Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first? Chapter 21 - 21 14 Life Stealing I and Desire I2

21: Chapter 14 Life Stealing I and Desire I_2 21: Chapter 14 Life Stealing I and Desire I_2 “Solomon, you’ll have to co up with a solution for the first tide,” Aske coughed and said.

“Of course, I can’t be the one to provide it, can I?” dea rolled her eyes at him coquettishly.

“Even if I wanted to, I’d be powerless,” Aske said.

The trade at the assembly continued, with Democritus’ classical mystical works, “Cosmic System,” and a jewelry gold necklace, said to bring good fortune to its wearer, being sold one after another.

Also sold was an exquisitely designed crown, reportedly worn by a queen of the capital, containing clues to the formula of the “Storm III” Magic Potion.

It’s worth ntioning that one of the booths put up a clear front-view photograph of Empire Princess Theodora for trade.

This completely ordinary item without any spirituality sold for the high price of 200 pounds.

It was bought by bidder number 13, a tycoon, without blinking an eye, leaving everyone wondering if number 13 was a mber of the Royal Family, attempting to retrieve the princess’s photograph.

“I have a major piece of news to sell to everyone,” announced the voice from booth number 4 as the eting was about to end.

“It costs 5 pounds per person, not expensive, but definitely worth the value.

Let hint that it closely affects the fate of everyone here over the next few months, and even the fate of the entire Empire.

Mr.

Moderator, if any booth doesn’t want to purchase, please use your Shadow Ability to block them.”

“Certainly,” the moderator nodded slightly.

Ever since Aske sold him the Shadow Blade, the esteed host seed sowhat preoccupied, acting as if he were eager to wrap the eting up early.

“Then, does anyone wish not to purchase?” the voice from booth number 4 asked with a chuckle.

There was no response.

The price of 5 pounds wasn’t exactly cheap, but since booth number 4 had put it that way, everyone was willing to spend the money to hear the news—especially since earlier transactions had involved several hundred pounds, lifting everyone’s psychological spending threshold.

The moderator, impatiently waving his hand, produced countless tentacles from the shadows beneath his feet.

They snatched 5 pounds in cash from each booth and flung it rudely into booth number 4.

Afterward, there was a prolonged silence from booth number 4 until soone impatiently urged them on, and the voice from booth number 4 finally resud:

“Sorry, apologies everyone, it took a mont to pick up the bills from the floor.

The news I want to sell is that today at 2 PM, His Majesty Emperor Constantine of the Empire declared a defeat in his campaign against the Seljuk Empire in Anatolia—at the Battle of Manzikert, the Seljuk forces deployed a new moon formation for an ambush.

The Empire’s Iron-armored Holy Cavalry and Guerrilla Cavalry suffered casualties from the fla-throwing attacks of the Enchanting Demon troops, prompting them to recklessly advance and fall into the ambush.”

“Subsequently, in an attempt to rescue the cavalry units, the Emperor ordered the main forces to the central battlefield, leading them also into the encirclent of the Seljuk forces.

The defection of Kuman rcenaries was the final straw that broke the Imperial lines.

As of 4 PM just now, the Imperial Army at Manzikert has entirely retreated, making a full-scale invasion of Anatolia by the Seljuk inevitable.”

Many Transcendents still didn’t grasp the significance of this news, but others who understood its importance imdiately questioned through the speaker:

“How many escaped?”

“The Emperor, did he escape or was he captured?”

Booth number 4 could only bitterly laugh in response:

“I’m not privy to more detailed news.

After all, I learned of this just as the Empire’s defeated front line was retreating from Manzikert.

However, everyone should realize what this ans?

The Anatolian Peninsula, mostly territory east of Constantinople, is a crucial pillar for the Empire, important for resources, population, and military.

The Emperor’s defeat at Manzikert ans that almost no defenses are left in Anatolia.

If Anatolia is lost, how high will the prices of all goods in the Imperial City rise?

And if even a tenth of Anatolia’s Imperial residents flee west to Constantinople, what kind of social upheaval will that bring?”

His two questions silenced the audience.

Particularly Aske, who was aware of the public main plotline phase, realized that this prediction was severely optimistic.

In fact, two months later, the Seljuk grand army reached Nicaea, with Anatolia falling entirely under their control.

Half a month later, the Seljuk navy began traversing the Aegean Sea unabashedly transporting troops, officially appearing on the Thrace Plain west of Constantinople, severing Constantinople’s connection with the West.

Two months later, Constantinople fell, and the surviving nobles fled to Sirius Province.

From the defeat at Manzikert to the fall of the Imperial City, the East Solomon Empire had been obliterated in just five months.

This was also why he sold his family’s two comrcial properties, exchanging them for war supplies.

The re event of defeat at Manzikert had resulted in the interruption of Constantinople’s transcontinental trade, causing seven to eight out of ten shops to start running at a loss.

Two months later, when the Seljuk grand army reached Nicaea, property values within the city had plumted to negatives, with deeds virtually worthless.

With war approaching, what was the point of holding onto properties in the Imperial City?

The eting concluded.

Following the moderator’s arrangent, each booth was successively opened, and attendees clad in suits and leather shoes escorted everyone out.

This was to prevent ambushes outside on the other Transcendents attending the eting.

The attendant, likely instructed by the moderator, took Aske and his companions directly to the Golden Gate subway station at the foot of the mountain before leaving.

On the subway, everyone was preoccupied with thoughts of the formula, turning absent-minded.

Back near the ancestral ho, Aske took his people to the smithy, trading Eleanor’s old armor and ordering a new Cotton Armor robe to cover the dark green hue of the hidden teorite Armor underneath.

“Next, we move separately,” Aske told the group.

“dea, Peggy, go find the Eastern rchants in the city and try to purchase a pair of Shadow Insect Beast’s Eyes and a thick-scaled copper imbued with Purgatory Breath.

Here is 500 pounds of funding.

Eleanor and Nora, head to Golden Horn Bay to buy Artificial diamond powder and Iron oxide powder from a factory, these industrial products are relatively cheaper; I’m giving you 50 pounds.

I’ll take care of the remaining materials.”

“Be careful, as Spiritual Material is a key commodity monitored by the Church.

Make sure not to be discovered by the rchants controlled by the Church’s covert agents.

dea, you have the ‘Mind I’ Ability; perform your probing well before making a transaction.”

“Understood,” everyone acknowledged, recognizing the importance of the Magic Potion formula to themselves, and responded eagerly.