Blood-red Double-Headed Eagle

"Ah?" The second imperial consort blinked in confusion.

Was her brother suggesting they abandon Adrianople?

But this was the capital of the Esman Empire!

It held immense political significance—only by occupying it could they have the confidence to command the unruly warlords and chieftains of the empire.

How could they even consider abandoning it?

"Brother, we..." The second imperial consort attempted to persuade Karaga Pasha to stay.

"We are overestimating ourselves," Karaga Pasha interrupted his sister.

"In the eyes of the Khitans, whether it's us, the Grand Imperial Consort, or the Fifth Imperial Consort..."

"We are not worthy of negotiation."

"In their eyes, we are nothing more than a group of sheep waiting to be slaughtered."

He said matter-of-factly, "Would you negotiate with a piece of meat that is destined to be eaten sooner or later?"

The second imperial consort felt a sense of absurdity creeping into her heart.

Since when did the brave warriors of Esman end up in such a plight?

They had always been the ones wielding their curved blades ruthlessly, striking terror into trembling enemies.

How had the tables turned today, with both sides' circumstances completely reversed?

"We must leave the city immediately," Karaga Pasha commanded.

"We must leave before the Khitans discover us!"

"Otherwise, everything will be lost."

"After leaving the city, we must immediately seek out the Morya Legion—"

"If we can successfully join forces with them, perhaps there is still hope."

As Karaga Pasha decided to abandon the capital, the Grand Imperial Consort of Esman made the same decision.

After the two imperial consorts took away a considerable portion of the combat-capable troops, the remaining Esman warriors found it impossible to put up any resistance.

They could only be completely crushed by Shu Yichao amidst despair and wailing.

And thus, Adrianople, the capital of the Esman Empire, fell into the hands of Shu Yichao.

"Tsk." After dispatching the last remaining resistor and finding no one else dared to resist, Shu Yichao assessed his losses with a heavy heart.

"Nearly a hundred dead and injured?"

"That's too much."

"Urban warfare is truly the most troublesome."

While Adrianople had several spacious avenues where elite cavalry could maneuver with difficulty, most of the city's areas were characterized by complex terrain, abundant buildings, and trees, making it impossible for cavalry to charge.

As for the narrow streets and alleys, not even a decent infantry formation could be formed.

Many times, Shu Yichao had to brawl with his elite cavalry like a street gang.

This was something he, accustomed to breaking enemy formations and winning battles in the open field, found very uncomfortable.

Moreover, as Adrianople was the capital of the Esman Empire, the quality and quantity of the warriors inside the city were much higher than those on the Seleze Plain.

Thus, Shu Yichao's elite cavalry often found themselves unlucky in some inexplicable situations—

Fountains spewing molten gold, boiling oil poured from above, explosions of gunpowder from garbage heaps, and boiling water thrown from doorways...

Therefore, Shu Yichao sighed deeply and felt the magnitude of his losses.

"It seems my troops are still too few," Shu Yichao concluded.

"It's really difficult to afford casualties."

"Hey, forget about it." Shu Yichao shifted his gaze and looked warmly at his elite archers and cavalry.

"Brothers, you've worked hard."

"Next, it's time for some enjoyable plundering."

After ordering his elite archers and cavalry to escort the prisoners outside the city—

Occupying, plundering, abandoning, re-occupying, plundering again, abandoning again...

Shu Yichao's actions flowed smoothly like water.

"My lord."

Several days later, when Constantine XI arrived at Adrianople with tens of thousands of Crusaders, he couldn't help but exclaim sincerely.

"Our Caesar really took Adrianople?"

Although Constantine XI knew that Shu Yichao's target might be Adrianople, he didn't have much hope for his attack.

As the capital of Esman, Adrianople must have been extremely strong.

Moreover, the heathen warriors of Esman, under the fanaticism of their beliefs, were extremely fierce and difficult to deal with.

Even if the Khitan warriors were a more formidable force than the Esman warriors, defending a city, fighting in the open, and besieging a city were not comparable.

Moreover, Shu Yichao's army was still at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers—

To attack a stronghold with several tens of thousands of defenders with a force of less than a thousand?

Constantine XI couldn't imagine what that scene would be like.

Therefore, according to Constantine XI's most optimistic estimate, this holy war was nothing more than removing the Esman strongholds on the Seleze Plain, and then flaunting their military might under the walls of Adrianople before retreating.

Anyway, in terms of open-field battles, probably no one could match the terrifying cavalry under the Khitan Caesar's command.

When retreating, the Esman wouldn't dare to pursue.

But he never expected that Adrianople, which had been under Esman's rule for nearly a century, would be recaptured like this?

This meant that the strategic depth of Norma had greatly improved, and there was no need to fight daily battles to defend the capital anymore.

For a moment, Constantine XI couldn't help but be moved to tears.

As for the Crusaders, upon seeing the double-headed eagle flag hanging on the walls of Adrianople and the tens of thousands of dejected prisoners outside the city, they were already boiling with enthusiasm.

"Hail the Sacred King!"

"Hail the Khitan Caesar!"

"Hail the holy war!"

Amidst the cheers of the Crusaders, Shu Yichao also spotted Constantine XI.

"Hey!" Just after energetically commanding his elite archers and cavalry and completing the construction of a brand-new observatory, Shu Yichao rode forward.

"Emperor XI, you're here too."

He proudly gestured to the observatory. "How do you like my new creation?"

Even though Constantine XI knew Shu Yichao was a friend, not a foe, he couldn't help but shiver.

He quickly forced a smile and said, "Congratulations to our Caesar for another glorious victory."

"I'm sure the enemy must have..."

"Hmm?" Before he could finish his sentence, Shu Yichao's gaze fell on something Mati brought over.

"What's this?"

"For me?"

Seeing Shu Yichao looking at her, Mati displayed the item.

What caught Shu Yichao's eye was a dazzling blood-red—

On the bright red flag, a golden double-headed eagle spread its wings as if about to take flight.

With one claw holding a long whip and the other holding a scimitar, its four eyes were full of arrogance and disdain, as if it wanted to dominate the world.

"Hahaha!!" Shu Yichao exclaimed in delight, eagerly taking it. "The Blood Red Double-Headed Eagle, I love it!"

"I was wondering before why the Roman flag in this mod was a purple double-headed eagle."

"So the surprise is here."

"After completing a certain task, the player will receive their exclusive red double-headed eagle flag."

With his exclusive flag, Shu Yichao immediately replaced it. "From now on, I am the true heir of Rome!"

"Brothers, let's continue the revival of Rome!"

"We had some people escape from the city earlier. Can we tolerate that?"

"Hurry, chase them!"

Watching Shu Yichao happily leave with the Blood Red Double-Headed Eagle flag, Constantine XI turned to Mati. "How did you know that our Caesar likes red flags?"

"We can't really understand Khitan, you know."

Before, Constantine XI had prepared a purple double-headed eagle exclusive flag for Shu Yichao, but on Mati's strong recommendation, he ultimately changed it to red.

Mati glanced at the towering observatory outside Adrianople, the crows circling above, and the countless prisoners outside the city, and said, "I don't know why, I just felt that red suits him well."

"Let's enter the city, Your Majesty."

"The post-war work in Adrianople will probably keep us busy."