Herald of Steel

The distance from Adhan to Zanzan city by land was eight hundred kilometers.

And because the roads were so good, Alexander expected to reach it in about a month.

But if he used ships?

Alexander knew shipping was magnitudes cheaper and faster than land routes, sometimes as far as thirty times cheaper and seven times faster.

So when Lady Inayah hung the bait, Alexander couldn't resist biting.

He closed the door behind him as he entered the room and flashed a smile, "Lady Inayah, please delineate the deal for me."

Alexander knew what the vixen wanted from him, but the payment she had eluded to was just too juicy for him to say no to.

"Hehe, Pasha Alexander is a smart man," The mature lady let out a sultry, victorious smile at him as she stated her terms, "The sea route from Agnirat to Zanzan is around three thousand kilometers, which given the strong northerly wind can be completed in less than two weeks, in around ten days by my estimate."

This made Alexander's eyes bulge out a bit as this reduced time not only meant saving time, but also food, and cost.

'Darn, this option completely slipped my mind,' Alexander cursed himself.

Because Adhan was an inland city and because Amenheraft had come from Zanzan using the road, he naturally thought that he must use the roads to get to Zanzan.

And besides, even if it did, it was not like he knew any ship owners.

He had basically met Lady Inayah just now.

But still, Alexander himself would be the one to admit forgetting such a critical thing was not one of his finest moments.

"How many ships do you have? I have more than forty thousand men (40,000) including ten thousand (10,000) tons of grain and five thousand (5,000) pack animals," Alexander listed some huge numbers that finally caused the infallible smile on Lady Inayah's face to falter.

"So much? Are you going to war? Didn't Muazz leave the city?" Lady Inayah asked in disbelief.

"Haha, so can you?" Alexander smirked, pleased at finally seeing a different kind of face from the lady.

The numbers Alexander said were all real.

"Hehe, Pasha Alexander, here's little advice from your senior. Never assume you are the smartest person in the room!" Lady Inayah narrowed her eyes into a crescent as she gently chided the boy with a smirk.

She then explained, "I wasn't surprised because I wouldn't be able to accommodate your people. I was surprised thinking that the port at Zanzan might not be able to fit them all," Lady Inayah touched the locks of her hair as she corrected Alexander.

'That…darn, I have gotten too cocky as things have been going so smoothly for me lately,' Alexander was both embarrassed and angry at himself after this chastisement.

He was being over-smart.

"I will give you a hundred ships. Eighty for personnel and twenty for the animals. Happy?" Lady Inayah sent a sly smile at Alexander.

"Haha, happy, happy", Alexander was thrilled by the offer.

Even if Zanzan's port was completely destroyed, Alexander could still make landfall using small boats, in batches.

The time and money he would save using the ships made this little potential problem irrelevant.

"So how much do I owe you?" Alexander asked for the price of the charter.

"Nothing," The lady put her pinky on her lips as she smiled.

"Nothing?" Alexander was surprised.

He had expected that Lady Inayah wanted a taste of him in exchange for just making the ships available for hire.

After all, lending out so many ships at a time meant that her trade would significantly drop or altogether stop.

"Hehe, let's say that the price will be lower the more you have please me." Lady Inayah sent a charming, almost predatory smile at Alexander, eager to taste the boy.

"Haha, I might not be that valuable," Alexander felt a tiny prickle of terror looking at that smile.

"Ohh, you underestimate yourself, Pasha Alexander," This was said by Mikaya, who finally got up, releasing the rod inside her with a 'plop' and causing a dollop of juice to fall out of her and darken the carpet as she approached Alexander intending to escort the man in officially.

"A boy, once a slave, became a pasha in less than two months at the age of eighteen. Oh, even fairy tales are more believable." She gazed at Alexander as if looking at the rarest piece of art in the world.

"That's why I was so disappointed when father told me you rejected me for my nieces. I was so looking forward to knowing how the divine son of Gaia would taste like." Mikaya pouted cutely as if wounded by the rejection.

But she quickly chirped in delight, "But it's alright, I can taste you now. And since we will be staying in your home, hehe, maybe we aunt and nieces can even please you together." Mikaya simpered as she kneeled in front of Alexander

"....." Alexander only smiled, finding the drivel she was spewing utterly irrelevant.

And then, with practiced motions, Mikaya helped Alexander release his lower part, with his pants falling to the floor and his shoes leaving his feet.

"Oh…it's big," Mikaya's silver iris shone with genuine glee at Alexander's thick member.

"Hehe, he's certainly blessed down there," Lady Inayah too looked impressed.

And this made Alexander feel quite proud as he knew these women were not saying this to make him feel good.

From what they were doing, Alexander determined they had quite high standards for men, and these true compliments boosted Alexander's self-esteem.

"Good, Mikaya you attend to the pasha," Lady Inayah softly ordered.

And then she turned to the woman hiding behind her.

"Now, Nanazin come here!" The lady's sweet, mirthful tone abruptly changed to a sharp, biting command.

"Whh..what?" The queen who had been desperately trying to hide behind the much taller lady, trying to make her white, fair body mesh perfectly behind the tall, black lady was confused by the sudden mention of her name.

And so she raised her lowered head up, where it met the towering, glowering head of the much taller woman.

"Come here and stand in standard form," Lady Inayah's voice remained cold and authoritarian.

"What…no…Lady Inayah…I..," Nanazin looked horrified at the command as she stammered incoherently.

"Lady Inayah? No?" The mature beauty's face darkened like thunderclouds were brooding over it as she sent a deadly glare to the shivering woman below.

"Sister, quickly comply and get in position," Mikaya urged Nanazin, concerned and alarmed.

"What…no,,, I'm the.." Nanazin was about to say something but stopped when she saw Lady Inayah wiggle her index towards one of the men and they soon fetched her a tiny riding crop.

"No, not that…I'm doing it, doing it," Nazanin screamed in terror at the sight of the tiny wooden, leather-bound tool gracing Lady Inayah's grip and quickly assumed the standard stance, arms crossed behind her head, legs spread, chests out and eyes down.

Alexander was stunned by this shameful position, as the front side of the royal queen, the most honored woman in all of Adhania, was exposed for all to see.

Under the bright glow of the midday sunlight, in a room with all its windows and balcony open, Alexander could see every inch of the full, mature, curvy body of the woman he once respected, her full ripe milky breasts, her sheathed inverted nipples, the pitch black, diamond-studded corset hugging her midriff, her exposed flawless crack that was wet and sparkling, her long, flawless legs and the black straps of her high heels that bound themselves to her beautiful ankles.

Her posture, with the arms behind her head, showed off her smooth armpits- shaved and glossy, with the meat pits glittering as small beads of sweat trailed down them, making the air around smell sweet and fruity.

"Inayah…stop…this…," Nanazin pleaded in heavy pants, her oval face flushed in embarrassment.

Alexander could clearly see she was actively trying to avoid eye contact with specifically him.

"Shooooosh," Lady Inayah cooed next to Nanazin's ear, her inch-wide crop trailing down the queen's sparse pubes.

"No…I'm the queen," The bashful lady tried one last to stop what was about to happen, her statement sounding more like a whimper than possessing any authority.

But she still didn't break her posture, she didn't dare to.

"Are you done being disobedient?" Lady Inayah's voice hardened like steel and she swiftly bought her little crop down to the queen's bare pubes.

"*Smack*...arghh....one," Nanazin automatically recited the number as she had been trained to do, grunting in pain as her legs buckled under the hit.

But she still maintained her posture.

After the strike, Lady Inayah turned to look at Alexander, her hard face instantly melting into a charming, soft countenance, as if the earlier look was all an illusion.

"Pasha Alexander, to celebrate you joining us, let us show you something special," Lady Inayah sent a lovely smile towards Alexander.

"Yes, yes, just let me massage you down there while you enjoy the show!" Mikaya giggled excitedly as she gently took Alexander's thick rod in her palms and started to slowly pump it.

She then longingly added, "Oh, I haven't seen this play in more than five years!"