Four-Armed Divine Emperor

When he learned that the Romans were cowardly and avoided fighting, and "provoked" the great empire and emptied the entire holy city of Pasamen, he knew that something was wrong, and hurriedly rushed to the front line with his entourage day and night.

The soldiers had been traveling for half a year at most, but now they had not received any spoils and had not even seen the shadow of the enemy. They were complaining a lot. If Ahmed still stayed in the rear to give remote commands, it would inevitably leave a bad impression on the legion.

Therefore, whether it is a retreat or a continued advance or any other plan, the prince has to show up in person at Pasamende and make it in person.

He quickly summoned the commanders and military bureaucrats to seek their opinions.

Prince Ahmed's own ideas were actually more conservative. Since the original Kingdom of Xerxes had been "recovered" and land equivalent to two or three provinces of the Aland Empire had been seized, this was about enough.

After all, what he had in mind was the throne of the King of Kings of Iskhan. Besides, the achievements and spoils of conquering the Romans...Prince Ahmed, who grew up in the honeypot of Iskhan's court and enjoyed treatment that most people in the world could never even imagine in their lifetime, did not think much of it.

He knew that Rome was a "country of mages", but in his heart he only regarded the other side as a group of fledgling mages who were more interested in playing than practicing, doing "fun", or simply a twisted kingdom created by force through conquest by some mages who had given up the pursuit of promotion and began to pursue the satisfaction of worldly ambitions.

In order to cover up the possible outside attention caused by the fact that Thurso was ruled by mages, Al deliberately released some news that the mages who ruled over mortals (mostly with him as the protagonist or fabricated) were doing some ridiculous things in Rome. The main target of these rumors was naturally the Alan Empire in the south.

Before the Romans showed their firm attitude and took the initiative to pursue and retaliate against the soldiers who crossed the border, the prince did not even regard Rome as a normal country. He even wanted to entrust a few "holy wizards" to bring some precious supernatural resources to bribe the "sages" who ruled Rome to cooperate. After all, the losses were all for the interests of mortals, and he could just let the Alans cut off a few pieces of meat.

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153: The First Noble One

But unexpectedly, the mages who ruled Rome were probably really used to being the superior ones in such a small and barren country. In their mentality, they combined the extraordinary with the secular kings and really regarded themselves as "great sages", or did they regard themselves as "qualified rulers"?

Faced with Alan's menacing threat, the best choice for those mage rulers is undoubtedly to use the things they possess that are not important to the extraordinary people to establish connections with the Southern Empire and make friends with the prince.

They did a favor to Prince Ahmed and the Northern Expeditionary Force, or more broadly, to the King of Kings, the Alan Empire.

Wanting resources and wanting promotion, isn't that much better than living in a poor place?

Although the Alan people could not directly approve their promotion or send them some amazing treasures, in fact, such things did exist, but they were very rare. Magic potions that could be cultivated artificially were the mainstream. However, after all, the resources controlled by a veteran "Three Empires" were naturally far superior to a group of mages who were rolling around in the poor magic land and, according to intelligence, had at most a fifth-ring level. The difference was incomparable.

The opportunity to receive instruction from the Dharma King of the Iskhan Dharma Academy is a dream come true for many mages who have left the floating city and entered a "study tour" stage, which is actually a stage where they can freely develop their own skills.

But the Romans, or rather the spellcasters who ruled Rome, were very ignorant, which made the prince give up his plan to lure them with benefits. After all, in his opinion, this war was bound to be won, and at most if the enemy leaders cooperated a little, the progress would be smoother.

By the time Alan's vanguard army had "rushed like a hot knife through butter" into the Roman mainland and "recovered" one of the holy places, Passamenda, this evaluation of "untouchable" had risen to the level of "arrogant, stupid, and rebellious"!

Would you mind letting us give you a good beating?

I hit you and you dared to run away? You even took everyone away, leaving no one to rob...

It can only be said that the Alan people are so used to being the boss of the eastern continent of Tartarus that this "I am the boss" mentality has become the same as the cultural tradition of this nation, and has become an innate "arrogance" of Zoroastrians, especially Zoroastrian nobles and commanders.

The prince was a bit more conservative, but the generals generally believed that they couldn't just let it go:

Chapter 127: Ardabil (19)

Damn it, I'm going to beat you up if you don't surrender!

Still dare to run?

Are you hiding and thinking I can't find you?

It's simply lawless!

Of course, the most important thing is that it is really unacceptable for the army to return empty-handed. Just the occupied shabby place alone, who would want to run there except the middle and lower class civilians who can't make a living.

Chapter 200

Let’s put it this way, any small or medium-sized noble who is even slightly better off in Alan would not think of running to such a remote place to become king.

why?

For example, although the main impact of mages' activities in the mortal world is created through war, their inventions and creations also circulate around the world.

A magic potion that is indispensable for nobles to have sex, used to "enhance the mood". Depending on the individual's physical condition, only a little is needed to keep them going for a whole day. The stimulation is very strong. It is basically an indispensable prop for nobles when playing with female slaves and wives and concubines. After all, high-intensity and non-slackening stimulation for a whole day is definitely better than most pleasures in the world.

But in a land poor in magic, the potency of this potion will dissipate quickly, and the cost of preserving it is extremely high.

For Alan, a nobleman who is used to having an unstoppable gun all day long and can easily seduce hundreds of women at night as long as he is physically fit, sending him to Xerxes, even if it is to be crowned king, without the assistance of magic potions and the entertainment of various wizard-made gadgets, is no different from forcing a modern person to a place with beautiful feng shui, mountains and rivers, but without electricity, internet and electronic devices.

Only those lower-class people who cannot use or have little chance to access these "high-end" luxury goods that belong to the powerful are willing to move to these places to try for a better life.

The generals certainly belong to the former class.

If the Kingdom of Xerxes was not a poor place, and the Alan Empire set up a province there and appointed a governor to govern it, then many of them would probably fight to the death for it - if not for themselves, then for their families or political factions.

After all, although this place is far away from the center of the empire, there will always be people who regard the emperor's status as a plus.

If the governor is one of their own, then if they work hard, they may be able to bring the Xerxes province under the control of a surname or a family, turning it into one of their stable territories, which can be used as a base for future secession or rebellion.

But because of Xerxes's poor demonic nature, the powerful people who stayed there and were away from "electronic products and modern entertainment" would definitely not be happy. Then the only benefit they could get from this war would be military merit and spoils of war.

The prince's thoughts are actually quite complicated.

He wanted a great victory to strengthen his prestige and prepare for the follow-up; he was also worried that if he pursued the Romans, the army would advance too deep, and then the Iskandarian rebellion would occur, and he would not have time to rush back. After all, delay would lead to changes.

If I choose the former, I’m afraid of the latter. If I choose the latter, I’m worried that I won’t be able to do the former and will cause myself too much trouble later.

On one side is the support of the army, and on the other side is precious time, every second counts, for a coup and the fight for the throne.

Prince Ahmed loved hunting. At this moment, it was as if he saw two very rare wild animals drinking water in the distance at the same time, but he only had one arrow in his hand. If he shot one of them, he would lose the other one.

So he asked the generals for their opinions, also seeking external help to make up his mind.

Needless to say, the generals, including Passamends, also reported that the soldiers were "eager to fight" and "wanted to avenge Asta's eastern expedition to the Empire and Rome's extinguishing of the sacred flame." The implication was that they wanted to continue fighting and the soldiers could not accept running so far for nothing.

The Alan people have a strong self-confidence from childhood to adulthood, which is not sure whether it is arrogance or ignorance. They believe that Alan will win the war with the Romans. After all, a country that came from a poor magic land where a fledgling wizard could dominate an area really has no idea how to fight against the three old empires, not to mention the three elite armies, and even the Alan Legion, which has many enchanted weapons and magic engineering machinery in its standing army.

After much hesitation, the prince chose to go through his own personal advisor. In fact, this advisor was his cousin, the contemporary King of Kings on the Throne of Light, who secretly sent him an official and was also the key to direct communication between the prince and the Iskhanfa court.

He contacted the court of Iskhanfar and reported his thoughts and concerns directly to the King of Kings.

The prince himself did not have any great ambitions. He had a very close relationship with the royal family, and he had a good character, something that the King of Kings had "tested" himself. He believed that if the prince succeeded to the throne, his bloodline would have a good outcome.

The sanctity of the throne is valid only while its owner is alive, which is one of the "traditions" of the Alan Empire.

Therefore, the prince was not afraid to tell the King of Kings directly about his concerns, such as "fearing he would not be able to succeed in time" and "not having the support of the army." After all, the agreement between him and the other party already included these issues. If he were to weigh the pros and cons behind the emperor's back, it might easily arouse suspicion. After the Iskhanfa incident was over, the emperor might not fulfill his promise...

But in the end, the Iskhan Palace gave the prince a piece of news that was not sure whether it was good or bad.

The emperor's image crossed the long distance and appeared "personally" before the prince.

He first appeased the prince who came to pay his respects, and then announced that he would grant Ahmed the title of "Sebastoklator", which means "the First Honorable One" (the title of King of Kings is not among the ordinary people, but the most honorable one), so that he would not have to kneel down to pay his respects when he saw him in the future.

The flattered prince, after expressing his gratitude, received the emperor's order, asking him to continue his advance. It would be best if he could use a resounding victory to make the Rome established by the remnants of Asta completely surrender to Alan. As everything was going well for him in Iskhanfa, there would be no risks that the prince was worried about in the short term, so the prince gladly accepted the order.

Chapter 201

　The next day, Prince Ahmed, who had been conferred the title of "First Noble", announced to his subordinates:

He will immediately go to Pasamenes for pilgrimage, and the army will head north to bribe or defeat the nomadic barbarians, and then continue to attack the Roman mainland to the west!

154: Five Northern Provinces

Now that he knew there was no worry in the rear, the prince could confidently focus his attention on the war in the north for the time being.

In order to win over the power of the greedy nomadic barbarians, the so-called "Khan of the Dragon and the Eagle", the prince spared no expense.

He mobilized resources from the northern provinces. On the first day, the Alan people sent a box of coins and ten sets of armor to the Purple Tent nomads stationed in a grassland called Jiku, which was also the only way for the Alan army to enter and exit Serso to the north.

This amount of money is obviously not enough to bribe a single soldier, or at least tens of thousands of nomadic forces.

It may even be considered an insult.

But the next day, the Alan people's carriages brought ten boxes of treasure and a hundred suits of armor with weapons.

On the third day, the number increased to one hundred boxes and one thousand sets.

On the fourth day, it turned into 10,000 sets of slightly inferior armor.

The Alan messenger, holding the banner of the Eternal Sun, declared to the nomadic barbarians who were drooling over the equipment and treasures shining brightly in the sunlight:

The Alan Empire is the most powerful empire in the world, and the King of Kings is the wisest and most generous monarch in the world;

Her wealth is like the sand of the vast ocean, inexhaustible.

As long as the Purple Tent Nomads surrender to the Eternal Sacred Flame in this war, the rewards they receive will be ten times or even a hundred times what the Romans offer!

On the contrary, the Immortal Empire will use the strength of her "little finger" to crush the enemies who defy the conquest of her people!

At the same time, they also brought the prince's own promise. The Alan nobles who were used to the holy fire of the upper class would not choose to come to a poor demon place like Serso unless they had no other choice, such as being exiled or fleeing after failing in a political struggle.

But this is a good place for nomads.

With fertile land, people no longer have to search for water and grass, avoid natural disasters and powerful enemies, and live a nomadic life, constantly threatened by scarcity of supplies and war.

Although the area north of Thurso and west of the Altai steppe, known as the "Black Steppe", is generally not as chaotic as the east and the difficulty of survival is much lower, it is still not as comfortable as settling down as a civilized person or a castle dweller.

So the prince sent his envoys to bring his "favors" to these "nomadic slaves". After conquering the Romans, he would absorb the nomads into settling down. They could live as subjects of the great empire and "second-class people" within the scope of Thurso in this newly conquered land of the Zoroastrians.

Needless to say, the first class of people are obviously the Zoroastrians who are conquerors.

The third class of people are naturally the Roman-Astarite survivors of the conquered.

This condition is definitely generous for ordinary nomads.

I believe that the cannibal Khan who was tortured to death by Caesar and his men in Broken Jade City would also be very tempted.

After all, on one side are the benefits that were unimaginable in the past through looting, and on the other side are the threats from the great empire.

Although the Alan people have not tried to rule the grassland for many years, allowing it to erode and ulcerate, and then being harassed by stench and mosquitoes from time to time, it is very easy for them to exert their influence on the grassland.

It is normal for nomads to expand and annex each other. It is commonplace. As long as they can win the war, it will be easy for them to snowball to an unprecedented level in a short period of time, just like Caesar and his men were ordered to go north to establish the Dragon Eagle Khan Court, which respected the faith of the four-armed god and worshipped the images of the "Star Dragon" and the "Two-headed Eagle". From the black grassland to the control of Shattered Jade City and drinking water from the vast ocean, it has only been two or three years since their rise to the present.

As long as the Alan people choose a tribe to support strongly and provide some of the supplies that are piled up in their warehouses but they are too lazy to even look at, and it would be troublesome to deal with them, and would be a waste if they burned them, they can quickly arm a powerful nomadic army. The border provinces can even simply hunt down the head of a certain chieftain or an arrogant general by name, and the price is just some money or supplies.

Are there any options?

No choice at all.

So Caesar and his men naturally agreed to the Zoroastrians' conditions with "great fear and trepidation", and after receiving the "gifts" they sent (it was not appropriate to use the word "reward" directly, as it would be too arrogant), they showed great joy and excitement.

This made the envoy believe that these inexperienced grassland barbarians were sincerely serving the holy fire.

They brought the news of "successful bribery" back to the army.

The prince, who had been preparing for a long time, saw that the time was ripe and immediately ordered his troops to go.

In order to prevent the war from being threatened by factors other than military factors as much as possible if it breaks out, and also with the idea that if the succession fails and a civil war may break out, Prince Ahmed has made the decision to make early preparations. He has made great efforts in the northern provinces to mobilize and transport military supplies to ensure that the army can set off as soon as possible and the logistics can be guaranteed.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (20)

As the "quasi-emperor", of course, this matter cannot be disclosed to the outside world.

However, with the emperor's trust, the prince has a great deal of autonomy.

He made many promises to the nobles and powerful forces in several provinces adjacent to the border, who were mainly responsible for providing support for this war.

Including the division of interests after the annexation of Rome, although the territory of Rome is not larger than the entire Alan, it is not small in horizontal comparison, with a population of nearly 10 million. A territory of this size would require at least four to six provinces to be divided, and among them,

Chapter 202

Official positions, confiscated property of the defeated, etc. will mainly be taken over by the powerful people in the five northern provinces who contributed to this war.

The nobles of Iskhanfa looked down on Seso, who came from a poor and remote place and had no magic power.

But the border provinces, which are also considered half "remote and poor", do not have such high aspirations.

Not all of them can enjoy the blessings of the White Tower's universal light.

Besides, a large family inevitably has distinctions between high and low, near and far. Sending some people like concubines, children of slaves, and nephews from remote areas to Seso to obtain official positions can not only expand the family bloodline, but also obtain new resources outside the local area.

why not?

So they strongly supported the prince's northern expedition. Some noble leaders and governors who had "got a good chat with" and "admired" the prince for a long time even ran around to lobby the government and the people for the prince.

Prince's Northern Expedition!

Serve the country and the people!

We must support you even if it means emptying our family savings!

As long as the troops can be sent out as quickly as possible, to the depths of Thurso, far away from Alan, which is also the place of destruction prepared by the Romans for them...

No matter how cautious he was, the prince could not imagine that most of the five northern provinces were infiltrated and controlled by a tiny country that had risen from a barren land in just a few years.

Under the call of the sacred bloodline of their father, the Ancestral Dragon, the Four-Armed Men can raise the banner of the Four-Armed God at any time and rise up to resist the corrupt Alan Empire. Today, the north has become a potential base for rebellion. The only difference is when El wants them to act.

155: Pursuit of Fame and Fortune