Chapter 160 God wants to destroy someone, he must first make him crazy
With the dim light of morning, a large group of handsome men and beautiful women, led by the god Pan, came to the Arcadian settlement.
Since this place was originally a refuge for mountain people, with rugged terrain and inconvenient transportation, it has not been subjected to much impact from foreign cultures, and the architecture and local people's lives have maintained their original appearance.
Looking around, they were either grazing cattle and sheep in the valley, or planting crops on the gentle slopes, or gathering and hunting with bows and arrows on their backs. They sang unmelodic country tunes, which made Apollo frown.
Fortunately, not long after walking, a middle-aged man with curly hair and jewelry came to greet us with a smile on his face at the city gate.
"Midas, the King of Phrygia, my good friend, was recently on a tour here. I heard that you had come to Arcadia and I admired you so much that I wanted to offer you money to entertain me."
God Pan walked up to the middle-aged man, hugged him, and enthusiastically introduced him to the gods present.
Everyone did not suspect anything and, at Midas's enthusiastic invitation, went to the open-air banquet venue he had prepared.
As a city adjacent to Arcadia, it is natural that the city relies on the mountains for its livelihood. Therefore, a large amount of game and mountain delicacies purchased from the mountain people were prepared for the banquet.
After being carefully prepared by the accompanying Phrygian court chefs, the meal had a unique flavor, which greatly satisfied the gods who were being entertained, and they even looked at the Phrygian king with a hint of friendliness.
Halfway through the banquet, the foreign king stood up from his seat, toasted Apollo and Pan, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.
"I heard that the two of you had a competition of musical attainments in the mountains of Arcadia yesterday. The wonderful music almost made all the nymphs and elves excited. It's a pity that I didn't get to see that scene."
Hearing Midas' compliment, Apollo, as the winner, showed a reserved and complacent smile.
But then Midas changed the subject and stated his intention with a smile.
"In fact, I specially invited you today because I hope you two can have another competition, so that we mortals can also have the honor of appreciating the music from the gods."
After saying this, Apollo turned his head and looked at the god Pan beside him with a smile on his face.
He was not a fool, so he naturally understood Midas's implication and his real intention.
Obviously, yesterday's gambling fight did not convince Pan, so the little lamb specially invited his good friend today, held a banquet to entertain him, and used his mouth to hope for another fight.
At this moment, Pan's thoughts were seen through. Under Apollo's gaze, he could not help but smile awkwardly and pretended to scold Midas.
"What's there to compare? It doesn't matter who wins or loses."
"Of course not. I always think that the pan flute music is the most perfect music in the world! I'm sorry, I just can't imagine that it can beat your piano."
Midas shook his head repeatedly, and every word he wrote was full of compliments to the god Pan.
After these words were spoken, Apollo, who was proud by nature, naturally could not sit idly by and immediately stood up to respond.
"Since the King of Phrygia has sincerely invited us, Pan and I will each sing a song for you to judge."
"Great! Thank you for meeting this small request!"
Midas, who had gotten what he wanted, laughed heartily. Then he clapped his hands and called his servants. He took out a handful of gold and silver coins and gave orders in a deep voice.
"Let the nearby villagers come over, enjoy the feast together, listen to the performances of the two gods, and then let them vote for which one's music is more beautiful!"
Apollo frowned slightly when he heard this, but did not reject the arrangement.
No matter the judges are the god of the mountains and forests and his nymphs, or the mortals before him, he is confident that his music can conquer all the audience.
When the villagers around received Midas' invitation and heard that there would be music, food and money at the venue, they immediately flocked to the venue, crowding the area and looking inside curiously.
The audience is in place and the competition has officially begun.
Following Midas' announcement, Pan took the lead in playing the panpipe in his hand. The sound of the flute was cheerful and exciting, like the collision of rocks, the roar of cliffs, and the whistling of dense forests.
As a shepherd god, Pan was very familiar with these sounds in the deep mountains and dense forests, and his playing was vivid and moving.
The mountain people who had also lived in Arcadia for a long time were also extremely excited. They clapped their hands, sang along, and sang duets with their own tuneless country folk music, seamlessly blending into the carnival.
Even the foreign monarch Midas at the banquet cheered and shouted for joy. To the accompaniment of the god Pan, he clapped his hands, stamped his feet, and danced wildly with the people around him.
Apollo frowned at the random twisting of limbs and the singing that could hardly be called music on the field.
For this god of art who thinks highly of himself, all the ugliness before his eyes is a double torture of vision and hearing.
Finally, after Pan played a rest and ended his performance.
Apollo was no longer polite, and decisively picked up the lyre, cast his piercing eyes into the distance, and plucked the strings. The sound of the lyre was gentle and melodious, like the gurgling of spring water, the chirping of swallows, the sudden rise of breeze, and the setting of the moon. The pleasant sound of the lyre brought people to an infinitely beautiful and peaceful realm.
When the song ended, the audience was completely silent, as if they were shocked by the beautiful melody.
However, upon closer inspection, the villagers looked at each other with confusion and astonishment in their eyes.
Soon, there was a burst of whispers and boos from the crowd.
"That's it?"
"What are you playing?"
"Not as good as me..."
Hearing the ignorant discussions and frivolous judgments of the villagers, Apollo, who was originally waiting on the stage to receive cheers and admiration, suddenly felt his face turn black and he became furious.
However, before he could get angry, Midas, seeing that the situation was not good, hurriedly stepped forward to the stage and made an announcement in public.
"The competition is over. You can now vote on who you think has the better piece of music."
As he spoke, he ordered people to carry two pottery urns representing Pan and Apollo to the stage, and then distributed a stone engraved with special symbols to the audience outside the venue.
As the gate opened, the villagers who were eager to watch the fun swarmed in and threw stones in their hands at the jar representing the god Pan according to their preferences.
There were only a few dozen people standing on Apollo's side.
Among them, nymphs and muses account for the majority.
Finally, with the voting over, Midas looked at the obvious difference in the number of stones in the two pottery jars and announced the result directly without even counting them.
"In this match, Pan wins!"
Seeing their favorite performer win the championship easily, the villagers cheered loudly and threw the branches and garlands in their hands to Pan on the stage, while paying no attention to Apollo standing beside them.
They simply could not appreciate the pretentious performance of this noble young man, and did not understand what high art was.
For them, Pan's country tune, which expresses intense emotions yet is simple and easy to understand, and can even be sung along with their usual songs, is true art!
Looking at his sparsely populated field and the villagers beside him who were constantly cheering and praising the god Pan, Apollo tried his best to maintain his composure, but his face had gradually become gloomy, his teeth were gritting, and he was filled with anger.
What do these peasants know about art? They are just making random comments!
But even though Apollo was dissatisfied, facing the indisputable voting results, he could only hold his nose and accept the victory or defeat of the game.
"You have good musical attainments."
The God of Light on the field tried hard to force a stiff smile, and gave a pretentious compliment. After that, he was ready to step down and leave this humiliating place as soon as possible.
However, the god Pan on the side came up with a silly smile and rubbed his hands embarrassedly.
"Lord Apollo, since I won, then the bet last night..."
"Tell me what you want."
At this moment, Apollo no longer had the heart to argue with this goat-headed man who mistook him for a snake, so he asked without even thinking, snorting coldly.
Since we have already accepted the gift and hospitality from Pan, we should return the favor.
Now, he just wanted to stay away from this deformed child who humiliated him, the farther the better.
When Pan heard Apollo's public promise, he was immediately delighted. He raised his finger and pointed at a hot Muse wearing a laurel wreath and a dance dress, and spoke excitedly.
"I want to marry this Muse under your command. Please give her to me!"
Terpsichore is the goddess of dance and chorus among the nine Muses. Therefore, she has the most outstanding height and figure. She exudes fiery charm all the time and has many suitors.
However, upon hearing Pan's courtship, both Apollo and the Muse changed their expressions.
"How dare you!" The God of Light on the field was furious. His sharp eyes shot at Pan like a knife, revealing his undisguised disgust.
Upon hearing this, Pan frowned and said, "Lord Apollo, you can't say that. You promised me yesterday that if I could win, you would let me choose a gift."
Hearing this, Apollo's handsome face turned red and he was almost angry to death.
No wonder this beast was so attentive for no reason, it turns out he had made up his mind from the beginning.
As all the things were connected together and formed a clear context in his mind, Apollo looked at Pan with a murderous look and anger after being fooled.
Under the powerful divine might, God Pan couldn't help but feel uneasy and retreated in fear.
But then, the beauty of the Muse gave him courage again, and he made up his mind and encouraged the audience around him.
"I gave you everything I was supposed to give you when you won the game. Why do you want to deny your debt when you lose? We are all watching! Can't you afford to win but not lose?"
“That’s right!”
The mountain folks who didn't know what was going on started to make a fuss and mock Apollo on the field.
The arrogant God of Light was so angry that his face turned purple and he shouted angrily.
"I'll play another round with you!"
"No, no, that's enough. As long as I win, that's enough."
Pan shook his head and walked straight towards the chosen Muse.
Although he won a game, there was a certain amount of cheating involved this time.
The villagers who served as judges were accustomed to the sound of his pan flute and were naturally not interested in the so-called classical music.
But if Apollo was on guard and selected a new group of judges, he might not be able to defeat the god of art fairly.
Instead of doing this, it is better to bring the beautiful muse home as soon as possible and enjoy the feeling of holding a soft jade in your arms.
"nine!"
The sudden silence made Pan subconsciously stop and look back blankly.
"If you can win one more game, I will give you all nine Muses as a reward!"
The God of Art on the stage announced in a cold voice, and everyone was shocked when these words came out.
The nine Muses who were crowded behind Artemis looked at their main god in disbelief, trying to detect a joke on his face.
However, they were disappointed.
Apollo means business.
"Just fight me again in my way. If you can beat me, they will all be yours!"
The God of Light on the stage reiterated his conditions gloomily, and finally looked coldly at the mocking villagers around him.
“They are still the judges!”
At this moment, the hearts of the Muses gradually grew cold, and their eyes towards the Lord God were filled with disappointment and a sense of distance.
Because Apollo stubbornly chose to rematch, not because he was worried about his sisters, but because he could not accept his own failure!
Loen, who was in the crowd, caught a glimpse of the subtle changes in the muses' expressions, and the corners of his lips curled up in pleasure.
This God of Light was even more stingy than he had expected and couldn't stand any setbacks.
Even the slightest failure must be won back at all costs.
He had originally intended to sow discord between Pan and Apollo, but he had not expected to have such an unexpected gain.
The Muses, who were used as bargaining chips, realized Apollo's inherent arrogance and cruelty, and became disillusioned and gradually became alienated from their main god.
Well, little lamb, you better try harder.
Loen shook his wine glass with a teasing look, looking at Pan as if he was looking at a dead person.
By the way, in return for the hospitality, he also returned the favor by sharing his newly brewed wine at the banquet.
If God wants to destroy someone, he must first make him crazy.
"Apollo!"
At the same time, even Artemis, as the elder sister, couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but want to stand up and scold to stop this ridiculous behavior.
However, the God of Light on the stage remained unmoved, staring straight at the God Pan opposite him and the booing and mocking audience below the stage.
"Whether to compete or not, you only have one chance."
"Gurgle~"
Pan couldn't help but swallow hard, his eyes were already occupied by the beauty of the Muses. Finally, he couldn't suppress the restlessness in his heart and nodded vigorously.
"Compare!"
(End of this chapter)
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