In an instant, the calm sea suddenly became restless. Even Cleon and others standing on land could feel the terrifying vibration coming from under their feet. Soon, a huge wave several dozen meters high suddenly appeared on the sea surface, but this huge wave seemed to be fixed, just hovering above the port, as if it was a warning from Rhode.
It is a warning to Creon.
Cleon knew that he was no match for Rhodes on the sea.
"You wait for me!"
"Goodbye, Cleon."
The originally surging waves instantly transformed into a reverse force, pushing Rhodes' ship out of the port immediately. In just a few breaths, the ship had sailed out of the port of Piraeus and reunited with the fleet outside the port.
"Lord Cleon! Do you want to send a fleet to give chase?"
"Chase? Are you kidding me?"
Creon pointed at the ship, which had disappeared from sight.
"Do you know what that means? That's the oracle of Poseidon, the god of the sea. No matter how many fleets you send out, they will only be buried in the sea! Forget it... This time we made a mistake. We were so busy having fun that we ignored this matter."
Creon was also helpless.
Such a thing happened right under my nose.
He even took away the Athenian general.
Cleon was really angry.
Moreover, Rhodes went with Alcibiades, which means that Rhodes stood on the side of the Byzantine Kingdom.
Chapter 8, Section 6: Departure of the Naval Fleet
It's over, it's over.
All the good mood I had just now has disappeared.
This is a particularly terrible thing.
You know, Cleon has always wanted to have a good relationship with Hilde of the Byzantine Kingdom. After all, if he wants to defeat the Spartans and consolidate his ruling position, the Byzantine Kingdom is a very important chess piece. In order to win over the Byzantine Kingdom, he is willing to sacrifice the interests of Ionia, but Cleon doesn't care about these.
But now, if Rhode went to the Byzantine Kingdom in person, what would that mean? It would mean that Rhode gave himself as a great gift to the Byzantine Kingdom and Hilde. Rhode was an oracle, and her value might be more valuable than a pile of gold. Moreover, as a politician, Cleon knew very well that in the days to come, if the Byzantine Kingdom stood on the opposite side of Athens, it would obviously gain more benefits.
Hield will not give up this opportunity.
What's more, it wasn't just Rhodes who was taken away.
There are also talents like Socrates and Thucydides.
Rhodes's departure had emptied Athens of all its assets. Cleon had never expected such an operation to happen, and he was really anxious. Fighting with the Spartans had made Cleon very uncomfortable, and he could not think of any solution. If there were any problems with the relationship with Byzantium, and Athens was caught in a situation of fighting on two fronts, there would probably be no good result.
"You guys are a bunch of rubbish!!!"
Cleon turned around and cursed the officers.
"How could you inform me of this kind of thing so late!!!"
"I'm so sorry!"
"Remember this, if anything goes wrong or any problems arise, all the responsibility will be on you! Fortunately, the Spartans have withdrawn now. If the situation is still as bad as before and something like this happens again, I will definitely hold you accountable!"
Cleon is now the high and mighty oracle, and these officers who were scolded did not dare to say a word. After all, this was indeed their problem. Rhodes' action to divert the Athenians was not actually covert, but it allowed the other party to successfully achieve their goal. So it is completely reasonable for Cleon to be angry. Anyone would be so angry if this happened to them.
"let's go!"
Creon didn't care about that.
Now there is something else to do.
So, Cleon took the others and left the port of Piraeus.
Rhode's fleet had already started sailing on the sea. As Poseidon's oracle, he easily controlled the direction of the water flow and began to move towards their destination. The fleet was moving very fast and smoothly. Rhode only needed to lightly tap his trident to make the fleet's overall speed more than twice as fast as before.
At this rate.
In twelve or thirteen days, the fleet will be able to reach Byzantium, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
"It's finally safe now."
Rhodes held the trident in his hand and walked in front of Alcibiades:
"Don't worry about what happens next."
"That's right. With you here, the Athenian fleet wouldn't dare to catch up."
After all, Rhodes' divine power is here.
The Athenian fleet could be directly overturned by her huge waves.
Rhode smiled helplessly:
"Cleon is not that stupid. He would not use the precious Athenian fleet for a mission that is absolutely impossible to achieve. However...if I escape to the Byzantine Kingdom this time, it would be equivalent to pushing Athens to the other side of the Byzantine Kingdom. Cleon would never tolerate such a thing. Wouldn't it be very unfair to Sister Sissi if I did this?"
"You don't have to worry. Your arrival is the best news for the Byzantine Kingdom. Your abilities will not be valued in Athens now, but it will be different in the Byzantine Kingdom. You can protect more people. At the same time, when Athens is really facing a great danger, the Byzantine Kingdom is not incapable of launching an expedition."
Alcibiades knew that Rhodes was a very simple girl.
Even after receiving such a long period of training from Pericles.
She still has a very simple attitude towards some political matters.
Hear Alcibiades say this.
Rhodes seemed to be relieved.
"That's fine, that's fine..."
"During this time, you should have a good rest on the boat."
"Then trouble you."
So Rhodes is the most capable person here, but now she is on the ship of the Byzantine Kingdom, and her attitude is very humble, which makes Alcibiades a little confused.
"But compared to this..."
Alcibiades said helplessly:
"Lord Pericles...what should we do?"
"We are already on the ship, Lord Pericles. I plan to freeze it, and then let Sister Sissi decide after we arrive in the Byzantine Kingdom. After all, Sister Sissi is Lord Pericles' daughter, and Lord Pericles' wife is also in the Byzantine Kingdom... I don't have the power to deal with Lord Pericles' affairs."
"Okay, there's nothing wrong with this solution."
Alcibiades had no other opinion on this.
Rhode nodded slightly, and then walked down the stairs of the cabin, where Pericles' body was kept. It had been a while since his death, and it was inevitable that Pericles' body had already decayed. But Rhode didn't dislike it at all, she stood in front of Pericles' coffin, quietly looking at Pericles who would never wake up again.
Afterwards, Rhode filled the coffin with seawater and used his freezing ability to freeze Pericles firmly in the seawater. In this way, even after more than ten days of long-distance transportation, Pericles would not rot.
"I'm sorry, Lord Pericles."
Rhodes bowed his head deeply.
"I know that the place you want to be buried the most is your hometown, Athens, but I can't safely place your body in Athens. I'm worried that Cleon will do something excessive to your body. So, I can only inconvenience you for now. I believe that Her Majesty Hilde... Sister Sissi, your daughter, will definitely take good care of you."
Rod said here.
She reached out her hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Although you have always treated me as your daughter, I know that I can never be your daughter. Sister Sissi is your daughter."
Chapter 8, Section 7: A Different Oracle
Rhodes had always known this.
She knew it all too well.
Rhodes never felt that he was really the person next to Pericles.
She could sense more than once that Pericles always felt that he owed Hilde, but he never said it, and then he transferred his guilt to Rhode, as if being nice to Rhode would make up for his debt to Hilde. Rhode saw through it but didn't say it, because she knew that this would give Pericles some relief to his troubled heart.
But now it is no longer necessary.
Pericles is gone forever.
Now, neither Hilde nor Athens had anything to do with Pericles.
Although Rhodes was very sad about Pericles's departure, he changed his mind and thought that Pericles' painful life had come to an end. He would no longer feel pain and sadness because of various things in the mortal world. The annoying plague would no longer torment Pericles.
This is actually quite good.
Rhodes could only comfort himself in this way.
"Goodbye, Lord Pericles."
Rhodes turned back.
Just the sight of Pericles filled Rhodes' heart with sadness.
Under the power of Rhodes, the fleet sailed at a very fast speed. It took only eight days for the fleet to enter the Hellespont. Due to the hasty departure, the fleet was forced to stop at the port of Eraeus, a city that now belongs to the Byzantine Empire, to receive supplies.
"This is Araeus..."
Rhodes looked at this place with some surprise.
"I heard from Lord Pericles that everyone here has met with misfortune?"
"Yes."
Alcibiades looked heavy.
"The oracle abused his power and ruthlessly destroyed this city. Poor Eraeus, it used to be such a prosperous commercial city, but now it has become like this... It's really a pity." Alcibiades saw this and turned to look at Rhodes. "Lord Rhodes, although I know you have always been a very kind person, I still hope that no matter what happens in the future, please stick to your attitude."
"My attitude?"
Rhodes held the boat's railing tightly with both hands.
"I... don't know what my attitude is."
"Lord Rhodes has always been very cautious about his power. Even after becoming an oracle, he never looked down on any ordinary people. He always believed that since he had great power, he should protect those who needed protection... That's exactly the idea! For example, the Spartan oracle who slaughtered Eraeus and Cleon of Athens, they already had great power and thought that they were completely different from ordinary humans, and thus lost their most basic humanity."
"Humanity..."
Rhodes was a little confused.
She thought carefully and then asked:
"So, where's Sister Sissi?"
"Ah! Speaking of His Majesty! His Majesty is truly a perfect oracle! His Majesty possesses greater power than anyone else, but he rarely uses it! And compared to His Majesty's brute force, His Majesty's wisdom is the most important! Even if he is an oracle, it is impossible for a country to grow from a small colony to a huge kingdom like it is now!"
When it comes to Hilde.
Alcibiades began to get excited.
"Your Majesty Hilde is truly amazing!"
"Ah, calm down..."
"Ahem, sorry, sorry, I got a little excited." Alcibiades coughed twice, then smiled and said to Hilde, "So, that's what I'm saying. Her Majesty Hilde is someone who can see through everyone. She is just like what I said. She will not trample on the rights of others just because she has great power. Moreover, I know that Her Majesty Hilde has always had a mission, which is to bring happiness to the people of the entire Byzantine Kingdom."
"...Sister Sissi, you are truly a great person."
Rhodes nodded in surprise.
“I want to learn from her too!”
"Hahaha, I believe Lord Rhodes will definitely do that."
If Rhode was still in Athens, it would be hard to say what would happen. But now, Rhode was about to be with Hilde. According to Hilde's personality, Rhode would surely be trained by Hilde and become a very decent person. Therefore, Alcibiades was not worried about Rhode's future at all, but was very confident.
And Rhodes looked at the somewhat depressed Araeus.
Also fell into deep thought.
According to Pericles' description, Eratosthenes was a very prosperous city.
It not only has developed agriculture, but also is an important port, connecting Greece and Ionia. After that, this pearl of the Hellespont has become like this. Tens of thousands of people were brutally massacred, and now there are only a few survivors and outsiders from other cities living here. But even so, it has only been more than a year since Eraeus was destroyed, so this severely damaged city has not fully recovered.
The power of the Oracle.
Once abused.
This is what will happen.
Rhodes memorized this scene deeply in his mind.
