Chapter 172

She had promoted two Jisi people, the Green Holy Maiden and the steward Rucinake, as her advisors; looking at the current result, this decision was a complete blunder—they did not help her stabilize Milin, nor did they provide a way to break the impasse.

She hoped that this Gelacide would play a completely different role—he had best be gentler than the Roundhead lord, and preferably wiser than the Green Holy Maiden.

After dealing with the remaining petitions of the day, she had Gelacide stay and brought him to her palace, waiting together for the Roundhead lord and Daliao to come in and report.

"No disgrace to the mission." The Roundhead lord Skalaci began thus: "We spent over two hours taking the Dacinake pyramid, then a bit more time taking the Haleida pyramid; interrogating them and hanging them took even longer."

"Congratulations, my lord, you won a victory."

"This is mainly because they were unprepared and caught off guard by the Roundhead lord; otherwise, the pyramids wouldn't have been so easy to take," Daliao laughed and said to her, "Next time attacking a pyramid will be difficult—at least twice the time and ten times the casualties will be needed."

"How many died?" she asked, but upon asking she realized she didn't care about that number at all.

"The Dacinake pyramid lost thirty-seven lives, the Haleida pyramid lost one hundred thirteen." He looked perpetually angry, making it hard for Danilisi to tell what he thought about casualties and battle, "But we hanged even more—these are the heads of their heads of household."

He threw the cloth bag he was holding onto the floor of the hall; heads rolled out from the seam, bloodstains spreading along the rolling trail and staining the floor. The queen frowned, struggling to move her gaze away from the heads.

"My order is to hang, not behead." She suppressed her disgust; this is a dirty knife, fit for killing dirty people, but keeping it nearby is also unpleasant—moreover, you shouldn't pollute my floor.

"My lady queen, they were hanged; after they died, I then cut off their heads and placed them before you," his expression and tone were like he was provoking her! "The heads and blood of such nobles are the best offering to the Jisi gods; this is not pollution, but an offering, the spirits might be dancing happily!"

She knew what it meant to place respectfully and what it meant to throw out.

The queen didn't know why, but after he finished speaking, she actually nodded helplessly, which made her feel a bit ashamed.

"Have you found any clues about the harpy's son?" Seeing the two soldiers wearing beast masks behind Skalaci, she felt uneasy; perhaps this army shouldn't be under the command of that Roundhead lord.

"My lady queen, I've been waiting for your question," he took out a stack of masks from behind him, "These are all found in the pyramids; heh, I said earlier, the harpy's son can only be raised by these bitches."

The bronze mask he threw onto the ground with a dull, unpleasant clang; perhaps he wanted to scare her with these sounds.

He couldn't scare her.

"The beast-masked troops wearing masks is no longer necessary," Danilisi announced. "Originally this was to conceal the identities of the beast-masked troops, to prevent retaliation from the harpy's son; that thinking was wrong. Why should we worry about their retaliation? So I order that from now on, the beast-masked troops must not wear masks," she looked at the soldiers behind Skalaci.

The two soldiers glanced at the Roundhead lord.

"Your Majesty has already ordered, what are you waiting for?" the Roundhead lord shouted.

The two soldiers, following the Roundhead lord's order, removed the monkey and snake masks.

Danilisi was slightly disappointed; once the masks were removed, the two soldiers lost their former intimidation, looking more like two frail, powerless youths, standing before her in panic and helplessness.

"Any other clues?" she looked at Daliao.

"Their secrecy work was okay; obviously, aside from a few, most didn't know the identity of the harpy's son, so our rope has been a bit insufficient, and counting is a hassle—we forget the later after counting the earlier, especially since some people can't even remember their exact birth year; therefore, to reduce the hassle of counting, this lord ordered that such people be hanged first." He pointed at the Roundhead lord, grinning, showing his gold tooth, his little blue beard looking extremely evil, "I've distributed women to many mercenaries; although most are used, those mercenaries won't disdain them."

"Would you despise me?" she thought secretly.

"Very good." She didn't want to hear more about the child and others, even though she knew the outcome, "You must already know the reward I gave."

"I have to say, these rewards have made us quite eager." He gave a lascivious smile, "Ah, my queen is not only extremely beautiful, but also generous and wise, truly captivating; I can't imagine anyone not admiring you!"

She couldn't bear such fervent praise.

"Obviously, those causing trouble and slaughter in the streets." She said helplessly, "So the queen orders you to step back and continue maintaining city security."

"As you wish, after all, not appreciating beauty is the worst sin." He bowed, gave her a flirtatious smile, and retreated from the room.

"Master Gelacide," after Daliao and the Roundhead lord left, she spoke to this new advisor, "These are my two knives……"

"They look like knives that like to dance." He interrupted the queen, laughing, as if commenting on some trivial trinket, "Some people just can't dance well, always prone to stepping on people or hurting themselves; if a knife dances wildly, it will also hurt people. Of course, although sometimes not reliable, it can still be used on the battlefield. However, for close-quarters knives, I think it's better to choose the one behind you and the one without testicles."

Danilisi curled the corner of her mouth.

"The knights of the Royal Guard are not just swords; they are also the monarch's most trusted and relied-upon strategists and partners. If you want to hold this job long-term, remember to bring respect."

"I will also remember to bring opinions," he said completely unconcerned, "Speaking of the knife matter, Your Majesty, you just ordered the beast-masked troops to remove their beast masks; that is a very wise move……"

"You came here not to evaluate my performance, but to advise me." That's what he just said; Danilisi gave him a stern look, "You have any opinions? You can raise them now."

"Someone tried to assassinate you today." Upon hearing this, he put aside his casual posture and expression, straightened his chest, smoothed his Ghis robe, stroked his beard, "Your Majesty, your reaction is still timely. You should loudly publicize the capture of the assassin, so that everyone knows you were assassinated; even, the two pyramids happen to serve as a cause for your anger."

"What's the difference?" The harpy's son has long been her enemy.

"Since you've already made a choice, this is your reason to act." He gazed at the queen, "There's no better opportunity than now. After today's events, I mean you should capture the pyramids; perhaps your enemies will then hide and lie low, and when your city is besieged by external foes, they will open your city gates—you certainly wouldn't want such a consequence, right?"

"Of course. What do you mean?" She didn't like to guess.

"Kill."

Danilisi doubted whether this person was merely a polite Roundhead lord.

"What do you mean?"

"You can take this opportunity to purge all the nobles, clear all the pyramids, then measure all the land, tally all the treasures and houses, then distribute them to your meritorious servants, the freed slaves, and the Jisi people willing to loyalty to you." He stood up excitedly, "You will kill many, but believe that after doing so, before the last of your supporters dies, no enemy will be able to storm your city. This is the first step of invincibility, and invincibility is the starting point of confidence, the origin of hope."

Danilisi was momentarily shocked; could this be an idea from a timber merchant?" She glanced at the Balisitan knight beside him; he returned her gaze, then turned his eyes back to the void.

After a long silence, Danilisi finally realized that he hadn't come too late; he was exactly suited to the changed Danilisi.

"Not bad, this is the starting point, and also the origin."