52. Utbah’s New Residence
Utbah treated Jitun as a fief, taxing the residents to enrich himself. He taxed people extra based on their willingness to convert to the God of Battle, his position was still debatable; whether or not he would side with Mendek or be his own polity to the east of the Republic. Yerek began an offensive of sorts in the city of Suria and southern Hitara. Villages began loudly proclaiming their new loyalty, many burnt out villages said absolutely nothing, but the city of Suria had murmurings of rebellion. Utbah sat in Jitun reinforced by his infantry reinforcements, tribal allies from Wersh.
“We could take the seat of Light and make the Church of Light completely collapse,” one of his officers said.
“It would also focus all their wrath on us,” Utbah muttered.
“But it would demoralise their realms and allow easier conquests,” an officer postulated.
“How they react is unknown to us,” Utbah said.
A rider from Antiochus approached, hailing the castle walls to not get shot to ribbons. Utbah and a small retinue greeted the man.
“We were just discussing strategy, who might you be? And what do you want?” Utbah said with no decorum.
“Antiochus asks for your assistance as a Lord of Mendek. You may become a duke with special rights to any territories you take. Spendius asks a small fee for affiliation.”
“Small?” Utbah asked.
“10% give or take,” the man said coughing.
Utbah turned his head and looked into the sky, pretending to be slightly disgusted with what he heard, then he broke into a smile.
“Fine, long live Mendek!”
His officers looked at him with suspicion. He looked at them with a sly grin.
“These lands are now ours,” Utbah laughed, “the banner we fly is a small consequence.”
The flag of Mendek was raised alongside the ducal banners of Utbah, he was lord of Jitun, but a lord under the protection of Mendek. All the while Yerek and the Republic intensified efforts to destabilise the Mendek position in the east.
That afternoon he set off marching 20,000 camel soldiers down southwards, it took approximately three days but he routed an 80,000 Jitun army after killing the general. Reports that Radases had been overthrown were circulating, the great realm of Rajun no longer existed and the ‘Seat of Light,’ a most holy city for the Church of Light was taken by Utbah largely without a fight. The city of 80,000 paid their religious taxes to Utbah and he looted the treasury, sending a token amount to Spendius and Mendek.
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“Spendius will not know how much there was, and would not receive this loot without me to begin with,” Utbah proclaimed, “so don’t worry he shouldn’t be too upset.”
His soldiers largely agreed with him, perhaps a slight difference was that his soldiers were generously rewarded by Utbah, earning a loyal army at least. 100,000 gold pieces were looted, 2000 had been sent to Mendek as part of the ‘10%’ although it evidently wasn’t; instead Utbah gave his soldiers 5 gold coins each, a huge bounty, making them as rich as landlords. 10,000 people were carted off as slaves and sold in the slave markets to make more money, again the revenues split with his troops. Utbah beheld the great Churches of Light, putting shrouds over them to show they were now shrines to the God of Battle, many of the priests had to recant the faith or be exiled, many chose exile. The city was ornate, lots of marble and sandstone, and only a few wooden buildings for the urban poor; the city had for a long time welcomed pilgrims from all over, they had been the ones accepting the religious taxes of faiths in their lands, plundering the coffers of others, and now Utbah plundered them, and took their gold for himself and his army. His army paid for prostitutes and alcohol, buying out the markets. His officers replacing some of the local lords, given land as theirs.
“I hear there are cities to the south, and of course the vast bounty of Lir, which is the reason the Church of Light conquered Lir to begin with,” Utbah said quietly, “to think I used to adhere to that religion.”
You adhere to another rapacious one that wishes for conquest and loot everywhere. You were not satisfied with the Republic paying you, you lashed out and ravaged Wersh. Well not like I can complain I have three slave girls to help me, haha. The officer thought, grinning like an idiot.
The officer was given a stare by Utbah, and he pretended to be on best behaviour, straightening his back and wiping his smirk off his face.
While Utbah looted what was once Jira, Spendius launched assaults on Nova, hoping to capture it from the last Perian lord, snatching it off the lord in a night raid, he took the city with minimal casualties marching 15,000 troops into the city and switching the flags before the depths of night. Spendius looted the treasury only finding 5000 gold coins which he used to hire more mercenaries marching on the Republic’s stronghold of Portus of Peria. Palga stayed with Hippalus who began the process of buying support in Castra and Perun. The Republic’s gold reserves kept fluctuating from 30,000, to 50,000 and then down to 20,000 as slaves were bought and freed and masses of the lower classes bribed with food and goods. In effect Yerek subsidised the Mendek state, the coffers of Mendek swelling from the taxes on the slave trade. Borders began to stabilise as much as possible. Mendek did not believe in borders, everything they could take they would. From the Seat of Light in the east all the way to Nova in the west, Mendek was a huge empire.
Utbah already had another evangel from his efforts. A tribesmen and lieutenant named Zubayr, a large man and champion of Utbah’s troops who was awarded evangel status by the God of Battle, and was going to be used in an upcoming conquest. The conquest of the city of Khalar, the last city of Jira, and an important port and an opportunity for Utbah to control even more trade and gold.