Chapter 44: “Her Majesty” Theodora
At 1:30 PM, Caesarea, a city in Anatolia, fell to the Seljuk army in a siege.
A plane from Constantinople circled overhead, quickly dropping 12 incendiary bombs.
The formations of soldiers hit by the bombs instantly burst into fireballs. Countless burning men screamed and ran around, but they couldn’t get rid of the burning oil and asphalt clinging to their bodies.
Soon, these burning men fell to the ground and died tragically, their bodies still slowly burning.
The Seljuk soldiers in the formations next to them remained calm and composed, not even glancing at their burning comrades.
Each formation had at least one Transcendental with Mind II ability, responsible for maintaining and controlling the morale of the formation.
Even if they all stood in line and were bombed by incendiary bombs, it wouldn’t take months to wipe them out.
Not to mention that the Seljuk reinforcements were continuously coming from Syria, the Caucasus, and even the Iranian Plateau.
In the luxurious command tent, His Majesty Sultan Suleiman, the supreme emperor of the Seljuks, had learned from the messenger about the capture of Caesarea.
He walked out of the tent with his head held high and said to the assembled officers and guards:
“Today, the Lord has brought us news of victory. Caesarea, the central fulcrum of Anatolia, has been captured by our brave warriors.”
The officers and guards cheered.
However, Suleiman quickly made a fist gesture for silence, making everyone quiet down again.
“These foolish Solomons have not yet realized why they failed. Did they fail in the Battle of Manzikert? Did they fail because of the emperor’s ridiculous military orders? Or did they fail because of their lack of military strength? Did they fail because of the lack of support from the West? Or even, did they fail because they are inherently inferior to us in strength and bravery?”
“None of the above!” Suleiman raised a finger and said forcefully, “Their failure is because they have become decadent!”
“The Lord said, I shaped you from the soil to multiply and thrive on the earth. Each of your families must have four children, so that after the parents return to heaven, the descendants who continue the bloodline can still run in this world.” Suleiman laughed contemptuously and said loudly, “However, you decadent Solomons, do you know how many children they have per household on average?”
“One!” The officers raised a finger and laughed in unison.
“They have become decadent!” Suleiman spread his arms, flames rising in his ambitious eyes. “They indulge in the so-called enjoyment brought by technology, pursuing mind-numbing alcohol and ridiculous variety shows. They have enough material to raise children, but they are unwilling to have them. They are afraid that children will consume their wealth and delay their own enjoyment. They ignore the past, do not seek the afterlife, they only want comfort and indulgence in this life!”
“However, the Lord said, a nation that does not pursue the future will not even survive the present!” Suleiman’s voice was like thunder, making the officers present involuntarily bow down in submission. “Now there are fewer and fewer Solomons, they are continuously castrating themselves, so much so that there are not enough people to inherit the glory of ancient Solomon, they are no longer worthy of enjoying this vast land and wealth! Seljuks, answer me, answer your Majesty!”
“What drives us to conquer the Eastern Solomon Empire?”
“The Lord, it is the will of the Lord!”
“According to the will of the Lord, who should rule this continent and ocean?”
“Us, the Seljuks!”
“Who are we!” Suleiman roared.
“We are the future of mankind!” The officers and guards also roared, their voices shaking the surroundings.
“Go, warriors!” Suleiman drew his sword and pointed it straight at Caesarea, where smoke was rising in the distance. “Go conquer Caesarea, bring salvation to those decadent Solomons! Kill all men taller than a saber! Kill all women with more than seven white hairs!”
“Send the children of the Solomons to our collective upbringing camps, they will become the best Seljuk warriors in the future! Send the young women of the Solomons to your tents and beds, cultivate them to your heart’s content! Give birth! Spread the bloodline of the Seljuks to the other side of the continent and the ocean!”
Following the order of His Majesty Sultan, the officers returned to the camp, shouting wildly.
A moment later, the Seljuk army began to march in formation, soldiers with swords and spears in their hands surging from all directions.
The smoking city of Caesarea, amidst the besieging army, was like a lonely island in a tsunami, about to meet its tragic fate.
…
Calculating the time, the Seljuk army had probably advanced to central Anatolia.
Standing by the street, Asker looked at the busy traffic and calculated in his heart.
In a month, the Seljuks would advance to Nicaea.
In half a month, the Seljuk army would finish transporting troops across the Aegean Sea and begin their siege of Constantinople.
In two months, Constantinople would fall.
Zoe and Theodora would be evacuated to the Siris province by plane, and tens of millions of Constantinople citizens would be massacred and plundered.
Thus, the main storyline of the open beta version would end here, and the plot timeline would enter the official version 1 “Bloodbath in the Balkans.”
For Asker, the final evacuation deadline was two months later, when the Seljuks crossed the Aegean Sea and officially arrived at the city of Constantinople.
Once the land route to the west was blocked, it meant that Constantinople would become an isolated city.
Tens of thousands of NPC soldiers were blocking the city. It would be impossible to break through. Even if Asker was an e-sports champion, he couldn’t do it, unless a GM account directly deleted these NPC soldiers.
The team still lacked an Arcane Mage… Asker thought for a moment, his gaze falling on the bench across the street, where a guy was sitting and reading a newspaper.
A court spy? Asker chuckled and walked away with Eleanor and the others.
The spy put down the newspaper, his eyes behind his sunglasses looking at Asker’s back, his hand quietly reaching into his trouser pocket and pressing the button of a transmitter.
On the other side, Theodora had gotten into the car, accompanied by two military officers and guards to protect Her Majesty Theodora’s personal safety. Michael personally sat in the driver’s seat, driving towards the GPS location of the signal.
More than ten minutes later, Asker and the others, following the clues provided by their neighbors, arrived at a local tavern.
As soon as they pushed the door open, the humid and sweaty smell inside made the three girls immediately cover their noses.
“Over there.” Miel pointed to the wine table in the corner, where three men were drinking.
Asker walked straight over, drew his pistol, first fired a shot into the air, scaring all the customers around and making them flee, then pointed the gun at the back of the young man’s head and pressed him onto the table full of spilled wine.
“I ask, you answer.” Asker said coldly. “Break the rules, get shot. Understand?”
“Understand.” The man raised his hands, his face pale and his voice trembling. The two companions at the wine table hurriedly fled in panic.
So only Asker’s group and the young man were left in the tavern.
“Come here, Miel.” Asker beckoned. “Is this man your uncle?”
Miel nodded.
“The noble who tried to violate her and was eventually killed, was he introduced by you?” Asker continued to ask.
“Yes… Yes…” The young man seemed to have a premonition of what was going to happen next, so frightened that his legs went weak, and he barely managed to stand firm by holding onto the table.
“Why did you do this?!” Eleanor asked angrily.
“I didn’t want to either!” The young man cried out. “Do you think I want to raise her? I’m just a hoodlum! I usually cheat and swindle to make a living. Suddenly, someone from the Civil Affairs Bureau came to me and said that my brother’s daughter had become an orphan, and according to imperial law, I, as her only relative, must adopt her!”
“But where do I get the money?” He pointed at Miel, who was standing behind him with a pale face, and shouted, “She’s not even my daughter, why should I adopt her? This damn imperial law! I only eat two meals a day myself, how can I afford to feed another mouth? How can I make money without doing the flesh trade? Besides, isn’t she still an elf? Don’t elves do this a lot…”
Eleanor’s face turned livid, and she suddenly went up and punched him hard, knocking out all his teeth.
Sidlipha immediately jumped out upon seeing this and said excitedly:
“Are we going to torture him? Let’s start the torture!”
Asker ignored her words, just looked down at Miel, and said gently:
“Kill him, or let him go? The decision is yours.”
Before Miel could speak, the young man, as if he had found a lifeline, pleaded with Miel in a trembling voice:
“Don’t kill me! Am I not your uncle? If you kill me, you’ll be committing patricide! You’ve already killed one person… Yes, you’ve already killed one person, if you kill again, your crime will be even greater! Those who ran away have already called the police, the police will be here soon! If you wait any longer, none of you will be able to escape, you will all be sentenced to death by firing squad!”
“Who said that?” A girl wearing a veil walked in from the door, stared at the pale young man, and said, “I heard outside that you seem to have an opinion on imperial law? But do you know that if you evade your duty of support, at most you will only be fined by the Civil Affairs Bureau and deprived of your guardianship rights. As for forcing a young girl into illegal physical transactions…”
She chuckled and said coldly:
“That’s what gets you shot.”
The young man shuddered involuntarily upon hearing this. He instinctively felt that this strange girl was very dangerous, because she had an aura of authority cultivated from being in a high position, and he was almost scared to the point of incontinence.
Asker, on the other hand, looked at this strange girl who suddenly came in with a strange expression. His eyes stared at her eyes that were exposed from the veil, and they overlapped with the face in his memory.
Theodora in purple? Why was Her Majesty here?
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