In order to quell the rebellion, Hilde will inevitably go out personally. At that time, Ares will personally go into battle and have a fierce battle with the thief who stole Athena's body to see who will win in the end.
Ares has such a simple idea.
It really disrupted Artemis' plan.
The reason for going to Abydos was indeed to allow Hilde to react quickly.
Until now, Artemis did not want to become an enemy of Hilde. She could only create favorable conditions for Hilde as much as possible without being exposed. However, Ares was also very smart. Although he did not say it, perhaps he already knew Artemis' compassion in his heart.
Chapter 2, Section 1: The God Who Frustrated in His Action
Ares didn't say anything about this.
He said he could accept it.
But Ares has the final say on the actions of the duo.
Choosing Abydos does make sense. In fact, Abydos and other places are still the focus of the Byzantine Kingdom. They once fiercely opposed the invasion of Hilde. Later, Golgopas was defeated and their army suffered heavy casualties. Therefore, many local civilians have a low favorability towards the Byzantine Kingdom. But after all, they have no means of resistance. Even if the favorability is low, they have to hold back their anger.
There is no other way.
But Ares noticed this, too.
Rebellion at Abydos.
I'm afraid that when the number of rebels reaches a hundred, Hilde will lead the army here.
However, places like Ephesus were different. Here, the size of the rebels could be guaranteed by the population. Moreover, it was far away from the Byzantine Empire. Even if the Byzantine Empire dispatched troops, it would take several months to reach Ephesus. Several months was enough time for the oracles they selected to brainwash the people of this place at various levels and encourage them to take up arms.
"Do you have any suitable candidates?"
Walking outside the city of Ephesus.
Ares asked as he looked at Ephesus.
And Artemis shook her head.
"not at all."
"In order to realize our plan, we must choose a reliable one."
"Um……"
Artemis glanced at Ares.
This God of War is like a big boy now.
Didn't he notice some of Zeus' plans?
At this point, Artemis felt that she needed to say something.
"Ares, I know you may not believe what I say, but there are some things I think it is necessary to say. You can believe it or not, but this is my attitude."
"Oh?"
Artemis' words caught Ares' attention.
"You should tell me."
"Father God is lying."
“…You are slandering the Father!”
"You and Athena are old rivals. You always lose to Athena, so you must be dissatisfied with Athena. But, Ares, ask yourself, is Athena really the kind of treacherous villain who steals artifacts?" Artemis turned around and stared at Ares with wide eyes. "You know how decent she is. But why would such a decent person choose to stand against my father and desperately want to take away the original library of creation, even losing her own life?"
"..."
Ares said nothing.
His deep eyes were now fixed intently on Artemis in front of him.
"I know you won't believe what I say, but I also confirmed it with my own eyes. I have also thought about this issue. Father God... seems to be planning something very terrible when we don't know, and we don't know what this thing is. And this plan must be inseparable from the Genesis Original Library. Athena chose to sacrifice herself in order to dismantle Father God's plan."
"I have thought about what you said."
Ares stabbed the spear in his hand heavily into the ground.
"But I am the son of my father, Ares, the god of war that makes him proud. I cannot doubt my father."
"...Same."
There really is no point in saying this to Ares.
Artemis also felt that she was a little stupid.
"Since the Father asks us to do this, we must do it! I don't care what the Father's purpose is."
"Indeed, you don't need to care. You only care about your honor and your victory or defeat. You don't care at all about what will happen to this world. But... the gods of Olympus have ruled this world for long enough. Just like the Titans, does it mean that our era is gradually coming to an end, and this world will undergo a radical change?"
"Shut up."
Ares raised his spear directly.
He placed the tip of the spear against Artemis' throat.
"I can pretend I didn't hear what you said."
"Um……"
"So, if you still say these words and intend to confuse me, then don't blame me for being angry. I will never allow it!"
"Well, I see."
Since Ares said so.
Artemis felt that there was no need for her to continue talking nonsense.
Seeing that Artemis had surrendered, Ares retracted the spear in his hand and turned his head away.
"I hope you can remember your identity. You are the daughter of the Father God. Your brother Apollo also died at the hands of Hilde. You and Hilde must have an irreconcilable relationship. If you still have to speak to Hilde, then I really can't imagine it."
"……Row."
Since the other party said so.
Artemis had no choice but to accept it.
"I understand."
"Then let us continue our mission."
"OK……"
Artemis is feeling particularly helpless right now.
Perhaps it was because Hera knew that Ares' loyalty to Zeus was unshakable that she let Ares follow her.
Artemis couldn't help but wonder.
But now, I have to find time to inform Hilde.
The most important thing is that she is prepared.
With this thought in mind, Artemis and Ares went together to look for a new oracle.
Ephesus and the surrounding area are very large, and the people here now live a more affluent life than before. Therefore, it is almost difficult to find an oracle who can be angry with Hilde. Especially for Ares, after all, the oracle before Ares was Brasidas, who was a real man of iron and blood. Ares chose him because they were like-minded. The same is true for Artemis. Tomyris's integrity attracted Artemis, so he gave the power to this girl who was not even Greek.
So, Ares was in a dilemma.
He searched for two days but couldn't find a suitable candidate.
“It’s such a huge problem.”
Ares said angrily:
"Is there not a single warrior like Brasidas in the Byzantine Empire?"
"It's not that there aren't such warriors, but you have to look for them in the Byzantine army." Artemis couldn't help but tease, "The people here are content with their happy lives, so they naturally don't want to fight. This is different from the Spartans you're looking for. After all, the Spartans' lives are hanging by a thread every day, and they are worried that the Helots will suddenly rebel and take their lives."
The two people who started the pursuit in the second section of the second tune
After hearing what Artemis said, Ares could only curl his lips.
He had to admit this kind of teasing.
The Spartan warriors were indeed trained in such a morbid environment, but Ares just liked this kind of men. There was no way. As the god of war, he had no resistance to those warriors who dared to fight to the death with the enemy on the battlefield.
but……
Ares's current mission is to find a suitable oracle.
To pose a threat to Hilde.
But here, there is indeed a lack of people that Ares thinks can be chosen.
The existence of an oracle is very troublesome. You can give the other party divine power, but there is no guarantee that the other party will listen to you. The oracle is also a human being, with his own emotions and independent thoughts, and outsiders cannot influence him. Therefore, Ares and others must find someone who can truly obey their orders, and it is best if they have the same interests.
This step is probably going to be quite difficult.
"Let's go to the border area and take a look."
"……also."
After the setback in the action in Ephesus.
Ares and Artemis chose to look somewhere else.
At this time, a Persian-style warship slowly docked in the port of Ephesus. A group of soldiers wearing Byzantine armor surrounded the port.
The citizens of Ephesus could not see this.
When they approached the port, they were persuaded to leave by soldiers.
At this time, a graceful woman slowly walked down from the boat.
Her true face naturally could not be seen by the Ephesians, because she was the Queen of Persia, Xerxes. As the one who had besieged Ephesus and destroyed Miletus before, if the Queen of Persia was found to be in Ephesus, it would only bring great trouble to Hilde, so Xerxes himself knew that when she arrived in Ephesus, she had to remain calm.
"Whoosh..."
Xerxes looked at prosperous Ephesus.
Smiling, he said to the woman beside him:
“What a bustling metropolis.”
"Yes."
The red-haired woman standing next to Xerxes was Hilde's bedmate, Sophia.
Now, half a year had passed since Xerxes left the Byzantine Empire. After half a year, after Xerxes had dealt with a lot of messy things in Persia, he handed over the operation of the country to the bureaucrats and close ministers, and she herself slowly set out from the heart of Persia and went all the way to Halicarnassus along the main road.
The former queen of Halicarnassus, the current city lord and the archon of the Byzantine Kingdom, secretly received the Persian Queen Xerxes. Later, Hilde also sent Sophia to greet Xerxes. Sophia, who was already waiting for Xerxes in Halicarnassus, soon met up with Xerxes. The two did not delay, but took a boat to Ephesus to rest for a while. After two days, they would go directly to Byzantium with the squadron and merchant fleet from Ephesus.
"It would be nice if Sissi could come pick me up."
"This one……"
Sophia couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"There's nothing we can do. Sissi is in Macedonia."
"Tsk, haven't they wiped out the Macedonians yet?"
"Sissi told me that although Macedonia could be defeated, the most complicated issue was how to rule after defeating Macedonia."
"Rule..."
"Yes, the Macedonians are different from the Thracians. The Thracians have no civilization, so they will easily submit to the rule of the Byzantine Empire after being conquered. In addition, the Thracians have always been oppressed by the brutal rule of the Thracian king, so they are naturally willing to be loyal to Sissi, who can bring them a good life. But... the Macedonians can't do that. Their country is also very prosperous. If they are invaded all of a sudden, it will only arouse their resistance."
"understood."
Xerxes listened to Sophia's explanation, smiled and nodded.
"You've made quite a bit of progress."
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."
In Xerxes' eyes.
Sophia has changed a lot from the little slave girl who knew nothing to what she is now. I don't know whether it is the result of Sophia's hard work or Hilde's good training.
"Your Majesty?" Xerxes raised his eyebrows. "In private, just call me Little Xuexue, just like Sissi."
"Well...Xiao Xuexue."
