LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 15: Who’s Going to Fight Me to the Death?
“What’s he doing?!”
Constantin XI, who had rushed up the city walls and witnessed Shu Yichao’s actions, clawed frenziedly at his hair.
“Does he not know what he’s doing, taunting an army of 200,000 alone? Do the Khitans have muscles for brains?!”
Constantin XI had planned for their troops to exploit their towering walls to fend off the enemies.
Constantinope was the crystallization of Romain wisdom. There were outer walls, inner walls, slanted inner terrace, moats, outer watchtowers, inner watchtowers…
The sheer defensive mechanisms it had were enough to rattle anyone’s brains.
Its walls comprised giant granite boulders, with the outside slanted and inside reinforced. Several hundred watchtowers and pillboxes were integrated in the walls, allowing the Romains to retaliate against any aggressors who were foolish enough to attempt a siege on the city.
Anyone looking at Constantinope’s vast walls that stretched for kilometers would have been shaken by its grandeur.
It was also why Constantin XI did not despair even though the Ottomain army was many times larger than his garrison troops. He thought that Shi Yichao’s well-equipped soldiers could inflict significant damage to the enemies if stationed on the city walls…
Yet, the Khitans gave up on their greatest advantage and instead confronted the Ottomains’ head on?
What’s going through their thick skulls?!
It pained Constantin XI to see hundreds of elites die just like that. They would have been great assets in their defense!
“Shoot that fool down!” one of the Ottomain military commanders ordered.
“We still have to siege the city in a moment’s time. We have no time to waste on such dimwits,” one of the Ottomain snipers sneered as he nocked an arrow and released it before confidently stowing away his bow.
The entire Ottomain army waited to see the fool being shot down from his steed.
Shoosh!
The sound of the whizzing arrow was accompanied with a pained groan. An arrow pierced through the sniper’s eye, and the sheer momentum pushed him back all the way before he was finally pinned onto a flag.
The sniper struggled for a few seconds before falling limp.
The Ottomain army fell deathly silent.
Shu Yichao had caught the arrow with bare hands and threw it back at the sniper.
“The great Shu Yichao is here!” Shu Yichao brandished the bow in his hands before the massive army of 200,000 as he continued roaring arrogantly. “I will crush you underfoot!”
“…”
“That bastard!”
A couple of Ottomain archers, who couldn’t tolerate Shu Yichao’s provocation, raised their bows and unleashed their arrows to put down this arrogant brat.
Tok tok tok tok!
A few seconds later, these archers were pinned onto the Ottomain flags too. It was almost as if they were lining up to be pinned on the flags.
Many of the soldiers first looked at the flags, followed by Shu Yichao. Then, they rubbed their eyes in a daze. O’ great God above, are we dreaming?
“W-what?!”
“Long live the Romain Empire!”
“Our Lord is looking over us!”
Shu Yichao’s astounding performance evoked resounding cheers from the walls, greatly rousing the soldiers’ morale.
【Heh, my host! The items I gave you works well, right?】
System 12345 noticed that Shu Yichao and Momoana were very close to each other, and Momoana was getting increasingly conscious of Shu Yichao. Naturally, the System attributed this to its self-sacrifice.
【I knew it! Not even Momoana can overlook those gifts. All the best, my host! This is the perfect opportunity to farm some favorability!】
“O’ great Sultana, I’ll face him in a battle.” Noticing Sultana Momoana’s darkened face, one of her generals volunteered to face Shu Yichao in a battle.
It would be futile now even if they unleashed an arrow rain and turned Shu Yichao into a porcupine; his astounding feats had already shaken their soldiers’ morale by trampling on their pride. To rouse their soldiers’ morale, they would have to slay that pimp in a proper battle.
“Mm.” Sultana Momoana harrumphed in response.
When Shu Yichao walked out of the enemy formation, she nearly blurted out an order for her soldiers to capture him alive. What a beautiful man he is! It would be a waste not to stuff him into my tent and dote on him every night!
But she knew that she had to prioritize national interests now.
“Brat, don’t you dare run!”
Upon receiving Momoana’s approval, that general leaped onto his horse and charged at Shu Yichao with his shamshir.
“Hmph!” Finally someone who dares to fight me 1-on-1.
Without any hesitation, Shu Yichao also galloped forth and retaliated with his scimitar.
Clang!
A numbing metallic reverberation followed. Sparks flew all around, reminiscent of the peach blossoms of early spring.
This single trade was enough for Shu Yichao to figure his opponent’s depth.
“A trash with just 50 damage? You’re worse than the elite mobs in the beginner zone!”
In the second clash, Shu Yichao raised his scimitar up high and decapitated the Ottoman general right away. He raised his bloodied scimitar and roared at the 200,000 men of the Ottomain army.
“The great Shu Yichao is here! Anyone who dares to face me in a battle?”
“Second Brother!” Another Ottomain general’s eyes reddened in rage. Without even asking for Sultana Momoana’s permission, he charged at Shu Yichao, roaring, “You fiendish heretic! I’ll kill you!”
Shoosh.
Shu Yichao didn’t bother looking at the general before brandishing his scimitar. Blood splattered along with a lopped head. This fellow is even weaker than the previous.
“Who else?!” Shu Yichao’s voice boomed thunderously across the battlefield. “Is there no one else who dares fight me?!”
The cheers from the walls were louder than the most arrogant thunder.
“Long live the Romain Empire!”
“Long live the Khitans!”
Even Constantin XI, despite holding onto the opinion that Shu Yichao’s brain had been kicked by an ass, cheered with his people.
It couldn’t be helped.
Shu Yichao’s actions were dumb and brainless, but… it was so exhilarating!
Morale could be wondrous at times. The Ottomains held the absolute advantage in terms of their army size, but their morale inevitably plummeted after having two of their generals slain in succession.
Many Ottomain soldiers hung their heads, their confidence wavering.
Sultana Momoana noticed the change in the atmosphere and panicked. There was no need to fight this battle anymore if her great army lost its morale. They might as well pack up and return home to their goats!
She turned to her subordinates and spoke with a composed tone, but a hint of her anxiety still slipped through, “Where’s Bayezid? Where is he?!”
“Sultana,” someone replied, “he should be behind.”
“Get him here right now!” Sultana Momoana roared.
…
“Ah!”
At the same time, Constantin XI recalled something and narrowed his eyes. “This isn’t good.”
He stuck his head out from the city walls and roared at a nearby Grassland Hose Archer, “Hey, Khitan! Call your Baturu back right now! The Ottomains are going to dispatch their Thunderbolt!”
—
Starve’s Historical Trivia:
The west walls are the Theodosian walls, and I have attached a picture below to show what it looks like (hopefully it automatically uploads to HostedNovel, or else I’ll have to manually do it)