Four-Armed Divine Emperor

There are many such "civilization gaps". If we look at it by era, then the Alan army can be said to have begun to enter:

The era of shallow magic and semi-magic.

Nature had both material and psychological advantages over the Romans, who were still "barbarians".

The scouts galloped across the grassland, no longer even paying attention to hiding as before.

The horses they rode were all breeds specially bred by the Alan people. They had first-class short-distance burst capabilities. If they encountered danger, they could easily leave behind the pursuit of herdsmen, sentinels and rangers like before. Instead, they now hoped to encounter the enemy, so that if they had to retreat, they would have completed their mission and would not have to work again.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (24)

160: Before the Storm

The warrior's iron boots crushed a scout's face, trampling him to the ground. The side that was touching the ground had already been scratched by the rough ground and was bleeding. The side that was stepped on was already bruised and purple.

But he was still very tough. Facing the enemy's questions, he was "unwilling" to say a word. Of course, it could also be that the inarticulate mumblings coming out of his mouth were his answers to the warriors' questions, but his mouth was blocked by mud and sand, causing the sounds to be distorted.

There was also a scout who had just been dragged off his horse and was sitting on the ground in a daze. In just two minutes, he saw his companions who were discussing which slave camp they would go to to have some fun with the slaves after completing this mission and returning to rest and work, were either killed or captured.

"How long will it take for your people to get here?"

The armored warrior who was stepping on the scout captain was covered in heavy armor, even his face was covered with a mask. This "luxurious" outfit could be said to be the elite among the heavy armored warriors. The materials used alone were enough to arm seven or eight ordinary light armored soldiers.

Even a mid-level knight would find it strenuous to wear this outfit, and would not be able to last long in a big battle. Perhaps only a high-level knight could barely wear this outfit and fight for a long time.

Although the young scout had only been in the army for a short time, he was a Seleucid from a relatively wealthy family and had a lot of experience. He knew that even in the Parthian Legion, one of the three most elite legions in the empire, only a few elite soldiers could wear such thick clothes.

Chapter 210

To be honest, if the armor was made entirely of iron, he could move freely, and the other party only brought more than ten people with him. It looked like a simple "reconnaissance". If he dressed like this, he was either extremely afraid of death... or he dressed like this in his daily life.

"A high-ranking knight?" Such a thought came to the young scout's mind, which made him feel both so unfortunate and ridiculous.

Would these barbarians allow a high-ranking knight to act as a scout to gather intelligence? Would they lie in ambush specifically to ambush a few scouts like them?

It is simply unimaginable. Shouldn't he sit in the camp and command the army, with all affairs served by slaves and attendants, and only go to the battlefield to fight the enemy in time of war?

The armored warrior was dissatisfied when he saw that the young scout seemed a little stupid, and uttered a muffled "Hmm?" sound because of the mask.

The young captive shuddered and said quickly, "We've been out for eight days and haven't been back yet. We don't know how far the legion is."

Then, as if worried that the enemy would not be satisfied with this answer, he added:

"Probably, it will take another two or three days of normal marching. Our job is to act as scouts and investigate the situation. We really don't know anything else." He looked at the other party's unresponsive expression and quickly thought of a way to save himself and his companions' lives: "We, we are your prisoners now. Please don't harm us. We are willing to pay a ransom, or we can wait until the post-war negotiations to make an exchange with the Empire."

In terms of intelligence, they really have nothing of value to provide to the other side. Even if they have particularly important intelligence, the scouts have to consider the consequences of selling the information.

They were indeed just ordinary scouts. As long as the other side was not blind or deaf, they must have known which direction the imperial army was coming from. It was not difficult to send scouts to find out the approximate location and distance of Alan's Northern Expedition Corps. Perhaps torture was just a habitual behavior.

The scout is still young and doesn't want to die. His captured companions certainly think so too, so showing their value to these "barbarians" is the first priority to ensure their safety.

He thought that so far, they had not had any major conflicts with these Romans. Although it was indeed the Alans' fault for taking the initiative to provoke trouble, the scout obviously would not consider these things. He only wanted to find a way to protect himself and his group at the moment.

Barbarian is just a derogatory term used to look down on others. The scout thought that the Roman state founded in Cerso was actually no different in essence from those countries around Alan. Compared with the big empires, they were all "backward", but just because they were in a land of poor demons, their level of civilization (supernatural powers) was slightly insufficient. At least they did not look like those barbaric tribes that ate raw meat and drank blood, performed blood sacrifices, and practiced cannibalism.

That's the real barbarian.

Taking this situation into consideration, situations such as prisoner trading and ransom should be understood and accepted by the other party.

The scout clearly believed that the Empire would win and the "barbarians" would lose. This confidence made him feel that the other party should have the same idea. Therefore, things like torturing and killing prisoners would not benefit the other party in terms of both morality and reason, but might even lead to retaliation.

A thousand thoughts and plans come to mind.

He tried to arch his body forward, and under the gaze of the enemy, he simply changed from sitting to kneeling, expressing his surrender very calmly.

"We are your captives. You can take us back. From now on, until you are willing to accept a ransom or release us through an exchange, we will obey your arrangements and will not act rashly."

Seeing that he was very obedient, the enemy did not make things difficult for him. Several of his companions were pushed to his side and followed his example and knelt in a row.

The young scout had thought he and his companions had finally made it through this difficult period, though he felt a pang of resentment. Everything was fine; they could have completed their mission and returned for a long rest. Perhaps by the time their rest period was over, the war would have been over. Then, they could mount their horses and strike out again, perhaps raiding and plundering Roman territory, capturing slaves and making a fortune...

Unfortunately, everything has nothing to do with them for the time being.

At least until the next battle is over.

But when the warrior ordered his men to string several captives together with ropes and tie them behind their horses, he ignored the scout captain who was under his feet.

When the young man saw this scene, he subconsciously wanted to speak up to "remind" them, so that he could gain favor with his teammates and the captain. However, an inexplicable feeling made him choose not to speak up. Instead, he remained silent with his companions, and did not even dare to look at the captain who was being stepped on.

"Stand him up." "He" said calmly. It was not until this time that the scout realized from the warrior's voice that the other party "was actually a woman?" He didn't even consider what "stand him up" meant.

When the scout thought of this, he suddenly felt an urge for revenge. He thought bitterly about how much value a defeated high-ranking female warrior would have after becoming a slave. Her pride, dignity, and honor would all be crushed by the ruthless imperial army. What kind of humiliation would that "she" suffer under the armor mask? If she angered the noble commander, she might even be thrown into the slave camp as a military prostitute and be abused... Imagining the fate of the enemy after victory in the war, the scout suddenly felt a little more relieved about his own experience of being captured.

But the next words of the female warrior made the young

Chapter 211

His hair stood on end and his heart beat faster.

"Nail him... then peel off his skin and leave a message to the Fire Worshipers, saying they have trespassed into our homeland, our territory; this is the fate we have prepared for them."

161: Restrictions lifted

Perhaps sensing the danger in the air, the wild beasts all stayed away from the area where a conflict was about to occur, and only birds would occasionally linger there.

Their keen vision enables them to spot food far away on the ground.

The breeze carried a bloody and slightly rotten smell across the plain.

The scavengers that had just been driven away were hovering unwillingly at low altitude. They were obviously dissatisfied that their feeding was interrupted by a group of uninvited guests.

A group of Alan cavalry stopped and stood in front of the tall cross.

The smell of the land now smells oppressive.

"What kind of barbarity can make them do such a heinous act?!" muttered the leading cavalry officer.

Just by looking at the scarlet, bloody body and the marks left by his twisted struggle on the rack, one can imagine the pain the prisoner went through before the fire of his soul was extinguished!

The enemy tried to warn the invaders in ways that even the "traditional" Alans would find "cruel", but what they didn't know was how huge the object of their provocation was compared to the insignificant Roman state!

The cavalry officer drew his sword, pointed at the crucified, stripped corpse, and turned to his comrades, half in shock, half in anger, and shouted:

"By the Eternal Flame! How shall we 'repay' such humiliation?!!"

The Alan soldiers behind him all drew their weapons, raised them across their chests, and roared: "Blood for blood!"

"Blood for blood!"

Their war cries, carried by the wind across the grassland, soon brought the news of the start of the war to this black fertile plain.

When General Alan heard the news from the front, most of his first reaction was disbelief, followed by unspeakable anger.

How dare these barbarians?

I came to beat you, and you dodged. Not to mention resisting, you even captured our people and dared to execute them in such a cruel way to intimidate the enemy!

This is no ordinary barbarian!

They are clearly cannibals and primitive tribal barbarians!

They must be severely punished!

Originally, I had thought that out of the entire kingdom's population, I would capture only 30% to 20% of them as slaves, and the rest would be reluctantly treated as provincial citizens.

Now it seems that these barbarians who call themselves Rome are treated too well!

This brutal and disrespectful behavior must be severely punished! Thurso is no longer a "civilized" country, even halfway. It is simply a wild land where a group of primitive barbarians live together. The barbarians who call themselves the "Roman Republic" are not truly intelligent life forms, and even their value as slaves is questionable.

Perhaps making them slaves is also a kind of privilege. After all, they can come into contact with the true fire of civilization under the teachings of the fire worshippers' whip.

After the generals discussed the experience of the captured scouts being skinned and nailed to death and reported it to Prince Ahmed, the prince, who was both brave and literate, denounced these barbarians for not understanding civilization and morality at all. At best, they were just a group of barbarian scum in human form. Those mages who relied on force to mess around turned Serso-Rome into a desolate land that was even worse than the past era of conflicts among nations and where order had disappeared.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (25)

He sat in the tent, raised his glass, and mourned for the scout who had died from unimaginable torture. Then he immediately issued the last order before the formal attack with indignation:

During this war, before the prince issued an order to stop, the Alan soldiers did not distinguish between civilians and soldiers for all non-Alan people they saw. They either gave up resistance and accepted capture - and then had the opportunity to become slaves, or were killed on the spot or captured!

Once this cruel order was issued, it was undoubtedly a direct announcement by the supreme commander to lift all restrictions on the Northern Expedition Army of up to 240,000 people, as well as tens of thousands of nomadic riders, large and small, who came to "surrender".

There is no discipline, no laws, and even no order outside the army!

Outside the battlefield, they can do whatever they want and do whatever they want in this vast land of Serso-Rome, doing things that were previously constrained by morality, legal provisions, and secular conscience!

Rape, looting, slaughter, burning, cruelty...

Everything.

Because of the "provocation", the Alans have decided not to regard Rome as a "human country", but to treat it as primitive barbarians in a wild land.

We may have basic "respect" and slight empathy for humans, for "the same kind" in a broad sense, and for the same intelligent life, but we don't need to have any of that for wild beasts and outright barbarians.

The prince announced in anger that he would untie the shackles of the Alan army and would not restrict their future actions. Such an incentive was even better than directly spending large sums of real gold and silver. Before they officially met the enemy, the Alan army had already become furious.

Rome was a kingdom with a population of nearly ten million. Although it might lack extraordinary power and resources, it was absolutely necessary for the Alan army, which was mostly composed of mortals and middle and lower class civilians.

Chapter 212

Yes, it is a piece of fat meat with oil oozing everywhere.

As long as the enemy's main force is defeated and destroyed head-on, every Alan soldier, no matter if he was a beggar begging for food in the slums, a criminal who disguised himself and infiltrated the army, or a "productive person" - the offspring of slaves, can enjoy the same treatment as nobles, generals, and wealthy lords in this land.

They could capture any "ownerless" Romans they saw as slaves, and then train these slaves into personal retainers, forming slave-hunting teams to clear the countryside and sweep the cities.

This is one of the things that the Alan people are best at, and it is also the best way for a penniless Alan soldier to make primitive accumulation after victory and complete class leap.

The soldiers are full of energy and vigor. They have fought and traveled to distant countries to this day. Isn't it all for this moment?

If the Zoroastrians win a great victory in battle and the place they conquer is not a barren land, then if they go with only 180,000 people, they may return with as many as 100,000!

The vast majority of them were slaves captured and abducted by Zoroastrian soldiers in the local area. Driven by the powerful military threat, the survival of their families, and a better life (compared to other slaves), they had to work for the conquerors no matter what their previous situation was, because only in this way could they have hope of preserving themselves and their families.

Now everything is ready.

The intelligence brought by the nomadic riders showed that the enemy fortress closest to them had a garrison of tens of thousands of troops. The exact number was still unclear, but it was obviously a key defensive node of the enemy.

Unfortunately, they happened to be blocking the main force of the Northern Expedition Army led by the prince on their way westward and southward!

Then the only destiny that awaits them is destruction!

......

"Blow the horn!" The prince couldn't help licking the corner of his mouth as he looked at the fortress city that finally appeared on the other side of his sight and stood on the earth.

With a wave of his hand, he ordered the slaves to ignite the "Fire of Vengeance" taken from the holy city of Pasamende, a fire worshipper in the land of Thurso, and at the same time raised the scarlet flame flag symbolizing a bloody battle.

"Send someone to shoot a letter in and tell the barbarians that I'm only giving them one last chance. Open the city gates and kneel outside to welcome the Imperial Legion. Otherwise..."

Prince Ahmed smiled. He had started growing a beard recently and had already grown quite a figure. When he smiled, he looked like a handsome man who was both heroic and elegant.

"They like to skin people, but I like to repay tooth for tooth, blood for blood."

Caesar stood beside the prince, a position that could very well reflect the prince's "deep love" for him. He glanced at the prince's back, his face very calm, with no emotion showing.

162: Burnt to ashes

The official war that the Alan people had been "looking forward" to for a long time began at noon when the scorching sun was high in the sky.

Before the formal attack, under the auspices of the fire priests, the entire main force of the Northern Expedition Army, from the prince to the slave soldiers, held a sacred and solemn "Fire Prayer Ceremony". They offered sacrifices of seven cows, seven horses and seven slaves to the scorching sun, which symbolizes the eternal burning and never-extinguished flames, and threw them into the sacrificial kitchen covering an area of ​​more than hundreds of square meters. Because according to legend, the wizard king with infinite magic power who followed the origin of the "fire worship" custom of the fire worshipers had seven loyal fire servants under his command, and their bloodlines were the noblest clergy in the fire worship belief.

When the sacrifices were thrown into the flames, the fire slaves who had been brainwashed and had taken highly hallucinogenic drugs in advance to numb their senses and ignore pain walked into the sacrificial stove naked. A special potion was applied on their bodies to ensure that their survival rate in the flames would be prolonged to a certain extent.

When the priests used a giant "magic instrument", which was actually a kind of concave and convex mirror that focused sunlight, to direct the "real" sunlight to the Kitchen God, the horns sounded, the war drums beat, and everyone, including the prince, knelt on one knee in the direction of the Kitchen God.

Flames flowed over their bodies, and the slaves, like those wearing gorgeous coats, danced an ancient dance. Their skin was licked and roasted by the flames, and soon it was torn apart, charred and oozing oil. However, the slaves, who were deeply brainwashed and drugged, simply ignored the pain. From the moment they were chosen to sacrifice the fire, their mission was only this day. They shouted and jumped in a burning and extremely majestic fire, dedicating their bodies and souls to the eternal scorching sun that was high above and had existed for billions of years.

As a visiting soldier, Caesar also knelt on one knee behind the Alan people, bending his knees and lowering his head like them, kneeling down to a meaningless ball of fire. For Caesar, this did not make him feel ashamed, nor did he feel moved by the grand and solemn scene created by the fire worshippers.

He recalled the knowledge he had learned before. According to the research of some learned archaeological wizards, the fire worship ceremony popular among the fire worshippers now called Alan, formerly known as Aryan and Iro, may have been originally a "ritual" held by slaves who were struggling to survive under the feet of the tyrannical Witch King in an attempt to please the King of Magic who controlled the fire. They would rather be burned by the fire than actively approach and serve the fire in order to satisfy the "God King".

Another possibility is that the French king liked to execute and punish his subjects with fire. Over time, walking into fire and dying became a ritual to worship the deified ruler, and it has been passed down to this day.

In the era when the Fire Witch King was still active in the world of Il, and for a certain period after he left the line, the people who served the fire were generally mortals, or even people of a certain status among ancient spellcasters, such as royal members of the mortal kingdom,

Chapter 213

Only the great nobles are qualified to "walk through fire".

After the fall of the Witch King era, slaves and livestock gradually replaced human beings.