A month later, the Crusaders finally reconquered Constantinople.

The above sentence is understated because the process of reconquest was indeed rather understated.

Since The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps cleared the path to Constantinople and expelled all the Demigods along the way, the Crusaders found clearing operations incredibly easy.

In just over half a month, the Crusaders had already amassed their heavy troops outside the Theodosius Wall, commencing exchanges of cannonfire with the Seljuks inside Constantinople.

A week later, the cannon power within the city gradually diminished. The Crusaders, realizing something was off, launched a probing attack on the city and unexpectedly seized the walls.

As the Seljuks scattered within the city's districts relinquished their weapons and surrendered, the Crusaders finally realized that Emperor Solomon, who initially engaged in cannon exchanges with them, had secretly transferred most of his forces through Golden Horn Bay towards Asia Minor.

The cannons firing from the city adopted an increased ratio of smoke shells over time, using vast amounts of smoke to mask the reduction of actual cannon firepower, allowing the Seljuks to pull off a secretive shifting of their active forces to the East right under the Crusaders' noses.

This outcome had both positives and negatives:

The advantage was that Constantinople was preserved intact. To avoid drawing attention, Solomon didn't have enough time or manpower to transport the citizens of Constantinople, ensuring they weren't plundered or killed as expendables in a brutal siege.

The downside was that the upcoming reconquest of Asia Minor would be difficult. Initially, the Crusaders' goal was merely to reclaim Constantinople; Asia Minor wasn't included in the Holy War contract, meaning they'd have to pay more.

Moreover, with the population and resources of Asia Minor at stake, failing to reconquer it would leave Constantinople facing threats from the Eastern Border, and reclaiming it wasn't a task to be completed overnight.

Ultimately, Solomon's treacherous cunning was evident: had he chosen to defend Constantinople to the end, the Crusaders, with their superior forces, could have first crossed the sea to reclaim the western part of Asia Minor, cutting off Solomon's eastern retreat.

In short, although they had reclaimed Constantinople, laying the foundation for the restoration of the East Solomon Empire, Theodora felt no happiness at that moment.

More precisely, the myriad tasks from enthronement to counter-attacking Asia Minor diluted her joy and sense of achievement, instead causing her more distress.

For instance, she lacked a reliable bureaucratic team to integrate the remaining resources of Constantinople; and the Eastern Border's military threat became increasingly serious, with the Seljuks taking away much of the fleet, leaving virtually zero usable naval power within the city.

Additionally, diplomatic squabbles with the Crusaders consumed much of her energy, especially given the severe precedent (referring to the first Crusader leader deliberately dragging out negotiations with her while covertly inciting Crusader Knights to plunder Constantinople), she dared not let her guard down.

And then there was the matter of a man who had initially promised to become the Co-Ruling Emperor, now leisurely wandering Constantinople with other ladies, making Theodora nearly feel like biting him.

Compared to Theodora's busyness and frustration, the other members of The Azure Longsword were rather relaxed, currently exploring various locations from their reminiscences.

"Look, it's Saint Oli Hotel!" Nora pointed to the upscale hotel across the street, "Ellie, remember? I used to stay there for a month."

"I later brought Aske over to introduce to you." Eleanor smiled, "I remember Peggy performed a characteristic of the Flesh Sequence which scared you into tears."

"She actually scared me to puke, thank you." Nora said earnestly, "My psyche isn't that fragile."

"I remember Aske's house was nearby, right?" Medea suddenly said, "Wanna visit?"

"I want to go check out the 'Sunken Palace'!" Little Mia raised her hand and said, "Maybe everyone from the Thief Guild has returned?"

"I'd also like to visit the Constantinople Arena." Sigrdrifa said earnestly, "Though our teammates are unlikely to have survived till now, maybe I could spot a familiar face?"

"Alright, why don't you all go ahead." Aske agreed.

So Mia led Miel towards the Sunken Palace, while Sigrdrifa casually headed towards the Great Arena. Aske led Nora, Eleanor, Peggy, and Medea in the direction of the Achilles Mansion.

The exterior of the Achilles Mansion was still intact, but inside remained in a dilapidated state. Back then, Aske had reported a family of Vampires to the Orthodox Church, and an Iron-armored Holy Cavalry squad stormed in and completely wrecked the interior. Though some new furniture was added afterward, it was later taken to Fire Island upon leaving, leaving virtually nothing behind.

Perhaps because of this, although the mansion's locks had been pried open, there were no signs of habitation inside, indicating intruders hadn't realized it was an abandoned house.

Next to it stood Peggy's family mansion, initially burned to rubble due to the Vampire affair. Later, cleared out because of Stove Fire Manor construction, it became a temporary storage point for building materials — now occupied by a family of paupers who built a makeshift shelter there.

Peggy stared blankly at her home's ruins while a raggedly dressed little girl played with a ball at the doorstep. Soon her mother emerged from within, pulling the girl back into the shelter.

"What are you doing?" Aske suddenly tapped her shoulder, "Let's go."

"Oh." Peggy quickly followed.

The group of five passed through the empty entrance hall. Many planks had been pried away to serve as winter heating fuel.

Turning past the second floor and ascending to the third-floor study, a circle of five chairs surrounded the central carpet appeared before them.

It was right here that Aske and Medea had imparted some introductory knowledge about Transcendents to everyone, thus opening the portal to a new world for Nora, Eleanor, and Peggy.

Consequently, everyone nostalgically sat in their original spots, exchanging glances filled with emotion, unable to contain their laughter.

"Ahem." Medea cleared her throat with a coquettish giggle, "Do you all want to become Transcendents? I have the Magic Potion Recipe of the Mind Sequence."

Eleanor froze slightly upon hearing this, though Nora quickly realized she was reenacting an old scene and feigning ignorance with a shy response:

"Mind Sequence, huh? What abilities does it entail specifically?"

"Mind I allows a Transcendent to perceive the presence of nearby Mind Bodies…" Medea proceeded to recount the knowledge of the Mind Sequence.

Of course, Nora was already thoroughly familiar with this information, but she still dutifully pretended to jot notes in a notebook, feigning earnestness.

"So, what exactly is a Mind Body?" she chuckled, asking Medea.

"Well, a Mind Body is…" Medea started, but Eleanor interrupted her saying, "No, I remember you mentioned charging a fee back then!"

"Did I?" Medea played dumb. She actually remembered the initial price was 15 pounds, but it seemed ridiculous to fuss over such small change now.

"Where did we go afterward?" Aske inquired.

"I think it was to some Transcendent gathering," Medea said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Then we mentioned collecting materials." Peggy also recalled.

"Right." Aske remembered, "I initially went to the Thief Guild to buy materials from Mia over there…"

So everyone reminisced again.

Back then, they were just at Lv.0-Lv.2, endlessly scrambling for recipes and Spiritual Materials. Today, most of them had reached the Demigod Rank, yet recalling the past felt like it happened yesterday, vividly clear in their minds.

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