And so, Serenus, as he wished, was welcomed into Adyghe before noon to negotiate with the Council of Elders.
Although the main force from Bosporus was still held outside, the Circassians allowed him to bring a 10-man heavy infantry squad to protect him.
Upon arriving in Adyghe, Serenus looked around at the arrangements: the local houses were mostly made of spruce wood, simple yet sturdy, their style not traditional Eastern Europe, but more similar to Georgia.
The Adyghe people's clothing was mostly made of animal hides and linen, simple and durable; a few wearing formal woven garments could be identified at a glance as having extraordinary status in the chieftaincy.
As he passed through the area, many Circassian tribesmen from the chieftaincy gathered around, whispering to each other:
"Did you hear? The Goths next door seem to be saying they want to station troops here according to a previous secret agreement."
"Oh, just for something like that. Should we hold a banquet to welcome them?"
"What 'oh'? The Golden Horde didn't even send troops here, did they? And I think their taxi soldiers look quite fierce."
"Whatever. If their taxi soldiers want to cause trouble, then let's fight.
Timur didn't get an advantage here back then, did he?"
Warlike and passionate, this was his first impression of the Circassians.
After silently committing all he had seen and heard to memory, Serenus turned and followed the guide assigned to him by Adyghe into the wooden house where the Council of Elders was currently located, leaving his guards to wait outside for now.
After meeting the envoy from Bosporus, and hearing his self-introduction and explanation of his intentions, the more than twenty elders of Adyghe first prayed with him, and then Hegaik, impatient, cut straight to the point, "Your Excellency, Serenus, what exactly does your country intend to do?"
"Fulfill the agreement, protect our friendly nations, and nothing more."
He spread his hands bluntly, as if what he was saying was merely asking them for some spare change today.
What kind of nonsense was this? If it weren't for such a large army outside today, he almost would have believed him.
Hegaik suppressed his anger, asking him with a forced smile, "Is it necessary to send an army?"
Serenus explained indifferently, "To show our sincerity."
Sincerity, my ass?!
Hegaik felt his eyes almost glowing with rage, "In my humble opinion, sending an army to impose one's will on others has no 'sincerity' whatsoever."
"This is very common in our Roman history.
Didn't Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev also send an army to greet the Roman princess when he came to marry her? ① What's so special about that?"
Serenus lightly brushed the matter aside.
Although Hegaik was an elder, as a Circassian who had never left Adyghe, his knowledge was relatively poor, and he couldn't think of an example to refute Serenus in front of him.
He could only stammer, "You, serf, you," while looking back at the other elders, trying to get help from them, but unexpectedly found that most of them remained silent.
After a while, old chieftain Abaza clapped his hands, signaling that it was his turn to speak.
He looked directly into Serenus's eyes and asked him in a gentle tone, "Will stationing troops here be beneficial for both of us?"
"Naturally," Serenus straightened up and said frankly, "Our army stationed here will naturally fulfill its due obligations: protect the Circassians of Adyghe from being plundered by outsiders; safeguard Adyghe's unique status; actively help Adyghe resist armed infiltration by external forces.
If you, the esteemed elders, have further needs, we can offer more favorable conditions."
With that, he looked firmly around the room, as if foreseeing what was about to happen next.
Just as he expected, most of the Adyghe elders present agreed with what he said, and the few dissenters were suppressed by the voices of approval, no matter how loudly they shouted, they couldn't make a difference.
But the risk was not yet averted; Serenus quietly shifted his gaze to the youngest elder present, Hegaik.
He recalled Manuel's conversation with him the night before—
"So, Your Majesty, my mission this time should be without major incident, correct? After all, even the chieftain of Adyghe will secretly stand with us."
After a quick glance at the list of those who had been bribed, Serenus couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and tried to confirm his guess.
"Mostly so," Manuel nodded, but immediately shook his head again, "But in this small chieftaincy, there are still some troublesome hard nuts to crack.
For example, according to the Dark Department's report, Adyghe's youngest elder should be firmly against our special operation."
"Then do we need to resort to force?"
Serenus became tense again.
"Direct military action is a last resort.
That could very likely drag us into the quagmire of Circassian resistance.
If possible, it's better to resolve it with pen or tongue."
At this point, Manuel turned around and reminded him in a serious and concerned tone, "But pay attention to your own safety, and take protective measures.
Go find a general named Posadas tomorrow at noon; he will help you with a small favor."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Snapping back from his memories, Serenus immediately became highly vigilant of this Adyghe elder named Hegaik, raising his guard against him.
Meanwhile, Hegaik, looking at Serenus, who appeared as if basking in a spring breeze, gritted his teeth fiercely: he had underestimated Bosporus's capabilities.
In the meeting just now, he didn't know how many people had already secretly sided with the other party, not only collectively falling silent when he tried to refute, but also readily agreeing to let the other party station troops.
If he continued to stand with these insects, Adyghe might not even be able to decide its own fate soon.
At this thought, Hegaik's black hair couldn't help but stand on end.
The only solution he could think of was to take an extreme gamble.
Convinced that he had figured this out, Hegaik secretly returned to his home, preparing to act when the opportunity arose.
As for Serenus, after leaving the meeting, he did not first bring in the legion led by Posadas at the border, but instead gladly accepted the simple banquet held for him by the local Circassians, thereby stabilizing the people's morale.
At the banquet, while vigorously promoting the benefits of Bosporus's troop deployment, he also tried his best to hint at the potential advantages of following them.
This made the elders, including Chieftain Abaza, not only confirm that Bosporus would keep its promises but also joyfully praise Manuel's generosity and kindness.
If nothing unexpected happened, this special military operation would soon conclude perfectly by that evening.
Unfortunately, an unexpected event was about to occur despite no expectation of it.
That afternoon, as the sun was about to set, Serenus arrived at the border, ready to formally fulfill the secret agreement and bring Posadas and his troops into Adyghe.
Just as he and Posadas were waving to each other, Serenus heard an unfamiliar voice from behind him, "Excuse me, Your Excellency, Serenus, could I ask you to stop for a moment?"
"What is it…" He turned around in confusion, secretly guarding his vital points.
Before he finished speaking, he saw the person behind him pull out a dagger directly in front of the Bosporus troops and the Adyghe people, and stab it into his lower abdomen.