Chapter 28: The Enigmatic Femme Fatales

Chapter 28: The Enigmatic Femme Fatales

“Innocent lambs, only by seeking our almighty Lord’s protection can you attain power and glory. You have to devote yourself to our Lord to receive His blessing. Only by believing, fearing, and worshiping our Lord will you receive His most generous gifts.

“Do you see it now?

“No matter how many soldiers, cannons, and ships our enemies have, they will be defeated by the Priest King summoned by our Lord. Those demons who seek to infringe on our Lord’s honor will receive divine retribution in the very end...”

Looking at the opulently-dressed Patriarch preaching in Church of God’s Holy Wisdom, Constantin XI exhaled softly, “Haa...”

“Your Majesty,” someone beside him spoke up, “why are you sighing on such a joyous day?”

“Ah, Suna.” Constantin XI turned over and recognized the person to be an old acquaintance. He lowered his head despondently and replied, “This isn’t the kind of empire I want.”

He looked at the golden censer, silver candelabra, and all kinds of jeweled ritual tools inside the cathedral.

“The old Romie had confident civilians and disciplined soldiers, who were brave enough to bring their ideas forth for debate, and they were filled with the ambition to conquer the world. But look at these people...”

Constantin XI gestured to the devout faces inside the cathedral.

“Our people walk with an air of gloom. Our court is weak and corrupted. Our army is incompetent. Our nobles are hypocritical and selfish—”

“Your Majesty, is it fine for you to say that of your own country?” Madam Marti asked.

“Hah. My words may sound awful but they are the truth,” Constantin XI replied. “I wanted to change things when I first took over the throne. I thought I could revitalize the empire. But whenever I tried cutting into the heart of it all, I’d always suffer setbacks. All measures I tried to implement were stifled halfway through.

“I simply don’t understand! The empire is already on its last legs. Why aren’t they willing to give it one last try to turn things around?”

Madam Marti could only respond with silence. She knew that the empire’s rife politics was causing its stagnation, but this was not an issue that anyone could resolve.

They could only watch helplessly as the empire slid toward the abyss due to endless infighting.

While Constantin XI lamented the Eastern Romain Empire’s difficult fate, there was a roaring voice.

“HOLY WAR!”

Startled, Constantin XI turned to the stage where the crazed Patriarch stood.

The Patriarch’s wrinkled face was reddened, and he waved his hands so madly that his entire body trembled.

“For hundreds of years, the barbaric heretics from the wilderness have invaded our lands and eroded the glory of our Eastern Romain Empire! They killed our brethren, burned our homes, and plundered our wealth. There’s no evil that’s beneath them. Millions of our brothers have died at the hands of those demons!

Then, Constantin XI noticed the Patriarch looking at him. The latter winked at him.

“...”

Madam Marti, who saw the same sight, was stunned. “...Your Majesty, are you certain that the Patriarch has gone mad?”

“...I think so?”

This wave of fanaticism resulted in the formation of an army of 10,000 crusaders despite Constantinope’s population of less than a hundred thousand.

The quality of the army was questionable, however, as its ranks included 60-year-old old men, teenagers, farmers, woodsmen, clergymen, chefs, and so on. Even some of the fitter women were mobilized too as there weren’t enough young men around.

Some of the immigrants, sailors, and mercenaries who had been living in Constantinope joined the Crusade too.

All in all, they looked like a ragtag group. They wore all sorts of clothes and came in different shapes and sizes. Most of them were armed with swords, spears, and bows. Some hoisted up wooden crosses together with a twin eagles flag as a symbol of their movement.

This was the army that marched out of Constantinope.

Shu Yichao wouldn’t walk with such a group of people.

Instead, he led his subordinates, which comprised nearly a thousand Elite Horse Archers now, and impatiently began making his way toward Ottomain’s current capital—Edirne.

【My host, why are you running toward Momoana’s palace?】

System 12345 still had no clue about Shu Yichao’s circumstances, having yet to fix its black screen, so it couldn’t understand what he was up to.

【Aren’t you leaping into the enemy’s trap? They often say that it’s darkest under the lamp, but such tricks might not necessarily work on Momoana.】

【Wait...】

System 12345 suddenly thought of something.

【Ahhh, I get it now! My host, you must be thinking of going down the imperial harem route! You’re hoping to regain some of Momoana’s favorability through her imperial consorts. That’s not a bad idea indeed...】

【But how do you know Momoana has wives and children? Did she tell you in person?】

【Ahh, you might be wondering why Momoana has imperial consorts, or how she had offspring with her imperial consorts at all. I can only say you’re in another world; there’s no need to make sense of everything. Hahahaha!】

System 12345 laughed, but its laughter got quieter and quieter before it quickly reverted to its serious expression.

【My host, don’t be bothered by it. Once you conquer Momoana, her imperial harem will be yours too. It’s a 1-for-10 deal. Quite a worthwhile trade, isn’t it? By then... hehehe!】