Damn old bastard. He knows I'm normal now, yet he still dares throw his weight around because of his age. Trying to put me in my place? Does he really have no respect for me as king? Fine. If that's how he wants to play, I'll give him a taste of his own medicine...
"Injured? Hmph!" Sun Fei snorted coldly. "Pierce, take twenty soldiers there right now. I don't want to hear any excuses. Bring him here immediately. Even if you have to tie Gejir up, drag him onto the city wall. If anyone dares stand in your way, kill them on the spot!"
Sun Fei's voice was icy, and everyone could feel the king's anger and killing intent.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Pierce was delighted. A decisive and imposing king like this was exactly the kind he and the soldiers wanted to follow. The white-haired hulk eagerly acknowledged the order, then turned with a lewd grin and led several soldiers of the king's guard down from the wall, like a whoremonger who had just borrowed money to visit a brothel.
"Brook, send someone to summon the military magistrate Conca and the jailer Oleg immediately. Have them come to the wall and join the battle at once. If they dare resist, kill them on the spot!"
Sun Fei had issued two ruthless military orders in succession. Clearly, he intended to establish his authority.
He had shown kindness by settling and treating the wounded soldiers yesterday. Today, he was starting with a few nobles who had hidden at home to avoid fighting, killing the chicken to warn the monkeys. This was the crude method Sun Fei had spent a long time thinking up the previous night. Since he could do nothing about the enemy for now, surely he could find a way to deal with his own people?
Before dealing with external threats, one must first put one's own house in order.
Jiang Guangtou's once-notorious strategy was well suited to Chambord City at this moment.
Sure enough, as soon as the two orders were given, the gloomy air on the wall vanished. Sun Fei could clearly feel the fighting spirit of every soldier rise after hearing them.
Just then, Angela emerged with a smile from behind the stone wall of the gate tower.
Little Jima followed behind, still looking dazed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, then, upon seeing Sun Fei, gave him a surreptitious wink and shook her tender little fist at him, wearing an expression that said he knew what she meant.
Sun Fei chuckled.
After their conversation an hour ago, Sun Fei could tell that the little girl's hostility toward him had completely disappeared.
"Angela, you're awake just in time. There's something very important I need your help with." Sun Fei was momentarily struck by the languid, stunning beauty of Angela's face just after waking. He walked over, smoothed his fiancée's slightly mussed hair, and spoke with a smile.
"What is it?"
The moment she heard Alexander had something for her to do, the beautiful girl became full of energy. She had been afraid she would be unable to help Alexander at a time like this, so nothing could have been better than having a task. Forgetting her embarrassment at Sun Fei smoothing her hair, she looked up with a blush and asked.
"Go with Jima and ask Uncle Lampard to come here for me. The battle may start soon, and I need a great expert like him to hold the wall." Sun Fei spoke with a perfectly serious expression.
"I'll go find Uncle Lampard right away."
Hearing how urgent it was, Angela took the still somewhat dazed Jima by the hand and left at once.
"Oh, right, Angela! Once you find Uncle Lampard, don't come back to the wall. There are still some wounded soldiers who haven't recovered. You and Jima can help me take care of them. Thanks for your help!" Sun Fei called after her with a smile.
Angela paused.
The exceptionally clever girl understood Sun Fei's meaning almost instantly. Once the battle began, the wall would be too dangerous. Staying here would be no help at all; she would only become a burden. Alexander was deliberately sending her away, and taking care of the wounded was just a clumsy excuse.
But clever as she was, she did not argue.
Although Angela very much wanted to stay on the wall and help Alexander, she also understood that if she did stay, she would definitely become a burden. So she nodded to show she understood.
Jima had evidently understood Sun Fei's intention too.
As the little girl ran after Angela, she glanced back and secretly gave Sun Fei a thumbs-up.
Twenty minutes later.
The mysterious enemy across the river had begun to assemble. Black infantry formations marched out of the main camp in orderly steps, their gleaming blades flashing coldly in the morning light and their swords and spears rising like a forest. These were clearly ranks of well-trained professional soldiers. A glance at them brought a fierce, soul-shaking killing intent rushing toward the viewer.
Sun Fei was standing atop the wall, watching the movement, when a commotion suddenly broke out behind him.
"Don't touch me with your filthy, lowborn hands... Get away! Damn you, sooner or later I'll kill every one of you idiot maggots!"
A familiar, arrogant voice rang out.
Sun Fei turned and saw that Pierce had indeed brought the fat pig Gejir here bound. The fat bastard clearly had no idea he was in trouble and continued to curse and shout, oblivious to the danger.
Sun Fei's pupils contracted sharply. His gaze passed over the fat pig and settled on someone behind him.
It was an old man in a long red silk robe. He was thin and about 1.7 meters tall, with a hooked nose, a gloomy face, and a habit of narrowing his eyes. He was slightly hunched, but his steps were exceptionally steady. His graying hair was combed immaculately and held in place by a solid gold hair ring set with gems.
This old man sure likes to put on airs. Could he be...
As Sun Fei was wondering, Pierce walked over, gloating. He chuckled as he reported, "Your Majesty, following your orders, we tied that fellow Gejir up and brought him here..." At this, he pointed to the hunched, hook-nosed old man in red and continued, "But the herald Bazel came too."
Sure enough, it was Bazel, the herald who had previously controlled Chambord City in Sun Fei's place.
Sun Fei looked the old man up and down. He did not know why, but this unimpressive, even somewhat shifty-looking old man gave him a faint sense of danger, as if a gloomy, lurking venomous snake were standing before him.
"Your Majesty, I need an explanation!"
While Sun Fei was sizing up the shifty old man, the old man suddenly took several steps forward, planted his hands on his hips, and demanded aggressively, "Your Majesty Alexander, I want to know exactly what law my son Germa broke for you to send men to tie him up and bring him to the wall. Please give me a reasonable explanation!"
As his father questioned Sun Fei in a distinctly hostile manner, his son Gejir, bound by soldiers to one side, also roared at Sun Fei, oblivious to the danger. "Alexander, you idiot! Hurry up and make these lowborn bastards let me go..."
Sun Fei smiled coldly.
Trying to act arrogant in front of me? Trying to intimidate me?
Without so much as looking at the old bastard Bazel in red, Sun Fei walked silently up to the fat pig and, without another word, slapped him hard across the face.
Smack, smack, smack, smack!
After more than a dozen resounding slaps, Gejir's face rapidly swelled like an inflated balloon. Sun Fei had held nothing back. The barbarian's strength left blood running from the corner of Gejir's mouth and knocked him unconscious.
Only after doing all this did Sun Fei stroll unhurriedly over to Bazel, the old man in red, while those around him stared in astonishment. He wiped his hands, looked down at him, and smiled. "I'm the king. Does the king need to explain himself to you when he does something?"
Overbearing!
Sheer, undisguised overbearingness.
He would not waste words reasoning with him. He simply wanted to do it.
The gloomy-faced Bazel was nearly driven mad with rage.
This was a scene he had never expected before coming.
Although he had long since learned of Alexander's incredible performance in yesterday's battle and how he had "communicated" with the god of war to treat the wounded and sick, and had been somewhat prepared for Alexander to have returned to normal, he had in fact given careful thought to coming here. So what if the boy's intelligence was normal now? He refused to believe a child not yet eighteen could be a match for him.
If force would not work, he would use words.
He would slowly talk "reason" with the youngster. Schemes and manipulation were his specialty, and Bazel was very confident he could "persuade" Alexander. As long as he used a few tricks to pull the wool over the boy's eyes, Chambord City would still be his domain.
But-
Bazel had never dreamed that none of his preparations would be of any use, or that Alexander would become so overbearing after regaining his intelligence.
At that moment, he felt a little regret.
According to the rumors spreading privately throughout Chambord City, the reason Alexander had suddenly become normal was that his head had been struck after an arrow knocked him from the wall, turning misfortune into a blessing. What left Bazel somewhat speechless was that he himself had been the one to bring Alexander onto the wall. He had originally intended to kill with a borrowed knife and let the enemy kill the fool king, but instead he had created a new obstacle for himself out of nowhere.
But the regret passed in a flash, and Bazel quickly composed himself.
Although his son's face, swollen like a pig's head, nearly drove him mad, Bazel held himself back. His plan had reached this stage, and he absolutely could not let this disrupt it. More importantly, he saw Frank Lampard, Chambord City's foremost expert, approaching from a distance.
"Your Majesty, I apologize for my earlier discourtesy!"
Bazel quickly composed himself. He approached Sun Fei, gave a formal salute appropriate for an audience with the king, and continued, "I was too worried about my son just now and lost my composure. Please forgive me... But Gejir is already... well, he's unconscious now. I'm afraid he won't be able to take part in the coming battle. I wonder if he might be allowed to go home and recuperate first?"
"Recuperate? Recuperate from what? Chambord City is facing a great calamity. So long as he's a man, even if he's about to kick the bucket, he'll die on the wall for me. What does a little injury like this matter?"
Sun Fei gave Bazel no face whatsoever.
He turned and gave an order. A soldier carried over a large bucket of cold water and mercilessly threw it over Gejir. The fat pig instantly came to as if he had been stabbed eighteen times, struggling desperately and howling again.
Today is Teachers' Day.
I don't know if any engineers of the human soul are reading Xiaodao's humble work. Xiaodao's wife is a teacher too, and Xiaodao knows how hard teachers work, so here I wish all the teachers in the world a happy holiday, lasting smiles, and students everywhere.
Finally, thank you, brothers, for your tips and pp.
Please keep adding the story to your favorites and voting.