The city of Tripolis easily fell into Justinian's control, and the resistance of the defenders in the city was almost minimal. It was already clear that Justinian's powerful fourth company had no courage to organize a stubborn resistance to the end. Because of this, Justinian also restricted his subordinates from killing the surrendered prisoners.

Although Romanus Ducas, who saw all this, could not stop him from defeating. Justinian's appearance was completely beyond his expectations, so the defense power was insufficient at the beginning. But what Romanus did not expect was that the other party was so bold and openly ignored his identity as the son of the prince and indulged the army to attack Tripolis.

For a time, Romanus, who had hid in the fortress in Tripolis under the protection of a small number of loyal troops, was surrounded by Molia's army.

"How could this happen!" The irritable young nobleman kicked the door frame in front of him and shouted loudly. He was unwilling to accept the reality in front of him. His father's harsh attitude towards him was Romanus's heart disease, so he finally obtained the title of Earl. The first thing he had to do when he came to Peloponnese was to undermine Justinian and seize the command of the Fourth Company to prove his ability to his father. But now all this has completely ruined his original plan. When he thought of his father's thought of what he would think of him if his father knew what was going on here, Romanus was full of despair.

"Sir Romanus, what should we do now?" In the fortress, there were only a small number of guards, including Zeodosefalon and several other Pronian nobles, who were as frustrated as dogs who were in panic all day long.

However, at this time, not only Romanus, even his teacher Musval, had lost his innocence. He could not understand why these Moria's army obeyed Justinian's words. Even if the nobles of Moria had reached an agreement with Justinian to belong to Epirus, they should not be willing to be driven by a Gentile barbarian in their eyes.

But the facts were already in front of him, and he couldn't help but believe it. In desperation, he could only look at the student beside him. However, if the son of the prince who had been angry had already rushed out and fought with Justinian for a long time. But even though Romanus, who had always been illuminated by the aura of nobles, Musval had to bite the bullet and said:

"His Highness Romanus, although the situation is bad now, it is not out of control. No matter what, Justinian still claims to be loyal to the empire. I think he is afraid of His Highness the Prince, he will never dare to act rashly, as long as you..."

"As long as I do?" I could hear the implicit sound in my teacher's words, but the proud Romanus's face was very cold and hard.

And Musval, who understood this, still let go of his plan and made his debut: "Now we can only choose to give up Tripolis. You know that with our current strength, Justinian is simply unable to deal with it. It is a blessing in disguise to be able to escape without hesitation."

"But-" Romanus, who was gritting his teeth, almost burst out from his eyes. Of course, he knew that his teacher's advice was wise, but he really couldn't swallow this. He had been resentful of what happened in Agrignon, but now he was ready, but he still failed. This was a complete humiliation, like a loud slap on his face, and he really couldn't accept it.

However, Musval, who looked at all this, shook his head gently and said, "I understand your anger now, but forbearance is also a must for the superiors. The prince has always been looking forward to you, but sometimes it is a little harsh. The temporary concession is not so unacceptable. Please remember that you are a nobleman of the Dukas family, which is always like this. Even if Justinian has used tricks to gain the upper hand, it is only temporary. Your future will be to control the entire chess game, and he will eventually become a piece that embellishes the chess table. What's more, everything they do at this time has destined to have a sad end." After saying that, a hint of coldness appeared on the face of the Saracen.

...

...

...

At the same time, after surrounding him outside the fortress, Justinian did not order a strong attack. Although it was not difficult and the casualties would not be heavy, Justinian knew that if there was any accident in Romanus Ducas inside, even if Theodor didn't like his son, he would not let him go. That was not what Justinian wanted to see. Now he actually did not just to give the other party some color, but to take this opportunity to show Theodor his strength.

Becoming the adopted son of Grand Duke Anastasius means becoming the future heir of Molia. This identity not only allowed Justinian to gain the nominal allegiance of the Molia nobles, but also made him the target of public criticism. If Anastasius had been a hundred years later, his status would probably still be in danger with the support of the Papadoros family alone. Not to mention that Emperor Mikhail in Rusnina has always been afraid of himself due to Muzfius's reasons, and he would inevitably face internal troubles.

Because of this, Justinian must get a reliable ally, which is more reliable and powerful than the Genoese, and Theodor Ducas is undoubtedly the best choice. First of all, this man has this ambition and motivation. Although he is brothers with Mikhail, the two are in the same situation due to inheritance rights. Later in history, it was Theodor who assassinated his brother and usurped Epirus. Secondly, he had enough strength to compete with Mikhail. The enemy of the enemy is a friend. Now Justinian wants to avoid future crises, the only way is to become the third force between Rusnina and Agrignon, wander around both sides, accept the other side, and take the opportunity to profit and slowly strengthen his strength.
Chapter completed!