"His Majesty!"
Seeing Hilde on the sentry post, Amyntas stood below and shouted:
"You go and have a rest, I'll watch over here!"
"no need."
Hilde glanced down.
"You all should go to bed."
"But your majesty, your health..."
"I am the Oracle. Instead of caring about my health, you should focus on tomorrow's battle!"
“…Ah, yes!”
In the end, Amyntas had no choice but to leave in frustration.
He meant well, and Hilde knew it.
The first tune, the third section: Two people attracted to each other
I don't know if it's because of the Queen's personal protection, but the soldiers of the Byzantine Kingdom slept particularly soundly today. After the military camp fell into complete silence, Hilde turned into a state with horns and wings, flying in the air. She hasn't been like this for a while. She reached out and touched the horns on her head, and Hilde sighed.
Now Sophia has one too.
But the feeling is completely different.
Hilde flew in the air and soon arrived above Gysion.
In Gysion, soldiers holding torches patrolled the city walls, fully prepared for battle. Everyone was very nervous. It was obvious that tomorrow's battle would be very stressful for them. Hilde didn't care much about this. She continued to move forward until she arrived above the military camp outside Gysion.
At this time, the camp was still brightly lit, completely different from the Byzantine camp. Some soldiers were sleeping, while others were preparing for tomorrow's battle. In the center of the camp was the big tent. Obviously, the leader of the Abydos army must be inside. Based on the light inside, Hilde could roughly judge that there should be someone inside, but he didn't know whether it was the oracle.
Hilde thought about it for a moment.
Her figure flashed and disappeared in mid-air.
At this time, Golgopas was still drinking in the big tent.
Suddenly, he put down the wine jug in his hand and said, "Since you are already here, why are you still hiding?"
"It is indeed the Oracle."
Hilde smiled and walked up to Golgopas.
"If it were an ordinary person, he wouldn't have noticed me."
"Hahaha, when you came closer here, I could already feel your aura. It was a similar feeling to mine."
"Is it true that oracles are attracted to each other?"
Hilde walked up to Golgopas and looked at the wine in front of him.
"There's going to be a war tomorrow, and you're still drinking here?"
"Ah, I am the oracle of Lord Dionysus, and I love this wine. What about you? If I am not mistaken, you should be the oracle of Lady Athena. Looking at your temperament, you are indeed like the legendary Lady Athena. It is really fascinating. Just seeing your figure makes me feel that this wine has become more delicious."
At this Golgopas burst into laughter.
Hilde doesn't hate this kind of personality.
"You are also a very generous person."
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty!"
"I came here today for no other reason than to see what kind of person the oracle who will command the Abydos army tomorrow is." Hilde looked at Golgopas, smiled and nodded, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Hilde, and I am the queen of the Byzantine Kingdom and the oracle of Lady Athena. This time, I will lead the army to reshape the Ionian Alliance and establish a powerful alliance that can resist the invasion of the Persians."
"I don't care what you think."
Golgopas thought for a moment, then threw a jar of wine to Hilde.
And Hilde caught it gently.
"Do you drink?"
"Drink? Of course!"
"Then we'll have something to talk about."
Golgopas opened the jar of wine and sat down in front of Hilde.
"My name is Golgopas, and I am the oracle of Lord Dionysus, the god of wine. Uh... I don't have such lofty ideals as you. I just like drinking. Abydos is my hometown. They give me wine and respect me. So when something happens this time, I can't just sit there and watch." Golgopas shrugged and said helplessly, "So, if you are here to persuade me to surrender, I advise you to give up."
"Although I really want to do this..."
Hilde also opened the jar of wine.
"But the success rate is too low."
"Although I like to drink, I also have things I want to stick to."
"Understandable."
Golgopas' attitude was very clear. Although the two of them were drinking together, it was just a mutual admiration between the Oracles. However, Golgopas had his bottom line, which was to stand on Abydos' side. Hilde understood this very well. So, Hilde had originally planned to ask Golgopas if he wanted to join her, but since the other party said so, it would be better for Hilde to give up.
"You really like drinking."
"correct."
Golgopas took a sip, then said with a wry smile:
"Before I became an oracle, I was an alcoholic bastard who was looked down upon by others. But because I loved drinking, I was noticed by Lord Dionysus and became an oracle. Don't you think it's a comedy? Those who looked down on me are now kneeling on the ground, hoping that I can save them. But is it really a good idea to entrust the task of salvation to an alcoholic?"
"I don't think that your assessment of you is accurate. If Lord Dionysus really likes you, it means that he must have seen some potential in you. At least that's what I think."
Hilde also picked up the pottery jar.
He gulped down the wine, pouring it directly into his throat, with quite a bit of it even spilling out from the corners of his mouth.
This was the first time she drank in such a bold way.
Golgopas saw this and clapped his thighs happily.
"Hahahaha, that's it! This is how drinking feels good!"
"Thank you very much."
Hilde felt that Golgopas was quite comfortable to get along with.
His personality is quite simple, he just likes to drink, and doing it for Abydos is not a noble reason. Although no one knows how strong this person is, at least at this time, Hilde can drink with him without worry. These are all judged by Hilde's experience.
"Ah, if we weren't enemies, I'd be happy."
"We don't have to be enemies."
Hilde smiled and said:
"You are a man of temperament. I am very proud of you. Abydos's defeat is inevitable. On the one hand, Abydos' army is inferior to ours. On the other hand, I have defeated two oracles so far. I have power that surpasses most oracles. Therefore, ordinary people cannot fight against me at all. I do not want to fight you to the death on the battlefield. This does not meet my demands."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Golgopas put down the wine jar.
"Do you still want me to surrender?"
"of course not……"
Chapter 1, Section 4: Mutual suspicion between the two
"Why do you care about this kind of thing if you won't let me surrender?"
"In order to win the war, you and I will definitely do whatever it takes, but... unless it is the Oracle who is full of sins, I don't want to kill him. If the outcome is already decided and resistance is meaningless, I hope that both you and I can stop in time to avoid unnecessary casualties." Hilde looked straight at Golgopas and said sincerely, "Both our lives and the lives of the soldiers are precious. Let's stop the killing when we achieve our goal. What do you think?"
"are you serious?"
Golgopas was a little surprised.
"You are different from what I have heard."
"Oh? What do you usually hear?"
"In Abydos, soldiers and officers are saying that Hilde of the Byzantine Kingdom is a female demon who eats people without leaving any bones. She is an out-and-out tyrant. Her goal is to deprive everyone of their freedom and make everyone in Abydos enslaved by the Byzantine Kingdom. Therefore, the people of Abydos are determined to oppose you."
"Oh, that's normal. You should slander the enemy first."
Hilde couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"But, don't they know who drove the Persians away?"
"I don't know who drove you away, but... a noble from the council told me that you and the Persians were colluding with each other. They got news from Persia that the Byzantine Empire was actually a vassal state of Persia. Of course, I think he has no basis for this, otherwise he would have spread the news everywhere."
Golgopas shrugged.
“And I think it’s probably not true.”
"It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, it's just... if I tell it to others, most people won't believe it, because even if they do, it won't change the current situation."
"That's right."
Golgopas seemed to have given up thinking.
Then he picked up the wine and took another big sip.
"You, don't you have any goals?"
"Goal? What goal can I have?"
"You are not just a drunkard. I can see that you have your own ideas. Abydos is not a place you like. Now that you have obtained the power of Lord Dionysus, do you have no plans to do anything? Are you going to drink here all the time regardless of whether the war is won or lost? You can obviously create a good future, but you keep drinking to drown your sorrows?" Hilde looked at the wine jar next to Golgopas and said with a wry smile, "This kind of life is definitely not what you want, right?"
"……really."
"What do you think?"
Golgopas shook his head.
"Let's wait until tomorrow."
"...Okay, since you said so, I won't force you to say it."
Golgopas' attitude showed that what Hilde said was indeed right, but Golgopas might not trust Hilde yet, or he might think that Hilde might want to use these words to deceive him. Since Golgopas didn't want to say more, Hilde didn't say anything either. After the two drank for a while, Hilde put down the wine jar in his hand and said to Golgopas, "In that case, I will go back first."
"Then I won't send you off!"
"See you on the battlefield tomorrow."
Hilde turned around and disappeared from Golgopas' sight with a gust of wind.
Only after Hilde's breath disappeared did Golgopas close his eyes slightly.
Strong enemy.
Golgopas could have easily given this word to Hilde.
Although Golgopas had no combat experience, he could feel the strong pressure from Hilde, which even made him feel breathless. Golgopas couldn't help but wonder what Hilde had just said, that she didn't want the battle to lead to too much killing, so what did she mean?
Golgopas could not help but think of Hilde's order to go to war. It was obvious that Hilde wanted to bring all of Ionia under the control of the Ionian League. In short, this battle was a civil war between the Greeks and the Ionians. Therefore, it was completely reasonable that Hilde did not want to cause too many casualties. If too many people died in the war, then Ionia's strength would be greatly reduced, which was indeed a problem.
But...is Hilde really such a person?
Golgopas could feel it.
There is an indescribable danger signal in Hilde.
She is definitely not as good as she looks on the surface. In her heart, there may be a very crazy self hidden, so it is like this. Therefore, Golgopas must be careful to avoid falling into the trap of the other party.
Soon, Hilde also returned to the barracks.
She also got the result she wanted today.
Golgopas, unlike Cleopatra before him.
Cleopatra can be said to be a selfless oracle who only fought for Sparta and Hades. But Golgopas was different. Dionysus had no idea and did not ask Golgopas to do anything. The reason why Golgopas chose to help Abydos was only because Abydos was Golgopas' home and provided him with enough wine to drink. In this way, it was equivalent to owing Abydos a favor.
Therefore.
Golgopas had a reason not to fight Hilde.
But that's what Hilde originally thought.
But during the conversation with Golgopas, Hilde felt that there seemed to be an obsession in his heart.
Although it was still impossible to judge, Hilde had to prepare for the fierce battle with Golgopas tomorrow. Although on the surface it was to reduce casualties, if the other side really wanted to fight, Hilde would definitely not back down. So, Hilde closed her eyes and rested on the sentry post. Although she could sense all the movements around her, this could also calm her somewhat irritable heart.
