"King? Did you hear that?"
The Spartan warriors felt the vibration from the ground again.
However, this time the vibration was different from the previous ones.
This time, the rumbling sound was an accidental one, and it didn't sound like the sound caused by a huge flow of people.
"Keep the formation!"
Leonidas did not speak. It was his friend who spoke. In his opinion, it might be the third wave of Persia's attack that was about to come.
On the other side, representatives of the elite troops of the Persian Empire gathered in front of Thermopylae.
There, there were the "Immortal Army" wearing silver armor, royal archers equipped with composite bows, heavy cavalry armed with spears, and a war elephant and rhinoceros covered in iron armor.
In addition, there are many strong warriors, even messengers of God, and some humanoid monsters with several arms.
That’s right, this was a “delegation” used to show off Persia’s military power.
Nadir Shah rode in his chariot, a mobile throne made of gold.
The throne was carried by twenty of the strongest slaves. Every step was as smooth as a mirror and Nadir Shah did not even feel the slightest bump.
Behind the throne, forty maids holding peacock feather fans constantly fanned the air with huge fans, allowing the King of Kings to remain comfortable even in the slightly higher temperature.
In front of the throne were several high-ranking generals from all over the empire, who were responsible for accompanying and protecting the king.
Each general's armor is inlaid with gems of different sizes, representing their noble status and the king's outstanding achievements.
As for those further out, they are strong and muscular, not like human super warriors.
They are nearly two meters tall, weigh nearly a hundred kilograms, and the weapons they use are huge and heavy.
Obviously, they had only one mission, which was to protect the safety of Nadir Shah.
Behind Nadir Shah were more than ten messengers of God, whose role was to intimidate Leonidas, the king of Sparta.
The entire team slowly advanced towards Thermopylae.
Nadir Shah just sat on the high throne, looking out at the sea from time to time, and the dense Persian fleet below him.
When they reached the open area in front of the pass, Nadir Shah raised his hand and signaled the troops to stop.
The magnificent throne was placed about a hundred steps away from the Spartan line, just out of the range of arrows from both sides.
The Spartan line remained motionless.
The three hundred warriors still maintained their airtight formation.
Their shields were tightly connected, their spears pointed diagonally forward, and at first glance, they looked like an unshakable fortress.
"king?"
At this moment, Leonidas lowered his shield and his spear.
Amidst everyone's slightly puzzled expressions, he even slowly took off his helmet.
"Leonidas! This is dangerous!"
"What are you doing?"
His friend raised his voice. After all, in the eyes of all Spartans, Leonidas was the only commander here.
He was the unshakable pillar of the Spartan army. If he died in battle, the morale of the Spartans would be greatly affected.
But Leonidas did not respond immediately. He just stood at the front, letting his red cloak sway gently in the breeze.
"We have guests."
"Keep your formation. No matter what happens, don't let a single Persian pass."
Leonidas took a step forward with empty hands.
The other Spartan warriors did not say anything after hearing Leonidas' words. They just watched quietly and continued to maintain their current formation.
On the other side, Nadir Shah looked at the Spartan formation opposite and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Obviously, this seemed to be the first time he had seen such a phalanx of heavily armed soldiers.
The Spartans formed an iron wall, blocking the only entrance to Thermopylae.
This was the only passage known to the Persians into Greece.
If you don't enter from here, you will need to travel a very long distance by boat.
Moreover, if Thermopylae was not captured, Nadir Shah's chariots and elephants would not be able to enter the Greek territory.
So, he must take this place.
When Nadir Shah saw the Spartans, he probably understood why his vanguard army had suffered heavy casualties.
However, even so, the number of casualties was just a drop in the ocean for Nadir Shah and was not enough to be noticed.
Nadir Shah then slowly straightened up from his throne, his eyes sweeping over the iron-hard Spartan warriors.
He saw a man coming out of the iron wall, putting down his spear and shield and taking off his helmet.
Nadir Shah raised the corner of his mouth slightly. He knew without thinking that the guy was the king of Sparta, Leonidas.
Then Nadir Shah stood up and walked down from the throne.
When everyone saw Nadir Shah taking action, they all knelt on the ground.
The great Persian king actually left his sacred throne, which was an extremely rare honor in the eyes of other Persians.
Therefore, all the Persian soldiers present held their breath and focused.
"despair."
"despair."
Nadir Shah walked down the steps of the mobile throne slowly, one step at a time. When he reached the end, he did not extend his feet directly, nor did he let his boots touch the ground.
Because, under Nadir Shah's throne, more than ten slaves had already knelt, their backs arranged flatly in the shape of a stair, forming a human step.
So, Nadir Shah's feet stepped on these flesh steps one by one, walked down from the edge of the throne step by step, and finally stepped on the ground.
Indeed, even when conversing with the enemy commander, the dignity of the King of kings must not be violated.
He is the chosen son of God and the master of the earth.
No matter what time it is, the emperor of Persia still maintains absolute authority and dignity.
In contrast, Leonidas simply went forward alone.
He had no soldiers, no generals, and no servants around him.
Even, he had no weapons, no helmet.
Just his bare hands, and the red cape and armor on his body.
Nadir Shah walked forward slowly, but no dust was raised as he walked.
That was because clean water had been sprinkled along his route in advance to prevent dust from staining his most noble robes.
The two kings met in the center of the battlefield and stared at each other.
One is a hegemon commanding a million-strong army, and the other is a hero leading three hundred warriors.
One is surrounded by countless followers, the other is alone and has no one to rely on.
One has boundless power and wealth, the other has only unyielding will and freedom.
Only then did the Spartan warriors realize that the person opposite Leonidas was the king of the Persian Empire.
King of kings, Nadir Shah.
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