But what if it really succeeds?
That, I’m afraid, is true for Athens.
That's the real disaster.
Thinking of this, Pericles stood up.
"Okay, Rhodes, if you are unhappy staying in Athens recently, you can go back to Suenke. There is no influence from the city there. If you go back, you should be able to feel better."
Chapter 6, Section 8: The Aggressive Enemy
Hearing this, Rhodes smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"I'm not going back."
"why?"
"If I go back now, wouldn't that mean I'm abandoning Lord Pericles? I can't do that. Don't worry, I'll help you no matter what happens in Athens." Hearing this, Rhodes gently held Pericles' hand and said, "Let's get through this difficulty together."
"...Yeah, good boy."
Pericles smiled and nodded.
With Rhodes around, Pericles felt like he could breathe a sigh of relief.
At this moment, a stone suddenly flew into the hall where Pericles was resting. The center of Pericles' mansion was open to the sky, so the stone smashed directly in. Rhodes raised his arm directly, and the trident hit the stone exactly, knocking the whole stone away.
"who!?"
"do not be angry."
Pericles smiled bitterly and said:
“It must be the protesters outside.”
"These people...are really going too far."
Rhodes, who just said he could understand, is now angry.
Seeing Rhode's rare angry look, Pericles couldn't help but laugh. But then, Pericles stood up straight and said to Rhode, "If we have nothing to do now, why don't we go to the balcony to see what happened and what those troublemakers are up to."
"Yes."
Rhodes walked beside Pericles.
Never leave.
Afraid of something unexpected happening.
When they arrived at the balcony of the mansion, noisy sounds came from outside. Pericles frowned slightly, walked to the edge of the balcony, and looked at the civilians gathered outside. These people held stones and some simple weapons in their hands, and seemed to be planning to break into Pericles' mansion directly, shouting that they wanted to judge Pericles, while the soldiers guarding the mansion blocked the gate and used their spears and shields to protect the safety of the mansion.
"This is the Athenian..."
Pericles looked at the Athenian civilians who were almost in riot.
He took a deep breath.
"These are the Athenians I love, known for their rationality."
"Lord Pericles, if they come in, I will drive them all away!"
Rhode raised the trident in her hand. As she was thinking, all the water in the pool in Pericles' mansion rose into the air and gathered above her head. When the civilians gathered in front of Pericles' mansion saw the powerful water flow, most of them immediately became scared. They looked at Rhode not far away in horror, and everyone looked around, at a loss.
At this time, Pericles gently placed his hand on Rhodes' trident.
"do not do that."
"But!"
"The Athenians are innocent, but the guilty one is Creon who wanted to steal."
Pericles could feel that a pair of eyes were staring at him, as if they were trying to make fun of Pericles and find a place to attack him. Therefore, for this reason, Pericles could only shake his head helplessly and said to Rhodes: "For now, don't pay too much attention to these noisy voices. We don't need to be afraid or panic. Time will prove that what we did is right."
"...Understood, Lord Pericles."
Rhodes sighed.
Then he turned around and returned the water to the pool.
Seeing that Rhode suddenly gave up, the mobs regained their courage, but they knew that what they had just said was actually a warning from Rhode, so their attack on the mansion became slightly less intense. As for Pericles, he had long been accustomed to such developments. The performance of the Athenians during the war had completely frustrated Pericles.
But just as Rod said.
Pericles could understand it.
Whether it was Creon's instigation or for some other reason.
The Athenians' dilemma was real.
Because many people couldn't even fill their stomachs, they were angry and thought Pericles was a coward for not taking action. That's why they attacked Rhodes, the only oracle in Athens who protected Athens. Although Pericles didn't want to see this, it really happened. Rhodes could only bear it silently. Everything was for the future of Athens.
Once you can't sit still anymore.
It gave Creon an opportunity.
At this time, an Athenian general in armor walked in quickly.
"They are really going too far!"
"Demosthenes, calm down."
Pericles looked at the man in front of him helplessly.
The Athenian general named Demosthenes angrily took off his helmet and threw it on the ground. It was obvious that he was very emotional. He first glanced at Rhodes, as if he was going to say something, but then gave up. Demosthenes said helplessly: "Sir Archon, these people are riding on our heads now. They are destroying Athens' democracy! Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, they are still doing this!"
"So what?"
Pericles said helplessly:
“We just have to be patient.”
"I can't stand it anymore!?"
"Demosthenes, if you rush out with your troops and drive them away now, there will definitely be casualties. Then, my reputation of commanding the troops to bloody suppress the Athenians will inevitably spread throughout Athens. What will the Citizens' Assembly and the Areopagus Council think of me then? What should I do? Cleon's goal is exactly this. He uses rogue means to force me to make the wrong decision. Then, after achieving his goal, he will turn around and use democratic means to force me to submit."
"In my opinion, democracy in Athens is no longer necessary! We might as well learn from the Byzantine Empire and directly establish the Kingdom of Athens! Anyway, the soldiers listen to you, and Lord Rhodes is on your side. First, unite everyone, and after defeating the Spartans, we can return democracy to Athens!" Demosthenes knocked the ground with his spear. It can be seen that he is very indignant now. "If this happens, we will always be passive and beaten. I, I really can't stand it!"
"endure!"
Pericles suddenly shouted loudly.
Demosthenes was so frightened that he took a step back.
"You are the general! You must keep calm!"
"But……"
"Athens, Athens' democracy is the bottom line of all issues, it cannot be touched!!!"
Chapter 6, Section 9: The Threats We Face
Hearing Pericles say this, Demosthenes couldn't help but lower his head.
"If this continues... the democratic system will be destroyed. By then, even if you, Lord Pericles, do not want this to happen, it may happen." Demosthenes took a deep breath. The words he said now contained a lot of courage. "Now, that Cleon has shown such signs. Once this guy gains power, he will inevitably pose a threat to the entire Athenian democratic system!"
"Unless Athens is conquered, then..."
"Lord Pericles!"
Demosthenes seemed to be arguing.
But, as for what he said.
Pericles was also very determined: "I understand what you mean, but since I am in this position, I cannot become that person... Moreover, the Spartans have not yet entered the city, and you are already thinking about this issue. What if I become a tyrant, or someone else becomes a tyrant, but cannot stop the Spartans? What should I do then? As for Cleon you mentioned, he is just a clown. Now there are indeed people supporting him, but he is just taking advantage of the situation."
"……Yes."
Demosthenes was speechless.
"Then I will protect this place."
"Thank you, Lord Demosthenes." At this time, Rhodes turned around and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry that it's not convenient for me to help you."
"No, no, no, Lord Rhodes, you don't have to do this... Just now I saw that you seemed to be planning to drive away the mob, but if you really take action, it will make the current situation even more critical. So, your judgment is correct. Don't worry, I, Demosthenes, will definitely lead the soldiers here and do my best to resist Cleon and his men, and I will definitely stop the mob outside."
"Thanks a lot."
Facing the situation of Demosthenes.
Rhodes was helpless.
She was almost at a loss as to what to do.
After Demosthenes left, Pericles seemed to sense Rhodes' depression, so he reached out his hand, patted Rhodes on the shoulder, and said to her: "Child, don't be depressed. One day, you can do what you want to do, and Athens will be able to return to a peaceful state. You don't have to worry too much."
"...Yes, I understand, Lord Pericles."
Rhodes was frustrated.
But she still nodded heavily.
——————————Dividing line——————————
This time, the plan of the Athenian people who opposed Pericles to attack the palace was once again ruined, which made Cleon very frustrated. The momentum today was very strong, and the soldiers could hardly stop the angry civilians from rushing into Pericles' house and pulling this guy out. But at this time, Rhodes suddenly appeared. Although Cleon was not afraid of the oracle, it did not mean that the civilians were not afraid.
Everything failed today.
Cleon is now very depressed.
In fact, he had been trying to destroy Pericles' reputation during this period to achieve his desired goal, but the final result did not satisfy him. On the one hand, although the public opinion on Pericles had changed greatly on the side of the Citizens' Assembly, almost all members of the Citizens' Assembly were still willing to give Pericles a chance and were willing to believe that Pericles must have his considerations for not taking action, rather than simply being afraid of death.
This was due to the members of the Citizens' Assembly's understanding and trust in Pericles. Although many people in the Citizens' Assembly were also of commoner origin, after spending some time with Pericles and getting to know what kind of person this consul was, they were willing to believe Pericles on this matter rather than just listen to Cleon's unilateral statement.
Not to mention the recent riots in Athens.
There has been some backlash against the Citizens’ Assembly.
On the other hand, not only the Citizens Assembly, but also the Areopagus Council, these traditional Athenian nobles, were even more disgusted with Cleon. On the surface, Pericles seemed to be besieged on all sides and had almost reached the final stage, but in fact, looking at the entire political situation in Athens, Cleon's situation was getting worse and worse.
Otherwise, Cleon would not go to the temple on time every day to worship the gods, hoping that they would come down to earth to make him an oracle. Cleon would do this because there was really no other way. Until now, Cleon realized that there was a huge gap between himself and Pericles, and this gap could not be saved by his own cleverness.
and so……
In fact, Kryon is the most passive one.
The civilians who were bewitched by him now have less and less confidence in Cleon. If this continues, Cleon will soon lose all his advantages and be completely defeated by Pericles, even if Pericles did nothing.
That night.
Creon kneels in the temple.
The surrounding candlelight illuminated his face, and the anxiety and uneasiness on his face were fully revealed.
"Great Lord Apollo!"
"If you can hear my prayer, I hope you can tell me how I can become an oracle. Athens is now in danger. Pericles has no ability to save Athens, and the other oracle, Rhodes, is hiding in the city and dare not go out to fight. Athens will soon be captured by the Spartans. What will happen to our future?"
"Lord Apollo! Only I can save Athens. As long as I become the Archon of Athens, I can lead Athens out of its current predicament. By that time, I will definitely transform the Parthenon dedicated to Athena into a temple dedicated to you!"
In this case.
Kryon has said this many times.
He said this in the temple of Athena, in the temple of Poseidon, and in the temples of other gods, but no matter which temple he went to, Creon's prayers were useless, and Creon himself knew very well that such prayers were meaningless. So... this time when he came to the temple of Apollo, it was also the case.
Kryon, in fact, has no faith at all.
He looked at the statue of Apollo in front of him.
Creon knew that it was too difficult to turn a statue into a real god.
He sighed helplessly.
"Even you are unwilling to help Athens? It seems that Athens really wants to..."
Chapter 6, Section 10: The God Who Suddenly Appeared
At this moment, Cleon suddenly heard footsteps behind him. At first, Cleon didn't pay much attention to it, after all, he thought it might be the footsteps of the priests of this temple. But at this moment, a steady and pleasant male voice came from behind Cleon:
"Do you think you can deceive us by pretending to be very pious here, you ambitious man?"
"Who?!"
