The third tune, the seventh section, Sailing on the sea
Fortunately, the city of Byzantium currently faces no enemy threats.
So Hilde can go to Apollonia with complete peace of mind.
"Your Majesty, please take your shield."
Amyntas knelt on one knee and presented a shield.
The shield has a very elaborate Medusa head painted on it. The frame of the shield is made of wood, but the surface is made of steel. It is very heavy. Hilde even thinks that she can kill the enemy with just one shield. These people presented this shield that is obviously imitating the shield of Athena, probably to make Hilde look more heroic on the battlefield.
"Is the army ready?"
Hilde took the shield.
"Your Majesty, we are ready and can set off at any time."
"Let's go now!"
Soldiers are valuable and quick.
Now that everything is ready, there is no need to dawdle any longer.
So, ten three-oared sailboats slowly set out from the port of Byzantium, and then began to prepare to pass through the Bosphorus and enter the Black Sea. It takes a total of 5 days to sail from Byzantium to Apollonia. During these five days, Hilde has been silently waiting for the time to come. This time, Hilde did not bring Sofia with her. She planned to let Sofia have a good rest at home. It was Dione who got on the ship with Hilde.
"..."
Dione, who was in the captain's room, hugged the pillar next to her nervously.
Hilde looked at her like a frightened rabbit.
Then he smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Is this your first time on a boat?"
"Um……"
Dione nodded fearfully.
At this time, Hilde stood up and walked in front of Dione. Dione was still a little scared, after all, she was completely alone with Hilde.
However, Hilde gently pulled Dione over and held her in her arms.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen on the boat."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Dione didn't expect Hilde to do this, and she was a little unresponsive for a moment.
However, the faint fragrance coming from Hilde's body was a scent that made her feel at ease. Dione didn't know why, but when Hilde held her so gently, Dione's fear seemed to have completely disappeared. Her shoulders stopped shaking, and she breathed more slowly.
"do not be afraid."
"Well... I'm not scared anymore."
"That's good."
Hilde gently loosened his hand, then asked with a smile:
"Do you know why you followed me on board?"
"Well... it's for your majesty, to serve as food."
Dione had been sucked of blood for a long time, but now when she thinks of that scene, she still feels shy. Therefore, on weekdays, Hilde basically only eats Sofia unless it is absolutely necessary. And now, Dione, who followed Hilde on the ship and went to war with the army, is equivalent to the rations that Hilde carries with her. Therefore, during this period of time, if Hilde needs anything, basically only Dione can take on this task. Sofia told Dione about this before leaving.
"As long as you know."
Hilde nodded with satisfaction.
At this time, Dioni asked cautiously:
"Then, Your Majesty, do you want to...eat now?"
"I'm not hungry yet."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to you... Sailing on the sea is very boring. When you are on the ship, remember to study hard and don't leave this room because there are many slaves and soldiers outside. We are the only two girls on the ship. If something unexpected happens and I don't find it in time..." Hilde gently stroked Diony's cheek, "So, stay with me. I will make sure no one dares to bully you."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Dione nodded.
"There's a hammock next to it, go sleep first."
"Well...but what about His Majesty?"
"me……"
Hilde couldn't sleep, so she basically took a walk to kill time at night. However, she seemed to see something in Dione's eyes. Could it be that this child couldn't sleep alone? Hilde hesitated. This blonde doll looked so pitiful that it was really hard to refuse.
So Hilde smiled and said:
"Then let's sleep together."
"Ok!"
Fortunately, the hammock in the captain's room is big enough.
Hilde lay on it first, and then asked Diony to come up quickly. Then, Hilde held Diony and patted her back gently as if she was coaxing a child. At this time, Hilde wanted to sing a song, but she didn't know what to sing. After all, Hilde had never learned how to sing ancient Greek songs. After thinking about it, Hilde sang a soothing and gentle song in a language that Diony had never heard before.
Hilde's heavenly voice, with a hint of weariness, slowly unfolds.
Soon, Diony, relieved, fell into a deep sleep.
The Third Tune, Section 8, Attack on Apollonia
After five days of sailing.
The warship finally arrived in the waters near Apollonia.
In order to avoid being discovered by the Apollonia people, Hilde's fleet deliberately took a detour and chose a place that was off course. There were risks in doing so, and the skilled crew would not easily allow such behavior. However, because Hilde was on the ship, everyone trusted the queen, so they spent an extra day, bypassed the Apollonia merchant ship, and approached the city from the other side. By the time the warships were ready, it was already late at night.
Hilde's night vision ability allows her to see everything clearly in the distance.
Apollonia, almost undefended.
Low city walls and few sentries.
Because the city was protected by dense forests, the Apollonia people could live here confidently without fear of the Thracians' harassment. But in fact, they certainly did not expect that the people who came to attack them were not Thracians, but Byzantines from the south. So Hilde equipped his shield on his arm, raised his spear, stared straight at Apollonia in the distance, and said to the warriors behind him:
"Byzantine warriors."
"exist!"
"After so many days of sailing, the stars and the sea have led you here, to Apollonia. The sweat you shed in every training and the blood you shed in the bloody battle with the Thracians are all for this moment." Hilde took a deep breath and slowly raised the spear in his hand. "Today, the great road of our Byzantine Kingdom will start from here! Warriors of Byzantium! Take Apollonia!"
"what!"
All the soldiers smashed their spears onto the deck.
"Pass my order and prepare for a night attack."
"Yes!"
Amyntas immediately passed the order to the surrounding ships through the horn.
Ten triremes immediately set off for the port of Apollonia.
However, until now the Apollonia people had not noticed anything was wrong.
As early as last night, Hilde took advantage of the soldiers' inattention and flew over Apollonia, and roughly understood the specific plan of the city. Now, the 300 soldiers led by Hilde will land directly from the port and capture the armory as quickly as possible. Once the armory is captured, the Apollonia people will lose their weapons and will not be able to put up any resistance to Hilde.
So, the plan began quietly.
The trireme soon arrived less than one kilometer away from the port, and then a small boat was lowered from the ship. The soldiers boarded the small boat and began to row towards the port.
Today is a cloudless day.
The moonlight provided the best lighting for the soldiers.
Hilde stood on the front ship. Her sacred figure was just like the goddess of war Athena who led people to victory. She gave strong encouragement to the soldiers and officers. The soldiers worked hard and soon the boat arrived at the port. The soldiers immediately picked up their weapons and came to the city's port.
"Team One and Two, capture the armory immediately."
Hilde directed calmly.
"Team three, follow me and attack the city center."
"Yes!"
So, while the Apollonia people had not yet reacted.
The Byzantine army had already begun its movement.
Team One and Team Two, a total of 200 people, set out together towards the armory. However, the Apollonia people set up sentries at the armory, but these sentries did not take it seriously at all. After all, they did not expect that the enemy would actually land at the port. And while they were sleeping, someone heard the movement.
"what happened?"
A centurion came out from his room.
"Did you hear any noise?"
"Sir, we are so sleepy...there is no movement."
The soldiers complained about the centurion's suspicion.
However, the centurion was a very radical person, because he had led troops to fight against the Thracians many times. As a senior officer from Miletus, the centurion felt that any disturbance should not be missed, so he immediately picked up the weapon next to him and said to the sleeping soldiers: "Wake up! Everyone, take up your weapons!"
"Yes……"
The soldiers took up arms reluctantly.
The centurion put on his helmet and walked out of the armory with a dozen soldiers who were exhausted.
As soon as the centurion walked out of the door, he saw a large group of people appearing in front of him.
"who are you!"
Just as the centurion asked this, he heard a few whooshing sounds.
He dodged quickly and used his shield to block his body, only to find that it was a few arrows. The centurion realized that the enemy was coming, so he shouted: "Enemy attack! There is an enemy attack!"
But what followed was a whistling rain of arrows.
The battle ended quickly in the ninth section of the third tune
The heavy arrows made of steel directly pierced through the bronze armor on the soldiers. The dozen soldiers were shot into sieves before they could even react. Seeing that there was no movement, Amyntas, who led the team, said coldly: "Let's go, this is the armory. If we occupy this place, we will win."
At this time, the centurion stood up from the ground.
"Who the hell are you!"
"We are the Byzantine Army!"
At this time, Amyntas rushed forward and pierced the centurion's body with the spear in his hand.
"From today on, Apollonia is ours!"
The originally solid bronze armor was like paper in front of the sharp steel spear and was pierced directly. The centurion didn't understand why the Byzantine city, which was also a vassal state of Miletus, would attack them. After dealing with these people, Amyntas quickly occupied the place.
Meanwhile, the team led by Hilde also quickly rushed to the city center. Once they arrived here, they could control the governor of Apollonia. However, for some reason, something seemed to have happened at the armory, and the people in the city seemed to have been awakened. Many families had already started to light the oil lamps in their houses, as if they were going to see what was going on.
However, the situation is now settled.
The armory was controlled, and there was only one ending.
Three hours later.
"Hurry up!"
"Stop dawdling!"
The soldiers escorted all the citizens in the city to the central square of the city.
Meanwhile, Hilde was sitting on a chair, looking coldly at the old man in front of her. The old man was the governor of Apollonia, named Theodos. Now, he looked at Hilde angrily and rebuked her, "Gods above, your behavior will be punished by the gods! Our mother country is Miletus, but you rashly attacked us! Now, you have gathered all the citizens of the city here, you..."
"I want to correct something."
At this time, Hilde smiled and said:
"We have left Miletus. We are now the Kingdom of Byzantium."
"Kingdom... How can this be..."
"Impossible? Apollonia and our country also have trade relations. Don't you know about this from the merchants? You, the archon, seem to be not doing a good enough job." Hilde sighed, then looked at the Apollonia people gathered in the square. She looked for a while and then said, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to the people in this city. My goal is simple, which is to bring this place under my rule."
