ALL NOVEL
Chapter 55: Athens’ Shamshir
【It’s so weird, my host.】
System 12345 stared at the feed, which was lagging so much that it was like a PowerPoint presentation, in confusion.
【You’re a distance away from Vernier, and she has been moving around, but why are her feelings for you continuously changing? She feels regretful, shocked, worried, nervous, and fearful…】
It was then that System 12345 suddenly thought of something.
【Ah! My host, have you become pen pals with Vernier?】
System 12345 thought this was the only explanation behind Vernier’s massive emotional fluctuation. They must have been exchanging passionate writings!
【My host, I didn’t expect you to be so resourceful!】
【Communication is key to building and maintaining a relationship. She must be feeling like she’s on a roller coaster ride each time she opens your letters—embarrassment with a tinge of nervousness, expectant yet fearful…】
【Through your quills you exchange your innocent feelings. She vaguely senses it, but she can’t bring herself to admit it. The girl known for her sharp wits turns out to be clumsy when it comes to matters relating to the heart too…】
【Whew, I’m pumped up!!】
System 12345 was more motivated than ever.
“Is it a failure?” Vernier sighed as she clutched the letter into a ball.
There was no good news from Constantinope and Thessaloniki.
Some nobles at Constantinope were moved—the throne was a coveted position. However, these nobles failed to convince others to work with them, and alone, they couldn’t exert enough pressure on Constantin XI to stir a civil war.
Ottomain corpses were still piled up outside the city. Most of the nobles were not ready to make an enemy out of the Khitan Caesar yet.
At Thessaloniki, their Crete Provincial Commander tried flaunting his strength, but the Romains refused to fight him on sea. So, he led hundreds of seamen to shore to further the intimidation, but Constantin XI crushed them with over a thousand soldiers, forcing them to retreat to the sea.
Their Crete Provincial Commander grumbled that these soldiers had none of the hesitation and cowardice that newly-recruited soldiers had; they felt like veterans on the battlefield.
“Neither way is working,” Vernier sighed, “I can only rely on the Duchy of Athens for now.”
But when she arrived at Athens’ port with the support they had agreed on, she suddenly felt a bout of unease. There was something weird about the way the Ottomains were looking at her.
“Let the transport ships dock. Our galleys should keep their distance first,” Vernier said after some thought. She murmured under her breath, “I hope they aren’t thinking about betraying us.”
Having done that plenty, she was aware of that possibility too.
However, the transport ships safely docked at the port without a hitch, and the rations, cloth, and weapons were handed over without a hitch.
“Am I thinking too much?” Vernier propped up her glasses.
Chaos suddenly broke out at the port.
Large droves of shamshir-wielding Ottomain soldiers rushed at the ships and boarded them.
Romain converts tried approaching the ships with tears of desperation, but the Ottomains firmly kept them at bay. Anyone who squeezed their way onto the ships were viciously beaten up.
“Please, I’m begging you!”
Such cries echoed nonstop.
“On the true God’s account, please take us away with you!”
“What?!” Vernier’s eyes nearly bulged out.
Being no fool, she swiftly deduced what was going on. She had deceived others all her life, but she never thought a day would come when the Ottomain barbarians would have her fooled?
The Ottomains never planned to fight the Khitans in Athens—they wanted to flee to Anatolia! There was no way to flee by land, and they didn’t have enough ships to escape by sea, so they turned to the Venetians for help.
The resources didn’t matter at all, as long as there were enough ships!
There must have been enough ships for them now, and that prompted them to drop their act and rush to the ships in a bid to make their escape.
Those Romain converts wanted to escape with them, but the Ottomains were reluctant to bring them along. A fight broke out in the port as a result.
“Damn it!” Vernier’s face darkened.
Not only had she failed to find a scapegoat, but she also lost a bunch of resources and ships.
Just then, an exclamation echoed within the city.
“It’s the blood twin-headed eagle flag!”
“The Khitans are here!”
“KHITANNNNNSSSS!”
“We’re doomed!”
“Scourge of God! It’s the Scourge of God!!!”
A huge uproar broke out in the port.
“Set off! Start rowing those oars,” the Ottomains roared as they kicked the Romain converts off the ships.
It was pandemonium.
Unwilling to give up yet, some Romain converts swam to the ships and tried climbing onboard. A couple of them succeeded.
However, the Ottomains wouldn’t let them get their way. With a silver flash of their shamshir—
Shing!
“AHHH!”
—a Romain convert screamed as he plummeted into the water. His fingers had been severed.
The other Ottomain soldiers followed his example and did the same to other Romain converts. Soon, all the Romain converts who climbed onto the ships fell with wretched cries.
Meanwhile, the Ottomains steered their ships out of Athens in a bid to return to Anatolia, only to find their path blocked by two Venetian galleys.
“Get rid of them,” Vernier coldly ordered.
The Ottomains had ten times more ships than what she currently had on hand, but it didn’t stop her from making such a decision.
A bunch of fools who can’t even swim. I’ll let them know the consequences of deceiving me.
At her call, two galleys suddenly surged forth like agile yet vicious swordfishes, unhesitatingly cutting into the Ottomains’ ship formation and wreaking havoc.
One of the galleys rammed into the center of a bulky Ottomain transport ship that had just performed a turn with great difficulty. Its sharp edge punctured the ship as easily as a red-hot knife sinking into butter, smashing a huge hole into it.
With a loud creaking sound, the transport ship collapsed in on itself and sank into the water.
The Ottomains onboard fell over. Most of them were unable to swim and struggled in futility as they sank into the sea. Some clutched onto a wooden plank, but the huge waves weren’t making it easy for them.
After taking down its first target, the Venetian galley sailed through the remnants to make its way to its next victim…
At the same time, the Venetian seamen unleashed fire ballista arrows at the Ottomains, setting quite a number of their ships ablaze.
It didn’t take long for the Ottomains to be annihilated. Out of their comfort zone, they couldn’t even put up a decent defense to slow the Venetians’ assault. Their cries of despair cemented the Venetians’ dominant position in the sea, proving that their reputation wasn’t for show.
“Hmph!”
Vernier looked at the flames that had spread throughout Athens and harrumphed. It looked as if the sea breeze had blown away her fear and worries.
Venice’s fleets are invincible.
“Let’s go,” Vernier shook her head and ordered, “Return to Morea. Let these fools await their deaths here!”