novelraw Chapter 735 40: Red Lightning
Chapter 735 40: Red Lightning
The siege of Constantinople has temporarily entered a standoff. Apart from the Ottoman artillery position firing sporadically each day, neither side has engaged in further combat.
In the Ottoman camp, surrounded by the Imperial Guard, Mahmud II is receiving a wizard who has arrived from Asia Minor.
This wizard appears to be half a foot in the grave, emanating a strong sense of decay. Mahmud II instinctively wrinkles his nose and covers it with his hand: "You are Iskander, the renowned Curse Master of the Black Sheep Tribe?"
The wizard raises his head, showing eyes devoid of pupils, sending a chill through one's heart.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Suppressing the discomfort rising within him, Mahmud II says somewhat impatiently, "Can you curse the Emperor of Greece?"
"Certainly, my Majesty."
The wizard's lips curl into a peculiar smile, his voice hoarse and dreadful like a venomous snake: "However, to curse a monarch requires a terrible price. Your Majesty, what price are you willing to pay for this Greek Emperor?"
"Ha, don't think I'm unaware. The populace under that Greek Emperor's rule is less than a hundred thousand. He has a title but is no more than a minor lord. Iskander, being too greedy won't end well for you here."
Mahmud II's eyes flash with a golden radiance. Although a secular monarch, he has understood the Extraordinary World deeply since childhood; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of using a curse to deal with the Greek Emperor.
After his deceit is exposed, the wizard does not appear embarrassed, only smiling as he says, "I need a strand of the Greek Emperor's hair."
Immediately, an attendant presents a tray.
Before assuming the throne, Constantine XI had personally led an expedition to Moliya, making contact with him not too difficult. Even after his ascension, his court isn't impenetrable against infiltration.
The Ottomans have long infiltrated Constantinople, so obtaining a strand of hair is not a challenge.
The curse master takes the hair, and without any visible action, it immediately turns into a cloud of black smoke. In that moment, within the smoke, countless evil spirits seem to roar. In the tent, everyone apart from Mahmud II turns pale, horrified by the sight.
The black smoke rushes out of the tent, seemingly with life, flying towards Constantinople.
The elderly wizard looks quite satisfied with the reactions from those in the tent, urging the magic with a face full of pride.
But suddenly.
His body begins to tremble like in a seizure.
Foam trickles from the corners of his mouth.
He shivers continuously, his teeth clattering with a creaking sound.
Witnessing this anomaly, Mahmud II thought it was part of the curse master's ritual, but after a while, the old wizard stopped shaking, yet dark blood spurted from his mouth.
He suddenly opens his eyes, which are entirely white except for two small black dots.
He says incredulously: "Emperor's Dragon Qi, how is this possible? The Taixi also has Emperor's Dragon Qi?"
And then, with a thud, he collapses to the ground.
An eunuch beside Mahmud II bravely steps forward to check, and with a horrified expression, says, "Your Majesty, he's no longer breathing?"
Mahmud II, observing this ludicrous scene, looks extremely grim. He never imagined that someone he once regarded as no more than a cricket in a clay pot, forever unable to leap out of its prison with mere courage, had genuinely become his formidable enemy.
No matter what he does, it seems that facing this person, all he finds is defeat.
"Throw this worthless old thing into the sea!"
He snorts coldly and rises, sweeping his sleeves as he leaves.
...
Three days later.
At the port.
A massive ship, tens of meters long, is slowly docking under the escort of over a dozen galley warships.
The eye-catching aspect is a giant iron cage on the ship's deck, containing a sleeping four-legged giant dragon with red scale armor.
Along the way, people who see this fierce beast exclaim in fear and astonishment.
Though in the Ottoman Royal Family, almost all who could threaten Mahmud II's position have died, their dragons remain.
After each previous monarch passed away, their dragons were not easily tamed by successors. Mahmud II, having inherited Murad II's Three-headed Demon Dragon, is indeed among the few.
These unruly giants reside in the Dragon Garden, a vast area built by successive Ottoman monarchs, occasionally causing commotion.
Devouring an occasional person is nothing; sometimes snatching a few livestock is less noteworthy.
But the issue is that to keep these dragons in line requires providing vast amounts of food within the Dragon Garden, and it must be fresh meat; otherwise, these ferocious beasts will surely fly out to create havoc.
In Mahmud II's eyes, these dragons that cannot be used effectively are no doubt a group of worthless entities that require a lot of resources to maintain without yielding returns.
And now, evidently, it's time for waste utilization.
Yet these creatures aren't tame, and given their high resistance to drugs, transporting them to the battlefield requires multiple casters working together, which takes time.
"Your Majesty, the red lightning of the previous king has arrived!"
An attendant announces.
Here, the previous king is not Mahmud II's father, Murad II, but rather his grandfather, Mahmud I, the son of Lightning Bayezid, who ended the Interregnum period single-handedly and was known as "The Conqueror."
The red lightning was the dragon he left behind, old with immense strength, second only to the Three-headed Demon Dragon.
"I understand."
His expression sharpens, and he rises and approaches.
Just then, the Three-headed Demon Dragon, which usually appeared lazy and sluggish, suddenly raises its heads alertly, looking into the distance.
...
The joining of the Hospital Knight Order has not shifted the balance of power between enemy and ally.
These knights excel at boosting morale,
"I understand."
His expression sharpens, and he rises and approaches.
Just then, the Three-headed Demon Dragon, which usually appeared lazy and sluggish, suddenly raises its heads alertly, looking into the distance.
...
The joining of the Hospital Knight Order has not shifted the balance of power between enemy and ally.
These knights excel at boosting morale,
"I understand."
His expression sharpens, and he rises and approaches.
Just then, the Three-headed Demon Dragon, which usually appeared lazy and sluggish, suddenly raises its heads alertly, looking into the distance.
...
The joining of the Hospital Knight Order has not shifted the balance of power between enemy and ally.
These knights excel at boosting morale,