Chapter 70: Hamilcar's Expedition 2

It took ten days of arduous trekking through the rugged, jagged, narrow and twisting corridors of the Broken Gate Pass to finally reach the other side.

Most of said time was consumed by the lengthy supply train that was painstakingly lugged by the soldiers across the unforgiving conditions of the pass, where sunlight even sometimes found it hard to breach.

The reason for such hardships is because of the lack of sufficient pack mules and carts for transportation. Why you might ask?

Well, with the unexpected increase of soldiers that were not planned for, more food was of course necessary, so utilizing Isaac's expertise, Darius' connections and the wealth Alexander gained from the rebellious merchants, he secured, with the clever usage of several independent traders and merchants, hundreds of tons of high quality food and rations that would not easily spoil from the Yue Dynasty.

But with such an abrupt increase of supplies to be carried, the original estimate of almost four thousand animals of labor and one thousands carts that were needed, were no longer even remotely enough anymore.

But it was near impossible to secure several thousand more that were required in such a short time span, even if they bought them from outside the empire, since not only would they take months to deliver, as the largest cattle exporter was the Ulgan Kingdom, which happened to be to the north-west of the Yue Dynasty, but there was also the very real risk of their plans being prematurely discovered, since unlike food which could be bought in large quantities with little suspicion, especially now since it's the harvest season, the act of ordering and buying thousands of carts, even if done through the usage of several independent channels, like Alexander did with the food, it would still raise a great deal of conjecture.

So Hamilcar's legions had to suffer, but the moment they emerged on the other side of the Hadrian Mountains, they all felt their grievances, born out of days of tiresome labor, vanish like smoke in the wind.

Before them stretched vast plains of vibrant green, spotted with red, purple or blue of odd looking flowers they had never seen the like of before, while great trees of deep brown that bordered on obsidian black with leaves that sparkled like polished emeralds under the mid-day's sun, raced to see who would breach the heavens first.

And further beyond were dozens of small cone shaped huts of mud and clay, with white smoke floating from a small gap at the top of the houses, as goats circled around them grazing peacefully, while men and women alike worked on various tasks around the small village.

The men of the Eclipse Empire, who were raised in the unforgiving desert were awe struck by this scene as they failed to detect any of the hardships they had grown so used to battle in the land just beyond these mountains.

All the men with no exception were mesmerized by the wonderous, foreign beauty before them. All of them, bar Hamilcar who saw it only with the bloody eyes of a conqueror.

What stretched out before him was not a rolling green blanket, woven with charm and harmony, but a yet to be battle ground of cinder and gore, impaled by agony and strangled by cruelty. A land ripe for glorious war.

And as if answering his thoughts, the once calm villagers, were suddenly struck by the invisible hammer of panic, and began running around like headless chickens as they witnessed the never ending deluge of alien might flooding their lands.

Some flew to the south as fast as their legs could carry them, without taking a single glance back. While a brave few raised axes, hammers and pitchforks and called on others to stand by them to resist these would be invaders.

And the rest simply stood frozen in their place, gawking unflinchingly at the sight before them, as their brains miserably failed to comprehend the catastrophe, currently descending upon them.

Nodding in response, Hamilcar asked "And your name is?"

Realizing his foolish blunder due to his excitement, he quickly replied "Komak. Komak Takal, my lord. A diplomat of the Eclipse Empire, tasked to negotiate and secure allies in the lands of the Murathicus Tribes."

Nodding yet again, Hamilcar said "Well met." Before turning his eyes towards the gathered men and asking "And these are the fruits of your labor I assume?"

"Indeed they are.

Thirty one Patriachs of small clans and nineteen Patriarchs of medium clans." Komak hurriedly affirmed, before beginning to introduce them all one by one, as well as explaining that in the Murathicus lands, tribes were separated into four grades, Small clans were the weakest but most numerous, then came the Medium clans, then the Large clans, and finally the Great clans, most of which are located further south, with only one Great clan rising in the north.

And as he was finishing his introduction of the various Patriarchs, the last but certainly not the least, as he was the leader of the strongest clan present, having reached the pinnacle of strength of a Medium grade clan and on the verge of becoming a Large clan, interrupted Komak and haughtily said with a heavy accent using the common tongue of the rest of the continent "Are you the so called emperor of the Eclipse Empire, Komak told us so much about?"

An odd silence filled with confusion enveloped the tent as all the men of the Eclipse Empire stared wide eyes at the foolish mid to late twenty year old before them. But Hamilcar the ever stoic man said nothing for a moment, before answering "No, I am not.

I am Hamilcar Seth, Grand Marshal of the Eclipse Empire and humble servant of his imperial majesty, Alexander the third."

"Then where is this Alexander the third? I have heard from Komak that he is a great warrior and conqueror, so does he think it beneath him to meet with his allies?" He asked again with the same disrespectful attitude.

With the same cold indifference and stoicism, Hamilcar replied "His majesty is not here, and remains in the capital to deal with the empire's many matters, while act as his proxy here."

"As you say." He dismissed Hamilcar's words, clearly not believing him, and continued "I am Gallick, Patriarch of the Olgan Clan and if you want our help then first must satisfy our demands."

Instantly after two other patriarchs from two other middle grade clans and fifteen small clans voiced their support for Gallick, clearly having already agreed on this, much to the horror of Kormak who's face aged with every word uttered by them.

Meanwhile, Hamilcar and his generals remained unnaturally calm as if their words were nothing of importance to them, as he Hamilcar said, with an almost imperceptible cunning smile across his lips "And what pray tell, are those demands?"

Smiling triumphantly, Gallick said with greed blazing in his eyes "All of us will be granted the title of at least what you call duke, and I the title of Grand Duke. You will also promise not to interfere with any of our clan's interests and lands now or in the future.

All the spoils from the coming wars will be split fifty fifty.

And finally to better solidify the alliance between our two people, your emperor must take a Murathicus woman to be his main wife in the future, while I, as the newest Grand Duke will marry one woman from the imperial family of your emperor's choosing."