Kneel first as a sign of respect

The reaction of the Esman Empire to Shu Yichao's bloodbath across the Seleze Plain was...

There was no reaction.

Previously, in order to gather forces to attack Constantinople, the city coveted by the world, Mumoona had almost exhausted all her available mobile forces. And to demonstrate her determination to win, she even moved her entire court to the front lines.

However, when news of Mumoona's demise at the foot of the western wall of Constantinople spread, along with the complete defeat of her 200,000-strong army, the nobles and courtiers inside the palace were caught off guard.

Boosted by Shu Yichao's [Night Fighter] talent and the energy potions from the System 12345, the elite archers and cavalry relentlessly pursued the Esman people.

And these pampered nobles couldn't escape day and night.

So, most of them became the financial support under Shu Yichao's [Scavenge All] ability.

As a result, when news of Sultan Mumoona's tragic death beneath the walls of Constantinople reached Adrianople, the entire Esman Empire was like a beheaded hydra, paralyzed and unable to move.

And a few days later, the pillars of the Esman Empire finally reacted.

And they had a sudden realization on the question of who were their enemies and who were their friends.

They immediately erupted into internal strife, turning into a chaotic mess.

Because according to the savage inheritance law of the Esman Empire, whoever ascended to the Sultan's throne generally killed all their siblings!

In the history of the Esman Empire, there was a Sultan who openly declared:

"You cannot decide how many children your father has, but you can decide how many siblings you have after you ascend to the throne!"

So when news of Mumoona's tragic death beneath the western wall of Constantinople reached Adrianople, the group of orphans and widows she left behind expressed their sentiments:

Avenging the Sultan could wait.

But eliminating the other princes and princesses was something that couldn't be delayed!

As for why beautiful girls can conceive with other beautiful girls—this is a fantasy world, isn't it? It's perfectly normal.

And so, Mumoona's several sons and daughters immediately engaged in a fierce internal war to determine the outcome through force.

Although they were all very young, the oldest was only eight years old, and the youngest was still in swaddling clothes.

But it didn't matter; this matter could be left to the various empresses and country uncles to handle.

Coupled with Mumoona being too young and not considering the issue of cultivating heirs, the strength of the various empresses and their supporters was basically equal.

Naturally, the battles became extremely fierce.

Over Adrianople, the sound of swords clashing, the desperate cries of the dying, and the explosions of gunpowder filled the air, with palaces and military camps ablaze, and streets and markets serving as beds of death.

Eventually, the armies of various factions gradually lost control and turned into thorough bandits and brigands, only knowing destruction, slaughter, and looting.

The once prosperous Adrianople was almost completely destroyed.

In such a situation, who would care about what was happening on the Seleze Plains?

"We are discussing who will become the Sultan, a matter of national importance. You peasant soldiers who are about to die, please don't bother us with trivial matters like this!"

So when Shu Yichao arrived, what he saw was Adrianople ablaze, with various factions fighting each other, a scene of chaos.

"What's going on?" Shu Yichao felt puzzled.

"Could it be the Normans in the city rebelling against the Esmanians?"

He glanced at the large map. "But that doesn't make sense. The Normans are represented by green dots, but all I see here are red dots."

At the same time Shu Yichao arrived in Adrianople, the factions inside the city, red-eyed from the killings, also noticed him—

And his highly recognizable elite archers and cavalry.

In a palace chamber in Adrianople, despite the thick smoke outside and the deafening shouts of battle, several nobles gathered together.

"Brother, according to the news, the Norman's double-headed eagle banner is already outside the city," said the second empress, holding her bewildered son, with a nervous and anxious tone.

"What should we do?"

"Although the third empress, fourth empress, and several other consorts, along with the young princes and princesses, have already been killed."

"But we still haven't been able to defeat the grand empress."

"And the fifth empress is still holding out..."

"And in this situation, the Normans decided to show up."

"The situation is really bad."

"What's there to worry about with the Normans?" said a military officer, with a beard and his curved blade still dripping with blood, as if he had just withdrawn from battle, speaking somewhat unclearly.

"At most, they're just a bunch of unruly mobs."

"I'll take a few dozen men over there, charge in, and crush them in one fell swoop."

"That's not the Normans!" shouted the Esman's second country uncle, the brother of the second empress, Karaga Pasha, slapping him on the back of the head, his voice filled with anger.

"They're Khitans!"

"It's just that their leader has now become the Caesar of the Normans."

"When the Khitans broke our supply lines before, haven't you seen it?"

"A dozen men could chase nearly a hundred of ours."

"And you want to contend with the Khitans with just a few dozen men? If you want to return to the embrace of the true god so quickly, I have a curved blade here that I can lend you for free."

"Please don't bring our already scarce soldiers to their deaths!"

The Esman military officer with the beard quickly shut up.

"How many have come?" Karaga Pasha asked the soldier who came to report.

"It could be seven or eight hundred, or it could be over a thousand," the Esman soldier who came to report quickly replied.

"It's impossible to confirm."

"Anyone who dared to approach was shot dead by the Khitan leader opposite us."

"From a distance of exactly one hundred paces, they were shot in the eye!"

The soldier's face still bore a look of horror. "The arrow went in through the eye and came out through the back of the head!"

"It's too terrifying!"

"The Khitans are simply demons!"

"A thousand people!?" The second empress was stunned.

Although she didn't understand much about military affairs, she also knew from various previous reports that the Khitans were extremely fierce. Even the strongest warriors of the Esmanians couldn't match them.

And her soldiers even argued that one Khitan could fight three or five of them.

In other words, the equivalent of three or four thousand Janissaries had arrived outside the city now?

How could the city's meager forces withstand such a ferocious bunch?

"Can't we close the city gates?" The second empress said, her face pale.

She felt very insecure now.

"It's impossible to close them," a military officer lamented.

"Earlier, the fourth empress brought several cannons and bombarded the city gates, causing them to collapse. They can't be repaired in a short time."

"...," The second empress looked at her brother, hoping he could come up with a solution quickly.

"A thousand Khitans, a thousand Khitans..." Karaga Pasha paced back and forth, pondering bitterly.

But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't think of a way to defeat these thousand Khitans.

After thinking for a while, he looked up and said,

"Or, shall we negotiate?"