Chapter 67: Rescuing Princess Theodora
Asker had long since become accustomed to Medea’s sharp tongue.
Of course, it could also be said that it was precisely because Asker had become accustomed to it that Medea felt comfortable being so sharp-tongued with him.
In a sense, it was actually a sign that their relationship had become closer.
Since the supernatural power in his body had reached the limit of his spiritual capacity, he couldn’t continue killing monsters for a while and could only do things unrelated to combat.
Such as training, coaching teammates, or rescuing Theodora.
The location where Theodora was under house arrest was undoubtedly a top-secret imperial matter.
However, in the game forums of his previous life, this secret had long been exposed – this beautiful NPC had a huge fan base, and when Theodora was taken out of the Golden Throne Palace, the entire fan base went crazy.
Then, the forum began to report Theodora’s location. With tens of millions of players scattered throughout Constantinople acting as informants, the imperial military’s actions couldn’t be hidden from anyone.
Theodora was imprisoned in the St. George Monastery, surrounded by cypress trees, southwest of Constantinople’s main urban area.
This monastery was famous for holding funerals for citizens, and it was near Constantinople’s largest cemetery.
In a sense, it was also a declaration of the complete “death” of her political life.
Asker took the M line subway and got off at the Kyklobion station.
Observing the surroundings, this location was quite suitable for escape. 500 meters to the southeast was the coast of the Sea of Marmara.
If he remembered correctly, there should be a demigod stationed in this monastery.
At the current magic tide level, if a demigod expanded their domain for more than 5 seconds, their spirituality would suffer irreparable loss, leading to loss of control and death.
However, if Asker was directly exposed to a demigod’s domain, he would be easily killed in less than half a second.
So the best solution was: don’t get discovered.
If he was discovered, then the second best solution was: hide again as soon as possible.
A demigod couldn’t activate their abilities for a long time to search for enemies. At most, they would activate some magical items to search, just like the demigod in the arena last time.
Of course, these artifact items couldn’t be too powerful. Demigod-level items were currently stored in the Church and wouldn’t be easily given to demigods sent out on missions.
As long as he wasn’t directly searched by a demigod-level ability, Asker could come up with more than 100 ways to hide himself.
However, when it came to hiding, Mia, who had Shadow Sequence abilities, was the most skilled.
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
As soon as Mia teleported from Furnace Island, she gave Asker a bear hug, pulling his neck hard, and shouted angrily:
“You almost killed me, you know! I drank your Dodge I potion, and my legs immediately turned into dried hams! I almost thought I’d have to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair!”
“Oh, potion conflicts are very normal, don’t make such a fuss.” Asker said helplessly. “As long as you don’t lose control, it’s fine.”
“If I lose control, I’ll die!” Mia said angrily, baring her little fangs. “Will you come with me if I die?”
What’s wrong with these girls? Every time they encounter danger, the first thing they think about is dragging me down with them? Asker was speechless and changed the subject:
“Have you digested the Dodge I potion?”
“Hmm, I’m level 3 now.” Mia was still a little unhappy. “What did you call me out for?”
“We’re going to save someone.”
“Who?” Mia perked up her ears alertly. “Is it a woman?”
Ahem, why ask about gender first? Asker was a little embarrassed and explained:
“It’s the Arcane Mage rookie who came to visit us last time.”
“Oh, that young lady with the veil.” Mia curled her lips. “What, are you adding another member to your harem?”
“Huh?!” Asker was baffled. “What harem?”
“Medea said that you’re using the mercenary group as a cover to bring everyone into your harem.” Mia said.
That red-crowned crane! She actually dared to talk about me behind my back like this!
Asker was furious, his face twitching as he said: “Mia, do you know what a harem means?”
“The court, of course I know.” Mia said, “It means making everyone your personal subjects and confidants.”
This time, Asker fell silent. He felt that he couldn’t explain it too directly to the innocent Mia, so he could only say euphemistically:
“In the country where Medea comes from, the emperor can marry many concubines, and the group of these concubines is called a harem.”
“You want to marry all of us?!” Mia exclaimed. “Make us all your wives?”
“No!” Asker was almost speechless. “This is all Medea’s nonsense! And it’s not a glorious thing, don’t go around telling other people about it.”
“If you tell other people about something that’s not true, and it causes any misunderstandings, you’ll also be responsible, you know?”
“I know, I know.” Mia said impatiently. “Of course, I also know that this is impossible. How can a man marry so many women at the same time?”
“Besides, if you marry other girls, Sister Nuo will be heartbroken.”
Asker was almost in tears… How could Medea be so gossipy? It seemed he had to design a special training plan for her when they got back.
Hmm, he was initially considering a 10,000-meter armed cross-country run.
“Let’s not talk about this.” He brought the topic back to the main point. “That rookie should be imprisoned in this monastery. Do you have any way to sneak in?”
“Let me see.” Mia took Asker and walked around the outer wall of the monastery. “The security checks at the entrance are very strict, it’s not very likely to sneak in by hiding in the cargo.”
“The wall is three meters high, and there is a tension net on top, obviously designed to prevent people from climbing over.”
“Look at the top of the wall, there are lights every certain distance! Isn’t this to guard against us Shadow Sequence users?” Mia said angrily, putting her hands on her hips. “It’s easy to get in, we just come at night, cut the power lines of the lights, and then sneak in from the shadows.”
“That won’t work.” Asker said thoughtfully. “There’s a demigod in this monastery. Something like the lights going out will definitely be noticed by his spirituality.”
“Then if he focuses his spirituality and scans, even if we’re in the Shadow Realm, there’s a risk of being exposed.”
“Then how about sneaking in through the sewer?” Mia came up with a new idea. “This monastery is quite large, there must be a dedicated sewer entrance inside for the water company’s maintenance workers to regularly inspect and repair.”
“Hmm, but their security must have thought of this too.” Asker said, “Sewers in important places usually have barbed wire to prevent entry, the kind that triggers an alarm if it’s cut.”
“Then what if I enter the Shadow Realm and cut the barbed wire in the Shadow Realm?” Mia’s eyes rolled, and she suddenly had a whimsical idea. “Destroying the environment in the Shadow Realm doesn’t affect the main plane, but the environment of the main plane affects the Shadow Realm.”
“We cut the barbed wire in the Shadow Realm, even if the alarm goes off, it’s only in the Shadow Realm. Can they really have someone stationed in the Shadow Realm?”
“If they have a high-ranking Transcendental of the Shadow Sequence,” Asker said slowly, “they wouldn’t have installed so many light bulbs to specifically guard against you. Hmm, let’s do that!”
So the two of them had a meal nearby and then went to the arcade to play games. Mia excitedly suggested playing the claw machine, but Asker ruthlessly refused.
They killed time in front of various arcade games until one o’clock in the morning, when there were almost no pedestrians on the streets outside, and then they sneaked out.
Mia skillfully led Asker to a hidden alley, where there was a sewer manhole cover on the ground at the end. Using her dagger to pry open the cover, she took the lead and climbed down.
“Don’t close the cover, let some light in.” Mia said from below. “Otherwise, in complete darkness, we might not be able to find this entrance when we come back.”
Hmm, when it came to experience in sewer diving, probably no one in Constantinople could compare to her. Asker readily followed and jumped into the sewer.
If he had to describe the smell of the sewer, it would be rotten and fermented garbage mixed with feces.
It was fine in the game world of his previous life, but in this other world, Asker really couldn’t adapt to it.
Mia led the way. With her Shadow Sequence abilities, she was like a fish in water in this dark environment, easily seeing the surroundings ahead.
“Hmm?” Asker stumbled, tripped by an old pipe that silently extended from the ground.
But his balance was amazing, and he quickly adjusted and stabilized himself.
Mia turned around, hesitated for a moment, then stretched out her small right hand and held Asker’s fingers.
“Just say it if your night vision isn’t good!” She said in a complaining tone. “I won’t leave you alone!”
“How considerate.” Asker praised her.
“Shut up!” Mia said, somewhat annoyed.
She held Asker’s right hand and skillfully walked forward along the passage on both sides of the sewer, bypassing the occasional piles of unmentionable discarded objects, constantly reminding him:
“…There’s a step ahead, be careful… There’s a puddle ahead, don’t step in it, can you take bigger steps…”
“Okay, okay.” Asker responded repeatedly.
“Hmph, I feel like I’m leading a big clumsy dog.” Mia said angrily.
“Have you ever raised a dog?” Asker asked.
“I had one.” Mia replied. “Then it was gone.”
“I guess it drowned.” Asker said.
“No, you guessed wrong.” Mia whispered. “It just ran away with someone else.”
“Ran away?” Asker was a little surprised.
“Yes, it was adopted by a noble family.” Mia said without looking back. “I found it on the street one winter. It was so small then, I could lift it with one hand.”
“I raised it to over a meter long, do you know how much effort I put into it? There was nothing to eat in the Sunken Palace. The most luxurious food was one fish per person per day, and then there was that hard black bread that could break your teeth.”
“But dogs need to eat meat, otherwise they will be malnourished. So I always saved my fish for it.” Mia said sullenly. Asker felt her grip on his hand tighten slightly. “It needed to go for walks, so I took it to the surface every day, we almost ran all over Constantinople.”
“I raised it for five years, almost treating it like family, and then what?” She said resentfully. “That family… just fed it for a month, gave it some raw meat every day… and took it away.”
“Didn’t you try to steal it back?” Asker asked curiously.
“I tried.” Mia said, “It still recognized me, but it didn’t want to come with me. I tried to drag it, but it bit me. There was nothing I could do, so I left on my own.”
“Dogs are ungrateful.” She concluded. “Many times they are close to you just because you can give them the best food.”
“Don’t be so judgmental.” Asker said, “Maybe you just met a bad dog… I’ve also heard many touching stories about loyal dogs who stay by their owners’ side and never leave them… Hmm, although I don’t know if they’re real or made up.”
“Hmph.” Mia was inexplicably unhappy. “Aren’t men just like dogs? When they meet a more beautiful girl, they will abandon their wives without hesitation.”
“Please don’t judge adults with the tone of someone who’s been through it all.” Asker said, both amused and annoyed. “Miss Mia, haven’t you even been in a relationship yet?”
“No.” Mia said, “Having experienced countless betrayals, it’s hard for me to trust anyone anymore.”
Asker sighed inwardly, hearing that she was still brooding over Maestro’s departure without saying goodbye. He could only console her euphemistically:
“Adults also have their own difficulties. Sometimes letting go is just to let the other person fly further.”
“Is that your reason for rejecting Sister Nuo?” Mia said, glancing at him sideways.
“Can we not talk about me and Nuo!” Asker said in exasperation.
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