"No need. I'm in Sparta. Find the oracle yourself."
After saying this, Hercules glanced at Lysander.
"Oracle of Hermes, you understand what I mean."
"Of course I understand."
"I hope that when my oracle appears, you can assist my oracle as well. Together, the two of you can make Sparta the backbone of resisting the attack of the Byzantine Kingdom."
"Yes!"
Lysander was also very clever.
He knew this was easier said than done, but he nodded and confirmed it.
After saying this, Hercules turned and left. He planned to walk around the city of Sparta, and then go to the stadium and the military camp to see if there was an oracle that met his requirements. If there was, it would be a great thing.
Hercules thought.
If Sparta had none of that.
As for other places, it’s probably really bad.
"This……"
After Hercules walked away.
Archidamus wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"My Lord Gods, what kind of joke are you playing?"
"Cooperate with the Athenians? Isn't that what Lord Hercules thinks?" Pausanias shook his head helplessly. "But if this is really the Lord God's request, we simply cannot refuse. This is... this is what we must do."
"Yes."
Two kings of Sparta.
I have a terrible headache now.
There is no way around it. Hercules's request is indeed a bit high.
It’s easy to deal with other city-states, but with Athens... it’s really too much to ask.
Moreover, the Byzantine Empire was indeed powerful, but it did not border the Greek peninsula. There was the Macedonian Kingdom and the Thessalians in between. To enter the heart of the Greek peninsula, it would take a huge amount of time and energy. Archidamus and his men were mature rulers, and they could figure out the account, so they also knew how much pressure Hilde would face. Therefore, both of them felt that Hercules's worries were completely nonsense and there was no need to worry at all.
"call……"
The two looked at each other.
"Let's go back and discuss this in detail."
"And the governor needs to be called as well."
This is a big deal in Sparta.
The authority of the two kings is probably not enough to decide this matter. It depends on how the governors view this matter.
Lysander stared at the direction Hercules left. He didn't know who would be chosen by Hercules to be the lucky one. Being the oracle of Hercules was definitely a very advantageous thing in Sparta. Lysander... was the oracle of the god Hermes, who had the ability to control the wind, but Hermes was also the god of thieves and thieves. Therefore, Hermes was not particularly popular in Sparta. They preferred the heroic gods, such as Ares and Hercules, and didn't like gods like Hermes.
In particular, there really was a Brasidas in Sparta.
He is the oracle of Ares.
Therefore, it is natural for people to compare the two.
And Lysander is the neglected oracle.
Lysander finally breathed a sigh of relief after Brasidas died.
Chapter The Problem of Tyranny
So, next, is there another Hercules oracle?
Lysander couldn't help but lament his bad luck.
After much difficulty, he became the most important oracle of Sparta. However, now that Hercules has arrived, this lucky man is an oracle carefully selected by the gods themselves. So, there is no doubt that his status and attention will be much higher than Lysander. And Lysander, the Spartan naval commander, will once again fall into the embarrassing situation of being ignored for a long time.
It's too awful.
Lysander was almost in despair.
However, he also knew it.
He is a Spartan.
You absolutely cannot have too many opinions on this matter!
So Lysander took a deep breath, returned to the palace, and came before Archidamus and the others.
At this time, the two kings were in a heated discussion.
Obviously, both for Archidamus and for Pausanias.
The news brought by Hercules was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue, and almost impossible to accept. Now, Sparta did have one more oracle, but both of them felt uneasy, that is, the gods seemed to want to control Sparta's military strength and even the politics of the entire country through the oracle.
This will also lead to serious problems.
Sparta was a conservative city-state.
Holding on to the ancient order, it has not changed for hundreds of years.
It is precisely because of this that Sparta lacks a changeable political system like other city-states, and lacks the conditions for the emergence of tyrants. Even if Hercules suddenly appeared in Sparta and chose an oracle, wanting this oracle to exercise God's will, the city-state of Sparta would find it difficult to accept such a thing, no matter what the other party's real purpose was.
"How annoying."
Archidamus said helplessly.
"If this oracle really wants to..."
"I don't think there's anything to worry about."
Pausanias shook his head.
"I believe that this Spartan will stick to his bottom line and will never disrupt the order of Sparta."
"Really?"
"It will definitely be like this."
Pausanias kept persuading Archidamus, and Archidamus didn't know what to do. When Lysander heard this, he came over, knelt on one knee, and said seriously: "Your Majesty, we don't have to worry about this matter for the time being. I agree with your Majesty Pausanias. Even if Hercules finds the oracle, this Spartan will definitely abide by the existing order!"
"Ok!"
Pausanias nodded heavily.
"We cannot allow tyranny to happen in Sparta."
"Even though they are gods, we cannot follow their will completely. If we really follow what Lord Hercules said, our Spartan army will have to go out again right now, not for anything else, but to deal with the Byzantine Kingdom, which currently has no ability to attack Greece." Pausanias shook his head, "Lord God will definitely not consider such a waste of money and manpower. In the end, the only ones who will bear the consequences will be us Spartans and the people of other city-states."
"Indeed."
Everyone's attitude is highly consistent.
This made Archidamus feel that he was worrying too much.
"Then let's see how things turn out."
"Yes!"
Lysander looked at the two kings with some uneasiness.
Now, the only good thing is that the two kings don’t particularly trust the new oracle who is about to appear.
There was no other way. Hercules was anxious to express his attitude as soon as he arrived here, which made everyone feel insecure. Not to mention the conservative Spartans, even the Athenians could not quickly accept an oracle and directly become the "tyrant" of their own city-state. Therefore, Lysander felt a little relieved. He thought about it and then volunteered: "I will follow Lord Hercules?"
"Is that okay?"
"Yes! Lord Hercules will not doubt me."
"...Okay, go ahead."
Archidamus patted Lysander on the shoulder.
"give it to you."
"Yes!"
After accepting the task, Lysander immediately left the palace.
After that, Lysander came directly to Hercules.
When Hercules saw the oracle coming, he just asked the reason. When he heard Lysander said he would come to help Hercules, he did not doubt it, so he asked Lysander to go with him. At this time, Hercules had ordered all the Spartan troops to assemble and line up in the stadium in Sparta.
All the Spartan soldiers, except those who were outside, who could rush back in a short time, were now gathered here. These soldiers were fully armed, holding their spears tightly in their hands, and looked very nervous. After all, they were facing Hercules, a real god!
"Everyone stand still!"
As a general, Lysander was naturally qualified to give them orders.
"Now, let Lord Hercules take a good look at you!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers stood up straight, their spears tightly grasped in their hands.
Most of these soldiers were physically strong, but their armor was rather crude, not as sophisticated as that of the Athenians. However, this was not a problem, as the Spartans' fighting power was made up for by their experience, training, and courage.
And Hercules swept around.
Coldly said:
"Are these all Spartan warriors?"
"Yes, Master Hercules."
"very good."
Hercules did not show any dissatisfaction. He nodded and walked in front of these soldiers. There were more than 2,000 Spartan soldiers here, all of whom were the most elite forces, and every soldier was an excellent warrior. As a brave god, Hercules was naturally very satisfied with this situation. He looked around and had a rough idea in his mind.
"The Spartan soldiers are indeed brave men."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"But there is no candidate I hope for."
"No?" Lysander was a little surprised.
Hercules looked at a person who was watching not far away.
"I hope that my oracle will be fearful, kind, willing to sacrifice his life for the mission, but love the people around him. Although these soldiers are excellent fighters, their hearts are too narrow to meet my requirements."
"This...is like this."
The third tune, the fifth verse, the unsuccessful God
In the end, what surprised Lysander was that Hercules did not choose any Spartan soldier as his oracle. Originally, Lysander felt that there were no warriors in the entire Greek world who could compare with the Spartan soldiers, but even so, there was no way to meet Hercules' needs.
What kind of oracle does Hercules need?
I thought that this matter of Hercules was already troublesome enough, but the next day, before Hercules had chosen his oracle, another uninvited guest came. This uninvited guest was the god of war Ares, who had previously bestowed his power on Brasidas.
It was not the first time for Ares to come to Sparta. When he arrived here, he directly expressed his purpose. Archidamus had not yet reacted to the incident of Hercules, and he met Ares, the god of war.
This series of things.
Archidamus, who already felt that things were not going well, became more certain of his guess. Sure enough, something unexpected must have happened in this world, which led to this situation. Not only Hercules, but even the god behind the dead Brasidas, the god of war Ares, appeared in Sparta for the second time.
What happened in this world? What kind of conflict had broken out between the gods of Olympus and Hilde that led to so many gods coming to encircle and suppress Hilde? All these made Archidamos and Pausanias very confused. But two gods came at once. The King of Sparta naturally did not dare to neglect them, so he could only carefully meet all the requests made by the two gods.
And time flies.
Only half a month had passed.
Hercules finally found the oracle that satisfied him. He did not choose a soldier, but a girl who was only about eighteen or nineteen years old and whose father died on the battlefield.
The women of Sparta were well-known in the Greek world for holding up half the sky. When the men went to the battlefield to fight or to the training ground for military training, the women needed to take care of everything at home, and sometimes they had to take care of their own farmland. Similarly, women also needed to learn how to fight the enemy. Therefore, it was not an exaggeration for the gods to choose a girl from among the Spartans.
And the Oracle of Ares.
He is a 17-year-old boy.
This young boy had just received military training, but he was the strongest and bravest among his peers. Ares liked young boys very much. To be precise, throughout ancient Greece, people liked young and handsome boys, including gods. It was completely natural for Ares to choose this boy.
During the long Peloponnesian War, the Spartans lost two oracles, but in just half a month, they got two more oracles. However, the oracles they got now could not make Archidamus and his men feel completely at ease, because they knew that the arrival of these two oracles foreshadowed that the situation in Sparta and even the whole world would undergo earth-shaking changes.
