"Warriors! My Spartan brothers!"
King Leonidas of Sparta looked around at the crowd and paused for a moment.
Now, in the final stage of selecting fighters, he raised his voice again and spoke.
"I am not heading to Thermopylae to lead an army as a king!"
"The council has expressed its stance. This is not an official Spartan action."
The Spartan King Leonidas reiterated and told everyone, emphasizing that this was a one-way, almost suicidal mission.
Moreover, this mission will not receive any official recognition.
Simply put, this was further telling the Spartan warriors that the real situation would be more serious than they imagined.
"To the warriors who are still standing here, I want you to know."
King Leonidas of Sparta continued to scan the crowd as he spoke.
He was still observing the faces and eyes of the soldiers.
"We will not be welcomed with a parade of jubilation, nor will we be greeted with a triumphant return."
"Our names will not be engraved on our graves, and our sacrifices will not be recorded in history."
"At Thermopylae, all that awaits us are the enemy's sharp swords and the cold earth."
"Therefore, I must ensure that the bloodline and family of every warrior who dies in battle will be inherited in Sparta and will not be extinct due to your death in battle."
Then, Leonidas and several of his trusted officers began the final screening.
Every Spartan candidate who still meets the requirements and is still standing here must answer the same question: "Why do you want to go to Thermopylae?"
The vast majority of Spartans' answers were very direct.
"For the glory of Sparta!"
"To prove the courage of the Spartans!"
"For the freedom of all Greece!"
The Spartan King Leonidas nodded, but the answers of several warriors caught Leonidas' special attention.
"King, I only follow you!"
"The reason I can stand here is because I took you as my role model and trained hard just for the opportunity to stand in front of you like today!"
"I will follow you till death, King!"
The Spartan king, Leonidas, patted the warrior on the shoulder.
"You passed!"
There are many similar situations, but not every Spartan warrior can be selected.
Like some of those who were eliminated, they were simply because their physique and build were slightly inferior to other Spartan warriors.
"king."
At this time, a close confidant of the Spartan King Leonidas looked at him, which told Leonidas that the number of people selected would soon be enough.
After all, if there are more than 300 people, it would be a violation of the regulations.
However, just as King Leonidas of Sparta passed by a warrior who had already left the ranks, the warrior suddenly raised his voice.
"My king!"
"I don't have a son yet! But I do have two nephews! They are healthy and strong enough to carry on my name!"
"Please let me follow you!"
King Leonidas of Sparta stopped at this moment, he turned around and looked into his eyes.
The Spartan king did not answer directly, but responded directly with his actions.
The Spartan king Leonidas slapped the warrior's breastplate hard, making a dull "bang" sound.
"You passed!"
Hearing this, the warrior immediately pursed his lips, and his eyes immediately flashed with light, as if he had gained life again.
At this moment, another warrior spoke.
"Leonidas... I don't have a son either."
King Leonidas of Sparta cast his gaze toward the source of the sound.
He was his good friend, so he could call the king by his name.
Although he hadn't finished speaking, the meaning he wanted to express was already very clear.
That was telling his king that I, too, wanted to join the war.
The Spartan king Leonidas looked at him with complicated eyes.
After all, it was almost inevitable that this battle would end in failure, and he didn't want his good friend to die there.
At this moment, King Leonidas of Sparta did not say anything, but came to his friend and made the same gesture.
“Boom.”
The breastplate made a dull sound.
And his good friend finally showed a relieved expression.
At this time, King Leonidas of Sparta turned around and came to the front of the crowd.
Then, Leonidas looked at all the Spartans who met the requirements and volunteered to die.
There was silence at first, and then Leonidas roared like a lion.
"Who else?"
"Who else!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the eligible Spartans took a step forward.
Then, there was a roar that shook the mountains and seas and split the heaven and earth.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
......
After the screening, Leonidas was left alone with his friend.
The two looked at each other with mutual sympathy, and they both knew everything very well in their hearts.
Once they left Sparta, their final farewell could happen at any time.
None of them wanted the other to fall before them.
"Leonidas, is it true that we won't get any support on this trip?"
King Leonidas of Sparta looked at his friend and nodded.
However, there was no helplessness, only a little anger.
"Yes, my friend."
"Tomorrow at dawn, we will quietly leave Sparta. For the time being, we can only claim that this is a routine field training."
"No one knows our true destination, and no one should know."
"Besides the gods, there are ourselves."
His friend continued, "But my king, with three hundred warriors, how long can you hold out against the enemy?"
King Leonidas of Sparta took a deep breath.
"I know that three hundred men are not enough to stop the Persian army, but our mission is not to win the battle, but to buy time so that the Greek city-states have enough warning to organize a coalition army."
"In short, we must sacrifice our lives to give Greece a chance to survive."
Upon hearing this, his friend couldn't help but ask, "Leonidas, if you knew you were going to die, why didn't you mobilize more troops?"
"Why doesn't the parliament agree to your request?"
Upon hearing this, King Leonidas of Sparta continued to respond.
"Because Sparta cannot send out its full force right now, most importantly, we must abide by the guidance of the oracle and the rules of the World Congress."
Hearing this, his friend nodded and finally bowed deeply to Leonidas.
"Leonidas, I will follow you until my death."
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