful rival to King Blaeo and the Holy City of Pasamende with just one territory.

The benefits of this adventure were great enough that King Adwin was even willing to gamble all his country's strength on it.

.........

The bait that Al threw out for the Xerxes worked. When you enter the secret room, every corridor, corner, and room that seems empty and very safe will make people feel nervous and uneasy. But if there is actually a "corpse" in the room to indicate danger and clues, it may not be so nervous.

After Tatus brought the "key intelligence" that seemed not particularly important, Malik promptly reported the situation to King Adwin's camp in the rear. The fact that the further they went, the easier it was to encounter some wandering mountain people also confirmed this idea. As expected, the Xerxes did not turn their guns around and return empty-handed because of these minor obstacles that "exposed" their whereabouts. Instead, they accelerated the pace of their advance and the intensity of their sweep.

Relying on their absolute advantage in military strength, they advanced rapidly with their main force while dividing their forces to sweep through the exposed mountain settlements along the way, striving to burn the expedition route into a flat surface in preparation for their retreat.

This achieved Ai'er's strategy of weakening his forces and distracting his attention.

In order to rush out of the border before the Devingails noticed and establish a solid forward base on the Wall Plain, the Xerxes expeditionary force accelerated its march. In addition, they encountered harassment from mountain people from time to time along the way. Although the effect was not great, it could delay some time for a short time, allowing the entire Xerxes army to be stretched out. Malik's vanguard advanced rapidly in the front, and would fight without saying a word against any mountain people who did not surrender. The central army where the king was located was lagging behind.

The rear army fell even further behind. They were carrying the main supply baggage of this expedition. In order to attack Devangel, Adwin had been secretly transporting supplies to the vicinity of Muten. The original intention was to travel light and quickly, obtain support in Muten, and directly break out of the Wall Plain. As a result, Muten fell, and all the preparations were in vain.

Fortunately, Xerxes was a wealthy man and had enough wealth in his homeland to support this expedition.

The current situation is very dangerous. If the enemy sets up an ambush on the road and appears at any position, the front, middle and rear parts will not be able to provide emergency rescue. The front army will be lightly equipped to lead the way and will have no chance of winning against Devangel's elite warriors. If the vanguard is allowed to pass and ambush the main camp where Adwin is, it will be difficult to rescue the front and back, and there is a risk of being beheaded.

But the harassment by the mountain people made the Xerxes alert and realized that the road ahead was not smooth. But because of this, they did not think that the Devingale people were coming. Otherwise, they could have quietly taken advantage of the information gap to ambush them. Of course, the Xerxes had always been on guard against this. They were arrogant, but not stupid.

But they chose to allow some loose mountain mercenaries to harass them, exposing the danger to Xerxes in vain. Isn't this a loss of the big picture for the small?

So they all instinctively felt that those warlike enemies were indeed unaware of the surprise attack and were planning to ambush them in return. Even if the mountain people tipped off the enemy, it would still take a lot of time. After the Xerxes rushed into the plains at the fastest speed and deployed their formation, the two sides engaged in a head-on decisive battle. Apart from the Devegaels, what other forces could ambush such a large and aggressive elite force of the Xerxes on the border?

The answer is...

Mountain people!

It is natural that the loosely-knit mountain people would not launch an attack on such an elite force that was not coming for them, even if it was the elite of the "fire-worshiping demons". At best, they would take money to harass the small troops and detachments of the Xerxes. Unless they encountered a major crisis such as the enemy wanting to "plunder the fields and sweep the holes" targeting the area, they would probably unite and roar through the mountains to fight against the foreign enemies.

But if a warlock disguised as a wizard, with four arms who just happens to fit the image of a god in the mountain folk legends, appears in the border area and is followed by a bunch of mountain tribes who bring their own dry food, then the situation will be different.

When the first arrow hit the front of Xerxes' army led by Malik Hestor, the Zoroastrian warriors still thought it was an ordinary harassment. But as more arrows fell like rain, from small to large, from scattered to dense, everyone realized one thing—the sky changed!

Chapter 29: Gale

The panic in the camp soon spread to the marching tent - a machine made of a complex chassis that could travel on mountains and trails as if it were flat ground, but required at least twenty slaves to operate. It was a crude imitation of the alchemical creation of the White Tower Wisdom, a low-level "magic weapon" that could not even be called "magic".

This was in the ear of Malik Hestor, who was resting with his eyes closed in the military tent and receiving the attentive service of two naked, muscular slaves, a man and a woman.

Outside the big tent, the sounds of breaking air, wailing, and the clanging of arrows colliding were continuous like falling rain, which immediately made Malik have bad thoughts.

"Ambush by the Bleo?!"

"Or is it another group of daring mountain slaves?"

He stood up decisively, and the male slave dodged and retreated to the side in time and lay on the ground, without hindering Malik's body. The female slave reacted a little slowly, and was pushed away and lay on the ground. When she raised her head, she was hit in the face by Malik's foot.

The two cried out in pain at the same time. The commander-in-chief of the front army immediately glared at the toy that hurt him, while the slave girl's left cheek rose and half of her teeth seemed loose.

But apart from the initial pain, she knelt there without daring to move, looking up at Malik's anger in horror.

The latter kicked the slave girl in the chest, and even though it was covered with his offspring, Malik showed no mercy.

Seeing the female slave lying on the ground, the male slave immediately roared and pounced on her - he rode on the female slave and slapped, punched and kicked the disheveled woman mercilessly, beating her.

Malik glanced at him coldly, and put on his armor and got ready to go with the help of the slave soldiers. The guards also took out large shields in time and formed a shield wall around their master to resist possible threats from any direction.

The tent was opened and the sunlight came in. Malik looked at his men in shock and anger at the huge blow the troops in front of him had suffered.

Countless shouting and yelling mountain warriors appeared behind the hills on the right. They were in a high position and shot at the Xerxes with all kinds of messy and non-uniform weapons. Their weapons were not sophisticated, but the advantage of height was enough to break the Xerxes' defense.

And at a glance, there were a lot of them. No matter how cruel Malik was, he was still a qualified commander. He just took a quick look and roughly estimated that there were at least seven or eight hundred enemies who had appeared.

The entire vanguard army consisted of only more than 2,000 lightly armed vanguard soldiers, and they had just wiped out a settlement of several hundred people in less than half an hour's journey. According to the usual distribution of mountain people, there would be no other small or medium-sized tribes within at least two hours' march, so the vanguard army relaxed their vigilance a little, and crossed mountains and ridges without any trouble, clearing both sides of the road.