Arslan Senki

While Arslan and his men fought within Sindhura, Hilmes, who had sworn to become the rightful king of Pars, stayed in the royal capital, Ecbatana.

However, he was not sitting back and relaxing. Before that, he took advantage of the Lusitanian invasion of Pars to carry out his own plans. Meanwhile, Arslan, the object of his revenge, led an army to attack Sindhura and left from the borders of Pars. After a confrontation within the Lusitanian army, Archbishop Jon Bodin and the Temple Knights left the royal capital to crush the local remnants of the Parsian army.

At this time, Hilmes was faced with the need to carefully consider how he should go forward.

On the other hand, Guiscard, the brother of the Lusitanian king, was also facing eventful days.

His brother, Innocentis VII, was infatuated with Tahamine, the queen of Pars. He kept Tahamine under house arrest in the royal palace, desperately sending her gifts, while trying to persuade her to convert to Yaldabaothism. This state of affairs remained unchanged throughout the winter while they occupied the royal capital. If Tahamine had converted to Yaldabaothism, there would have been no obstacle to their marriage. Perhaps it was because she knew of this situation, that Tahamine only smiled a sultry smile and evaded his words, never agreeing to the king's requests.

If the king and Tahamine's relationship had progressed, Guiscard would have had to think twice. If they had a child, the succession to the throne would be even more tricky. Therefore, during the period when King Innocentis and Tahamine were still playing their games, it was probably best to leave them alone for the time being; however, because of this, the political and military problems were solely concentrated on Guiscard.

Although Guiscard had the opportunity to show off his talent and power, sometimes he still felt dissatisfied with the king.

A while ago, because Archbishop Bodin and the Temple Knights fled the capital and encamped in the fortress of Zabul, the capital’s contact was cut off from the west. He was tempted to ask his elder brother how he could still be so absorbed in a game of love in this situation?

The fortress of Zabul is located 50 farsang (about 250 km) northwest of the capital, and has guarded Pars’s border with Maryam since ancient times, so it is a crucial location. If an army is deployed from this fortress, it can not only block the mainland road, but also control the contact between the two countries.

Currently, there are more than 30,000 troops in Zabul. Most of them are the Temple Knights, the fanatical believers who have sworn allegiance to Archbishop Bodin. Religious beliefs never accept compromise, so it is not so simple to deal with these people.

From the fortress of Zabul, Bodin issued an ultimatum to King Innocentis VII of Lusitania.

The king of Pars, Andragoras III, and his consort, Tahamine, were to be executed; the people of Pars were to be converted to Yaldabaothism, and those who did not convert were to be killed; he was to repent to the god Yaldabaoth for having his heart stolen by a pagan woman, to renew his vows never to break the precepts of Yaldabaothism; the veto power of the church over the government was to be made explicit… …

This, of course, also contained a strategy, but the whole thing seemed to be a mandatory requirement. Innocentis VII, alarmed, brought his brother to discuss it with him.

"That Bodin is simply pretending to be the will of God and is bent on expanding the power of the Church. Since the King wants to listen to my opinion, I think that since the King is the monarch of a country, he should think about the strategy going forward by himself."

Although Guiscard ground his teeth, he did not dare to neglect the 30,000 soldiers in Zabul fortress.

“If you want to attack, you must also have large military strength, and if it turns into a long-term war, the consequences will be dire. For one thing, Ecbatana can't be abandoned, and for another, if we let the troops spread out too far, that leaves us vulnerable to attacks from all sides.”

Therefore, Guiscard even considered preparing a special army to besiege Zabul fortress, and these troops could be left to the command of that Silver Mask. If he could take Zabul, that would be best. Still, it was not advisable to launch any resistance against Bodin until the Lusitanian army had completely cleared the remnants of the Parsian army.

Innocentis VII accepted Guiscard’s advice. Since his ascension to the throne, he rarely rejected his brother's proposals. And every time he listened to his brother's advice, he felt much relief that the matter had been settled.

———————

Although he had not yet fully recovered from his injuries, Sam, who was formerly a commander of the Parsian army, had been following at Hilmes' side since he returned to the capital, Ecbatana, offering advice and suggestions on various matters. Hilmes also valued his presence and often sought him out to discuss matters. Although Zandeh treated Sam with courtesy, Zandeh was still slightly dissatisfied.

One day, Hilmes was talking with Sam in the atrium of his house. Hilmes asked Sam to go and crush the Temple Knights in Zabul. Sam immediately replied,

"I am willing to accept this mission, Your Highness."

"However, I know of Guiscard's intention. He wants us and the Temple Knights to clash with each other and reduce both of our numbers. My idea is that since I know his intention, we can't fall for his plan ……"

Hilmes’s silver mask shone in the afternoon sun, and he was deep in thought.

"If Sam has such an idea, then he must have some countermeasure. Tell me about it!"

"First of all, in the righteous name of crusading against the Temple Knights, His Highness can openly gather troops. Can't we take this opportunity to refurbish our soldiers and weapons at the expense of the Lusitanians?"

"…… Well."

"Plus, although the Temple Knights are in opposition to their king, they are still Lusitanians after all. If we can wipe them out, I'm sure we would be greatly thanked by the people of Pars. One day when Your Highness is ruling the country, they will remember."

"That's true ……"

"In the meantime, if we win, we can credit this as a favor to Guiscard, and then we can ask for a reward. According to my subordinates, we can ask for the fortress where the Temple Knights are entrenched."

As soon as Sam finished speaking, Hilmes uncrossed his arms.

"This is indeed a good plan, Sam. But what if we lose?"

After Hilmes asked this rhetorical question, Sam immediately changed his face. He leaned his upper body onto the marbled table and gazed at Silver Mask with a powerful look.

"Can you, as a descendant of the heroic King Kai Khosrow, think of defeat in battle? If you cannot even win against a small order of Temple Knights, then how can you recover the country of Pars?"

The silver mask that Hilmes wore didn't show any change in expression, but the face hidden underneath might have turned red long ago. The words "descendants of Kai Khosrow" shook even Hilmes’s mind.

"Sam is right. Thank you for your advice. I will accept Guiscard’s request!"

——

"Oh? You agree?"

When he heard that Hilmes had agreed to raid Zabul fortress, Guiscard felt elated on one hand, but on the other, he couldn't hide his surprise. He did not believe that this man, Silver Mask, would fall for his ploy so easily. Although he originally intended to put the other party in his place even by means of coercion …….

"Of course, I must have enough food and weapons. Since I can't ask to use the whole strength of the Lusitanian army, I wonder if I would be allowed to conscript soldiers from Pars?"

"Alright, I’ll leave everything to you!"

Although Guiscard was a calculating man, he was by no means petty. After agreeing on sufficient preparation and payment, he let Silver Mask leave.

At this time, someone told Guiscard with a tone of advice,

"Your Highness the King's Brother, it is certainly detrimental to the national prestige of Lusitania to let the Temple Knights do whatever they want, but is it proper to let the pagan Parsians go on a crusade? We don't know when the points of their swords will turn towards us!"

These words came from the mouth of Orgaz, the court clerk. He worked under Guiscard in administrative matters. With a bitter smile, Guiscard replied to his subordinate.

"Your concerns are justified, but for now we must conserve every single one of our soldiers. According to the reports coming from all over, it seems that the Parsians will soon attempt to retake Ecbatana.”

"That's a big thing!"

"Anyway, we know that Silver Mask has his own agenda. For now, let them fight to the death with those fools entrenched in Zabul, for as long as they go to war, they will definitely cause each other damage. At least they are happy to go to war, aren't they?"

Orgaz listened and nodded, then deliberately lowered his voice and raised another query.

"Who exactly is that Silver Mask?"

"He’s a member of the Parsian royal family."

Guiscard’s reply caused Orgaz to gasp.

"Is, is that true?"

"Maybe! It's just a wild guess, but it might also be true. The royal family of Pars also has many things that are not for outsiders to know."

At this point in the conversation, Guiscard's anger at Archbishop Bodin was aroused again. After the occupation of Ecbatana, Bodin burned libraries of books, which also included the ancient texts collected in the royal palace library. If one consulted these ancient books, one could surely learn many secret things about the state politics and court history of Pars. Since Bodin even burned the books on geography, it created a big obstacle in the work of ruling Pars. For example, how much taxes could a village afford to pay? How many people were working and how much land was cultivated? All this information now had to be re-investigated.

"What a pain in the ass, Guiscard."

Innocentis VII said. At this point, he had put all the blame on his brother. And he himself did not notice this.

Brother to brother, Bodin to Bodin, there was yet another person for Guiscard to keep in mind. That was Tahamine, the queen of Pars.

"What the hell is that woman Tahamine thinking? Brother and Bodin together are not as difficult as that woman."

For Guiscard, this was the most unpleasant matter for him.

The king's brother, Innocentis, was a man with both body and spirit like a sponge, and if Tahamine intended to inject venom, he might have already absorbed it completely.

For example, if Tahamine had harbored hatred for Guiscard and whispered in the king's ear, how would things have changed?

"Your Majesty, please kill Guiscard. That man not only despises Your Majesty, but also tries to put himself on your throne of supremacy. Letting him live will be detrimental to you, Your Majesty."

"Is that so? If you think so, you must not be wrong. I will have him executed immediately." …… Guiscard was chilled by the thought of this. Although he was His Highness the King's Brother of Lusitania and the highest authority, his position was not really that secure. It was hard enough to drive the fanatic Bodin away from Ecbatana, and now Tahamine had appeared as well.

Guiscard could not help but feel bored. Since he was a child, he had always helped his elder brother, and never accepted his brother's help. For a long time, he really felt bored …….

————-

On the other hand, Hilmes, who had received Guiscard’s permission, openly recruited soldiers from Pars, and also prepared horses, weapons, and food from the Lusitanian army.

"In any case, we don't need the Lusitanians soldiers to fight. Just spend some more time on the provisions.”

Hilmes took Sam’s advice and proceeded with the preparations carefully. Wouldn't it make him a laughing stock to take the chance of attacking the fortress of Zabul without adequate preparation and to get bitten in return? He could not die before driving the Lusitanians out of the kingdom, taking the throne as king in Ecbatana, and placing the heads of Andragoras and Arslan side by side before the city gates. He was to be the bringer of a new golden age, and would carve an indelible name in the history of Pars. Therefore, he must first capture Zabul fortress and make that it his base. Only then would he choose a time to reveal the name of Hilmes and raise the banner of Pars.

"That fortress seems to be easy to defend, but in fact it has several weaknesses. The Lusitanians probably don't know that, do they? I have been to that fortress three times and investigated the interior to the letter."

Among the twelve fearsome Marzban of Pars, the one who was most skilled in attacking and defense of a fortress was Sam. That's why he was appointed by King Andragoras as the defender of the royal capital, Ecbatana.

And now, for Hilmes, he must raid the fortress of Zabul. Sam still had feelings of self-deprecation, but he did not say anything, and just did his work silently.

So, at the beginning of the year 321 of the calendar of Pars, Hilmes was working intensively to prepare his personal regiment and prepare weapons and food. When Guiscard began to ask anxiously when he would be able to depart from the royal capital, the preparations were finally completed.

    This was at the end of February.