Narcis stood on the top tower of the fortress of Abydos, looking out the window at the land.

At this time, it was drizzling outside, the landscape outside the window was hazy, and the earth was shrouded in a seemingly endless mist, and the rainy season had arrived. It is said that the subtropical mountains and forests of the southern Balkans will become extremely harsh during the rainy season, full of mud swamps, mountain floods, miasma, hot and humid weather can make people sick, countless highly poisonous mosquitoes are rampant in the mountains and forests, and the plague caused by the lack of adaptation to the water and soil makes everything worse.

The newly founded Eastern Rome, which was supposed to recuperate after the war, had to send all the strength of the whole country to attack the extremely precipitous fortress of Thermopylae in such bad weather, which had to make Narcisse feel worried, but the situation had developed to this point, what could he do? The only thing he could do was to assist His Majesty Justinian to hold Anatonia firmly in his hands and prevent any enemy from taking advantage of it.

Since the capture of Byzantium, Justinian has moved almost all of his forces to the front line of Pella, and the rear defense is extremely empty, but the city of Nicaea is the heart of the Eastern Romans and must not be lost. Therefore, the young king sent one of his right-hand men, the golden-robed magician Narciss, to guard the place.

When Narcisse arrived, there was an infighting in Pera, and the deputy regent Melagolos was killed. The golden-robed magician immediately made a decision and sent someone to persuade Polybecon, who had become a sworn friend of Melagramus. In the end, he lived up to the emperor's expectations, and Polybecon not only led the Eastern Floating Fleet to surrender, but also surrendered to Eastern Rome with the Anatonian Legion and the city-states led by Troy.

Justinian was overjoyed by this. Narciss's reputation was greatly enhanced, and the entire western part of Anatonia was under his control, and there was no other force that could threaten the flanks and rear of Eastern Rome. However, the good times were short-lived. As the war progressed, the Eastern Roman army needed to continue to march south to attack Thermopylae, countless military supplies and money and food were continuously transported to the front, the treasury was almost depleted, and the people were exhausted by repeated large-scale conscriptions and rising taxes, the domestic labor force was insufficient, trade was suspended, and the economy plummeted.

But no. In order to ensure the supply of the front, Justinian repeatedly drastically reduced military expenditures in the rear. At the end of the day, Narcisse and his Nicaean legions were unable to receive any military spending. In desperation, the golden-robed mage had no choice but to allow his army to plunder, kill, and set fire to the territories of the states of the Olympia Alliance.

Gradually, the originally elite and disciplined Nicaean army has become similar to a rebel, and everyone has no intention of training and defending. Just care about going out to make money. Narcissus also knew that this was a dove to quench his thirst. If left unchecked, his army would collapse on its own without the enemy attacking him, and become a rag of bandits. He also sent people to try to restrain him, but to no avail, and no one wanted to train hungry when he could not receive military pay. The middle and senior officers did not have the confidence to reprimand their subordinates, and some even participated in the looting themselves!

The golden-robed mage was worried, but he had no money. And what good way can they come up with it? The Olympians are not sheep who dare not snort to be humiliated by others, they just endure it for the time being. Now that the Eastern Roman army is becoming more and more excessive, this situation will sooner or later lead to a large-scale riot. At that time, will his own scattered army still be able to deal with those who are full of boundless anger in their hearts?

Just as Nalcis was staring out the window at the rain in a daze, his longtime deputy, General Mendes, came up from under the stairs of the tower.

"Master of the Golden Robe, what are you thinking?" The middle-aged general asked curiously when he noticed that the other party was in a daze.

When Narsis came back to his senses, he sighed softly, turned around and nodded, "My old friend, you are here, sit down." ”

Mendes sat down tired, stretched, and looked rather sleepy. The golden-robed mage also sat down, he picked up the wine glass next to the chair and took a sip, and asked, "Is there any news from outside?"

The general shook his head: "It's still a normal day, there are no big things, and there are no small things." I received news that the garrison of Thebais had robbed the castle of Chryses, the high priest of the Temple of Apollo, and although there were no deaths, Chryses' daughter was lost. It is said that he was caught and raped by the rebels for a whole day, and then somehow he seemed to be rescued by a knight, and those rebels were also killed. Chryses later took his daughter back to Troy, where he was extorted money by the guards at the gates, and his knights scattered the guards, and now he was back in his apartment next to the palace. In general, he lost some money, and we lost some people. ”

"You lawless fools!!" said Narciss, who put down his glass heavily, furious.

Chryses was a prominent figure in Troy, wielding great power and influence for many years. Not only that, but he himself is also a powerful magician, and those rebellious soldiers actually hit him with ideas, and they simply don't know whether they are alive or dead, and they are to blame! Those bold guys should die a few times, so that others can also learn a lesson, lest they become more and more unscrupulous and cause a big mess sooner or later.

Mendes shook his head and persuaded: "I am afraid that this matter will not end peacefully, I have heard that when Troy surrendered, Chryses vigorously opposed it. Now that his castle has been plundered and his daughter is stained, it may be difficult to swallow this breath. With the influence of this high priest in Anatonia, and the recent growing dissatisfaction with us among the princes and ministers of the city-states, I am afraid that there is a danger of a large-scale revolt. Shouldn't we be prepared in advance?"

The golden-robed mage thought for a moment and then asked, "What have you done recently as far as the Seljuks and the Mermaid Kingdom are concerned?"

The general replied: "The Seljuks are still the same as before, they are bluffing on the surface, but in reality they do not move, they always want to get something for nothing, and they will never send troops until they have obtained sufficient benefits." As for the Mermaid Kingdom, after a period of troop mobilization some time ago, it has been silent recently, and I don't know what tricks are being done!"

(To be continued......)