The Fifth Imperial Consort was in the worst position of all, so she moved correspondingly the fastest too. It didnât take long for them to sneak out of Edirne with their people.
âBig sister, are you ready?â
Before heading to the Khitans, the Fifth Imperial Consortâs younger brother made sure to check in with his big sister.
ââŠâ The Fifth Imperial Consort, who looked ravishing after dressing up, hesitantly nodded with reddened eyes.
âThatâs good.â Her younger brother nodded before consoling her, âPay no heed to such trivialities. You should look ahead instead. If we successfully bring those Khitans over to our side, the First Imperial Consort and the Second Imperial Consort will be no match for us. Once my nephew dons the crown and becomes the sultan, we will beââ
There was suddenly a loud exclamation.
The Fifth Imperial Consort and her younger brother raised their heads, only to see the envoy they had sent to the Khitans falling off his horse.
âWhatâs going on?!â the Fifth Imperial Consort screeched.
With eyes widened in fear, she saw a cloud of dust rising in front of her.
It was the Khitansâ cavalrymen charging in their direction. The ground shook ceaselessly as if heralding the arrival of a demon king from the pits of hell.
âMassacre every last one of them!â
Shu Yichao had been hesitating between charging straight into Edirne or first encircling the city then proceeding with the massacre, but since someone came out on their own accord to attack them, there was no need to hesitate anymore.
Letâs first get rid of them before deciding the next move.
âMy bow is drawn! I quiver with anticipation!â
Shu Yichao shot consecutive arrows, specifically aiming at the most well-dressed ones among the Ottomains.
The Fifth Imperial Consort screamed her lungs out. She first saw her younger brother flying backward after being shot in the eye before another massive force struck her in the face too.
She had an epiphany right before losing her consciousness.
We thought too highly of ourselves.
Negotiating for peace? The Khitans had never thought about making peace before!
ăMy host, what in the world are you doing?! Why did the Fifth Imperial Consortâs favorability for you suddenly plummet to zero?!ă
System 12345 howled in distress.
ăI donât get it! I donât get it at all?!ă
ăMy host, did you operate a mirror-shattering company in your previous life? How do you keep making the worst of the best situations?ă
System 12345 gritted its teeth.
ăDonât panic. We still have a chance. Things might not have worked out with the Fifth Imperial Consort, but we can always turn to the other imperial consorts.ă
ăTrust me! Weâll surely pull through this crisis!ă
The Fifth Imperial Consortâs group consisted of no more than 200 to 300 people. It only took Shu Yichao a barrage of arrows and a single charge with his Elite Horse Archers to take down everyone.
Once the deed was done, he glanced at the city gates.
There stood another group of people dressed in opulent clothes. The servants were carrying a colorful flag and a sedan ferrying an Ottomain noble.
âAHHH! DEEEMOOOONNNNS!â
After witnessing Shu Yichaoâs slaughter of the Fifth Imperial Consortâs group, these people tossed aside the flags in their hands and scattered like a flock of frightened birds.
âChase them!â
Shu Yichao charged straight into Edirne with his Elite Horse Archers.
âWeaklings, how dare you infringe on Roman soil?!â
Edirne had been in turmoil from the very start, and the arrival of Shu Yichaoâs bloodthirsty warriors caused the situation to spiral deeper into chaos. Even the streets fell deathly silent, as no one dared to breathe loudly in the face of Shu Yichaoâs taunts.
Just like that, Shu Yichao and his Elite Horse Archers charged through the streets till a group of people dressed in red appeared before him. âThe Janissary?â
Blood-red robes with a white bork; it was not hard for Shu Yichao to recognize these distinctive Ottomain warriors at a glance.
âOh? You arenât all dead yet? Brothers, charge!â
Shu Yichao charged forth with a spear in his grasp.
The terrifying Elite Horse Archers stomped ahead like a metal stampede, trampling on everything that stood in their way.
The Janissary panicked.
Most of their steeds had died in the recent internal conflict, and those who still had their steeds had opted not to bring them along as they werenât too useful in urban warfare. Due to that, most of them were traveling by foot.
None of them had expected a group of cavalrymen to appear at this juncture.
To make things worse, they were standing in the middle of the street. There was nowhere to hide, so they could only shove each other aside in hopes of dodging the enemyâs onslaught, but that did little to help them.
In the end, they could only watch in despair as the cavalrymen trampled them into bloodied mashes.
âŠ
âPasha! Pasha!â
An Ottomain soldier rushed into the side palace in a panic. âBad news!â
Pasha Callerga grabbed him and asked, âWhat happened?â
âPasha,â the soldier exclaimed with tears and snot flowing down, âitâs over. Itâs all over! The Khitans are in. They are demons! We couldnât stop them. Even the Janissary was obliterated by them!â
Pasha Callergaâs legs caved in at that shocking news. He nearly collapsed onto the floor.
The Janissary soldiers that Sultana Momoana brought to Constantinope had been massacred by Shu Yichao, but there were reserves in Edirne. Some of them were still undergoing training in military schools. Their fighting prowess paled in comparison to the active unit, but they were still a force to be reckoned with.
Pasha Callerga had spent huge sums of money to buy them over to his side, which was how he gained the upper hand in the internal conflict. Never would he have imagined that the ace in his hand would be shredded into pieces in a matter of days.
âHow did it turn out like this?!â The Second Imperial Consort was horrified to hear that. âDid those eunuchs not properly negotiate with the Khitans? I knew those castrated scoundrels canât be trusted!â
She gritted her teeth. âDo they have family members? Round them up and have all of them killedâŠâ
âShut up!â Pasha Callerga roared as he rubbed his aching chest.
âHuu. Huuââ He first took a few deep breaths before asking, âIs he dissatisfied with the conditions we offered, or⊠did the First Imperial Consort or Fifth Imperial Consort offer better terms than ours?
âI should have foreseen that. They are cornered and desperate. They would have offered anything to win the Khitans over to their side.â
âThat might not be the case,â the reporting soldier weakly replied.
Pasha Callerga stared at him.
âThe envoys we sent have been killed by the Khitans.â The soldier gulped. âItâs the same for the people sent by the First Imperial Consort too. I heard that someone on the city wall saw the Fifth Imperial Consort personally reaching out to the Khitans, but the Khitans didnât spare them either.â
ââŠAh.â Pasha Callerga was so shocked that he plucked off strands of his beard.
âBig brother.â The Second Imperial Consortâs mind turned to mush. âWhat are the Khitans up to?â
What she got from the soldier was that there was one thing that the Khitans refused to tolerate, and that was living things.
âHuâŠâ Pasha Callerga closed his eyes and took two deep breaths before opening his eyes once more. âWe need to leave.â
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