Chapter 63: Volume 3 - CH 1.6

Peshawar citadel was now an allied base for Arslan and Rajendra. This is something that no one would have imagined a few days ago.

On the hill overlooking the red sandstone walls of the fortress, a group of people were standing in the distance. At the center was a knight wearing a silver mask.

“It’s amazing how things have evolved!”

So said Zandeh. Hilmes, Arslan’s cousin, remained silent under the silver mask and seemed to be thinking about something.

Just the night before, he had invaded Peshawar with the intention of harming Arslan, but failed and was himself driven down to the moat. After that, Sindhura’s army crossed the border with ten thousand horses, but what about the change in the situation before them? Even the sharp-minded Hilmes looked dumbfounded, and for a moment did not know what to do.

After a short time, he said to Zandeh.

“It’s decided, let’s go back to Ecbatana.”

“Yes, sir. But is it okay to leave Arslan’s group alone?”

“Indeed, it’s not ideal, but we can’t go to Sindhura with them, can we? See, I’m not as godless as Arslan’s group thinks!”

Zandeh did not know if it was good to see these words as a joke, so he did not laugh.

“If that damned Arslan is killed by Sindhura’s army, it’ll be disappointing!”

“What words! With Daryun and Narsus and the others with him, they will not let the Sindhuran soldiers kill Arslan.”

Hilmes smiled faintly, half with appreciation, half with malice.

“Come back to Ecbatana, Arslan! Come back so that I can be the one to kill you.”

Once he remembered the weak power of the Lusitanians, Hilmes couldn’t ignore the status of the royal capital, Ecbatana, after all. If he stayed away for too long, queen Tahamine might have some cunning plot to arise again. Who knew what was going on in her head?

On the other hand, he was also very concerned about King Andragoras, who was locked up in the dungeon. What about the Lusitanian army, which had split into the King’s faction and the Archbishop Bodin’s faction? It seemed he could not devote his full attention to defeating Arslan at all times.

Looking out under the winter night sky at the red rock walls of Peshawar, which was loudly in preparation for the army’s departure, Hilmes leapt on his horse and galloped toward the capital, Ecbatana, which he hadn’t seen for a while.

Zandeh and his men followed him and left one after another.

Unbeknownst to Arslan, the greatest enemy that threatened his life was moving away from him. But, as Hilmes himself said, it was only temporary.

Sindhura’s capital, Uraiyur, is located at the center of the inland waterway network that connects to the Kaveri River. The palace with its white walls is surrounded by subtropical flowers and trees, the steps leading directly to the canal are made of light red marble, and the beauty of the place is hard to describe when the sun sets over the land.

The summers in Uraiyur are long and the heat is unbearable everywhere; because of this, the winters are exceptionally cool and comfortable. Rather than being cold, the cool climate revived the flowers and trees that had been driven to the brink of death by the summer heat and filled them with life. However, on the day when the report of the alliance between Rajendra and Pars came in, the rare and icy north wind penetrated the heart.

Most of the blame for the division of the country into two by its princes vying for the throne should be borne by King Karikarla II. If he had clearly named a successor to the throne, the situation would not have deteriorated so much.

Karikarla II was still alive. In the beginning of the year, he was only fifty-two years old, and not particularly ill. He himself had no intention of retiring from the throne, so the appointment of the crown prince was delayed.

The reason why the state of affairs suddenly turned into “the king is critically ill” is ultimately because Karikarla II was too confident in his own health. When the Queen died ten years ago, the originally extremely kind and gentle King Karikarla openly began to fool around with beautiful women. Deer antler, snake blood, deep-sea fish eggs and other strange enhancement medicine collected from the forest resulted in him suddenly collapsing and becoming paraplegic half a year ago.

He was in no state to deal with political affairs as the king.

In Sindhura, not only the king but also the chancellorship was passed down from generation to generation, from father to son, continuously. This was the “hereditary vizier”, and the hereditary vizier at that time was Mahendra, whose daughter became the consort of Prince Gadhevi.

Of course, Mahendra wanted his son-in-law, Gadhevi, to become the next king. And Gadhevi also had this intention, he wanted to take charge of the country as soon as possible. However, both he himself and Mahendra had made many enemies. And his biggest enemy, Rajendra, not only threatened Gadhevi’s succession to the throne, but also had now allied with the enemy, Pars, to attack the capital this time.

“Damn it, that Rajendra even colluded with the Parsian army to steal the throne. He will do anything to achieve his goal, that man has no shame. I swear to never let him sit on the throne!”

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Gadhevi was certainly furious about this matter, but at the same time, he also felt uneasy. The Sindhuran army knew how strong Pars’ army was. This is not something they had to research, as it was common knowledge as an indisputable fact. When they heard the name of King Andragoras III, who was known as a fierce general since his youth, crying children were immediately silenced. For what reason did the army of Pars become allies with Rajendra?

“In any case, the army should be ready to move out at any time. Your Highness.”

Hearing this from his father-in-law Mahendra, Gadhevi hastily summoned the army. Of course, he also called for their strongest offence, the “war elephant force,” to move out. These demands were so time-consuming and costly that the general objected.

“The elephants do not want to leave their stables because of the cold and wind today. What should we do?”

“Drive them out with whips! What do you think whips are for?”

Gadhevi himself, of course, did not notice that it was because of such lack of consideration for others that he had made so many enemies. Just as Rajendra mocked him for his “ignorance of the world,” Gadhevi sometimes even forgot that there was a world outside the royal palace and the nobleman’s court. Because of this, Gadhevi also had a cowardly side, and he approached his father-in-law, Mahendra, for advice.

“Preparations are made, but is it possible to win, or not? Mahendra?”

“What are you worried about? Your Highness is far greater in terms of talent and number of troops! Although the opponent is the Parsian army, it is not the entire army, there is no need to fear them.”

Mahendra desperately tried to motivate his son-in-law.

In case Gadhevi lost to Rajendra, Mahendra himself would have no choice but to sit and wait for death. So he had to do his best for his son-in-law, who was not incompetent, but slightly less reliable.

For Arslan, who was on his first foreign expedition in his life, there was no greater joy than when Kishward lent him his falcon, the Angel of Death.

(TN: The Chinese translation just calls Azrael “The Angel of Death” all the time instead of his name, which is funny, but I’m going to use his name.)

“I hope he will be a good friend to Your Highness. He likes to fly in the vast sky more than huddle inside the city, and bringing him with you might be of some help to Your Highness.”

“Thank you, I’ll treat him well.”

Arslan stretched out his arm and told Azrael to perch, then he said to the winged confidant.

“Azrael, say goodbye to Kishward for now! For I am going to take you to Sindhura.”

As Arslan, with Azrael resting on his arm, came out onto the terrace to parade, the Parsian army in the atrium burst into a roar of cheers.

And as the city gates opened wide to reveal Prince Rajendra, riding on a white horse, the Sindhuran army waiting outside the city joined in the cheers.

“Rajendra! Our king! The chosen one of the Gods! Lead us on the road to victory ……”

“That frivolous prince seems to be quite beloved by the soldiers!”

Daryun stood behind Arslan and whispered to Narsus.

The “frivolous prince” rode his white horse under the terrace, raised a hand high, and said loudly, “Prince Arslan, as I have said before, I hope to be your friend. With the Kaveri River as the boundary, I, as the King of Sindhura in the east, and you, as the King of Pars in the west, will each conquer our own territories and dominate the whole continent, and let us join hands to build a world of eternal peace!”

Arslan smiled accordingly, at this time, but Daryun showed a rather unimpressed expression.

“Narsus, I can’t trust that man named Rajendra from the bottom of my heart. Am I being unjustly paranoid?”

“No, you’re not being paranoid, I feel the same way. However, it doesn’t matter. Betraying His Highness Arslan now would not do Rajendra himself any good. If he were to betray us, it would only be after trampling Gadhevi’s head under his feet.”

Narsus looked askance at Rajendra who was receiving cheers from Sindhura’s army with a mocking expression.

Azrael flapped his wings faintly on Arslan’s arm.

Thus, Arslan welcomed the New Year in an unexpected foreign country in the year 321 of the Parsian calendar.

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