Way of Overlord-Chapter 434: Old Stories

"A lone wolf starves; a pack brings down the stag. The Steppe must become our hunting ground, and we, its unstoppable pack."

"And that is not the only reason. We also lack innovation. Tradition gives us roots, but innovation gives us wings. Only those who dare to change will rise above the horizon"

"Empires fall because they cling to the old. We will rise because we embrace the new, shaping it to our will like a smith shapes iron.

"Without innovation, how could our arrows find the gaps in the armor of the Yan legions or the shields of Zhou? Without unity, how could the tribes of the Steppe, scattered as blades of grass, hope to stand against empires whose armies march as unyielding waves? The Yan build walls to cage us; the Zhou fortify roads to march against us. They think their steel, their discipline, their numbers make them invincible. But walls can be breached, roads can be ambushed, and numbers mean nothing against a storm that cannot be stopped.

It is through sharp minds that we create the weapons to pierce their strength, and through joined hearts that we become the storm. If we fail to innovate, we will be left behind. If we fail to unite, we will be trampled underfoot. I believe that if we unite, we can show the empires that the vast Steppe births not only riders but conquerors."

"Each chief of the Steppe that neighbours these empires clings to the rule of their small lands, their ignorance and pride blinding them to the larger battle. Some, in their desperation to crush Steppe rivals, kneel before the Yan or the Zhou, trading loyalty for fleeting favours."

Aeryon said this with disgust.

No one is more hated than a traitor

"They think themselves cunning, but they are like wolves who bite their own tails, weakening the pack. Do they not see? Each time they bow to a foreign throne, they hand over the strength of the Steppe, piece by piece. Each betrayal plants seeds of division, and division is the poison that empires feed us to keep us small, to keep us weak. The Steppe is vast, yet they shrink it with their feuds, their greed, their blindness. If we are to stand against the empires that circle us like vultures, we must cast aside these petty rivalries. One banner for all of the Steppe. That is my dream. All the tribes in the Steppe under one banner

"My banner"

Aeryon paused for a moment

"The Yan and Zhou did not see the Marynku and the people of the Steppe as different. They see us all the same. Barbarians. I could see that the Steppe is on the verge of collapse and I lose sleep because of it"

"I can’t do this without the assistance of the people I trust" At this Aeryon look at Belarion.

"Belarion, I could not trust others like I trust you" And then he added

"I need you"

"Brother, do you trust me that much?"

Aeryon laughed

"Hahaha! What barriers can there be between you and me?" Aeryon got up from his seat and he walk toward Belarion pulls him up and grips his arm tight.

"Brother there is no need to doubt the trust I have in you.

Belarion sighed as he look at Aeryon. Belarion do admit that his mind has become clearer these days.

The more he fights, the more he battles, the more his mind clears. In battle he is always being shrouded by this aura of bloodlust and at times it invokes some kind of manic tendencies in him

But after the battle ended and he calms down, this manic feeling instead clears his mind and made him become smarter.

In the beginning Belarion changes is not that obvious. But later after more battle is fought this changes become clear to him and the people around him

It is like the manic tendencies is him clearing out some kind of barrier in his mind.

He knows how highly his brother trusted him

But he fears that if he takes it, he would disappoint his brother.

"I am not worthy of such trust. And I am not capable to do what you wanted" Belarion admitted. This words is clear that he wanted to reject it

But Aeryon would not let him

He wanted to cultivate Mukhulai, Burchu, Xiwanu and Lughan.

Does that mean he would forget to cultivate his most trusted person?

He also wanted to cultivate Belarion.

"Why do you belittle yourself, my brother?" Aeryon said

Belarion sighed and then said what is on his heart.

"I am a warrior. You tell me to lead an army and break the enemy and I could do it for you, Aeryon. But governing an area, I could not compare to Mayeux and you. Even the Elders would do it better than me"

Aeryon other choice is using those chiefs in the Elder Council but Aeryon trust none of those people.

They could turn on him the moment Aeryon shows weakness.

Even more so if they could incite the Kazan people to rebel.

So, Aeryon had never considered them from the beginning. Belarion clearly could not see this.

Even though he has become smarter, there are some things he is very naïve about

Just because they shows respect and awe a Aeryon in the Elder Council, who knows his true heart.

No one knows it and no one could be sure of it.

Belarion did not know Aeryon thought right now.

Belarion on the other hand knows himself

And there is no more valuable trait that a person to know himself.

No matter how powerful he is in the battlefield he knows that in governing a region, he could not even master one fraction of Mayeux ability and Aeryon ability.

"You are still not confident?" Aeryon sighed.

Belarion has changed a lot from his persona of a gentle giant.

He is now a strong warrior and his name echoes all over the Southern Great Steppe. Those who have investigated Aeryon would surely come across Belarion name. Aeryon earlier conquest were all facilitated by his sworn brother.

But even though Belarion now has the mentality and mindset of a great warrior, he is quite self-deprecating. He look down on himself and is not confident to take new things.

Aeryon on the other hand sees the potential that he has.

"This is actually the problem" Aeryon sighed in his mind

Aeryon had never thought that when he first think of a plan to govern this area, the hardest on to accomplish is to convince Belarion to take position.

"Belarion, let me ask you a question"

Belarion nodded.

"Can you read?"

"No"

"Do you know the alphabets?"

This time Belarion nodded

"Since my brother ask me to learn I have been making an effort" Aeryon smiles listening to this and then he ask another question

"Can I read and write?" Belarion did not know the purpose of Aeryon asking this question but since Aeryon asked him he of course answer

"I have seen you write and I have seen you read. Yes, you can read and write." Aeryon smiles.

"How about Mayeux? Can he read and write?" Belarion nodded again

"Yes, he can read and he can write"

"Do you think Mayeux and I was able to read since birth?"

"No"

"In that case, Belarion, do you that me and Mayeux is able to rule the land from birth?"

"No?" Aeryon only smiles at this.

The concept of nobility is strong in this era.

There is the mysticism and sacredness to nobility in this era that is hard to purge from the people minds.

And only nobles could learn to read and write. It is the same for the Steppe and it is the same for the scholars and aristocratic family in Yan

"No" Aeryon answered

"Then why do you think that you could not do what I did and what Mayeux did?"

"No one is born inferior to others. Are those rotten scholars of Yan born knowing how to study the classic and govern the country? Do you think me and Mayeux knows everything since birth?

Aeryon voice is deafening in Belarion ears right now.

"Look at the history of our people. The Qayans of the Five Lands. The emperors of the Old Empire, haven’t you heard their stories told by Ashana and Wizancai, the storytellers and the singers?"

"The Emperors , the ministers, the warriors of that Old Empires, if you believe the songs and the stories, they were all common people of the Steppe. They ride their horses, they eat Tayaks and drinks milk mare, fight the cold and shelter from the heat. They bled red and they die and buried"

"They fight the Darkness and when the Darkness gone away, they have to fight against the elements to survive. And then they have to fight other people to survive. The right and wrong of the past is hard to distinguish. The cries and screams and the injustice would only be known to the people of that past.

"But, remember the songs and the stories. The emperor established the Old Empires atop of an older empire. The older empires has as many nobles as the stars in the sky. Their treatment of nobles and their worship is even stronger than it is today. If the old emperor of the Old Empire, thought at that time that the world should belong only to those nobles, why would he establish a new empire?"

Aeryon as he is talking become even more passionate.

As he talks, he remember the songs and the stories of those storytellers and the more passionate he became

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