"Empress Dowager, you've endured a long journey," a Esman officer said to the dusty First Empress and her entourage inside the tent.
"The Albanian Legion has come to the rescue under orders and is now fully assembled, ready to fight for the Empress Dowager and the true Sultan!"
The officer said confidently.
"All those who dare to covet the Sultan's throne will be sent to hell by us!"
"Good, good." The First Empress, who had fled all the way here, said a few words in succession.
But as if reminded of something, she shivered and hastily asked, "How many men do you have now?"
"What's their combat strength?"
The Esman officer's eyes flickered for a moment.
"Please rest assured, Empress Dowager. I have brought ten thousand brave and skilled warriors."
"Enough to crush any invading enemy!"
Ten thousand men?
It doesn't seem very secure, does it?
The First Empress furrowed her brow slightly.
These past few days, she had almost been driven to panic by Shu Yichao's pursuit.
And she had also been somewhat shocked by the Khitan—no matter how many warriors were left behind to block the Khitan's pursuit, they were almost all easily overwhelmed.
They were told to hold off the enemy for a moment.
And they really did just hold off Shu Yichao's charge for that moment.
Fortunately, she had the foresight to discard all the fancy decorations and symbolic banners of her identity.
Plus, the Khitan were busy attacking and occupying cities along the way, not fully focused on chasing her—
That's why she hadn't been crushed like ants by the Khitan.
According to her estimation, the current one thousand Khitan warriors would need at least five thousand Janissaries to deal with.
So she wanted to quickly understand the combat strength of the Albanian Legion so she could make a decision on what to do next.
But it's just ten thousand ordinary Esman warriors—
At this moment, the First Empress saw her confidant in the tent give her a meaningful look.
She understood.
"Pasha, you've worked hard."
"As a reward for your brave and loyal service, the Sultan will not spare his favor."
"Go and collect your rewards."
The Esman officer was overjoyed. "Thank you for your generosity, Empress Dowager. We will forever be loyal to you!"
Watching the Esman officer leave the tent with his men, happily going to collect their rewards, the First Empress hugged her son and looked at her confidant.
"Your Majesty, he's lying," the confidant said without hesitation.
"My son just estimated the size of the army, and that guy is eating half of the rations."
"And the remaining five thousand men aren't all combat troops."
"I estimate he only has two or three thousand men who can fight."
"These few people are simply not enough to deal with the Khitan."
"What!?" The First Empress jumped up as if she had been pricked by a needle.
"Two or three thousand men?"
"How, how can this be?"
The First Empress felt dizzy and overwhelmed.
"Retreat!" The confidant said decisively.
"Continue to retreat to the west!"
"The Khitan aren't specifically targeting anyone. As long as they're enemies, they'll fight."
"They're even picking places where there are more people."
"As long as we run fast enough, the Khitan's attention will surely be drawn to the larger Morya Legion to the south—"
"After they've fought it out, we can enter the fray."
"It seems we have no choice." The First Empress said slowly.
But unexpectedly, after she issued the order for the western hunt, the Albanian Legion unanimously opposed it!
"Why bother, Empress Dowager?"
"All of us in the Legion are looking forward to the Sultan taking control of Adrianople and becoming the true ruler of the Empire."
"As for the Khitan, they're nothing to fear at all!"
The First Empress wanted to reprimand them, but as the words reached her lips, she felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head.
These guys, are they really here to pledge allegiance to her?
The people she brought out of Adrianople were killed by the Khitan's pursuit almost without exception.
The Albanian Legion must have had other intentions, wanting to seize power and control the government!
Worries turned into reality.
In the days that followed, the First Empress and the Albanian Legion repeatedly clashed over the western hunt, but the problem remained unresolved.
Instead, the Esman officers grew increasingly impatient and dangerous.
The First Empress sadly realized that she now feared these stubborn military leaders turning against her even more.
But soon she wouldn't need to fear anymore.
Because—
"I'm here, damn it!"
Amidst the dust, the blood-red double-headed eagle soared.
When Shu Yichao broke through another castle, he was surprised to find an Esman camp not far away.
There were probably several thousand people there.
Shu Yichao, who hadn't encountered so many people to cut down in days, immediately became excited.
He led the charge, aggressively rushing towards the Esman camp.
"Enemy attack!"
"Prepare for battle!"
The Esman soldiers, seeing Shu Yichao charging towards them, spread the word, distributed weapons, closed the camp gates, erected fences, and prepared to confront him.
"What do these Khitan want?"
The commander of the Esman Albanian Legion thought as he surveyed from a high vantage point.
"Over a thousand of them attacking my camp?"
To guard against a possible ambush, his camp was backed by mountains, with a river on the right, leaving only the left and front for attack.
But these two sides were both fortified with sturdy fences, with a long trench dug in front of them. Behind the fences, soldiers armed with strong bows and crossbows stood ready—
It all looked impregnable.
Even if you Khitan are brave and skilled, isn't this attack a bit too reckless?
"Release the arrows when the Khitan approach."
He ordered.
"Their armor seems to be of high quality, which probably gives them the confidence to attack—"
"Swoosh—"
Before the commander finished speaking, he saw a soldier in his camp flying up.
"Boom—" The soldier was nailed to the flagpole like a nail.
Then, the sound of vibrating arrows was heard from inside the camp.
Shoot immediately, and hit the bullseye from a hundred paces away?
Is this something human can do!?
However, what happened next made the previous scene seem so ordinary.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
One bright blood flower after another burst forth.
Sharp arrows pierced through the narrow gaps, skewering every Esman archer ready to shoot.
For a moment, the long-range attack power of the Esman camp was completely nullified.
"Charge!"
"Ah-woo-woo-woo!!"
Shu Yichao galloped on his horse, blessed with [skilled horse archery], and his horse showed incredible leaping ability—
Jumping over the trench, over the fence, he descended into the camp like a divine soldier!
"What!?"
The Esman soldiers, who had just been shaded by shadows on their faces, were still surprised and bewildered when they saw a flash of white light in front of them, followed by a splash of blood.
"Hmph!" Shu Yichao held a spear and ruthlessly stabbed it under the fence, then exerted force.
Under his terrifying strength, the entire fence was lifted up and then smashed down fiercely onto the Esman soldiers who were too stunned to move.
There were continuous screams, and blood was everywhere!
Shu Yichao, who had lifted one fence, didn't stop, and continued to rush towards the second fence. In just a moment, he lifted it up again.
In the blink of an eye, in front of the Esman army camp, there appeared a broad avenue for iron cavalry to gallop through!
"Kill!"
"Ah-woo-woo-woo!!"
The elite horse archers arrived at this moment. They whooped as they rode their horses across the trench and effortlessly charged into the Esman camp, slaughtering wantonly.
The Esman Albanian Legion, with thousands of soldiers, was instantly plunged into chaos and collapse.
"We're defeated! We're defeated!"
They screamed miserably as they began to scatter and run.
The same fate as the soldiers who had been left behind by the First Empress earlier.
They successfully blocked Shu Yichao for a moment.
But just for that moment.