Chapter 527: Am I Right Your Highness?
"We must finally understand that of all the precious capital in the world, the most precious capital, the most decisive capital, is human beings."
- Ioseph Stalin
"They deserve to be punished! Go get them!"
The commander stared at the man with a bloody face for a while before answering through the narrow slit of his bascinet. "Yes, your excellency."
"Great, I give you the permission to slay any man who rebelled against the sovereign, now go commander!"
But the commander just continued standing there without moving an inch.
The regent sensed that something is not right and cried out. "What are you still waiting for?"
"You just gave me the order to slay anyone who rebelled against the sovereign, am I right your highness?"
The regent took one step back hearing this, and the commander took one step forward.
"What...What do you want to do? What do you want to do? You must remember that it is me who promoted you to this rank! It is me who made you no longer a slave! It is me... It is me! You must be grateful! Now, just follow my order, get your men, and slaughter those people outside..."
"Your highness, you just gave me the order to slay anyone who rebelled against the sovereign." The guard commander pulled out the blade by his side. "I shall follow your order, word to word, so I shall start with you, for you have openly rebelled against the sovereign, our Sanjek, by trying to poison him and his family, eating up his power while he was away, preventing sufficient supplies from being sent to the Sanjek while his army is fighting a war in the frontline causing numerous deaths of the people... I hereby give you the title of... ’the traitor of the people’."
The pupils of the regent widened in shock, but the commander did not give the later any more chance of screaming or yelling. He slashed his blade across the throat of the regent, and the later collapsed, without saying a single word, choking to death in his own blood.
The bascinet of the commander is entirely tainted with a scarlet dark red colour of the regent’s blood. He did not bother controlling the antagonised guards in the surrounding and the maidens yelling in shock, instead he kneeled down, cut off the regent’s head from his neck, walked to the balcony and threw the head down to the crowd of protestors beneath, together with it there is a wooden box, inside contains all the keys to the city’s gates, then he walked back into the room.
A few minutes later, large groups of guards, maidens and stewards are seen rushing out of the palace yelling towards people to keep clear. The protestors around the palace started to smell something that resembles smoke, then just minutes passed fire can be seen from the windows of the balcony. The flames started spreading so fast that just a while later, the entire palace, which is built partly on wooden structure, is engulfed in flames.
Finally did the people know that what truly happened inside the palace – the regent ( guard commander) decided to burn himself alive to escape away from his sins, guilt and duty, by venturing to another world, a world of the dead.
...
The city gates came wide open an hour later in the morning, when the sun has shown up above the horizon donning light upon the city, showing clearly on what kind of devastation a single fire spark could cause in a medieval city. The entire region around the palace has started burning, and the fire is still gulping up more and more buildings in the process.
In fact, the citizens opened the gates not to welcome the Roman troops outside in, instead they opened it so that they can run away from this soon to be abyss city.
Antonius has been notified regarding the commotions ongoing in the city a couple of hours ago, and he too saw the flames leaping with the smile of demons high up into the sky lighting half of the sky up standing on a high ground, although there are little information being passed to him from inside the city, it is not that hard to really guess what is actually going on behind these walls.
"Look! Cerberus!" Antonius yelled raising his hands up high in the air, with his face blushing from the sheer heat and excitement, behind him is the image of the fiery flames in the centre of the city. "What did I tell you? This, is the power of the people, the ones whom you have thought to be so weak and minute, but in fact when they are united and organised together as one, they can shake the foundation of rule for even the most mighty empires!"
Cerberus gaped in shock, Alexios is awed by the Caesar which one can almost see little stars of admiration popping out from his eyes, whereas Apostolos riding on horseback beside him looked much calmer, because he knows that –
"Your majesty!" A scout came covered in sweat came reporting. "News from our agents inside the city! A violent uprising broke out in the city, and the regent of Ioannina chose to commit suicide by burning himself to death!"
"..."
Antonius squeezed his nose in embarrassment. "What a coward, does not even have the guts and wits to face the very own mistake he has made himself... Anyways! Pass my orders! Each trooper are to find a container for carrying water! Then get into formations! Today we march for Ioannina!"
The Roman troopers marched on towards the burning city just five miles away, and they came straight into the mass population who are running towards them trying to escape the flames. Upon seeing the troops many stayed quiet and continued running, while there are some kind fellas who turned their heads and shouted out towards Antonius’s troops, warning them of the fire hazard ahead.
But instead of heeding the advice, Antonius stayed calm and ordered his troops to continue marching right towards the flames against the tide of crowds, attracting the attention of many residents of Ioannina making them stop running staying put and observe this army unafraid of the fire. By the time the troops reached the gates, many troopers, especially those voluntary crusaders from the other states started quarrelling and protesting, arguing that they came here to kill infidels (and maybe earn a fortune), not to send their lives away for charity.
Sensing this emotion spreading among his troopers, Antonius rode out of the line, ordered the troops to stop right before the city walls, drew out his blade pointing it towards the sky and yelled. "We do not have much time! My brothers and comrades! Pass down my words!
"Those who are the only child in their family, step out of the formation and go to the back!"
A hundred plus men quietly went to the back.
"Those who are married and have kids waiting for them to return home, step out of the formation and go to the back!"
Another two hundred men left the formation.
"Those who are not local and have no interest in this, leave the formation!"
After an entire five minutes of passing down the message, another three thousand plus men leaving the formation, with only a slightly more than four hundred men still together before Antonius.
Antonius looked at these men, laughed and shouted. "You know my style gentlemen, I will never let you fight for nothing, your action of bravery shall be heavily compensated by me today!" Then Antonius pointed his blade towards the burning city.
"Alright brave lads! Let’s march on! We still got a battle to fight to fight today! And our enemies are the fire!"
Antonius jumped off his horse, gave it a pat on the butt for it to run away, then charged head on into the city gate towards the ferocious flames head on hugging a water bucket into the city gates, turning right running for the Lake of Parnvotida. The four hundred warriors too, followed the footsteps of their leader and charged into the city with what ever ’weapons’ they have in their hands, ranging from buckets, pots, jars...
The troopers who chose to quit the mission just now widened their eyes in shock at the valorous actions of their pals, many bite their teeth hard, and chose to charge into the flames without anyone forcing them joining the fight against fire. While many residents, too, are astonished by the acts of these intruders who are overwhelmingly courageous, willing to sacrifice themselves for the interest of the others, to save a city that does not even belong to them.
Many men, who have their male hormones raising sky high started getting ashamed on themselves on abandoning their home towns. They told their families to keep clear in the safety, and too chose to join the flight to save their city against the disastrous fire.
The war on flames has begun.
