Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 159 - 63 Meeting

Chapter 159: Chapter 63 Meeting

No one had ever reached the summit of the Olympia Tree.

The highest point accessible to the citizens within the city was the Great Arena located at the top of the trunk. Beyond that, there were branches spreading in all directions, all part of the military’s exclusive zone.

Due to the extremely irregular direction of the branches, there were no "subway elevators" characteristic of Olympia City. Instead, steps were constructed along the branches.

The three climbed the steps of the thickest branch and finally arrived at a rooftop terrace.

This should be the very top of the Olympia Tree, for the branches and leaves spread out in all directions were beneath their feet. The altitude they had reached was nearing five thousand meters, putting them in the "oxygen-deficient layer" where the air was thin.

Aske and Peggy were fine, but Thira, who lacked physical power, was already gasping for breath, showing slight symptoms of altitude sickness.

There was a person standing on the rooftop terrace, who appeared to be in his forties or fifties, standing at the edge of the railing-less terrace with his hands clasped behind his back, silently overlooking the distant horizon.

Since the other party didn’t speak, Aske didn’t greet him either, just helped Thira sit down to rest along with Peggy.

"You are more patient than I expected, Lord Aske," said the other party, finally turning around after about twenty minutes.

The City Lord of Olympia City, Apilius.

"Lord Apilius," Aske couldn’t help but silently comment on how difficult the name was to pronounce before smiling and saying, "I thought you were lost in thought."

"The relationship with the West has indeed taken much of my energy," responded Apilius coolly. "That’s why it took until today for me to meet with you all, members of The Azure Longsword."

"Thank you for your contributions to Olympia City and the Empire in the battle against the Crusader invasion. I have already authorized Quintus to grant you access to Arcane Sequence Level II privileges. Some are ready-made Magic Potions, but more are the formulas which you may freely exchange for on merit."

"Thank you," said Aske.

"Don’t mention it," replied Apilius, waving his hand before turning back around.

Aske wasn’t foolish enough to just leave; as a city master, the other person obviously wouldn’t have called him to such a place just to inform him of a minor matter like military merit exchange.

Seeing that Apilius still didn’t speak, Aske got the message.

This was a setup for negotiations.

"I have one more matter I would like to propose a trade for with the City Lord," Aske spoke up.

Apilius tilted his head slightly, giving him a faint glance.

"The Undead Illusion Sword," Aske said aloud. "We want to trade with the Undead Illusion Sword."

Peggy was startled by this. She didn’t expect Aske to suddenly reveal this secret right there, especially not to the City Lord of Olympia City.

However, because she trusted Aske, she didn’t interrupt. She just watched the city master’s facial expressions carefully.

Apilius was expressionless, as if all this was within his expectations.

"What do you want?" he asked, his tone indifferent.

"Help her master the Undead Illusion Sword," Aske placed his hand on Peggy’s shoulder, signaling her to calm down, "and, the original text of ’The Song of Roland’ that records Charlemagne’s Holy Sword."

"That’s not equivalent," Apilius said.

"Equivalent," Aske said, "the text of the Undead Illusion Sword in exchange for the text of Charlemagne’s Holy Sword; you help her master the Undead Illusion Sword in exchange for our help in defending Olympia City."

"You must be mistaken," Apilius said indifferently, "although Olympia City is under siege, it is far from falling to the Latin Crusaders due to the lack of participation from one mercenary group."

"Of course, Olympia City will not fall to the Crusaders," Aske responded steadily, "The Eden Tree, as an extraordinary creature, has robust defensive and offensive capabilities of its own—Life Cage, Ash Branch Gun Rain—all capable of protecting the city and instantly annihilating the siege units beneath the mountain. Even if the Crusaders’ numbers were to double, it would be in vain."

"What you are truly wary of is the coming Magic Tide! And the inevitable uprising and riots of extraordinary creatures that follow the Tide! That is what truly threatens the existence of Olympia City!"

"So, you stirred up the undead mutant, attempting to seize Alexander’s corpse and uncover the hidden aspects of ’Undead Illusion Sword,’ right? Even if the Magic Tide’s Level Limit rises to 10, as a Demigod, you still cannot exert enough power, but can only rely on Extraordinary Swordsmanship like the Undead Illusion Sword that can transcend levels, trying to defend all of Olympia during the extraordinary creatures’ revolt!"

"By now, the Seed of Consciousness of the Undead Illusion Sword has already been obtained by us, even if you eventually get the corresponding original text, the learning time will also be extended due to the distortion of the text, taking at least over ten years."

"How about you help Peggy master the Undead Illusion Sword instead? In return, her Undead Illusion Sword will provide you with strong support in the defense of the city. As for the exchange of texts of the two Extraordinary Swordsmanship, it is merely an added bonus to this transaction."

Apilius looked at him coldly.

After a long time, a faint, barely discernible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"So, did Rasul tell you?" he asked leisurely.

"He gave me a hint," Aske said, "but of course, it wasn’t hard to guess on its own."

"Indeed," Apilius’s gaze fell on Thira, who wore a mask, "After all, with my little princess by your side, how could you not guess?"

"Grandfather..." Thira, in disbelief, took off her mask, "you recognized me?"

"What else? Did you think that with your ’Storm I,’ you could resist the controlled flames of a High Sequence Ability by a Demigod?" Apilius said, shaking his head.

Thira stood there stunned, then suddenly rushed forward to embrace Apilius, unable to hold back her sobs.

"Why did you become a mercenary?" Apilius waxed emotional, gently stroking her ink-black hair, the cold expression that had been on his face finally yielding to a look of pity, "Wouldn’t it have been better to go with your sister to Athens?"

"She’s not my sister," Thira replied with a hurt expression. It was only in the presence of her dear grandfather that she allowed herself the emotions typical of a girl her age, "She bullies me! She even locked me up!"

"If she wasn’t your sister, why would she only lock you up? You’re aware of the viciousness of the Empire’s political purges, aren’t you?" Apilius sighed, clearly disapproving of Zoe’s actions.

"Zoe, she’s high-handed and incompetent, not made to rule. Losing Constantinople might even be a good thing; at least in the region of the Achaean Peninsula, my Olympia can still ensure her safety."

"As for you, little Theodora, if you don’t want to go to Athens, you can stay here in Olympia, and live with your grandfather and your uncle."

Thira hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Aske.

Aske gestured with his hand, signaling for her to make her own choice.

After all, in the presence of a Demigod, he certainly couldn’t outright try to whisk the man’s granddaughter away.

"Grandfather," Thira pondered for a long time before she seemed to make up her mind.