The retreat of the Russian Imperial Army allowed the Turkish troops inside the Tabia Fortress to breathe a sigh of relief.

Nearly two weeks of intense fighting had been causing the Turkish soldiers in the fort to suffer casualties of about 700-1000 people each day.

Originally consisting of more than ten thousand soldiers, the Tabia Fortress had to seek assistance from the main city of the Silistra Fortress just one week after the war began.

If not for Omar Pasha's ample reinforcements on hand, the Tabia Fortress might have been overrun by the Russian Imperial soldiers, who swarmed like locusts.

Now, the majority of survivors holding the Tabia Fortress are soldiers from the main city of Silistra.

The consistently high casualty numbers in recent days have filled this fort with a sense of despondency, leaving the eyes of every Turkish soldier numb. Currently, the Tabia Fortress is like a spring compressed to its limit.

If Prince Paskevich could just hold on for a few more days, the morale within the Tabia Fortress would immediately face the risk of collapse.

Unfortunately, Prince Paskevich's enthusiasm for capturing this fortress had been utterly worn down by the Turkish soldiers inside Tabia City.

Moreover, with Gorchakov, the leading War Faction member, running into obstacles at the Allies' camp, Prince Paskevich was even more convinced that what the Russian Imperial Army needed to do was not to capture this fortress.

The Tabia Fortress barely survived under the dual forces of internal effort and external factors.

It can be said that the Silistra Fortress achieved a perfect conclusion with its tenacious will. If you don't count Musa Pasha "deliberately" sending thousands of Bashbozuk cavalry to the Russian Imperial soldiers when they returned to the north bank of the Danube River...

In any case, after watching the Russian Imperial Army head towards the north bank of the Danube, Musa Pasha, prompted by Captain Barlet, quickly delivered the good news to the Silistra Fortress along with Captain Barlet and Captain Nishmith.

When Musa Pasha and others arrived at Omar Pasha's temporary residence in the Silistra Fortress, they found that the commanders of two adjacent forts to Tabia Fortress were also there, clearly also reporting to Omar Pasha about the Russian Imperial Army's movements.

After exchanging glances, the three Pashas saw the meanings of mutual confrontation in each other's eyes.

After a while, the door to Omar Pasha's residence opened, revealing a handsome little boy who slowly said to the three Pashas in Greek, "Omar Pasha is currently hosting a banquet with Colonel Rakh, follow me!"

After saying that, the little boy entered the residence, followed closely by the three Pashas and Captains Barlet and Nishmith.

Led by the boy who seemed to be Omar Pasha's favorite, the three Pashas, Barlet, and Nishmith entered a dining room.

The style of the dining room exhibited a rococo style from the last century, showcasing a sense of opulence and splendor throughout.

The luxurious crystal chandelier held more than a dozen candles, each emitting an amber glow that illuminated the entire room.

Beneath the crystal chandelier was a long table about 3 meters in length. At one end sat the commander of the Silistra Fortress, Omar Pasha, and next to him on the right was a genuine Germanic-looking man with blond hair and blue eyes, who was the head of Ruse and Silistra Fortress—Colonel Rakh of the Kingdom of Prussia.

At this moment, Omar Pasha and Colonel Rakh were lifting their glasses to enjoy the wine, and upon the arrival of the three Pashas and the two captains, Omar Pasha set down his wine glass, picked up a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth, and extended his hand to invite them to sit. "I know what you want to say! Sit down!"

The three Pashas and two captains took their seats at the table, and Omar Pasha gently clapped his hands, summoning the servants stationed outside the dining room to inquire what else Omar Pasha might need.

Omar Pasha instructed the servants to prepare five more identical dishes.

The servants left, and about ten minutes later, a small cart appeared in front of everyone. The servants following the cart laid out the covered dishes before Musa Pasha and others, then poured wine into their glasses.

After completing their task, the servants left the dining room, and Omar Pasha raised his glass, suggesting that they should toast to this hard-won victory.

After enduring two weeks of sleeplessness, everyone agreed with Omar Pasha's proposal.

"To Her Majesty the Queen! (Captains Barlet and Nishmith)"

"To His Majesty the King! (Colonel Rakh)"

"To His Majesty the Sultan! (Omar, Musa, and others)"

After wishing well to their respective monarchs, everyone present finished the wine in their glasses in one go.

Afterward, Omar Pasha raised his glass once again, expressing his respect to Colonel Rakh.

With a slightly flushed face, Omar Pasha declared that without Colonel Rakh's transformation of the Silistra Fortress, their forces would never have been able to defeat the Russian Imperial Army.

Colonel Rach humbly stated: This is all thanks to the Turkish soldiers in the fort, who fought with their lives. The fort is always just a tool to assist in withstanding the attack, the truly important matters depend on the accomplishments of the Turkish soldiers.

"I have witnessed the entire process of a great nation uniting as one to resist the Russian Empire! Egyptians, Albanians, Tunisians, they work together as one for this nation! I hope one day, we Germans can unite as you do!" Colonel Rach said with emotion.

"I believe that day will eventually come!" As a traitor to the Austrian Empire, Omar Pasha did not quite understand the German sentiments held by Colonel Rach, but it did not stop him from following up on Colonel Rach's words.

"Ah! Let us hope so!" Colonel Rach sighed and downed the wine in his cup in one go.

Omar Pasha also finished the wine in his cup like Colonel Rach, then poured another for himself and Colonel Rach.

This time Omar Pasha raised his glass towards Musa Pasha and the two captains, declaring: Were it not for their efforts, the Tabia Fortress, and even the Silestra Fortress, would have long been lost. This glass is his toast, on behalf of all the residents of Silestra, for their courageous resistance against the soldiers of the Russian Empire at the Tabia Fortress.

Musa Pasha was visibly flattered, while Captain Barlet and Captain Nishmith raised their glasses in a composed manner.

After the second glass, Omar Pasha poured a third glass of wine.

The two Pashas from the nearby forts beside Tabia Fortress drank together with Omar Pasha.

After downing three glasses of wine, Omar Pasha promised once again to report in detail to His Majesty the Sultan about their resistance against the Russian Empire invasion at the Silestra Fortress Group.

At that time, His Majesty the Sultan will surely reward them.

Everyone except Colonel Rach displayed joyful smiles, while Colonel Rach was lost in deep contemplation.

"Colonel Rach, what's on your mind?" Omar Pasha looked puzzled at Colonel Rach and asked.

Hearing Omar Pasha's call, Colonel Rach snapped back to reality, apologizing to Omar Pasha: "It's like this! Respected commander, I was just thinking about what prompted the Russian Imperial Army to leave in such haste!"

Prompted by Colonel Rach's reminder, Omar Pasha also realized this question.

Indeed! Why did the Russian Empire choose to leave so quickly? Could it be that a major change occurred on the north shore of the Danube River?

After pondering it for a moment, Omar Pasha gave up thinking about it; he did not care why the Russian Imperial Army decided to retreat.

As long as the Russian Empire does not provoke the Silistra Fortress again, Omar Pasha is unwilling to concern himself with the Russian Imperial Army's next move.

With this thought in mind, Omar Pasha's mindset instantly became more open, smiling as he told Colonel Rach not to worry about it so much.

As Omar Pasha's temporary advisor, Colonel Rach also decided to stop pondering it.

After all, he was merely an advisor!

The banquet continued for nearly an hour and a half before ending, and the satiated attendees opted to sleep at Omar Pasha's residence.

Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, the Turkish garrison atop the Tabia Fortress spotted a cavalry unit in the distance, promptly blowing their trumpets to rouse the still-sleeping garrison of Tabia Fortress.

Reeling from a night of intense battle, the soldiers of the Tabia Fortress reluctantly got up from the ground and proceeded to the ramparts in response to the trumpet call.

When the reconnaissance cavalry reached the vicinity of the fort, the garrison of Tabia Fortress finally saw clearly that it was the Bashbozuk cavalry.

They lowered their guard and inquired about the origins of the Bashbozuk cavalry, who informed the Tabia Fortress garrison that they hailed from Constantinople, currently under the leadership of French Major General Conrobel assisting the Silistra Fortress defense.

Hearing the Bashbozuk cavalry's response, the garrison of Tabia Fortress quickly informed them that they had arrived late, as the Russian Imperial Army had already retreated to the north shore of the Danube River at dawn today.

Below, the Bashbozuk cavalry also told the garrison of Tabia Fortress that their forces arrived at the vicinity of Silistra Fortress two days ago, and had engaged and defeated a significant portion of the Russian Imperial Army, even killing their division commander yesterday.

With that, the Bashbozuk cavalry turned their horses around and left.

About half an hour later, the garrison of Tabia Fortress once again sighted the Bashbozuk cavalry.

And behind the Bashbozuk cavalry was a massive army unit.

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