Chapter 336: In addition to mathematics, there is also a substitute player
. "Ahem, please make way, thank you."
Trying his best to act like an ordinary person, even appearing polite, Iapetus stood up from his seat and walked to the outside of the venue.
In the entire terraced auditorium built against the mountain, there is a flat road between every ten or so rows of seats, which surrounds in an arc and connects to the gate to the outside world.
However, at this moment, the spectators who participated in the conference as audiences were very enthusiastic, and it was not uncommon to see people talking loudly and standing up. So much so that Iapetus almost moved out of the viewing platform little by little, and even kept greeting acquaintances on the way.
Well, yes, acquaintances. In fact, Iapetus not only had acquaintances in Athens, he even had a noble status passed down from generation to generation, a considerable fiefdom, and a widespread reputation.
In the minds of most of the upper class in Athens, he was a foreigner who had inherited a family lineage for hundreds of years. As the head of the family, Mr. Ilos was just like his ancestors, keen on books, calligraphy and painting, and liked to watch speeches and debates, but he rarely participated in them himself.
"...Yes, I just suddenly remembered that I have something urgent to do...Yes, there is no way to postpone it, and there is nothing I can do..."
With a helpless look on his face, Iapetus talked to his last friend for a few words and then strode out.
It was most likely that he was dazzled by his eyes just now. Gaia should not appear here. However, despite this, he still didn't want to stay here for even another second.
He walked hurriedly, observing the crowd's movements in the distance without making a sound, searching for his target in the bustling venue. The exit door was just ahead...
Bang--
Accompanied by a dull collision sound, Iapetus staggered and almost fell to the ground. The God of Speech reacted and subconsciously expressed his apology. He had not paid attention to the movement in front of him at all.
"Shh... I'm so sorry, I didn't notice you just now."
His tone was sincere. If it were any other god, many of them would probably have been furious. However, Iapetus did not take this matter to heart. Even if there was no suspected existence of Gaia, he would not remember such a small matter.
Since ancient times, whether it was Iapetus, Prometheus or Epimetheus, they had to deal with humans a lot because of their own weak power, and thus developed different personalities.
For example, Prometheus once saw himself as a "leader and protector", with an arrogant yet kind attitude; and Iapetus felt that there was no difference between humans and gods, with the only difference being in power.
After all, he had once been the weakest god, and even the gods of the underworld didn't exist at that time… So even though he was in a hurry to leave, Iapetus still apologized politely.
"I'm so sorry, but I have something urgent to do. I am Count Ilos, who lives in Athens. If I have time in the future, I would be happy to host you at my home and have dinner with you."
"Count Iros?"
The voice came from in front of him, and Iapetus nodded slightly.
As the god of speech, he easily read surprise, joy, and thought from the other party's tone... Strange, is this person who has heard of his name but has never met him before? At least Iapetus can be sure that he has never seen the young man in front of him.
But no matter who he is, he has to leave here quickly.
"It's a bit rude, but I'm afraid I can't stay long. I have urgent things to do at home-"
"I understand your anxiety, Earl Ilos, but I would like to ask..."
The young man looked up and looked at Iapetus in front of him.
"Are you hiding from her?"
"What?"
He raised his head suddenly, and it was only at this moment that Iapetus suddenly felt that something was wrong.
He looked in the direction the strange young man in front of him pointed. At the end of his sight, he saw a familiar reddish-brown hem of clothing, which made him hold his breath subconsciously. Fortunately, the other party did not look in his direction.
I'm actually here... It wasn't an illusion just now! But why did Gaia come to Athens? What was she doing here? Was there something wrong with this conference?
And besides that…
With a serious expression, the God of Speech looked at the young man in front of him.
He looked to be around 20 years old, maybe even younger. His handsome appearance and well-made clothes seemed to prove that he was not lacking in wealth... But at this moment, what attracted Iapetus was not these earthly creations, but the things hidden underneath.
He just realized that even though he was nervous because of Gaia's fleeting figure, he couldn't bump into anyone. You know, although Iapetus took the initiative to block his body, which was not strong among the gods but could be considered the best in the mortal world, in order to behave like a mortal, this definitely did not include his perception ability.
Not to mention just thinking about things, even if he ran with his eyes closed, Iapetus would not bump into anyone. The only possibility for this to happen was that the person in front of him avoided his perception, avoided the perception of a god.
Even in the mortal world, this was still a very incredible thing. So who was the being in front of him, and did he realize the true identity of himself and the woman he was pointing at?
"Who are you, and what do you want to do?"
He did not make any rash moves, not to mention that there was a big thunder next to him, even if there was no thunder, he would not easily make such a risky move. Iapetus just asked seriously, and in front of him, the young man spread his hands innocently.
"Don't be so nervous, Count Ilos. I'm just a poet passing through Athens. Of course, you can call me a prophet or a soothsayer. Anyway, it's fate that leads us to meet here."
destiny?
Iapetus secretly complained, he was sure that the man's surprise when he saw him was not fake, he had no idea who he would meet here...but on the surface, he still looked like he believed it.
"Okay, let's just call it fate, but I'm leaving here--"
"So you are really avoiding her? But at such a close distance, can you really avoid her?"
The young man spoke casually with a smile.
"…Maybe, but we have to try it. Or do you have a better idea?"
He spoke in a deep voice, and Iapetus knew that the other party was telling the truth.
No matter why Gaia came here, and why he didn't notice him for the time being, since he was here, he would be discovered sooner or later at such a close distance. Unless he used the power of a demigod to quickly leave the city and keep a safe distance - but this would only make him discovered faster.
"I can't do anything about it, but under the guidance of fate, if you stay by my side, she won't find you for the time being - provided you don't do anything that attracts too much attention."
The young man took two steps forward and sat back in his seat. He raised his hand slightly and asked with a smile:
"So are you planning to leave or stay?"
"…What do you want me to do?"
After a moment of silence, Iapetus felt as if he had recalled a long time ago. It seemed that there was also such a "prophet" who used the name of fate to guide the then normal Mother Goddess to do many things... But now, thinking of that old figure who was not quite understandable, Iapetus took a few steps and sat on the empty seat next to the young man.
There was a fragrance in the air. It seemed that there was a girl here, but now no one knew where she went.
"Don't talk like I'm threatening you. I didn't instruct you to come here, did I? Well, but I do need your help with something. I wasn't completely sure before, but now I can."
Nodding slightly, the young man asked, "Count Ilos, I heard that you are good at debate?"
"A little bit."
Iapetus responded cautiously, not knowing why the other party asked this.
"That's fine. I don't care if you know a little bit about it, but this is what I want to ask of you."
"Use your strengths to win a debate for me, and I'll consider it as the rent for you to stay here."
"No problem. Which match are you talking about and who is the opponent?"
After just a brief consideration, Iapetus glanced at Gaia in the distance and agreed decisively.
If it was just one debate, it wouldn't mean anything to him. But besides this conference, are there any other debates recently?
"It's obvious, Mr. Iros, you've already guessed it."
Still smiling, the young man pointed forward.
"I'm talking about this match. Your opponent is right on the stage."
······
call--
After taking several deep breaths, Andrea sat in the contestant's seat.
Thanks to the previous game, she used her own "wisdom" to defeat all the self-proclaimed smart people in the city, and no one has cracked the secret of the game so far.
So she skipped the previous competition and got a ticket to the finals.
At this moment, the people sitting next to her were all famous figures in Greece, and she, a twelve-year-old girl, was about to compete with them. She really didn't know how to win, so she could only try her best to make her defeat not so ugly.
After all, she has already won the 'wisdom' test. As long as she gets a good score in the 'fair' debate, she should be able to win the championship.
"Ms. Leah, I have to say, your game is really unfathomable."
"I have spent a lot of time studying it these past few days, but unfortunately, when the difficulty rises to five elements, it is difficult for me to find a solution with a higher chance of success."
With a sigh, Odysseus sat aside, watching the voting on the topic and chatting with Andrea.
He was very enthusiastic, but the nervous little princess didn't want to pay any attention to him. She just felt that Prince Ithaca was annoying, buzzing in her ear like a mosquito.
"This is normal. After all, this is a puzzle that only smart people can solve."
The voice was flat, and Andrea decisively killed the dialogue.
"…"
Odysseus remained silent, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and then he indicated that he had not heard the conversation just now.
He saw that Miss Leah, whose origins were unknown, didn't seem to want to pay attention to him now. Although he felt a little regretful about this, he didn't continue to pester her.
Maybe she was calming down for the upcoming competition. He really looked forward to competing with her on the same stage again. If he could defeat her head-on, she would probably face up to her own existence... The young prince fantasized in his mind, but he didn't know that Miss Leah was indeed preparing for the competition at this moment, but her way of preparation was not quite what he expected.
Falling into a shallow state of meditation, Andrea used her mental power to draw a strange, ever-changing rune in her mind. Concentrating her mind, the little princess called out softly.
"Hey, can you hear me, Alvin, can you hear me?"
"I feel like I'm no match for them at all. Please think of a solution for me!"
There was no reaction at first, until a long time later, the rune in Andrea's heart trembled slightly, and a sound came out of it.
"...Ahem, I hear you, don't be so anxious. You are the princess of Athens, you should have the composure to 'keep your face unchanged even when a sacred mountain collapses in front of you, and keep your eyes fixed even when a demon runs by your side'. The great heroes of ancient times were all like this, you should learn from them."
"I don't have it. I'm only twelve years old. I'm not a hero. You can't expect an underage princess to have this ability!"
Andrea gritted her teeth, feeling very angry at Ryan's mood of watching the fun. Feeling the admiration, dissatisfaction and eagerness of so many eyes on her as a "wise man", she felt that she should not have participated in this competition.
Now, she can only choose between big failure and small failure.
"Well, okay, there's a saying that goes, ambition is not limited by age... But don't be impatient. Since we dare to let you come, there must be a way to win."
The voice continued to come, and the tone seemed a little unreliable, but Andrea was relieved to hear this.
Although Alvin often enjoyed laughing at her, he always kept his promises.
"So, what can you do?"
"It's simple. If you can't beat the game normally, the most direct way is to cheat. If you can't beat the exam, then just find someone to take the exam for you."
"But since I asked you to come this time, you don't have to find a substitute yourself. I have already found someone for you, and I guarantee that he is the most reliable one in Chaos at the moment."
Ryan felt that it was not a big problem to transmit the sound along the mysterious connection. After all, he was a god, so he couldn't be too weak, right?
He glanced at Iapetus beside him. Although he was not sure, he thought that he should be quite capable.
Chapter 337: 'The Arrogant and Ignorant God of Sin'
In the stands, the contestants had their own thoughts, and inside the venue, the voting was gradually coming to an end.
According to the voting statistics, the black card number six that Iapetus had previously supported was not selected. It seemed that most of the audience did not like this number very much. The highest scoring cards were number twelve and number seven.
The reason is very simple. Due to the great influence of its southern neighbor, as the presence of alchemical creations in Athens became more and more prominent, the number 7 became widely known as a symbol of "mystery", "change" and "spirituality", and was even regarded as a symbol of luck.
As for the number 12, it is influenced by the traditional culture of Chaos. It is the number that represents perfection, just as there are twelve months in the sky and twelve gods on Mount Olympus.
The speed at which the supporters of the two questions rose was almost the same. Each of them received tens of thousands of votes, and the venue was filled with silver and purple signs. However, as time went on, the winner was finally decided. The number 7 sign once rose higher than the number 12 sign. Then, in a place that was difficult for ordinary people to see, when a flash of lightning flashed, the alchemical device originally used to count numbers seemed to jam. In the end, the number 12 question won the final victory with a slight advantage.
"That is... the God King."
Although the questioning sentence was cryptic and had an affirmative tone, the flash of lightning did not escape Iapetus's eyes.
In today's age, the gods cannot send down their power and incarnations at will. If their real bodies are not here, then if they want to interfere in a certain place from a distance, they need sufficient carriers or media.
There is no doubt that the temple opposite the Parthenon, which is used to worship the God King, and the high-ranking priest who came to Athens to bring about this conference are the best mediums for Zeus. However, due to the quality of the medium and the close connection with the God King, the power of this advent seems a little conspicuous to those who are truly interested.
"Yes, it should be 'His Majesty the Divine King'. Haha, he is very petty, isn't he? He would interfere with even a number, and would even change the topic of the mortal world."
Ryan also noticed this scene and shook his head slightly.
He did not notice what the lightning did, but based on his understanding of Zeus, the content of question number 12 might have been replaced.
"...Whatever the God King does, he has his own reasons. But who are you?"
Without responding, the man in front of him showed his disrespect for Zeus, and Iapetus felt his head hurt even more.
First, there was a figure that looked like Gaia, and then Zeus suddenly and secretly changed the process of the human event. Just these two points, Iapetus confirmed that this conference was unusual.
However, in comparison, he was more curious about the identity of the young man he had accidentally met. After all, he was actually just an outsider to this conference and Athens, and the people around him made him even more confused about their origins.
The other party claimed to have the ability to predict the future - Iapetus had not seen it yet. Through his own priestly ability to distinguish words, he could roughly determine that Ryan did not know that he would meet him here before.
But the ability to predict things is not really important. After all, wizards who have studied astrology, beings who know how to use primitive methods of sleepwalking into the spirit world for divination, and some creatures in the North who are subordinate to the goddess of fate all know how to peek into the future. Even Iapetus himself knows a little bit about it.
But "knowing" is different from "accurate", and "accurate" is different from "being able to interpret". Iapetus, who once accidentally glimpsed a corner of the future in the spirit world, but did not truly understand the content of the prophecy until the change of era, knew this very well. So even if his priestly instinct told him that the other party was not lying, he did not take the self-proclaimed "prophet" to heart.
At this moment, he wanted to know whether the other party was an acquaintance or a chosen person favored by someone?
"Are you from the underworld, or are you related to the Church of Night, or are you from the spirit world?"
Speaking in a deep voice, Iapetus decisively locked on three options.
The authority of gods, like divine weapons, is absolute in the corresponding fields. Unless the strength of both parties is extremely different, the difference in strength will not allow you to defeat the other party in the field where he excels.
Hades's invisibility helmet, the Church of Eternal Night which was said to worship the Mother of Night but had received little response, and some beings in the spiritual world. These were the beings that Iapetus knew had the corresponding authority.
He was not sure if this was all there was in the world. After all, ever since the birth of the Mother Tree, Iapetus felt that this world was becoming more and more incomprehensible to him.
"Neither."
Ryan shook his head slightly in response to Iapetus's question.
"The reason why I concealed your perception has nothing to do with the above three... Instead of focusing on this, you should quietly prepare for the debate."
"You should be able to win, at least, you shouldn't lose."
I'm not lying, Ryan's ability to hide his tracks has nothing to do with the above three things, just like if Apollo bestows some blessing from the solar realm, it has nothing to do with Hyperion.
After confirming his authority, Iapetus had no choice but to temporarily believe Ryan's explanation. Seeing that he could not get any results from his questions, he turned his head and looked towards the center of the meeting place.
While the two were talking, the old man who had been hosting the conference had already come to question number 12 on the suspended platform. When the vote count finally came to an end, he pointed his finger, and the eleven unselected questions instantly turned to ashes in the flames.
The only remaining scroll moved from the corner to the center, as if pulled open by an invisible hand. It slowly stretched out in the air, showing itself to all visitors.
Standing on the stage, the old man prepared to read out the content of the question aloud.
As the host of the conference, the Chief Justice of Athens, Modia, had naturally read all the questions. He remembered that question number 12 was about a famous case, and people were still arguing about its verdict.
The content of this question is to use this as a basis to debate whether the laws and political systems of the country at that time, as well as the final judgment of the case, are fair. If not, what is fair? If so, how to refute those controversial statements before?
In this process, each contestant's knowledge of law, governance, and historical knowledge will be tested, and their explanation of fairness will also express their thoughts. This debate does not necessarily require the opponent to admit defeat. The important thing is to convince the audience. After all, if something is not recognized by the vast majority of people, it is most likely not fair.
"cough--"
With a light cough, the sound amplification pattern spread throughout the venue, and the old man signaled the audience to be quiet.
Facing the opened scroll, he prepared to read aloud...
"Everyone, after unanimous voting by the audience, the final topic of this conference... Hmm? How is this--"
Modia's expression changed and he suddenly fell silent. At the same time, there was an uproar at the scene.
Subconsciously, as the host of the conference, Modia was ready to destroy the question, but when he heard the sudden discussions, he immediately realized that he was not the only one who saw the content of the question, and it was meaningless to change it now.
At this moment, the only thing he could do was to continue the process of the competition and read out the content of the question.
"Eh, it was changed to this... Is it because with the increase of trade with Silvermoon City, a lot of old history has been passed down... So, Earl Ilos, which side do you plan to choose in this game?"
Sitting in the stands, Ryan asked with a smile as he looked at the question scroll displayed to all the audience.
"…"
"Is it contradictory? In this kind of situation, we must support the gods, don't you think?"
"...No, as a human, of course I choose the human side."
He spoke in a deep voice, even though he didn't know whether this mysterious man had figured out his identity, Iapetus still said so.
If we change the subject, even if the God of Speech spends more time with humans, he will never betray his class and say something like "I stand on the side of humans."
However, the person involved in this question is not someone else, but his son.
"Ahem, everyone, this is the content of our final topic selection."
On the podium, he calmed down, and amid the noisy discussions, he looked at the scroll floating in the air and recited slowly.
[Topic No. 12/Final]
[Since ancient times, the pursuit of fairness and justice between humans and gods has never ceased, until the God King generously shared his power with the twelve main gods, and the justice of the gods finally came. In the ancient past, in the Bronze Age, the eldest brother of the violent and crazy Atlas, the arrogant and ignorant sinner, the fire thief Prometheus, instigated mortals to deceive the gods, which eventually caused the gods to send down a flood, destroying the Bronze Age humans]
[From the results, mankind was destroyed, but from the process, all destruction has its reasons. Please speak freely and describe the fairness and injustice of this incident under the watchful eyes of the gods. The audience will give the final judgment based on the performance of each contestant in the debate]
·········
At the same time, the contestants are waiting in their seats.
Andrea covered her mouth with her hands, trying to hide her surprise, but many of the remaining contestants reacted even more violently than her.
What kind of topic is this, discussing the justice and injustice of the fall of the Bronze Age... This is simply a provocation to the gods.
"...No, it's not. This is just a criticism of the fire thief."
After recovering from his shock, Odysseus spoke immediately.
And with his reminder, the players around him also reacted.
The title says, "Under the gaze of the gods," "Describe the fairness and injustice of this incident"... Although there is no hard requirement, no one should blame the gods. And as a member of the human race, even if it is a subconscious choice, I am afraid that no one will put the blame on humans themselves.
So the question is, if the gods are not wrong and humans are not wrong much, then who is the guilty person?
Of course there is only Prometheus.
In recent years, because Athens first opened trade with Silvermoon City, many ancient books have also been introduced to human countries.
Although they don't want to admit it, after much research, many well-known scholars believe that those records are probably not fabricated, but are true. Therefore, many doubts have been raised about the extinction of humans in the Bronze Age.
Although this has never been a mainstream idea, it does exist, and even many of the contestants present themselves have doubts about it. But now... Which side will they stand on in the debate?
If everyone stands on the side of God, given the same position, I am afraid that the content of the debate will not be "Is Prometheus guilty? Is he the culprit for the destruction of the bronze man?", but "What is Prometheus's sin? Whose sin is the main factor?"
"Shh, is this so outrageous? I have to face such a topic in my first debate?"
Sitting aside, totally at a loss for words, Andrea had not expected that the topics for the conference in Athens would be so explosive... She was speechless and decisively began to seek help.
"Hey, can you hear me? Alvin, you've seen the title, right? Which side should I choose? I don't know much about the crimes of the Fire Thief. When I was a child, my father told me stories about him, and I thought he was a pretty good god..."
"...It's not bad, but it doesn't matter. Next, I will transfer you to the person you are talking to. He will decide what you will say later."
"ah?"
Andrea was stunned for a moment. She never expected that her plug-in had been replaced, but she didn't have time to think about it.
Soon, the little princess felt some changes in the runes in her heart, and the voice became that of a middle-aged man.
"You are Miss Leah on the stage, right?"
"Yes."
"That's good."
Sitting in the audience, Iapetus had no expression on his face.
"From now on, I will guide you in this debate. And as the title says, the gods are fair, so they will not punish the human world for a debate that attracts the world's attention."
"So remember this: first of all, we are on the side of humanity in this debate."
Chapter 338: Waiver and Disrespect
"I abstain."
"I abstain."
"I abstain too."
Her heartbeat slowed down. Sitting in the contestant's seat, Andrea was shocked by the meaning of the voice in her mind. However, almost at the same time, three voices sounded from her side one after another.
Looking for the source of the three voices, the little princess recognized them.
One of them was a scholar from Phoenicia, the other was a well-known historian and jurist in Athens, and the last one was a prince from Pislas.
The reason why the first two abstained was not surprising. Andrea had heard that they had questioned the historical records. They believed that Prometheus, the fire thief, was actually a respectable god, unlike the official records in Olympus.
As for the last one… Although he was also a prince, he was not as famous as Odysseus of Ithaca. But just from the name of the country, Andrea knew why the other party gave up.
As one of the oldest kingdoms of mankind, Pislach is now only a small country with a few cities and is rarely favored by the gods. According to folk rumors, this is because they once had a king who claimed that the king of gods had robbed his daughter, but there is no evidence to prove this.
Although many people later thought it might be true...it did not affect the decline of the kingdom and its royal family's implicit rejection of the gods.
The reason why these three people abstained was probably because they did not want to speak at the conference against their will, nor did they want to be blamed by the gods. After all, speaking in such an open debate, the gods might not directly punish the contestants for their remarks, but this did not affect what they did in secret.
This was the case in the city of Thebes. At the wedding of the goddess of harmony and Cadmus, the goddess of beauty Aphrodite gave her a gorgeous necklace and silk veil as a gift. But it is not known whether she was very angry about her daughter marrying a mortal. In short, the necklace and veil seemed to be cursed, and all those who wore them had a bad ending.
"Wow——"
As the three finished their words, the meeting place was filled with noise again.
There are no loudspeaker equipment installed in the seats where the contestants are waiting, but there are basically no weak people who can stand here, so at least it is not difficult to make your voice heard farther.
As soon as the topic was announced, three people abstained from voting, which is an extremely rare thing.
"Three of you, I heard you just proposed giving up the competition?"
In the center of the venue, the old man was also stunned when he heard this, but he quickly figured out the reason, and then asked in a businesslike manner:
"Do you guarantee that your withdrawal from the competition is out of your own will, and you are not persecuted or coerced by any external force? If you choose to give up, there will be no possibility of regretting it midway."
"certainly."
The prince of Pislach spoke, and the other two nodded in agreement.
"In that case, the three of you can choose to stay and watch my subsequent competitions, or leave early."
Ignoring the chaotic voices, the old man Modia signaled those who wanted to give up the competition to do as they pleased.
He raised his hand slightly, and melodious music immediately rang out on both sides of the stands, drowning out the noisy discussions under the effect of the magic circle.
The suspended platform in the center trembled slightly and then split into several small circular platforms. Like ships on the sea, they crossed the sky and landed in front of several contestants.
"Now, please come to the stage."
After looking at each other, the few remaining contestants stepped forward, Andrea among them.
She is not the only female contestant, there is also a white-haired old lady among them.
As the floating platform moved again, the contestants arrived at the center of the venue where everyone was paying attention.
"There is no need to introduce your identities. You are either well-known among the nations or have recently proven your abilities in Athens. Everyone knows you and is looking forward to your performance."
"Now, please start. In the name of wise Athena, may everyone show their talents."
There was originally a long paragraph of explanation to introduce the guests, the history of Athens, the reason for holding this conference, and then introduce the identity and reputation of the contestants at once, but Modia now wanted to know what was going on with this sudden change in topic and who changed the content.
So he simply skipped those irrelevant things and directly announced the opening of the competition. According to the rules of a debate, at the beginning of the competition, all contestants had to first state their own opinions.
"…Since the game has already started, let me go first."
There was silence for a moment, and then Odysseus smiled.
He has nothing to worry about, and doesn't mind being the first to speak, let alone his opinions.
As one of the many bloodlines left by the God King in the human world, although several generations have passed, it is impossible for him to oppose the words of the God Court because of some rumors.
"Well, my dear audience, my friends on the stage, the beautiful ladies, and the gods in heaven and on earth."
"As the prince of Ithaca, I am honored to stand here and exchange my opinions with you and explain my views. I would like to thank the priest who came from afar and King Theseus of Athens for giving us the opportunity to gather here. For this reason, I have to do my best to show my eloquence in the hope of adding a little insignificant glory to this grand gathering."
"I have heard that among all the wise kings in the world, there is no king who fails to distinguish between rewards and punishments. A monarch like King Theseus will definitely punish those who break their promises and punish those who commit crimes. Only in this way can the interests of those who abide by the promises be protected and the law-abiding citizens be spared from suffering. This is a truth recognized by the world and a justice that does not change with the times. This is also my point of view. I believe that the disaster and destruction of the Bronze Age were a punishment from the king to the untrustworthy and a punishment from the ruler to the guilty. This is reasonable and there is no doubt about it."
"Thieves will be imprisoned, and those who do not follow the rules will be judged according to the law. This is a rule that everyone from nobles in a city-state to kings of the gods should follow. If such behavior is considered 'unfair', then what kind of thing can be considered fair?"
Standing on the platform, Odysseus slowly stated his views, then ended with a rhetorical question and bowed in greeting. In fact, what he said was a summary of the ideas that the God's Court had been promoting subtly over the years.
The bronze humans violated the covenant between gods and humans, so their destruction was justified and legal. Prometheus stole fire, which was against the law, so he deserved to be imprisoned.
It was hard to argue with that, since they already felt that the debate was destined to come down to which of Prometheus's crimes was the worst.
In this era, it was rare to openly criticize the gods, but the guilty were of course the exception. So after Odysseus's opening, the next contestant also stepped forward and began to narrate his own point of view.
·········
Snap, snap, snap——
The debate among humans has just begun, but the audience is naturally not just the mortals in the venue.
Whether it was Iapetus or other gods who came to the scene, they all watched the meeting silently. In the palace under the sea of Pontonoris, the god of the west wind gently clapped his hands to show his support for the speech of Odysseus in the shadow in front of him.
With the help of the authority of the God King and the temples and believers built on the Acropolis, everything in the venue was reflected and visible in detail in this palace. And Odysseus' speech was naturally transmitted synchronously.
The gods present had no opinion on his remarks. Most of them had no relationship with Prometheus, and even if they did, they did not think that the gods had done anything wrong in this matter.
Even Hestia felt that Prometheus should not teach humans to deceive the gods... Therefore, Prince Ithaca's speech naturally satisfied the gods, and even the tense atmosphere caused by the golden apple eased a little.
Of course, not much, just a little bit.
"Your Majesty, it seems that your bloodline is still so extraordinary that even after three generations, it can still produce such an outstanding heir. If it weren't for the arrogance of mortals, who would lose their reverence and self-awareness once they get close to the gods, I would even suggest that you invite him here to drink a cup with the gods."
Sitting nearby, Zeferos spoke with a smile, while the God King laughed and said a few humble words.
He could no longer remember which branch of his bloodline Odysseus was descended from, but his performance was pretty good. And the God King could see his thirst for wisdom and fame.
Such a candidate can be a candidate for the championship, he will make the right choice. The others are also OK, no matter who wins, the King of Gods will accept it.
He did not intend to influence the judging of the competition, but in fact, most of the contestants who could successfully come to Athens to participate in the competition, except for the locals, had already been secretly screened... Of course, these gods would not admit it.
As for Odysseus, as the god of the west wind said, although he performed well, the king of gods did not intend to give him more opportunities to contact the gods.
Since the incident of Tantalus, the gods have learned another lesson, which, in the words of another civilization, is called "If you get close to someone, you will be disrespectful."
Once gods come into contact with mortals for a long time, they will develop all kinds of bad thoughts and do things that cannot be tolerated.
So they no longer allow beings that are not immortal to approach them, even their own descendants.
"The fourth generation of humans have been raised under the guidance of the gods since their birth. They are indeed not as rebellious and rude as the bronze generation."
Nodding in praise, Zeus looked to his left.
The girl, wearing a knee-length dress and sitting upright, was calmly looking at the illusion in front of her, as if this meeting was not taking place in her sanctuary on earth, nor was it affected by the golden apple.
Deep down, if this was not his daughter but a son, and if he did not possess power that surpassed all the gods, Zeus would probably not be able to tolerate her existence.
Even deep down in his heart, the God King still had a trace of fear.
But reason is always better than a vague premonition. Zeus doesn't think that Athena, as a goddess, can really threaten him. But if he can use this plan to teach her a lesson, it's not impossible.
She had to remember who her father and king were, instead of staying in the starry sky all day and hanging out with those unruly gods.
"Athena, my most dazzling daughter, I changed the topic of the competition without your consent. This is my fault."
"But if you want to choose a human to evaluate the gods, then naturally he must use a competition to evaluate another god to prove his ability - but this is the topic I replaced after all, so I promise you that no matter what kind of remarks appear in this competition, I will not vent my anger on Athens."
"Then I thank your Majesty for his kindness."
Athena smiled slightly, not seeming to care much about this. She nodded slightly, and then continued to look at the mortals speaking at the meeting.
At this point, several people had already finished their opening, and only two figures were left on the field who had not spoken yet.
No one stood on Prometheus' side, which did not surprise Athena. Although Athens had always been a land of free speech, mortals' fear of the gods had never diminished.
Prometheus... she had not seen him much. Athena was quite curious about this god who was called "the wise man" before her. After all, in another record of fictional history, they were the bronze humans who were created together.
Chapter 339 Human Justice
Acropolis, in the center of the meeting place outside the city.
Under the gaze of the audience, debater after debater expressed their views and explained their opinions from different perspectives.
However, as expected, no one denied the decision made by the Olympian gods.
No one in the fourth generation of humans had ever seen Prometheus, and only a few legends were spread on the sea. It was said that the fleet lost in the whirlpool might be guided by the prisoners and return to the world, but rumors were just rumors after all.
The same is true for bronze humans. It is obviously unrealistic to expect modern mortals to empathize with the previous generation of humans who have no blood connection. Most people are just standing from the perspective of a bystander and looking at this issue rationally.
"…So as I said, in the legend, Pandora, the woman who brought disaster, opened the magic box and once again disobeyed the order of the gods. She also proved with facts that in the Bronze Age, not only men broke their oaths, but women did the same, and it was even their nature."
"Humans like this deserve to be destroyed, and compared to cutting sacrifices and stealing the sacred fire, this was the final straw that led to the end of the Bronze Age. The existence of Pandora completely proves that this generation of people is useless, and destruction is their only fate."
On the stage, another contestant talked about his philosophy. Unlike the previous contestants, he chose to start from Pandora.
The first woman created by the gods opened the magic box and brought chaos, turmoil and disease to the earth. Three months later, the gods sent a flood to destroy the world. This is undoubtedly a different perspective, but it is a well-argued point of view, which has also been widely recognized by the audience.
After a round of warm applause, the middle-aged short-haired man who spoke bowed politely and returned to his original seat.
At this moment, Andrea was the only one who hadn't spoken yet.
Taking a deep breath and looking calm, the little princess took a step forward, and the floating platform she was on moved to the center.
Tens of thousands of eyes were focused on her, and many people recognized her. This was not only because the "Liya's Game" was becoming more and more popular, but also because of her appearance.
No matter what era it is, there are always people whose values are based on their appearance. Being beautiful is an advantage in itself.
"...Mr. Iros, I hope you are as good as you say."
Andrea prayed in her heart, but she immediately remembered that in Athena's teachings, cheating was not a behavior that Athena praised.
Now she was openly cheating at a conference dedicated to the goddess. If Ryan hadn't promised her that she wouldn't be discovered, and she actually wanted Athens to win, she wouldn't have come here.
"Dear audience, contestants on the same stage with me, commoners or nobles, gods or elves, I am honored to be here to discuss this old history with you. Just now, your views have been explained very clearly, and your recognition of the gods has been very clear. However, please forgive me for making fair remarks under the gaze of the goddess - I dare not agree with your views."
The voice was not loud, but it spread throughout the venue with the help of the alchemy array. As a princess, Andrea was still quite capable. At least from her demeanor and tone, she didn't sound like she was reading a script at all.
"Madam, may I take it that you just mean to say that you think the gods acted unjustly in the Bronze Age?"
Suddenly, another voice came from the contestant seats, but the next moment, a red light lit up from the platform where he was.
What followed was the calm voice of the previous host.
"Mr. Noyes from Olympia, during the opening stage, you are not allowed to ask questions or debate each other. You have to wait until the last contestant has stated his or her position before it is your turn to speak freely."
"Every contestant is entitled to express his or her opinion independently and completely, so I will warn you now. If you do something similar again, I will announce that you are out and expel you from the venue."
"…I'm so sorry, Miss Leah, I made a mistake."
The contestant named Noyes bowed slightly and apologized in the direction of Andrea, and Andrea nodded in agreement.
"That's fine. This is not the time for a formal debate. But since you asked, I can answer you with certainty. I do think the gods were unfair in what happened during the Bronze Age. As for the reasons, please let me tell you one by one."
Standing in the center of the venue with her head held high and her chest puffed out, Andrea looked at the gradually becoming restless audience seats, the runes in her heart flashing continuously.
I don't know why, but from those paragraphs, Andrea seemed to feel a little helpless and angry. Those were not emotions that were expressed, but those hidden in her heart.
"Before, you have said a lot about the 'justice' of Olympus. You mentioned that those who violate the agreement should be punished, and those who violate the law should be punished - there is nothing wrong with this, and it is recognized by people. But if the destruction of the bronze man is the so-called punishment, then this is probably not consistent with the justice you are talking about."
"Over the years, I have read history books and learned the wisdom of the ancients. In the thousands of years of history, I have seen many ancient heroes, wise and violent kings. And since ancient times, people's evaluation of kings has coincided with each other:"
"When faced with an unjust war launched by an enemy country, those who only defeat the enemy's army, capture the king and nobles, and spare the soldiers and servants are benevolent monarchs. They use virtue to win over the people of the enemy country and use their character to stop the war in the world; while those who defeat the enemy's army, kill the king and nobles, and pile up the heads of the enemy soldiers into hills to deter rebellion are tyrannical monarchs. They use the corpses of invaders to subdue the bandits, and use the swords in their hands to intimidate the nations, so that the heroes of the world will restrain their ambitions and dare not start wars in the world."
"As for killing the enemy's soldiers, allowing the city to be looted, killing three-tenths of the people in a city, and taking away all the food and property, that is something that only cruel kings can do. They use fear to subdue their subjects and use force to maintain their rule. As a result, rebellion continues despite repeated bans, and heroes from various countries rush to draw their swords to prove their martial arts."
"This is not only true of human history, but also of God's history. In ancient times, the first God King ruled the world in this way, and he was eventually overthrown by his own descendants. As for humans, such monarchs were rare in ancient times, and none of them had a good end. This is already a rare atrocity in the world, but the destruction that occurred in the Bronze Age was even worse than this, even far beyond the former."
"Even if I search through history books, I have never heard of a king who killed the kings and nobles of the enemy country, buried all the invading soldiers, and slaughtered all their people. The blood dyed the rivers red and the civilization turned into ruins. This is something that no life can tolerate, but this is precisely the disaster sent by the gods and the suffering suffered by the people in the Bronze Age."
"Deception is unjust, and breaking promises should be punished. But apart from the gods of foresight and the priests who did all this, what mistakes did the other bronze humans make?"
"Even if the gods were angry and gave them famine, plague and heavy rain, this could be considered something a 'cruel king' would do. However, the flood poured down on the earth from east to west for seven days and nights. All life on earth was destroyed; even the birds in the sky fell into the ocean because they had no place to land. The gods deprived mortals of their lives, whether they were pious or unfaithful, whether they were birds, beasts or insects. So can such behavior be called fair?"
The voice echoed over the conference hall. At first, Andrea was just reading from the script, but gradually, she was somewhat convinced.
Yes, over the years, wars between city-states and kingdoms have been common, and brutal kings have appeared from time to time. However, they would kill all the lives of a country, from the population to the livestock, leaving no one alive. Even the northern barbarians who used humans for blood sacrifices had never done that.
If the gods of Olympus did such a thing, it would be more tyrannical than the most brutal monarch in the world. How could such an act be called fair?
For a moment, the venue was somewhat quiet. The first stage of the conference was declared over, and the debate between the contestants could begin. However, no one on the podium stood up to refute it for a while.
"So Miss Leah, is this your point of view?"
"Yes."
Andrea nodded at this, and on the other platform, Odysseus' voice remained steady.
She didn't expect to convince the wise men present with just one sentence, this was just the beginning. Next, she would have to witness the wisdom of the others.
"In that case, I will speak frankly. Miss Leah, your speech just now was indeed brilliant, but it also had some loopholes."
With a smile on his face, Odysseus' words were blunt.
Although he did have a good impression of the "Miss Leah" in front of him, for Odysseus, he never believed that love could be obtained through prayer and concession.
"My beautiful lady, just now you compared Prometheus to the king who started the war, the students and priests who obeyed his orders to the nobles, the bronze humans to the people, and the Gods to another country that responded. This is certainly a good metaphor for the fire thief's instigation of the priests at that time to break the agreement and deceive the gods, but there is a loophole that cannot be concealed."
"Everything you said is a war between kingdoms and between people. So when human kingdoms fight each other, they don't kill all the enemy kingdoms; when people fight each other, they don't fight to destroy an entire race. But I heard that humans can't understand the behavior of animals, so fish in the water eat their own children, but humans think it's evil; humans can't understand the behavior of insects, so mantises eat their own husbands, but humans can't accept this atrocity."
"This is how humans view animals, and how gods view humans. What humans consider to be cruel may not necessarily be what gods consider to be cruel. These are not objects that can be compared together. They are conclusions drawn from different perspectives. A wrong premise will inevitably lead to a wrong result. If you cannot face up to the essential gap between gods and humans, you will naturally be unable to judge the fairness and injustice between them. Therefore, Miss Leah, your previous remarks are probably meaningless."
Odysseus' words were sharp and powerful. He did not refute whether the king of gods was cruel or not, but instead used the gap between gods and humans to show that there was no point in comparing the two sides.
This is how a debate works. Many times there is no right or wrong in the topics debated by both sides, and sometimes there is right or wrong. But what really determines the outcome is whether the views of each party are rigorous, whether they can form their own logic, and whether they can seize the loopholes in the other party's words.
For a moment, the atmosphere on the field seemed to have changed, and the disturbance caused by Andrea's blasphemous words subsided.
Facing the opponent's counterattack, Andrea wanted to refute it, but she hadn't thought of how to refute the gap between gods and humans. After all, no matter how much she said, the opponent could always drag it back to "As a human, how can you understand God's thinking?"
But Andrea was not discouraged by this situation. After all, she was not very familiar with debates from the beginning, and her real way to deal with it was the voice in her heart.
"Well, Prince of Ithaca, you avoided my question and tried to respond by saying 'this question shouldn't exist'. You think that humans cannot understand God, just as humans cannot understand birds, beasts, insects and fish. Although I don't agree with your statement, I will continue with your point of view."
Andrea looked politely at the hundreds of thousands of spectators present, her voice neither hurried nor slow.
"Just now you said that humans cannot understand birds and beasts, so the habits of humans and birds and beasts are completely different; humans cannot understand God, so the behavior of humans and God can also be different."
"But humans praise the diligence of bees and use their character to praise themselves; humans refute the atrocities of swallowing bees, so they despise the behavior of insects and jackals. Any evaluation in this world is a measurement of external things from one's own standpoint, and the so-called fairness is based on this."
"If you judge right and wrong from the perspective of an individual, it is fair to the individual, but others will refute it; if you judge right and wrong from the perspective of a city, it is fair to the people of this city, but people in other city-states will not agree. If you judge right and wrong from the perspective of a country, the result is fair to this country, but other countries will question it; and if you judge right and wrong from the perspective of mankind, then this evaluation is fair to mankind. As for life outside of humans, since they cannot understand it, why bother?"
"Today, this grand meeting is held in Athens, where heroes from all over the world gather to pay tribute to the gods with their wisdom. This is a competition that reflects human wisdom, not God's; this is a debate between humans, not a debate between humans and gods. If you don't use human standards to measure justice, but require it to be evaluated from a non-human standpoint, doesn't that go against the original intention of this conference?"
"Now, let's go back to my original point. Odysseus, Prince of Ithaca, the wisest hero among humans, please tell me: if you, I, and everyone present cannot understand the 'justice of God', then from the perspective of humans, do you agree that the destruction of the Bronze Age is in line with 'human justice'?"
The voice was calm. At this moment, a breeze blew from the clear sky and clouds blocked the sunlight, but Andrea's eyes were still bright.
It is meaningless to discuss justice outside of humans in a debate forum that belongs only to humans. Justice is relative. If humans want to think about the justice of God, then shouldn't they also think about the justice of plants, insects, and fish?
Since he is a human being, he should think about things from a human perspective. In this case, Odysseus's previous doubts naturally fell apart.