Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks

Chapter 724 30: Agonizing Tension

The soldiers defending the city cheered, watching the enemy troops drop their burning siege towers and retreat in disarray from the walls, leaving behind wreckage.

At this moment, both Greeks and Venetians were jubilantly celebrating another successful repulsion of the heretical attack.

But soon, the smiles vanished from their smoke-stained faces.

The enemy assault returned again, more ferocious than before.

The iron-clad siege tower slowly approached, towering six stories high, with firing ports on the top three floors. Even before coming close, firearms and arrows were already being shot from the ports towards the city walls.

One soldier manning a Greek Fire launcher was about to aim at the siege tower when an arrow struck him in the head.

The Kipchak soldiers beside Losa immediately retaliated, their precise archery skills allowing many arrows to pass through the firing ports, striking the enemies behind.

Soon, someone replaced the Greek soldier, turning the flamethrower towards the siege tower. As the scorching fuel met the air, it transformed into a fiery serpent, but a brilliant shield of light appeared on the siege tower, causing the flames to slide off to the side.

Losa loudly ordered, "Stop using Greek Fire, prepare to engage the enemy!"

Constantinople had ample food reserves and a water reservoir filled to capacity.

However, they faced severe shortages of arrows, Greek Fire materials, gunpowder, and other siege weapons, akin to losing limbs and a torso, with only a head left, yet three-quarters of the profits still needed to be shared with the Venetians and Genoese.

The greatest shortage was the fuel for Greek Fire; at least the Venetians in the concession provided support for other siege weapons. Previously, the Genoese from Galata had also sent some supplies.

But Greek Fire was the Empire's top-secret and even the Empire itself had only recently recovered its heritage, making it impossible to prepare much.

"Prepare to engage the enemy!"

The command was passed down the line.

The Venice Administrator, a burly man with the Lion of Saint Mark emblazoned on his chest robe, stood bravely on the wall, slapping his shield with his weapon, "Come, let the heretics witness our power!"

"Roar!"

Behind him, soldiers from the Venetian concession roared in unison.

Although many Venetians were profit-driven merchants, there were also devout and courageous Holy Warriors among them; however, such individuals rarely reached high positions.

Now, Venice's power was no longer held by the Governor but by the Council of Ten, whose myopic, profit-driven nature best described them.

"Don't let the Latin dogs look down on us Romans!"

A Greek general shouted, ordering the soldiers hiding behind cover to raise their shields and prepare to engage the enemy on the walls, "For God, for Rome!"

BAM!

With a loud crash, the board hanging from the top of the siege tower slammed down onto the city wall, and Ghazi Warriors, wearing white or black turbans, charged forward, shouting their battle cry, "Holy Fire Everlasting, Supreme and Great."

They wielded scimitars and round shields, crashing like waves against rocks. The first soldiers to reach the wall were quickly pierced by the long spears of the defending troops.

A red spiritual radiance transformed into a giant lion in mid-air, baring its fangs and claws as it charged into the defenders' formation.

Losa, overseeing the entire battle, saw clearly that this was the enemy's magic caster, a veiled woman hiding inside the siege tower. Constantine XI's memories instantly reminded him of her identity, a female sheikh known as Fatima, also the leader of the Sisterhood, a branch of the Ottoman Brotherhood.

The magical lion had formidable combat prowess. The Venice Administrator and his well-trained guards, though skilled fighters, could barely hold their ground together, and even when injured, the magic would quickly restore its strength.

Losa drew his Shining Cross Sword and charged forward to face the lion. With many cards hidden up his sleeve, he hadn't revealed a hint of them yet, nor had Mahmud II. Losa had yet to truly encounter the power of the Three-headed Demon Dragon.

It was a test to see who would break first.

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

The Venice Administrator suddenly shouted.

But Losa, dealing with a summoned creature, wouldn't need to be utterly focused. As a black light attacked from behind, he sidestepped at the last moment, giving the impression of extreme danger, when in reality, everything was under his calculation.

The black light struck the wall bricks, instantly corroding a large hole.

The Brotherhood, not just a monastery but akin to the Assassins, specialized in assassination, with the Ottoman King as their supreme leader. In their campaigns over the years, their shadows were always present.

After the initial failure, the assassins swarmed towards Losa from every direction.

The female sheikh, controlling the lion, knowing Losa's identity, immediately commanded the lion to risk itself to entangle Losa.

Losa gripped his Cross Sword firmly, and the red light of the Brutal Dragon Core flared at the hilt, enveloping the blade with Dragon Flame. As the assassins closed in, he coldly sliced the pouncing lion in half with a single stroke.

With the summoned creature destroyed, the veiled female sheikh inside the siege tower let out a piercing scream.

Immediately after, flames erupted.

When the flames subsided, the assassins had all turned into shriveled, charred corpses.

Right in front of the female sheikh, Losa picked up the highly poisonous black dagger from the ground. Her eyes, a beautiful emerald green, widened in terror through her veil, as the premonition of death echoed continuously in her heart.

How was this possible? How could the Emperor of Greece eliminate twelve elite Brotherhood assassins in an instant?

Whoosh—

The black light shot forth, piercing through the thick skin of the siege tower and directly penetrating the female sheikh's heart.

Losa had resolved the battle; however, skirmishes persisted across the walls.

The Ghazi Warriors were exceptionally strong, their weapons and equipment quite fine, with many elite members of the Brotherhood among them, making them extremely challenging to deal with.

Clang—

The Iron Shield blocked

The one rescued was a Venetian, who was about to express gratitude when the Greek soldier muttered something coarse and walked away quickly, back turned.

The Greeks of Constantinople harbored deep-seated animosity towards the Venetians, a enmity entangled for centuries. The former had initiated the Latin Massacre, while the latter had allied the Crusaders to breach Constantinople.

Expecting the two sides to truly unite and overcome difficulties together was out of the question.

So far, the lack of large-scale armed conflict was due to his high prestige and the intense pressure from the Ottomans.