Rome: Phoenix Rebirth

Accompanied by arrows and stones, the Ottoman Janissaries, wearing tall white hats, retreated in disarray, leaving behind numerous corpses and siege equipment. The Greeks on the city walls cheered at them and pushed the bodies of the Ottomans who had climbed the walls, along with their flags, down.

In contrast, the Ottoman camp outside was filled with boos. Even the powerful Janissaries failed to breach the walls, indicating they had no chance of plundering the prosperous Peloponnesian peninsula behind those walls. The breach in the wall created by the Ottoman artillery was densely packed with the corpses of the Janissaries, and groups of Greek laborers were hurriedly using various materials to seal the gap.

Since ancient Greek times, the Peloponnesian peninsula, due to its geographically isolated position, has been considered an ideal hinterland. Consequently, from ancient Greek and Roman times, successive rulers of the peninsula have constructed defensive works at the Isthmus of Corinth, the only land entry to the Peloponnese. By the late Byzantine Empire, these defenses had developed into the Hexamilion Wall, spanning the entire Isthmus of Corinth, becoming a powerful barrier protecting the empire's last stronghold.

Particularly under the rule of Constantine Palaiologos, the Despot of Morea and later Constantine XI, the peace he established over the years allowed the local Greek population to recover and agriculture to develop. Additionally, many Albanians were relocated there to farm. The traditional farmer-soldier system was somewhat restored during this period under the despot's encouragement, significantly increasing the size of Morea's army. The Hexamilion Wall was also repaired and reinforced, with enough troops to defend it.

In 1444, after long-term appeals from Pope Eugene IV, a new crusade was assembled in Europe. The young King Władysław III of Hungary and Poland became the leader of the crusade, and 30,000 soldiers from Western Europe, Hungary, Wallachia, Bohemia, Poland, and Ukraine gathered under the holy cross banner, advancing towards the Ottoman Empire with the Pope's blessing. Faced with the oncoming crusader army, the old Sultan Murad II, who had handed over the throne to his son Mehmed II, had to come out of retirement after quelling rebellions from his other sons, gathering the empire's forces in Adrianople to resist the crusader tide.

Seeing such an opportunity, Constantine Palaiologos did not hesitate. He led the army of the Despotate of Morea on the last expedition in Byzantine history, aiming to reclaim as much Greek territory from Ottoman control as possible during the crusader's advance. Constantine's army, mainly composed of local Greeks from Morea, was supplemented by Albanians near the Hexamilion Wall and remaining Latin military nobles. This army of several thousand swept through the Greek peninsula, quickly subduing the Ottoman vassal state of the Duchy of Athens. Constantine's forces continued their rapid advance, capturing the region of Macedonia and even the northern Greek stronghold of Thebes.

However, on November 10, 1444, Murad II emerged again, completely defeating the crusader forces under the young Władysław III at the Battle of Varna. The death of Władysław III led to a collapse in the entire campaign, making it difficult for Western Europe to organize another large army to aid their eastern brethren in the near future. The exact reason why Władysław III charged at Murad II is now unknown. For Constantine, his expedition ended the moment the Battle of Varna was decided.

In 1446, after more than a year of rest, the Ottoman army marched south into Greece. Knowing he could not defeat such a powerful enemy in the field, Constantine withdrew from Thebes and Athens, territories he had held for over a year, retreating behind the Hexamilion Wall, relying on its fortifications to resist the Ottomans. On November 27, Murad II led over 50,000 Ottoman troops to the Isthmus of Corinth. This Ottoman army was composed of soldiers from across the empire, including the elaborately dressed Janissaries, Balkan feudal knights, Anatolian nomadic horsemen, and Greek infantry from former Byzantine lands.

Historically, on December 10, with the Ottoman cannons breaking a section of the Hexamilion Wall, the wall would be completely breached, and the Ottoman army would flood into the prosperous Peloponnesian peninsula behind it. However, as stated at the beginning, history took a significant turn on this day.

Not far from the breach in the wall, Constantine, the Despot of Morea, was resting with the help of his guards, covered in human blood from previous battles. When the wall was breached by the Ottomans, he immediately led his guards to seal the gap. Despite the intense fighting, he himself was unharmed. Laborers and soldiers hurriedly carried and pushed various building materials past the emperor. Although the Ottomans had been repelled, no one knew when they might return, so repairing the wall was essential.

A guard handed the exhausted despot a water flask. Constantine pulled over a chair and sat down, drinking deeply from the flask, his throat parched, not minding the water spilling on himself.

"Your Majesty, congratulations on your victory." Just as he put down the flask, a servant approached him. "Lord Demetrios indeed started the rebellion as the intelligence indicated. Now, his rebellion has been quashed by the well-prepared Lord Thomas. Lord Thomas sent me to ask how you wish to deal with Demetrios and his accomplices."

"Demetrios, my brother, I never thought you would actually do such a thing." Constantine painfully covered his eyes. While he understood some things in his heart, accepting them was another matter. "Tell Thomas to execute Demetrios immediately and hang his head on the city gate of Mystras. As for his accomplices, execute his confidants; the others were just following orders. The rest will be dealt with when I return."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guard nodded, then turned and left to convey the despot's orders. Watching the guard's retreating figure, Constantine sighed silently.