Chapter 134: Your Majesty, Please Offer Your Head
"What happened? Why are you so happy?"
Downstairs, Hestia heard the noise and walked onto the balcony. She looked at Lorne, who was standing on the edge of the railing and laughing loudly, and asked in surprise.
Now that a powerful enemy was approaching and bad news was coming one after another, the entire island of Crete was immersed in gloom and desolation. She really couldn't think of anything to be happy about.
"Nothing, just figured out some things."
Lorne turned around, smiled faintly, then stretched his stiff waist, stood up and walked down the balcony.
"Let's go."
"Where are you going?"
"Knossos Palace. I want to see King Minos."
Loen pondered silently, his burning eyes gazing at the towering buildings in the city of Knossos that looked like giant pillars supporting the sky.
A quarter of an hour later, the bronze chariot galloped towards the palace.
The city streets along the way were wet and sticky after being ravaged by heavy rain, and there was mud and water everywhere. The sky was full of thunder and storms, and there was no light even at noon.
The storms from the sky and the sea seemed to be crushing towards the city and the carriage at the same time, with unstoppable force.
Seeing the flashing rune emblem on the carriage, the God-Blood Guards guarding the palace made way and bowed their heads respectfully to let the carriage pass. Only after the carriage disappeared from their sight did they slowly raise their heads and continue to guard their respective posts.
As the bronze carriage stopped, Loen, who had just gotten off the carriage, heard a noisy discussion inside before he even stepped into the palace gate.
"King, the water level along the coast has risen sharply and is constantly washing towards the shore, and has already submerged the outer walls of Norcia and Guidos!"
"The central plain area from Cydonia to Knossos has become a swamp, and most of the grape seedlings and grain seeds have died!"
"The drainage system of Knossos has also been overloaded. More than 127 houses have collapsed in three days, and the walls on both sides have softened to varying degrees!"
Inside the palace, the temple priests who were responsible for collecting information from various places and the messengers of the city defense army stationed on the coastal defense lines reported the terrible situation one after another.
King Minos, lying on his sickbed, listened attentively. Even though his body and mind had both reached the end of their years, the prestige he had accumulated from ruling Crete for hundreds of years still gave him an aura of majesty without even getting angry.
Naturally, no one would care about the physical condition of His Majesty the King.
The situation is very bad.
Fortunately, the terrain of Crete is complex, the city of Knossos is located at a higher altitude, and the Minoans are familiar with the gloomy and changeable weather of the Sea of Oceanus. Therefore, the continuous heavy rain and sea storms have not caused too serious casualties.
But even so, with the waterway cut off and the tide approaching, the situation facing Crete was quite serious.
Moreover, unlike the last beast tide, this time it was Poseidon who took action personally.
Weather factors such as tides, storms, heavy rains, etc. alone almost destroyed the coastal defense line that the Minoans had spent months of effort and energy to build.
"Yesterday, my friends and I climbed up the watchtower and found many traces of sea beasts near the coast."
The fourth daughter, Fedra, couldn't help but interrupt, trying hard to show her concern for the country and the people.
"Well, the coastal defense line suffered three waves of attacks from sea beasts today. Although the number is small, it is a very dangerous signal."
The second daughter, Ariadne, took the opportunity to step forward and add her words, looking serious and worried.
However, under the attack of his daughters, whether intentionally or unintentionally, King Minos, who had been able to hold on, could not catch his breath and burst into violent coughing.
For a moment, the eyes of the priests and generals on the field looked at King Minos with less awe and more confusion and fear. The atmosphere on the field also fell to freezing point, becoming depressing and dull.
Can this battle really be won?
After serious thinking, everyone's mood fell to the bottom.
Seeing the uneasy looks on the faces of the priests and generals, King Minos' eyes revealed even more intense sadness and unwillingness.
Originally, his body was no longer fit to appear in public.
But Her Highness Athena went to Olympus again early this morning, trying to find her father Zeus to mediate.
In order to appease the priests and generals, he decided to come out briefly and fulfill his duties as a king.
However, the situation was far worse than he had imagined and had almost reached a point of no return.
At the same time, he accidentally got angry and exposed his weak side in public.
"boom!"
Just as the atmosphere in the palace became increasingly depressing, the ground shook and humans cried out outside the city.
Several Lamias of changed colors swam to the shore under the cover of rain, and slashed the two soldiers who were checking the drainage and several civilians who were transporting supplies in half with their claws.
The colorful internal organs immediately rolled out of the half-body into the mud and water. Amidst the shrill screams, the bright red blood quickly spread.
The greedy snake girl, who could never be full, immediately bent down and started to eat the fresh flesh and blood on the ground.
Several victims who were still alive watched their organs being ripped out and their flesh being torn apart, and they couldn't help but let out shrill screams.
"Another sea monster has landed on the island!" Looking at the bloody scene reflected in the star disk in Princess Ariadne's hand, everyone couldn't help but show a trace of shock on their faces.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
At this moment, the bowstring of the chess machine outside the hall trembled dully, and three silver arrows broke through the sky like meteors, and then fell obliquely, and quickly split into six identical arrows, forming a small-scale rain of arrows, which directly nailed several Lamias lying on the ground and eating voraciously to the ground.
Then, a slender figure holding a bow in one hand walked into the main hall accompanied by a fierce wind, and looked coldly at the priests and generals in the hall.
"Why are you panicking? Haven't you hunted enough sea beasts? Don't tell me that the weapons in your hands can only be used for burning firewood now!"
Anyone who was looked at by those eyes could not help but lower their head in shame, feeling ashamed of their own gaffe.
"If we can't hold the coastal defense line, then we have to retreat. According to the enemy signals from the watchtower, we have to block the enemy in stages according to the terrain! If that doesn't work, we have to send more people and increase the number of patrols to make sure there are no blind spots left for surveillance!"
"If you need a warrior who can stand on his own, borrow the Blood Guards. If you need a spellcaster to accompany you, go to the temple. Your Majesty and the Goddess do not need them to guard them yet!"
"Also, I remember that Her Highness the Goddess holds the divine power to guide navigation, so there seem to be priestesses who specialize in celestial magic in the temple. Let them preside over the secret ceremony and dispel this storm as soon as possible."
Although Loen spoke very quickly, every word he said was clear.
However, when he saw the difficulty on the chief priest's face, he softened his tone slightly and relaxed his requirements.
"I know you don't have enough manpower. I will ask Anna and the others to help. Even if we can't disperse the rain clouds in the sky, we can at least weaken these unfavorable factors to a certain extent. Then we will check the area near Knossos to prevent any sea beasts from sneaking in..."
The two princesses, a group of generals and priests nodded.
At the end, Loen's tone softened and he waved his hand calmly.
"Things haven't reached the point of no return yet, why are you so anxious? If you have the time, I'd rather you treat me to some new wine next year."
Everyone couldn't help but smile when they heard this. Recalling the grandeur and relaxation of the Dionysian Festival, a hint of anticipation arose in their minds, and their originally gloomy mood suddenly improved a lot.
Seeing that everyone's expressions improved, Loen spoke again.
"Go ahead, follow orders, and do your job well."
"Yes, Mr. Secretary!"
All of a sudden, everyone on the field seemed to have found their backbone. They beat their chests hard, responded loudly, and then left one after another after receiving the orders.
Since King Minos had been bedridden for months, they had become accustomed to following the scribe's orders.
The repeated successful experiences and the favor of the goddess also made them believe that they would achieve success again under the leadership of this clerk.
As the noise in the hall gradually died down, King Minos, lying on his couch, looked at the empty hall, a trace of loneliness and bitterness emerged on his pale face.
He is really old and has no choice but to accept it.
But soon, the old man looked at the figure in front of the hall, and a look of appreciation and satisfaction emerged.
But at least he had good vision and chose the right person.
Loen looked around, but didn't see Athena, who was supposed to be working hard here, and couldn't help feeling confused.
"Where is the goddess?"
"I went to Olympus..."
"Are you still not giving up?"
Lorne shook his head, not holding out any hope for Athena's final attempt.
If Zeus was really willing to intervene and enforce justice, he wouldn't be Zeus.
Upon hearing this, King Minos's face became even more gloomy, the faint light in his eyes went out, and he finally let out a long sigh.
"So, we are doomed to lose?"
"Do you want to win?"
Lorne looked straight into those old eyes and spoke seductively,
"...Defeat Poseidon once and for all!"
Almost instantly, King Minos, who was lying sick on the bed, sat up suddenly like a dead tree in spring, his eyes bursting with burning desire, and he nodded heavily without hesitation.
"Yes! I dream about it!"
Instead of answering directly, Loen asked a question quietly.
"But what if the price is your life?"
"You want my life? Hahahaha, you can take whatever I have!"
Upon hearing this, King Minos was not angry, but instead burst into hearty laughter.
But the more this happened, the more difficult it became for Loen to make up his mind, and he asked again.
"Are you sure?"
"Why hesitate?"
King Minos waved his hand, his eyes burning with passion.
"I'd pay any price to win once!"
Then, as if to comfort Lorne in front of him, he smiled and patted his bony chest, half with sighing, half with determination.
"In the past, I was able to draw a strong bow and fight sea beasts with my bare hands. Now, I need help even to get in and out of bed. I am already dying, and living a few more days is just a way to survive. I would love to use the remaining half of my life to exchange for a chance to win, to fight for a glimmer of hope for future generations!"
After saying that, the old man turned his head and looked at the figure in front of the bed with burning eyes.
"So, you have a way for me to win?"
"Before, I only had a 30% chance of winning, but with you, now I have an 80% chance of winning."
Luo En answered truthfully, and then looked at his half-brother in this world, with a complicated look in his eyes.
“Don’t hesitate, don’t regret, just do whatever you want to do. Whether you succeed or not, I want to thank you!”
King Minos, who was completely unaware of this blood relationship, raised his hand and patted Loen's shoulder, his eyes sincere and fiery.
"Because you not only took on the responsibility that I should have taken on and protected Crete for me, but also allowed me to not die of old age on my sickbed during my lifetime, but to have another round with that old enemy on the sea!"
Then, the old man raised his skinny arm and grabbed towards the sea and sky in the distance, his five fingers clenched tightly and veins bulged, as if he was playing a game with an invisible fate.
"This time, I'm going to beat him by half a move!"
(End of this chapter)
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