Rhodes didn't know what happened yet.
He looked at Hilde and Sophia with some confusion, both of them looked worried.
"Excuse me, what happened?"
Rhodes asked cautiously.
Sophia sighed and told Rhodes everything that happened that day.
After hearing this, Rhodes was shocked at first, and then became anxious.
"What should I do now..."
"Now we have to find Apollo first."
Hilde thought about it carefully.
"Where will Apollo go?"
"He won't take Dione to the divine realm, will he?"
"Impossible. Apollo certainly wouldn't dare let other gods know about the dirty things he did underground. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken away Dione's power and trapped those women in the underground temple..." When Hilde said this, she suddenly realized, "Yes! There is only one place Apollo can go! That is, that is the underground temple!"
"Underground temple?"
"Yes! Apollo can only be hiding in the underground temple!"
about this point.
Although Hilde's attitude was firm.
But she actually had no idea.
In addition to the underground temple, Apollo could also escape to Athens. If he went to Athens, this matter might be much more troublesome, after all, Creon was on Apollo's side.
The underground temple and Athens, both are possible.
However, Hilde needs to calm Sophia and the others down first.
This matter is no longer a matter of national importance. It can be regarded as a personal grudge between Hilde and Apollo. Hilde is not particularly clear why Apollo has been pestering her all the time, but after careful consideration, the matter of the original book of creation may have a deep relationship with Apollo. After all, Artemis had said before that after Zeus sealed himself off, other gods would naturally set their sights on this thing.
For an ambitious person like Apollo.
Even more so.
So, Hilde has to be careful.
"Anyway, I need to go to the underground temple first."
"I am coming too!"
Sophia stood up quickly.
But Hilde shook his head.
"No, you can't go."
"Why!?"
"Apollo is a god. If we meet him, I'm afraid the chances of survival in our battle will be extremely small... If I can't defeat Apollo, at least the Byzantine Kingdom still has you and Rhodes. At the same time, I need you to guard the Byzantine City and ask for help from the Persian Queen Xerxes - this time, no matter what Xerxes asks for, I will agree. Only by relying on the power of the demigod can I defeat Apollo..."
"no!"
Sophia grabbed Hilde.
Her eyes widened as if she had made up her mind.
"You, you can't go..."
"But Dione is in his hands!"
"Just think of Diony as gone." Sophia's voice was trembling. "You are the king of the Byzantine Empire, everyone's hope. If something happens to you, how many people in the entire kingdom will suffer because of it."
The Uninvited Guest in Athens
Hearing Sophia say this.
Hilde couldn't help but refute:
"How can you say that? Dione is our family!"
"Family is not as important as country!"
"But what if it was you who was kidnapped?"
Hearing Hilde mention her, Sophia was stunned for a moment, then said: "I don't care! If I am in danger and something happens to you, Sissi, even if I survive, I will hate myself for the rest of my life. Sissi, the people you have to protect are not just me and Dione, but also millions of people in the Byzantine Kingdom. If anything happens to you, what will happen to this country? Sissi, you have to think it through!"
"enough!"
Hilde waved her hand and shook off Sophia's arm.
"I've made up my mind!"
"Sissi..."
"There's no need to dwell on this matter. I know what I'm doing. If I can't even protect my family, then I have no right to protect this country. Now, Apollo has bullied me to the point where I'm bowing my nose. If I give in, something even more terrible will happen." Hilde looked at Sophia and Rhodes sincerely, then took a deep breath. "If you give in once, others will only think you're weak and can be bullied, and then things will get worse. You can't escape from the things that need to be resolved."
"But, Sissi!"
"I had expected this day."
Hilde gave a helpless smile.
"Wait for me here, I will take care of it."
"No, if you say so, then I'll go too!"
"You can't go!"
"Xixi! If anything happens to you, what's the point of me living? Since you have to face a terrible enemy, I want to go too!!!"
Sophia has never been so tough.
She held Hilde's hand tightly, squeezing it so hard that Hilde's wrist began to hurt.
Rhodes saw this scene and said at a loss:
"Well, how can I help you?"
"Forget it, let's do this."
Sophia's determination has been conveyed to Hilde.
Now is not the time to waste time on this matter.
"Sophia, if that's what you think, then come with me. When the time comes, no matter how big the storm is, we will weather it together."
Hilde knew that she couldn't persuade Sophia.
Besides, Sophia is an oracle after all.
Although no one knew who the oracle was, she already had great power. She had also fought with Apollo. According to Apollo's temper, if he could easily kill his opponent, he would definitely do it directly, but... he did not do so, which meant that Apollo must be afraid of something. Whether it was because he was afraid of Sophia or something else, it was unclear.
"what about me?"
Rhodes was also a little confused.
"You stay here."
"Ugh?"
"Byzantium is a seaport city. If someone attacks at this time, it will definitely be from the sea. Therefore, you can exert your greatest strength here. Besides, Dione's matter is about my family. I don't want to trouble my friends."
Hilde's words contained the most sincere plea that Rhodes had ever heard.
Those languages are like magic.
Rhodes couldn't help but nodded.
"Okay, okay... leave this to me."
"Okay, please."
Rhodes nodded.
And Hilde can breathe a sigh of relief.
Now that Rhodes is here, we can relax a little about the affairs of Byzantium City.
Therefore, the top priority now is to go to the location of the underground temple to see if Apollo is hiding there.
Just as Hilde was setting off, Apollo arrived in Athens at a very fast speed with Dione.
At this moment, Athens had not yet escaped the shadow of the plague. Although the Spartans had withdrawn, they could make a comeback at any time and anywhere. Moreover, after Brasidas withdrew his troops from Athens, he led his army northward and captured Amphipolis, a northern city-state that had previously supported Athens.
Brasidas personally led 4,000 soldiers to station in Amphipolis, while the rest of the army began to fight everywhere, intending to disintegrate Athens' northern allies. If Brasidas' plan was realized, the city-states north of Attica would probably defect to Sparta, which would be a heavy blow to Athens, which already had a bad geopolitical situation.
Fortunately, only the top leaders in Athens knew about this matter.
The civilians were still reveling in the joy of the Spartan withdrawal.
This is the second joy.
The people are also increasingly supporting the new consul, Cleon.
"We must send troops immediately to attack Amphipolis, otherwise we may lose control of the north!"
"But Brasidas is there!"
"We have the invincible Lord Cleon!"
Cleon's staff was discussing fiercely, but Cleon, who was at the center of the topic, was in no mood to listen. It sounded good to say that Cleon was invincible, but Cleon did not have any courage to directly challenge Brasidas, who was currently recognized as the "strongest" oracle in the Greek world. It was really stupid for Cleon, a half-baked man, to fight against the "barbarian" who had been fighting since childhood.
"I'm going back."
Creon stood up and waved his hand helplessly.
"You guys continue your discussion."
"Mr. Archon!"
The staff could only helplessly watch Cleon go back dejectedly.
Cleon now lives in the house that was originally owned by Pericles. Since Pericles died, the house has been vacant, and Cleon has come to occupy it. Now, Cleon and his wife live here and live quite comfortably. Cleon has also experienced the life of a consul that he had always dreamed of.
It's just that I've been consul for such a long time.
Creon also felt overwhelmed.
too tired.
He dragged his tired body back home. When he opened the door of his room, he saw a blond man sitting in the hall with a servant kneeling beside him trembling.
Cleon was stunned.
"A-Lord Apollo!"
"Ah, you're back."
Apollo raised his hand to Creon as a greeting.
"I want to leave something with you."
"Of course!"
Apollo's request.
How dare Creon refuse?
"Excuse me, yes, what is it?"
"my daughter."
When Apollo said this, an unfathomable smile appeared on his face.
Chapter 2, The Search for Apollo
Now, Cleon was completely confused.
How come she is a daughter?
what is happening?
However, Creon did not dare to ask more questions. Now he could only agree to everything obediently. No matter what Apollo asked, Creon had no reason to refuse. After Apollo drove the slaves away, he stood up and walked in front of Creon.
