Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 160 - 64 A Friendly Reminder

Chapter 160: Chapter 64 A Friendly Reminder

"I want to continue following Aske," she replied.

Apilius keenly discerned that she did not "want to be a mercenary" but rather wanted to "follow Aske." He couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows and asked with a smile,

"His strength is not bad, but he’s chosen the wrong path."

"Being a mercenary is a career with no future. Living a nomadic life roaming from place to place, subsisting on the chaos of war, you’ll eventually be rejected by the lords everywhere."

"Lords only see mercenaries as a temporary source to bolster their military might. Once their own military establishment is complete, they will view mercenaries as a threat to public security, a dire concern for their hearts."

"The rise of the Magic Tide is imminent. Transcendents will soon ascend to the secular stage. According to the historical pattern of each era, the lordly and noble classes will merge with the High Rank Transcendents, eventually forming a stable ruling class of the extraordinary. By then, there will be even less room in the world for mercenaries."

"What you need to do is to settle down as soon as possible, leveraging the influence and resources of Olympia to steadily improve your own rank. This way, even if the Magic Tide rises quickly and new powers emerge, you can protect your existing influence and status with your own strength."

"And not wander the world with a mercenary, only to die in some savage corner unknown to anyone."

Aske listened by the side, his expression noncommittal, but inwardly he chuckled to himself.

This kind of thinking of Apilius’s represented a very marketable school of thought among former players, known as the "Farming School."

The essence of the "Farming School" was not to explore relics and mutant instances, nor to join battlefields to absorb extraordinary power and level up attributes. Instead, it focused on interacting with NPC factions, improving reputation and faction strength, and taking advantage of gained status to ultimately reap benefits.

Compared to the players’ traditional adventures of swords and magic, the Farming School was weak in the early stages and only began to gain strength later on, but it was also deeply loved by RPG role-play enthusiasts.

However, game companies decided to transition to an esports direction starting with Version Seven, hence the introduction of various gameplay elements that encouraged in-game PvP, severely weakening the PvE gameplay.

The most typical example was the Demigod Rank. To encourage players to level up quickly and improve proficiency, the designers came up with a setting of "an unprecedentedly powerful Magic Tide," leading to a significant enhancement of the Demigod Rank.

The forum saying "Below Demigod, the body is but mortal flesh" came about this way, meaning once you rose to the Demigod Level, it was basically impossible for an ordinary person not at the Demigod Realm to kill you.

Thus, the Farming School players’ flaw of slow progress was exposed: You painstakingly farm and develop your power, while others have already ascended to Demigod.

You have an army of thousands, they defeat it with one punch.

You have high authority and status, they defeat it with one punch.

You rule over the seas, they defeat it with one punch.

Of course, "defeat it with one punch" was an exaggeration, but that was the gist of it. Similar sayings included "Kill and set fires, earn a belt of gold; head down to farm and you’ll be out in the cold," and so on.

"Grandfather," Thira said calmly, "if I stay here, can you help me revive the East Solomon Empire?"

Apilius was taken aback and found himself speechless.

With the recent rise in the strength of the Seljuk Empire, it was clear to anyone with eyes that even with the return of the Magic Tide, the revival of the East Solomon Empire seemed unlikely. The Transcendents and Demigods on the opposite side were no fewer than those on Sirius’s side.

Unable to subdue Constantinople and claiming to be the "East Solomon Empire" while holed up on the Achaean Peninsula would simply be deceiving oneself.

"Even if the empire has lost its future, at least grandfather hopes you can have your own life," Apilius said slowly.

"So, grandfather, I have already chosen my own life," Thira looked at him seriously.

Apilius was momentarily out of sorts.

In Theodora’s eyes, he vaguely saw the shadow of his daughter, Helena.

As a child born to suppress her bloodline with the strength of a Demigod, his daughter Helena was naturally frail. Childbearing would cause great harm to her body.

However, as the Queen of the Empire, she could not be without offspring. Therefore, when Apilius had tried to persuade her at the time, she just stared at him firmly and stubbornly, earnestly saying:

"Father, I want to have a normal family."

Such an expression made it impossible for Apilius to refuse. Now, from Theodora’s eyes, what he saw was the shadow of Helena.

Grandchildren have their own paths to follow; you can’t choose their lives for them.

Apilius took a deep breath and said with difficulty,

"Fine."

He turned his head toward Aske, his expression gradually turning cold:

"Aske, what I regret the most now is that I didn’t kill you back when the Netherworld overlapped."

"Since it has come to this, I won’t strike you again. However, if one day you dare to let down Theodora, I will make you understand what it means to ’never rest in peace even in death’!"

Thira: ???

Aske: ???

"Grandpa!" Thira cried out in embarrassment and annoyance.

Aske was completely baffled, but he quickly caught on to the double entendre in Apilius’s "let down," which could imply either an emotional betrayal or a betrayal of ideals.

No matter if you’re in love or kindred spirits, you’re done for if you dare make Theodora sad. That’s what Apilius meant.

What else could Aske say to that? He could only smile politely.

Luckily, Apilius didn’t press him for a commitment. In response to Thira’s embarrassed and angry shouting, he immediately put on a stern face and said,

"What? Is it so wrong for grandpa to teach him a lesson for you?"

Thira was such a clever girl and instantly realized that Apilius was not aware of the true nature of her relationship with Aske, which is why he used such an ambiguous and indirect way of chastising.

Even so, she still felt a twinge of embarrassed shame and retorted persistently,

"But you shouldn’t use such ambiguous language."

"Hmph." Apilius flicked his sleeve, "I really don’t want to bother with the affairs of you young people. But as you are my granddaughter, you cannot be humiliated by anyone outside."

"If you ever feel tired one day, come back to Olympia as soon as you can." He looked at the charming and cute face of his granddaughter, his eyes softening again.

——————

Aske led the two girls downstairs.

"Phew." Thira let out a long sigh of relief, clasped her hands together, and smiled radiantly, "It’s truly great to have been acknowledged by grandpa."

"Thira," Aske chuckled, "When we settle military rewards in a few days and exchange goods, can you have your uncle give us a discount?"

"Hey!" Thira called out, "That’s the wealth of my family! You actually want to swindle money from my family?"

"Don’t make it sound so ugly, alright? The money is being spent on us after all," Aske argued.

"Alright." Said Thira, "If my maternal family is to give extra benefits, then I’ll include that subsidy in the team equity proportion."

"Do we need to be so calculative?" Aske complained.

"Peggy?" Thira suddenly noticed that Peggy next to her looked a little unwell, wondering if her own reunion with kin had evoked sadness about her parents’ passing. She quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulder and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine." Peggy responded gloomily, her right hand unconsciously caressing the hilt of her sword at her waist.