Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 146 - 50: Return to the City

Chapter 146: Chapter 50: Return to the City

The Azure Longsword?

All the mercenaries fell silent.

Was this terrifying crater, as if blasted by a bomb, really caused by people from the Azure Longsword?

"I’m not quite sure about that," Aske responded to the gaze of the arcane mages.

"Heh," Orlin chuckled faintly, not pressing further.

Whether it was your people who did it or not, I’m definitely going to write that it was you in my report.

The group lingered at the edge of the pit for a moment before deciding to move on, with some of the passing mercenaries curiously touching the remnants of the power armor, attempting to pry it open from the outside.

Of course, they couldn’t open it; the framework had twisted and deformed.

"My God," the mercenary exclaimed, amazed. Such sturdy power armor, yet it could be melted by so-called high temperatures—just how terrifying must the arcane mages’ flame ability be?

And such a fearsome ability comes from someone in The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps?!

Most of the remaining mercenaries thought about this too and immediately completed a swift allegiance shift in their minds, discarding any thoughts of hostility toward The Azure Longsword.

Jealousy? Curses? How could that be, when they’re so formidable? We’re not even worthy of their admiration.

Quite a few fence-sitters even cast sympathetic glances at Hogg, who had been the one spewing taunts earlier.

Their looks clearly said: you’re done for.

Having offended such a powerful mercenary group, you might as well start preparing for the afterlife, perhaps find a priest to arrange a last confession!

Hogg’s face had gone deathly pale.

If he had seen this "power armor graveyard" sooner, where would he have gotten the audacity to provocatively jump out and taunt the others?

He would have been hiding at the back of the crowd without making a sound.

He even put himself in Aske’s shoes, fearfully thinking that Aske’s reason for not dealing with him might only be out of consideration for the presence of Rudashus and these Spartans.

Once they returned to the city and everyone dispersed for free time activities, perhaps people from The Azure Longsword would block him in an alleyway and use flames to roast and completely dispose of his body.

A kind of terrifying panic climbed up from the bottom of his heart like vines.

No! I must escape quickly, I can’t just sit here and wait for death!

Cautiously, he slowed down his pace, gradually falling toward the back of the group.

As he passed by the people of The Azure Longsword, his heartbeat suddenly quickened as if it might leap out of his chest.

"Are you okay?" Nora, who happened to pass by him, saw his extremely pale face and asked with concern.

"I’m fine, just don’t burn me!" Hogg, terrified out of his wits, didn’t think twice before he turned to flee.

"Come back! Stop!" Rudashus, noticing someone fleeing from the group, immediately shouted at his fleeing figure.

Hogg didn’t look back at all, and on hearing the shout, he ran even faster until Rudashus took a long spear from a companion and expertly threw it, impaling the unfortunate mercenary to the ground from behind.

"Anyone who deserts without military orders will be executed on the spot like this!" he said sternly, turning his cold gaze toward the mercenaries.

The mercenaries fell silent, each one bowing their head to continue on their way.

Aske, thoughtfully, looked again at Medea.

"I just wanted to teach him a lesson," Medea shrugged her shoulders, "It was his fault that you suspected me... However, the decisiveness and ruthlessness of the Spartans did take me by surprise."

——————

Upon returning to Olin City, the mercenaries were welcomed with lined streets by the city’s residents.

In autonomous city-states like Olin City, the citizens possessed a strong sense of honor. After all, most had never left the mountains their entire lives, and if one day the city were to fall to the Crusaders, these people wouldn’t even know where to flee.

According to Sirius customs, a victory in battle naturally called for a "celebration banquet." This term in Ancient Sirius was written as though clearly, different nations had different interpretations of this word.

The mages of Olin City believed that a so-called banquet meant discussing academics while casually having some wine to keep the energy up.

The Spartans and mercenaries thought that a banquet meant everyone drinking together until all were downed or someone was downed.

Therefore, in the main hall of the True Vine Hotel in Olin City, the banquet guests were clearly divided into two groups:

One side continuously talked while holding wine cups, while the other kept pouring wine into their mouths from their cups.

The girls from The Azure Longsword were fortunate, being part of the mercenary group, thus they were not dragged into academic discussions by the mages.

Additionally, it didn’t make much sense to force drinks on the young women, especially when some were underage.

Thus, the Spartans did not solicit drinks from them but instead assigned a separate table for the girls, ordering some light, tasty dishes and also beverages like juice, honey, and milk.

Seeing this, the mercenaries naturally did not bother them, especially since the Spartans had returned embracing a large vat of wine.

Thus, another intense battle began.

On the hotel’s balcony, Lord Aske held a wine cup, contemplating the scenery outside while sipping his wine.

This hotel was actually built on the edge of the trunk of the Olympia Tree, so one could see the surrounding mountains from the balcony’s vantage point, along with the stars under the night sky.

"Lord Aske." The voice of the City Lord’s son, the young noble officer Quintus, came from behind, his hands also holding a wine cup, leisurely leaning on the railing.

"What are you looking at?" he asked with a smile.

"The view here is quite nice," Aske replied.

"Yes, aside from the Alps, the Olympia Tree on Mount Olympus is the highest point that humans can reach on foot," Quintus spoke confidently, "In fact, Olympia City is the highest city in the world and a city of hope for the Transcendents."

"I hope it doesn’t fall into the hands of the Latin Crusaders," Aske said.

"I hope it doesn’t fall into the hands of the Latin Crusaders," Quintus lifted his wine cup, repeating his words, "You know, when the name The Azure Longsword appeared in the battle reports, our intelligence officers had suspicions about you."

"After all, your mercenary group previously had no fame, and the battle report recorded was too exaggerated, leading the Federation Intelligence Bureau to even think that you were colluding with the Latin Crusaders, staging a play to deceive our trust."

"However, my father later dismissed their suspicions," Quintus continued, staring into the distance, "After all, your last name is Achilles."

"Can a last name prove anything?" Aske asked with a smile.

"A last name cannot prove anything, yet it can prove a lot," Quintus said, paradoxically.

Then, he lightly patted the railing and spoke with a tone filled with aged contemplation:

"Achilles... Your bloodline originated from Dragon Country, but your roots are in Sirius. From the moment your ancestors chose to stay here, the name Achilles became the bond between you and this land."

"Throughout the generations, all Achilles have been Transcendents, even possessing the bloodline of ’Weapon Master.’ It seems you are not affected by the negative fertility impacts of Extraordinary Abilities, possessing extraordinary advantages in endurance and agility, while the Weapon Master bloodline brings your physical prowess to its peak."

Aske understood the underlying meaning of his words: The Achilles family, throughout generations, had been Weapon Master bloodlines, almost equating to an Extraordinary Family (though only he remained in contemporary times).

Any somewhat renowned Extraordinary Family would not choose to collaborate with the Catholic Crusaders.

Because once such a cooperative relationship became known to the Church Court, it meant betrayal, persecution, and the stake.