Chapter 67: Volume 3 - CH 2.4

“What? Only three days and the fortress of Gujarat has already fallen?”

Gadhevi, who received this bad news at the capital, Uraiyur, dropped the large ivory cup he was holding, spilling his coconut wine onto the floor.

“What’s going on, Mahendra?!”

“Nothing. Gujarat is the key to the defense of the northern part of the capital, and now that it has been taken away by the Parsian army, we must reclaim it quickly. If Prince Rajendra’s army merges with Pars’ army there, it will be very difficult to retake. Please move quickly while the enemy’s forces are still scattered.”

“Is that so? I see.”

Now that the target had been set, Gadhevi no longer looked concerned. He immediately returned to his room, washed away his intoxication with a cold bath, put on his armor, and ordered his army to move out.

Under the command of Mahendra, the army’s formation was completed. On February 5, 150,000 of Gadhevi’s men left the capital with the prince sitting in his command seat on the back of a white elephant, wearing white-gold armor decorated with 300 precious stones. In addition to this, there were five hundred war elephants in the army, and a huge procession of troops formed a band in the wilderness of Sindhra, heading north.

On the other hand, in the city of Gujarat, occupied by Pars, the captured Jaswant was brought before Arslan. He had no intention of begging for his life.

“I am a Sindhuran. I will not sell my country to the Parsians. I am not betraying Pars, but only doing my duty to Sindhura. Feel free to end my life if you wish.”

“Then, as you wish!”

Gieve drew his longsword and slowly made his way around to Jaswant’s back.

“After cutting off your head, I will offer you a sad and absolutely beautiful ruba’i. You can boast it to the gods of Sindhura in the other world.”

Just as the white blade was raised high in the air, a voice rang out. It was Arslan’s shout.

“Wait a moment, Gieve.”

As if anticipating this voice, Gieve stopped the sword in his hand. He looked at the prince and spoke with faint sarcasm.

“Oops, I knew you would say that. Since Your Highness ordered so, I will put the sword away, but I hope you won’t regret it later.”

Hearing Gieve say that, Arslan looked confused from the bottom of his heart. Arslan forgave Jaswant purely out of pity, and he did not dare to think that Jaswant would return the favor in the future. Not just Arslan’s safety, but the safety of his subordinates might also be compromised. As a prince, this responsibility is on him.

In the end, Arslan released Jaswant. 

Narsus advised, “In my opinion, this won’t result in anything that your retainers cannot handle. This time the decision is entirely up to you, Your Highness.” 

Jaswant, who was untied, did not even look at Arslan, and proudly walked ahead towards the mountains. Watching his back, Arslan looked at Narsus skeptically.

“Thank you, Narsus. But is this really a good idea?”

“Honestly, it may be naive, but it doesn’t matter. The question is whether or not Gadhevi will accept him.”

Arslan cocked his head in disbelief, so Narsus continued for clarification.

“Now, the responsibility for the fall of the fortress of Gujarat falls on Jaswant. What will Gadhevi think of it?”

Narsus did not think that Gadhevi would be kinder than Arslan, however, he did not put this thought into words. Nevertheless, for some reason, he felt that the man was too eager. To surprise Narsus, the entire city of Gujarat would have to be sacrificed.

Arslan admired Narsus’s wisdom, and felt that it was really incredible. If Jaswant had not betrayed and told Sindhura’s army their initial plan, the scheme would not have succeeded. And how did Narsus know that Jaswant would betray them?

“I wasn’t confident that he would betray us. All in all, I had planned several schemes in advance, and this time I merely applied one of them.”

Narsus had indeed come up with several plans for if Jaswant had betrayed them or not. He set up three situations, such as Jaswant being Sindhura’s assassin, a mere guide, or a spy sent by Gadhevi’s camp to infiltrate Rajendra’s camp. In addition, he wondered if Rajendra knew that Jaswant was Gadhevi’s spy, or was unaware. In all, Narsus came up with more than 20 scenarios and planned corresponding methods to deal with each, so he’d just needed to use one of them.

“Indecisiveness is not the way of Narsus. This is the plan for if it goes to the right, this is the plan for if it goes to the left. It is my usual practice to conceive of every scenario.”

So said the former Lord of Daylam.

After Jaswant was released, he found his way back to Prince Gadhevi’s army after three days of arduous trekking. He was overjoyed when he identified himself, but the soldiers, without showing any respect or kindness, suddenly beat him with the hilt of their swords and then tied him up. Jaswant was thus dragged before Gadhevi, and protested with a dusty face and bloodshot eyes.

“Your Highness Gadhevi, why do you treat me like this? I have served Your Highness with all my heart and soul!”

“Shut up! Betrayer! How dare you show your face before me?”

Gadhevi pierced Jaswant’s chest with a voice as harsh as a white blade.

“Didn’t you collude with the Parsian army and sacrifice the fortress of Gujarat to them? Several witnesses confirmed that you feigned loyalty to lure my generals out of the fortress.”

“No, no such thing. I fell for the Parsian army’s scheme too! I definitely did not conspire with them. If I had conspired with them, why would I have come back to Your Highness? I should have been celebrating with them in their camp by now!”

Hearing Jaswant say so, Gadhevi could not raise a word of rebuttal for a moment.

“Your Highness, it is right for you to be angry. However, this man is a sworn member of our family. He has proven himself many times. Just please pardon him, Your Highness, and let him have the opportunity to atone for his sins. ……”

Mahendra deeply bowed his head as he spoke.

The uncontrollably angry Gadhevi could not help but look at his father-in-law’s face. He breathed heavily while glaring at Jaswant.

“Okay, for the sake of my chancellor, this time you will be spared. But in the future, if there is even the slightest thing that makes me suspicious……”

As Jaswant suppressed his surging feelings and bowed his head in thanks, the cavalryman in charge of reconnaissance ran pale-faced into Gadhevi’s camp.

The report pointed out that Prince Rajendra’s 50,000 troops, who had suddenly advanced towards the east, had entered the zone between Gadhevi’s army and the capital of the country, Uraiyur, and had blocked the road by setting up a formation.

The situation became extremely urgent.

The Parsian army led by Arslan was inside the fortress of Gujarat. To the south, there were the armies of Gadhevi and Mahendra. Further on, there was Rajendra’s army. Then further south is where the capital of the country, Uraiyur, is located.

The two opposing camps each divided their forces into two parts. On the surface, Gadhevi seemed to be pinned down by the enemy to the north and south, however, his forces were much larger than all the enemy’s forces. Therefore, it was also possible for him to break the north-south division of the enemy. Gadhevi could attack the capital to the south, but then his back would be vulnerable, and he would still have 30,000 soldiers in the capital. The northern-most Parsian army and the southern-most capital of the country, Uraiyur, were each isolated by severing the link with the main force. It was not the most favorable situation for either camp.

“Things seem to have evolved into the most troublesome of all the situations I’ve ever thought of.”

After listening to the scouting team’s report, Narsus patted his cheek while looking at the map. He had expected Gadhevi and Rajendra to meet on the passage north of the capital and then start a battle.

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“We pushed our luck a little too far, didn’t we?”

Bahman mocked in a very heavy tone. Narsus did not argue with it.

“The old general is right.”

After admitting frankly, Narsus smiled slightly.

“But, it will soon change. They originally sent out their army for the purpose of fighting. I think that Gadhevi will make his move within three days.”

He said with certainty. The Parsian army was prepared to leave the fortress and fight at any time. The command was in the hands of Bahman.

That night, after the formal meeting, Daryun and Narsus prepared for the upcoming battle in their own room.

Narsus had two plates of dishes in front of him. They were Elam’s lamb fried rice and Alfreed’s thin roasted bread with bird meat. Although Elam and Alfreed often fought, at least they didn’t make the same dishes to make things difficult for Narsus, which was a real relief for him. It was just another dilemma as to which dish should be eaten first.

“You probably want the enemy to attack quickly, don’t you, Narsus?”

Daryun taunted Narsus. He was absolutely right, and Narsus was silent without retort. Although his eyes fell on Sindhura’s map, his expression was extremely warm. In the past, while serving at court, he’d had scandals with several courtesans, but this time he could not treat life as a game. Narsus was responsible for Elam’s future, and he could not hurt Alfreed’s feelings. From the point of view of the traditional social system of Pars, Arslan and Elam were too different, but, on the other hand, they were friends in life and death, and at the same time, like brothers. Together, they studied politics and warfare tactics with Narsus, and swordplay and archery with Daryun. To their teachers, they were both excellent students.

“In the future, when His Highness Arslan becomes king, if Elam is allowed to assist him, they will be able to manage the government affairs well.”

Daryun predicted this future, and Narsus sniffed and still gazed at Sinduhra’s map while replying.

“Yes! It will take ten years at least. By that time, you and I will be able to pull back from the moral responsibilities of the worried world, right?”

After taking a break, what should they do? Narsus could take up the brush to become the next Master Painter Mani. Daryun, on the other hand, might go to the land of silk again to pursue his lost attachment? Although they would keep track of each other’s whereabouts, they would not stop each other from doing what they wanted to do, and accept their decision.

The immature teenagers, who are more than ten years younger than them, also seriously thought about their own past, present and future. Arslan leaned against the rock wall of the ancient fortress of Gujarat, which had temporarily become his home, bathed in the foreign starlight, and was alone in his contemplation. Not entirely alone, as Azrael kept him company. The hawk rested on the prince’s shoulder, as if guarding its wingless friend’s shining crystal eyes.

It had been less than four months since the tragic defeat of the Battle of Atropatene, yet he felt as if ten years had passed. During this period, so many things have happened, one should say too many things have happened. Among these things, the one that hung on Arslan the most was the secret regarding himself, the one known only to Bahman.

……

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, after this battle is over and we return to Peshawar Citadel, I, an old fool, will tell you everything I know. Until then, just please let this subordinate rest a bit!”

Before leaving for Sindhura, Bahman said this.

Arslan could not figure out what he meant, and the conflicting feelings of wanting but not wanting to know were pulling at the teenager’s heart. Deep inside him, an abyss was opening up. It was the end of last year, just fifty days ago. Arslan remembered Bahman shouting from the walls of Peshawar under the starry winter sky.

“Kill that man, and the rightful bloodline of the King will be broken! You mustn’t kill him. ……”

The man he was referring to was not Arslan, but the man in the silver mask who had wanted to kill Arslan. Bahman screamed that he must not be killed.

Who is that Silver Mask?

That man has the bloodline of the royal family, that must be it. That man must know something that Arslan didn’t know.

For a fourteen-year-old boy, Arslan was really plagued with difficulties. 

He had to drive the invaders out of the country, recover lost lands, and rescue his two imprisoned parents. So, on a normal day he would not think about it. However, on an evening like this, with a bit of free time, he will think of it again.

……

And at this time, the most fundamental and frightening questions began to ferment in the depths of Arslan’s heart.

What exactly is he ……?

Arslan shivered, not because of the winter night breeze that swept by in a flash, but what he thought of made the teenager feel anxious. Arslan should be the Prince of Pars, born to King Andragoras and Queen Tahamine. There should be little reason to doubt this fact, at least until now. However, Bahman’s words were like a thorn in Arslan’s side, but for now, he could only do his best to trust him in silence. Nevertheless, the other’s words struck Arslan so hard that he felt bitter.

Arslan was startled by the sound of footsteps on the city wall. Azrael gave a sharp chirping sound on the teenager’s shoulder. However, it was not an enemy that appeared, but a reliable companion. The black-clad knight took off his helmet and gave a solemn salute.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince, even in the south, the winter winds can still hurt your body. Please go inside and rest!”

“Daryun.”

“Yes?”

“Who am I, really?”

The softly murmured voice rode the night wind into Daryun’s ears. The knight in black faintly showed a faltering that he would never show on the battlefield. He was originally a person who was not good at coquettish words, and in this instant, he did not know what to do to react properly. And just because he did understand the implication of Arslan’s words, it was even more difficult for him to reply.

“Don’t think too much about this matter. Narsus said that there is still no way to get the certain truth no matter how much you dwell on it…..”

Daryun advised Arslan to wait quietly for Bahman to explain the original reason for everything. Arslan stayed silent, and the black knight suddenly seemed as if he knew what to say.

“Daryun knows your true identity, Your Highness.”

“You do, Daryun?”

“Yes, to Daryun, Your Highness is the most important person. Isn’t that enough, Your Highness?”

Azrael made a small chirping sound on Arslan’s shoulder. Arslan reached out the other side of his hand and stroked the head of his close friend. Silvery waves of water flowed over his cheeks from his clear night sky-like eyes.

Why were these tears flowing? Arslan himself was not very sure. He only knew that it was not a shameful thing to cry now. The prince stroked Azrael’s head, who was looking at him worriedly, and murmured.

“Thank you, Daryun.”

……

That night, Prince Gadhevi finally began to send out his 150,000-strong army. On the surface, it appeared to attack the Parsian army in the north, but in fact it was to lure Rajendra’s army in the south into action. If Rajendra’s army attacked the back of Gadhevi’s army, he would immediately turn back to attack Rajendra’s army from the front. If Rajendra wanted to attack the capital while Gadhevi was away, he could still turn back and attack Rajendra’s army from behind. With the overwhelming superiority of Gadhevi’s army’s strength, any manner of fighting is likely to be successful.

“Our main enemy is Rajendra. It doesn’t matter how much damage it will cause, in any case, we must crush his army and take his head, and then, there will be no reason to fear the Parsian army.”

Gadhevi made his decision.

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