The Parsian army quickly began to turn back.
The Lusitanian army had not moved. They’d been trying to make their move, but still could not. His Highness Guiscard, the king's brother, who had always been at the center of command, giving out judgments and orders, and carrying many responsibilities, had been taken prisoner by King Andragoras III of Pars, who had escaped from the dungeon. Attempting to rescue him could make an even bigger mess of things. The Lusitanian army dared not take any risks, because they thought that the Parsian army's sudden change of course must have some hidden agenda. They could only grit their teeth, hold their breath, and watch as the Parsian army turned around again.
Even a wise man like Narsus was not omniscient, and could not fully predict what was going on in the royal capital of Ecbatana. In his mind, he came up with dozens of possible scenarios, including the scenario of "King Andragoras escaping on his own". However, he did not know that this particular scenario had now become the reality. After all, human intelligence has its limits.
In any case, the fact that the Lusitanian army refrained from taking action was a good thing for the Parsians. The army began to turn back its formation under Narsus’s command and move east. Daryun and Kishward’s command was so efficient that there was no confusion among the army in the dead of night.
By this time, the 500 horsemen led by Farangis had already been moving east under the moonlight for some time. Farangis’s beauty and bravery were not a secret in Arslan’s army, so these cavalrymen did not have any shame following a woman’s command. On the contrary, they acted as if they were commanded by a goddess, and were extraordinarily energetic.
After running two farsang (about ten kilometers), the group came across a man. This man had been walking on foot down the road, waving his hand leisurely. Farangis turned her horse and faced the lion-like man in front of her.
"What are you? If you’re an evil spirit, I don’t see any horns."
"I am the man who lent his horse to the messenger from the fortress of Peshawar."
"Oh, so you are our benefactor? Then, of course, we shall repay the loan."
Farangis signaled, and a knight brought over a horse, already saddled. At the same time, a heavy leather pouch was handed to Kubard, filled with gold as a reward.
"We should give you more in return, but we must first hurry to Peshawar. I hope you can accept just the gold for now! This is from His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Oh, how fortunate!"
Kubard said. What he exclaimed was not of Arslan’s thoughtfulness, but Farangis’s beauty. In both the Parsian and Sindhuran languages, there was such a phrase as "beautiful as silver moonlight". Unlike Gieve, Kubard never considered himself a poet, so he did not express his feelings in an artistic way. What he said instead, was something else.
"I'll go to the fortress of Peshawar too! Perhaps I can be of some help."
"Do you have confidence in your fighting ability?"
"Some."
These were words of extreme humility coming from this man. However, he promptly revealed his true nature.
"I consider myself to be the second strongest knight in Pars."
This phrase was borrowed from the young man Merlane whom he had met not long ago. This seemed to have little effect on Farangis. She looked at Kubard's imposing figure with an unfriendly gaze, said "do whatever you like
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