Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 497: Evil is coming (2)

'Send some people to the Ornoku tribe and ask them to surrender. If not tell them that we will destroy them without leaving any roots. Take five thousand men.'

Jurmong smiled and nodded.

'As the Great Chief commands'

'May the Skyfather watch over your deeds' Nur said as Jurmong step back and exit from his tent.

'Bring me that letter' Nur said as one of the serving ladies bring him a letter from one of boxes lying in his tent. 

He slowly opens the letter, read it and sighed.

What should he do with this proposition? He still did not stabilize the area around his new area of dominion.

He should not be thinking of entering the muddy water of the Empire capital

'Great Chief what are you worrying about?' one of the serving lady ask. He smiles bitterly and did not say anything. 

The serving lady is curious on what matters that would make the Great Chief to be so worried.

To her, the great chief is a great man. The serving lady was once a slave of the Gerwun clan and she was treated badly and even has to satisfy the sexual needs of her masters. 

She already treated it like the norm. 

When the Gerwun clan was destroyed by the Great Chief army she was assigned to Nur Aci the Great Chief tent as his serving lady.

She even thought her life would be like the life she has endured in the hands of the Gerwun masters.

But it was different. 

The Great Chief did not ask for sexual favors or even forced them to do anything they don't want to do. 

Their job is only to serve the Great Chief with whatever he needs. 

At first she thought that the Great Chief might have a problem with his manliness and thus this is why the Great Chief did not sleep with her but then she discovers that the Great Chief is very beastly in his bed. 

But he never rapes even when he has the rights, and he did not force any woman to sleep with him.

It is perplexing to many of the chieftains of the desert how Nur Aci conduct is very different from the other chieftains.

It has been regarded normal to rape the defeated, to humiliate those who were conquered and to attack with no mercy.

But Nur Aci did not rape. He did not humiliate and mercy is given when he wish to do so.

To be honest, Nur Aci spend a lot of years with the Imperial Military and he also was influenced with the high culture of the Capital.

To the people of the capital the tribes of the Xenosian desert were a backward type of people, barbarous and unruly.

Nur Aci takes the mocking and desire to better himself. Rape is frowned upon in the culture of Arrandy and in the human continent 

He also learns that sometimes diplomacy is more important than he have thought before. The idea that was instilled to him by the great general of the Empire did not leave him

The lesser the casualties on his side, while inflicting maximum damage to the enemy is the ideal way to win a war.

In a way, Nur Aci was impressed with the order in the Capital and wished to live in that kind of world and as such he also embodies the very best virtues that the empire promotes. 

In the army of the Emperor, honor is very important. Honour, dignity, honesty, great virtues were embedded in every soldier.

It is for that reason why the Imperial Military is so disciplined and formidable.

So, when Nur return to his tribe he declares his intention to become the Head Clan. He claimed his descent to Huragu Temor, a Hersi headman who lived three centuries ago.

Nur father and grandfather were killed in an attack by the Gaesowun clan. 

The moment he ascended he attacked Gaesowun to avenge the deaths of his kin. Gaesowun head, Wuerhan fled to Somun tribes. 

Reorganizing his troop Nur once again attack Wuerhan and at the same time assimilating the Somun tribes into his. 

This time Wuerhan escaped again and fled to Toergun tribes where the head of Toergun, Yeonwusun give Wuerhan to Nur Aci as a way to build relationship and the Toergun banner was created as they became one of the banners of the Great Chief army.

Then he began uniting the tribes. 

His movement alarmed the other tribes. 

Nine tribes composed of the Erhe, Quon, Turhan, Herli, Kharchin, Saveb, Yerlu, Neryun and Gueralca attacked Nur Aci and was defeated at the forest of Heaven mountains. 

Bloods clouted the forest and the bodies of the enemies were left to be eaten by the beast of the mountain.

Then during the Imperial Return to their lands, Nur Aci began his campaign. 

First he targeted the seven Burlun tribes. In matter of months he conquered the seven tribes. 

A year later he has covered a vast majority of lands in the desert and he tasked his translators Yerlu Chucai the task of creating an alphabet for his kingdom by adapting the alphabet of the Empire.

He named his kingdom Gohersi. 

The meaning is Ancient Hersi. 

And it was at that time he sent a request to the Great Capital to be granted a title and asked for the Emperor to grace him with the title Protector of the Desert.

He never got an answer. 

But even though he is called the Great Chief here in the desert, he dare not march to the Central Continent and asked the Emperor to give him the title. 

He knows better than most how terrifying the Emperor really is. Not to mention the rumors that he heard that made his heart tremble in fears. 

He was once a rear guard in one of the rare moment where the Emperor participated in battle. 

Nur watched as with one slice of his sword, twenty head was separated from their necks. 

He watched as the emperor use one palm to break an encirclement of a hundred despairing soldiers. 

He watched how the Emperor jumps to the sky like bird, walking in the air like the Sons of the Skyfather in the Cloud Mountain.

He watches as the Emperor moves in the battlefield like a death reaper, lives reaped with every swing of his weapon. 

And not to mention his million men army which if called could make the world trembles and the Heaven howls.

Compared to his army, the difference was like heaven and earth. 

Sending that letter was his hope that his authority would be acknowledged by the Central authority and avoid any retaliation from the Capital. 

He knows that if he keeps expanding, the Governor of Zettel will report this to the Capital and if he did not receive any acknowledgement, the Dragon army might march to the desert and destroy his hard work. 

He knows he is still weak, his dagger is still dull, so bearing eating gall, he need to lower his head so he needs to rest under a huge umbrella.

But when a letter came from the capital he is not overjoyed. 

Because the sender of the letter is not the Emperor but the emperor daughter. Nur Aci knows what this is all about. 

The Empire is now in chaos. But even though it is in chaos, its military prowess is not threatened by one bit.

He is contemplating right now actually. In the desert he has claimed himself as great Chief benefitting the Desert and founded his Gohersi Dynasty. 

He wanted the acknowledgement of the Capital.

'Should I go?' He asks himself as the serving lady now massages his feet.

Closing his eyes, he decided.

'Enough' he ordered and the serving lady stopped. 

'Call my Five Tiger Generals.'