Chapter 181 The Patriarch Is Here, and Fairness Is Here (57k, 83k Completed in a Day)

Chapter 181 The Patriarch is here, and there is fairness (5.7k, 8.3k completed in a day)

A few days later, a young bard with blond hair and blue eyes came to the outskirts of Thebes with his bag on his back.

Looking at the familiar yet strange "hometown" in front of him, Loen, who changed his vest, felt mixed emotions.

Not long ago, he successfully provoked Aphrodite's anger by planning the death of Adonis.

As a result, the god of war Ares, under the crazy pursuit of his old lover, slipped back to Olympus in disgrace, hiding at home all day and dared not come out.

The Sea of ​​Oceanus naturally returned to its former tranquility, and Thetis's troubles were also solved.

But to be on the safe side, Loen did not turn around and get close to the goddess of the sea, but decisively left the crime scene and prepared to go to another city-state to hide for a while, temporarily avoid the limelight, and clear his suspicion.

After thinking about it, the word "hometown" that was almost fading in his memory came into his mind.

So, he also came to Thebes to take a look and continue his journey as a bard.

After all, the goddess of memory in the Temple of Memory is still waiting for his update, and the nine muses sitting in the empty boudoir are still waiting for him to redeem them with his manuscripts.

Of course, his current identity is still "Homer".

In fact, under the operation of him and the nine muses, this pen name is no longer a simple person, but a creative group. In order to facilitate the crime in various city-states, they have a stack of vests.

Looking at his completely different face and the pedestrians around him who ignored him by the pool on the side of the road, Loen nodded with satisfaction.

The disguise formed by the triple superposition of illusion, random dice, and memory divinity is really convenient to use.

After staying for a while and confirming again that there were no flaws left, Loen walked through the weedy path beside the avenue and came to a barren mountain on the outskirts of the city.

There is almost no grass here, and the barren and cracked surface is covered with jagged, charred rocks, showing some signs of being struck by lightning or burned by fire.

When you reach the top of the barren mountain, the terrain is steep and precipitous, and the cliff facing the sea is almost at a 90-degree angle to the sea surface, as if it was split directly by a sharp blade falling from the sky.

A few charred and rotten wooden boards are buried in the dark brown soil, and the only few green buds on the mountain have emerged from them, bringing a trace of fragile vitality to this dead land.

This place was once the palace of Semele, the princess of Thebes, and it was also the place of birth when she first came to this world.

Lorne stood in front of the ruins, staring at the unrecognizable former residence, trying hard to search for the vague and distant memories, trying to find a sense of familiarity from the nearby area.

Unfortunately, he failed.

After lying in the cradle for more than a month, I was not too impressed by the flowers and plants on this mountain.

Even his mother, after such a long time, he could hardly remember her appearance.

The only impression I have is that she is relatively young, full of longing for love, often likes to tease herself, and even gave him the nickname "Little Lion".

"Feel sorry……"

Lorne shook his head, a little surprised, then bent down and placed a wreath in his hand on the charred soil.

——This was woven by himself on the way up the mountain using grape vines in the field and a few wild flowers nearby.

"There is good news and bad news." The figure in the wind muttered to the wreath in the open space. "The good news is that I am still alive, and I plan to avenge you and me..."

Then, Lorne paused and continued with some helplessness.

"However, the bad news is that he is still alive and well. I heard that he recently hooked up with the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta."

"——The shape-shifting swan possessed Leda and gave birth to twin sons and the beauty Helen. According to the prophecy, this should be the eighth..."

A gust of sea breeze blew by, and the garland rustled and trembled, as if it was accusing some shameless scumbag.

Lorne glanced sideways, shook his head, and said to himself.

"Don't, I can't deal with him now. The old guy is in good health. He just took care of Poseidon and Apollo."

The sea breeze intensified, and the trembling of the garland seemed to become more intense.

Seeing this, Lorne had no choice but to raise his hands helplessly.

"Okay, okay, I'll find a chance to collect some interest for you later. And I promise you that I'll send him down to accompany you sooner or later, is that okay?"

Under the solemn words of a certain "filial son", the wreath calmed down and seemed to be satisfied.

A ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and sprinkled on the top of the mountain. The petals of the wreath became brighter and the branches and leaves became greener.

It was sunny...

Lorne looked up and smiled self-deprecatingly, then stood up from the ground, brushed off the dust and grass on his clothes, and strode down the mountain.

~~

To comfort the mother who died young, a certain filial son seemed to have unloaded a certain burden in his heart. Not only did his steps become lighter, but he even had the leisure to do his old job as a bard. He sat under the shade of a tree beside the road with a lyre, chanting holy words to pedestrians on the road to earn the toll to enter the city.

"I call upon the first born, dual-sexed god, the god who haunts the sky,

He was born from an egg, his golden wings are so bright,

You roar like a bull, the origin of the Elysian gods and mortals,

Unforgettable sowing, endless carnival in the world, the original one Phanes..."

However, when the pedestrians around heard this song, their faces changed and they hurriedly left.

Even before a section was finished, there was a vacuum around him.

Why, is Thebes so exclusive?

But at least I am half a fellow villager, and the elders and villagers should give me some face, right?

"Boy, are you going to die? Shut up!"

Just as Loen was muttering to himself about the failure of the performance, the old farmer who was fiddling with the vines in the field next to him rushed over in a hurry and snatched his lyre.

Faced with this sudden change, Loen couldn't help showing a trace of surprise on his face.

"Old man, what are you..."

"Stop talking nonsense, if you don't want to die, come with me!"

The old farmer looked around vigilantly, and after confirming that no one was around, he quickly grabbed the arm of the young man under the tree and dragged him into the shade of the grape field. He spoke earnestly as he walked deeper.

"You tell me, what's wrong with learning at a young age? You have to learn the tunes of those foreigners and sing praises to the god of wine. If I hadn't helped you, the city defense army would come later. Be careful about your life. No guarantee!”

Hearing this, Lorne frowned slightly.

"Old man, what do you mean by this? The Thebans don't like Bacchus?"

"More than that! You can't even mention it!"

The old farmer said, stopped and looked back at Lorne in surprise, his eyes thoughtful.

"Are you a foreigner? No wonder you dare to sit under a tree and sing [sacred words] related to Dionysus in a swaggering manner."

Lorne nodded, took out two Gold of Zeus from his pocket, and handed them to the kind old farmer. He pretended to be frightened and asked in a low voice.

"Old man, what is going on? Can you tell me in detail, so that I will not accidentally violate any local taboos when I am new here."

"This taboo has nothing to do with us Kuhaha. It is an order from the king. He doesn't know why, but he hates the Dionysian Cult outside. He prohibits any believers from preaching here. He can't even mention topics related to Dionysian Cult. Otherwise, they will all be arrested. Go to jail and await trial and severe punishment.”

The old farmer pointed to the city of Thebes in the distance and warned in a deep voice.

"For this reason, many Dionysian believers have been arrested in the city. Even the king's mother was thrown into prison for participating in the Dionysian gathering. Young man, if you don't want to get into trouble, be careful..."

While speaking, the old hand pushed back the two golden Zeus in his palm, with a displeased look on his face.

"I saved you because you were still young, not for these reasons..."

Lorne quickly explained: "I just caused trouble, and I don't know what the situation is outside. How about you lend me your land to hide it for a few days, and prepare some food by the way? This can be regarded as your reward." ”

The old farmer nodded, and then his face turned cloudy. He accepted the gold coins and led the stranger to the temporary shack he had built in the grape field.

Along the way, through insinuations, Lorne also roughly understood the current situation in the city.

The current king of Thebes is named Pentheus. He was the son of Echion and Agao, born of the clay.

In fact, by blood, Agaeus is the daughter of the old king Cadmus and the biological sister of Semele, the princess of Thebes.

In other words, the person in the palace is his dear cousin, the god of wine.

However, Pentheus himself is irritable, extremely controlling, and has a high self-esteem. He cannot tolerate derogatory words or criticism. Only the main god of Olympus can allow him to reluctantly lower his head and express himself during the sacrifice. Superficial respect.

But in recent years, an external sect called "Dionysianism" has become famous in Thebes and spread widely. A large number of middle- and lower-class people have become followers of its teachings and willingly worship the unknown god of wine. .

"Speaking of which, they were just preaching and didn't do anything harmful..."

On the way, the old farmer couldn't help but complain on behalf of the captured Dionysians.

Since the main members of this missionary sect are basically at the bottom of society, they understand better the hardships of life and the difficulties of ordinary people.

Therefore, members of the Dionysian Cult often distribute some free bread and red wine, or give rice, flour, grain and oil collected within the cult to lonely elderly people in need.

And sometimes, they will also recruit people to perform voluntary labor and do whatever they can for some families who have won the lucky lottery.

According to them, this is called "the teachings of Dionysus" and "bringing God's love to the world".

The few acres of grape fields in the old farmer's house were also visited by them.

The other party not only purchased the grapes of that season at a fair price, but also removed weeds and maintained the seedlings for free.

It was precisely because of his good impression of those Dionysian believers that the old man took the risk of dragging Lorne, who was singing on the roadside, into the field.

In fact, the reputation of the Dionysian Cult has always been good in Thebes, and many people at the bottom and even the middle and upper classes have a similar favorable impression to the Dionysian Cult believers.

Moreover, when they expounded the divine way, many men, women and children in the city of Thebes, and even prominent nobles, came to follow and praise this new god who brought joy to the world, and even elevated him to the same level as Olin. The same height as the gods of Pease.

However, this angered King Pentheus.

In his opinion, a wild god who came out of nowhere was not worthy of such admiration.

Especially the status and reputation of the god of wine in Thebes actually surpassed that of the real king.

Therefore, Pentheus strictly prohibited the people from worshipping the god of wine.

However, as the influence of Dionysus had spread, the secret sacrifices and gatherings of the people continued despite repeated prohibitions.

So, in a rage, Pentheus defined Dionysus as a cult that bewitched people's hearts, hunted down Dionysus believers, and threw them all into prison.

Even his mother was imprisoned because she participated in the private [joyful feast] of Dionysus with a group of noble ladies.

Neither the warning of the blind fortune teller Tiresias in the temple nor the persuasion of the old king Cadmus could change Pentheus's attitude of resolutely cracking down on Dionysus.

Therefore, as an ordinary person, the old farmer also knew that he was even more powerless, and could only complain temporarily and do some good deeds within his ability.

"Young man, you stay here for a few days. Wait until you are sure everything is fine before you go out. I will go home and get you something to eat."

After the old farmer gave his shack in the field to the reckless stranger in front of him, he simply gave a few instructions and turned to his home in the village.

Looking at the old man's back as he left and the gloomy outline of Thebes in the distance, Loen, as the founder of the church, narrowed his eyes slightly.

~~

At night, in the magnificent palace of Thebes.

The young and vigorous King Pentheus, who was tall and strong but still had a hint of immaturity on his face, sat on the throne made of gold and examined a group of newly captured Dionysus believers in the hall.

Among them were old and young, and even some nobles of the blood of the gods.

Seeing this, Pentheus could not help but angrily rebuked.

"What has driven you mad to follow a lowly false god in droves? A bunch of cowardly fools and crazy women! Have you forgotten the heroic blood that runs in your veins?

Thebes is a land of the brave! Our fortress was built on the feats of slaying dragons and the corpses of our enemies!

And the false god you want to believe in wears a garland of grapevines on his head instead of a helmet; he wears an obstructive robe instead of armor; he holds a ridiculous wine glass instead of a sword. Do you expect to come to the battlefield and drink the opponent to death? "

After hearing the barrage of reprimands, everyone on the field reacted indifferently.

"Your Majesty, if I remember correctly, whether it is slaying the dragon or building the city, these are all the achievements of your grandfather Cadmus, and he once advised you not to treat these innocent believers in the Dionysian Cult harshly."

A low voice came from the crowd, causing the young king on the throne to blush with anger.

Pentheus looked around and glared grimly at a young man with blond hair and blue eyes in the crowd.

"Damn it, what's your name? Who are your parents? Where is your home? Why do you believe in the new ordinance?"

The young man shrugged fearlessly and replied calmly.

"My name is Polymonos, and my hometown is on the island of Crete. My parents are ordinary people, with neither livestock nor land. My father only taught me to go fishing, because this skill is his wealth. Later I I learned to sail, became familiar with the sky, observed the wind direction, and knew where the best port was. Once, when the ship was sailing to Delos in the Aegean Sea, it was kidnapped by a group of savage pirates. Boat.

At first I thought I was dead, but I didn't expect that there was a god on board at that time.

The pirate captain probably thought he was some kind of prince because of his handsome appearance and tender skin, so he captured him while he was waiting for the ship on the shore, intending to get a ransom.

But after the boy was brought to the ship, the pirates guarded him with sharp knives and tied him with the thickest rope, but they couldn't tie him up no matter what, and the rope would fall off on its own.

What’s even more amazing is that during the voyage, grape vines instantly grew on the sail and spread to both sides, producing many grapes. There was also an ivy growing up around the mast, and the sides of the ship were covered with ivy. The wine was flowing all over the deck, and the aroma was overflowing.

And the young man also changed back to the appearance of a god. He wore a headband made of grape leaves and held a staff wrapped with grape vines. Surrounding him were tigers, lynxes and leopards. The sweet smell of wine spreads throughout the ship..."

Listening to the magnetic voice's narration, everyone was immediately fascinated by the strange scene, and their emotions rose and fell as the story progressed.

"Wait, we seem to have heard of this?"

"Yes, it's "Bacchus"!"

"Yeah, yes, I also remembered that the author is the blind poet Homer!"

Some of the contemplative believers on the field looked at this somewhat unfamiliar fellow believer in the crowd in shock after a moment, with envious expressions on their faces.

Obviously, this person is probably the witness of that story, a living saint!

It is a great honor to be able to meet the Lord Dionysus and be on the same ship with him.

At this moment, Pentheus was furious when he heard the discussions in the crowd.

"What nonsense! A fake thing that came out of nowhere dares to call himself a god!"

The blond narrator smiled slightly at the young king's rebuke.

"Your Majesty, it happened that the pirates didn't believe it at first, and then guess what?"

Then he paused and continued to add.

"The pirates first rushed forward with swords, but Lord Dionysus suddenly transformed into a big lion standing on the bow and tore the swords to pieces;

But the pirates were not giving up, and they bent their bows and drew their arrows, but Dionysus turned into a giant bear again, deflecting the arrows with his fur and protecting me at the same time;

In the end, the pirates had no choice but to sink the ship in a rage and then jump into the sea to escape. But as soon as they touched the water, the pirate captain who grabbed Lord Dionysus on board found that his lips and nose were connected together and turned into a fish mouth.

Before the other pirates could scream, they suffered the same fate: blue skin grew on their bodies, their backs bent, their arms shrank into fins, and their feet had long since turned into tails.

I recognize that kind of fish, its name is dolphin...

That's it In this way, all the pirates who went into the water were deprived of their human form and became like this.

There were a total of 20 people on the ship at that time, and I was the only one who was safe and sound. Just when I was afraid, Lord Dionysus came to my side.

He said: Don't be afraid, my friend, you have not harmed me, but you are a righteous man.

If you want, just send me to Crete. When we get there, you can become my disciple and preach my teachings to the world:

Let the unjust remain unjust; let the filthy remain filthy; let the righteous remain righteous; let the holy remain holy... because God will punish those who do evil and protect those who do good.

And God is also merciful. Even if it is a bad pirate, he will give those sinners three opportunities to repent. "

In silence, the "disciple" looked up at Pentheus's youthful face and groaned.

"So, what is your choice, Your Majesty?"

"Enough, I am tired of listening to your nonsense!"

"It's not too late to turn back from the wrong path..."

"You dare to teach me a lesson just because you are a lowly person pretending to be a god? Shut up!"

Pentheus on the throne looked cold, stood up angrily, and waved his hand.

"Come on, arrest him, let him suffer a thousand kinds of torture, and then put him in the dungeon!"

The soldiers in the hall heard the order and immediately took up the ropes and torture instruments and came forward to tie up the arrogant young man in the crowd.

However, a gust of wind blew, and the soldiers who rushed into the crowd were dizzy.

When they came to their senses, they found that the criminal who needed to be arrested had disappeared.

At the same time, a faint groan came from the dark night sky.

"The first time..."

Pentheus looked at the palace gate that was blown open by the strong wind and the empty square outside the window, his face was uncertain, and he roared angrily at a group of confused soldiers.

"Catch him back! Catch that bastard who pretends to be a god!"

The soldiers were shocked, and under the king's rebuke, they rushed out in a hurry and searched everywhere for the fugitive.

The believers who witnessed this scene were so excited that they couldn't help themselves.

Saint! It's really Saint!

It must be that Dionysus knew that we were treated unfairly and sent people to rescue us!

At this moment, the believers who had been shaken and fearful under the powerful force became extremely firm in their faith again. They put their hands together and prayed excitedly to the merciful and just god.