Chapter 9: Vice Commander?
The morning feast ended on a sour note. Uno had never acted aggressively throughout, appearing to defer to the Sand Emperor in all matters, but in truth, he held military power tightly. Sometimes, those who seem harmless and wear a smiling face are like fierce dogs in the shadows.
Uno controlled the military, while Carros held the purse strings. It was easy to imagine how difficult they were to deal with when working together. Even the Sand Emperor could only use Carros to leash Uno, making this fierce dog look like a lapdog.
After leaving the Rosse Palace, Su Xiao returned to the small inn where he had previously stayed. Kaiser was already waiting there.
At the morning feast, Su Xiao had promised to capture Segona City within seven days. Setting aside everything else, just marching to Segona City would take five days. The remaining two days would be needed for rest; soldiers weren’t machines. If they marched at full speed for several days and immediately attacked Segona City, morale would be very low.
It seemed there were two days to attack Segona City, but that wasn’t the case. Su Xiao hadn’t yet taken command of those 20,000 soldiers. They were still under Uno’s control. If Uno didn’t pull some tricks, Su Xiao would be absolutely shocked.
If Uno delayed the handover of the 20,000 soldiers, Su Xiao might end up wasting one to two days in Sando. That could lead to him arriving at the border just as the seven-day deadline expired.
Su Xiao checked his task list. As the power center of the Sand Flame Kingdom, Sando was full of opportunities, increasing the chances of triggering side quests.
[You have triggered a side quest: Grand Commander.]
[You have triggered a side quest: Capture Segona City.]
[Side Quest: Grand Commander]
Difficulty Level: Lv.57
Quest Info: Obtain the rank of Grand Commander and command at least 5,000 soldiers of the Sand Flame Kingdom.
Time Limit: 1 day remaining
Quest Reward: Bloodstained Glory (★★-rank title).
Quest Penalty: Permanent -5 points to Luck Attribute.
[Side Quest: Capture Segona City]
Difficulty Level: War-type side quest, difficulty fluctuates greatly.
Quest Info: Capture and fully occupy Segona City.
Time Limit: Seven natural days
Quest Reward: ‘Gray Soul’ Structure Analysis Diagram (Knowledge-type record)
Quest Penalty: Lose the position of Grand Commander, all attributes -15%, permanently expelled from the Sand Flame Kingdom.
Two side quests: one rewarded a two-star title, the other a knowledge-type item whose use was currently unknown.
Regarding the border city of Segona, Su Xiao had already learned some details. It was a fortress city with a civilian population of around 3,000, inhabited by the Peru Dwarves.
Don’t underestimate Segona City because of its small civilian population. It housed over 50,000 soldiers. Those 3,000-plus civilians served the soldiers, running shops and such within the city to ensure the Peru soldiers could be stationed there year-round.
Besides soldiers and civilians, Segona City held many slaves—slaves from the Sand Flame Kingdom, all laborers.
A fortress city garrisoned by 50,000 Peru soldiers might not seem like much, but it was a different story once fighting broke out.
The Sand Flame Kingdom had attacked Segona City many times. In its fiercest attempt, it dispatched 170,000 soldiers, aiming to break through in one go. The result was a crushing defeat, with only 90,000 of the 170,000 surviving, nearly routed by the slaughter.
Capturing Segona City with 20,000 soldiers was nearly impossible, especially with a seven-day limit.
Precisely because it was impossible, Uno and Carros were willing to hand over 20,000 soldiers. Su Xiao’s friendship with the Sand Emperor—whether real or fake—made Uno and Carros wary, so they were willing to use 20,000 soldiers as a price to eliminate Su Xiao, this threat.
As for the position of Grand Commander, under normal circumstances, Uno and Carros would never have agreed. It was the situation that forced them to relent. Given the morning’s events, if Uno had said anything more, it would have been a direct challenge to the Sand Emperor’s authority.
The first priority now was to take command of the 20,000 soldiers from Uno. There was no need to worry about that; Uno’s people would soon come looking. If the other party could endure that maddening itch, Su Xiao could afford to wait.
Thump, thump, thump.
The inn door was knocked. Kaiser opened it, and a man in half-body scale armor with silver hair walked into the room.
“Grand Commander Kukulin Bai Ye, I am the new Vice Commander, Berne Avalle.”
The silver-haired man, Avalle, stopped at the door. He looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven. Setting everything else aside, in terms of handsomeness alone, Berne Avalle could easily rank in the top twenty in Sando.
“…”
Su Xiao sat by the window, watching the pedestrians passing by on the street below, completely ignoring Avalle. He had Bubu Wang and Baha set Uno up, and Uno clearly couldn’t withstand it, so he sent Avalle.
Su Xiao had just taken command of 20,000 soldiers, and a Vice Commander was already arranged. Under normal circumstances, he should have chosen the Vice Commander himself, not had Uno appoint one.
In the room, Avalle cleared his throat. He was riding high, having been promoted five ranks from Guard Captain directly to Vice Commander.
Avalle had learned the basics from Uno’s trusted aides. When he heard they were to attack Segona City with 20,000 men, his legs went weak. That was suicide. As a garrison soldier in Sando, he had never seen the front lines in his life. But this morning, surprise and terror came at once.
Avalle’s first thought was hatred—hatred at being dragged into this. Then he thought: since this Grand Commander had sworn to capture Segona City in seven days, why not have the Grand Commander die in an ‘accident’ before reaching Segona City?
That way, there would be a reason not to attack Segona City. If the Grand Commander was dead, wouldn’t they have to return to Sando immediately? After all, those 20,000 soldiers were his, Avalle’s, subordinates.
Terror turned to joy. Avalle understood: that lord had appointed him Vice Commander to eliminate the thorn in their side. If he succeeded, he might even become the new Grand Commander.
Avalle felt that the peak of his life was beckoning. This made his mood even better, except for a slight itch in his throat.
“Cough, cough~”
Avalle dry-coughed, glancing at the tea on the table.
“Are you very thirsty?”
Su Xiao propped his cheek on one hand, still watching the passersby on the street.
“Subordinate is not thirsty.”
Avalle lifted his chin slightly.
“We’re all friends here, don’t stand on ceremony.”
“Then subordinate won’t be polite.”
Avalle strode forward, grabbed the teapot, and poured it into his mouth.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough…”
With a thud, Avalle collapsed to the floor. The teapot fell and rolled to Su Xiao’s feet.
This kind of disposable pawn wasn’t worth Su Xiao’s time to scheme against. He had just arrived in Sando and had already offended the High Priest and the Minister of Governance. Someone poisoning him was perfectly normal, wasn’t it? Avalle was just unlucky. Su Xiao hadn’t told him to drink that cold tea; he had only said, ‘We’re all friends here, don’t stand on ceremony.’
This kind of time bomb was best dealt with early. If this guy got any ideas and led the soldiers in mutiny not far outside Sando, the loss would outweigh the gain.
“Kaiser, go inform Uno. Say I deeply regret Avalle’s misfortune and send some gifts over. The cheaper the gifts, the better.”
“Gifts? Let me think.”
Kaiser’s eyes showed some pain. Giving gifts, for him, was on the same level as being stabbed.
Over an hour later, Kaiser returned with a slightly plump man. This man also wore scale armor, looking more like a merchant than a soldier.
Avalle had just died, and a new Vice Commander arrived, still appointed by Uno. Until those 20,000 soldiers were fully handed over, Uno had that authority, since the military power was taken from him.
The new Vice Commander was clearly much more cautious, given how miserably his predecessor had died—not even an hour before dropping dead.
“Lord, I am…”
Before the new Vice Commander could finish, Su Xiao waved his hand. Seeing this, the new Vice Commander’s heart clenched. Did not needing to know his name mean he wouldn’t live long either?
Su Xiao certainly wouldn’t eliminate this new Vice Commander so quickly. Although both were appointed by Uno, the Vice Commander couldn’t be changed too often. One per hour was too extreme. At the very least, he should last until one per day, which would barely be acceptable.
Wonderful Bookstore