Chapter 424: Martyrs
Martyrs' Fortress.
This is a hastily built fortress located in an oasis on the south bank of the Usu River in southern Desha.
This oasis is the only way connecting Toba City and Nalda, and it has also been the most intense battlefield for Desha’s resistance against the Bacchus Empire in the past two years.
This was the fort built by Sarah's father, Sharavan Sheikh, and it was also the place where he committed suicide.
Sharafan, the rebel leader who once betrayed Bahad Khan Kadan, resolutely defended the last dignity of Desha with blood and sword in the last moments of his life.
He spent all his life's wealth in the Fortress of Martyrs, forcing Emperor Marius' expeditionary force to stay at the fortress for a whole year until Bacchus' army ran out of food and retreated.
Emir Xerxes, who was besieged in Toba at the time, and Cardan, who fled to Narda, also got a chance to breathe, and under the coordination of Sarafan, they put aside their mutual hatred and formed an alliance.
The last southern border of the Principality of Desha was thus preserved.
But unfortunately, after the two 'Bahad Khans' formed an alliance, neither of them had any intention of regaining the lost territory.
The two brothers simultaneously sent an agreement admitting defeat to the Martyrs' Fortress, hoping that Sheikh Sharafan would negotiate peace with the Bacchus Empire on their behalf and accept the Bacchus Empire's occupation of most of their northern territory.
The brothers Cardan and Emile Xerxes probably neither had the courage to fight to the death nor the guts to admit defeat...
Perhaps Sarafan's idea all along was correct - the brave and fearless Templars in the desert would indeed become weak if they lived in the city for too long.
He was so weak that he didn't even have the courage to admit his failure.
So Sharafan Sheikh signed a contract of defeat with the Bakshi Empire on behalf of the two 'Bahad Khans', and then - he committed suicide.
Sarah can now understand her father's obsession - although she still disagrees with her father's abandonment of his wife and daughter.
Sharafan Sheikh is someone who truly loves Desha, and for Desha, he can give everything... both his family and himself.
He committed suicide because he could no longer see the future of Desha...
The holy mountain of Ghazi was burned, the god Wata was "killed", none of the noble monks died as martyrs, and nobles like Kadan and Emir Xerxes were not willing to sacrifice for Desha...
For Sharafan Sheikh, his Desha is dead.
Therefore, this fortress is not called the 'Jihad Fortress' but the 'Martyrs Fortress'.
Sarafan is the last martyr of Desha.
But this martyr was not respected by the D'Shar people - because he was the one who admitted defeat on behalf of the D'Shar, and he was the one who signed the defeat agreement...
Most people are ignorant.
Those young men of Desha who still had some blood in their veins, including some of Sharafan's subordinates, were gritting their teeth and cursing Sharafan, the "coward" who admitted defeat, but Kadan and Emir Xerxes were not blamed at all...
They only stare down at the signature that is taking the blame, but never look up at the king who gave the order.
In other words, they will just follow the trend and curse the people that everyone else is cursing, and ask those who have the courage to speak the truth to shut up.
Perhaps this is because cursing Sarafan would have no consequences, while cursing Cardan would most likely result in the loss of one's head.
Only Sarah could curse Cardan and Emir Xerxes loudly in the Fortress of Martyrs - and she did it in front of both of them.
As the new Pand Foreign Minister, Sarah met with the two 'Bahad Khans', Kadan and Amir Xerxes, at the Martyrs' Fortress.
It took the two brothers a long time to arrive at the Martyr's Fortress, and each of them brought a lot of guards...
Maybe he was afraid of being assassinated.
But Sarah was actually waiting for them alone in the fortress.
Neither Cardin nor Emile Xerxes dared to speak loudly to Sarah...
They may feel a little guilty about Sharrafan Sheikh.
Cardan had seen Sarah when she was a child, and some of Sarafan's subordinates who stayed in the Martyr's Fortress also recognized Sarah. They did not have the confidence to embarrass Sarafan's daughter - of course, they did not dare to make things difficult for her, because they could not afford to offend the new Pendor Kingdom.
Sarah is the foreign minister, and she represents the entire country when she goes on a diplomatic mission. If you disrespect Sarah, you might have to call in Leon again...
"...I came here just to pay tribute to my father...but I heard my father's name being cursed here!"
Sarah sat in the main seat, looking expressionlessly at the two 'Bahad Khans' on her left and right: "What 'shame of D'Shar', what 'coward scum', some people even say he is a 'traitor'... Now I want to know who the hell is the shame of D'Shar! Who the hell is the coward scum! The bastard who dares to do something but not take responsibility, spineless and shameless, is simply a maggot!!"
Sarah didn't name anyone, but everyone knew who she was scolding...
Cardan kept silent, and Emile Xerxes looked down at his feet.
Neither of them spoke.
"Didn't you two form an alliance? Who has the final say between you two brothers now? Who is Bahadur Khan?"
Sarah looked at the two brothers with a mocking look on her face - these two people did not talk back even when they were called maggots in front of them. They were worthy of being Khan-level figures.
“He…” “He…”
Both brothers pointed at each other.
Then, they snorted at the same time and stopped talking again.
"Well, it seems that you all have a good understanding of yourselves and know that you are not worthy of this title..."
Sarah stood up and said, "Since you know that you are not worthy of being the ruler of D'Shar, I will give you a chance... Surrender to the New Pendor Kingdom and accept the rule of His Majesty Leon. This may guarantee your safety..."
"What?" "Surrender?"
Cardan and Emile Xerxes stood up at the same time. They really didn't expect Sarah to make such a request so suddenly.
"We have not fought against the New Pendor Kingdom... and we have never offended His Majesty Leon..."
Emile Xerxes looked at Sarah strangely.
"Yes, you didn't offend His Majesty Leon. But you offended me!!"
Sarah slammed her palm on the table: "My father's reputation can be washed with your blood or your reputation. It's your choice!!"
After saying this, she drew the sword from her waist and used the blade as a mirror to look at her face.
"Ms. Sarah... This is not an order from His Majesty Leon, right? You are acting on your own..."
Cardin frowned and looked at the sword in Sarah's hand: "If we don't accept it, can you still declare war on us on behalf of the New Pendor Kingdom?"
"I cannot declare war. I am the Foreign Secretary, not the Hand of the King... I don't have an army, so I can't lead the troops into battle myself."
Sarah spoke slowly, her voice cold and calm: "But, I have the friendship of His Majesty Leon - if I die in D'Shar, I can guarantee that His Majesty Leon will lead his troops to crush D'Shar and kill you all..."
Cardan and Emile Xerxes looked at each other, and there was real panic in their eyes.
They knew that what Sarah said was true and that she did have the courage to die here.
Not to mention the friendship between Sarah and Leon, just based on Sarah's identity as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, she absolutely cannot allow anything to happen in D'Shar - let alone die in D'Shar, even if Sarah suffered minor injuries in D'Shar, the New Pendor Kingdom would definitely fight to the death with D'Shar.
Moreover, the Cardin brothers both knew that Leon would probably be happy to do so...
"Ms. Sarah, if His Majesty Leon is willing to restore the territory of the Principality of Desha, I am willing to submit to the New Pendor Kingdom!"
Cardin reacted quickly and gave in, and even made a counter-offer.
"Pah...Der-Shar Principality? You actually plan to become a vassal principality of the Kingdom of Pendor? You have already given up the northern territory and acknowledged that most of the north is ruled by Bacchus. The ink on the defeat agreement is not even dry yet. How are you going to recover?"
Sarah smiled sarcastically: "Your current territory is just equivalent to an earldom... I don't mind asking His Majesty Leon to make both of you earls. However, there is only one D'Sha, but you have two people - let me ask again, who has the final say in D'Sha?"
Cardan and Emile Xerxes were silent again.
That's right, the New Pendor Kingdom and Bacchus are allies now, and Leon and Ramon of Singal are partners. He can't let the territory occupied by Bacchus and the independent Singal return to D'Shar ...
Who has the final say in Desha?
I'm afraid that now it's Leon who has the final say...or rather, it's Sarah who represents Leon who has the final say.
"Of course, you can also commit suicide or flee - this way you won't have to worry about it, and I won't force two dead people to clear my father's name..."
Sarah threw the sword in her hand onto the table. The crisp sound of "clang clang" made the two "Bahard Khans" break out in cold sweats.
Suicide? Are you kidding me...
Escape? Where to? Judging from Sarah's attitude, if she really escapes, I'm afraid the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood will follow her, right?
The two brothers thought about it for a long time, then had a fight, and finally wrote a surrender letter reluctantly.
A man of insight is a wise man. Being an earl is much better than losing your life. Besides, it is an earldom after all, and at least it has autonomy.
This time, Emile Xerxes did not compete with Cardan for the right to rule the Desha country, but the two brothers still fought over who should sign the surrender - but they were not fighting over who should sign, but over who should get the other to sign...
Because whoever signs will be scolded, and those who sign the surrender will definitely be branded as "coward" and "traitor".
Finally, the surrender document was signed by two names of 'Bahad Khan'.
This was what Sarah asked for - Sarah said she wanted to see their sincerity.
When Sarah returned to Changhe City with Desha's letter of surrender, Leon had just finished dealing with Fletcher's affairs.
What Sarah brought back to Leon was certainly an unexpected gain - this was indeed Sarah's own initiative, but she did a better job than anyone expected.
Leon's next order was actually more harsh than Sarah's.
He named Cardan the 'Count of Nalda' and Emil Xerxes the 'Count of Toba', divided the two brothers' territories into two earldoms, and only allowed them to retain troops worthy of the earldom - no more than one hundred fully armored knights, or one thousand lightly armored soldiers.
If the armor or army exceeds the standard, it will be directly regarded as treason.
And Sarah... Leon also made her a count, and the title given to her was 'Countess Desha'.
The title of Foreign Secretary is of course higher, and Sarah has indeed made contributions worthy of this title.
Her fiefdom was the Martyrs' Fortress, the village of Gahar, and the Fort of Jihad, which was once the territory of Sharafan Sheikh, and it just cut the territory of Kadan and Emir Xerxes in half.
Sarah still serves as Foreign Minister, and her fiefdom will be handed over to another person for management - her fiancé, Sigismund, who has just been named a sworn knight by Leon.
For a king, he must remain calm no matter what happens, and make sure to distinguish between priorities.
Even if you encounter close subordinates colluding with foreign enemies, you must control your emotions, first rationally resolve the threat posed by the Jatu people, and deploy all government affairs, and finally deal with the traitors.
Li Ang has always been a rational person.
Now that everything inside and outside had been arranged, Leon set out to White Hart Castle to meet Charles.
…
October 16, 358 Pendor.
This day is the blessed day of the goddess of order.
It was also the day when the war ended.
A day ago, His Majesty Leon returned to White Hart Castle to inspect the supply reserves and announced that the entire New Pendor Kingdom had lifted its state of readiness.
The Jatu people have retreated back to the grasslands, and peace has returned to Sarleon and the Noldor Forest.
D'Shar has become one of the three earldoms of the new Kingdom of Pendor.
The Bacchus Empire is currently an ally of the New Pendor Kingdom and they cooperate in many areas.
Firdsvain has also completely withdrawn from the territory of Sarleon, and is said to be requesting Her Majesty Amy to sign a non-aggression agreement.
Except for the brother and sister in Stern Crow Realm who are still fighting for the throne, there is no more war on the entire continent.
I can finally do my job - serving as the commander of the royal guards for His Majesty Li Ang.
I have been leading troops in battles all year, and it would be a relief to be able to end the state of war.
But His Majesty Li Ang was in a bad mood.
This is because of Charles.
I can imagine how sad His Majesty Leon felt - Charles was not only the son of Count Odden, whom His Majesty Leon regarded as a good friend, but also His Majesty's first sworn knight.
It is indeed hard to imagine that such a person would collude with foreign enemies.
I tried to comfort His Majesty Leon, but he said that he had seen a lot of conspiracies and betrayals over the years, and he would not be bothered by Charles's conspiracy with the Jatu people.
His Majesty simply told me that he had run into an unsolvable problem and that there was no one who could help him.
I thought seriously about the situation of the entire continent, but I don't see any unsolvable problems now...
His Majesty Leon has actually taken control of half of the continent, the new legion trained by Jocelyn is almost complete, and Ms. Bodais has also trained a female soldier unit in Eagle Claw Castle. Today, the New Pendor Kingdom is strong in both men and horses, and no country in the entire continent can pose a fatal threat to the New Pendor Kingdom.
The construction of Changhe City has continued, and Changhe Express has been transporting mutton from Fletcher to various places.
In the area around Sarleon City and Deerheart Lake, it is said that Her Majesty Amy has successfully reclaimed millions of acres of farmland in the past few months.
The Noldor Forest is being reforested and firebreaks are being repaired. His Majesty Leon plans to build the firebreaks into roads through the forest so that Bacchus' supplies can be transported to the forest market.
The country seems to be thriving, people are confident about their future lives, everything seems to be going well, and everyone praises His Majesty Li Ang.
The only person who was dissatisfied was Aldarian. Because His Majesty Leon did not kill all the Jatu people, but instead started trading with them, Aldarian felt that His Majesty Leon was nurturing a tiger to cause trouble.
Of course, Aldarian also knew that if he could use some ordinary goods to exchange for temporary peace on the border, this deal would definitely be a good deal - as long as the new Kingdom of Pendor could develop peacefully for a period of time, the Jatu people would no longer be a concern, and everyone was confident of this.
But His Majesty Li Ang was still very anxious.
Especially today, after His Majesty met Charles, he asked me to lock him up in White Hart Bank as well.
Moreover, His Majesty also ordered me not to let him out until Wendy comes back...
I don't understand this order, why does Your Majesty want to lock yourself up?
But I have to do it - His Majesty Leon almost never looks anxious, and in my impression, he can always solve all problems with a smile.
But this time, he kept frowning.
I am very uneasy.
——Excerpt from "New Pendor Battle Diary", written by Lisadilan Aino.
