Chapter 824 Prisoners of War
Nahir and Gidan went down the steel walls and approached Kyran. They were a little hesitant at first, but they reckoned they had to discuss their next course of action soon. They might have taken control over the situation on the battlefield but there was still the matter of the border.
Frankly, Nahir knew Kyran had cooked up a plan to take over the borders that was why he did not kill the Armakean knights. The younger man did suggest a conquest and while he agreed to it, they both know the Eidums were incapable of that given their weak offensive magic.
Kyran did improve their overall combat capabilities by teaching them how to utilize their advantage, which was the use of support magic to boost their strength while weakening their enemies. This improvement was actually a game changer during the first hour of the battle.
In the end, their lack of people as well as core fighters was their undoing. They escaped their imminent defeat but it caused the Abbot to reveal himself. Not to mention, there was the silver humanoid dragon.
Nahir frowned slightly, recalling the silver humanoid dragon. Watching Kyran round up the rest of the beasts and seemingly instructing the Basilisk, Comodo, and Dryad to lead them, gave Nahir more reason to believe he and the silver humanoid dragon was one and the same.
Gidan also watched what Kyran was doing with a scowl. Although the same thought as Nahir had crossed his mind, he was more inclined to believe that Kyran might be related to the silver humanoid dragon just like those newcomers.
Speaking of the newcomers, Gidan looked up ahead where those lot gathered and tied up the rest of the Armakean forces.
"I don't think we can afford to take them all as prisoners of war," Gidan told Kyran the moment they got close enough for him to hear them. "We don't have the manpower to keep them under control and our supplies are limited. We can't afford to feed any more mouths."
What Gidan said was true. The Eidums combat capabilities might have improved but at the end of the day, those people were stronger. Frankly, if not for the sudden appearance of the Abbot, the silver humanoid dragon, and finally, Kyran's kin, they would have long perished and the Eidum's border overtaken.
Because of these unforeseen factors, they ended up taking the Armakeans as prisoners of war. While it could be seen as a good thing, the truth it was not. Especially when they barely could support their own people.
Unless they planned on releasing these prisoners by negotiating with the King of Armakea soon, their supplies would run out. And that was considering their prisoners would not stage a break out. If that happened, they would be overtaken before anything else happened.
Kyran gestured the three magical beasts to continue grouping the rest of the horde before looking toward Nahir and Gidan. With raised brows and slightly tilted head, he said, "I never considered them as prisoners of war."
Nahir sighed inwardly after hearing the younger man's response. As he expected, Kyran planned to take control of the knights. How he would do that, however, left him blank.
Gidan's reaction was different though. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. But this reaction was more on unrestrained anger rather than? disbelief.
"What in hell? Why keep them alive if you don't consider them prisoners? Do you even know what you have subjected us to by keeping them alive?"
"I do," Kyran replied nonchalantly. "I have employed a company of knights to provide manual labor."
He paused, after thinking of something and added, "One company is not enough, though. After marching into Armakea, we'll have to gather more. That way Achim and Kesiah can lead a company each. They can form the first battalion."
Gidan gaped at him with mouth agape— the size of which could easily fit an egg.
Nahir also did a double take after hearing two names he was not expecting to hear. He looked at Kyran in all seriousness, at the same time, fearing the question he was about to ask.
"Achim and Kesiah? You… What did you…?How did you…?"
In the end, Nahir failed to ask because his mind had turned into a jumbled mess.
Kyran scratched his head. He did not plan on hiding things to them. Now that he decided to put into motion the plan to conquer Somuli, he would need trustworthy people to help him manage things. He chose the Eidums— or, to be precise— their leadership, because of two reasons: they took care of Cyneah, and the Abbot would become the Sovereign soon.
While these two did not appear a sound reason for one to decide on them, Kyran thought otherwise.
Once Kyran conquered Somuli, he would need people who were humane enough to lead. If he had chosen the Armakea, or the Kingdom of Cretea to lead just because they possessed the knowledge, or the military strength, the Somuli would end up in chaos. Their greed and inhumane ideals did not sit well with Kyran, after all.
Of course, Kyran was not saying the Eidums did not possess these traits. They did as a matter of fact, but it was in a level that could be tolerated. They were still humble enough due to the fact that they knew of their shortcomings. Besides, they had people who possessed healing abilities. That could already be considered a huge advantage to them as long as they had enough military strength to control the other two nations.
Not that those two would pose any real threat. After all, Kyran planned to get rid of those people among their nations that he deemed unfit to keep alive. He would not be the judge on that, though. He did not think he had what it takes to judge them. But those were things to consider for the future.
Right now, Kyran's focus was in conquering Armakea. And he would do so as discreetly as possible. He still had to keep an eye on the outsiders, and the last thing he wanted was alarm them of his conquest. He did not want them to take interest in his identity as Nar.
"I'll explain it all later," Kyran told Nahir and Gidan before looking toward the direction of the Armakea border. "We still have things to settle."
Nahir and Gidan's expressions turned grim as they also looked in the same direction.
"Do you think the Armakeans who stayed behind the borders are preparing to receive us?" Gidan asked. "We are going there to finish this, right?"
"That? There is no need, Achim and his guys already took care of it," Kyran replied with a flippant attitude that almost choked Gidan to death.
"You—! Then what do we even have to settle over there? More importantly, do you have to look over there and said those things if its already settled?"
"So noisy," Kyran complained while rubbing his ear. He looked at Gidan and patiently explained, "Achim did settle the matters in the border, but someone still managed to send an SOS to a nearby fort. Good thing they did not have access to communications that directly connects them to the capital. If not, we'll be dealing more than reinforcements from a nearby fort."
"You—! What if those guys sent a report to the capital? It will only be a matter of time before the King sends his troops here!"
"No," Kyran shook his head. "Jita already confirmed that fort is not equipped with a direct communication device to the capital. Unless one of the heir candidate is there for whatever reason, then we are still in control of the situation."
"What about the other forts near that fort? They may have access to such a device and had already contacted the capital."
"Tsk," Kyran clicked his tongue in annoyance and glared at Gidan. "Why do you keep spouting ominous thoughts? Do you want the King's knight to come here so badly?"
"You—!" Gidan growled in frustration. "Of course not! But you have to consider every possible scenarios!"
"I have," Kyran replied with a snort. "At least, Achim and the others have."
"And you trust them? Unbelievable!"
"I trust them because they are my people. Besides, they know more about how their system works. They know which forts have direct communication to the capital. This is a good thing, too. If we bait those forts to come to us, we can amass our military strength without having to move around."
Gidan fell silent and contemplated Kyran's words, agreeing to most of them. However, he was still feeling a little giddy about all these things.
On one hand, Nahir looked at the two with a somewhat incredulous expression. Kyran had yet to explain the matter about Achim and Kesiah, however, Gidan seemed to have completely? accepted everything and did not react to Kyran's mention of unfamiliar names anymore. Instead, he reacted more with the younger man's attitude over the situation.
It dawned to Nahir how simpleton Gidan could be.
"Let's go," Kyran gestured for the two to follow him. "Haji already prepared the meeting room."
"Wait," Nahir stopped them and looked over the magical beasts. After that, he looked at the tied still unconscious Armakeans. Three of the newcomers were there, but while he already witnessed their prowess, he did not think they would be enough to keep all prisoners under control by themselves.
"I'll have the rest of the Eidums help watch over the prisoners."
"There's no need," Kyran replied with a slight smile. "Even if they woke up, they will not be able to do anything. I have someone keep them under control at all times."
"But those three… will they really be enough?"
Nahir asked, unable to figure out what the younger man meant.
Kyran only smiled in response. However, if Nahir and Gidan were more observant, they would have noticed his eyes fleeted on the ground ever so slightly. They would then notice the unusual shade of the Armakeans' shadows.
Seeing that Kyran planned to stay mysterious, Nahir and Gidan no longer voice any discontent and followed him. They had tons of things to discuss, yet the night was almost over.
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