At the same time, the soldiers around were surprised to find that some strange beings suddenly climbed onto the hull. When they reacted, they found that it was actually skeletons that suddenly appeared from the sea and came to the deck. They held ancient shields and weapons in their hands, and then began to kill the surrounding soldiers.
Cleopatra stood on the mast with a smile, looking at the battlefield below. These bones were all summoned by her. After all, the Hellespont was one of the main battlefields of the famous Trojan War in the past. There were countless bodies of soldiers in the ocean. As the oracle of Hades, Cleopatra was given the ability to control the dead. She could temporarily give these dead people souls and then control their bodies to fight.
The fighting ability of these skeleton soldiers was actually very poor. Facing living people, their advantage was not very obvious. However, even if these bones were broken up, they quickly gathered together again, picked up their weapons and returned to the battlefield. The soldiers on the ship fought desperately, but in the end they could not escape the fate of being hacked to death one by one.
After finishing the battle on the ship, these skeleton soldiers opened the deck with their weapons and came under the ship. All the ships stopped with exclamations and screams.
These skeleton soldiers killed all the slaves who were responsible for rowing the boats. The boats that had lost power just floated directly on the sea. Cleopatra looked at the corpses on the boat with great satisfaction. In this way, the navy of Eraeus would not be able to threaten Cestus, and Cleopatra could quickly go to the battlefield of Eraeus to help the Spartan army capture Eraeus.
Originally, the war on the Gallipoli Peninsula was just a small war.
The arrival of an oracle is enough to change the course of war.
Now Cleopatra even felt that she could make some achievements in the East. After all, the enemies here were very weak, and she knew very little about the Byzantine Kingdom. She didn't know that there was a powerful country like the Byzantine Kingdom in the north of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Therefore, Cleopatra was full of confidence in the future, just like she easily wiped out the Eraeus navy. Next, when attacking Eraeus, her ability can still play a huge role.
Soon, the news reached Hilde's ears.
"...I didn't expect that the Spartans of Cestus would have the courage to attack Eraeus. Aren't they afraid of making mistakes and eventually losing the entire Gallipoli Peninsula?"
Hilde after hearing the news.
Couldn't help laughing.
Did she wish the Spartans failure? Clearly not.
The success of the Spartans is the key to Hilde's interests. If the Spartans can successfully occupy the entire Gallipoli Peninsula, Hilde's plan will be implemented smoothly, so Hilde hopes that the Spartans will never fail at this critical moment.
However, at this time, Amyntas was a little confused and said, "In addition to this incident, there is another very strange thing. When our merchant ship passed the Hellespont near Cestus yesterday, we found that there were many warships of unknown countries parked on the Hellespont. Then our merchant ship boarded the warships and found that they were warships from Eraeus. All the soldiers and slaves on these warships were dead, and there were also a lot of bones. These ships have now been towed back to our port. Do you want to take a look?"
"Is there still this matter?"
Hilde was also a little surprised.
She had just wanted to say that Cestus might be attacked by the navy of Eraeus, but she did not expect that the navy of Eraeus would be destroyed on the Hellespont. So Hilde ignored everything else and quickly followed Amyntas to the port.
After arriving at the port, Hilde saw the warships of Eraeus parked at the port of Byzantium. Now, the soldiers of Byzantium had blocked the port to prevent others from approaching the warships. This cautious operation was obviously arranged by Amyntas. So Hilde said to Amyntas, "You did a good job. Let me go on board and take a look."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hilde couldn't wait to board the ship.
Chapter 6: The Army Prepares to Attack
The bodies on the ship had been cleaned up by Amyntas and the merchants who brought the ship back. Although it only took one day to travel from Cestus to Byzantium by sea, this one day was enough to make the whole ship stink. However, the bones that Amyntas mentioned were still on the ship, and the crew members who witnessed all this were also left here by Amyntas.
After Hilde came onto the boat, he looked around.
“These bones…”
If it were just ordinary bones, Hilde would not care, but the problem was that these bones were very strange. Not only did they have weapons and shields, but some of them were even wearing armor. And the style of the armor was not like the bronze armor of today, but bronze pieces were stacked one after another to form a scale-like armor. However, these scales were not like the fish scales of later generations, but more like the mahjong mat that Hilde used in that world. Pieces of bronze were connected in series...
This time-consuming, labor-intensive and ineffective armor method was completely eliminated one or two hundred years ago. Since these armor plates are connected in series, weapons can be easily inserted through the gaps between the armor plates, and the falling off of armor blocks has become an inevitable thing. When the Greeks mastered the overall forging of bronze armor, this technology was directly abandoned.
The reason why Hilde knew this.
This is because this type of armor was the armor worn by the Mycenaeans hundreds of years ago.
In other words, the identity of these bones should be Mycenaeans.
"There is still blood on their weapons. According to the crew's feedback, when they boarded the ship, the blood on the weapons in the hands of these skeletons had not yet completely coagulated. And according to our judgment, the wounds on the bodies on the ship were also caused by these weapons. So... I have a bold guess that the dead on the ship must have fought with these skeletons."
After hearing what Amyntas said.
Hilde stood up, turned around and asked:
"Do you think that's possible?"
"Your Majesty, I know it's unlikely, but based on the results we have so far, we can only believe that there is indeed such a possibility in the situation of these corpses." Amyntas has always been a very cautious person. The fact that he can say such words with certainty is probably true as Amyntas said, "These ships are all from Eraeus. I suspect they must have been killed by the Spartans. Otherwise, the Spartans would not have launched an attack recently."
"It's a coincidence in terms of time, but... these bones are really strange. Some of them still have seaweed hanging on them, which means they must have come from the sea. The weapons and armor on their bodies are seriously rusted. This is not only due to the passage of time, but also the corrosion of sea water."
Hilde picked up a piece of armor.
Then he said to Amyntas:
"I don't know about the bones, but these weapons and armor are definitely from the Mycenaean era, which means they are at least several hundred years old. If we assume that these bones came from the bottom of the sea, then wearing Mycenaean armor and appearing in this area, then we can be sure that these people must have been on the Greek side of the Trojan War that attacked Troy. The Trojans back then did not wear this kind of armor."
"The Trojan War!?"
Amyntas was also very surprised.
“That was so many years ago!”
"So... isn't it even more curious where these corpses came from? And these bones are the murderers who killed the sailors and slaves on the ship. So did these bones crawl up here by themselves, or did someone do it on purpose? If someone did it on purpose, and he has the ability to do it, doesn't that mean that the person who accomplished this must be an oracle-level being?"
Hilde was also a little surprised.
If this is what the Spartans did.
Doesn't that mean that the Spartans have an oracle who can control the dead? In addition to Hades, there are other gods related to death, such as the god of death. But no matter which one it is, if such an oracle really appears in Sparta and really comes to this place, it will probably cause a lot of trouble for Hilde. So Hilde must pay attention to such people.
However, this discovery also gave Hilde a hint that the reason why the Spartans dared to attack was probably because they relied on the arrival of an oracle, so the Spartans should be determined to annex the entire Gallipoli Peninsula, so... this is a very good opportunity for Hilde.
The only problem is this oracle.
What is his level?
Now Hilde didn't know.
If the oracle is very powerful, then this is obviously not good news. Hilde must be cautious. Although she has defeated the Thracian King, it was with the help of Xerxes that she was able to win such a battle...
and many more!
Xerxes?
Isn’t she right here!!!
Hilde clapped his hands suddenly, startling Amyntas next to him.
"His Majesty?"
"I am such a fool. I didn't even notice such a big weapon in front of me. Okay, Amyntas, you must gather the troops immediately and be ready to fight at any time. Once the Spartans annex the entire Gallipoli Peninsula, we will immediately set out to attack Cestus!"
Hilde's sudden decision made Amyntas a little overwhelmed.
So sudden?
However, as an officer, Amyntas obviously had no reason to refuse or question, so he stood up and said to Hilde: "Understood! I will go and get the troops ready!"
"Amyntas, there is one thing you must be very clear about. You will most likely face the Oracle from Sparta in this battle. Although I will be the one to deal with this Oracle, it is very likely that this Oracle will direct his attack towards you. If this happens, you will be in great danger. But I hope that in this battle, I can see your bravery and courage."
Hilde's words.
For Amyntas, it was a complete motivation.
"Yes!!!"
Amyntas nodded heavily.
Chapter 7 of the fifth tune: The Very Curious Emperor
"Don't worry, even if the enemy is a god-like existence, we will not be afraid!"
"That's fine."
Hilde was well aware of the bravery of the Byzantine army. When the King of Thrace led his troops into the city, these soldiers were not afraid at all. Even when facing the King of Thrace directly, they knew that they would die in the following battle, but they still took up their weapons to give the people behind them enough time to escape.
But Hilde still doesn't want them to really sacrifice their lives for the country.
Especially this time, the Spartans may have an oracle with very strange and weird abilities. Hilde knows very little about him. Although she can ask Xerxes to accompany her, there shouldn't be any problems. But once a large-scale conflict occurs, this oracle can summon the dead hundreds of years ago, which may cause great trouble to the army.
Hilde decided to prepare the army first. After the army was fully prepared, he would explain to the officers and soldiers what might happen this time, so that they would not be at a loss as to what to do when faced with the armed skeletons.
A new oracle.
This is really interesting.
Hilde also became curious.
She had not thought that the Spartans would actually hide an oracle. If two oracles were sent out at the same time when attacking Athens, Athens would be in danger even with the presence of Rhodes. So why didn't the Spartans send out this oracle when attacking Athens? Was it because this oracle had only recently appeared, or was it because his ability could not change the situation?
These questions can only be answered when we meet this oracle.
And while Hilde is dealing with these things.
Inside the palace.
Sophia sat on this side of the table, looking at the table nervously, while Xerxes held her cheek with one hand and tapped the table impatiently with the other hand. It was obvious that Xerxes was not in a good mood, and her eyes were fixed on Sophia, as if she was looking for some secret in Sophia.
This situation has been going on for some time.
Sophia was arranging for the servants to clean the pipes, but she found that Xerxes was like a ghost, always following her. Sophia couldn't ignore Xerxes, but when she asked him, Xerxes didn't say anything. Finally, after finishing all the work, Sophia came to the reception hall and sat in front of the table, and Xerxes sat directly opposite Sophia, forming the current situation.
"that……"
Sophia looked up with some concern.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty..."
"There's a very strange feeling about you."
Xerxes frowned tightly, with a hint of impatience in his tone.
"You look very different from how I felt about you before. What happened to you? I'm very curious... Are you hiding something from me?" Xerxes suddenly stood up and walked towards Sophia. "What are you hiding under your hood? I heard from Sissi that you were injured. Is there something that you can't let others see?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Sophia also started to panic.
She knew that Xerxes had set his sights on her.
"It's nothing, actually..."
"Can't you take off your hood so I can see it?"
"No... this is not allowed."
Seeing Sophia's evasive look, Xerxes became more and more curious and confused. She quickly walked up to Sophia and reached out to take off the hood on her head. At this time, Sophia hurriedly dodged and blocked Xerxes' hand with her hand. As a result, Xerxes suddenly felt his arm go numb, and his upper body leaned back involuntarily.
What a strength!
"Sissi told me that I must never take it off."
"...Sissi said that? All right then."
Xerxes rubbed his wrist.
She didn't know what happened to Sophia, but she could intuitively feel that Sophia's body had changed a lot. She was no longer the delicate girl before, but became a being that seemed to be more powerful than she had imagined. So Xerxes asked, "What happened to you? Could it be that you have become an oracle? How is this possible?"
The expression on Sophia's face was shocked at first, and then she quickly turned her head away and pulled down her hood to cover her face.
"Did I get it right?"
"That... I don't know either..."
"What's there to not know about becoming an oracle? Isn't this a good thing? Besides... being an oracle means having a stronger power. It also means that you can help Sissi in the future, instead of hiding behind her and accepting her protection for the rest of your life. I don't think you would want to always hold her back, would you?"
Xerxes' words really moved Sophia. Sophia hesitated for a while, then she slowly raised her head and looked at Xerxes in front of her. She hesitated for a while, and finally nodded and said to Xerxes: "Yes, I have indeed become an oracle, but I don't know what my power is, or even which life master I am the oracle of, so... I really don't know how I can help Sissi."
“…There is such a thing.”
Xerxes was a little surprised.
This was the first time she heard that an oracle didn't know which god he was the oracle of. This was indeed a bit absurd. After all, after an oracle obtained the power granted by the god, the god would usually tell him his identity, but Sophia in front of him didn't even know her own abilities and the god... Xerxes thought of the hand that had just been blown away.
"You are not the oracle of Hercules?"
"How can it be!"
Sophia quickly defended herself, "She is a very gentle goddess!"
"That's Hercules."
"There is no such god!!!"
Sophia seemed a little angry. After all, she was very grateful to the goddess in her heart, so when Xerxes made such a joke, Sophia was a little unhappy. Xerxes shrugged helplessly and said, "But you will always know what your ability is in the future. Don't worry about it. Anyway, this is a good thing after all, isn't it?"
Chapter 5, Section 8: The Truth Confessed
"You're right..."
After all, the other party is Her Majesty the Queen.
