Way of Overlord
Chapter 236: Fear

Chapter 236: Fear

That is the human heart. It could only bear so much

The emotional part of the heart shut down too because to try to imagine all of those one million people is taxing and is beyond the capacity of human emotions.

Hence, when war journalist wanted people to sympathy with the people of a war-torn countries, they would use anecdote, the real story, the personal story of a person.

Not reduce it to number.

For each pain, and each death is a tragedy.

But that....that was in the future. Aeryon feel it starkly in his first large scale battle. In this world, in this era, life is cheap.

Really cheap.

And the methods of killing that Dama did, if he did it in his modern world, he would be branded a devil

But here it is a common place. The Yan did it. The Roma did it. Yindu did it. Maybe later, when the world is much better place, they would find a way to erase this part of history.

However, that is the matter of the future.

The matter it is now, is that even Aeryon feel that there is something with Dama vicious attack. There is a certain temperament for a person to act like he did.

This is a man vicious and fierce but very effective.

And for the first time since he came into this world, Aeryon felt what its like to feel fear.

It is not the kind of fear that would force him to cower.

It is not the kind of fear like when meeting someone stronger than you.

Because while Dama is vicious, Aeryon is still confident that he could win in one-on-one fight.

He is strong and his strength probably would allow him to even fight against Belarion.

But even then Aeryon is still confident that he could win against Dama in one-on-one fight

It is not the personal prowess of Dama that Aeryon is worried about

It is the fear of knowing.....knowing that if Dama won the world.....the world would be like hell

This is a man that would not hesitate to burn the world to get what he wants. Some people might buy his act of tolerance but Aeryon could see through it.

The smell of blood around him is the same as everyone else. But there is something in his eyes.

Something dark. Something evil. Something terrifying. Aeryon did not know how to explain it. It is kind of an instinct.

And Aeryon trusted his instinct.

Dama did not remind him of Genghis Khan. Instead, he reminded him of another conqueror in his world

Genghis Khan is cruel. That is undeniable. Like Qin Shi Huang, like Commodus to name a few

But Genghis Khan cruelty has a utilitarian purpose to it

There is method in his cruelty. Does not make it right. But right and wrong has never something that stopped rulers.

The way of conquerors are not kind nor is it good.

Dama reminded him of someone more terrible. He reminded him of that conqueror who does evil deeds for the sake of it.

Sometimes, it is not even necessary

A conqueror who created a tower made out of living men, one stacked on top of another and cemented them together.

A ruler who had around seventy thousand heads build up into a monument

Dama reminded him of Tamerlane. Someone who would use anything to further his goals. Religion, race, love, hatred, emotions of humans is nothing but tools in his hands.

This is a man, determined. This is a man, who would do anything. And such man is very dangerous.

An overlord in his own right. A tiger that is growing.

And with Katakura by his side, even though he make mistake, he could always improve himself. Some people write Dama off because of his stubbornness and viciousness . But stubbornness is also a virtue if applied properly.

And viciousness has its own pros. It is very effective in controlling the warriors of the Steppe

Viciousness in the eyes of the warriors of the Steppe is a sign of strength, and not of weakness.

Only vicious, fierce and strong men could survive this cold evil world.

And sometimes, the warrior prefers their leader like this. Especially in the Steppe.

Aeryon notices this during the battle with Nurshira. Yes, his army is more disciplined than Dama warriors.

There is many advantages to his soldiers method and the way he governs his army made it easier for him not only to quickly pacify the area of the city but also to win any battle

Discipline is something that Aeryon stressed about because no undisciplined army could win the game of empires that would unfold one day

A battle between tribes may not requires so much discipline as most tribes in the Great Steppe focused on personal bravery.

But when you are fighting against ten thousand men, a might of one person could not turns the tide of so many men.

It is like a lone person trying to stop a fifty-foot waves.

It just could not be done.

He was proud of his men. And the fact that his men could be compare to the battle-hardened warriors of the Khagai is something he takes pride on

But if there is something that his army lacked it was the kind of viciousness and fierceness that Dama warriors exuded

And they use this fierceness like some kind of drugs that propelled them to keep fighting. It infected the enemies with fear and bolstered their men like berserkers.

Seeing the sight of that battle, is something that would test one mental strength. They are vicious and the way they fight is also vicious.

One warrior of the Esbizuk tribe could kill ten men. Why? Because the fear seeps deep into the heart of those who fight them,

The fear to face these monstrous men already erode the morale in the hearts of the enemies even before they fight

Hearing them screams and howls are like hearing the screams and howls of wolves, tigers and lions.

Whispering fears into those who dares fight them

Hence, Esbizuk warrior could do such a feat, of one warrior could kill ten men.

Viciousness, fearlessness, and that is why Aeryon put Dama at the top of his threat list

And Aeryon told all of this to Mayeux and Mayeux nodded.

Mayeux understand Aeryon concern

"I understand" he paused for a second

And then he said

"But we must choose. The East is dangerous, yes. But if we leave the West, then it is like giving them a chance to grow"

Aeryon is still reluctant.

To him, Dama is the immediate threat. And also, someone that managed to make even him feel fearful is someone that he should always pay attention to

But Mayeux regardless of the hesitation shown in Aeryon face stressed that the West is the right play here

"This is the only chance we would get to settle the west as fast as possible. Yes, with this decision we would leave Dama in the East and if Katakura is a thinking man, and I believe he is, he would take this opportunity to expand. But....this is something we could not stop"

He paused for a second and said while closing his eyes

"we must choose. We could not choose both or we would be stretched too thin" he paused for a second before sighing

"We do not yet reach the part where we could wage war on multiple fronts without great damage to our foundation"

Aeryon sighed

Mayeux continue saying

"We could not fight both West and contain the East at the same time. Let Dama tries to take the East"

"We could always help indirectly the tribes that is against Dama. We could incite, we could provoke other tribes to delay Dama, but that is all we could do. My Kan. You must make the choice"

"The West....the West is already in our hands. If we leave now, then the next time we try, they would be ready. The situation would already change by then and who knows whether that change is good or bad for us" Mayeux explain all of it and Aeryon sighed, while closing his eyes.

There is silence in Aeryon tent. Aeryon even after all that still could not make a decision. It is not that he is indecisive

It is just that this decision would determine the rise and fall of his tribe. If Aeryon make his decision quickly, Mayeux would also feel weird.

He would feel that Aeryon did not take the tribe seriously. Just because you did not make decision quickly does not mean that you are indecisive.

Cautiousness is also something that an overlord must possess. It is good being bold and decisive. But that can only be done after being confident of victory.

If you do not posses advantage being bold would be construed as being an idiot after the loss.

When you win with a courageous act, you would be called bold and decisive. If you lose, you would be called rash and short sighted.

Mayeux expected Aeryon to take his time. A great ruler should have both boldness and cautiousness.

Each must be used at the right time and occasion.

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