As the Thunder of Esman fell, all the Esman people were filled with fear and confusion.
Even Mumoona, her mind was blank.
She never imagined that Bayed, a three-generation veteran and the first hero of the Esman army, would perish in such a place.
But she knew very well that now was not the time to be dazed.
"Ugh." Biting her tongue fiercely, tasting a hint of sweetness mixed with blood, Mumoona roared loudly.
"Esman warriors, avenge our old general!"
"Kill!"
"Ahhh!!!" At this moment, the Esman army, still in shock, finally snapped out of it.
Dust billowed, reaching the sky—
Thousands of elite Esman cavalry, already lined up, raised their crimson banners and charged towards Shu Yichao.
Mumoona didn't order all the warriors to attack—most of them hadn't even finished their battle preparations yet. Sending them into battle would just make them easy targets for the Norman people on the western wall.
So she could only dispatch elite cavalry to reclaim the situation and, incidentally, retrieve the body of the old general.
However, she didn't realize that this approach was even more foolish.
"Just over a thousand men? Who do they think they're underestimating?"
Without needing Shu Yichao to say anything, the steppe horse archers who were lined up against the wall rushed forward under his command, launching a counter-charge.
Bang! Like two torrents colliding fiercely, the kicked-up dust made the earth tremble.
"What...?"
From a vantage point, Mumoona looked in shock at the collision of cavalry.
At this moment, the gap in quality between the two sides' forces was vividly displayed—
In just the moment of contact, over a hundred Esman cavalrymen fell from their horses, while on Shu Yichao's side, it seemed that only a dozen or so had fallen.
After the melee combat started, this gap widened even further.
Although their armor defense was almost the same, the Esman cavalry's casualties barely reached two or three dozen, while the steppe horse archers easily reached seventy.
But how could Esman cavalry, with just two or three dozen in attack and defense, be a match for the steppe horse archers, whose attack power exceeded seventy?
Not to mention that the steppe horse archers were led by Shu Yichao.
All he needed to do was wield his curved blade and gallop on his horse. Wherever he went, Esman cavalrymen fell like wheat in a field being harvested.
"The holy warrior, melting like snow under the scorching sun..."
Someone trembled as they spoke.
They collapsed.
After several rounds of fighting, seeing their comrades being swept away by the enemy like fallen leaves in autumn, the elite Esman cavalry completely collapsed.
They had long forgotten that they were fierce steppe warriors, only knowing to throw off their armor and helmets, fleeing in panic towards their own ranks.
Regardless of how the officers shouted, regardless of how the Khitans chased and hacked at them madly from behind, they only knew to flee without looking back.
So, all the Esman warriors saw the scene that frustrated them immensely.
The once swift and decisive steppe warriors were actually being chased by the Khitans, who numbered far fewer than them, like dogs.
"Fire arrows!" Seeing that the Khitans were almost about to chase into their own formation, the Esman people had no choice but to bend their bows and shoot arrows, forcing the Khitans to retreat with a dense rain of arrows.
"Stop!" After chasing for a while, Shu Yichao led the steppe horse archers to retreat.
It wasn't easy to chase cavalry, and if they continued, they would chase into the Esman's main army.
Although Shu Yichao was very arrogant, he also felt that with only three hundred cavalry against two hundred thousand, he was at a slight disadvantage.
"Hail!"
"Hail the Khitans!"
When he returned victorious, everyone in the city cheered for this hero who defeated the Esman's spirit.
They crowded the streets on both sides, crowding the road so tightly that it was impassable, throwing flowers, wine, and anything else at Shu Yichao and his "Khitans" as if it were free.
And when the crazy and inexplicably escaped pastor, appearing on the street, appeared, it pushed the atmosphere to the sky.
"You've come."
"You've finally come!"
The pastor shouted loudly, leaning on his cane.
"The Eastern Sacred King!"
"The Invincible Commander!"
"The Hope of the Empire!"
Many people recognized the pastor and suddenly remembered the long-standing prophecy.
The Eastern Sacred King, who would one day save the empire?
Lord, is this the revelation you gave us devout believers?
No one knew who spoke first, but in the frenzy, people waved their arms and shouted again and again.
"Sacred King!"
"Sacred King!"
Although Shu Yichao couldn't understand their words, it didn't stop him from nodding, indicating that he understood...
So he smiled and waved to the Norma people.
As a result, with the talent [Overwhelming Charm], the enthusiasm within Constantinople was completely ignited!
The cheers reached the sky and penetrated the clouds!
"Hey, it seems like we've made it through today." Constantine XI sighed amidst the cheering crowd.
Although he was very conservative in his words, only saying that they defended the city on the first day, the smile that couldn't help but appear on his face betrayed his true feelings.
Compared to the soaring morale and constant cheers within Constantinople, the Esman camp was shrouded in gloom.
The result of the enemy's single-handed provocation was that their first hero fell, only to retrieve a headless corpse, and a cavalry unit of a thousand men was killed or injured in just a short moment...
Mumoona knew that today she couldn't force the Esman army to attack the city with such low morale.
So she could only let the troops hastily retreat to the camp and prepare for battle again tomorrow.
But she couldn't do nothing.
At the very least, she had to find a way to boost the morale of the army.
"I'm still too young after all." Sitting alone in her tent for several hours, Mumoona sighed.
"I never thought that the Khitans would really be as brave as the legends say."
"Where did that heretic emperor find such a strong ally to serve as his secret weapon?"
She pondered incessantly.
"Fortunately, I also have a secret weapon—" Mumoona muttered to herself.
At this moment, the voice of a messenger outside the tent sounded.
"Great Majesty."
"The supreme cannon has been installed."
"Awaiting your inspection."
"Good!" Mumoona leaped up from her seat. "Notify the entire army that there will be a thunderstorm later."
"Don't let them get scared."
"Hmph." A trace of a smirk appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Norma people, do you think your walls can shelter you forever?"
"It's a pity, the times have changed."
[This is really strange]
System 12345 murmured as Shuyichao had already returned to the city.
[Bayed's impression of the host has hit rock bottom.]
[But Mumoona's impression of the host has actually risen?]
[Did you insult Bayed and curry favor with Mumoona?]
System 12345 couldn't figure out the puzzle.
[But there's no indication that these two have a conflict.]
[Could there be hidden factors?]
After thinking it over, System 12345 could only think of this possibility.
[Well, completing the main quest doesn't have to be done in just one way—whatever it takes to advance the storyline.]