Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 369, Section 116: The Banner of Victory

London's medical resources are currently extremely strained, and after a preliminary investigation, the police confirmed that Wallace's statement about the ten kilograms of Sacred Snow was credible—or rather, they preferred to believe it.

So, for the sake of this precious batch of holy snow, they secured a rare hospital bed and emergency debridement and suturing surgery for him.

Wallace, whose wounds had been stitched up at the hospital, sat leaning against the hospital bed. The ward and corridor were crowded with hospitalized patients and their families, with cries and coughs rising and falling.

Undistracted, Wallace intently searched for information about Constantinople on his laptop.

The local anesthesia had worn off, and he was experiencing waves of pain in his wound, but these were minor issues that he could bear.

He didn't know what this mysterious game that had chosen him as a player was all about, but after finishing a game, the leaderboard and reward descriptions that popped up from the system at least convinced him of one thing: completing this game would grant him extraordinary rewards.

All of this is incredible, but looking out the window at the ruins of London, it all seems acceptable.

Even more outrageous is the idea that "the Ripper is resurrected as a giant to take revenge on London, and then a white dragon appears and freezes him."
This sentence doesn't even sound like a typical English sentence structure.

But it actually happened in reality, right before his eyes.

Internet speeds in London are slow right now, but fortunately Wallace's laptop has excellent specs and is equipped with AI.

"Constantinople held out for more than fifty days under siege, and finally fell on May 29, 1453. The last emperor, Constantine XI, removed his purple robe, led his personal guard into the enemy lines, and died on the battlefield."

Wallace muttered to himself, noting down in detail all the events that had occurred during the defense of the city, especially these key moments.

"The key events are as follows: First, the land-based naval operation. After failing to break through the iron chains blocking the sea multiple times, Mehmed II decided to tow the warships to land on the night of April 22, bypass the blockade, and directly enter the Golden Horn Bay to launch a pincer attack."

"Secondly, the large-scale offensives on May 7th and 12th were finally repelled with difficulty."

"Thirdly, the general offensive launched in the early morning of May 28th resulted in Giovanni Giustiniani, the core defender of the city, being seriously wounded and forced to retreat, which dealt a devastating blow to morale."

"Fourth, a small team discovered a weak point in the defenses of a city gate near the palace and broke through, which accelerated the collapse of the defenses."

He remembered the game's marked difficulty level and frowned.

He hasn't seen any major alterations to this kind of game adapted from specific historical backgrounds yet; it should follow the historical trajectory. But in that case, as long as you know how to search, wouldn't the difficulty be greatly reduced?
Or is it that, in order to balance this out, the game deliberately increases the difficulty in certain areas, putting players in a more difficult situation than Constantine XI in real history?
As a game level designer, Wallace's thinking always subconsciously stems from the designer's perspective.

This gives him a mysterious feeling of being able to communicate with other game designers out of thin air.

But he couldn't find much of that feeling in this game yet. It seemed that the game was designed without any particular emotion in it.

correct.

Wallace looked at the game's name again.

The title is "1453: Constantinople," but it is followed by a string of Greek letters and does not contain the number 1453, so the meaning may be different.

He looked up the reference table, typed out the string of Greek characters, and then translated it.

The translation revealed that the game's name in Greek is Constantinople.
"Victory Banner?"

In the game, Wolf reread the name of the relic that the prime minister had just mentioned.

In the game, most players' progress far surpassed that of Wallace, who quit midway, especially Wolf.

After the initial naval battle, the major war officially began around the land-based city walls.

The Ottoman Empire's Urban siege cannons began to roar, and huge stone projectiles crashed into the city walls with a whooshing sound, each impact causing the ground to tremble.

Their main attack was focused on the San Romanus Gate and Charisius Gate area in the middle of the city wall. Stones pelted the wall, sending shards flying and creating jagged cracks. Fortunately, no breaches had yet appeared, but if the bombardment continued like this, the blow to morale would be extremely severe.

Following historical records, Wolf deployed the siege expert Giovanni and his mercenaries in these two key areas, also establishing his command center there. This maximized the troops' combat effectiveness while minimizing delays in command transmission.
After several small-scale battles, Wolf became more and more skilled in his operations. As soon as the siege artillery bombardment stopped, he immediately dispatched an engineering team with stones and timber to rush to the damaged area for emergency repairs.

When the Ottoman army set up ladders to attack the city, he precisely dispatched reserves to support the critical phases, repelling wave after wave of probing attacks.

After several battles, the authority value steadily increased, and the faction balance remained relatively stable.

Even so, the situation remained far from optimistic. The disparity in numbers was too vast; the Ottoman army seemed inexhaustible, repelling one wave of attacks only to have the next wave already assembled. And no matter how much the troops' morale was boosted, there seemed to be an insurmountable bottleneck.

Just then, Chancellor Lucas Notaras triggered a crucial event. He solemnly approached Wolf and informed him of the existence of the Victory Banner.

“Yes, Your Majesty. When my ancestors recaptured the island of Kythera, they found a relic in a church that may have been left behind by the Crusaders. They were amazed to discover that as long as the flag was unfurled, it could inspire the morale of the entire army in the vicinity, making them fearless in the face of death. So my ancestor Paul presented this flag to His Majesty Michael VIII, hoping to bring victory to the Empire.”

"But for some unknown reason, His Majesty Andronic II seems to have shelved it and never mentioned or used it again."

"Until Andronica II's grandson obtained the flag and defeated him, becoming Andronica III. But it is unknown what Andronica II said to him, and before his death, he sealed the flag away again, which remains to this day."

The prime minister recounted a hidden history in detail, and Wolf wondered why he knew so much about it.
This relic appears to be unknown even to Constantine XI himself.

However, considering that the other party was a high-ranking official, a nobleman, and an advisor for the game, it suddenly seemed quite reasonable.

Moreover, the emperor wasn't completely unaware. At least after the prime minister said that, there was only one option: "Find the dusty victory banner at the Lips Monastery." This shows that the emperor did know roughly where the banner was, but he just didn't know it had this purpose.

The game perspective switches to first-person. Wolf controls Constantine XI, and following the quest prompts, leads Notaras to the Lips Abbey.

Deep within the monastery, in the royal storeroom, a heavy oak chest, covered in dust, was secured with an antique brass lock. The emperor casually took out the matching key, and then his guard poured some oil into the keyhole.

With a click, the lock was opened.

Inside the box, a pale red battle flag lay quietly. The fabric was somewhat worn, and the edges even had slight wear. It looked unremarkable, and it was hard to imagine that it could possess the magical power to inspire the entire army.

Beneath the battle flag lay a yellowed parchment letter. Wolf picked it up and slowly unfurled it, revealing the translated text:

"Since you have come, it means that the nation is at a critical juncture. When you open this box with your own hands, I seem to see the walls of Constantinople trembling in the gunfire, and hear the bells of Hagia Sophia mingling with the shouts of soldiers."

This is the scene I have feared all my life, yet now I am handing it, along with this banner of victory, into your hands.

I have witnessed firsthand the consequences of using flags; the soldiers broke through the Latin defenses like tigers pouncing on sheep, roaring forward even with arrows in their bodies, their fury reaching the heavens.

Many soldiers who had been "blessed" by this banner died suddenly within half a month, their faces bearing crazed smiles. You should know that I have been in power for forty-six years, witnessed the Catalan army's rebellion, and personally experienced the Ottomans' iron hooves, but none of these have instilled in me the same depth of fear as this banner.

Countless times I have considered burning this flag, but whenever the night is still and I look up at the palace dome, I remember my father’s dying words: “The flame of Rome may dim, but it must never be extinguished.”

This flag is poison, but it is also the last hope in a desperate situation.

When the city walls are about to be breached, and when the blood of Christians will stain the Golden Horn, it can awaken the courage in the soldiers' bones, but it will also drag them into the madness of destruction.

If you absolutely must use it, remember three things:

First, flags should not be used frequently.

Second, only you can hold the flag and wave it.

Third, if used for too long, soldiers will be unable to distinguish friend from foe.

I was once the emperor of Byzantium, but now I am just Antonios chanting sutras in a monastery.

I have experienced the glory of empires, and I have tasted their decline. This flag is not salvation, but a poisoned chalice. If you have other options, even seeking help from the West or taking temporary refuge elsewhere, do not open this box or take out this flag.

But if it truly comes to the final moment when the city falls and the country is destroyed, when you see the cross lying beneath the Ottoman turbans, when the icon is trampled under the hooves of horses, then lift it up.

Just remember, you are raising not only the hope of victory, but also the lives of countless soldiers, and the final sin of the Roman Empire.

May God forgive my reservations, and may God have mercy on your choice.

An Antonio, a monk of the first generation

Wolf silently read the letter, his heart heavy.

He put away the sheepskin letter, his fingertips hovering above the flag, hesitant to pick it up.

It's possible that the game rules required obtaining this flag, so the emperor made the move himself.

You have obtained the sacred relic – the Banner of Victory.

【Function 1: Soaring Morale - Activates the morale of the selected troops. For one hour, the morale will be soaring and will not be affected by any decline. After one hour, the troops will enter a period of fatigue. If the battle is lost, the morale will drop even more afterward.

Function Two: Ferocious as a Wolf – Activates the savage spirit of the selected troops. For half an hour, they will be fearless and their combat power will be greatly enhanced. However, after half an hour, they will be unable to distinguish friend from foe and will be unable to regain their senses. After waving the flag, they will enter a period of weakness, unable to fight again for a short time, and their lifespan will be depleted.

Function 3: Victory is Possible - Entering Overload Mode, the area of ​​influence is greatly increased and becomes uncontrollable. Except for the flag holder, everyone is driven into a frenzy, and they will not distinguish between friend and foe, resulting in mutual destruction.

Note: Those directly or indirectly affected by the flag will have their souls returned to the victory flag after death. Once a certain number of souls are collected, the flag will change.

After obtaining the victory flag, the UI changes, and a progress bar is added, which is probably the so-called accumulated number of souls.

It's just that Wolf hasn't played many games, otherwise he would have been able to tell at a glance that the victory flag is the core mechanism of this round of the game.

Wolff read it carefully and felt that this mechanism was more harmful than beneficial to defense, and was a good emergency tool.

Function three must never be used. It's a complete waste of time and doesn't align with the mission objective of holding out for as long as possible. Using it would be tantamount to mutual destruction and is no different from failure. It's just a way to vent anger and frustration at the end.

But were all people truly willing to die for the Roman Empire?

Function 2 carries extremely high risks and should not be attempted lightly unless absolutely necessary.

Only if the function is relatively stable, and as long as victory is ensured, the risk of a significant drop in morale after the battle is quite controllable.

"Your Majesty, please use the banner of victory to save the empire from its decline!" The Chancellor's voice was resolute as he knelt deeply before Wolf, his forehead almost touching the ground. "Even if... the price is the lives of the entire city!"

"Are you crazy?!"

Wolf's eyes widened. "You seem to be going a bit too far."

For Wolf, who was obsessed with military affairs and had a penchant for simulated warfare, there was little difference between a Pyrrhic victory and a crushing defeat. He was unwilling to accept even a minor victory with casualties, let alone exchange the lives of the entire city for a so-called victory.

His idea was simple: to pass the level without using this flag as much as possible.

Even if the game is marked as difficult, and even if the historical outcome is already predetermined, he still wants to try to see if he can defend this isolated city through pure command and strategy.

Several more days passed in the game. During these days, the Ottoman army's ground probing never stopped. Ladders were repeatedly erected on the city walls, only to be pushed down by the defenders time and time again.

The sea was not peaceful either, with the Ottoman navy repeatedly ramming the iron chains blocking the Golden Horn, and the roar of cannons never ceasing day and night.

But Wolff's conducting skills also became increasingly adept.

He could always accurately predict the enemy's main attack direction and deploy reserves in advance to set up defenses.

There were no strategies to employ in naval attacks; it all came down to maneuvering. They relied on Greek fire to set enemy ships ablaze.

After several battles, at worst he had repelled the enemy and won a major victory with minimal casualties on his side. These successive military victories accumulated a large amount of authority for him.

He used his authority to forcibly requisition grain and stone hoarded by nobles to repair city walls and replenish supplies.

When faction events are triggered, you can quickly mediate disputes with enough authority, neither offending the Orthodox Church nor appeasing the pro-Latin faction, and even squeezing more support from the noble class.

This smooth-sailing situation gave Wolf a false sense of security.

Constantinople seemed capable of holding out indefinitely, even against an Ottoman army of 100,000, thanks to its sturdy walls and loyal soldiers, it could hold out until the end of time.

On April 18, this illusion was shattered. After nearly half a month of probing, the Ottoman army finally revealed its strength and began to organize its first large-scale infantry assault.

This also allowed Wolff to witness firsthand what a true siege battle in the era of cold weapons was like.

(End of this chapter)