Pivot of the Sky – Chapter 144, Chaos in Memphis

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Translator: adomman

Editor: Snorri

 

Ammon raised his head and said: “No need! It’s not that the girls are bad, it’s just I don’t have the mood now.”

 

Hardedef shook his head. “Supreme General, please don’t say that. Since I rarely get the opportunity to give you a treat, how can I not get things done properly? When an Ejyptian official says something like this in such a situation, it means that the subordinate has failed!”

 

Amon replied: “Is that so? Alright, since that’s the case I shall not stop you.”

 

The boss of the brothel said with a glum expression: “Lord Hardedef, all the most beautiful girls have already been summoned to this room, you can’t find any better ones!”

 

Hardedef glared at Dylan and yelled: “Bullshit! Don’t think that I’m not aware of this, but I heard that the top girl in this brothel is called Misphi and goes by the nickname of ‘Belle of Memphis’, and a dance from her requires a tip of one parangon. I long wanted to see her for myself, why didn’t you call her to come here?”

 

Dylan replied with an awkward expression: “Lord Hardedef, you may not know of this, but someone else has already made an appointment earlier for Lady Misphi and that person is the Vice-Head of the city’s treasury, Lord Sabaf.”

 

At this moment, Hardedef heard a soft voice in his mind. “My dear captain, this is an order. No matter what, you must get this girl here today. The reason why I followed you out today is to let others see me playing around in Memphis, so this is a good opportunity. Don’t be afraid of offending anyone, if anything happens, I will take responsibility for it.”

 

Even without Amon’s order, Hardedef would have done it anyway, because he had a feud with this Lord Sabaf! The mage who had impeached Hardedef and was murdered was in fact a distant cousin of Sabaf, and Sabaf himself was the nephew of the vizier. He had only achieved his current position due to his powerful background. Back when Hardedef was impeached, this family had resorted to various tricks to bring Hardedef down.

 

Now that Amon had given the order, all the more Hardedef couldn’t give up so easily. Picking up a table knife to file his nails casually, Hardedef glared at Dylan and asked coldly: “Is Sabaf here?”

 

Dylan was terrified by the killing intent within Hardedef’s eyes and took a step back. “Lord Sabaf is not here yet.”

 

“Then we are the ones who are here first. Stop talking crap and get the ‘Belle of Memphis’ here!”

 

Dylan pleaded: “Lord Hardedef, I can get other girls for your friend, they will definitely be better. As for Lady Misphi, it won’t be possible for her to come here today, otherwise, I’m worried that Lord Sabaf will cause trouble when he comes.”

 

Hardedef played with the table knife and spoke in a solemn tone: “Whether he will cause trouble for you, I don’t know and I don’t care since it’s your problem. But if you don’t do as I say now, I guarantee there will be trouble for you. I have been drinking wine politely today, and I haven’t caused any trouble yet.”

 

After that, Hardedef threw a small bag over to Dylan. After catching it and opening the bag, Dylan saw that it was a bag filled with parangons. “Is that enough?”

 

Dylan wiped the sweat on his forehead and nodded repeatedly. “It’s enough, it’s enough, this is sufficient to buy the entire room!”

 

Hardedef nodded his head politely. “If that’s the case, it won’t be a problem if I wreck this place. But I’m not going to do that since I still need this room to entertain the esteemed guests.”

 

After Dylan left the room, Amon asked Hardedef curiously: “To think that there would be a girl nicknamed ‘Belle of Memphis’ in this place that requires one parangon for just a dance, isn’t that too expensive?”

 

Hardedef laughed. “Supreme General, I know that ordinary women will never catch your eye, and after I thought about it, she’s probably the only one who might be capable of getting your attention. As for why she is so famous, you will know once you see her.”

 

At this moment, the music from behind the screen started playing again. It was the beating of a small hammer on a board, and the beat resembled the sound of war drums. Although it was supposed to be majestic and solemn, it actually relaxed the atmosphere and refreshed the listener. War drums in a brothel, who would have thought of that?

 

Along with the beat, a girl entered the room with a sword held in her hand. This girl was the famous ‘Belle of Memphis’.

 

She was indeed different, wearing more clothes than the rest. Although her navel and cleavage were still exposed, her outfit was modest in comparison. She also did not wear a metallic necklace like the rest. With her tender shoulders and arms exposed, she cut a great figure with her slim waist.

 

She did not wear a veil and her eyes were brown and filled with coldness. Her features were beautiful and her expression had a hint of unyielding to it. When she smiled, it was as if the spring wind had melted the snow. Walking to the carpet in front of the pool, she held her sword with both hands and bowed like a warrior.

 

Although her smile was beautiful, Amon frowned. He could feel a killing intent in her, as well as an anger suppressed in her heart. With Amon’s ability to detect emotions, he could tell that she was very unhappy with how Hardedef had summoned her forcibly, but she hid her emotions within her heart and did not show it. This puzzled Amon, as it should make no difference which customer she served in the brothel. Furthermore, Hardedef had paid a much higher price than usual, so why was she so angry?

 

Could it be that Lord Sabaf was her secret lover, and Hardedef had messed up her plans to meet him tonight?

 

After bowing, she started dancing with the sword along to the beat of the hammer. Amon was surprised. She was not simplying using the sword as a tool for a simple dance, and neither was it an ordinary energetic dance. Apparently, she knew actual martial techniques and was incorporating them into her dance to show off the delicate balance of force and flexibility.

 

It was rare for a woman to practise body arts, and for one to incorporate martial techniques into a dance and do it so beautifully was nothing short of amazing. She was definitely a true warrior, but why was she working in a brothel? What happened next surprised Amon even more.

 

As the tempo increased and the sword became a whirl of silver, Misphi started singing poetry as she danced:

 

[4]

 

The more Amon heard it, the more curious he grew. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to even speak while displaying martial techniques in a dance, but this girl could even sing poetry while dancing. She must have undergone harsh training in order to coordinate her breathing while singing with the movements in the dance.

 

Last year’s wars invoked the martial spirit among the nobles, and carrying a sword became fashionable in Memphis. According to the laws of Ejypt, it was illegal to carry weapons without permission at night in the city, while a gathering of ten or more people with weapons would be viewed as a rebellion. But regardless of what the laws were, enforcing them was a different matter. When the guards see the nobles carrying weapons, they would usually ignore it and attribute it to fashion.

 

With a beautiful face, a great figure and an enchanting voice to match with her sword dance, she gave off a feeling that was completely different from the rest of the girls. More exciting, more novel, more tempting, more mysterious and more challenging. One would be hard pressed to find someone similar from all the major brothels of Memphis. It was little wonder that she was called the Belle of Memphis.

 

Although her sword skills weren’t much in the eyes of a supreme warrior like Amon, it was considered extremely rare to be seen in an ordinary woman. Unknowingly, Amon was mesmerized by her performance. On the other side, Hardedef stared at Misphi with his mouth open, as if in a daze.

 

The dozen girls beside Hardedef were also beauties, but in comparison to Misphi, they seemed greatly inferior.

 

In the poetry sung by Misphi, Amon’s name was actually mentioned. Amon was now a famous hero of the empire, and there were many bards which sang or spoke of him in their poems and stories. So, it wasn’t that surprising to hear his name. Only, the girl was not singing about Amon’s achievements, but about a certain warrior in the army. At the same time, it seemed to be questioning the gods about something.

 

As the song ended, Hardedef continued to be in a daze, while Amon softly clapped with a smile and said: “Girl, your sword dance is very beautiful, but I can tell that you did not display your true sword techniques. Because you were more concerned with the appearance of the dance, so you changed the order and rhythm of the original techniques. Actually, you don’t have to do that.”

 

Misphi was currently sheathing her sword, and she asked curiously: “My Lord, you must be a master in swordsmanship, could it be that you are well versed in song and dance as well?”

 

Amon smiled and shook his head. “I don’t know anything about singing and dancing, but I do know the essence of the sword. True swordsmanship can display the most perfect rhythm and postures. If you are able to immerse yourself completely into the sword, you will be able to produce the most beautiful sword dance.”

 

Hardedef finally regained his senses at this moment and he said with a laugh: “Girl, you have met a true expert today.”

 

Amon patted the chair beside him. “Come over here and sit. We can talk more about it as we drink.”

 

By asking her to sit beside him, Amon would no longer sit alone tonight. Misphi crossed the pool with a smile and approached Amon with a smile. Placing her sword on the table, she picked up a winecup. Amon raised the flask of wine and filled the cup full of wine. To get one’s cup filled by the Supreme General was an honor that even the city governor did not have, but it was quite apt in such a situation.

 

Before she could take a sip of the win, a loud bang was heard. Someone had barged into the room by force, and next, he kicked down the screen in front of the door. Pointing at Hardedef while holding a sword, the man bellowed in anger: “I was intending to settle my scores with you sooner or later, but to think that you would dare to find trouble with me today, you must be looking to die!”

 

The man was Lord Sabaf, the Vice-Head of Treasury in Memphis. The blessing ceremony was going to be held six days later, and there were many people who had gathered in the city from outside. Much of these people were members of noble families who had connections with him, so he had planned to entertain a group of guests today at this place. Sabaf had made an appointment in the afternoon to get Misphi to serve them, but when he arrived, he heard that Misphi had gone to serve some other customer.

 

This left Sabaf feeling humiliated, so he called the boss over to reprimand him. It was then that Dylan told him that Hardedef was the one who had taken Misphi. Sabaf asked coldly: “Which Hardedef?”

 

Dylan replied with a bitter expression: “Who else could it be, it is the Hardedef who returned from the battlefield after making great achievements but was penalized with a demotion after an impeachment.”

 

If it were someone else, the matter could still be considered trivial. But when this Hardedef was mentioned, Sabaf exploded in anger immediately and rushed over with his sword drawn. Sabaf had a feud with Hardedef and he long wanted to settle the score but couldn’t find an opportunity to do so. His cousin Ledaross[5], who was one of his cronies who had played and fooled around with him since young, had been murdered in the capital half a year ago after attempting to impeach Hardedef.

 

No matter who it was, they had all thought that Hardedef was the murderer, but there had been no evidence. Watching Hardedef get away scotfree, how could Sabaf take it lying down? It was well known that Hardedef frequently got into fights at the brothel after drinking too much. Since Hardedef was the one who was looking for trouble this time, there was no need for him to hold back any more. Even if he ended up killing or crippling Hardedef, everyone would think that Hardedef was the one who started it.

 

According to the rules, when a warrior advanced to a supreme warrior, the city he resided in would be responsible for holding a celebration to announce the news publicly. However, when that happened for Hardedef, he was in the midst of getting demoted as a punishment, so holding such a celebration was not appropriate. Since it was not announced in Memphis or Cape, it was not strange for Sabaf to be unaware of it.

 

After Hardedef returned to Memphis, he followed Idu to Amon’s territory immediately, so no one else saw him. Everyone thought that he was too embarrassed to show himself and had gone into hiding. Amon’s appointment of Hardedef as his captain of the guards was also directly reported to Ejypt’s Military Department and there was no need to inform Memphis of the appointment, so Sabaf naturally did not hear of it.

 

However, the biggest problem for Sabaf was that he did not recognize Amon!

 

When Amon was still an honorary warrior in the Shrine of Isis, he kept a low profile, so few officials knew him. When he advanced to a supreme warrior, a celebration ceremony was held, but Sabaf did not attend the ceremony. Later on, when Amon returned after the war, most of the nobles in Memphis visited him to give their congratulations, but once again, Sabaf did not go.

 

Sabaf intended to deal with Hardedef once and for all, but he was worried that he wouldn’t be a match for him, so before he entered Hardedef’s room, he shouted: “The murderer who killed Ledaross is right here, who is willing to take revenge together with me?”

 

His cronies drew their swords and charged in with Sabaf. Upon entering, Sabaf kicked down the screen, hurled insults at Hardedef, then pointed at Amon with his sword. “What kind of brat dares to snatch our girl away? You must be looking for death as well!”

 

At the sight of Sabaf’s entrance, Misphi subconsciously put down her cup and picked up her sword. Without even glancing at Sabaf, Amon nonchalantly picked up a table knife and hit the side of Themi’s elbow with the handle of the knife. Immediately, she felt half of her body go numb, and she sat down onto the chair involuntarily as the sword in her hand dropped onto the ground.

 

Amon then turned around and said with a smile towards Hardedef: “Assassins.”

 

At the same time, Hardedef heard Amon’s voice in his mind once again. “Don’t kill anyone, just break one of his legs and throw the whole lot of them outside!”

 

The moment the girls beside Hardedef cried out in surprise, a blur flashed before their eyes and both Hardedef and Sabaf vanished from the room. Hardedef’s speed was too fast, and after leaping down from his chair, he stepped on the surface of the water in the pool and arrived at the entrance in the next step.

 

Sabaf did not even get a good look at Amon’s face before he felt his neck being grabbed tightly by someone. Losing all his strength, his sword dropped onto the ground and he was carried out in a flash.

 

……

 

That night, in front of the most luxurious brothel in Memphis, an incredible incident happent. The Vice-Head of the Treasury as well as the vizier’s nephew, Lord Sabaf, was thrown onto the streets like a dead dog, and one of his legs was even broken. The “guests” he was entertaining were also disarmed and thrown out one by one.

 

After committing such an atrocity, the culprit went back to the brothel to enjoy himself like nothing had happened.

 

There were obviously guards employed by the brothel that were meant to prevent people from fighting. But when a conflict between nobles broke out, they did not dare to interfere indiscriminately as they did not want to bring trouble to the brothel. In the end, they could only watch on helplessly as Hardedef did whatever he wanted. Besides, none of them were a match for Hardedef, so they could not interfere even if they wanted to.

 

Sabaf’s companions cursed and swore at Hardedef constantly, but there was nothing else they could do as Hardedef had taken away all their weapons. This was a show of mercy from Hardedef, so they could only carry Sabaf onto a carriage and bring him home to get treated. Unable to take it lying down, they gathered a bunch of warriors and went back to the brothels with weapons again.

 

On the way, none of the city guards dared to stop them, but when they reached the brothel, there was someone there who stopped them from entering. The moment the man shouted an order, numerous soldiers charged out and captured all of them. Some of them had not figured out what was happening and shouted indignantly: “Do you know who we are? How dare you interfere with our matters!”

 

The man replied coldly: “I don’t know who you are, but I probably should tell you who I am. I am the chief supreme warrior of the Shrine of Isis as well as the Head of the Isis legion, Ankh. As the blessing ceremony of Isis is about to commence, I am currently in charge of all security affairs in this city. You people are stirring up trouble for me, do you know that?”

 

A guard beside Ankh asked: “Lord Ankh, do we send these people to the city’s jail?”

 

Ankh shook his head. “No, lock them up in the barracks first. When the blessing ceremony is over, all of them will be handled according to military justice!”

 

The phrase “military justice” was too scary, and some of them nearly cried out on the spot upon hearing it. They started begging for mercy, saying that they were not trying to stir up trouble but merely wanted to catch the culprit who had broken Lord Sabaf’s leg. Ankh could not be bothered to listen and waved his hand for his men to take them away.

 

Why was Ankh here? It was actually just a coincidence. Due to the assassination attempt during the blessing ceremony two years ago as well as the recent war with the neighbouring countries a year ago, the security for this year’s blessing ceremony was especially important, so there was a lot more work for Ankh. After a day of hard work, Ankh wanted to relax at night, so he brought his guards with him to the brothel to enjoy himself.

 

But before he reached the entrance, he saw from afar a bunch of people getting thrown out and leaving the place while cursing and swearing. So, he called the boss out and asked what happened and why Lord Sabaf’s leg was broken.

 

With a crying tone, the boss explained what happened. Hardedef had come with a young chap around twenty years old, and as the young chap’s standard was too high, he did not take a fancy to any of the girls, so Hardedef asked for Misphi, the Belle of Memphis, to join them.

 

On the other hand, Sabaf had also called for Misphi in an earlier appointment, so he was infuriated when he found out that Hardedef had taken her by force. Next, he charged into their room with his sword drawn with his cronies, but Hardedef simply disarmed all of them and threw them out onto the streets, but not before breaking Sabaf’s leg. After that, he went back inside and asked for a new screen like nothing had happened.

 

Ankh immediately knew that the young chap must have been Amon and that Sabaf must not have recognized him, otherwise he would never have dared to do this. Ankh was well aware of Sabaf’s personality and way of doing things and he knew that Sabaf would definitely not give up after suffering such humiliation, so he stood guard at the brothel’s entrance. Indeed, a bunch of Sabaf’s cronies came back with more men a second time.

 

 

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