Arslan Senki

Book 3: Chapter 3 (4)

King Karikala's messenger appeared at Rajendra's camp two days later. This messenger was a retainer whom Rajendra had met before, and he delivered the kings letter.

"What? Father has regained consciousness?"

It was too much of a surprise for Rajendra. He had been convinced that his father was as good as dead, just short of being in the grave.

Could this be a trap? Could it be that Gadhevi, who understood that his position was already extremely unfavorable, used the name of his father, Karikala, to lure Rajendra into his own trap? This was not a matter to take lightly.

Although Rajendra had suspicions, the letter was indeed the handwriting of King Karikala.

Over the course of two days, the messenger hurried to and fro between the two places. Rajendra decided to go to his father to defend himself, and he took only a few of his men with him towards the capital of the kingdom, Uraiyur.

The situation took a sharp turn. There are so many things in this world that even Narsus could not have foreseen.

From Narsus' standpoint, a long war was to be avoided at all costs.

They could not be away from Pars for much longer. If possible, it would be best to settle this matter while it was still spring, and return to Peshawar and start preparing for the war with Lusitania. The problem lies in the fact that the attack on Sindhuras capital may be delayed for some time, but, depending on Rajendra's talent, perhaps some other changes may occur in the meantime.

Entering the capital of the country, Rajendra met with his father in the royal palace. After an exchange of pleasantries congratulating his father on his return to health, he too began to comment violently on his brother.

"Father, please do not trust the slanderous words of Gadhevi. He took advantage of Father's bedridden condition to collude with Mahendra and manipulate the country's politics as he wished. I believe it was also Gadhevi's plot to make Father drink the strange secret medicine."

Although Rajendra said a lot of things, the content was almost the same as what Gadhevi had said, only the names of the people were different. Soon after, Gadhevi was also called in, and the two of them started a war of words, only to argue for half a day without a conclusion. King Karikala looked at the two frothing-at-the-mouth princes with slight displeasure, then opened his mouth and said:

"I am a man of wisdom. According to this situation, I have no way to tell which of the two sons who denounce each other is innocent. So, I must leave it to the gods to decide."

Gadhevi and Rajendra forgot for a moment that they hated each other and could not help but exchange glances.

"Let's decide the successor by dueling before the gods!"

The people on the left and right of the king's throne could not help holding their breath.

The so-called duel before the gods is a special trial in which two people duel with weapons, and the victor receives the verdict of justice in the name of the gods.

"It is too cruel for blood brothers to kill each other face to face with swords. I believe the gods will allow a proxy, right? Gadhevi and Rajendra, choose among your men or friends a brave man to whom you can entrust your fate! The victorious party will be the king of Sindhura."

King Karikala's expression and voice had a majesty that could not be refuted by others. Both Gadhevi and Rajendra had a feeling that they had discovered the true side of their father.

However, when news of the incident reached the camp of Pars' army afterwards, Gieve issued a harsh criticism.

"The king of Sindhura seems to dislike the idea of taking responsibility himself, and thus foists his decision onto the gods."

Farangiss green eyes also shone with mockery, as she served the gods of Pars.

"Which person will the gods of Sindhura promote? Will the defeated side really follow the will of the gods? Either way, we'll get to watch a good show."

Although Arslan was not as blunt as they were, he was nevertheless skeptical about such a form of duel. In short, he did not think that justice would really be served, if only the stronger party won. When Arslan consulted Narsus on this matter, Narses replied.

"Your Highness is right. However, the duel before the gods also has its merits. If the two armies continue to clash, no matter which side wins, there will be many casualties. But in the form of a duel before the gods, only the one loser will die. Even if both sides lose, only two people will die at most. This is probably a better decision from King Karikala, right?"

Arslan nodded, but now he had a new question. If it was really a duel before the gods, who would Rajendra get as a proxy?

Being asked this by the young prince, Narsus pointed the thumb of his left hand to his friend who was silently polishing his longsword.

"If I were to say the strongest warrior that Rajendra knows, would it not be our black-clad war god of Pars?"

Narsus' prophecy hit the mark. Soon after, Prince Rajendra came to Arslan's camp to ask Daryun to be his proxy in the duel before the gods.

"I have decided to leave the fate of the Kingdom of Sindhura and myself in the hands of Lord Daryun. I would be grateful if you would assist me."

Daron's reply was extremely brief.

"What a pain in the ass!"

In an instant, Rajendra, who had originally shown a timid expression, now had a provocative gleam in his eyes.

"Oh? Could it be that Lord Daryun isnt confident he would win the duel?"

"Feel free to justify it however you want. Since I am His Highness Arslan's vassal, I can't agree to anything without His Highness's order, no matter what it is. That's how things are."

The implication was for Rajendra to bow down to Arslan and ask for his help. When things came to this point, Rajendra no longer had a choice. He had to bow his head to Arslan, who was ten years younger than himself, and ask for help. Arslan's heart had some slight hesitation, but, now that things had come to this point, he couldn't refuse.

Daryun officially became Rajendras proxy for the duel.

"What? That black-clad knight is Rajendras proxy? That man is a Parsian! Are we going to let the Parsians decide Sindhuras fate?"

Although Gadhevi was angry, there was no rule that foreigners could not be the proxies in the duel before the gods.

Now he had to find a man strong enough to beat Daryun to be his proxy. Gadhevi tried his best to think east and west, and with great difficulty he came up with one man's name.

"That's right! Release that guy! Unlock Bahadur's chains. No one but him can beat Daryun. He must be my proxy!"

When he heard Bahadur's name, the chancellor Mahendra seemed to want to protest against it.

However, from Mahendra's personal standpoint, he also had to make Gadhevi the next King of Sindhura. As he ordered Bahadur's chains to be undone, he muttered inwardly.

    "That Bahadur is not a human being at all, but a beast! Forget honor, at this time, we must entrust him with the fate of the country and people. Although this is shameful, it is truly a necessity!"