Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 65 - 65 54 A Secret Rendezvous by Moonlight

65: Chapter 54: A Secret Rendezvous by Moonlight 65: Chapter 54: A Secret Rendezvous by Moonlight “A glass of vodka,” Sigrdrifa ordered.

Lege was a small village nestled in the Rhodope Valley, with a population of just over two hundred people living there.

The liveliest spot in the village was the tavern built by the river, locally known as “Old Daddy’s Tavern”.

As evening came, it was a favorite spot for all, from the farmers to the hunters in the village, who liked to drop by for a drink.

Today, however, there were many new faces, appearing to be mercenaries.

The villagers, seated in small groups at the round tables, stole glances toward the bar where seven or eight foreigners were sitting, whispering amongst themselves.

Besides the squad leader who was male, the rest were all women.

Hmm, they must be nobles from somewhere, with some indeed enjoying being surrounded by beauties like this.

As for why they’re dressed as mercenaries, that must be a peculiar noble hobby.

“Your Balkan vodka,” the tavern owner, nicknamed “Old Daddy”, poured a glass for Sigrdrifa and pushed it toward her.

“That’s strong!” Sigrdrifa downed it in one gulp, her cheeks flushing red as she burped in appreciation, “Another one.”

“You’ve got quite a tolerance for drink, young lady,” Old Daddy said with a smile, pouring her another.

“I’ll have a gin,” Eleanor said.

“Then I’ll have a fruit brandy,” Nora added, looking at the menu.

“Bloody Mary,” Medea snapped her fingers.

“I’ll have a Flying Dutchman cocktail,” Mia raised her hand and exclaimed.

“Kids can’t drink alcohol!” Nora forcefully pushed down her hand, turning to Old Daddy, “Do you have any juice?”

“We’ve got non-alcoholic raspberry sweet wine,” Old Daddy chuckled.

“Damn, why can you all drink and I have to have juice?” Mia fumed, baring her teeth and claws, only to be swiftly subdued by a slap on the back of her neck from Nora, as if she were petting a cat.

Under Nora’s grip, Mia could only voice her displeasure with a grumbling purr.

“I’ll take a draft beer,” Aske finally said, “What will Peggy have?”

“Just ice water for me, thank you,” Peggy replied.

Soon, Old Daddy had prepared all the drinks and placed the cups in front of everyone.

“Who would have thought that even a small village like this would have a bartender,” Medea said with a sidelong glance and a smile.

“Ah, I’m no bartender, just a barkeep,” Old Daddy replied, “I learned a bit about mixing drinks when I was younger and working in Constantinople.

Have you been to Constantinople?”

“Been there,” Aske said, “I’ve heard the Seljuks are nearly at Nicaea City.

Constantinople must be in danger now too.”

“The Seljuks, eh?

A primitive and backward country,” Old Daddy shook his head, “Heard that every family there is required to have four children.

How can they breed so much?

My old lady had two and just looking after them is enough to kill her.

If we had two more, I can’t even imagine.”

“The fear is they’ll really come marching here one day, and then we won’t have any say in the matter,” Aske said.

“No way, nothing will happen to Constantinople.

It’s got three layers of giant city walls,” Old Daddy laughed nonchalantly, “Besides, with both Their Majesties there, God will protect Constantinople.”

Aske didn’t argue, just quietly finished his beer and put down his glass, “Got anything to eat?”

“For snacks, we have grilled squirrel skewers, seared lamb chops, and pies filled with apple puree.”

“We’ll take some of each,” Aske took out some silver coins and placed them on the table.

“This raspberry sweet wine is pretty good,” Miel told Mia.

“Humph, I won’t drink it!” Mia pouted, “What’s the point without alcohol?

Back when I was in the guild…

wuwuwu.”

She couldn’t finish her sentence because Nora stuffed a piece of pie into her mouth.

“This lamb chop here is particularly tender,” Eleanor said as she pulled the bone out of a chop, speaking to Sigrdrifa, “The mutton from our place tends to be tougher but has more chew.”

“Northern people hardly ever eat mutton,” Sigrdrifa said, tearing into her lamb chop ferociously.

“So, what do you eat?” Eleanor asked curiously.

“Mainly smoked salmon,” Sigrdrifa said with her mouth full, “And whale meat, seal meat, and walrus meat.”

“Whale?” Eleanor put down her fork, “What does it taste like?”

“Similar to fish steak, but it has a very thick layer of fat,” Sigrdrifa explained, “We usually smoke it so it can last half a year.

I reckon you wouldn’t be used to the smoked taste.”

“I could handle it,” Eleanor mused, “We have smoked bacon, sausage, and pork knuckles back home, all made from pork.

Sometimes we go bear hunting and then eat the bear meat.”

“Oh, bear meat is delicious!” Sigrdrifa’s eyes lit up, “Occasionally, we hunt polar bears.

There’s an island in the North Sea called Svalbard with lots of wild animals.”

“Do you use guns to hunt bears?” Eleanor asked.

“No, we shoot them with arrows,” Sigrdrifa said, “Long arrows.”

They all continued eating and drinking into the night, before staggering back to Fire Island, drunk.

On Fire Island, the girls had constructed a simple wooden house with four double beds inside.

The climate of the half-plane was similar to a temperate maritime one, with a 24-hour day-night cycle synchronized with the outside world, so staying on Fire Island also saved on accommodation costs.

Aske went alone to the shallow riverbank and found a large rock to sit on.

The moonlight spilled above, gilding the river’s surface with a faint silver sheen.

He gazed at the water in silence, replaying the upcoming plan in his mind again.

According to the main storyline, Constantinople would soon face betrayal by the Venetians and fall into chaos under the attack of the Franks.

The attack would end in failure, followed by a coup in the upper echelons of the Royal Family.

Theodora would be imprisoned in the Monastery by Zoe.

Then, Guard Captain Michael and Varomina, the imperial ink officer, would incite a riot among the citizens in the Imperial City, rescue Theodora from the Monastery, and force Zoe to swear not to engage in a fratricidal war.

Immediately after, the Seljuk would officially land on the Thrace Plain, plunging Constantinople into a two-month siege.

In the end, the city of Constantinople would fall, with both empresses fleeing to the Sirius Province.

This roller-coaster of a main plot had been ridiculed many times by players, such as the sisters engaging in infighting while facing national calamity, and the Guard Captain somehow being able to incite a rebellion among the citizens—unreasonable and not rigorous, and so on.

As a result, the game design team issued a long justification statement which, in summary, was just nine words:

Dear players, I am your “Dad.”

There really is nothing to discuss.

After the famous film “Titanic” was released, there were rational-minded audience members who scientifically proved that a wooden board in the sea could completely hold two people, and that Jack didn’t have to give up the board to Rose and die.

Then, director Cameron said, “This is art.

Do you understand art?

Art doesn’t need to consider physics.”

I clarified in my script by page 147, the male lead must die; if he doesn’t die, the movie cannot end.

Even if he doesn’t die by drowning in the sea, the scriptwriter would arrange some other element to cause his death.

Similarly, since the game design team has made their arrangements, following the main plotline, the Venetians would definitely be driven by greed, inciting the Frank Knights to attack Constantinople, and Zoe would certainly make a move against her younger sister in order to grasp power, and eventually, Constantinople would definitely fall to the Seljuk.

The game is called “Iron and Fire,” intended to let players experience the splendor and cruelty of war.

The public test phase sacrifices an empire to set the stage for the epic of all-out war that lasts a decade.

Version 1, the Blood War of the Balkan; Version 2, Divine Luo Civil War; Version 3, Fight the Church Court…

Each version has at least one national war, with NPC casualties counted by the tens of millions, and player deaths numbering over a hundred million.

Also for this reason, Aske, since arriving in this world, had been so eager to recruit members, complete quests, run instances, gear up, concoct Magic Potions, and push progress according to the guide every day, so busy that he had no time to rest.

Medea’s observation that he was mentally exhausted was not unfounded.

He was indeed very tired, but now was not the time to stop and rest.

From the public testing phase to Version 1, the level limit is Level 5.

By the end of Version 1, his squad had to reach full team Level 5; Version 2 they aimed for Level 10.

Version 3, the Unrighteous Expedition, was when Emperor Otto of Divine Luo waged war on the Church Court, with nearly half the continent dragged into the fray.

If they were not timely in reaching Level 10, low-level Transcendents were highly likely to die in Version 3.

Of course, one could hide, find sanctuary in the Iberian Peninsula or Brittania, but if you avoided Version 3, what about the subsequent versions?

There would always be a time when you couldn’t hide.

“Do you want to drink?” A voice sounded from behind.

Aske turned around to find it was Nora.

Nora looked at him with a giggly smile, her beautiful face blushing slightly, appearing incredibly pure and delicate under the moonlight.

Sometimes, I really envy you; you don’t have to worry about anything…

Aske reflected inwardly, taking the bottle and having a sip.

“Seeing you all alone here sighing, do you have something on your mind?” Nora took a seat on a large rock next to him.

“I’m just worried about how to quickly boost your strengths.” Aske spoke honestly.

“If it’s related to the entire team, why not discuss it directly with everyone?” Nora looked at him earnestly.

“Because it’s pointless.” Aske said, “Do you know where to find the ingredients for your next Magic Potion Recipe?”

“My next Magic Potion Recipe is for Spirit Body I.” Nora nodded, pulled out her Spirit Body I Recipe from her pocket, on which was written:

– Main Ingredient (Ingredient) –

Purified Spiritual Essence (Purified_Ectoplasm)

– Subsidiary (Subsidiary) –

3 milliliters of Blood of Hector (Blood_of_Hector)

Three Seeds of Spirit Ephemera (Seeds_of_Ephemera)

1 milligram of Benzylamine (Benzyl_Amine)

– Processing (Processing) –

Dissolve 1 milligram of Benzylamine into 3 milliliters of Blood of Hector.

Add the Seeds of Spirit Ephemera respectively at 1 minute, 3 minutes, and 7 minutes, with no more than a 15-second margin of error.

Finally, let the mixture sit until it becomes a clear liquid, then add the purified Spiritual Essence and once the solution forms a fume-shaped sol, it can be consumed.

“How about it?

Even if you know what the materials are, can you handle it on your own?” Aske asked.

“Mm, I know that Spiritual Essence is the residual substance after a ghost’s death,” Nora pondered seriously, “Purified Spiritual Essence, I get it, just clean it with holy water…”

“Spiritual Essence dissolves in water,” Aske said, “If you wash it with holy water, it will be gone.”

“Uh, Blood of Hector…” Nora tapped her head, “I think I’ve heard this name, is Hector some sort of octopus?”

“Hector refers to a special type of spirit-communicating black hound.

They run to the graveyard in the middle of the night, dig the dirt, and eat the rotted flesh and bones of the dead,” Aske explained.

“Then the Spirit Ephemera, it must be a kind of mayfly,” Nora said with a fair amount of certainty.

“I’ve already said it’s the fruit of the Spirit Ephemera; obviously, it’s a plant,” Aske said with a hand to his forehead, “Spirit Ephemera grow abundantly along the Nile River, and they look similar to reeds.”

“Is Benzylamine basically a benzene ring, attached to a methylene group, then attached to an amino group?” Nora said uncertainly, seeming somewhat deflated.

“Finally, you got something right; you do seem to be good with things related to science,” Aske commented.

“Aske,” Nora said somberly, “am I very stupid?”

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