Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

"I give up."

"I give up."

"I give up too."

Her heartbeat slowed down a little. Sitting in the seat of the contestant, 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 voices, the little princess recognized the owners of the three voices.

One of them was a scholar from Phoenicia, one was a well-known historian and jurist in Athens, and the last one was a prince from Pislazi.

The reason why the first two gave up 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 countries in human history, Pislazi is now just a small country with a few cities, and it is rarely favored by gods. According to folk rumors, it was because they once had a king who claimed that the God King had robbed his daughter, but there was no evidence to prove this.

Although many people later thought it might be true... but this did not affect the decline of this kingdom, and its royal family implicitly rejected the gods.

The reason why these three people abstained was probably because they were unwilling to speak at the conference against their will, and they did not want to be blamed by the gods for this. After all, speaking in such an open debate, the gods may not directly punish the contestants for their remarks, but this does not affect what they do in secret.

This was the case in the former 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 I don't know if she was very angry about her daughter marrying a mortal. In short, this necklace and veil seemed to be cursed, and all those who wore them had a bad end.

"Wow--"

After the three people finished speaking, the sound of the venue was boiling again.

There was no sound amplification equipment installed on the seats where the contestants were waiting, but there were basically no weak people who could stand here, so at least it was not difficult to make their voices heard farther.

As soon as the topic was announced, three people gave up, which was extremely rare.

"Three, I heard that you just proposed to give 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 behavior of withdrawing from the competition is out of your personal will and has not been persecuted or coerced by any external force? If you choose to give up, there is no possibility of regretting it halfway."

"Of course."

The prince of Bislazi spoke, and the remaining two nodded in agreement.

"In this case, the three of you can choose to stay on the scene to watch my subsequent competition, or leave early."

Ignoring the chaotic voices, the old man Modia signaled those who gave up the competition to do as they please.

He raised his hand slightly, and the melodious music immediately sounded on the left and right of the stands, and under the effect of the magic circle, it covered the noisy discussions.

The suspended platform in the center then trembled slightly and split into several small circular platforms, just like ships on the sea. They crossed the sky and landed in front of several contestants.

"Now, please come on stage."

After looking at each other, the few remaining contestants stepped forward, and Andrea was among them.

She was not the only female contestant, there was also a white-haired old woman among them.

As the floating platform moved again, the contestants came to the center of the venue where everyone was watching.

"Your identities no longer need to be introduced. You are either well-known among the countries or have recently proved your abilities in Athens. Everyone knows you and is looking forward to your performance."

"Now, please start the show. In the name of wise Athena, I hope you can all show your strengths."

There was originally a long paragraph of explanation to introduce the guests, the history of Athens, the reason for the conference, and then introduce the identities and reputations of the contestants at once, but Modia now wants to know more about the sudden change of the topic and who changed the content.

So he simply skipped those insignificant things and directly announced the opening of the competition. According to the rules of a debate, at the beginning of the competition, all contestants must first state their views.

"...Since the competition has already begun, let me go first."

There was silence for a moment, and then Odysseus smiled.

He had nothing to worry about, and he didn't mind being the first to speak. As for the views, that goes without saying.

As one of the many bloodlines left by the God King in the world, although several generations have passed, it is impossible for him to oppose the words of the God Court because of some rumors.

"So, dear audience, my friends on the stage, beautiful ladies, and gods in heaven and on earth."

"As the prince of Ithaca, I am honored to stand here and exchange my opinions and explain my views with you. 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, I have to do my best to show my eloquence, hoping to add a little insignificant glory to this grand event."

"I have heard that there is no wise king among the countries who does not clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. A monarch like King Theseus will definitely punish those who violate the agreement and punish those who commit crimes. Only in this way can the interests of those who abide by the agreement be protected and the law-abiding citizens be protected 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 think the disaster and destruction of the Bronze Age were a punishment by the king for those who did not keep their promises and a punishment by the ruler for those who committed crimes. This is reasonable and there is no doubt about it."

"Thieves should be imprisoned, and those who do not abide by the rules should be judged according to the law. This is a rule that should be followed by everyone from the nobles of the city-state to the kings of the gods. If such behavior is considered "unfair", then what kind of thing is fair?"

Standing on the high platform, Odysseus slowly stated his views, then ended with a rhetorical question and bowed to salute. In fact, what he said was a summary of the ideas that the God Court has been promoting subtly over the years.

The bronze humans violated the covenant between gods and humans, and their destruction was justified and legal. Prometheus stole fire, which was against the law, so he deserved to be imprisoned.

It was difficult for anyone to question this, as they already felt that the point of this debate was destined to become a criticism of which crime Prometheus committed was the most serious.

In this era, there were few acts of openly criticizing gods, but the guilty were of course exceptions. So after Odysseus's opening, the next contestant also stepped forward and began to narrate his own views.

······

Snap, snap, snap——

The debate in the world had just begun, but the audience was naturally not just the mortals in the venue.

Whether it was Iapetus or the other gods who came to the scene, they were all watching the conference silently. And in the palace under the Sea of ​​Pontonoris, the god of the west wind gently applauded to support 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 at this moment, and every detail was clearly visible in this palace. And Odysseus' speech was naturally conveyed synchronously.

For his speech, the gods present now basically had no opinion. Most of them had nothing to do with Prometheus, and even if they did, they did not think that the God Court was 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 before because of the golden apple was 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, you can still produce such an outstanding heir. If it weren't for the arrogant nature of mortals, once they get close to the gods, they will lose their reverence and self-knowledge. I would even suggest that you invite him here to drink a cup with the gods."

Sitting on the side, Zephyros smiled and spoke, while the God King laughed and said a few humble words.

He couldn't remember which bloodline Odysseus was descended from, but his performance was pretty good. And the God King could see that he was thirsty for wisdom and fame.

Such a candidate can be a candidate for the championship, and he will make the right choice. The others are also okay, and the God King can accept whoever wins.

He doesn't intend to influence the selection of the competition, but in fact, most of the contestants who can successfully come to Athens to participate in the competition, except for the locals, have been secretly screened... Of course, these God Kings will not admit it.

As for Odysseus, as the God of the West Wind said, although his performance is good, the God King does not intend to give him more opportunities to contact the gods.

Since the incident of Tantalus, the gods have learned a lesson, which is called "being close to them is disrespectful" in the words of another civilization.

Once the gods have been in contact with mortals for a long time, they will have all kinds of bad thoughts and do things that are intolerable.

So they no longer allow the immortal beings to approach them, even their descendants.

"The fourth generation of humans has grown up 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 skirt, sat upright and calmly looked at the illusion in front of her. It was as if this meeting did not take place in her human sanctuary, and was not affected by the golden apple before.

From the heart, if this was not his daughter but his son, if he did not have the power beyond the gods, then Zeus would probably not tolerate the existence of the other party.

Even from the bottom of his heart, the king of gods still had a little fear.

But reason is ultimately greater than the illusory premonition. Zeus did not think that as a goddess, Athena could really threaten him. But if I can teach her a lesson through this plan, it is not impossible.

She needs to remember who her father and king are, 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 the competition of evaluating 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 be angry with Athens."

"Then I thank your majesty for your kindness."

With a slight smile, Athena didn't seem to care much about this. She nodded gently, and then continued to look at the mortals who spoke in the venue.

At this time, several people had finished the opening, and only two figures were left in the venue who had not spoken.

No one stood on Prometheus' side, and Athena didn't find it strange. Although Athens has always been free to speak, mortals' fear of gods has never diminished.

Prometheus... She hadn't seen much. Athena was still quite curious about this god who was called the "wise man" before her. After all, in the records of another fantasy history, it was still the bronze human they created together.