NOVPUBChapter 720: Chapter 133 Waiting and Hoping_2 Chapter 720: Chapter 133 Waiting and Hoping_2 Since the straightforward approach was unsuccessful, the only option left was to start the investigation from Helen.
“By the way, where is King Agamemnon? Didn’t the old man come to harass you after he entered the city?”
“As the Priestess in charge of both the royal and divine authority of Sparta, I am not some war trophy he can snatch from another city-state. If he dares to cause trouble in the Temple, he’d better be prepared for a full-scale war with Sparta!”
Helen paused, holding her magic wand, and answered with pride, her chin held high.
Following Helen’s gaze, Luo En looked toward the Great Temple outside where squads of the Divine Blood Guard were patrolling back and forth, and at the nearly packed clergy in several side temples, his face broke into an approving smile.
“It seems you’ve done well during your tenure, earning the adoration of these people.”
“Ah, it’s not that great…”
...
Blushing at the praise, Helen quickly waved her hands dismissively.
“Compared to the great deeds you’ve accomplished, everything I’ve done is but the faint glow of a firefly, hardly worth mentioning. Moreover, the changes I’ve brought to Sparta and the following I’ve gained from those outside are all thanks to your teachings.”
Saying so, Helen looked at Luo En with eyes full of admiration and love, like a flame that burns eternally.
If once she was just a starstruck girl enchanted by looks, now she has become a seeker trying to reach the level of her idol.
For the more she implemented the teachings of this Shepherd of the Temporal World, the more she could feel the grandeur of his thoughts.
“Cough cough…”
Seeing the atmosphere in the Temple turning intimate once again, two intruders couldn’t help but cough loudly to interrupt the affectionate exchange of the couple.
“So, where did Agamemnon go?”
“He’s at the Elder Council. They invited him in, so they’re responsible for hosting him.”
“To let an outsider into the city, what are they planning?”
“What else can they be planning? It’s just that they’ve seen me in power for too long and want to take advantage of the incident of my sister eloping to team up with King Agamemnon who has come to admonish, and force me to step down.”
Helen massaged her temples with a look of helpless wryness, revealing her precarious situation.
“The Elder Council and the Inspectors currently control more than seventy percent of the Divine Blood Guard in Sparta. Although I have quite a few followers in the city, they are mostly ordinary people mediocre in talent and combat capability. Plus my brother-in-law and his elite forces, the opposition has completely overpowered the Moon Temple in military strength. Any rash conflict would only increase casualties, so I’m sending messengers to War God Mountain to request troops to mediate this dispute…”
The Spartan twins were surprised to hear this.
“Seventy percent? You’ve done so many beneficial things for the country and its people, why would all the Divine Blood families side with the Elder Council?”
“It’s because your seat determines your stance…”
Luo En hit the nail on the head and then continued to enlighten his somewhat confused brothers.
“If you don’t understand, first consider why Sparta was founded.”
“Military strength?”
“And to maintain a strong army with continuous military achievements, what is most needed?”
“War!”
The brothers had a sudden realization, looked towards their compassionate sister, and asked dryly.
“Helen, how many wars have you waged in these two hundred years?”
Helen thought for a moment and slowly raised one finger.
The brothers ventured, “A hundred?”
Helen shook her head and awkwardly retracted her finger, “None at all.”
Hearing this, the brothers couldn’t help but rub their foreheads in pain.
Sparta was established with military strength, with its cruel training and universal conscription tradition, turning the entire city-state into a war machine serving battle.
The spoils of wealth, slaves, military achievements, and maintaining social mobility were all advantages brought by war.
But ever since their sister took power, she first implemented various policies that undermined tradition and then brought two hundred years of peace, which was essentially pushing Sparta’s military and Divine Blood families towards a dead end.
No wonder the Elder Council would rather bear infamy than to invite outsiders into the city to force a palace coup. No wonder nearly seventy percent of the divine blood families in Sparta had taken a stand against the Moon Temple.
“I know this might be overcorrecting…”
Seeing the displeased expressions on the faces of her two brothers, Helen said softly, expressing her own vision,
“But I have witnessed the cruelty of war in Thessaly. We have bought the dawn of peace with countless sacrifices of blood, and so I do not wish that during my reign, the Spartans should have to shed blood for war again.”
Then she paused, a flicker of deep-seated anxiety shimmering in her eyes.
“Moreover, ever since the disappearances of the gods, the city-states which once fought side by side have started warring against each other. Many divine blood heroes I knew died mysteriously in battle. Thus, I suspect there may be some force behind the scenes plunging the whole of Greece into strife and turmoil, making me even more reluctant to initiate hostilities…”
“Your thoughts are correct.”
Luo En patted Helen’s shoulder, giving her an affirming response.
In fact, ever since he was at the Sea of Okeanos, he had vaguely felt that something was off about the entire atmosphere in Greece.
The casual chat with that fisherman had further confirmed his suspicions.
During their two hundred years away, plagues, famines, wars, floods, and various other calamities had been rampant, leaving the population of Greece in dire straits.
This familiar apocalyptic atmosphere easily led him to think of one person.
— Catastrophe Witch Pandora!
As the lead suspect behind the destruction of numerous civilizations under Zeus, the current chaos in Greece was likely related to her and her master.
Moreover, according to legend, Pandora’s Box that she possessed had the ability to unleash all sorts of calamities, but within its deepest recess lay [Hope] that could break the world and then remake it.
To wait, and to keep [Hope]…
This prophecy left by Athena might refer not only to his homecoming but also to some metaphor concerning [Pandora’s Box].
At this moment, hearing Luo En’s consolation, the uneasiness in Helen’s heart gradually dissipated, and she looked brightly at the three reinforcements who had arrived.
“Just now, I was worried if the messenger could safely reach Athens, and whether War God Mountain would be willing to mediate. But now that you’re back, none of that is a problem.”
Speaking, Helen seemed to shed a burden, her face showing a look of relief as if a great weight had been lifted.
Although she had held power for two hundred years, in all honesty, she did not enjoy the feeling of these intricate schemes with outsiders. Now that her two brothers, who had a legitimate claim to the throne, had returned, she could barely wait to throw off this load and live together with the deity she adored.
“Don’t be too happy just yet. Our current identities must remain in the shadows, and it looks like you’ll have to continue sitting on the throne.”
Luo En spoke, shattering Helen’s illusion and voiced his own concerns.
The mystery of the disappearance of the gods and heroes, as well as the potential crisis that even War God Mountain steered clear of, had not yet been unraveled.
With the situation still unclear and the enemy hidden in the shadows, they must not expose themselves prematurely if they wished to maintain the upper hand.
Upon hearing this bad news, Helen couldn’t help but show a look of distress:
“The Divine Blood Guard in the city has been moving very frequently. With King Agamemnon already present, the Elder Council is likely to make their move within these two days. But since you cannot reveal yourselves now, and we cannot rely on Gego in the short term, this poses some trouble.”
“What’s there to worry about with just some Divine Blood Guard? How about we help you slaughter all those Mycenaean tonight, and see if those old fogeys in the Elder Council still dare to hope!”
The twin brothers casually reassured her, immediately becoming fiercely protective killer madmen.
“Don’t go!”
Helen quickly grabbed her two brothers, who were about to head out of the temple chamber, and reminded them sternly.
“Mycenae isn’t as simple as you think. My brother-in-law seems to have some strange helpers by his side, cloaked in black with black wings, their faces unclear, beyond the common divine blood heroes’ ability to contend with! It is by using this power from the shadows that in recent years, Mycenae has swallowed up numerous regions and suddenly become Peloponnese’s most powerful city-state!”
Black clothes and cloaks, unclear faces… Such attire sounded somewhat familiar.
As Luo En furrowed his brows in thought, a subtle shift in the air caused him to suddenly narrow his eyes, looking towards the temple roof and shouting coldly:
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
In an instant, the authority of the Labyrinth enveloped the entire Great Temple, turning the surroundings into a prison.
