For example, Athens needed to import wood from other places to produce warships, but the shipyards in Apollonia could directly use local materials, so the production efficiency was very high. The production speed and quality of warships were also a level higher than those produced by other city-states.
Chapter 1, Chapter 5: The Gods Have Begun to Act
Originally, Hilde was planning to try something new.
Because in ancient Greece, all the ships in the Mediterranean were galleys.
So Hilde thought, why not try some more modern ships.
But in the end, I think that many ships that will appear in the future are actually more suitable for use on the ocean. If Hilde is prepared to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, or plans to pass through the Red Sea and enter the Indian Ocean to explore the Eastern world, then he really needs to build this kind of ocean-going sailing ship. As for the calm Mediterranean Sea, the effect of a paddle boat is far better than that kind of sailing boat.
So Hilde's navy.
In fact, there is nothing superior to the times.
However, even so, Hilde still made a series of modifications to the Byzantine Kingdom's new warships to make them more suitable for the needs of the Byzantine Kingdom. For example, he improved the design of the sails, upgraded the rams of the ships, and also loaded the Byzantine Kingdom's most powerful weapon, something Hilde called Greek fire, onto the ships.
The pottery jars filled with Greek fire can be ignited and then launched at enemy ships through the catapults on the ships. Once these pottery jars hit the enemy ships, the effect will be immeasurable. This extremely difficult to extinguish flame can set the entire ship on fire in a short period of time, and this weapon is also Hilde's secret weapon.
Fortunately, this is ancient Greece.
The time and effort required to build a ship is not particularly large.
The gap between the Byzantine Kingdom and the Greek mainland city-states in terms of naval warships has been gradually made up in the past two years. Not only that, Hilde also gradually transformed many warships from Samos into reserve warships, or directly turned them into transport ships for the Byzantine Kingdom.
The new warships built with high-quality wood from Thrace have become the main component of the Byzantine navy, but these navies have not yet been tested by war. But Hilde knows that time is coming soon. If they really want to attack Athens, a head-on battle with the Athenian navy is absolutely necessary.
Regarding the requests made by Xerxes.
Hilde actually knew it very well.
It is difficult to accomplish in a short period of time.
The amount of manpower, material resources and financial resources that the Byzantine Empire needed to conquer the entire Greek region was incalculable, because this was certainly not like dealing with nomadic peoples whose civilization was inferior. Although the Byzantine Empire was Greek, in the eyes of those orthodox Greek city-states, the Byzantine Empire was a distant barbarian.
Therefore, conquering the entire Greek city-state is a very thankless task, because all Hilder needs is the military strength of these city-states, and needs them to conquer Persia with him. So he only needs to remove a few thorns in his eyes and make them submit to him, and the other city-states will naturally choose to join him.
This is why Hilde chose Athens.
At this moment.
The role of Hildess as the daughter of Pericles.
It was highlighted.
Hilde is not only the daughter of Pericles, but also the patron saint of Athens and the oracle of Athena. This series of identities can help Hilde convince the people of Athens when she leads her army to Athens, so that they will choose to submit to her rule. If Athens can be successfully captured, then Hilde's series of plans will also have a good start.
So, bypass Macedonia and attack Athens.
The navy is essential.
But at the same time, Hilde felt that if he could establish a good relationship with the Kingdom of Macedonia and allow his army to pass through the border of the Kingdom of Macedonia smoothly, it would also have a great impact on the final victory. Therefore, Hilde released the Macedonian prince Akira, who was captured with great difficulty, in order to find out whether there was such an opportunity. Whether to give this opportunity or not depends on what Akira and the current Macedonian king think.
But Hield is not in a hurry now.
It's not time to fight yet.
Hild is preparing for a future attack on Athens.
And now, several gods have come down from Mount Olympus, which has been isolated from the world.
No ordinary person noticed these uninvited guests walking down from the top of the mountain, but if there was an oracle here, he would definitely be impressed by the divine power surrounding them.
When gods become gods, their power will be controlled by an invisible restriction. When they are not in the divine realm, they have no way to maintain their bodies and can only come to this world in the form of mortal bodies, and their own divine power will be greatly reduced. But even so, the strength of each of them is unimaginable to ordinary oracles, not to mention that each of the six gods who came down has unique skills that are enough to change the world.
"According to Lord Zeus's opinion."
Queen Hera walked in front of the other five people.
"Hilde's Byzantine Kingdom is indeed very powerful, but its power is based on the fact that it has many oracles willing to serve Hilde. And you, Artemis, Ares, Hermes, Hercules, Hephaestus, your mission is to search various parts of Greece for those who you think are suitable to be your oracles. You must grant them divine power and make them heroes who resist Hilde's invasion."
"Especially you, Artemis."
Hera changed the subject and pointed the finger directly at Artemis.
“Although Lord Zeus has excused you for what you did, we all know that your help to Hilde has enabled her to develop to where she is today and threaten the existence of the entire God’s Domain. You have an unshirkable responsibility for this. However, since Lord Zeus has not intended to punish you, the rest of us have no right to hold you accountable. So I hope you can seize this opportunity to make amends. Otherwise, if Lord Zeus gets angry, Athena’s fate will be yours!”
"Yes……"
Artemis had no choice but to bow her head in acknowledgement.
There is no other way.
"Ares."
"Yes, mother."
"You and Artemis are together. You two should act together. You know what I mean."
"Of course I understand."
Ares raised his head and glanced at Artemis.
In fact, Hera just wanted Ares to keep an eye on the other person.
Chapter 6: Part 1: An Unwilling Action
Artemis had nothing to say about this naked surveillance. She was now a sinner on Mount Olympus. Even though she knew what the consequences of her actions might be, when this situation really happened, Artemis was still a little dazed.
She was not quite sure now what she should do to be right. If she insisted on her own idea, then it was obvious that Athena's ending would really be her own ending. She would most likely be wiped out under Zeus's wrath, and there would be no room for negotiation.
But if you choose to surrender.
That goes against your own thinking.
It also broke the promise made to Hilde and others.
Especially, when Hilde saw that Artemis, whom she trusted, became her enemy and stood in the opposite direction of her, how would Hilde and Tomyris view her? In order to thank Artemis for her help in the matter of Apollo, Hilde even asked people to build temples of Artemis in various parts of the Byzantine Kingdom, not to mention that in Ephesus of the Byzantine Kingdom, there is also the world's largest temple of Artemis.
From the perspective of the name of God, when the people of a country believe in me so much, I should become their patron saint, instead of participating in the task of destroying them. So all these things are really a torture for Artemis.
"Please rest assured, mother. Artemis and I will complete this mission well."
"That's fine."
See Ares also expressed his opinion.
Hera also nodded in satisfaction.
"Then everyone else, go wherever you want to go."
"understood."
This time, in order to deal with Hilde's threat, Zeus did not mobilize all the gods of Mount Olympus, but only selected six. As for Zeus himself, they did not know what his next plan was. Perhaps, Zeus would also choose an oracle of his own.
But that is Hera’s mission.
After Hera and the others left.
Ares stood behind Artemis.
He reached out and patted her shoulder gently.
"Don't think too much. Now is the best time to make amends for your sins. As long as we do it well this time, I believe that the gods on Mount Olympus will definitely forgive you for your past actions."
"..."
Hearing Ares speak so righteously, Artemis felt as sick as if she had eaten a fly.
"So what's your plan?"
"I don't want to go to Sparta anymore. I don't have any interest in the Greek city-states. But I do have a good idea."
"how?"
Look at the smile on Ares' face.
Artemis, I always have a bad feeling.
"Since we don't plan to go to the Greek city-states to look for new oracles, why don't we go directly to the Byzantine Kingdom to see if there are any oracles who are loyal to us? Think about it carefully. The Byzantine Kingdom has suddenly expanded so much territory and conquered so many people in the past few years. There must be many people who disobey the rule of the Byzantine Kingdom. We just need to find these disobedient people and give them our power. Then, won't they have the power to resist Hilde? In this way, chaos will occur within the Byzantine Kingdom. I think Hilde will definitely give up preparations to invade Greece because she is too busy to take care of herself."
"……I see."
Artemis nodded.
"Then let's go to Ionia."
"Do you think this is an okay place?"
"You want to find a place where Hilder's rule is not strong. If you want to go to Thrace, forget it. The Thracians are very loyal to Hilder, and the Scythians have been disarmed by Hilder. They no longer have the power to resist Hilder."
"So only Ionia?"
"Yes. Currently, Ionia has more than half of the Byzantine population. And Hilder's method of occupying Ionia was not fair. He first deceived those city-states and made them sign an unequal alliance agreement. Then he used his military superiority to force those city-states to join. The Byzantine Kingdom became part of the Byzantine territory. So, I think the people of Ionia have been complaining about the Byzantine rule."
Artemis's series of analysis made Ares' eyes widen. He originally thought that Artemis would definitely not choose to cooperate with him obediently, but unexpectedly, she directly stated the biggest problem facing the Byzantine Empire and its weaknesses.
"you are right."
"I'm just making a suggestion."
Artemis shook her head.
"You all don't trust me anyway, so you're the one making the decision. If you don't think this place is okay, you can choose somewhere else."
"Others don't trust you, but I do. I think you will definitely realize your previous mistakes. After all, you didn't know before that Hilde would become a threat to the Byzantine Kingdom."
Ares laughed loudly, and it seemed that he really trusted Artemis, but such a smile was so mocking in Artemis' eyes.
Artemis knew very well that Ares could never really trust her, but with Ares's brain, he certainly couldn't think of a better answer than Ionia. Since Ares also decided in this way, Artemis could only follow him and go to Ionia together.
Six gods came down from Mount Olympus.
Now they all have their own tasks.
Traveled to various places.
As more and more gods descended from the divine realm to the human world, their divine power was gradually influencing the world. However, ordinary people and the gods themselves could not feel this influence.
At this moment.
Hilde didn't know yet that all the gods on Mount Olympus.
You have already regarded yourself as the enemy.
An unforeseen storm is brewing rapidly.
But Hilde was still unaware of this.
When Hilde returned to Byzantium from the border of Macedonia, as soon as she arrived in Byzantium, she suddenly felt a strong divine power suddenly appear in the city of Byzantium. Hilde was quite surprised, after all, the incident with Apollo had only happened not long ago, and now only Rhodes was left in the city. If something happened, it would be terrible.
Chapter 7 of the first tune: Poseidon arrives suddenly
"Who's inside?"
Dione also sensed that something was wrong.
"You feel it too?"
"This is very powerful, I've never felt that power before."
"Me too."
Hilde and Dione looked at each other.
No matter who the powerful guy in the city is, Hilde feels that there is at least something wrong with him. However, the good thing is that Hilde and his team have returned to Byzantium, and there is no bad news in the city. Even if a powerful god like Apollo appears again, with Rhode's level, he can still fight and let the whole city know that something is wrong.
So this means that the stranger who came here was not an enemy who came to attack directly. Maybe he was waiting for Hilde, or maybe he was planning a deeper plan.
"Anyway, let's go in and take a look first."
"Ok!"
Dione was also very brave and followed Hilde into the city of Byzantium.
After arriving in the city, we returned to the palace.
At this time, Rhodes walked out of the palace quickly.
"Sister Sissi!!"
"What's wrong! Rod!?"
