Relics from the mythological era (1)

Summary: The previous chapter of Caesar's Diary has ended! This chapter switches back to a third-person perspective.

Excerpts of later evaluations of Caesar + Ye Wanzhou and Theodosius's journey to the City of Zeus.

What I'm saying is, although Ye Wanzhou seems to be here for tourism, Theodosius really is here to assassinate the emperor. :)

Volume 5: Relics of the Mythical Age

"After leaving the Alliance's scientific community, Caesar Ganymede sought medical attention for neurological dysfunctions such as migraines, auditory and visual hallucinations, and subacute goiter. That same year, rebels outside the gates of Iliad formed the Galactic Empire; the Earth Republic Alliance began a large-scale conscription. The first batch of recruits were single men over 20 years old; Ganymede was assigned to the reserve force of the Haiyingsen Fleet. Doctors initially diagnosed him as physically healthy and without abnormalities; the aforementioned symptoms were likely due to depression, anxiety, and fear resulting from prolonged mental work and living alone."

According to his own account, he refused further treatment from doctors, saying, "The place that truly healed me was the battlefield."

Later, this is what Allied Colonel Caesar Ganimede said.

The Battle of Carthage was the first battle to erupt within the Earth Republican Alliance's "backyard" (the main star system near Earth's solar system, forming the core of the Earth Republican Alliance). This battle marked a new chapter in galactic history: for the first time in millennia, the pan-human alliance, led by the Earth Republican Alliance, showed signs of disintegration. The Alliance forces' lax discipline, negligent command, and outdated equipment displayed in the Battle of Carthage shocked all of humanity. If the "Hymson Rebellion" launched by Gratian was seen by outsiders as merely an internal conflict between interest groups within the Alliance due to unequal distribution of spoils, then the Battle of Carthage was a truly devastating blow, exposing the Alliance's weakness and corruption to the world; Earth, the pinnacle of human civilization, fell from its pedestal.

The exact details of the Battle of Carthage are lost to history. Perhaps it was a disastrous campaign, leading the Alliance to refrain from leaving any records of it during the seven years between their first direct confrontation with the Empire and their eventual demise. The only known fact is that Caesar Ganymede ordered a retreat halfway through the battle, saving women, children, the elderly, caravan members, and reserve soldiers. This reduced the massive casualties—which would have been due to the commander's overconfidence and recklessness—to one-tenth of the original number. This preserved some of the Alliance's fighting force and greatly boosted public confidence in the prospect of a protracted war with the Galactic Empire.

From then on, the people called this young major, who distinguished himself in the Battle of Carthage, "the hero of Carthage." However, it is said that he was extremely distressed when his name was associated with titles like "Carthage" or "Hannibal of Carthage." He reportedly said several times, "Evan told me that Hannibal of the Common Era not only ultimately lost to Scipio of Rome, but also met a terrible end! Why call me 'Hannibal of Carthage'? I'm really a person with no ambition, please leave me alone!"

One interesting theory suggests that Estravan, then Speaker of the Alliance, deliberately intimidated Ganymede. Whether Ganymede, hoping to make a name for himself during the Carthaginian retreat, backed down due to the difficulty, or was simply driven by jealousy, remains unknown. Of course, official Alliance reports often portray their close friendship. Later, Ganymede led the Alliance forces to hundreds of victories (see the "Chronology of the Final Battles of the Earth Republic Alliance"), and at the age of 33, he was promoted two ranks to colonel; he became the garrison commander of the Alliance's Heyson Fortress and the commander-in-chief of the 14th Fleet of the Solar System. Traditionally, these two positions were the core of the Alliance's defense system, generally held by generals or higher, thus the nickname "General Ganymede" spread. Everyone called him general, even the Emperor and generals of the Empire. At first, Ganymede would explain, "I'm a colonel, I've never been a general," but later he simply accepted the nickname. Some say he was actually nominated for general, but out of patriotism, he said, "I will not change my rank until the Alliance defeats the enemy!" Others say that this was not true at all, and that the Alliance's politicians were afraid of his military achievements and had been using underhanded tactics to exclude him. They did a lot of publicity, but never mentioned his rank again, fearing that he would interfere in politics if he became a general.

What was Caesar Garnimet's command style like? It's difficult to give a precise definition. Unlike Emperor Gratian, he didn't have a definite, distinct personal style. Some say he was skilled in trickery, cunning, and psychological warfare; others say he was opportunistic and adaptable, requiring concrete explanations (such as personnel fatigue, the strength of electromagnetic storms, the location of the nearest supply point, and the remaining energy reserves at those points) before deploying troops or taking action. His style was ambiguous; unlike Emperor Gratian, he didn't always strive for glorious victories. He simply never 'lost' a single battle.

Caesar Garnier once said this to his confidants in the fleet (these words are taken from the diary of a member of the 14th Fleet. Every subsequent reader should feel honored; for you, like the men of the 14th Fleet, are walking alongside figures of miracles and legends):

"Many people can't stand the battlefield, but I'm the opposite. Is war in the space age more humane? At least we don't see human blood in the beams of quantum cannons, and when people die, there are no scum, fragments, mangled limbs, or splattered organs—just evaporated away. On the battlefield, I'm often exhausted, and I think you are too. We're all desperately trying to survive, not wanting to become a speck of cosmic dust. Sometimes I enjoy this exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep after a fierce battle, usually a dreamless, sound sleep. It's much better than when I slept alone in my little rented room on Earth. It's strange, Gratian is clearly my enemy; he wants me dead, yet every time I fall asleep on the warship, I feel warm, as if an inextinguishable golden flame shines before my tightly closed eyes."

Some researchers believe that Caesar Garnimetz had a potential tendency towards psychotropic drug dependence. His obsession with duels with Emperor Gratian and with war games resembled that of an addict needing drugs. …

The third-person historical narrative paused, and the last few pages were severely damaged. There was also a private diary of Caesar Garnier, which was more than half-read. Ye Wanzhou pressed the paper documents she had finished reading back, feeling as if she had just woken up from a dream.

He had vaguely heard of "Caesar Garnimed" long ago, certainly not in any formal class or news report. Rumors circulated like the patterns on a moth's wings in the occasional idle talk of the people of the Old Alliance, a strange tale from the mountains, a ghost haunting the past, a mysterious person whom the Galactic Empire tried to tamper with all historical records to bury its traces.

The Alliance did indeed fight the Empire for a considerable period in its later years, and faced with the overwhelming force of Emperor Gratian and his Imperial generals, the Alliance waged many brilliant counterattacks. However, all history textbooks and teachers tell him that these victories were due to the leadership of the former Alliance Chancellor, Estravan, and his outstanding battlefield command. This is why, after the Galactic Empire destroyed the Alliance, the Emperor did not execute Estravan; the Emperor has always admired heroes. Estravan remains highly valued by the Empire to this day.

Yang Luo. Ye Wanzhou knew her; her information was public knowledge. A former prosecutor who defected from the Old Alliance, she came from a well-educated upper-class family within the Old Alliance; her father was the presiding judge of the Fourth Civil Division of the Alliance Supreme Court. She later appeared publicly in the capital of the Galactic Empire, where Emperor Gratian announced her marriage; she was the Galactic Empire's first empress. However, she died not long after. Compared to the current Empress Drusilla, Yang Luo was gentle and had a less prominent family background. When people mentioned her, they mostly had to think for a moment before saying, "Oh, her. She seems to be our empire's first empress. Our Emperor's first wife?"

She occasionally attracted attention because many believed that Emperor Gratian married her during the most intense and desperate resistance before the Alliance's demise. The daughter of a high-ranking official in the Alliance's upper echelons was about to be crowned Empress of the Galactic Empire, and the pro-war faction immediately lost momentum domestically. Soon after, the Alliance collapsed; its old institutions were largely destroyed, and the millennia-old Earth Republic Alliance was reduced to a province under the Empire's rule.

"I have to think about how she became our empress. Besides, His Majesty has hardly smiled since he got married."

—That's what the later subjects of the empire said.

As the cradle of human civilization, the Galactic Empire's possession of Earth was tantamount to its possession of the right to legitimately rule human civilization. From then on, no one in the interstellar space questioned whether the Galactic Empire was a gang of robbers and a violent group or a true empire.

Theodosius didn't sleep well at night. Ye Wanzhou had always known this; sometimes he would wake up slightly in the middle of the night and hear Theodosius turning over in his upper bunk, softly murmuring, "Yang—"

It was accompanied by a sob. It sounded a lot like the sound of a child being abandoned by their mother.

It is well known that Emperor Gratian and Yang Luo had no children.

Ye Wanzhou silently gazed at Theodosius's sleeping face—his cheeks, forehead, jaw, ears, the shape of his eyes, and the contour of his nose—slowly tracing in her mind the image of the first time she met Theodosius. His smile resembled that of a cat, but his forehead belonged to a lion. There was another, more striking trait, seemingly a unique genetic characteristic: Theodosius's eyes were a deep, icy blue, like glaciers reflecting sunlight.

He usually wears colored contact lenses, black or light brown, to cover his natural eye color. "Why do you cover them up?" Ye Wanzhou sometimes asks him. "Your eyes are really beautiful. Don't you want to show them to others?"

Theodosius just smiled and changed the subject to ask if Ye Wanzhou had been persecuted by her mentor recently.

He never gave a direct answer as to how he acquired those eyes that were so similar to those of the emperor.

Suddenly, Ye Wanzhou had a terrifying and absurd thought.

If this is true... then those people from the past, and those of us in the present, are living in such a world.

＊

"Hello, hello, when is the next flight to Zeus departing?" A young man dressed as a college student nervously peered into the station's ticket window.

The ticket seller kept a cold face and didn't look up. "Why don't you check the information online? Tickets are available online."

Ye Wanzhou said awkwardly, "Sister, I... I'm not very good at using the internet."

What's even more absurd is that he forgot his phone when he went out, only taking his ID card and some cash.

The ticket seller stared at him like he was some kind of alien creature. "Okay. Give me your ID, you're buying tickets on the spot, right? To Zeus?"

"Yes, thank you!" The boy eagerly handed over his ID card. "Um, how much is the ticket price...?"

"There's another bus in 40 minutes. Two tickets left." The ticket seller took the ticket with one hand, her eyes glued to the computer screen. "Do you need it?"

"Yes, yes." Ye Wanzhou awkwardly handed over the money at the ticket seller's instruction. Because the ticket office didn't have change, he had to wait another ten minutes. He thought to himself, "Going out is such a hassle, I might as well go back." At the same time, he was getting anxious, worried about Xiao Xi's safety.

It was already late at night when they arrived at Zeus Station. Ye Wanzhou watched the crowds rushing off the train and scattering in all directions. He stood there blankly for a while, then suddenly felt it was a bit silly to stand there alone in the cold wind. He looked for the platform signs, intending to find his way. Two policemen walked over, and he perked up, thinking they were there to offer help.

The police officer asked, "Are you from out of town?"

"Where did you come from?"

"Are they old allies? Both their parents were old allies?"

"Where are you going? What are you doing here, Zeus?"

Ye Wanzhou learned from the police's conversations that Zeus was under semi-martial law (though, in the outside propaganda, it remained free, prosperous, and peaceful). Emperor Gratian was dying (some said he was already dead). The head of the intelligence agency, Caligula, held real power behind the scenes, but he hadn't yet chosen a suitable puppet to use publicly. He feared that someone might plot rebellion against him, the Empire, and the Emperor in a critical moment. The intelligence agency's surveillance network was in full swing, and everyone in Zeus was subject to questioning. Of course, there was no public channel to report these routine checks, and no one discussed them. Whether questioned, having information gathered, or secretly taken away, imprisoned, or executed, they either remained silent or vanished into thin air. It was as if these events had never happened. Typical Imperial intelligence agency practices.

The police retrieved the files based on Ye Wanzhou's answer, their movements halting in unison. They suddenly asked, "Where is Theodosius now? Why isn't he with you?"

Ye Wanzhou feigned ignorance. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know this person at all."

The police officer's gaze towards Ye Wanzhou shifted from suspicion to sternness, finally revealing a strange sense of certainty. Ye Wanzhou inwardly cried out that something was wrong.

"Following orders from higher command, Theodosius has infiltrated Zeus City. A city-wide manhunt is underway! Attention! A city-wide manhunt! Immediately!"

Later, Ye Wanzhou and Theodosius talked about this. Theodosius's face showed a terrible expression. He said, "Although neither of us knew at the time that we were on the Imperial Intelligence Bureau's key surveillance list... our information must have been in the 'Tree of Zeus' database. Leaving mine aside, yours is definitely: 'Ye Wanzhou would never go out alone without a reliable person accompanying her and unless something life-threatening happens.' Your behavior was too easy to guess, and it exposed me as well."

——tbc——