spartan ancestor

"..." Yacintos rubbed his forehead angrily and amusedly.

He found that since he got close to his brother, the perfect camouflage of insouciance that he had cultivated for more than ten years was often defeated by the speechless, helpless or headache mixed with emotion.

Is it that simple to detain the Angel of Delphi?

Even if they lied that the envoys did not come to Sparta at all, maybe something happened on the way, but as long as the Delphi Temple opened its mouth and said that Sparta killed the envoys, some of them wanted to please the Oracle of Delphi The city-state stood up for Delphi and incidentally attacked Sparta for this legitimate reason.

But what Oss said was right. Looking at the messy envoy in front of him, he had already offended all who could be offended. It was useless to please him at this moment, so it was better to think of another way to break the situation.

Jacintos held his chin thoughtfully: "Let go of the poor envoy."

To be honest, the Temple of Delphi is not monolithic and cannot be broken.

It is the oracle that people want to please, and the Delphi Temple is nothing more than a residence built for the oracle.The many priests inside are just attendants who are responsible for serving the oracle and explaining the oracle conveyed by the oracle.

That is to say, when there is a conflict between the oracle and the temple or priest, the city-states must support the oracle, not the temple or priest attached to the oracle.

The soldiers obediently released Parr.

"How bold, how dare you blaspheme God... oh." Just as Paar rubbed his painful wrist and raised his head, the subsequent scolding was drowned in a blank brain.

Apollo on...

Is this really a mortal king?

He looks like Apollo himself, or the goddess of beauty who sneaked here from Mount Olympus, playing a little joke with people.

Pal's eyes couldn't help falling on the pen being touched by the young king, and a strong impulse surged in his heart for a moment: How can such a rough pen holder be worthy of being held by such two hands?

Look at those rough papyri, Apollo!Don't these Spartans know how to respect and love their king at all? ?

He thought of the special papyrus in the temple, which were often randomly written and wasted by some ignorant priests. He wished he could rush back and snatch them all now, and dedicate them to the young king.

What a beautiful existence, how could a god—how could he have the heart to hate him?

Paar even used the pronoun "He" in his mind, which had nothing to do with gender and crossed species, and suddenly had an irresistible doubt about the oracle that the high priest told him.

Jacintos raised his eyebrows, and he could clearly see that the envoy was shaking his will from the face of the envoy: "Your Excellency, envoy? I apologize to you for the recklessness of the soldiers."

"No! No, no," Pal almost jumped up on the spot, and his expression changed from the previous embarrassment to anger, to the restrained and shameless expression of "I'm so fucking dirty now, I might burn the king's eyes when it's over." "It's my words." , will definitely treat those who dare to disrespect His Majesty the same way! Apollo, there must be some misunderstanding in this oracle. You know that the prophecies told by the oracle are difficult puzzles, maybe Where did the high priest misunderstand when interpreting it?"

"..." The soldiers squinted at this man, that's not what you said before!

Yacintos touched the mask on his waist, and when he saw Aka entering the door with a stack of letters, he withdrew his hand and signaled Paar, who still wanted to talk, to wait a moment: "Have you found it?"

With his long legs, Aka walked through the entire meeting hall at an unhurried pace, without showing mercy to anyone: "Yes."

A-Ka put down the letter, and said calmly: "There are many priests involved in the process of delivering and explaining this oracle. Except for the high priest, the rest are all experienced senior priests."

Hyacinthus scanned the letter at a glance and frowned: "According to what they preached to the believers, they were present together and witnessed Apollo descending on the oracle. Paraphrase it."

Aka nodded: "But the strange thing is that after delivering this oracle, the oracle suddenly became unwell and never showed up in front of the believers. During this time, the oracle was in a The prophecy is made in the small room, and then the priests convey it to the believers."

"... Huh?" Jacintos was a little bit dumbfounded.

In the past few days, he has been thinking about what to do if there is something wrong with Apollo, but it turns out that there is really something wrong inside Delphi?

Is it really not an oolong?

He scratched his nose: "How did the oracle spread in the Acropolis, have you found it?"

"No," Ai Zhi said apologetically, "The other party did it too covertly, and it's impossible to find out the source."

Paal listened, eyes wide.

What's the meaning?Sparta also sent people to Delphi to check the oracle?

Moreover, why do you listen to these questions and answers... It seems that you think there is a big problem with the oracle?

He was momentarily confused.

He did have doubts about the correctness of the oracle, but he never questioned the authenticity of the oracle.

After all, the oracle was told to him by the high priest himself, and arranged for him to convey it to the Spartans.Before leaving the door, the high priest took him alone and said in private that this was accumulating merit for his promotion to a quasi-priest...

However, whether it was the appearance of the gods or the oracle himself uttered this prophecy, it was all the words of the high priest's family, and he did not confirm it with his own eyes.

On the contrary, everyone knew that the oracle was staying in a small room in the apse of the temple, staying at home.

Once a person starts to doubt, re-examining the past bits and pieces, it seems to confirm the doubt.

Aka shifted his gaze to Pal, and suddenly said: "The envoy seems to be very troubled, do you want to speak up and advise together?"

Yacintos and the others who were discussing in a low voice focused their eyes on Paar.

Before he could speak, Pal instinctively straightened his back under the gaze of the young king, showing his best mental outlook: "I..."

He was a little hesitant. After all, this was something inside the Delphi Temple, and it was just his temporary suspicion. It was not suitable to say it in front of so many strangers in a strange city-state.

But... Sparta seems to have a lot of information, maybe he can use this to prove his suspicion is correct?

Paar stubbornly held on to the last bit of reason: "Can you fend off the soldiers?"

Oss waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately gave a military salute and exited the chamber in neat steps.

Pal clenched his fists and thought about his words: "Where do I start to sort out? I was born in a noble family in Delphi, and my family has been priests of the Delphi Temple for generations."

This is very common in all Greek city-states. In many famous temples, the priests inside are all of noble origin, and the position of priests is hereditary in the family.

Pal's expression gradually became painful: "Before entering the temple and becoming a reserve priest, the elders have been telling me not to interact with the high priest of the temple and to be vigilant. But I always think that this is the prejudice of the elders. , after all, my family and the family of the high priest had a knot..."

Hyacinthus: "..."

Why is this expression painful and struggling? Your emotional transformation is a bit fast.

Pal said sadly: "But after entering the temple, the high priest has been taking good care of me. He provided me with the best conditions, and always favored me when conflicts arise, including today's visit to Sparta. The opportunity I fought for. Originally, a reserve priest could not convey the oracle instead of Delphi, he told me in private that this was to train me and accumulate merits for me, so as to prepare for passing the throne to me in the future..."

Thinking about it now, is there another perspective that can explain these behaviors?

For example, providing him with the best material comforts is to corrode his character a little bit and make him indulge in extravagance and greed; he always favors him when conflicts arise, so that he can be arrogant and arrogant, and have an inappropriate relationship with other priests in the same temple; Let him come to Sparta to convey the oracle... Think about it seriously, it is clear that the high priest thought it was a hot potato, so he deliberately threw it to him!

Pal was terrified, everything he thought in the past was turned upside down at this moment.

He suddenly remembered that when he was standing outside the Acropolis and saw the workers building the city wall, his first reaction was to despise Sparta as a barbaric place, instead of realizing Sparta's strong military strength and building the city wall In the future, it will become easier to defend, harder to attack, and unbreakable.

When did such arrogance develop?Obviously, when he first stepped into the temple, he swore an oath to the family altar, that he would be loyal to Apollo and bring the mercy of the gods to the believers!

Pal wiped his face, looked serious, and said to Jacintos: "After talking so much, I am not afraid to reveal the truth to you. In fact, my family has been secretly collecting information about temple priests over the years. Take bribes, distort the evidence of the oracle, and prepare to clear the temple."

When he said this, he almost couldn't help patting his thigh again: That's right!This is it!

No wonder the High Priest has always treated him differently, perhaps because he heard the news about this and wanted to use him as a breakthrough to see if he could get information. Wouldn't it be self-defeating if you worked hard?

Paar resisted the turmoil in his heart, and said to Jacintos and Oss seriously: "These priests who accept bribes have already been twisted into a rope, and they have accumulated a lot of contacts over the years. If the high priest is added, I am afraid it will be very difficult for them. It's hard to break. After all, the high priest has a high prestige and controls the affairs of the temple. When he opened his mouth, he threw dirty water. With the strength of my family and I, we are weak and weak, and it is difficult to resist the troops he can call. -"

Pal's voice was loud and firm: "I implore the two kings to help us Delphi, and clear the moths in the temple of Delphi!"

Hyacinthus: "..."

He was also in the same mood when he heard the high priest of the Temple of Apollo analyze that there was a problem with Delphi.

It feels like you are in a horse race, and you are analyzing the information nervously and rigorously, but the enemy horse and our horse suddenly uncover the horse's hide, revealing the real body of the wild boar, and then the pig rushes forward, even breaking through the fence.

His elder brother asked questioningly from the side: "How can you prove that what you said is true? It's not that you don't want to be sent to build the city wall?"

Pal said loudly: "I have letters as evidence! Over the years, my family has intercepted many letters between temple priests and foreigners, including many from Sparta, many of which were sent by nobles, asking priests to Help distort the oracle, and twist the oracle about whether to start a war or not."

"..." Oss instinctively wanted to continue to open his mouth to question, but he couldn't help recalling that since he became a general, every time he went to Delphi to seek divination, the result he got was "war", and he had never seen such a thing before. Unanimous result.

Seeing Oss' expression as if it was a joke, Paar quickly added more chips and said, "I am willing to request these letters from the family on behalf of the two of you! Whether it is manipulating the war to assassinate generals and harm Sparta's interests, or distorting the oracle to blaspheme Gods are very serious crimes, with these letters, the two of you can severely punish those wealthy nobles..."

Pal accentuated his wording meaningfully, emphasizing "incredibly rich".

Hyacinthus: "..."

He felt that this envoy might have a very common language with the high priest of their Temple of Apollo.

He simply folded his arms and leaned back, lazily adjusted his posture, taking the opportunity to relax for a while.

After this conversation, he was patronizing and speechless, but Oss and Aka were quite good at guiding, and the singing and harmony were just right, so there was no need for him to make a move.

Oss's question finally got down to earth and returned to seriousness: "To go to Delphi, you have to cross two city-states and cross the ocean. With the army, how do you arrive at Phocis and then invade this city-state without making a fool of yourself? , surrounded the Temple of Delphi?"

"Pretend as a mercenary." Aka said calmly, "Phokys has a big slave market. Every day, mercenaries escort slaves from various places to sell in the market. A ship can often hold dozens or even hundreds of slaves. Hundreds of slaves. The chamber of commerce and the mercenary association will prepare weapons and armor in Phocis to meet the army."

Osper couldn't help turning his surprised eyes to Aka.

For more than half a year, he saw Aka squatting in Sparta every day, and thought that the other party was just doing nothing, because he had something wrong with his brother. Who knew that the Chamber of Commerce and the Mercenary Association were all driven by the other party to the city-state across the sea?Judging from what Aka said, it seems that he is quite capable in the local area.

Before he said anything, the elders beside him were already examining Aka's credibility and threat, but they still couldn't resist the temptation of success: This is a great opportunity!

If it can be done, the Delphi oracle will owe Sparta a big favor, and the good reputation of clearing the Delphi Temple will also spread throughout Greece, plus the Olympic laurels that Oss won before, for Sparta Establishing diplomacy is extremely beneficial.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this opportunity is once in a thousand years, so what kind of bullshit oracle said that the gods despise His Majesty, what a fart!It was clearly favored to death!Look at this good luck!

Although the elders were still sullen, they were all flushed. If Sparta hadn't been stingy with showing emotions, they would have liked to kiss Jacintos at this moment.

Oss thought for a moment: "Yes. I will lead the troops myself."

This battle must be fought, so what kind of bullshit oracle is placed here. If he doesn't send troops to the temple, it means that the temple took the opportunity to call other city-states to send troops to Sparta.

It's better to act first, they still have a legitimate reason, which is to clear the temple and stand on the side of justice.

Yacintos stood up and lazily pressed Oss's shoulder: "I lead the team. The soldiers all choose civilians or mixed blood."

Heilos and the young people from the frontier have not yet passed the test, so it is impossible for him to lead inexperienced soldiers.

Selecting all civilians and mixed-race soldiers can ensure that the entire army has a common interest with him, and no one will want him to die.

He personally leads the army, which will put these soldiers in a desperate situation-only by winning the battle can Hyacinthus be safely escorted back to Sparta, and if he loses, Hyacinthus will directly confess to Delphi.

In addition, Hyacinthus also wanted to prevent another possibility—something went wrong with Apollo, and the gods intervened in this matter.

If this was the case, he would lead his troops to Delphi, if it was impossible, he could still sacrifice himself instead of letting his brother lead the Spartan army to collapse in Delphi for nothing.

He must consider all possibilities and prepare for the worst.

Oss frowned: "No—"

Before finishing the "OK" behind, Oss opened his eyes suddenly, stared at Jacintos in disbelief, then his head sank heavily to the side, and he fell into a coma.

Under the shocked stares of the elders, Jacintos withdrew his hand on Oss's shoulder, turned the ring on his hand, and put the thorn back into the ring: "Don't worry, a little drug."

"...No," the elders began to panic, only hating why the old Tiedale happened to be absent today, and the most scolding one was absent, "You have never led soldiers!"

Yacintos comforted: "Everyone has a first time. If you don't try, how will you know if you will die?"

"..." The elders suffocated for a while, and they felt that they were about to die. They hated the old Xan and his gang for breaking their tendons during the civil war. Even if they recovered now, they could not use force to force the young king to calm down. "Then have you considered how to explain to His Majesty Oss?"

Yacintos looked calm: "Think about it. Tell him that Aka prepared the ring for me."

Aka: "???"

Where is your conscience? ?

·

Phocis, Temple of Delphi.

It was already night, and the high priest knocked on the door of the oracle's room with water and food, and said worriedly: "Aren't you going to eat today?"

There was a "boom" sound from the wooden door. It was obvious that someone inside grabbed something and smashed the door. The old and hoarse voice of the oracle came from inside the house: "Get out."

"Why do you do this?" The high priest persuaded, "The god who appeared in front of us is obviously His Royal Highness Apollo. Why do you insist on saying no, and question his identity face to face, causing him to be angry and imprisoning you here?" place?"

The oracle sneered: "I think you are angry at that god who is clearly angry, but doesn't intend to kill me, and kills your ambition to replace me, right?"

If nothing like this happened, she would have been confused by the high priest's pretended desirelessness, kindness and gentleness, but now, she has seen through the other party's ambition.

As the messenger of Apollo, the oracle is the closest existence to the sun god. When Apollo conveyed all kinds of wisdom prophecies in her ears, there were some trivial and mortal worries and complaints mixed in.

She knew better than anyone else that it was absolutely impossible for Apollo to pass down an oracle, saying that he "dislikes Hyacinthus" and even wanted the young king to die.

She is Apollo's oracle and is only loyal to Apollo.No matter who the god disguised as Apollo is, even Apollo's sister, the moon god Artemis, has no right to make decisions for Apollo.

The high priest spoke a few more words of persuasion outside the door, shook his head helplessly, and handed the plate to the preparatory priest next to him: "Look, she is just so stubborn. She doesn't want to speak for the gods, and even distorts my good intentions. What is it?" You are getting old! When you are old, you will always be confused."

The reserve priest complimented quickly: "That's right, if I didn't know that the oracle was inside the door, I almost thought it was a crazy woman from somewhere. How can you be so tolerant and tolerant."

The High Priest smiled with great satisfaction, and glanced towards the door of the Oracle, his expression became a little gloomy again.

Obviously contradicting like this, anyone with eyes can see that he is the one who is on the side of the gods, why the gods still don't want to execute this old woman, but want him to take good care of her?

Forget it, don't want these useless things.

According to this old lady's age, if she goes on a hunger strike for a few more days, she probably should go down to see Charon.

After the high priest untied himself, he took a step and walked towards the atrium, ready to admire the courtyard under the moon: "Where's Paar? Is there any news? It's been so long, it should be enough for him to go back and forth. He won't be in Sparta. It's-"

"boom!"

A muffled and deafening crash came from the vestibule.

Before the startled High Priest could regain his thoughts, new crashing sounds came one after another:

"boom!"

"boom!"

"Crack!"

It was the sound of the high and thick temple gate being cracked.

Pal's voice came next: "Your Majesty! This way!"

The continuous torches drove away the night of Delphi temple forcefully, and soldiers wearing armor poured in from the gate.

These civilians and soldiers of mixed blood have survived from the battlefield to this day. Which one of them has accumulated a lot of military exploits and rich experience, and those eyes look from the gap in the helmet, so that people seem to smell the smell of blood when they look at each other.

The high priest was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground, and he didn't care about maintaining any pretentious appearance. He turned around and rushed to the apse, praying frantically to the token that "Apollo" gave him before he left: "God! Please save your dearest son." Faithful believers! Disobedient gods have led an army into the Temple of Delphi!"

on Mount Olympus.

Artemis was arguing with Apollo, who was clamoring to go out again, when the pendant around his waist suddenly lit up, and the high priest's panicked voice came from inside: "Please come quickly! Save the temple! Save your Believers! Apollo! They're coming in, red cloak, red cloak, it's the Spartan army!!"

Apollo rushed to the barrier in an instant: "Yasin! Is it Yashin?"

After he was excited, he suddenly paused, "—Oh no!? You actually led him to Delphi??"

Fuck, the Temple of Delphi is his base camp, his little treasury, ah! ! ! !

It's gone, it's gone... Apollo took two steps back in despair, and fell to the ground.

His small treasury, his great temple, woo woo woo...

How could there be such a cheating sister in this world!

Artemis still thought of Apollo because he was worried about the safety of Hyacinthus, so he acted like this, and smiled angrily: "Your little lover is so brave, dare to attack your temple, you are right Is there nothing else to say?"

"..." Apollo sat on the ground with his legs spread apart, moved his body when he heard the words, raised his head slightly, and looked at his sister, "Yes, remember, you must make him cry."

The author has something to say: This chapter is two in one~