Herald of Steel

Chapter 1150  Contemplating The Escape (Part-2)

Alexander racked his brain for some time trying to estimate just how deep the water under him really was.

And it was sorely due to this lack of knowledge that he was hesitating about jumping.

If it was a modern port, there would not have been any need to do such a thing because all harbors there were deep water ports- the depth would be tens of feet deep, if not more.

But here, in this time period, due to the lightweight of freight, harbors could be placed almost anywhere and so many times they tended to be placed on the shallows.

How shallow you ask?

Well, there were examples where Alexander had personally seen where the men literally waded to their ships from the harbor.

Meaning it could be as shallow as a meter.

It was due to knowing this that to Alexander, no matter how deep he thought the waters looked from high above, he always found it lacking, found it needing to be deeper, found it too treacherous, filled with shallows and reefs, as a great paranoia gripped him.

"Alexander! Jump! What are you waiting for!" Until this great loud shout burst into his ear, coming from the same source as last time, only this time the man sounded even more exasperated, with a bit of subtle anger mixed in with the panic.

This was because even though Hemicus had not said anything outright since this was not the time, he was quite cross with Alexander for ignoring his advice back then.

If only Alexander had listened and retreated obediently back to Phyrros island, none of this would have been happening.

In fact, they might have been able to completely turn the tide around here, as the Margraves and Heeat forces would be besieging the legionaries, but at the same time, the Margraves would be besieged by Alexander's own forces coming from the island to the rescue.

If that had happened, this force could have been routed, the designed legionaries rescued and everyone could have safely retreated. But that was not what was happening here.

They were in this predicament all because of Alexander's hubris, all because of wanting to command the troops from the front by himself.

A predicament that was going to get at least one of them killed for sure, if not both.

So given that ignoring his advice literally cost the man his life, it could be argued that Hemicus was being a true gentleman by not stabbing Alexander in the back for this as an 'I told you so'.

Of course, it would be too harsh to dump all responsibility on Alexander for this current fiasco.

It had to be also remembered that Hemicus had also assented to Alexander staying there, finding their position to be safe.

As for how that turned 'unsafe' at the drop of a hat, well it was Ser Robert's, or more accurately his subordinate's genius.

The move was such a subtle masterstroke that it would have been difficult to stop even if they had seen it coming unless Alexander had prophetic powers.

Because either by divine intervention or sheer coincidence, General Achillas had decided to launch his attack around the same time as Ser Robert had.

Thus leaving Alexander with a dilemma, which was he going to defend- his front or 50 meters in the rear?

The answer to this conundrum- Neither. Just run!

The only way for Alexander to save himself at that time would have been to spot the Margraves' ships mooring behind him and instantly blow the horn for retreat.

That would have likely saved him and all his men from the pincher attack, however, that would have also given the bridge up to Lord Parker's control, which would then leave Alexander's fleet at the Royal harbor exposed and vulnerable due to reasons iterated before.

As such it could be seen there was no good outcome for Alexander here.

The game was rigged from the start- letting Alexander choose either the bad or the worst.

And unfortunately, the man had chosen the worst.

Hemicus understood this, which was why he was even offering the man his help in the first place and not throwing Alexander into the sea out of anger.

And speaking of anger, another reason why Hemicus was angry with Alexander was for taking so long to decide.

Time was of the essence and if Alexander did not escape now, well he might never be able to do it.

The enemy was closing in on them with every passing second, and the 'crushing' force was increasing around the legionaries with each outgoing moment.

Soon Alexander would not be able to even breathe, much less jump.

"Okay! I will!" Hemicus's panicked and enraged shout appeared to be the catalyst needed to make Alexander make up his mind and so he at last decided to take the plunge of death regardless of the consequences.

He did not try to play the hero here, saying anything along the lines of, 'No, I am not abandoning all my brothers. We live together and we die together.'

No, because he had learned his lesson of not heeding Hemicus.

Neither did he try and play the fool by asking Hemicus to come with him.

He knew the man. Hemicus would take command of the troops after Alexander left and die with them, fighting the enemy with his brothers as long the gods allowed him to.

This sort of fanatical devotion might seem strange for a man who was stoic and even quite cold, but this exterior was only a facade, as deep below, lay the warm beating heart of a hopeless romantic, a romantic who could never abandon his brothers. It was because of this that Hemicus was greatly respected by the men who knew his true side, and likewise, he deeply cared for them.

And what about Alexander you ask?

Well, the man was never particularly close to most of the grassroots soldiers since his and their way of thinking differed too much, and that divide seemed to grow to a chasm after his ascension to nobility.

Sure he might mingle, joke and even drink with them from time to time, but there was always a 'us and him' mentality.

And how could there not be?

Who would he be kidding by calling the legionaries he was fighting with his brothers?

They were indeed his comrade in arms, but brothers? That was stretching it for the difference in their status was way too much for them to be addressed with much familiarity.

Just take the fact that while each of the legionaries's actions affected their single family, Alexander's actions influenced his entire realm spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers and the lives of millions of people living there.

"Hemicus! Help me get off my armor." Having realized this fact, Alexander thus quickly asked the man to unshackle him from his current, confines, lest he wished to sink to the bottom of the sea like a lead balloon.

And Hemicus was there to immediately lend his hand, helping Alexander unclasp the various leather straps and buckles that held the piece together, especially the ones at the back.

It was quite a hassle to both put on and remove armor.

 "Hurry! What's taking so long?" But, even after feeling Hemicus fiddling around his back for quite some, Alexander found all the metal pieces still firmly attached to him.

So given that time was running out, and this was not supposed this long, Alexander quickly called out to the man as such.

"*Tsk*, I can't move my arms properly!" Was the instant and trusted reply, as Hemicus flapped his elbow, trying to make as much room as he could for himself so that he could get a proper grip on the slender price. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Just this single example should give one idea of how dangerously congested everything was there.

"Cut it then!" Also feeling the squeezing pressure all around him, Alexander then instantly snarled this command in reply, his voice laced with a manic undertone. Alexander was beginning to have trouble breathing, and panic was starting to set in.

"But you will get cut …. *tsk*... alright!" Towards Alexander's suggestion, Hemicus was initially reticent as the straps were in the thinnest part of the armor.

But that lasted only for a moment as since things had evolved to this point, this risk was not worth even considering.

Hence deftly unsheating the dagger he always carried with him, Hemicus swiftly snapped through the cured leather straps with ease, the sharp edge managing to slash through even these toughened pieces like butter.

And for this, Hemicus thanked Alexander in his heart, the good quality steel he had invented was so sharp that it seemed as if it could cut with just a touch.

It saved Hemicus both time and the effort of having to 'saw' it through.

And with that, the bronze cuirass fell to the ground and Alexander had shed his outermost garment leaving with only the chainmail and leather thorax.

As for taking these off too, well ideally Alexander would have loved to do that too.

But there seemed to be no time, and especially no space.

So the man decided to jump with them on, regardless of the consequences, as he took shoved in his way to the bridge railing."

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