Tomyris nodded, then pulled Sophia inside.
At this time, Brasidas also turned around.
"Why, do you have any requests?"
"Don't be so cold. I finally get to meet the famous Brasidas. I really want to talk to you. However, if you don't plan to spend time on me, that doesn't matter." Hilde was not in a hurry, but threw the choice to Brasidas with an attitude of "it's up to you".
For Brasidas, chatting with Hilde was indeed tempting. Although he was only interested in leading troops in battle, he had heard of Hilde's reputation. Whether it was Hilde's establishment of a powerful Greek kingdom on the edge of civilization in the northeast, or Hilde's "single-handed" killing of Cleopatra and eradicating Sparta's influence in the entire north, these things left a deep impression on Brasidas.
And now from Hilde.
The feeling conveyed made Brasidas feel a little uneasy.
He could feel that the woman in front of him might be much stronger than he imagined.
"can."
"That's fine."
Hilde looked around.
"Where is the right place to talk?"
"Please come to the living room."
At this time, Brasidas' attitude was obviously much better. He looked very respectful and did not dare to refute Hilde. Instead, he took her directly to the living room of the house. After the two sat down, Brasidas ordered the servants to prepare drinks and food, and then turned around and asked: "... Your Majesty, this is a small place. We can only entertain you with wine and bread. You see..."
"sure, no problem."
"Ok."
I don’t know if it’s Hilde’s temperament.
Only then did Brasidas realize that the woman in front of him was Her Majesty the Queen!
The Spartans had a very serious concept of respect and inferiority. Brasidas was only a general after all. When he met the king of another country, he was not an enemy after all, so he still had to use a respectful title. Therefore, after the servant left, Brasidas looked at Hilde, who was as beautiful as a goddess, and said nervously, "Your Majesty, I seem to have offended you just now. I hope you can forgive me."
"it's okay no problem."
Hilde saw this scene.
I also have new ideas in my heart.
Brasidas, I'm afraid he is not an honest man.
"I am surprised that you appeared in Amphipolis."
"No, I was the one who was surprised." Brasidas looked at Hilde helplessly. "At that time, I felt that three powerful oracles were approaching Amphipolis. I was ready to fight. Even if I had to die, I had to defend this place. Fortunately, it was you who came over, not the Athenians."
At this time, the servant brought the wine.
Hilde took the glass and thanked him in a low voice:
"Thank you."
"You actually thanked a slave?"
"What's the matter? One of the oracles I brought here today is a slave. In our Byzantine Empire, slaves must also be respected. Thanking them for their service is everyone's responsibility." Hilde smiled and raised the wine glass in her hand. "But this is not important. What's important is that there is only one oracle left in Athens now, and that is Cleon."
"one?"
Hearing this, Brasidas frowned in surprise.
"But I know there are two people."
"Is it Rod and Cleon?"
"Indeed."
"Rhodes has already left. When you were withdrawing your troops, he joined me. Ah, are you so out of touch with the news?"
Faced with Hilde's ridicule, Brasidas was speechless.
"So now there is only Cleon in Athens."
"I see……"
Brasidas nodded thoughtfully.
However, Brasidas could not completely believe that there was only one oracle in Athens just by hearing Hilde's words. But if it was true, it meant that the plan to re-attack Athens could continue... Brasidas thought for a while and realized that he seemed to have left Hilde aside.
"Well, what exactly are you going to Athens for?"
"That's a long story."
Hilde took a sip of her wine.
Then he put down the cup and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
"My family, my sister, was captured by an evil god."
"Evil...god?"
"Yes, this god is the all-powerful Apollo, the god of Creon."
Hearing this, Brasidas couldn't help but gasp.
Apollo!?
The most evil god
As an oracle, Brasidas naturally knew how terrifying the power of the gods was. Just some insignificant power bestowed by the gods on Brasidas was enough to make him the best among humans. But this time, Hilde actually said that he wanted to face a god directly, and a main god like Apollo. In Brasidas' eyes, this was tantamount to suicide and was indeed too aggressive.
But Brasidas felt that Hilde, who was able to create so many miracles, would not simply do something that she could not do at all. Fighting with Apollo was obviously very difficult, but since Hilde decided to do so, it meant that she must have a way.
Of course, this is all Brasidas' wishful thinking.
Hilde actually had no choice at all.
But she had her reasons for having to go and do it.
"I was really surprised to hear this. I have no way of imagining what would happen if I had a conflict with a great god. I also don't have any thoughts of having a dispute with a main god. Maybe I am too weak."
"In fact, this matter is not as terrible as you think. Gods are indeed a kind of existence that is beyond our reach, but at the same time, they are also bound by many things. The first and most important point is that if gods come to the world, they must give up many things, including their powerful divine power."
Hilde saw Brasidas's concerns.
Also normal.
Even the strongest warrior in Sparta does not have the determination and courage to confront the gods head-on. I am afraid that in the eyes of Brasidas, Hilde is a madman, a madman who dares to confront the gods head-on.
"What exactly?"
"Zeus, the master of all things, established the divine realm and also restricted the power of all gods. The powerful force of life can only be fully used within the divine realm. But when they descend to the human world, they must abandon their godhood and transform their immortal bodies into mortal bodies. At this time, they are still stronger than us, but they are no longer invincible."
This was the first time Brasidas knew this.
"And how do you know this?"
"Of course, another god told me."
Hilde gently put down the wine glass, raised her head and observed Brasidas in front of her. It was the first time for Hilde to meet this legendary general from Sparta so closely. However, this was similar to Hilde's previous lines. Under the morbid social life and education system of Sparta, even a person like Brasidas was almost a person who knew nothing and could do nothing.
In other words, this kind of person is the easiest to deceive.
Especially since she is a queen.
Brasidas listened to what Hilde said.
He nodded thoughtfully, seeming to believe it.
"So, now your important family has been captured by Lord Apollo, and you have come to Athens to find your family and rescue her from Lord Apollo, is that what you mean?"
"That's exactly what I mean."
"Then I wish you success."
Hilde smiled and nodded, and continued:
"I think I will succeed, but... I don't know how you view this matter?"
"In my eyes? I admire your bravery very much. You would rather stand with the gods to save your family. This is a very courageous thing to do, because even I can't guarantee that I will be as resolute as you when I encounter the same thing as you. Perhaps this is the reason why you were able to establish the Byzantine Kingdom and defeat Cleopatra in the far northeast."
Brasidas also did not forget to praise Hilde.
"That's a nice thing to say. People say Sparta is a very rigid country, and the people of Sparta are serious and difficult to approach. However, as a Spartan general, you have overlooked a very important point in this matter."
"Your Majesty, please make it clear."
"Why aren't you curious about why Apollo, as a god, is in Athens? We are all oracles. After the gods give us power, they often cut off contact with us because they are gods and need to stay in heaven. As gods, they have no way and do not want to directly interfere in the lives of mortals. But Apollo did the opposite. He not only took the initiative to intervene in our affairs, but also took the initiative to intervene in a war in a region and the conflict between two nations. Aren't you curious about the cause of the plague in your Spartan army?"
Hield knew this before.
Sparta withdrew its troops because they were infected with plague.
But whether it was because of infection from Athens or whether Apollo did it on purpose is unknown.
Hearing this, Brasidas' eyes widened.
It was clear that Hield spoke of what was most important to him.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know what Apollo is going to do, but all the things he has done over the years have filled the world with all kinds of disputes. The establishment of the Byzantine Kingdom was initially to deal with the invasion of the Thracians. The Thracian king, King Thrace, was also Apollo's oracle. King Thrace was very tyrannical and caused great losses to the local area... Now he has come to Athens again. The oracle he chose, Cleon, is a useless guy who has become the de facto tyrant of Athens. The plague in Athens also appeared out of thin air because of Apollo's arrival. That is to say, when other gods are not planning to do anything, Apollo wants to take advantage of this gap to interfere with our mortal world in order to realize his unknown ambitions."
"If the plague is really Apollo..."
Brasidas was still a little panicked.
Although the plague that had broken out in the Spartan army was effectively controlled, it also claimed the lives of hundreds of Spartans, causing a major change in Brasidas's marching strategy. In order to prevent the plague from spreading further, Brasidas had no choice but to march north and occupy Amphipolis, intending to disintegrate Athens' northern allies by controlling Amphipolis.
But now it seems.
If Apollo really wanted to do something.
Sparta's situation could be very embarrassing.
After all, Apollo is not only on the side of Athens now, but he has actually come down to earth to help Athens.
Chapter 3, Section 1: Support from the Strongest Hero
So, to what Hilde said.
Brasidas was also thinking.
He couldn't pretend he knew nothing.
Moreover, Brasidas now felt that Hilde must have a way to solve this matter. Although he was not stupid, after hearing Hilde's words, and the fact that the king of the Byzantine Kingdom came to this place in person, Brasidas changed his mind and thought that this matter might not be false. If it is not false, it is very important for Sparta. Apollo's help will definitely make Athens a very formidable opponent, which is not good news for the Spartans.
The enemy of my enemy is my ally.
If Hield had a way to disrupt this situation.
Brasidas felt that he had to get involved.
"I'll just put it bluntly."
Brasidas coughed twice, then sat up straight and looked at Hilde in front of him:
"What you said makes me worried. If the God of Light Apollo really intervenes in the war between us and the Athenians, it will pose a huge threat to us Sparta. Therefore, as the commander of the Spartan army, I need to solve this matter. So, you said that you are going to take your family back from Apollo, but can I understand that this is actually consuming Apollo's power?"
When Hilde heard this, he was overjoyed.
It looks like Brasidas has taken the bait.
Nowadays, Apollo is no longer addressed as a respectful title.
"Of course, we are very likely to fight with Apollo, but our goal is only to rescue my sister. I have no intention of killing God. This is disrespectful."
"This is for sure."
Brasidas thought about it again.
"Then I have a few questions."
"Please tell me."
"First of all, you just said that the plague was caused by Apollo. If Apollo wanted to help Athens, why did he let Athens fall into the plague?"
"This is because, in addition to being the god of light, Apollo is also the god of medicine and cleanliness. Even in Sparta, when a family member is sick, they will definitely go to worship Apollo's statue and beg for the disease to go away, right? And what did the Athenian plague bring to Apollo? First, the death of Pericles cleared the obstacles for Cleon to become archon. Secondly, the spread of the disease caused the Athenians to start worshipping Apollo as a whole nation, and Cleon established his prestige. In addition, the plague also 'naturally' spread to the Spartans. The withdrawal of your army further consolidated Cleon's rule."
Hilde's explanation.
Brasidas couldn't help but nod his head repeatedly.
