Don't want to leave for a long time.
"Sissi?"
Sophia came over curiously.
"what happened?"
"I was wondering if we should use the arena to boost morale?"
"An arena... But don't we forbid the training of gladiators?"
"Yes, but who says that only gladiators have to fight in the arena? We can go on the field ourselves. What we want is morale, to let the soldiers and generals know how brave and powerful their leader is."
"sure."
Sophia also nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, it will take some time before we go to war."
"Yes, that's it!"
Hield made a quick decision.
It's a rare opportunity to see an arena, so how could I not make the most of it?
In addition to duels between gladiators, the Colosseum also features gladiators and wild beasts, as well as challengers and gladiators or wild beasts. Since ancient times, warriors and strongmen who wanted to show off their might would choose to show off their bravery and might in the Colosseum. And that's what Hilde wanted to do. She wanted to challenge some wild beasts together with the oracles around her. And Hilde happened to have prepared some wild beasts, and she originally planned to lock them up for exhibition or research.
But now, it can be used in the arena.
"Let's arrange it now!"
"Okay."
Seeing Hilde so happy.
Sophia was also quite happy.
In fact, Hilde did this just for fun, and Sophia knew all this. However, even if it was just for fun, it was enough to make Hilde happy.
Three legions were stationed around Actium, and they had built long-term camps to prepare for the upcoming war. The residents of Actium were unfamiliar, curious, and worried about the newly arrived Majesty Basileus. However, a few days later, the Greek Basileus suddenly announced that he would hold an animal fight in Actium, which surprised the residents of Actium.
Although there was an arena in Actium, there had been no gladiatorial fights for some time. After Epirus was involved in the Peloponnesian War, it did not get enough slaves for gladiatorial fights. Now, Hilde's sudden announcement was beyond the expectations of the people of Actium. But there were gladiatorial fights to watch, and the people of Actium, who loved the arena, would never miss this opportunity.
The scale of the Colosseum in Actium was not large, and at most only 7,000 to 8,000 people could enter. However, it was not even on the same order of magnitude as the famous Roman Colosseum, which could accommodate 90,000 people. However, it did not matter. Hilde allowed officers and some key soldiers to enter the arena, and then let in more than 2,000 citizens of Actium. The arena was already full. Although many people would not be able to see it, as long as these people told others about the feat that happened in the Colosseum after watching it, everything would be enough.
This is what Hilde wanted.
Thus, a grand beast fighting competition took place.
It happened in Akshin.
Chapter 10, Section 4, Preparation for the Beast Fighting Competition
The generals sitting in the stands were somewhat confused.
They arrived here and had just finished setting up the defense.
As a result, I heard that Hilde was going to hold a beast fighting competition in the arena of Actium.
The Colosseum was relatively unfamiliar to the Greeks. Although the well-informed Alcibiades knew about it, they mostly learned about it from books. The Greeks liked theaters the most. However, since Hilde had such an idea, the generals naturally did not dare to raise any opinions. Fighting with wild beasts, in their opinion, was a bit like the behavior of barbarians.
"What is going on, Your Majesty?"
Lamarcos couldn't help but ask.
"You've been here for a few months. Don't you understand His Majesty's style?"
"No, I don't understand."
"Your Majesty is not a pure Greek. She is willing to try the cultures of many different nations. You haven't been to the royal palace of Byzantium... ah, it should be the imperial palace now. There are artworks from various places, such as Persian carpets, purple snails from Sidon, and beast skulls from Scythia. Your Majesty will not be arrogant and think that other things are boring just because she is Greek."
This is the explanation given.
It was Hilde's old subordinate, Druberti.
For Lamarcos, Drupetti is his predecessor.
"I see."
"After that, you'll get used to it."
"So, what is this beast fighting competition..."
"Your Majesty said that this is something that was created to boost the morale of the soldiers. We are all warriors, and we all like to see fierce battles and see wild beasts fall at our feet! This is a sport that inspires our blood! It's time for the Greeks to learn from this. Just through sports competitions and the pursuit of a perfect body, there is no guarantee that we can perfectly defeat our opponents when fighting against barbarians."
Druberti also showed off his muscles.
He wore no armor, but was shirtless.
Although he actually wanted to come here naked, he would only be thrown out by Hilde if he did so, so he was stopped. Greeks usually naked in sports fields, which is why female spectators are not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games.
And Lamarcos nodded.
"Indeed, Your Majesty has foresight."
“So, learn from it.”
Although Lamarcos is already the commander of the legion, he is really nothing in front of Dryberti.
Dryberti had participated in dozens of battles, if not hundreds. He led the Second Legion and followed Hilder in his campaigns, fighting countless tough battles. Starting from Apollonia, he went deep into the forests of Thrace, entered the valleys of the Getes, moved around Ionia, and finally entered mainland Greece to capture cities. The Second Legion was centered in Apollonia. As Hilder's veteran legion, it made great contributions to the establishment of the Greek Empire. This is why Dryberti had the opportunity to be promoted to a higher position.
But he was still willing to be the commander of the Second Legion.
He was not confident in handing over the Light of Apollonia to other people.
Hilde also trusted him and was not afraid of Druberti's powerful army.
Sitting on the other side of Lamarcos was a man of the same generation as Drybeti. This man was Sitalces, who was in a high position and was trusted by Hilde. However, compared to the teacher-like Drybeti, Sitalces was more taciturn. However, from his eyes, it could be seen that he was very concerned about this game. Fighting with wild beasts made the blood of this Thracian warrior seem to burn.
"Lord Sitalses is looking forward to it."
"Yes, I want to play too."
"That won't do. What if you get hurt?"
Ramakos quickly dissuaded him:
"You have to go to the battlefield."
"But I want to fight the beast."
"Things like fighting..."
After all, the Sitalces are the barbarians that Lamachus just mentioned.
But the "barbarians" had a more sophisticated solution than the civilized Greeks.
The Thracian troops were also the main force in Hilder's army. On the one hand, they were the first to join the empire. On the other hand, the Thracians lived in the forests and mountains, on the edge of civilization, and their combat effectiveness was extremely strong. Of course, the biggest problem of the Thracians was that they had no discipline. They took advantage of the wind and waves, and surrendered against it. The Persians had been cheated by the Thracian mercenaries before.
And after being transformed by Hilde.
The Thracians now became a well-disciplined soldier.
Xitalces is even more important.
When Lamachus came to Byzantium, he had heard of Lamachus's reputation. It was said that he was in charge of the defense of Byzantium. Facing the Thracian king who was an oracle, he was not afraid at all. He blocked the attack of the Thracian king with his own body and successfully delayed the arrival of reinforcements. His spirit of fearlessness and dedication for Byzantium is still sung by the citizens of Byzantium.
Lamarcos was a little dazed.
I didn't expect that the people sitting next to me were such famous people.
For Lamarcos.
The beast fighting competition in front of him was far less interesting to him than these generals.
For the people of Actium, this was definitely a feast. They didn't have much sense of the new ruler, just that they were suddenly conquered, and then a new ruler came and began to reform Epirus. Slaves were liberated, farmland was redistributed according to the number of people, and a series of institutions that the Epirus people were somewhat confused about were established. At the same time, it also brought a powerful imperial army, as well as the worship of Hilde and the fanatical legends related to her.
And Hilde came to Akshin.
The residents here also want to take a good look at Hilde.
I heard that Hilde was going to hold a beast fighting competition here.
The citizens of Actium loved the beast fights the most, but due to the war situation, Epirus was also involved in the Peloponnesian War, and the chaotic situation prevented the beast fights from being held in the arena of Actium. And in a flash, almost ten years have passed - and now, the new master of Actium, Basileus of the Greek Empire, is coming here to hold a new beast fight.
Is there anything more exciting than this!
Soon the arena was filled with people from Actium.
Since the arena does not have a ticketing system and admission is based on a first-come, first-served basis, many people who arrived late were blocked outside the arena.
They can only wait for the game to end and listen to other people's reports on the results.
Chapter 10, Section 5: The Beginning of the Gladiatorial Contest
The arena was filled with the noise of people discussing. Although Lamarcos thought it was noisy, beast fighting was originally a noisy place, which was obviously different from the quiet theater.
However, the noise soon reached a climax.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the platform of the Colosseum.
Lamarcos looked in the direction of the sound.
Then I saw the figure of the goddess.
"It's your Majesty!"
As soon as Sitalses saw Hilde, he stood up quickly.
The other generals also stood up one after another and paid their highest respects to Hilde.
Now, Hilde was standing on the most distinguished platform in the Colosseum in her military uniform. Although the Colosseum was not small, your brother could not see her clearly from a distance, but Hilde's gorgeous purple cape and silver armor that fit her body curves made it hard to look away. The generals were shocked when they saw this scene, let alone the residents of Akshin.
"Citizens of Actium!"
Hilde raised his right hand, and his loud voice instantly spread to every corner of the Colosseum.
The Colosseum was originally a bit noisy.
It suddenly became quiet.
"I am Basileus, Hilde, the emperor of the Greek Empire and of all Greeks."
"I came to Actium and learned that there is an arena here. I also learned that the people of Actium like to watch beast fighting competitions! Therefore, I decided to hold a beast fighting competition here as a gift to the gods before going to war! Cheer up, people of Actium! You are about to see beasts that you haven't seen for a long time, and the bravest warriors in the world!"
"Long live--!"
The atmosphere at the venue was very good.
The Akshites were relatively unfamiliar with Hilde.
But who can resist a handsome and heroic Basileus?
Moreover, Epirus itself was quickly conquered by Hilde's army without much resistance. After a round of reforms, the traditional nobles suffered a huge blow, and ordinary citizens became the actual beneficiaries of the reforms. Therefore, the citizens in the meeting hall naturally supported Hilde very much, not to mention seeing Hilde's true appearance this time.
"The response has been very good."
Sophia smiled and looked around.
“Everyone is very enthusiastic.”
“It means that our work has been recognized by most people.”
"I agree." Tomyris also nodded with a smile, "I am also interested in the beast fighting competition."
"Then why not Tomyris also participate in this beast fight as a gladiator?"
After hearing Hilde's proposal, Tomyris agreed without hesitation.
"it is good!"
"Then let Tomyris take the place of a gladiator."
Since Hilde had no habit of raising gladiators, some of the gladiators for the beast fighting competition came from those gladiators in Actium who had no competitions, and the other part was the warriors in the army. There were more than 20 gladiators in Actium, all of whom were slaves and had slave labels on their bodies. Hilde had seen them, and most of them were slaves from Illyria. These people killed each other in the previous gladiatorial competitions, and those who survived until now were almost all elite forces.
Of course, gladiators were not just slaves. In the Roman era, nobles, officials, generals and even emperors would use gladiatorial contests as a means to increase their popularity and show their courage and wisdom. The same was true in the Colosseum of Actium. Local nobles from Actium would also participate. Of course, in most cases, they would do so under conditions that safety was guaranteed. For example, wild animals that had been injured by gladiators or weak gladiators would become targets of slaughter by the nobles. Of course, this also meant that the nobles themselves had strong fighting abilities.
And Tomyris...
Hilde wasn't worried that she would get hurt.
After Tomyris got permission.
He immediately went to the gladiator's preparation area.
