Good medicine tastes bitter

[Master, I've noticed something.]

After observing for a few days, System 12345 voiced its concerns.

[These past few days, Mumoona seems to be eating poorly, sleeping poorly, and frequently suffering from headaches.]

[It seems like she's troubled by something?]

[Or maybe she's busy with government affairs?]

[I think, Master, you could go and comfort her?]

[No, that might not be appropriate, considering I don't know what position you're in now, Master.]

After pondering for a while, System 12345 suggested again.

[How about this?]

[Master, I'll give you some energy pills. You can offer them to Mumoona, what do you think?]

[It might increase her goodwill towards you, and of course, if you're willing, you can keep some for yourself too.]

[Who knows, maybe then—heehee.]

As if envisioning something delightful, System 12345 chuckled.

Then, while speaking, it once again reluctantly contributed a few credits.

[Master, please confirm receipt.]

"New mission rewards?" Shu Yichao opened the interface upon receiving the new message, and after confirming, a vial appeared in his hand.

Opening the vial, several exquisite pills rolled out.

Shu Yichao lowered his head, sniffed, and felt refreshed.

"Let me check the instructions—what's this medicine, this gibberish is annoying."

"It should be something good."

Shu Yichao tried swallowing one.

[You enter an excited state.]

[All attributes randomly increase by 5%—15%, stamina recovery +100%, duration two hours.]

"Wow!"

Watching his attributes soar from 130 ranged, 140 melee, to 150 ranged, 160 melee, Shu Yichao was overjoyed.

"What a great thing!"

Attribute increase aside, the stamina recovery was the main highlight, almost like a divine skill.

Although the stamina of Shu Yichao's troops was quite good, they still got tired.

Many times, Shu Yichao had to allocate time for them to rest.

Sometimes, they even had to take turns resting in shifts.

Now, with this, things were looking up. Before going into battle, he could take one pill and—wait, it seems this thing dissolves in water?

Watching a pill dissolve rapidly in the wine, disappearing in the blink of an eye, Shu Yichao was even more excited.

He could use it to replenish his soldiers' stamina with water...

"And it can save a lot of money too."

Shu Yichao's troops already met the conditions for promotion, but he was somewhat hesitant.

If he promoted them—after promotion, even if the troops hadn't worked a full week, they'd still be paid for a week, which was a big loss.

But if he didn't promote them, it felt uncomfortable not using more powerful troops.

However, this pill had really come in handy.

"To celebrate, from today onwards, we'll attack them twice a day!"

Despair and chaos were spreading at an unbelievable speed within the Esman army.

Mumoona, increasingly clutching her throbbing head, looked at the map on the table, her eyes reddening.

Although she had long known that this magnificent city was not easy to conquer, she never imagined that the situation could deteriorate to this extent!

It had been over twenty days since the start of the war.

During these twenty-plus days, Mumoona had tried everything to turn the tide of the battle, but to no avail. Instead, the situation was deteriorating at an alarming rate.

On the front lines, no matter how many times she commanded the army to launch attacks, they were always beaten back by the Khitan people.

Despite the losses the Khitan suffered each time, the next battle would see hundreds of them returning, rendering Mumoona's envisioned war of attrition utterly futile.

In the rear, the gathering Khitan forces were becoming increasingly overwhelming. Small groups of Esman cavalry were no match for them, and large quantities of supplies were being destroyed and plundered along the way.

Moreover, they were becoming more audacious, with the frequency of night raids increasing. They even dared to openly attack Esman's small castles.

The morale of her army was plummeting, deserters were increasing by the day, and some soldiers were even complaining privately, saying this was a "war cursed by the true god."

Logistics were tight, morale was low, diseases were spreading, and her prestige was waning...

Mumoona had a feeling as if she were not the one besieging the city, but rather, the Khitan were dragging her and beating her mercilessly, refusing to let her go.

She was starting to regret not heeding the advice of her former prime minister.

Now, should she retreat?

Shaking her head, Mumoona dismissed the thought.

Absolutely not!

Once the troops withdrew, all opposition forces would rise against her, and even the imperial guards might rebel!

By then, her situation might not be better than it was now.

It was time to make a firm decision!

"Inhale—" Mumoona took a deep breath, then summoned officers of all ranks, Pashas, and Emirs, gathering the troops.

In front of tens of thousands of soldiers, she donned the most splendid attire of the Sultan, and arranged an open-air altar in the army, spreading a prayer rug.

Then, the young Sultan, barefooted, stepped onto the prayer rug, bowing and kowtowing several times towards the direction of the holy land, loudly praying for the true god to bless the victory of this battle.

At the same time, tens of thousands of soldiers behind him also bowed and prostrated themselves, reciting prayers in unison, praying for the true god to grant them strength and victory.

Then, Mumoona mounted her horse, riding at the forefront of the army amid the deafening drums and horns, galloping ahead.

"Holy war has come to the most critical moment!"

"The greater the suffering we endure, the more it shows that the true god is testing his devout believers and hoping that we can pass his trial!"

"I, the messenger of the true god, your Sultan, solemnly swear here!"

"After capturing Constantinople, all the buildings inside the city—all the beautiful women, captives, gold, silver, and treasures—are yours!"

"You can chop down any man you find displeasing!"

"You can rape any woman you fancy!"

"You can dash to death any baby you see!"

"You can hang any old person you detest!"

"Kill their sons in front of their mothers, rape their wives in front of their husbands, do whatever you want, as long as you wish."

"Grab the gold, silver, and treasures, take the fine silks and brocades!"

"Just like we did in Anatolia, in Morea, in Albania!"

"Even if someone unfortunately dies in the holy war, there's no need to fear, the true god will take them to heaven to enjoy eternal bliss."

"Today, your Sultan is with you!"

"I will stand at the forefront with you, shooting the first arrow at the enemy."

"Either Constantinople is completely conquered."

"Or I die beneath its walls!"

"Everyone, the true god is watching over you!"

After a brief silence, the Esman army once again erupted in cheers.

"Praise the true god!"

"The true god will surely bless us!"

"The Sultan is the messenger of the true god!"

The thunderous roar of the crowd was so overwhelming that even the towering western walls of Constantinople trembled slightly, with dust falling down in plumes.

Despite having firmly held the advantage in previous defenses, facing such an intimidating momentum, the defenders on the city walls couldn't help but feel a deep sense of fear.

"Hmph."

In a small courtyard inside Constantinople, a bespectacled girl glanced at the trembling oil lamp on the table, sneering.

"It seems that those barbaric heathens are struggling in their last throes."

The girl had long gathered all the intelligence through ubiquitous merchants and naturally knew about Mumoona's current predicament and the dilemma she faced.

Officially, the Sultan had two hundred thousand troops, but in reality, there were only sixty to eighty thousand fighting men, with the rest being conscripted auxiliary troops or laborers.

While there were regular armies in Anatolia and other parts of the Balkans, they had to guard against other dangerous enemies and couldn't be used to attack Constantinople.

Originally, Mumoona's eighty thousand troops should have been sufficient. She could have relied on irregular troops to wear down the defenders and civilians and then used her formidable regular army to conquer the city in one fell swoop.

However, just at this critical juncture, a group of ferocious Khitan suddenly emerged and brutally thrashed the Esmans in various ways, like tigers pouncing on prey.

In the girl's view, after more than twenty days of fruitless warfare, Mumoona should have surrendered gracefully, taken her army back to lick her wounds, and recuperated for a comeback.

But now...

"It's either a major defeat or a catastrophic defeat."

The girl shook her head and shifted her focus to something she deemed more meaningful.