Chapter 215: Chapter 21

Baron Masud had a frown on his face as he sat down at the negotiation table. The sudden turn of events completely caught him off guard. He thought that he could take full control of the soldiers once he had taken Baron Husani down but the sudden rebellion destroyed all his plans.

He planned that after capturing his fellow Lord and accusing him of treason, he would assume full control and then put down anyone else that dared to voice their opinions against the matter but he didn’t expect a full-scale rebellion to occur which was giving him such a big headache. Shifting his gaze towards one end of the tent where the negotiation was going to take place later on. He caught sight of Baron Husani who was sneering at him.

“Ha! I told you that continuing this foolish campaign is madness and guess what! Even the normal soldiers think so too! Hahaha…” Baron Husani broke out into a fit of laughter while mocking his fellow Lord for his failure in seizing control of the army. Even though he didn’t expect such a size of rebellion, he knew that some were fed up with the state of things.

After the last battle, almost their entire camp was drenched in blood. Upon shining down the first rays of the new day upon their camp, the sun revealed the full extent of what had transpired. Some places were still on fire while some only had a few embers left, tents messed up and trampled on the ground, bodies of the fallen scattered everywhere both still recognizable and beyond recognition. Thousands of them fell but when they counted how many of their enemies were taken down, they were dismayed as there were not even fifty of the corpses left behind by their foes.

Bodies of the spear throwers made up most of the enemy casualties while there were only five of those monsters that were also riding the behemoth monsters which did a lot of destruction wherever their tracks have been. Baron Husani did inspect the bodies of their enemies but what caught his eye the most were the giant steeds of their enemies that were also covered in metal armor. Their craftsmanship in making armors may be crude as there were a lot of uneven surfaces on their armors with irregular thickness throughout.

After stripping both the steed and the rider from their armors, they were finally able to see what they were really up against. A huge and menacing creature that had thicker arms than the thighs of the others who were present. And the huge behemoth of a steed was nothing more than less dangerous than its rider. With its three horns and bulky head which served as a natural weapon, even while it was a corpse it still did plenty to intimidate those present as there were more of these deadly creatures out there and will attack them again. The creature was like a battering ram brought to life, given with a bulky figure, huge legs, heavy frame, and fast legs, a real nightmare upon the battlefield.

“You’ve seen what we are up against… And trying to convince you more would be nothing more but foolish. I no longer want to waste my saliva with you as it’s better to teach a desert lizard where to and where not to go than you.” Baron Husani said as he shook his head and then closed his eyes. He was inside a makeshift cage of wood which he doubted would be able to stop him if he decides to break out of it but with no more soldiers truly loyal to him, escaping to the wilds would be nothing but short of foolish.

…..

After a short while, the two almost complete opposites arrived inside the tent and stood before the negotiation table. Standing on both flanks of Baron Masud were his most powerful and most trusted warriors to protect him in case something awry happens.

“You guys are free to go wherever you want to. Leave my camp as soon as possible as your presence inside my camp irks me.” Baron Masud went aggressive with his stance as his gaze toward the two leaders of the rebellion turned serious.

“But we haven’t even stated our terms yet?” the fat one spoke as he was confused with how things progressed. He was expecting something like a table full of food with servants who will serve them as Siroh and the Lord will have a pretty lengthy discussion which will in turn give him ample time to eat till he was satisfied but the opening words of the Baron were nothing short of unfriendly.

“I thought we are going to do some negotiation? And where’s the food?” Badz questioned as he started looking around the tent. He saw nothing but the table which separated them from the Baron and his two guards and the other Baron who was inside a cage in one of the corners of the tent with his eyes close and looks like he was resting as he had his back against the cage.

“What’s there to negotiate with rebels? Take your treacherous allies with you and get out of my sight, go away as far as possible before I decide to not show you any mercy at all. If I wasn’t merciful, your heads would have rolled already.” Baron Masud replied as he slammed his right fist upon the table as he stood up, the impact of his fist slamming against the table’s surface made its legs creak.

“So no negotiation?” Badz tried to make sure of what he was hearing as he was confused. He look to his partner but he was still quiet and just stared at the Baron who was literally just insulting them and driving them away from the camp.

“Get out! Before I make you bleed!” Baron Masud continued with his aggressive stance as he put his hand on the handle of his blade to make his threat more convincing. His face was also filled with rage as he stared daggers at the two. Silence ensued after the Baron did his thing in hopes of intimidating the opposition but he wasn’t prepared for what was about to come.

“Hohoho… So no truce? Then let us water the sands with more blood, it seems that it still thirsts for more as it didn’t have its fill last time. I thought you were wise to call a truce a few moments ago but it seems like your head became sturdier than a rock. So be it… Let’s battle it out.”Siroh broke the silence as he smiled towards the Baron. His words made their stance clear, if you want to fight then let’s fight, we are not afraid of you. That was the message that his words conveyed.

“So what do you say? my Lord…” Siroh’s words oozed out with sarcasm as he paid his respects to the noble title of the Baron. He was silent at first since he was taken by surprise by the sudden aggressive stance of the other party which made him think over things as he might have missed something very important that might have given the Baron confidence to pressure them but he can’t think of anything and it finally dawned on him that the Baron was just trying to scare them and make them agree in his own terms of the truce.

“You’ve seen our numbers, we have the upper hand. Battle prowess-wise, you have the edge on that but with how things are, you don’t know who is with us and not with us. Our brothers are mixed with everybody and you have no way of finding out who is friend or foe. If a real fight breaks out, it won’t be a real battle but skirmishes everywhere inside the camp which would in turn render most of the fighting prowess of your soldiers as ambushes will certainly happen. So let me make it sure, battle or truce, we will happily oblige.” Siroh laid out the harsh truth in front of the Baron as he spread out his arms and reached for the wine cup that was on the table before raising it to his lips and then downing its contents.

After returning the wine cup back to the table, Siroh brought out a scroll and tossed it towards the Baron who absentmindedly tried to catch it but his guards were quick to act as they pushed him behind them and unsheathed their swords and slashed at the incoming object. The scroll was then divided into three pieces as they dropped down to the surface of the table.

“Those are our terms. You have till the sun is at its peak to make your decision. If we don’t hear from you by the allotted time, then a fight is inevitable. Let’s go!” Siroh dragged Badz by the arm as he walked out of the tent with full confidence. He had come prepared and he had the upper hand, the scroll containing their terms for the truce was nothing but short of an ultimatum for Lord Masud.

After the two made their exit, Baron Husani started laughing out loud while hugging his bellies. “Hahaha! You’ve got some really good acting skills but unfortunately, you were up against someone who knew his worth and what he has.”

Baron Masud slumped down on his seat as he was infuriated. He failed in intimidating the opposition and he was given an ultimatum in return.

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