This Spartan king was called Archidamos II.
He was a very wise and warlike king.
In this world, he is a piece of shit.
Eraeus had now completely turned into a dead city, with almost no signs of life in the city. All the people living here had been killed and completely destroyed in Xerxes' sea of fire, leaving only black ashes. Under such circumstances, Hilde didn't even know whether to relocate the residents of the country to this place.
Hilde stood in the empty city square.
She has never been here.
When I was returning to the Byzantine Kingdom by boat, I had seen this city on the sea. At that time, the whole of Eraeus was very prosperous, with a constant stream of merchant ships coming and going, and the port was very crowded. Merchant ships and warships with Athens totems were cruising in this place. At that time, Hilde was thinking, it turned out that there was such a prosperous colony in such a far east.
The most precious human nature
Later Hilde found out.
The city of Eraeus has a total population of about 40,000 people. Its economic pillars are mainly agriculture and commerce. It can be said to be a very influential central city-state in the eastern region. It is also a bridgehead connecting Athens and Ionia. It has very important cultural, economic and military significance, so the Spartans would try their best to capture this city.
But this is the final result.
Without people, what is the value of Eraeus?
It's different from Milito.
Although Miletus is now an empty city, its residents suffered basically no casualties as they were all relocated to the territory of the Byzantine Empire. But as for Eraeus, it is estimated that except for those who escaped from Eraeus by boat, no one else survived.
Hilde had always known the cruelty of war, and how cruel a person could be when he was extremely cruel. But she did not realize how terrible the gods' greed and disregard for human life would lead to. Perhaps in the eyes of those gods, humans were just ants crawling on the ground, just residents of a city, and it must not matter to them.
Otherwise, how could Hades bestow such power?
And this time.
Amyntas was also somewhat confused.
He stood far behind Hilde and could see that Hilde was standing dignifiedly in the center of the city square, staring at the ocean in front of her. He could feel Hilde's sadness, but Amyntas rarely felt this situation. Only then could he clearly feel that Hilde was not the powerful oracle in his mind. Under the halo of the oracle, she was also an ordinary person.
"Sissi..."
Sophia also saw this scene.
After Sophia and Xerxes rested, they saw that Hilde had not returned yet, so they became a little worried and planned to look for Hilde to see what was going on. When they came back, Amyntas told them that Hilde was standing alone in the city square, wondering what she was thinking.
When the two came over, they saw Hilde like this.
"What is she doing?"
“She’s in mourning.”
Xerxes took a deep breath, then smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Mourn for the dead people of Eraeus."
"Sissi..."
Sophia was also somewhat touched.
Xerxes patted Sophia's shoulder gently.
"What a benevolent monarch! But it's okay. When a person is powerful enough, he will often lose his humanity, and humanity is based on powerlessness. It is precisely because people have many things they cannot do that humanity exists and they have their own emotions for the joys and sorrows of the world. You should be thankful that Sissi did not lose her humanity because of her great power."
"Humanity? Will the Oracle lose his humanity?"
"Yes……"
Xerxes gave a helpless smile.
"Let's just leave Sissi there alone to calm down."
"Um……"
Sophia seemed to sense something from Xerxes' words, but it was obvious that Xerxes didn't intend to say anything about this question, so Sophia didn't continue to ask. But in Sophia's mind, she couldn't help but recall that the most powerful oracle in the world was Xerxes. Since Xerxes was so powerful and was lamenting that Hilde had not lost her humanity, did that mean that something had happened to Xerxes that no one knew about.
Maybe it’s a problem related to human nature.
Sophia couldn't help but ask:
"What is human nature?"
"You want to ask me what human nature is?" Xerxes was stunned for a moment, then he stopped and pointed at the soldiers who were resting outside the city of Eraeus. "See? Those soldiers who fought for the Byzantine Empire are all human beings. They all think they are human beings. So the most basic requirement of human nature is to know that you are a human being and not to differentiate yourself from others too much."
"Oh……"
Sophia nodded, not quite understanding.
"Also, the most important thing is to have compassion for others. Since you admit that you are a human being, and since you admit that there is not much difference between you and ordinary people, and that we are all the same, then you should treat ordinary people the same way you treat yourself. Just like Hilde, she would feel sad for ordinary people in Ellaeus who had nothing to do with her, and would kill Cleopatra in anger because of their deaths. Isn't this a manifestation of human nature?"
Xerxes' words did answer Sophia's doubts. As she watched Xerxes explain these things with a smile, Sophia couldn't help but ask, "So... has His Majesty Xerxes lost his humanity?"
"Guess what?"
"Of course not!"
Sophia gently took Xerxes' hand.
"After all, you like Sissi so much. If you were an inhuman person, you probably wouldn't like anyone else."
"I guess so……"
Xerxes touched Sophia's head.
"Now I understand why you are by Hilde's side instead of others, why you are still by her side when Hilde has such terrible power, and perhaps it is your credit that Hilde can maintain this characteristic. Just keep doing this, Hilde will definitely encounter such troubles in the future, and she will definitely face the choice between humanity and divinity. I hope that by then, you can pull her back and let her become a complete person."
"OK!!!"
I was suddenly asked to do this by Xerxes.
Sophia felt as if she was carrying a very heavy responsibility on her shoulders.
But in fact, she still couldn't fully understand what Xerxes said. Regarding human nature, Sophia couldn't understand what it felt like to lose human nature. After all, Sophia was a very simple person. She would feel sad for the death and experience of others, and she would not feel that there was any essential difference between herself and other humans. Even if she had a pair of animal horns on her head, Sophia was still the same person. She would not feel that she was not a human.
Therefore.
Sophia learned from Xerxes' words.
I have heard too much helplessness.
It seems that it is really as Sophia thought. She must have experienced something unknown that made her become what she is now.
Chapter 7, Section 9: The Greedy God
In that case, I must not let Hilde go through this kind of thing.
Sophia swore so, secretly confirming her thoughts.
Time soon reached night, and when the sun gradually dropped below the sea level, Hilde realized that she had been standing in the city for several hours. She didn't know why she had been standing there for so long, but when she stood here, she seemed to be communicating with the wronged souls in the city of Ellaeus. Only then could she feel the sadness and despair that permeated the entire city. It was precisely because of this feeling that Hilde stood here as if she was reluctant to leave.
Hilde didn't know whether the human soul existed. At least before she traveled through time, she was still a staunch atheist. But if you say she still insists on atheism now, then she is obviously crazy. After all, she has seen God with her own eyes, and God has mysterious powers that cannot be explained by science. So Hilde is now very sure that the human soul exists.
What Hades wants is the human soul.
But do these souls go directly into Hades' underworld when their bodies die, or do their souls continue to stay in the place where they live for a period of time? If it is the latter, Hilde is willing to accompany them. Although she cannot prevent this tragedy from happening, Hilde at least wants them to leave without being so lonely.
Hilde didn't know why she became so sentimental.
Perhaps it was because she became the queen of the Byzantine Empire.
Eraeus was not part of the Byzantine Empire.
What if so?
What if Eraeus was one of the territories of the Byzantine Empire and this situation had occurred?
Through this incident, Hilde understood the greed of the gods and their narrow understanding of humans. The gods never regarded humans as beings of the same status as them. They were creatures from two different dimensions. For their own benefit, the gods could crush these humans like ants, but Hilde could not just watch this happen.
If one day a certain god and Hilde stood on the opposite side, what kind of crisis would the Byzantine Kingdom face? How would she deal with it at that time? Faced with this kind of sadness that is almost powerless, faced with this kind of tragedy that mortals cannot solve, what should Hilde, as an oracle, do to prevent this tragedy.
These all take time to answer.
At least there was one thing Hilde was clear about.
The original library of creation in her body will definitely bring her trouble in the future, because that thing is what Zeus wants, and it must be what other gods want as well. Therefore, she will inevitably have conflicts with the gods. Once these inhumane gods intend to attack the innocent people of the Byzantine Kingdom, Hilde must leave the Byzantine Kingdom, leave the country she loves, and face the threat of the gods alone.
With this thought in mind.
Hilde returned to his own royal tent.
"Sissi!"
At this time, Sophia was cooking. She had specially set up a big pot in the royal tent. No one knew what was cooking inside, but it smelled very good. Hilde took a quick glance and it seemed to be a thick soup made of meat and vegetables.
"I was planning to go look for you in person. After all, it's already dark and you haven't come back yet."
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It just so happens that my meal is ready. Little Xuexue and I had nothing to do, so we went to the forest to see if there was anything fun. We ended up catching a whole herd of deer. We brought them back, and look, this is what I stewed with the deer meat."
"I was wondering why the soldiers looked so happy when I came here. It turns out they all had venison today." Hilde smiled and looked into the pot. Only then did she realize, "Xiao Xuexue? When did your relationship become so good?"
“Friendships between people are always established in a very short time.”
Xerxes, who was sitting on the side, said with a smile.
"Now I can understand why you like Sophia so much."
"…What did you do while I was away?"
"Don't worry. When you're not around, I will remain chaste and will never touch your things. Sophia and I just chatted for a while, then went to the forest to play and caught some prey. You, as the king, have been in the Byzantine Kingdom for so many years, and you have never taken Sophia out hunting."
"It's not like you haven't been to Byzantium before. If you leave Byzantium, you won't see any forests for half a day. All you see are farmlands and towns. If we really want to hunt, I have to take Sophia with me to catch sharks in the sea."
"You really don't understand romance..."
Xerxes looked helpless.
Is this being despised?
"Okay, okay, stop talking and eat quickly. We caught quite a lot of deer this time. Everyone in the army can get a few pieces. Everyone has worked so hard to walk so far, and it's time to eat something delicious to reward the soldiers."
Sophia quickly walked to Hilde's side, pulled her to the side of the pot, then pressed Hilde's shoulders and made her sit down.
"Well, that's good."
Hilde smiled at Sophia.
At this time, Xerxes sat up and said, "Since you have solved the problem of Gallipoli Peninsula, should you focus on the Ionian issue next?"
"Yes, that's what I thought."
Hilde nodded.
After the Gallipoli Peninsula issue was resolved, it would be a first-class status. After all, the Byzantine Kingdom had just joined the Delian League not long ago. If it did not deal with some Spartans, how could it show that it and the Delian League were wearing the same pants? But now things are a bit complicated. Eraeus has now become a dead city.
For Athens.
This is a huge loss.
All Hilde could do was to report all the evidence and situations to Athens. For example, she would send an envoy to deliver the commander's head and Cleopatra's head to Athens to Pericles. As for the tragic situation in the city of Eraeus, Hilde would write a personal letter to ensure that the incident was really as she said.
The Reconstruction of Ellaius
What happened to Eraeus was not entirely a bad thing for Hilde. From a utilitarian point of view, the Spartans massacred Eraeus, turning it into an empty city. In this way, Hilde could take Eraeus back from Athens in a fair and just manner. After all, Athens did not have enough population to repopulate Eraeus, and the city could only be ruled by the Byzantine Kingdom.
Moreover, Hilde killed Cleopatra, the culprit of the Eraeus massacre, which was equivalent to avenging Athens and the victims of Eraeus. This is actually a good thing. At least after knowing this, the Athenians will more or less have a better impression of Hilde, and will get along more closely with Athens and the Delian League in the future.
But the person still died.
There was no way for those of Eraeus to be resurrected.
And Hield knew it definitely wouldn't be the last time.
As long as the gods really exist and want to directly interfere with this world, then the gods who don't care about the lives of the people will definitely direct such things again. After all, Hades is likely to find another oracle. What if the result is still the same? Hilde also felt that he had to be mentally prepared. He could control it for a while, but not for a lifetime.
Because of Xerxes' fire.
Just burn all the corpses.
Hilde wouldn't have to deal with the bodies or anything.
Afterwards, Hilde ordered the soldiers to search the city of Eraeus. For example, it would be a waste to throw away food, gold, silver and other treasures here. However, a lot of food was indeed found in the granary of Eraeus. After all, this was an important food base of Athens. The amount of food found was enough for the entire city of Athens to eat for a year.
The Byzantine Kingdom was not short of food, and even had too much food to make wine, so Hilde thought that he could just borrow some food to offer to Athens. The food originally belonged to Athens, so he could show his internationalism and return the food to Athens intact. In this way, when the Athenians saw the food, on the one hand, it could help them get through the next difficulties, and on the other hand, it was also a way to improve the goodwill between countries.
