In God's eyes, human beings may not be as lowly as ants.
But it may just be livestock like cattle, sheep and dogs.
Hild has heard this saying countless times: "Those who are not my kind must have different hearts." Although this saying has its narrowness, it is still very useful when used to measure the relationship between humans and gods. Even Artemis, her essence is still a high and mighty god, an existence that no one can reach.
Artemis is willing to help Hilde.
That's called alms.
Maybe, in the eyes of many other gods.
That's it.
Although she thought so, Artemis had already made her decision.
She chose to stay with Hilde.
Since the other party has said so, Hilde must be worthy of the other party's choice. So Hilde stretched out her hands, gently placed them on Artemis' shoulders, and said earnestly: "Lord Artemis, once again, on behalf of the entire Byzantine Kingdom and all the people of the Byzantine Kingdom, I want to express my gratitude to you. I believe in you, justice will definitely defeat evil, and Zeus's conspiracy will definitely not succeed!"
"……Um."
Artemis smiled and nodded.
"With you here, I think things will get better."
"Well, yes."
Hilde stood up straight.
"You can stay here first. If you need anything, you can always tell me."
"OK……"
Artemis was a little hesitant.
When she saw Hilde turning to leave.
Artemis still chose to call Hilde.
"That! Hilde."
"what happened?"
"Who was the god who came to see you last time?"
Hilde was not surprised by Artemis' question.
She smiled back instead.
"Do you think that if other gods ask me about you, I will tell them the truth?"
"...Same."
"This is not a question of whether I trust you or not, but a question of whether I respect that god or not. I have to keep this secret. When the mystery is solved, you will naturally know who the other party belongs to. Don't worry, at least we still have an ally."
The Second Chapter, Section 9: The God of War
Hilde's words gave Artemis a reassurance.
If you say so.
Artemis was actually relieved.
It seems that things are not as bad as imagined.
After breathing a sigh of relief, Hilde left.
Now, Artemis is the only one left here.
She looked at the room she was in and thought to herself that not long ago, she was still in heaven, living in her own palace, but not long after, she was now living in the palace of the Byzantine Kingdom, being treated as a guest of honor by Hilde. Of course, her other identity was that of a "captive" captured by Hilde.
Now, Artemis was a little worried.
What would Ares do when he returned knowing that he had been captured?
Xerxes deliberately faked the scene of himself being captured.
However, it is still unclear whether this can be hidden from Ares.
Moreover, if this matter reached Zeus's ears, how would Zeus judge this matter? Moreover, if Zeus was really an omniscient and omnipotent god as everyone feared, and Zeus knew all the little tricks of Artemis and Hilde, then what should they do?
These questions deeply troubled Artemis.
But now, she has no choice.
Except this method.
Artemis couldn't think of any other way to deal with the situation.
Soon, another day passed.
While Artemis was having trouble sleeping and eating, Ares had already crossed the islands of the Aegean Sea and started heading for the Greek peninsula on the other side. He was sitting on a merchant ship, holding a weapon, standing on the bow. This merchant ship belonged to Athens. Although the merchants on it did not know who this fully armed man was, they did not dare to refuse Ares.
He had no choice but to take Ares with him to Athens.
Ares is now extremely anxious.
He needed to tell Hera and the others the news about Artemis immediately.
According to their plan, Hera and Hercules should be active in the Greek peninsula, especially in Athens. Athens has many talents and the worship of Hera is also widespread, so Hera is likely to choose Athens to select her oracle. Hercules is a warrior like himself, so it is more likely that he will choose Sparta.
So, Ares planned to go to Athens first.
If you can't see Hera near Athens.
Then, Ares went further south to Corinth and Argos to continue searching.
You can always find Hera's trace.
Soon, the ship crossed the Aegean Sea and arrived at the port of Piraeus in Athens. When Ares just arrived at this place, he could feel the power of his mother, which was located in the core area of the city. So, Ares didn't care about anything else and rushed directly to the Acropolis of Athens.
Now, Athens has just recovered from the plague, and the plague is almost eradicated. The number of deaths in the city is decreasing. In addition, after the war, the Atticans who lived in Athens left Athens and returned to Attica where they have lived for generations. The crowded Athens is no longer crowded, and the people living here have suddenly become much more refreshed.
It is for this reason.
Diseases cannot spread in large numbers through dense crowds.
It was quickly brought under control.
As a result, the streets returned to their former prosperity.
When Ares rushed into the city of Athens with his weapon in hand, all the civilians looked at this two-meter-tall strong man in surprise. Every step he took on the ground was frightening and terrifying. Even the guards in the city of Athens did not dare to have any direct conflict with Ares. However, if they knew that this big guy who was charging around was the famous god of war Ares, they would probably kneel on the ground immediately.
Ares soon arrived at the Acropolis at the top of Athens. When he arrived here, Ares saw Hera, who was on the top of the Acropolis, overlooking the entire city of Athens. Hera had long known that her son was coming. However, when she realized that only Ares came, Hera seemed to have noticed something.
So, Ares was about to say something.
Hera turned around and asked:
"Artemis, ran away?"
"No, no..."
Ares said in a rough voice:
"Artemis didn't run, but, but..."
"but what?"
"When Artemis and I went to Ionia to look for the oracle, we met two strange oracles under Hilde's command. One of them was good at using fire, and her divine power was almost close to that of a real god. The other one was even more terrifying. She could directly turn day into night. Moreover, my divine power seemed to be suppressed when facing her."
"and then?"
Hera was running out of patience.
"What about the Artemis?"
"She, she was captured by the other party."
“…You, you.”
Hera walked quickly to Ares and put her finger on Ares' nose.
"Look at you, what have you done!"
"Sorry, mother."
"Artemis was captured? You are the god of war, the famous god of war Ares, and you, you couldn't even keep an eye on one person when facing two oracles. Then, you ran from Ionia to Athens to complain to me? You, you, if Zeus knew about this, you would really make me lose face!"
"Feel sorry!"
Ares apologized immediately!
"But I'm really not sure about the other party!"
"……never mind."
Hera sighed.
"Since you said you're not sure, then maybe you really are not sure."
"……Um."
"Anyway, since you have come back in such a mess and Artemis has been let go by you, you must give an explanation for this matter, don't you think? So, since you are already here, then please go to Sparta and look for an oracle. I have found the right person here, and it will only take some time."
"Ah, yes, yes."
Ares didn't dare to refute.
Since Hera has such a plan, Ares can only go to Sparta.
After sending Ares away.
Hera sighed helplessly.
"This Hilde..."
Now it seems that Hilde's situation is much more complicated than he imagined.
Hera felt that she had to think about it carefully.
Chapter 2, Section 10: Unbelievable Threat
At present, Hera’s plan is very simple, which is to unite the Greek city-states and break up the situation where Hilde’s family is the only dominant force.
Thus, Hera came to Athens, while Hermes went to Corinth, and Hercules and Ares went to Sparta…
The idea is for everyone to select one or two oracles, and then use the influence of these oracles to integrate the strength of these city-states.
The gods will not fight Hilde directly.
Even now, there is only one thought in their eyes.
The human world still needs to be ruled by humans themselves, so the will of the gods still needs to be realized by the gods through oracles. There is no way around it.
The Oracle integrates ordinary people and then uses their influence to achieve the purpose of the God. This is also the case with Hilde. Although the God will fight with the Oracle, it does not mean that the God will directly come down to earth to rule mankind. The God has no interest in this and it is impossible for him to do so. The restrictions on the God make them unwilling to stay in the human world for too long.
Therefore, the role of spokesperson is very important.
It's not like before.
Before, the Greek gods had chosen oracles just for fun.
But now it’s different. Now it’s to truly stop a guy who may subvert the Olympian gods.
Hera stood in front of the Parthenon. Now, the Parthenon is still dedicated to Athena. Even when Creon was in power, this magnificent temple did not change because he was the oracle of Apollo.
The plague that the city suffered and the years of war made Athens lose the ability to carry out large-scale construction projects, which also led to Athens' inability to build a larger and more magnificent temple of Apollo. Now, Cleon is dead, and Apollo is actually dead. Without Cleon, Athens will not be able to build a huge and magnificent temple of Apollo.
But... Athena?
Hera still has a complicated mentality.
One of the most powerful gods of Olympus.
Athena chose to betray Zeus and took away the original book of creation.
But...what is Athena going to do?
When such a question arose in Hera's mind, Hera quickly shook her head and threw away this terrible idea. Hera did not want to have any doubts about Zeus.
She always believed that she was the goddess most loyal to Zeus.
And this time.
