Surrender

After waiting outside for a while, Eren saw Moro come out with another man.

The two came before Eren and dropped straight to both knees, lowering their heads and opening their hands, holding their weapons level across their palms to show their submission to him.

This was how the Dothraki expressed submission.

At the sight, Eren had Link step forward to accept their surrender on his behalf.

Link stepped forward and took their weapons. Accepting the weapons also meant accepting their surrender.

Eren told Link to take half the troops to take over, while he remained outside in case any unforeseen danger arose.

Link had Moro and Rolo's trusted subordinate lead the way. He wanted to see Rolo first, complete the handover with him, and then take over the troops.

When Rolo saw Moro and his trusted subordinate bringing Link over, he assumed Link was Eren and hurriedly said, "Honored Khal, I am Rolo, I..."

Before Rolo could finish, Link quickly waved his hand and said, "Sorry, I'm not the Khal. I'm the commander of the Second Division under His Majesty the King."

It was Rolo's first time hearing the term "division commander," and he was somewhat bewildered. After all, Eren had invented this system of ranks, the first of its kind in all of Essos.

Seeing Rolo's bewildered expression, Link knew he did not understand the organizational structure Eren had established, so he explained it to him, letting Moro, who stood nearby, learn about it as well:

"To keep you from showing disrespect to His Majesty when you meet him, I'll explain our situation to you now."

"Our Khal is no longer called Khal. He has taken the title of king. Our Khalasar has now founded a nation, the future Dothraki Empire."

"So when you meet His Majesty later, please mind your words. Don't call him Khal. Call him Your Majesty."

Link then explained the empire's military officer system to him in detail, what the position of division commander entailed, and how the various levels and branches of the military were organized.

After hearing Link's explanation, Rolo understood the empire's structure and its hierarchy of military officers.

After learning a few things about the empire, Rolo summoned the various leaders under his command and peacefully completed the integration of his forces.

The half of the troops Link had brought also temporarily kept the ten thousand surrendered men under control. Once these men were brought back to their camp, they would be broken up and reorganized.

Rolo also took Link to see the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children in the Khalasar. There were relatively few elderly people, and all of them had difficulty moving around. Since the Dothraki fought year-round, many elderly people in their fifties and sixties could still fight.

Moreover, the elderly who had survived to such an age were all experienced fighters. Although their stamina and strength had declined sharply compared with their youth, surviving to old age among the constantly warring Dothraki was itself proof of their formidable fighting ability.

The young warriors in the Khalasar acknowledged the skills of these elderly people. When they could no longer fight easily, someone in the Khalasar would arrange for them to live out their remaining years in comfort, or have them give the young children some guidance in their daily lives, so that Dothraki children received training from an early age.

Of course, such elderly people were only a minority. Most Dothraki generally lived to between thirty-five and forty, the final peak of a person's physical condition. Beyond that age, their physical capabilities declined severely.

For them, a decline in physical capabilities meant a decline in fighting ability. Once their bodies were no longer what they had been, they could very well be cut down from their horses on the battlefield by younger warriors.

Link sent men to confiscate all the weapons. After these men were broken up and reassigned later, they would be issued weapons again. This also made them easier to manage. They had not yet drunk Eren's blood wine, so they were not yet highly trusted.

For those who drank Eren's blood wine, Eren would use the Coordinate to subtly reshape their minds,

implanting commands of loyalty to Eren in their subconscious. By now, Eren had influenced all the warriors under his command through the Coordinate. Of course, this reshaping only affected their subconscious and did not alter their cognition or judgment.

If someone had a strong will and pursued the goal in their heart from beginning to end, this ability would not affect them greatly. After all, Eren had not manipulated their memories.

Link instructed the regiment commanders under him to settle all the prisoners, then took Rolo to report to Eren that everything had been properly arranged.

After waiting outside the Khalasar for a while, Eren saw Link riding over with an unfamiliar Dothraki man and a squad of Guards.

Link and Rolo stopped five meters in front of Eren and immediately swung down from their horses. After dismounting, Link saluted Eren, and Rolo, beside him, followed suit.

Link had already told Rolo what to do when he met Eren, and had told him that Eren was rather young, but that he must not neglect proper etiquette.

Yet when they actually met, Rolo was still surprised by Eren's youth. After all, among ordinary Dothraki, someone Eren's age was only a boy who had just learned to ride and fight.

After saluting, Link said to Eren, "Your Majesty, this is Rolo, the ko guarding this Khalasar. He was the one who led the surrender to us."

Rolo also nervously introduced himself from beside him. "Your Majesty, I am Rolo. The ten thousand Dothraki warriors under my command and the entire Khalasar are willing to submit to you."

After hearing this, Eren said to Rolo:

"I don't know what terms they offered you earlier, but I can tell you plainly now: after joining me, you can serve as a regiment commander. However, these ten thousand men will be broken up later. The men assigned to you will be regrouped after that, and will include both my former subordinates and those you led."

Rolo hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty's command shall be followed."

Although it pained him somewhat that his ten thousand subordinates would no longer belong to him-after all, those were not the terms Moro had offered earlier-Moro had, of course, made those terms up himself. He had only wanted Rolo to surrender as quickly as possible so that Eren would see his ability.

Still, he could accept becoming a regiment commander here. Link had explained the officer system to him earlier, and a regiment commander counted as a high-ranking officer.

Eren then said to Link, "Assign Rolo's regiment to your division for now."

Link immediately responded, "As you command, Your Majesty. I will make sure to teach Rolo the various systems and measures of our empire."

Afterward, Eren told Link to have everyone in the Khalasar pack up all their baggage and belongings, then set off as soon as possible to return to camp.