This verse suggests that the slaying of previous servants at the waters of Sebus were controversial, even though they were ordered by the king. While the order of a king is law in most societies with kings, that does not mean that the orders are universally approved. It is clear that this one was controversial, sufficiently controversial that even the king wondered if Ammon were here to punish him for those deaths (Alma 18:2). Indeed, that hesitance of the king, and this statement, suggest that the killing of those servants for that reason had become an issue in the court.