Way of Overlord

Aeryon is the Khan.

This title that has not long been used has been revived and since its revival it has been claimed by two of the strongest war chief in the Southern Great Steppe.

This title would have been worthless and would not hold the respect it currently got if it not for the two men that assumed this title

In fact before Aeryon and Dama took this title, no one really knows what this title is and whether it was useful or whether it has a certain power or charm to it

The educated ones, those who has listen to the stories of the past knew that this was an ancient title.

But it was not the most well-known or famous.

Because the title Khan is an ancient one. The most prominent, famous and well known are Kan, Qayan, this kind of title

But both Dama and Aeryon took this title for themselves.

They chose this ancient title and revived it from the dead

A thousand years from now, if someone rises again in the Steppe and wanted to emulate this two men deeds and heroics, everyone would know the implications.

Knows the ambition of such a person who would assume such title

They would say, he is trying to emulate Aeryon, the Lord of the Southern Great Steppe, the Lord of One Hundred Thousand Horses

They would say that he would emulate Dama the Subduer of the Mountains

Titles is given power by the people who wore them. The more illustrious the person that wield such title, the more power and influence those people after them yearn for it

Before Huo Qubing gain fame for massacring children and tribes of the Steppe and of Hu, what is the title of Marquis of Champion?

It is simply a title wanting to boost the morale of the army and sow the trust of the Emperor

But once Huo Qubing gain fame, Marquis of Champion title which means "surpassing the entire army in merit" become a title that is the dream of many loyal and expansionist military men

Cao Cao aspire to it and many of those military men wanted it

The fame of that title was created by Huo Qubing.

This is the situation with Aeryon and Dama assuming the title of Khan

And they show to the people of the Steppe, that only by reaching a certain level of power that you could call yourself Khan.

Dama did it with his men, tens of thousands of men and horses and a feast that lasted days

Aeryon did it in the eyes of those men he subdued and conquered, formalize it, give it weight.

And everyone knows that the Khan is someone of a great influence, great power in either diplomacy and military prowess

Those who had seen how Aeryon become the Khan would remember the countless banners that fly under his name and remember the tens of thousands of men and horses ready to charge toward you with one order

This is power. This is influence.

By now, Khan itself in the minds of many is a title that only men of great power and influence could claim.

And when one look at Aeryon, this Khan of Brolgadhr, people could not help but be reminded of how many clans had fallen under his blade, how many of them had been subdued and how many tribes had been conquered

This is a man that since his conquest began, never lost a war he started. He had tens of thousands of men and horses.

He have one of the largest power base in the entire Southern Great Steppe, and he has now just come back from a successful pacification of the west.

The west no longer have any idea of making a regime for the west, no longer insisting on splitting the regime into two.

Even though Aeryon dd not conquer them the way he conquers the others, he had managed to subdue the Chagai tribe new chief

If that is the only thing that happen, then the west could not be said to be completely pacified.

But Aeryon goes further. The moment he subdue the Chagai tribe, he also subdue the Nergui and Ultar tribe.

And what is even more amazing is that the reason they were so easily persuaded is because the new chief of the Chagai tribe manage to convince the other two.

He even let his former enemies to debate for him and persuade other enemies to submit to him

Aeryon even implemented some measure to make sure those three tribes would not unite against each other

Though that was a foregone conclusion the moment Chadha died.

But the reason why the Khan elevated Chagai tribe above the other two tribes... is an open scheme.

Even those people knows that Aeryon does it because he wanted to sow discord. But even if it is an open scheme it could not be stopped

This is the Khan. This is the man that brings the title of the Khan to great heights.

He has pacify the west, conquer almost all of the south.

Any other person after him that wanted to wear that title should at least have some of this accomplishment before they dare declare themselves Khan

If they do not have such accomplishment and tries to take the title, they would be laughed at.

It is the same logic of why Aeryon even though he wanted to crown himself as a Qayan never claimed the title.

The Qayan is the ruler of the entire region.

There was four region in the Old Empire.

So, there was Four Qayan.

Then the central region become its own political jurisdiction and so, there is Five Qayan.

Guarding the four direction, ruling the heart. One Qayan rules the heartland, the other four guarded the four directions.

And how many people in the Southern Great Steppe would dare to shoot and attack the Khan in his own territory?

A person name is like a shadow.

And the shadow of the Khan envelopes the entire Southern Great Steppe.

Ayera look at this scene and could not help but registers it as the helplessness of her people.

They are all loyal, Ayera knows this.

But they are not stupid.

They came here for her help.

Ayera is not some innate warrior and she herself did not possess tens of thousands of men and horses.

She believes she is very adept at assassination and killing and she has her own way of hunting and in a one on one fight, she would not necessarily lose.

She knows her weaknesses sand that is a good habit for a warrior to always understand one own weakness.

Only then you can protect your weaknesses and capitalise on your strength.

But clearly these men, these loyalist of Utgard, the subordinate and loyalist of her father did not come to her believing she alone could turn the tide.

They came to her because she is the wife of the Khan.

She might not have an army.

But her husband have one and it is the strongest army there is on the Southern Great Steppe

So, she understand why....even if her men are loyal to her.....they also know to see the big picture

"I always knew my man is great. But..." she paused for a second and then she could not help but laugh

"It seems that even I underestimated my husband"

Ayera always knows from the moment she met Aeryon, that she knew her husband is an ambitious men.

Her father also acknowledges that and her father is rarely wrong

And the more she interact with him, the more she recognizes that her husband is different from the other people in the Steppe

He talks to her in a way no other man in the Steppe treated their wives.

Especially not among the high society.

He is eager to accomplish great things.

And he was impatient.

But it was not about glory.

He did not boast about killing people even though that is what he did.

Instead, most of the time, he lamented that he had to kill.

He was a very strange man

Any other warriors and chief of the Steppe would have boasted how many men they had killed in a war.

And Ayera is used to it.

She herself believe it was the measure of a warrior.

A warrior always had to kill.

Raiders from other tribes would come and try to rob woman, and livestock and food.

And if the warrior does not kill these raiders would not stop

These raiders are sometimes bandits.

Sometimes warriors without a chief to serve, sometimes just a warband and sometimes other rivals tribes wanting to rob you.

But Aeryon is different.

If there is one way to describe him, it would be that he....sees thing differently.

He sees things that are far away.

And he is more interested in keeping the Southern Great Steppe prosper.

Aeryon did not sleep with her...not in the way husband and wife would sleep but they do sleep on the same bed.

And Aeryon does talk to her.

Was it because of pity?

Was it because of empathy?

Ayera herself doesn’t know

But she admits that Aeryon has never treated her wrong.

He does not have explosive temper; he drinks but he never drinks himself to a drunken stupor.

If he is drunk he would rest in a different tent or a different part of the palace before returning to the Sleeping Palace

He rarely raise his voice against her.

Yet, this very same man that seems very gentle is also the same man that have conquered every tribe and clans that stand in his way.

Not a common man at all.

Not a generous man all the time. And not a gentle man at all time

There is fierceness and brutality hidden under that guise of benevolence and gentleness

He is the kind of ruler that uses courtesy before force.

And for those people who have experienced his force, one must admit, his use of force is truly something that made people heart go cold.

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