The Extra Wants To Live

"Especially as long as the heretic Siana remains, we will never be able to stop."

Yusuf's low, powerful voice made it clear to everyone that he had made up his mind.

If supplies ran out, the people would starve, and the soldiers would lose their strength to fight.

Under normal circumstances, such events would lead to the end of a conflict.

However, the presence of Siana, who enslaved humans with bizarre sorcery, posed a dire threat.

The Sultans were merely figureheads, without extraordinary abilities or charisma.

But Siana was the true problem.

What if she enslaved innocent people and forced them to fight, even while starving?

The entire population of Tumaria could be wiped out.

The Sultans desired to rule the land, but no one yet understood Siana's ultimate intentions.

What if her goal was the total destruction of both the Haddad Church and Tumaria itself?

"As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, we will advance and surround Bursa.

"Keep a closer watch to ensure no one escapes Bursa."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the commanders responded.

Though they were initially shocked by Yusuf's aggressive strategy, his firm tone left no room for dissent.

In Yusuf, they recognized a capable, virtuous, and decisive leader—qualities that were desperately needed during such turbulent times.

---

"Your Majesty the Sultan."

After the other ministers withdrew, only Yusuf and his vizier, Nishanj, remained. Nishanj bowed respectfully to Yusuf and cautiously remonstrated with him in a low voice so that no one else could hear.

"The future of Tumaria lies in the hands of the Sultan. Please do not neglect to preserve your dignity."

Nishanj decided not to oppose Yusuf's decision. Since he is the lord Nishanj trusts and follows, instead of opposing him, he resolved to give Yusuf strength and spread his body to block the stones until Yusuf, who was still very young, spread his wings.

"I know, Nishanj."

Yusuf admitted it, unlike before, when he had disparaged himself by calling himself a "mean scribe." He knew it too. It had to be him. The self-mockery at that time had been nothing more than whining from his still-young heart.

"That's why I left the defense to you."

Yusuf knew very well that he was still immature. So, he entrusted something very important to Nishanj, who had taken care of many state affairs at the Padishah's side and fought with him in high places, risking his life.

"If the future of Tumaria rests on my shoulders, my life rests on your shoulders. Do not betray my trust."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Nishanj answered in a voice like a sturdy old tree that had grown for thousands of years in the burning desert. He would protect Yusuf no matter what happened.

In this case, it was not Nishanj, the vizier who took care of state affairs, but Nishanj, the old viper who had withstood and thwarted more than a hundred assassination attempts and firmly maintained his position.

---

The next day, as Yusuf had declared, the Tumaria army advanced and besieged Bursa.

Since they moved very quickly, everyone was tense, wondering when the enemy would attack them, but fortunately, Bursa was quiet. Yusuf appeared in person after the siege was complete to demonstrate that he was the representative of the Padishah who ruled over Tumaria.

The flag of Tumaria fluttered in the center, a black background with a golden sun. Below it fluttered the flag of a double-headed lion holding a shield, the personal emblem of Yusuf.

Before the Tumaria Civil War, Yusuf had been just one of many Padishah's children, without even a personal coat of arms, as he had no interest in power or position. His emblem was made hastily, almost copying his father's Padishah emblem to reduce confusion.

The shield held by the two-headed lion in the Padishah's emblem was originally circular, but in Yusuf's, it was changed to a heater shield with a pointed bottom.

Yusuf was carried in a magnificent Padishah's palanquin, adorned with gold and jewels and bearing the national and personal flags. He sat on a relatively small and neat chair newly made in front of the Padishah's chair.

This demonstrated that Yusuf still considered himself the Sultan, the representative of the Padishah.

The reason it was possible to install two chairs in the palanquin was because the Padishah's palanquin was so huge. This palanquin, adorned with gold and jewels, was a large square when viewed from above, with each corner measuring three meters. It had a wide roof to block out the sunlight and a stately flag hung on it.

Of course, moving it by human power was nearly impossible. Four trained Tumari elephants had to carry it and walk in sync.

Yusuf actually hated the Padishah's palanquin terribly.

First of all, he disliked the fact that four huge beasts, which he had trained but had no idea how to move, were carrying the weight. He hated the time and resources wasted to move such a meaningless object. But most of all, he despised sitting in the same seat where his father, the Padishah, had sat.

The palanquin he sat on was a throne from hell, reeking of rotting corpses, created by squeezing the blood and sweat of the people for meaningless vanity.

Yusuf gripped his golden staff tightly, glaring at the eerily unresponsive Bursa. Even though he hated the Padishah's palanquin so much, he sat in this seat because he needed a symbol to unite the current Tumaria.

It was also to package the bait in the most appetizing way possible.

As Yusuf tapped the floor of the palanquin with his golden staff, a symbol of his authority, he raised his chin and gave the order.

"Send a messenger."

A slave waiting beside the elephant reported this to Nishanj, who then gave the order.

It was because the noble Padishah and his representative, the Sultan, could not give their voices to the common people that they did such troublesome things.

After Yusuf became Padishah, all the customs were overturned.

At Nishanj's command, a lone horse from Padishah's army rode toward the gates of Bursa.