Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

In a remote study in the palace, Andrea was silent as she looked at the pile of parchments in front of her.

There was no time to hold a grand funeral for Theseus - in fact, on the one hand, Athens did not have such a custom at that time, and on the other hand, Theseus had no body left.

So the most urgent task faced by Andrea, who had just experienced separation, was to conquer the city of Eleusis, which was now the re-declared independent Kingdom of Eleusis.

After all, even if she had little experience, Andrea could see that simply killing a few people would not convince everyone.

A simple speech could only inspire the people, but could not convince the nobles and high-level professionals to follow.

So she needed a victory to unify the hearts of the people in Athens by avenging the previous king.

Only in this way could she have the ability to resist when facing the upcoming troubles.

But all this encountered problems before it started, because the former princess embarrassedly discovered that she did not understand military issues at all.

This is not surprising, because when Theseus was still leading the troops to fight, she was not born at all.

By the time Andrea grew up, Athens had not had a large-scale war.

Even Theseus's several moves were often for the purpose of deterrence, rather than a real large-scale war.

"But it's different. Since my father passed the throne to me, he must have thought that I could do it."

"Maybe there is something I didn't think of, or maybe my father left me a guide. As long as I find it, I can solve the problem I'm facing..."

Pursing her lips gently, Andrea sat upright and looked at the figure in front of her.

Over the years, she has grown up and is no longer the same as when she was a child. Not many people treat her as a child anymore.

But facing Mr. Ivan, whose face has not changed at all, she always feels that she is still the same as before, just like facing Theseus.

Knowing nothing, knowing nothing, and then facing sudden changes, it's like lying on a cold altar... Only this time, it's not the cultists who surround her, but the real gods.

And this time, Theseus, who was originally invincible in her heart, has also fallen in front of her.

"So I need to understand the guidance my father gave me," Andrea repeated, taking the leather 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 of the teacup and nodded in affirmation.

He had been here for a while and understood the situation at the moment.

But then, looking at the former princess who was actually cheering herself 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 didn't actually leave you any instructions on this matter. After all, he is not omniscient and omnipotent, and he couldn't have predicted that he would die so hastily."

"He may have prepared for the reason that he passed the throne to you, but it is more likely that he didn't have a second choice at the time, so the 'high hopes' he placed on you were just a last resort."

"After all, you have an advantage, that is, you are a clergyman of the church. In his eyes, even if the worst happens, you will not die, but will only lose the throne of Athens."

"And holding the weapons he left for you, with the support of the gods behind you, you or your descendants will be able to recapture Athens one day. What he said before was just a hope for the good, but in fact, this is his real expectation."

The voice was calm, and Ryan's words were not euphemistic at all. He and Andrea should be considered to have reunited after a long separation, but in fact, they were not really separated for a long time.

Because over the years, their contact has never ended.

In addition, Ryan didn't care much, and Andrea had just lost her loved ones, so when he saw the scene he had foreseen and 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 a little speechless.

There were only two people in the room at the moment. It's not that there was no one else Andrea could trust in the huge Athens, but she didn't want to see them yet.

After all, trust is also hierarchical, and obviously, those who "loyal to her because they are loyal to their father" are naturally separated from the former princess. She doesn't want to show that she knows nothing in front of them.

So faced with such a problem, Andrea couldn't find any other helpers for a while.

"But I always need to do something, at least, I have to solve Eleusis first."

After a moment of silence, Andrea finally said: "You will have a way, right?"

"Well... I guess so."

Facing Andrea's expectant eyes, 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 are fought in this era."

"I don't know if you have ever thought about this question - since the incarnations of demigods and gods are so powerful, they can easily break through 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."

"In this case, what is the significance of the country and what is the significance of the army? This world should become a world where individual bravery determines everything, and war will not break out at all."

"In a war between two kingdoms, we only need to let the strongest come out to fight. Why send troops? Isn't this unnecessary?"

"!"

Her eyes widened slightly, and Andrea was obviously listening very seriously.

As a cleric before, she had indeed never known anything like this. And there hasn't been a large-scale war in Athens for a long time, so she naturally has no need to understand.

"So what is the meaning of the army, or is there actually a way for real war to weaken the influence of the strong?"

"Of course," smiled and nodded, Ryan did not sell out: "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 king of thunder and the lord of the sky, in fact anyone with some knowledge knows that the reason why he can rise above the gods is his [royal power] ”

"This originally originated from the power of the oldest first-generation god-king. It is the embodiment of the will of this world to rule over all things in this world. He gave this power to the original heavenly father, so the divine power of the first-generation god-king can do a lot Things - he can even represent the power of the world in the name of the God King, anchor new and logical 'concepts', and then cause the world to give birth to the corresponding priesthood in advance. "

"The original [Chronological] priesthood came from this. It should have existed in the third era, with the birth of the Four Seasons and the installation of the twelve main gods. But because of the supreme authority of the first generation of god kings, it appeared directly In the distant past, the beginning of everything.”

"..."

Listening silently, Andrea felt as if she had come into contact with some knowledge that mortals would never know.

Just hearing what Lai Lane said as 'everyone knows', the former princess was a little speechless.

Who does this ‘people’ refer to? It’s not me, right?

"Of course, this is the natural royal power of the first-generation God-King." 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-Kings, not because they had done any great feats for the world, but because the previous generation of God-Kings had gone against the grain and because of fate."

"If you don't get it by yourself, naturally you won't be so complete. So in fact, the authority of the God King is constantly reduced during the inheritance. By the time Zeus comes, his kingly power is not even much stronger than his natural [Thunder]. ”

"But maybe it's the favor of fate, or maybe it's some other reason. In short, Zeus has found a way, a means that can help him complete [kingship] in another way. And this means, reflected at the level of God, is The 'Twelve Lord Gods', embodied at the 'human' level, are the 'royal' order that he created based on his divine bloodline."

"This is the embodiment of his rights and the source of his strength. He will not take the initiative to destroy the twelve main gods system he established, so even if he has objections to his daughter in his heart, he cannot do it without the other party destroying the order. What; he will not take the initiative to destroy the order of the divine kingship, so you see, even if there are always kings in the world who provoke the gods, even his own son is no exception, he still has never thought about letting the 'church' Replace 'nobility' and let 'theocracy' replace 'kingdom'."

"Because for the God King, provocation from mortals will only bring him loss of face, 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 established by himself, then it will be his real interests and authority that are damaged."

"...Is that so?"

As if she figured something out, Andrea drew inferences.

"So Tantalus killed his son and feasted on the gods. The god-king only disposed of himself and replaced his god-respecting heirs. Sisyphus imprisoned the gods, and the gods waited for his death before punishing him, but his god-respecting grandson still inherited the throne. throne."

"The gods did not choose a king from among the devout believers. The reason is that the god king himself did not want this to happen?"

The three views seemed to be impacted. For a moment, Andrea felt that her filter of the gods was broken again.

With the death of Theseus, there was not much left of this awe. And now, it is almost gone.

"Yes, so in fact, in the entire Olympus, Zeus is the most 'law-abiding' one."

"The other gods may still do things that violate the order, but Zeus, although he 'does whatever is not prohibited by law', as long as it is the rules he has set himself, he will never take the initiative to violate them. Unless he has already There is no way to retreat, we have to choose the lesser of two evils.”

Nodding, Ryan also found it interesting.

In this case, if the Divine Court can formulate a fair and just law, maybe it will really make a difference because of such a 'law-abiding' Divine King.

But unfortunately, most of the rules formulated by Zeus are helpful for him to build and maintain the existence of [Kingdom]. As for other things, he will not make laws at all, but simply treat them as if they do not exist.

"But what does this have to do with the way war is fought? Is it because of this 'royal order'?"

Lying on the table with her chin in her right hand, Andrea asked again.

Listening to Ryan describing 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 can be sure that they absolutely do not know the inside story behind these scenes.

"Of course, after all, although the gods today can no longer use their divine power in the world, their power can still have some macro-impact, but it is not as strong as before."

"Before there are constraints, the goddess of agriculture can make half of the world's plants wither, and the god of wind can set off an endless wind covering the east of the continent."

"Pour the artifact of the goddess of youth Hebe on the top of the mountain, and the endless fountain of youth can create thousands of rivers, so that the drinker will not age."

"But when they lose their divine power and do not have such a powerful force to support them, even if the divine power is still "absolute", they can't do such a large-scale control. But Zeus's [Royal Power] is still special, not only because his strength is far superior to that of the gods, but also because it is not only himself who provides power for his "Royal Order", but also Most of them are mortal nobles and kings who are willing to support this set of order, and even every citizen living under the royal order. "

"Their behavior of following the order itself will provide it with power, so Zeus's royal power can still cover every kingdom on earth-of course, as mentioned before, when this order is established, he himself cannot violate it. And this order must be beneficial to the nobles and kings in the world. Only in this way will they support it from the bottom of their hearts and provide it with power continuously. "

Taping the table with his fingers, Ryan smiled and said: "And one of the things about this order is that it gives the concept of 'kingdom' real power. "

"At other times, assassinations, fighting, adventures, those powerful extraordinary people and incarnations of gods unscrupulously show their Power, 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" will be materialized. "

"It will instinctively reject the ability to exceed the limit-just as the laws of the world also reject divine power. The more kingdoms participate in the war and the wider the scope of the impact, the stronger this materialized power will be. "

"At that time, the gods may still be stronger than ordinary people, but they can no longer destroy the army on their own, and those demigods who roam the world can no longer be unscrupulous. "

"So Theseus's deterrence is due to the superposition of his power and the national strength of Athens, not just because of strength. Only when he possesses both at the same time 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', it itself comes from the cognition and compliance of human life, so it is not real-time."

"It is meaningless to suddenly declare war unilaterally. Only when your citizens 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 it is impossible to use this thing to launch a sneak attack and lure a strong man into the army to be surrounded and killed, because he must have realized your malice before that."

"And this does not mean that the strong are useless on the battlefield. They just can no longer change the outcome by themselves, but as long as there is no absolute gap between the two sides, they can still influence the situation."

"In short, this power actually conforms to the will of most intelligent life under the order system."

"They hope that as part of the 'number', they are meaningful. And the 'royal order' gives them this meaning. "

It must be said that Zeus is quite capable, and Ryan also admitted this.

Just like the 'royal order' he established, it even balanced the secular world and the church to a certain extent, so that he himself did not establish any church at all, but in fact, the faith he gained was endless.

And if you think about it carefully, this is indeed consistent with many things recorded in mythology.

Those gods who can easily break mountains and peaks have to fight like mortals, perhaps this is one of the reasons.