Mumoona's Death

"Fire!"

Arrows poured down like a torrential rain, harvesting lives as if death itself had come to reap.

Although the Elite Archer Cavalry couldn't guarantee hitting the eye sockets within a hundred paces like Shu Yichao, hitting faces within thirty paces was still not a problem.

In the blink of an eye, several rows of the new army's formation were cut down!

"Brave warriors blessed by the gods, charge!"

Judging by the enemy's armor, the new troops knew their defenses were superior to their own.

In this situation, exchanging arrows would definitely put them at a disadvantage. The best strategy was to rely on their greater numbers and quickly engage the enemy in close combat.

So these well-trained soldiers immediately launched an assault.

"Fire two more rounds."

Shu Yichao commanded.

"Pluff! Pluff! Pluff!"

Under a rain of arrows, the foremost new troops immediately fell, with the majority struck in the face. Nearly a hundred of them were brought down in one fell swoop, weakening their momentum.

Then, before the new troops could recover from the shock of losing a hundred men in an instant, the second and third rounds of arrow rain descended from the sky.

As the Sultan's elite force, the new troops displayed tremendous fighting spirit.

They roared, yelled, and howled as they fell in batches and charged forward again.

However, no matter how they fought with blood, sweat, and tears, the twenty paces between them seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

Finally, the arrow rain ceased.

At this moment, Mumoona was dumbfounded.

Twenty paces away, lay hundreds of the finest Esman warriors, their blood pooling on the ground like a stream, staining the surrounding area red.

Many among them, Mumoona could even call out their names and know their hobbies.

And now, they were all gone.

With thousands of Janissaries on the front lines, it should have been enough to crush tens of thousands of unruly masses.

Yet, after suffering such painful casualties, the new troops couldn't even touch the hem of the Elite Archer Cavalry's garments.

"Advance." Shu Yichao waved his hand.

The Elite Archer Cavalry silently raised their spears, a dense forest of steel surrounding the Esman from all sides.

Then, they rolled over them.

Their attacks were simple yet deadly, just grabbing the spears and repeatedly thrusting, then retracting, thrusting again, and retracting.

The new troops attempted to counterattack, but in the face of the formidable Elite Archer Cavalry, the fierce warriors were like helpless children.

They could only watch in horror as blood-stained spears pierced through their chests, their comrades' abdomens, their commanders' throats...

Occasionally, a brave warrior managed to break through a gap, but they were powerless against the Elite Archer Cavalry's armor, with a defense rating of up to 60. They were immediately dealt with by the Elite Archer Cavalry behind them.

The new troops wailed, screamed, groaned, and even begged for mercy, but to no avail—

"It's finally quiet."

Dropping the slippery spear in his hand that was almost impossible to grip, Shu Yichao casually picked up a relatively clean white felt hat to wipe his hands, then walked towards the only person left standing among the Esman army.

With severed limbs, mountains of corpses, and rivers of blood...

In a daze, Mumoona felt as if she were in a slaughterhouse, with herself and her soldiers nothing more than waiting livestock.

Several thousand new troops, all slaughtered to the last man.

As she watched the Khitan leader approach, Mumoona forced a bitter smile.

Captured.

All ambitions vanished at this moment.

Lowering her head, she offered her curved blade, encrusted with gems, to Shu Yichao.

"Respected Khitan Batulu, you've won."

"The Khitans truly deserve their reputation as the world's mightiest warriors."

"I concede defeat."

"Sultan of Esman, I surrender to you."

"I hope you will treat me with dignity as a king during my captivity."

"As a token of gratitude, I will offer you anything that satisfies you, whether it's gold, jewels, beautiful women, or..."

[Hey, Master, what's going on?]

[Mumoona was just so excited a moment ago, why is she calm now?]

[What did you do?]

[Success was within reach!]

Recalling previous experiences, System 12345 couldn't help but feel a sense of dejavu.

Wasn't this the same scenario many times before?

Just when victory was in sight, everything was thrown away.

[Don't, Master, you have to be careful now.]

[Don't let your guard down for a moment, or...]

[Mumoona is a dangerous empress, wielding immense power, ruthless and merciless in her killings.]

[If you offend her, Master, you'll be in big trouble.]

[This is the Middle Ages, where human rights are not respected. If Mumoona wants you dead, it'll be as easy as crushing an ant...]

"Swish—"

Blood spurted.

"Hey." Shu Yichao sheathed his curved blade unexpectedly.

"This one's quite proactive."

"Knows to stick his head out for me to chop off."

"Hey—you guys, hang her head on the city wall's flagpole."

[Master!!]

[What's happening!]

[Didn't I tell you to be careful!]

[Mumoona's favorability is back to zero!]

[What should we do, what should we do, what should we do...]

Thinking of the master's first experience, about to be dragged out by the empress for execution, System 12345 was as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

[Master, can you run?]

[Is there a chance to escape?]

[Let's escape as fast as we can!]

"Ah?"

Just as Emperor Constantine XI, with a heart set on certain death, hastily rushed with his troops to reinforce the breached middle section of the wall, he witnessed the scene of the Elite Archer Cavalry hanging Mumoona's head on the flagpole.

Then, the Norman courtiers were dumbfounded for a moment before an "Ah" burst from their throats.

Am I dreaming?

Didn't they just say the wall was breached?

How did it suddenly turn into the death of the Sultan of Esman atop the western wall?

"Your Majesty, it's her!"

Having seen Mumoona before, those who recognized her rubbed their eyes repeatedly, finding that the scene before them remained unchanged, and immediately shouted excitedly.

"It really is her!"

"It's really that devil!"

"Sob... Your Majesty, we won!"

As they spoke, they wept tears of joy.

"We've won!"

Soon, the ecstatic Normans began to spread the word, and cheers spread from one section of the wall to another.

"Mumoona is dead!"

"The Sultan is dead!"

"Esman is defeated!"

At first, the Esman people didn't believe it. How could the envoy of the true god, the esteemed Sultan, just die like that?

This must be a rumor fabricated by the Normans, trying to shake our resolve!

However, Mumoona's severed head was hanging conspicuously on the city wall, and those with keen eyes could clearly see it.

Moreover, not long ago, this Sultan had just humiliated herself in front of the Esman warriors. Quite a few people recognized her.

So, the Esman people had no choice but to despairingly admit—

The Sultan was dead.

Esman was defeated.

The holy war was lost!

"Quick, flee!"

"Our army is defeated, our army is defeated!"

"It's over, it's over, this must be the true god cursing us!"

The tens of thousands of Esman troops, who had lost their backbone, immediately collapsed.

They discarded their armor, threw away their swords, and fled in confusion toward the rear, only wanting to escape from the battlefield.

Defeated and disorganized!

The Esman army wanted to run, but Shu Yichao wouldn't allow it.

"You turtle eggs! You made me waste so much money, and now you want to run!?"

"Pay up!"

He mounted his horse, leading the assembled Elite Archer Cavalry, and charged toward the fleeing Esman.

"Kill!"

With the blessing of the "Plunder to the Last" talent, at least a severed head was worth a few coins.

"Not a piece of armor left!"

At the same time, the cavalrymen who had received Shu Yichao's assembly order hours ago, originally disrupting the Esman logistics behind the Seleze Plain, quietly appeared on the flank of the Esman army.

They were like a bursting flood, effortlessly tearing apart the Esman army's formation from the side, scattering them in all directions.

"Normans! The time for revenge has come!"

Even Emperor Constantine XI, leading the bravest Normans, charged out of the city walls, joining the pursuit of the fleeing Esman.

On this day, corpses littered the ground, blood flowed like a river!

The only one who couldn't understand the situation might be a certain system.

[Yes, yes, yes, master, that's it!]

System 12345 shouted.

[Run, run!]

[The faster, the better!]

[You must escape for your life!]