Way of Overlord

"We do not need to win. we could even lose. But as long as you stay in the west, is a day you could not tend to these forces. Esbizuk tribe is strengthening itself, the north would also be preparing itself, your allies who believes in your power would think to themselves whether you are worthy of that crown on your head"

"Then why didn’t you do that?"

"Because you show respect"

Aeryon could not understand.

"Why that?"

This is the question that comes out of his mouth

"My father said, if you show respect to the tribe and even induce me to surrender, treat with lavish gifts and with promises of great titles, examine what you did and I would find the answer"

Aeryon then ask

"And did you find the answer?"

"I did"

"And what is the answer?"

"Your ambition extend far bigger than just taking on the Southern Great Steppe. When I examine your campaign, and then seeing your ambition, I remember something my father always said to me. To anticipate your enemy next move, sometimes, it is not just based on the hearts and mind of the enemy, sometimes, the enemy next move is dictated by their circumstances"

Aeryon hearing this look at Chayun like he is looking at a treasure

"And what does that circumstances shows you?" there is even a hint of anticipation in his tone

"if you succeed in taking the west, whether you wanted to or not, you have to keep expanding. Either you march north and clash with the Central Great Steppe, or ride west and attack Western Zhou"

Chayun paused for a second and then added

"One thing is clear. Whether you attack the Central Great Steppe or western Zhou is irrelevant. What is relevant is that you must not stop the war engine right now"

"The army is just established and they need victory and they need merit. And for that, they need war"

Chayun look at Aeryon again and he smiles

"And you are young"

There is something that Chayun implies there but then he continues saying

"It is not like you do not know. You encourage it. You show respect because you prefer that the Steppe tribe surrender. You need someone to be the first. To demonstrate your generosity, your benevolence. To show to the other tribes, that you could accept surrendered tribe and could give them lavish gifts and high titles"

"Because your vision....is not limited on becoming the Overlord of the Steppe. You want to achieve the grand dream of those ancient empires. To ride our horses all over the world, to taste the dust of the west, to experience the snow of the northern tundra, to trample on the cities of Yan. You want to become the greatest Khan of them all. Higher than Qayan, higher than anyone before."

Chayun look at Aeryon again and he chuckles

"My father was right about you"

Aeryon was intrigued

"What did your father said that was right?"

"You are a crazy person"

Then Chayun went silent. He looks down and he close his eyes. And for a moment there is only silence in the tent.

Aeryon savours the words that Chayun had said to him

Especially the words Chadha had said about him. He is a crazy person

And he could not help but laugh

His laugh echoes loudly inn the tent.

Aeryon savours all of the words that Chayun said to him. Then Chayun raise his head and ask Aeryon

"Was I wrong?"

Aeryon look at Chayun and look at that eyes. Calm as ever. And he could not help but laugh loudly

"A great talent has visited my tent!"

...

A month later the war between the Brolgadhr tribe and the west ended.

Well, it is not quite accurate to say that it ended

More like the dust has settled and everyone is watching whether to see the west is really now settled or whether this is a beginning of a new conflict that could erupt out of nowhere

Because the way it ended in a way no one expected. When Chadha died, all the chief that got the news all expected the three tribes would be defeated.

Whether it was the east, the north and even the other western tribes that are more knowledgeable about the matter in the west

But even so, the Chagai tribe after Chadha die would not just fall down. The thing in war is that no one really knows what would happen until the end

Such cases had happened many times before.

An overlord could ride high from their victories and one simple mistake could undo all victory.

There is always a chance of upset.

The war in the Steppe is always unpredictable. Because they have cavalry and because they have brave warriors.

What it means is that as long as one could take the head of the enemy leader, one could always stage a comeback.

Many heroes of the Steppe rise to mythic heroic status because they manage to stage a comeback from an impossible situation

It is the same reason why Aeryon is famous.

The Khan....before he is Khan is a young boy.

A young boy of an exiled tribe.

No one expected that he could stage a comeback.

The confidence of this was so much so that the Xewa and Ghar tribe did not even bother to kill those people following Aeryon

It was meant to be a sign of benevolence.

Even in the eyes of many people at that time, with those young people who have never fought before, there is no possibility of the Brolgadhr tribe turning the tide.

The tribe itself with the elders and the Ashana persuasion convinced the Xewa and Ghar tribe that they were helpless.

And that were true. But who could have expected that the young cub is not a young cub just weaned from its mother teats?

This is a fierce wolf and when he strikes, he bite your neck in one bite and make sure you could not get up

Aeryon become famous with a single battle and many young warriors seeks to emulate him.

Why?

Is it because he fought many people? Is it because he then established a powerful tribe by himself?

These feats are all worthy of being written into a saga or a song....but the reason why Aeryon become famous with a single battle is because he had done the impossible.

Is Aeryon the first warrior that have fought many enemies soldier and won?

There were many innate warriors that could even fight hundreds of people and not get exhausted.

But Aeryon did it under the constraint of almost impossible odds.

Those who could do the impossible is always thought to have destiny.

And those who have destiny could ride storms

That is how he got his fame.

And when he is famous, he has reputation.

And when one has reputation, one could invite great warrior and, in that circumstances, how could one not be strong?

All of those large tribe, if one traces their history, their leader or their patriarch had always done something great and momentous that made others bow their heads in submission.

A great leader creates a foundation and from this foundation great tribes appears

In this era, whether it is in Yan, whether it is in Roma, whether it is in Yindu, reputation is everything

The reputation values might eb different but high reputation in something always is good to attract people to your cause

Hence, the people of the west did not quickly write the Cha Ner Ul Alliance. As long as there is one victory that could change the tide of battle, the Cha Ner Ul could regain back all the initiative.

However, sometimes the situation is stronger than people and the prevailing trend could not be resisted.

Ultar was attacked by Mukhulai and Burchu and the famous Ultar tribe who have easily conquered most of its northern neighbour was completely bamboozled by these two young generals making their name famous to the world

Two divine generals is assisting the Khan. Ultar tribe, whose horse is strong, whose warriors are fierce like the fire wolves of the ancient times, this Ultar tribe with long history and glorious past, was reduced to losing almost all of their high leadership.

Their forces is slowly encircled, and killed.

One thing worth of note is that those warriors of Ultar, whether the low or the high, even when the steel of the enemy is on their necks, they do not falter, their knees do not bend, their heads do not bow and they die standing with pride.

None could stain their dignity and Brolgadhr and even their Khan respected such warriors. Was the Khan frustrated that they would not surrender? Probably.

But would he respect them?

He would.

If he could even respect Garron the Viper and Chadha who created a regime that threaten to derailed his ambition, why would he not respect these warriors that is as stalwart as steel?

But whether the Khan respect them or not, they died.

And when they died, the Ultar tribe is forced to scatter.

But they are still there on the north.

However, their forces are now separated and divided.

Even so, as long as they grit their teeth and the three tribes keep their heads together, calm down, regroup and once again clarify their main goals, they could always stage a comeback.

Then there was news that the Nergui tribe is pinned down by Belarion.

And this changes everything

..