Chapter 37: Persis Empire Capital Jamshid

TL: Keriv136

Ed: Keriv136

“Haa…”

Emperor Xerxes III of the Persis Empire was very troubled. He was greatly concerned about the state of affairs with Kirishia. Both his grandfather and father had undertaken expeditions in order to conquer Kirishia, but both had failed. Relations between Kirishia and Persis were extremely bad.

Truthfully, he didn’t really wish to control Kirishia. Even if the land was offered, he would love it if he could politely refuse it.

In the first place, it was a land which wasn’t all that rich. It was a dry land with little rain, which made it difficult to produce wheat. Though, if one were to speak of the cultivation of olives and grapes, then it was a perfect place for a thriving industry.

There really wasn’t much sense in conquering such a place.

Then, why did the Emperors of the past mount expeditions to conquer Kirishia? It was because Kirishia interfered in the affairs of the Persis Empire.

There is an area of the Persis Empire where Kirishian people live. The Kirishian people who live there often revolt against the Empire. Out of all the city-states on the Kirishian Peninsula, it was mainly the City-State of Alto that supported these rebellions.

No matter how many times the revolts were crushed, Alto would continue to provide assistance and weapons to the rebels. These rebellions couldn’t be fully stopped until their source of power was removed. Though it may seem as if it were prudent to let them have their independence, it would only lead to rebellions throughout the Empire from others who sought independence.

A variety of different ethnic groups lived throughout the Empire. War was not something the Emperor wanted. War ruined the economy and destroyed the land. It did much more harm than good. However, there was no other way. Whether it was done or not, there were severe consequences.

“How can I conquer Kirishia…while they constantly fight with each other, they always unite whenever we attack…”

Kirishia’s total military power was about 50,000. Meanwhile, the Persis Empire could dispatch as many as 400,000 to Kirishia. The difference in military power was overwhelming. However, they couldn’t win.

The reason was simple, morale was extremely low. In the first place, Persis was a diverse multi-ethnic nation with soldiers who were comprised of a variety of races. Their patriotism towards the Persis Empire wasn’t exactly overflowing. Moreover, because of the many different languages, it was difficult to organize the soldiers effectively.

As for the Kirishians, they were defending their home and so their morale would be very high. Also, because they were constantly fighting among themselves, their fighting ability was high. So, the Persis Empire lost every time.

“Alto’s heavy infantry (hoplites) are very powerful. I also can’t make light of the mobility of the Germanis cavalry which Claris employs. The soldiers of Layme have unrivaled strength, then there’s the strategists of Telbai and their homosexuals……The Sacred Band of Telbai are a nuisance.” (1)

Last but not least were their maritime forces. Kirishia had superior ship technology and seamanship compared to Persis. No matter how Persis prepared their ships, they would always lose to the Kirishians.

“Your majesty, we have completed our goal of the construction of 600 warships.”

“Is that so…and these warships are made of Lebanon Cedar. I don’t think these ships will be defeated that easily.”

In a naval battle, the greatest advantage was in the proficiency of the sailors. How much of a difference could the number and quality of ships make?

“Your Majesty. I have a suggestion for dealing with Kirishia.”

“What is it? You may speak.”

The Prime Minister smiled from ear to ear as he made his proposal.

“In order to make bread, you need a baker. Aren’t there those who are as good as the Kirishians in terms of naval ability? We can form an alliance with them.”

“Povenia… it’s not a bad idea. Then, what about on land?”

“Kirishia has a powerful army. They will fight to the bitter end. We will need men who are equally determined.” Xerxes stared at the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister opened his mouth.

“Let’s ask those monsters of the desert. Even if we lose, their numbers will decrease. However, if we win, then we will obtain victory.”

“Indeed… that’s a good idea. Then, I will write a letter immediately.”

[Humming]

West of Jamshid, the capital of the Persis Empire, is a vast desert.

It is a large desert spreading slightly south along the border between Kirishia and the Persis Empire.

There, one woman was humming a song. She had golden blond hair and a brown complexion. She held a spear so large that it was disproportionate with her hand. Black Dragon Damascus steel shined on the tip of this spear.

It would have been quite the strange scene if you were to only see her alone, holding such a large weapon. However, what was even stranger was the thing keeping her company. She was accompanied by a huge salamander. And while she hummed a song, the salamander screamed.

The Salamander’s tail was cut while the woman dodged its flames, cutting its tail and one of its six legs, all while the salamander screamed in front of the eyes of the monstrous woman.

[Humming]

The woman hummed while she avoided the monster’s flames by jumping towards the bosom of the salamander and thrusting her spear into its jaw.

[■■■■■!!](2)

The salamander retreated while screaming and throwing up blood and the woman jumped up, thrusting her spear in its back.

[■■■■■■!!]

Her body was like a flame, dyed red with blood. She licked the blood on her lower lip and grinned.

“Oops!”

Because the salamander began to roll around on the ground, the woman was shaken off its back. However, the spear remained stuck in its back. Seeing this as an opportunity to strike, the salamander bared its fangs and attacked the woman.

“Ahh!”

She aimed a kick at the salamander’s nose as it charged. Her kick cracked some of the scales of the charging salamander.

“This is because of my training and these shoes made of Dragon Damascus.”

The salamander was blown away like a ball. Being in severe pain, the salamander could not get up.

The spear from its back was pulled out.

“Well, that’s goodbye~”

She thrust her spear through its heart.

“Chief!!”

“Huh? What is it?”

While she dismantled the Salamander, a man who was riding on a camel comes running towards her.

“Chief. There is a letter here from the Emperor.”

“Thank you, and stop calling me Chief, call me Aisha.” She said while winking at the man with a friendly smile.

“By the way, this salamander, you killed it alone?”

“Yup. I heard it was strong so I was looking forward to fighting it. It wasn’t that big of a deal though.”

“It looks like it could be a lower Demon Beast class, but… you are still as strong as ever.”

The man looked at Aisha with eyes filled with respect and awe.

The people of the desert are a race of people that live in an area which extends southeast from the Kirishian Peninsula. One out of every one hundred of their people possess what is known as the ‘Hunter’s Protection’, and they are a people with a high level of skill with iron technology. They travel throughout the desert on camels, do business while grazing, and plunder using their weapons with those who fail to negotiate well with them. They are blacksmiths, nomads, merchants and thieves. These are the people of the desert.

Because their people lived in oases throughout the desert, they were not unified as a people for a long time. Though all of the desert clans were technically subjects of the Persis Empire, in reality they were partially independent countries who constantly fought each other over the oases and trade routes.

It was said that each successive emperor of the Persis Empire often were troubled by them. However, eight years ago, the clans were united by force. It was the clan chief of the Habu that accomplished this feat.

Aisha of the Habu.

She had two blessings besides ‘Hunter’s Protection’ which the people in the desert originally had. One of these blessings was [Divine Protection of the War God]. The other was [Divine Protection of the Mad God]. (3)

All three of them were protections that provided physical strength enhancements.

When her father died, she made her elder brother and younger brother yield to her through strength, and she became the clan chief. She then leveraged her connections with Xexes III, who had just ascended the throne, through a sexual relationship.

All the clans fell into their hands in the blink of an eye due to the overwhelming force and influence of the Persis Empire.

“Alright, so what do you want to ask from me?” Aisha broke the seal and read the signed letter.

She smiled from ear to ear.

“What is the emperor asking of us?”

“It looks like we will be joining the expedition to Kirishia this time.”

The man frowned while listening.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“The Emperor is just using us as tools. Is that really okay?”

“Hahaha. Our relationship has always been one of give and take. We use each other.”

Desert people are empowered to do business freely within the Persis Empire. As compensation, the Empire imposes a commercial tax on the people of the desert. Trade is indispensable for the people of the desert, and the commercial tax is an important income which supports the huge military expenses of the Empire. It might be said that at the least, Aisha and Xerxes III had an excellent relationship. However, most of the desert people had a strong sense of independence and so many of them disliked putting themselves below an emperor of a different ethnicity.

“You can loot as much as you like. Won’t that mean huge profits? I’ve been thinking for a long time now that the Kirishians were annoying. I’m looking at this from a different perspective. They started to muscle in on our trade without permission. We will kill them and reduce their numbers.”

Both the people of the desert and the Kirishians were commercial people. Originally, they mostly traded by sea while the desert people traded by land, but in recent years Claris had begun to partake in inland trade as well. Therefore, the people of the desert didn’t have a good relationship with the Kirishians currently.

“In addition……” Aisha gripped a part of the salamander, “I’ve been quiet lately. It’s about time I went on a little rampage…… I must show them. We’ll make them pay.”

The salamander’s horn was broken into pieces.

Notes:

1. This is a reference to the Sacred Band of Thebes which was an army that consisted of only homosexual men.

2. Not sure what these blocks are, maybe a strange language?

3. The names of these abilities might be wrong.