By the Falling Star Lake, the Centaur watched his students go to pack their bags.
It's time to go on a mission, but leaving Silvermoon City doesn't mean you can leave immediately after making the decision.
Apart from anything else, if you want to fight against gods, even if the location is on the mortal world, you need a weapon that is sharp enough.
It doesn't have to be a divine weapon, after all, true divine weapons have corresponding powers. But if you just want a strong enough weapon, then the difficulty is actually not that high.
Many of the gods' weapons are like this, for example, Ares has no real weapon.
Tools like this that are only tough but have no special abilities are not uncommon.
"But then again, to him, perhaps those sturdy armors are just for show."
"The indestructible body forged by the Styx, or in other words, his 'immortal' body, is much more useful than any armor."
Walking along the shore of Fallen Star Lake, Chiron occasionally greeted a few nymphs passing by.
This was once the place where Artemis, the goddess of the wilderness and hunting and the crescent moon goddess, grew up. Mountain fairies and water fairies then gathered here following some mysterious induction.
Gradually, Falling Star Lake became one of the places with the most nymphs at that time. And after the goddess came of age, the name of this big lake became worthy of its name.
Because there are real stars in the Fallen Star Lake. After Artemis stopped living here, she became the de facto owner of the lake.
Tap--
"Aisiriya, I am here to bother you again."
Following a water bridge floating out of the lake, Chiron came to a small island floating out of the lake.
The only difference from other places is that in addition to soil, the ground of this island also contains a lot of silver-gray rocks, which are flashing with tiny lights.
"Since you know it's a bother, why did you come to me? Is this your home?"
A crisp voice came from the center of the lake, like a little girl who was awakened from her sleep, with a somewhat dissatisfied tone.
However, the next moment, a gray light flashed, and a palm-sized ball of light appeared in front of Chiron's eyes.
A tiny life was stretching its body inside the ball of light, glaring at the tall Centaur angrily.
"Are you here to ask about that thing again?"
"It's green, green, and it hasn't turned black yet! I've already told you that if there's any problem I'll tell you, you don't have to ask me every day!"
"Ahem, Asiriya, I just stopped by to see you."
The Centaur Sage coughed lightly and felt a little embarrassed.
He actually didn't want to come here, but the problem was that although the little thing in front of him was not a bad person, it didn't mean that she was reliable.
It would be difficult to deal with if she was sleeping when something went wrong.
"But it will be soon. Once I verify the stability of this secret ritual, I won't need to bother you anymore."
Taking out some strange little toys from his pocket, Chiron spent a lot of time comforting the little guy.
Only after he made her smile did he breathe a sigh of relief and continue forward.
What Esrea said only proved that there was no problem for the time being, but he still needed to personally review the details.
As we traveled deeper into the island, the soil and vegetation became scarcer, with large areas of exposed silver-gray rock on the ground.
Until one moment, when he crossed the last tree, Chiron's eyes opened up.
On a stone plain that is several miles in radius, pillars covered with symbols are shining.
The light they emit collide and then overlap in the center.
An emerald green crystal stood there, and it seemed that something was sealed inside.
Undoubtedly, this was the 'green' thing that Esrea had called before, and the fact that it had not turned black proved that it was still operating stably.
"[Life Storage] is truly another pearl in the field of witchcraft, but also another blasphemy against the gods."
"The 'immortality' that only gods can pursue has actually been revealed by them at the tip of the iceberg."
Even though he had seen it many times and even though he was the builder of this mystery, Chiron still made such an exclamation every time.
Because he knew very well that what was happening before his eyes was actually just a degraded version of the ideas of some extremists.
However, their ideas were obviously not allowed by Silvermoon City, but theirs were.
Continuing forward, Chiron walked on the stone plain.
Falling Star Lake, nowadays few people know why it was given such a name in the first place, but according to some rumors, some people say that stars once fell from the sky here.
Then one day later, Artemis accidentally fished something out of the lake and said that this should not be a rumor.
Because there is indeed a fallen ancient star under the Fallen Star Lake. It is suspected that it was a celestial body that was brought down to the human world by the ancient master of the sky in the era when the star god had not yet been born.
It fell to the earth and turned into a huge pit. Then, over the years, Falling Star Lake was born.
Artemis was greatly surprised when she discovered all this. Such ancient and intact celestial bodies are rare in the world today.
So she used her authority to raise the planet from the lake and turned it into an island. Then, in the name of the Lord of the Wilderness, she borrowed the spiritual moon to give the planet spirituality.
So from this day on, Chaos had one more star nymph, and the theocracy of Artemis [Wilderness] also perfected its concept.
The stars falling from the sky and landing on earth are part of the [wilderness].
Although this progress was not much and meant nothing to Artemis, she was still happy.
So the goddess gave the first star nymph the name 'Aesiriya' and allowed her to manage the lake on her behalf.
"I don't know if it's because we left the starry sky, or if the 'sun' today is not actually a real celestial body, but a holiday transformed from the remains of the ancient sun god."
"After so many years, Esrea has shown no signs of growing up."
The thought flashed through his mind and Chiron didn't think about it any more.
It is more important to do the business first. At this moment, he has arrived in front of the huge crystal.
A rich breath of life emanated from the crystal in front of him, and the light scattered from the surrounding pillars also shone on his body.
The net formed by the interlaced light is to prevent the life force here from flowing out, and the green crystal is a concrete symbol of the gathering of life energy.
However, Chiron can be sure that the life energy here has never been reduced even a little bit since the beginning.
That means that the things inside don't need to absorb vitality to maintain their existence.
As for what was inside...Chiron raised his head slightly.
In the center of the emerald crystal, the lid of a box opened.
In the center of it, there is a heart that seems to be still.
"[Life Storage]... So, what those people said is actually true?"
Chiron was silent as he watched this scene. Thinking that it had been like this all these years, he didn't know whether he should be happy or not.
He knew whose heart the heart in front of him belonged to because he had spoken to the other person not long ago.
Achilles, his student, had this heart from him. And this was also the reason why his 'immortality' was perfect.
The "hatred" in the water of the Styx is not something that everyone can come into contact with. Gods will lose their divinity and power, and mortals will lose their lives.
Only a very small number of beings can be baptized by the power of the Styx when they come into contact with it. They are often born in harmony with the laws of the underworld and will not die because of it. They can even obtain bodies that ordinary gods cannot do anything to.
No matter how weak the underworld is, the existence that has been baptized by His laws cannot be harmed by ordinary means.
However, like the pomegranate that Persephone ate, anyone who touches the essence of the underworld is bound to stay here.
Even gods can decide how long to stay or leave based on the amount of contact they have, but once mortals are baptized, they no longer have the ability to choose.
However, there are always loopholes in everything, and the baptism of the Styx is no exception.
As long as she left a part of Achilles' body that was not contaminated by the water of the Styx and extended the time required to complete the baptism infinitely, Thetis could allow Achilles to gain immortality while remaining in the human world.
However, this idea was dispelled by Chiron before it was implemented. The Centaur told Thetis that he had another way to do it.
And his method is the [Life Storage] in front of him
"What a crazy and evil method... Those lunatics discovered ghosts and spirits, and discovered another form of life. So they thought that as long as they could first change themselves from 'life' to 'death' under controllable conditions, they could gain eternal life."
"And the caster's roots are not physical or material, but come from the soul and spirit, so this is feasible. However, they don't want to become completely dead, because with the abilities of mortals, there is no way to complete the reversal of life and death and gain a new life without affecting thinking and rationality."
"So, they chose to split."
"For all things, as long as time is still passing, the loss of life is irreversible. But if time is stopped, thinking will also stop. For an individual, this is no different from death."
"But if they cut off most of their souls in advance, and then permanently imprison them at the moment of the split, and then let the remaining soul and body embrace death, they can successfully trap their existence between life and death. Neither birth nor death, neither aging nor death."
"Even if the outside part is destroyed, they can be reborn from the original part of the soul. The only loss they have is a small piece of their soul."
"However, the wounds of the soul can heal themselves, whether it is the life in the spiritual world or the ghost. It's just that because their separation involves thinking and emotions, every resurrection will lead to a lack of emotions. This may seem like a high price, but compared to death, it is not an unbearable loss."
"What a genius idea! If this wasn't Silvermoon City, and if the vast majority of spellcasters didn't still have some faith in the Lord of the Spirit World, perhaps this method of eternal life would really spread thoroughly, and even become a mainstream sect."
Sighing once again, looking at his own [Life Preservation] ritual, Chiron couldn't help but be in awe of the wisdom of mortals.
Although he is born a demigod, he can be killed.
In comparison, it is hard to imagine that a group of mortals whose lives are limited could invent such a method.
Especially before the experiment, Chiron could still explain it by saying "this method may not be feasible", but since the modified ritual is feasible on the body, there is a high probability that there will be no problem with the ritual on the soul.
"Vegetables can live without hearts, but can people live without hearts? It was originally a joke, but now it seems that they can really live."
"As long as this heart is not destroyed, unless it is an attack that exceeds the limits of the Styx Law, nothing in this world, whether inside or outside, can harm Achilles' immortal body."
"With such power, I'm afraid there is no rival in the world."
Nodding slightly, Chiron checked the secret ritual once more.
Although judging from the results, the rituals he prepared would not be used at all, he still had to prepare them just in case.
However, while checking, the Centaur couldn't help but think of the wizards who invented the original method of soul splitting.
According to their plan, they had originally intended to conduct the transformation ceremony themselves, and even gave the finished product of their soul seal a name, called "Endless Life Box", which means the secret box for obtaining endless life.
And they also gave the transformed life form a very appropriate name.
Neither alive nor dead, neither human nor god, they can naturally be called demons. And whether before or after the transformation, these spellcasters are wizards who use witchcraft.
Therefore, in their opinion, it is most appropriate to call their newborn "Lich".
Although it was a good idea, Chiron knew that they would not live to see the day of transformation.
Because this ritual was exposed in advance, their behavior of circumventing death and reincarnation by desecrating souls also caused an uproar in Silvermoon City.
As for now…I guess if they had the chance to reincarnate as a human, Chiron would probably be almost an adult.
The witchcraft they created, such as [Soul Split], [Mind Synchronization], and [Status Orb], have long been listed as forbidden techniques, and no one is allowed to study or use them.
"The genius among humans, in the end, will inevitably end up on the path of blasphemy."
"I don't know whether it's because the gods' jurisdiction is too broad, or whether there are ready-made decorations out there, and mortals will subconsciously imitate them."
"But in terms of the soul and mind... I really don't recommend them to get involved. In these areas, humans' understanding is still too shallow, even the gods are the same."
Chiron naturally didn't know the answer to the question.
After all, to be honest, he himself is not human.
·······
The human world, Athens.
The passionate speeches were over, and no one, no matter what they thought, dared to object to the march to Eleusis at this time.
However, compared to other Athenians who were inspired to fight, Andrea felt a headache when she thought about the many things she had to deal with.
All you have to do is say it, but how to implement it... that's a very complicated matter.
Chapter 409: War Methods in the Mythological Age
In a remote study in the palace, Andrea remained silent as she looked at the pile of parchment scrolls in front of her.
There was no time to hold a grand funeral for Theseus - in fact, on the one hand, there was no such custom in Athens at that time, and on the other hand, Theseus had no body left.
Therefore, the most urgent task facing Andrea, who had just experienced separation, was to conquer the city of Eleusis, which was now the Kingdom of Eleusis that had re-declared independence.
After all, even though she didn't have much experience, Andrea could see that simply killing a few people would not convince everyone.
Simple speeches can only inspire the people, but cannot convince the nobles and high-level professionals to follow.
So she needed a victory to unite the hearts of the people of Athens by avenging the former king.
Only in this way can she have the ability to resist when facing the upcoming troubles.
But problems arose before it even began, because the former princess embarrassingly discovered that she knew nothing about military issues.
This is not surprising, because she was not even born when Theseus was still leading his troops to war.
By the time Andrea grew up, no large-scale war had broken out in Athens.
Even Theseus's few actions were often for the purpose of deterrence rather than to actually break out in a large-scale war.
"But it's different. Since my father passed the throne to me, he must have thought I could do it."
"Maybe there is something I haven't thought of, or maybe my father left me some guidance. As long as I find it, I can solve the problem I'm facing..."
Andrea pursed her lips slightly and sat upright looking at the figure in front of her.
Over the years, she has grown up and is no longer the same child she was. Not many people treat her as a child anymore.
But when facing Mr. Irving, whose expression had not changed at all, she always felt that she was still the same as before, just like when she was facing Theseus.
She knew nothing and could do nothing, and then faced with the sudden change, it was just like she was lying on the cold altar...only this time, those surrounding her were not cultists, but real gods.
And this time, Theseus, who was originally invincible in her heart, had fallen in front of her.
"So I need to understand the guidance my father gave me," Andrea repeated, taking the scroll in front of her: "Then I can solve them."
That's what Andrea said, and that's how she convinced herself. Sitting opposite her, Ryan took a sip from the teacup and nodded in affirmation.
He had been here for a while and understood the current situation.
But then, looking at the former princess who was actually cheering him up in her heart, Ryan's words were simple and straightforward.
"Well, your idea is good,"
"But Andrea, I wonder if you have ever thought about a question."
"Perhaps King Theseus did not actually leave you any instructions on this matter. After all, he was not omniscient and omnipotent, and he could not have predicted that he would die so suddenly."
"He may have had reasons for passing the throne to you, but the more likely reason is that he actually had no other choice at the time, so the 'high hopes' he placed on you were just a last-ditch effort."
"After all, you have an advantage. You are a clergyman of the church. In his eyes, even if the worst happens, you will not die. You will only lose the throne of Athens."
"And with the weapons he left for you and the support of the gods behind you, you or your descendants will one day be able to retake Athens. What he said before was just a hope for the better, but in fact, this is his true expectation."
Ryan's voice was calm, and his words were not euphemistic at all. He and Andrea were reunited after a long separation, but in fact, it was not really a long separation.
Because over the years, their connection has never ended.
In addition, Ryan didn't care much, and Andrea had just lost a loved one, so when he saw the scene he had foreseen and saw the princess with blood on her sword, Ryan came here as a matter of course to help her with the future of Athens.
"I..."
He opened his mouth slightly, but was somewhat at a loss for words.
There were only two people in the room at the moment. It wasn't that there was no one else Andrea could trust in such a huge city like Athens, but she just didn't want to see them now.
After all, trust is also divided into levels, and obviously, there is a natural gap between those who are "loyal to her because they are loyal to their father" and the former princess. She doesn't really want to show that she knows nothing in front of them.
So faced with such a problem, Andrea couldn't find any other help for a while.
"But I need to do something. At least, I need to deal with Eleusis first."
After a moment of silence, Andrea finally said, "You will find a way, right?"
"Well... sort of."
Facing Andrea's expectant gaze, Ryan finally gave a positive answer.
"In fact, the problem Athens is facing now is difficult, but also simple. The first thing you need to understand is how wars in this era are fought."
"I wonder if you have ever thought about this question - since the demigods and the incarnations of gods are so powerful, they can easily break down city walls and defeat thousands of troops. Powerful divine arts can kill lives on a large scale, and it won't take long to massacre a city."
"If that's the case, then what's the meaning of the country, what's the meaning of the army? This world should become a world where personal bravery determines everything, and wars will never break out."
"In a war between two kingdoms, we can just let the strongest come out to fight. Why bother sending troops? Isn't that redundant?"
"!"
With her eyes slightly widened, Andrea was obviously listening very carefully.
As a clergyman, she had never heard of such things before. And since Athens had not seen a large-scale war for a long time, she naturally had no need to know about it.
"So what is the purpose of the army, or is there a way to weaken the influence of the strong in real war?"
"Of course," Ryan nodded with a smile, not keeping anyone in suspense: "And all of this comes from the God King on Mount Olympus."
"As we all know, Zeus is the king of the gods. Although he often calls himself the Lord of Thunder and the Lord of the Sky, in fact, anyone with a little knowledge knows that the reason why he can rise above the gods is his [royal power]."
"This originally came from the power of the oldest first-generation God King. It is the embodiment of the will of the world governing all things in the world. He gave this power to the original Heavenly Father, so the divine power of the first-generation God King can do many things - he can even exercise the power of the world in the name of the God King, anchor new and logical 'concepts', and then give birth to corresponding priesthoods in the world in advance."
"The original [Time Sequence] priesthood came from this. It should have existed in the Third Epoch, with the birth of the four seasons and the inauguration of the twelve main gods. However, due to the supreme authority of the first generation of God King, it appeared directly in the distant past, at the beginning of everything."
"…"
Listening silently, Andrea felt as if she had access to some knowledge that mortals would never understand.
Just listening to what Lai Ryan said, "It's well known," the former princess was a little speechless.
Who is this "people" referring to? It's not me, right?
"Of course, this is the innate royal power of the first generation of God Kings." Without caring about Andrea's little thoughts, Ryan continued: "But the subsequent God Kings are not like this."
"They were able to take over the throne of the God King not because they had done anything remarkable for the world, but because of the evil deeds of the previous God King, and also because of the influence of fate."
"If it is not obtained by oneself, then naturally it will not be complete. So in fact, the authority of the God King is constantly reduced in the process of inheritance. When it comes to Zeus, his kingship is not even much stronger than his natural [Thunder]."
"But maybe it was fate's favor, or maybe it was some other reason, anyway, Zeus got a way, a means to help him complete the [royal power] in another way. And this means, manifested at the level of gods, is the 'Twelve Main Gods', and manifested at the level of 'humans', is the 'royal power' order he created based on the blood of the descendants of gods."
"This is the embodiment of his power and the source of his strength. He will not take the initiative to destroy the system of the twelve main gods he established, so even if he has some opinions about his daughter, he cannot do anything unless she disrupts the order; he will not take the initiative to destroy the order of the divine kingship, so you see, even though there are always kings in the world who provoke the gods, even his own son is no exception, he still has not thought of letting the 'church' replace the 'nobility', and letting the 'religious state' replace the 'kingdom'."
"Because for the God King, the provocation of mortals will only damage his reputation, but as long as it is handled properly, it can prove the greatness of the God."
"But if he takes the initiative to destroy the royal order that he established himself, then what is damaged is his real interests and authority."
"…Is that so?"
As if she had figured something out, Andrea drew inferences from her experience.
"So when Tantalus killed his son, the gods only punished him and replaced him with his godly offspring. When Sisyphus imprisoned the gods, the gods waited until he died before punishing him, and his godly grandson still inherited the throne."
"The gods did not choose a king from among the devout believers. The reason is that the king himself did not want this to happen?"
Her three perspectives seemed to be impacted. In an instant, Andrea felt that her filter for the gods was shattered again.
With Theseus' death, there was little of that awe left, and now it was almost gone.
"Yes, so in fact, Zeus is the most 'law-abiding' one in the entire Olympus."
"Other gods may do things that break the order, but Zeus, although he believes in 'doing what is not forbidden by law', will never take the initiative to break the rules he has set. Unless he has no way out and has to choose the lesser of two evils."
Ryan nodded and found it interesting.
In this situation, if the Divine Court could formulate a fair and just law, perhaps things would really be different because of having such a 'law-abiding' Divine King.
But unfortunately, most of the rules made by Zeus are to help him build and maintain the continuation of the [royal power]. As for other things, he would not make laws at all, but simply treat them as if they did not exist.
"But what does this have to do with the way the war is fought? Is it because of this 'kingly order'?"
Andrea asked again, leaning on the table with her chin in her right hand.
Listening to Ryan talking about the nature of these gods, Andrea couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of excitement.
Perhaps my father and those nobles also know the existence of the "royal order". After all, they have all participated in the war personally.
But Andrea was sure that they had absolutely no idea about the inside story.
"Of course, after all, although the gods today can no longer use their divine power in the human world, their authority can still have some macro-influence, but it's not as strong as before."
"Before there were any restrictions, the goddess of agriculture could make half of the world's plants wither, and the god of wind could raise an endless wind that covered the eastern part of the continent."
"Pour the artifact of Hebe, the goddess of youth, on the top of a mountain. The endless fountain of youth will create thousands of rivers, allowing those who drink it to remain young forever."
"But when they lost their divine power and did not have such a strong support, even if the divine power was still 'absolute', they could not control such a large area. But Zeus's [royal power] was still special, not only because his strength was far greater than that of the gods, but also because the power for his 'royal order' was not only provided by himself, but also by the mortal nobles and kings who were willing to support this order, and even every citizen who lived under the royal order."
"Their behavior of following the order itself will provide them with strength, so Zeus's kingship can still cover every kingdom on earth - of course, as mentioned before, once this order is established, he himself cannot violate it. And this order must be beneficial to the nobles and kings of the world. Only in this way will they support it from the bottom of their hearts and continuously provide it with power."
Ryan tapped his fingers on the table and said with a smile: "One of the features of this order is that it gives the concept of 'kingdom' real power."
"At other times, those powerful supernatural beings and incarnations of gods display their power unscrupulously through assassinations, fighting, and adventures. But when a war breaks out between two 'kingdoms', or an individual commits a crime recognized by the world, then this power granted by the 'royal order' is materialized."
"It will instinctively reject power that exceeds its limit - just as the laws of the world also reject divine power. The more kingdoms that join the war, the wider the scope of the impact, and the stronger this manifested power will be."
"By that time, the gods may still be more powerful than ordinary people, but they will no longer be able to destroy an army on their own, and those demigods who roam the world will no longer be able to act recklessly."
"So Theseus's intimidation is due to the combination of his power and Athens' national strength, not just his strength. Only when he possesses both can he make the gods uneasy."
"Of course," Ryan added at the end of the story, "because this power is the embodiment of the 'royal order', and it itself comes from the cognition and compliance of human life, so it is not real-time either."
"It is meaningless to suddenly declare war unilaterally. Only when your people are aware of the war between you can this order take effect. It is also meaningless to unilaterally declare that a person has committed a serious crime. Only when a person's sins are known to the world will he be punished accordingly. So using this kind of thing to launch a sneak attack and lure a strong man into the army to be surrounded and killed is simply impossible, because he must have realized your malicious intentions before that."
"And this doesn't mean that strong men are useless on the battlefield. They just can no longer change the outcome of a battle on their own. But as long as there is no absolute gap between the two sides, they can still influence the outcome of the battle."
"In short, this power actually conforms to the will of intelligent life under most order systems."
"They hope to be meaningful as part of the 'numbers'. And the 'royal order' gives them this meaning."
It has to be said that Zeus is quite capable, and Ryan also admits it.
Just like the 'royal order' he established, it even balanced the secular world and the church to a certain extent, so that although he himself had never established any church, he actually gained an endless supply of faith.
And if you think about it carefully, this is indeed consistent with many things recorded in mythology.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the gods, who can easily break mountains and peaks, have to fight like mortals.
Chapter 410 Knight
"'Royal Order'... So that's what it is. I understand."
"Everything in human society, including the gods and the lives ruled by the gods, must abide by it."
"So even powerful heroes don't dare to confront a country head-on, but some chaotic and crazy demons don't need to care about such shackles."
"The powerful monsters in the legend can wreak havoc on the kingdom, but they are often killed by heroes; heroes who can kill monsters cannot conquer a country with their own force, and this is the difference between the inside and the outside of order."
Suddenly realizing, Andrea felt that she finally understood the rules and order of the world today.
Be it gods, humans, or even other intelligent beings, most of them can gain certain benefits from this order.
In fact, the only ones who are truly restricted are the gods other than the King of Gods and the demigods at the top of the human world.
Only they are unable to demonstrate their full power because of this rule and have to be restricted by the kingdom and the people.
But they had no choice but to accept it, because the one who made the regulations was the King of Gods, who was also the source of a considerable number of divine bloodlines in the world.
Even beyond that, although Ryan didn't say it explicitly, Andrea still vaguely sensed something.
Just look at the effect of this system and you will know who are the ones who are really restricted by the God King. They are nothing more than all the "strong ones" in the entire God Court system except himself.
If the entire system of the divine court is a pyramid, then the God King is the top of the pyramid.
And those restricted gods and demigods in the world are the ones closest to the cutting edge.
In addition, there are the vast majority of nobles, kings of average strength, and even the professionals who make up the elite army, they are the middle part of the pyramid.
As for the remaining civilians without extraordinary powers, whether there is a "royal order" or not, they are at the bottom of the tower, and it's just a matter of who they serve.
In this situation, comparing it with Zeus's behavior, Andrea also had some vague insights.
As a ruler, you need to make those who are second only to you respect and obey you.
Then let those who are separated from you by a level gain benefits from the order you personally established, and create an overall conflict of interests with those who are just below you.
This is the best situation for you.
And there should be more behind this logic. Andrea's intuition tells her that the current wars between countries and conflicts between gods may also be a manifestation of the wisdom of the King of Gods in this regard.
It can be said that Andrea could only learn about how powerful the God King was from documents whose authenticity was unknown.
But his wisdom as a ruler seems to have always been around everyone.
"Father often said that he didn't trust gods. He also knew that many gods were powerful only because they were born as gods. But even so, he believed that some gods really understood something in their long lives and summed up knowledge that mortals often find difficult to understand."
"He also said that the more widely promoted and the longer they are circulated, the less people care about them. Often, they contain the most useful wisdom."
Sighing, Andrea felt that she was still far from achieving her goal.
"Now that I know the rules of human warfare, what should I do next?"
"Now that the national war has begun, the gods can no longer rely on divine descent to defeat the Athenian army. Should I directly march my troops to the border and besiege Eleusis?"
"Of course not."
Looking at Andrea who had given up thinking, Ryan smiled.
This wasn't a case of self-destruction, it was purely a change of heart in the middle of the night, where he was faced directly with the death of a loved one, and then seamlessly transitioned into his first murder while also trying to appease the citizens of Athens.
After all these operations, Andrea's spirit was almost at its limit, so she inevitably relaxed in front of someone she could trust.
"If it was just a war between Athens and Eleusis, you shouldn't do this. Because this is a rebellion, not a response to a foreign enemy."
"When dealing with foreign enemies, a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. That is 'those who commit crimes against the country will be punished no matter how far away they are.' However, if you still use all your strength to deal with a small rebellion, it will only make people think that Athens has weakened and lost its former strength after the change of the throne."
"What's more, Athens has only been centralized for a few decades, and a considerable number of its troops are conscripted. At the current speed of mobilization, I'm afraid that by the time you have recruited and are ready to go, three months will have passed."
"And now Athens is not just facing the rebellion of Eleusis, the threat from the western countries is the biggest problem. Their power alone may not be as strong as Athens, but when most of the power of the entire Olympian pantheon comes in droves, I'm afraid we still need to prepare early."
"Well...what should I do?"
Andrea asked, as if she was thinking hard.
"Of course, we will use the royal army to quickly suppress the rebellion. After all, the enemy is still using your brother's name as theirs, claiming that Demophon is the legitimate heir to Athens."
"In this situation, it is obvious that we should act quickly and not give Eleusis, which has also rebelled hastily, a chance to reorganize. We should directly use our elite troops to break into the city and intimidate the entire Athens."
"At the same time, the main forces of the country will immediately deploy troops in the western border and recruit soldiers to act according to the situation. In the south, envoys will be sent to seek friendly alliances. In the east, maritime trade will be reduced to prevent the invasion of the believers of the sea god. When the time comes, we will see which side has the opportunity between the east and the west, and we will attack instead of defend and win the first game. This is the correct way of military strategy."
Ryan said casually without giving it much thought.
This is not some earth-shattering wisdom, it is simply the standard response to such situations.
"But having said that, you still have to be prepared."
"This war will not be easy for Athens to win."
"Yeah, I know."
Nodding, Andrea cheered up: "In fact, I am ready to fight in the Acropolis one day in the future."
"Right in front of the great temple of the goddess, showing the fearlessness of the Athenians."
"But speaking of which, Ivan..." Blinking, Andrea asked, "What is the art of war?"
In later myths, Chaos was the 'God of Military Strategy', but after personal investigation, Ryan was sure that he was not.
Just like Athena's psychic artifact was regarded as a god by later generations, it was probably the result of some false rumors.
So looking at Andrea with a confused look on her face, Ryan didn't know how to explain it better.
There are various strategies in this era, but there is no one who has achieved great success and written a book to summarize the past and bring forth new ideas.
Therefore, as of now, there is indeed no systematic military strategy in the Chaos world.
"Just think of it as a summary of the art of war. Although there are not many wars in the world, there are many in some places."
In the world of Chaos, where are wars the most frequent?
Of course it is the battlefield of hell and abyss.
This is the most appropriate explanation, and anyone who wants to understand it will not find it strange.
However, even Ryan did not expect that the excuse he gave at the time would lead future generations to come to the same conclusion when they looked back on history thousands of years later.
Human morality comes from God and comes from the Golden Age; while conspiracy and cunning come from the devil and have been passed down from the Silver Age to the present.
Morality is certainly worth praising, but cunning is not useless either. Because as the crystallization of human wisdom, the earliest military tactics of mankind were inherited from this.
······
Athens acted quickly, without any delay. Not long after, Andrea announced the war order in the palace.
Troops from many city-states will be recruited from now on, and then gather in a large city in the west.
In the afternoon of the same day, the knights of the royal city began to gather.
In this age of myth and fantasy, the so-called "knight" can be said to be quite characteristic of the times.
They belong to the lowest level of the ruling class and are the most direct manifestation of a kingdom's military power.
As for the reason, it can be traced back to the beginning of the supernatural system.
The extraordinary power in the world today, when traced back to its source, is roughly nothing more than an extension in the direction of spiritual elements, or an expansion from the perspective of material life.
And at the beginning of everything, it was the survivors of the Golden Age before they became the first professionals in the world to step into the legendary realm of material life.
In his perception, he had gone through four stages of change. (See 3-20)
In the first stage, the energy belonging to material life began to be born.
It is condensed from blood, flesh, and bone marrow, and can also enable the mortal body to break the innate limitations of mortal things.
Before this, there will always be a limit to pure exercise and training.
The birth of the first ray of life energy indicates that the upper limit of mortal things can be broken.
However, this so-called breakthrough is not so direct and obvious in its external manifestation; it is more of a beginning.
In the second stage, when this material life energy exceeds a certain limit, it begins to be actively controlled by the owner, who can consciously strengthen his or her body.
With this ability, professionals can unleash more powerful abilities when needed.
But at this point, compared with witchcraft and divine arts, the warriors still cannot show any signs of being extraordinary.
Although they run faster, have more strength and better physique, in fact, if they face a group of armored soldiers with bare hands, their only option is to escape.
Therefore, many times, professionals at this level are not even considered extraordinary, but just soldiers with better qualities.
As for the third stage, this is the first watershed for warriors.
The third level of clergy is called high-level priest, and the third level of wizard has completed the initial transformation of the soul and can use the soul to roam the surface of the spiritual world during meditation.
When a warrior reaches this stage, the transformed material life energy can finally leave the body and begin to affect the outside world.
At this point, even a professional without any inheritance can choose to become a "Knight".
And becoming a 'knight' meant becoming the most ordinary member of the so-called Knights Templar, and the lowest level of the ruling class on earth.
Although they are still unable to release "sword energy", warriors who have reached this stage can cover their weapons and armor with their own life energy.
And if the armor is forged in a special way, it can even achieve an effect where one plus one is far greater than two.
In addition, their life energy can also act on other lives.
For example, knights can make their mounts, which they use day and night, have greater endurance and strength.
Furthermore, when there are enough knights releasing life energy at the same time, and there are people who are good at this to support them, their energies may even be intertwined.
This interwoven energy will form a net, weakening any force coming from the outside and enhancing its own lethality.
Such an army is the so-called "Knights", and is a real tool used to intimidate the strong in the world today, or a treasure to defeat the weak with one blow.
It can be said frankly that whether a country is a local independent city-state or a continentally renowned kingdom is most directly determined by whether it has such a knightly order.
Of course, although people nowadays don't have any feelings about it, if someone in the future were to look at it, they would inevitably feel that the name of the Knights Templar appeared a little too early.
Perhaps in the original history, this era when demigod heroes frequently emerged should be the beginning of the birth of supernatural powers, rather than the earlier Bronze Age.
It was not until after the Trojan War that the path to transcendence gradually spread across the earth.
This kind of power structure based on the "knights" who hold power will gradually form and last for thousands of years in later generations.
But now, everything is much earlier.
If it weren't for the existence of gods, perhaps the world at this time would have already begun to transition towards true "feudalism".
"It's early indeed."
"At least in that imaginary world, I have never known what a 'knight' is."
"But this is not surprising. After all, there was no 'Great Alchemist Hermes' in that era."
With a self-deprecating laugh, Hermes in the high tower watched Solomon's moving figure outside.
Naturally, he also received notification about the war, but the young new king seemed to have not figured out how to communicate with him, so he did not meet with him.
Seeing this, Hermes went with the flow and only let his students go with the army.
In recent days, his experiment has reached a bottleneck.
Although he had a way to continue, he still wanted to do more experiments, such as "blood sacrifice" as one of them.
In addition to this, he had already planned to go and take a look outside the Huanshi River.
He knows that there is nothing outside this world.
But outside of that virtual world he once lived in, it was 'real'.
Every failure makes you wiser. If you can, then see more.
Maybe if he changes his angle or perspective, he might get some new inspiration.
"Let's do it now. The sooner we go, the sooner we can return."
"After that, there may not be enough time."
He let out a breath and stretched out his hand.
Then at the bottom of the tower, a crystal stone flashed slightly and then fell into the palm of Hermes.
"The battle between gods and men... Although I never had the chance to witness the end of Troy, if I think about it, I know that this kind of thing will not have a good outcome."
"The God King has his own plans, and the gods have their own plans. They all think they can win in the end."
"Oh, after all the fighting, I don't know who is swimming naked when the tide goes out."
With a smile, Hermes disappeared into the tower.
He didn't intend to attract anyone's attention on this trip. It would be best if he could leave and return silently.
Anyway, this war on earth will not begin immediately, and now is far from the time for him to appear.
Chapter 411 The Thief and the Seventh
The sea water is receding, and the scattered islands are fleeting.
From the calm nearshore waters to the distant seas controlled by the Lord of the Ocean, ocean currents surge beneath the surface of the water.
Compared to the endless fighting between the two ocean gods in the last era and the war in the starry sky that lasted for a thousand years, throughout the Third Era, the place outside the human world was so peaceful.
But for Hermes, he didn't feel anything.
After all, whether it was the virtual world or the current Chaos, he had never experienced the years before the Third Age.
In his impression, the sea was so quiet, the ancient sea gods had ceased their activities, and only Poseidon was jumping up and down, but he could not gain anything.
"Huh—here we are."
"This is the River that Rings the World, the manifestation of Oceanus's priesthood."
After an unknown amount of time, at the limit of the sky and the end of the sea, Hermes finally arrived at the edge of the River that Rings the World.
Compared to Poseidon, who calls himself the God of the Sea by relying on the realm of [Storm] and [Tsunami], those truly powerful Gods of the Sea are all like this.
They have a sea area that belongs to them since birth and can never be taken away by outsiders.
The more powerful they are, the larger the domain they own. This is why the two sea gods of the Second Age must defeat their opponents.
After all, whether it is Pontus, the "concave surface of the earth" and the "original ocean", or Oceanus, the "origin of all rivers" and the "long river around the world", their share in the cycle of "ocean and water" in the world is too obvious.
In order to condense this complete symbol, even if it is not necessary to occupy a 100% share, such a large gap cannot be allowed to exist.
Therefore, the only way is to make their opponents completely surrender. Only in this way can they go further and touch higher realms.
"But having said that, it is almost impossible. Even the God King and the Primordial God cannot force them to surrender by force."
"For an ancient god like this, long sleep is scary, but it's not impossible for him to take the initiative to sleep forever."
Standing beside the river rushing through the void, Hermes could understand their thoughts very well, even though he had not experienced that much time.
If you can't have it, no one else can have it.
"--open"
By the endless river, the water that occasionally splashes out falls down as if falling into an abyss, as if it is about to sink to the bottom of the world.
Following Hermes' low shout, a door opened in the void in front of him.
He took a step forward, and the next moment, he appeared on the other side of the Ring World River.
"It looks OK, and there is no problem with the actual test results."
Nodding secretly, Hermes was quite satisfied with the result.
Although he lost almost everything since leaving the virtual world, he did not gain nothing.
One of the gains, naturally, is the beginning of the mystery of alchemy.
The other was Hermes' unexpected discovery that after that miraculous journey, his insight into and familiarity with time and space actually rose to more than one level.
With this ability, Hermes created many little tricks based on his insights into his priesthood in the virtual world.
This door that travels through time and space is one of them.
"If we cross the river directly, we will inevitably be noticed."
"It's much better now... After all, this is someone's territory."
Looking back at the still flowing river, Hermes did not stop and continued to go out.
This sense of closeness in time and space is also the basis for his decision to go beyond the main body of the world.
At least with this ability, if you encounter any accidents, you still have the possibility to escape.
…
In the endless void, the concept of time seems blurred.
Traveling through the void, Hermes carefully maintained a distance between himself and Chaos.
The further outward you look, the more elusive the world's presence becomes.
So if you don't want to cause trouble, keeping a distance is a very important point.
"But outside of this world... there is nothing?"
It was unknown how much time had passed before Hermes finally stopped.
Because he regretfully discovered that perhaps the void outside Chaos was empty and peaceful.
No matter, no energy, nothing.
It simply exists, but nothing else exists.
For a moment, Hermes even felt that he had come to the wrong place.
He thought there would be some broken land, floating time and space bubbles, or something else.
But now it seems that he was overthinking it before, and maybe this is how it should be here.
"But it's also possible that it has been taken away by someone a long time ago, or has become part of the world again."
"After all, what I can think of, others can think of too. Fortunately, I am not here just for this."
Shaking his head slightly, Hermes took out the crystal he brought with him and pondered for a moment.
It seemed like a wasted trip, but thinking about the special environment here, he had been planning to conduct another experiment here.
In this place where Chaos's Law has a weaker influence, I don't know if the results will be different.
Whether or not, this confirms some of his ideas.
"Come."
Hermes cut his fingertips and used his blood to write a word in the void.
A trace of soul power merged into it, and then slowly approached the crystal.
His face changed slightly, but soon returned to normal.
This trace of soul is like a hair on the body. It does not carry any consciousness or thoughts, but only contains some of the imprints of Hermes.
And the moment it left the body, Hermes quickly drank the liquid in a small bottle, and the lost soul quickly replenished itself.
"I hope I can hold on a little longer this time."
Press forward and the rune will merge with the crystal.
Looking at this scene that he had experienced many times, Hermes relaxed and waited for the result calmly.
······
Wow——
Crash...
In the void outside Chaos, not far from Hermes.
A piece of ruined land with a radius of dozens of miles was floating there, but the former seemed to be oblivious to it.
Hermes's guess was actually not wrong, but now, with the shattering of the Hermeneu world, all the scattered fragments had already come towards Chaos.
Just as a huge celestial body relied on gravity to capture Liuxing, although the largest fragments still retained a large number of otherworldly laws, this was not the case with these corners.
The marks of their foreignness have been erased, and they have been assimilated bit by bit by Chaos's power, just like the fragments of the Nine Realms.
The chains of law are bound to it, dragging it to move in the void.
It seemed as if the rumbling sound echoing in his soul was accompanied by the swaying of the chains, but even though it was so close, Hermes was unaware of it.
But this is not surprising, because few people could notice when the fragments of the Nine Realms were integrated.
Although the size of Hemainu is much larger than some of the broken fragments, only some residues have been integrated into it now.
It is far from enough to cause any waves, and it will soon become a part of Chaos.
And in this process, it will not have any intersection with Hermes at all...if the 'passengers' on this 'passenger ship' are not taken into account.
However, there is no if in reality, and the 'passengers' on this 'passenger ship' also noticed the movement outside.
Floating around this small fragment, the erratic illusory shadow watched Hermes' every move, with a hint of smile in its eyes.
Is this the existence of another world... It doesn't seem to be the case.
After all, it won't be long before both sides become people from the same world.
But before entering Chaos, I actually encountered such a being.
What is this, the protection of Hermaeus's broken fate, or a trap left by Chaos?
"Interesting..."
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, but Amon couldn't actually tell whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
After all, the realm of destiny has always belonged to the world itself, and anyone who claims to be in control of destiny is merely a manifestation of the world's will.
The goddesses of fate of the nine realms cannot change the twilight of the gods, and Chaos' goddess of fate can only patch up his fate.
Even the three-phase incarnation of the Mother of Night is detached from the world and almost never appears in the world.
Therefore, no one can be sure whether everything happening before our eyes is the result of fate, or whether the will of the otherworldly world has noticed something inharmonious and arranged such a coincidence in front of us.
If it were Zeus, he would probably choose to retreat when faced with such a scene.
After all, there is no need to gamble when there are other options.
But at this moment, it was not the God King who faced all this.
"Well... let's take a gamble, just for once."
With a look of joy on his face, Amon walked out of the debris with a smile.
For a moment, his figure became even more illusory.
Having lost all his powers, even if he possessed an essence beyond the gods, what he could do was very limited. It was even difficult for him to "swim" through the vast void to Chaos.
Just like Ryan in the past, even though he had a trace of extremely high-essence time and space power, it could not bring any real power before he opened up the spiritual world.
Fortunately, Hermeneus had been broken, and there were many 'ships' that Amon could take.
He just picked one at random and began to wait boredly for the 'ship to dock'.
"I didn't expect that I would find a box of treasure before 'reaching the shore'."
"So it was luck, or was it bait?"
His figure was erratic, and Amon blinked as he looked at Hermes and the crystal in his hand.
"A god, and a man who is more like god."
"The loose laws in the void, and what he is doing, are like a bait..."
"But I want to take a gamble. As for the bet... let's just consider it my life."
brush--
The figure, which had originally been somewhat recognizable, exploded into thin strands of light and shadow, circling towards where Hermes was.
In Amon's eyes, everything was so clear.
Even without power, his status still allows him to see the truth.
Hermes gave him the same feeling as Hermeneus, a god who had lost his priesthood, and was even in better condition than them.
And that crystal is a real god who has lost his divine power.
A certain kind of eternal and immortal power is hidden deep within the crystal, rejecting all external influences. It is neither born nor destroyed, neither increases nor decreases.
No force below the world can shake it, not even an existence like Tartarus.
However, Hermes obviously did not intend to destroy the consciousness hidden inside the crystal. His approach was more like theft, deception, or parasitism.
He tried to let that immortal consciousness sleep forever and let other things cling to it.
If Amon had been to Chaos, he would probably be able to see at a glance that this was somewhat similar to the way mortals used the fragments of the ancient sun god's divinity after his fall.
However, the consciousness in this crystal is indeed intact; it is just sleeping and not confused.
Therefore, what Hermes did was bound to face many difficulties.
"But this is his, not mine..."
Silently, before Hermes himself noticed, before his soul touched the crystal, wisps of formless mist had already enveloped the surface of the crystal.
And as the rune came into contact with the crystal, without any trace, the mist replaced the soul and penetrated deep into the crystal.
It circled around the immortal characteristics, and the next moment, with an instantaneous change, its aura became the same as the original will in the crystal.
The gift from the world is still protecting the will of the Eternal Sleeping Star God, and Amon does not intend to try to completely replace the other party and test the mechanism of the laws of the alien world.
He is willing to try the unknown, but he is not seeking death.
So, entangled outside the opponent's consciousness, Amon looked at the rune that finally fell from the outside world without any resistance.
So, in the void, Hermes unexpectedly discovered that this time he was more successful than he had imagined.
He smoothly established contact with the eternally sleeping Star God, and although he didn't know if it would be permanent, it seemed that there was no problem for the time being.
He didn't know if this was related to the special environment here. Maybe when he returned to Chaos, everything would return to its original state?
After a moment of silence, Hermes tried to stir up that soul.
He didn't want to 'take over' a star god in this way, it would be impossible to succeed.
In fact, he hoped that the soul he released could produce independent consciousness, even if it was a consciousness assimilated by the former star god.
Because only in this way, this consciousness will not be rejected by the eternally sleeping star god, and will be regarded by the other party as a part of himself.
What he needs is just some innate connection between this 'part' of the other person and him.
Anyway, since his body is broken, it is impossible for the opponent to obtain divine power for the time being, and I will not give him this opportunity.
Once he has completed this step for all the star gods he has found, and then accomplished what he wants, it will no longer matter whether the other party can possess divine power later on.
After all, true divine power cannot be built on the existence of others. To Hermes, these star gods are merely tools for him to gain power, rather than the pillars that support his power.
Buzz——
The next moment, as Hermes thought, changes occurred.
Just as he had imagined perfect, the crystal shook slightly.
Soon, a consciousness that was only slightly familiar but more identical to the aura of the crystal itself gradually became clear from the haze.
Hermes was a little nervous watching this scene, but he still asked, "Welcome, Your Excellency, to awaken... Are you the Star God of the past?"
"…I don't know. I don't even know why I'm here."
The consciousness in the crystal was also a little hesitant, but finally gave a response.
'very good...'
Nodding in his heart but not showing it, Hermes asked again, "Then I wonder if you still remember anything, such as your name?"
As expected, this was the thing he created, ranked first - no, seventh. He should also have a name.
Well, as to why he changed his words, it was mainly because before the arrangement, Hermes suddenly thought of the ancient myth of the world of Chaos.
In the realm of spirituality and spirit, 'one' is not the beginning, 'seven' is the origin of all things.
Therefore, his first finished product should not be ranked first, but seventh.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through my mind, but time did not stop.
In response to the inquiry, the next moment, Hermes heard the response from the new consciousness in the crystal.
"Thank you for waking me up, but I don't remember much anymore. There are only a few things I still remember..."
"For example, my name is 'Amon'."
He nodded slightly. Although he had never heard of this name, Hermes didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
The star gods in the sky used to be as numerous as the stars. After all, they were the "stars".
Even they themselves may not know each other's names, so it's normal that you haven't heard of them.
I can communicate and remember names, but I have forgotten many more. It is a perfect result.
I just don't know if this was an accident, and what I should do to replicate this success.