Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 593: Bastion of the gods

He knows the title and the organization of his government is very crude. 

But he could not do much with the people he has right now. he had a lot of soldiers. But not every soldiers could become an official

And since he is intending to follow the same method of organization of army as the Orc, he needs people he could trust in high position.

Loyalty is the basis of the power of the Orcs. The same thing that he must employed to the army on his side

In the Empire, he did not need to care that much whether a certain official is loyal to him or not as the landscape of politics there is very complicated and entangled.

Arial himself had entangled most of the nobility and the official benefits with him. 

And there is also this teaching of the Three Teachings and the Analects that made scholars had to have just cause to rebel against their own lord.

Scholars had been in the rise since the Rebirth movement began and they protect the power of the Imperial family

And it is not so easy to betray him in Human Continent as his reputation is as high as the Heaven and possess the approval of the people.

But still Arial could not trust them. The lords make their moves based on benefits. There is as many traitors in the midst as there is loyalist.

Great houses do honor their legacy but this did not mean they could not be moved when the benefit is high enough. 

The reason why Arial could constrain them on their leash is simply because of his prestige, his power and the weakness of the lords

While Arial would not say that if he were to be weakened that everyone would betray him, he is quite confident that some of them would not hesitate.

Weakness then is something that he must not show as he could not read people heart. 

Even those closest to him could betray himwhat else the people who were farther from him?

So, he always had to remain vigilant and the ultimate power, the Seal of Authority of the Empire have always need to be defended.

Give enough benefits, and oaths of honor could be forgiven. If there is someone that Arial respected and trusted other than Leander it would be Lord West.

He is one of the most honorable knights Arial had ever had the chance to know. This is a person who abide heavily to the strict Knight code.

But other than him...everyone could be bought. if the price is right.

But, here it is a bit different. 

The culture is different and as such, the choice of a high official is very important. 

Since he is intending to go to the battlefield and fought with his soldiers, the importance of a loyal officials could not be stressed enough

'And then there is the Temple' he thought to himself. Arial is also intending to designate a high priest. 

It is unfortunate that he did not have a suitable candidate 

Religious matter is very important to the people of the Thirteen Tribe. Unlike most people in the other Continent, they are quite close to their Gods. And 

they were unlike other race that Arial had met regarding the relationship between the deities and them

Their prayers do come true and Gods do listen to their prayers and reveal things to them. 

'Bastion of the Gods' he muttered under his breath. He chuckles a bit.

He used to think that all of it was some kind of lie. 

Magic, he could understand. 

But Gods? 

To him, the records of the Gods is probably only powerful mages that could control the laws of the world and was mistaken by normal people as gods

Though, his own experience with rebirth had changed some of his belief it did not change that much. He only wonders if the Divine really exist.

After all, he was transferred back into the past. Such question of Divinity does come up every once in a while in his mind

But it is merely a curiosity. It was not some kind of conviction or a determination of some strong faith. 

But, these past few months, his perspective changes. He knows that there is Gods. He wonders whether Light, this entity that the Church worshipped existed.

Because, it appears that the description of the Holy Light is quite different from the Gods that he had read about. 

And it is very different than the Gods that the Thirteen Tribes worship.

If he is really Asrana and that His coming was foretold thousands of years ago, that means the Prophet really could see the future and did bring a book of truth.

That means the Holy Light exist.

He is not intending to suddenly go devotedly to the Temples of these Gods that the Thirteen tribe worshipped or going to the Church to listen to the sermons of priest which he knows only parrot the words of the Holy See 

But he does understand and accept the sanctity of religion.

He might not believe in all of their stories about their gods, but he had enough decency to respect their beliefs. 

As long as their belief did not call for human sacrifices like some kind of dark religion he had encountered during his time in the Knight Academy, he had no problem respecting religion

There is some contradiction in the good book of the Church but essentially it calls for people to rise up to do good and to do things which is right.

He suddenly chuckles. 

He was reminded of Mikael. 

Mikael said that the reason why the Gospel seems contradictory is because it was written by men and not some Divine work of the Divine Being.

They argue about this and Mikael does confess that while there are some words that truly came from the word of the Prophet himself, there is evidence that hundreds of years after the Prophet death, the text was distorted by ill-intentioned man.

Thus, there is contradiction in the good book of the Church. Some stories are even erased mostly the chapter about Laila.

About the advent of Asrana and the Darkness. 

Thinking about this Arial kind of miss being in the company of Mikael. There are always interesting stories that Mikael would tell him

Still, the teaching of the Church is not that bad. 

Being kind, being good that is something that Arial could get behind. 

But as most religions, there is bad apples. 

The Church in Human Continent always wanted to meddle and trying to impose their rules upon his people and so they had to learn the Emperor wrath.

But as for the Thirteen tribe, while some of their God is very warlike, there is some kind of code for it. 

It is not a God that want its worshipper to die.

It simply acknowledges that at certain times, violence is the only way to get your freedom. 

There is nothing that is worth something, that must not be fight for. If it is something worthy, most of the time you have to fight for it.

Arial sighed again.

He got up from his throne. 

Today, he would outline certain things. It is very imperative that they conquer the cities but rashness does not bring victory.

As impatient as he was to attack, he still need information. He needs to know how many people, how many soldiers the enemy has, the fortification, the terrains.

Know your enemy and you would be undefeated. That is the Art of War written by Zhu Ar Zur.

He got out from the Grand Hall and he walk to his office. It did not take long for him to arrive at his office.

The moment he arrives he sat down on the chair and took some of the parchment on the shelves. 

He laid it out on the table and began writing. Since he had elected officials, it is now time to write the strategy for the state.

He would like that his state could remain stable when he goes to war. 

He rubs the ink stone and then uses the quill to take some of the ink and began writing his thoughts and his plans

At the same time, his mind is thinking about many things. Outside, the sun is rising higher and the coldness of last night could no longer be felt

He had already made sure that some of the men under his command to act as military police. 

The tribe's treatment toward the defeated is quite barbaric. 

Of course, this is the norm when two tribe went into war. 

And even though this battle is not a battle between tribes, the tribes people still hold the same mentality.

If not for the fact that Arial had some men elected as the military police to held back the soldiers from plundering the city, by now, the road of the city would be drenched with blood.

He would do the same strategy when he was in Human Continent. Arial smiles a bit

Conquering. that is a job he is very adept in doing.

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