Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

The following day.

Riding in a carriage, Laine headed south.

He didn't stop in several cities he passed, but went straight to Athens.

If it had been before, Laine might not have been so direct; perhaps he would have traveled and experienced the local cultures and peoples like a mortal, but with the disturbances occurring, he clearly wasn't in the mood for that.

Laine planned to go somewhere where information was disseminated more quickly to understand what exactly was going on with the world's disturbances.

The information obtained from Hell was partial and incomplete, and although there were many of their followers hidden among mortals, they weren't mainstream. In comparison, Athens was different.

"It's about time this little one proved useful."

Narrowing his eyes, sometimes Laine was surprised by the audacity of Hera's followers; of course, they might not have known the specifics or perhaps they did know but their faith in the gods overwhelmed their fear.

It should be noted that from the first meeting, Andrea had claimed to be a 'high-ranking priestess of the Goddess.' And this wasn't a general term, but a genuine testament to her strength.

In today's Chaos, people have various ways to classify mortal power, such as the traditional first, second, third, and fourth ranks, or described as Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold—essentially the same, just different names.

There are even spellcasters who straightforwardly determine their ranks by the level of Magic Net they can contact, dividing them from the first to the ninth ring of wizards, but in fact, it's just a different terminology for the former—first rank from one to three rings, second rank from four to five rings, and so forth.

It's similar for Godhood Practitioners, and even more straightforward.

They blatantly categorize the domains below the Legendary as 'low-rank priest' and 'high-rank priest,' because the grades of Godhood Practitioners before reaching Legendary mostly stem from divine grants, and if retracted, they revert to being mundane, hence the lack of detailed classifications. They simply use the sixth ring of Divine Arts as a demarcation to distinguish amongst themselves.

Therefore, Andrea's title as a 'high-ranking priestess' holds significant value. If the Sacred Power in her wasn't sealed by another god's power, she could easily crush the heretics who kidnapped her ten times over.

Such power combined with her age of twelve years old, undoubtedly makes Andrea not only the princess of Athens but also a mortal elect directly observed by Athena, possibly even a prospective Chief Shepherd for the Panhellenic Church of Knowledge in the future.

In this context, offering Andrea as a living Sacrifice to Hera was no trivial matter. Of course, if it were successful, it likely could indeed cause significant damage both to Athena's mortal faith and to the authority of the Royal Family of Athens.

"Hmm..."

"Hmm?"

Leaning against the soft backrest, Laine was pondering the tasks of this journey when suddenly, a commotion from afar caught his attention.

As they got closer to Athens, the road widened, and the number of people increased. However, nearly everyone maintained their vigilance as if they were in the wilderness, rarely getting close to each other, at most giving a distant greeting.

Laine had never encountered such a loud argument audible from a considerable distance before.

"What's the commotion about outside?"

Knocking on the door frame, Laine casually asked.

"I'm not sure."

Upon hearing Laine's inquiry, Andrea, who was outside the carriage, simply shook her head.

"It's a merchant convoy. A caravan from Thebes just passed by; they seemed to be talking about divine election and justice... then they started arguing."

"By their words, is there some event being organized? But the Panhellenic Athena Games are still years away."

"An event... Thebes?"

Lifting the curtain, Laine looked outside.

Indeed, several hundred meters behind them, a sizable merchant convoy was advancing through a cloud of dust.

From their direction, their destination didn't seem to differ from Laine's; they were presumably also heading to Athens. So the so-called event they mentioned could only be occurring in Athens, not in the disaster-stricken Thebes.

"Slow down, let's hear what they're talking about."

Instructing Andrea, as the carriage slowed down, Laine immediately gathered a ray of spiritual light in his hand.

First ring Divine Art, the Illusory Sound Art, there is also a corresponding version in witchcraft—or rather, many Common Divine Arts were adapted (plagiarized) from witchcraft.

It was essentially a Divine Art for simulating sounds. However, at this moment, its target for simulation was set to the distant, faint sounds of argumentation.

Thus the blurry voices immediately became much clearer, and as the two sides got closer, the conversation seemed to be happening right beside Laine's ear.

"Speed up... Olympia... Priest... wise and just..."

"...selection... Acropolis... debate..."

"For... Crete... impossible..."

The voices were noisy and overlapping.

The Illusory Sound Art, being only a first ring Divine Art, does not have features like 'noise reduction,' 'clutter removal,' or 'artificial recognition' during the sound transmission process. The amplified sounds of the wind, the carriage's movements, and conversations of nearly a hundred people mixed together would be indistinguishable for the average person.

Fortunately, neither Laine nor Andrea had problems in this regard. After listening for about half a water clock's time, the two approximately understood the cause and effect inside.About a month ago, roughly half a month after Laine learned of Hemenu's plan, a high-ranking priest from Olympia visited the Royal Palace in Athens.

He met sequentially with the King of Athens and the Chief Shepherd of the Church of Knowledge, and his stated purpose was to witness 'the prosperity of Athens'.

In any era, a nation's prosperity is often reflected in both material and spiritual wealth. Initially, the Athenians thought this priest from Olympia had come to challenge them, holding them accountable for promoting Alchemy practices.

However, the outcome was surprisingly different—this priest named Noros overlooked the witchcraft and alchemy and instead highly praised Athens's prosperity.

Praise from foreigners always had a way of instilling exceptional pride... However, at the end of their visit, in the Temple at the Acropolis of Athens, Zeus's Chief Shepherd proposed an additional minor condition.

"Members of the Church of Knowledge, I have heard that the honorable and immortal daughter of the Divine King, bright-eyed Athena, is a skilful Sage, as well as the embodiment of Wisdom. From her hands, all sorts of ingenious creations come into existence, and as her sanctuary in the Mortal Realm, the Athenians must undoubtedly take pride in their wisdom."

"Furthermore, I have heard, respected King of Athens, that you have married the great Zeus's daughter, daughter of Minos, Hydera. He and his brother Radamandis were both kings of Crete and were renowned for their just and strict laws."

"If you do not mind," Noros proposed to those present at the time: "I would like to hold a grand event, an event that can demonstrate people's thoughts and abilities. I will witness the Athenians' justice and wisdom, witness their decisions when faced with choices."

At least on the surface, there was nothing wrong with Noros's request.

For a country in the Mortal Realm, hosting a grand event, although consuming fiscal resources, essentially also acts as a declaration of national power and a way to spread the belief in deities.

The quadrennial Grand Sports Festival in Olympia, that was a tribute to the Divine King and a postponed homage. The triennial Panhellenic Games in Athens was even more so the finest offering to the Goddess.

Even the athletic event during young Perseus's accidental murder of his grandfather was held for similar reasons. People were eager to participate in such events and willing to spread the name of the winners, making their fame renowned throughout the Human World.

In such circumstances, the King of Athens, Theseus, had no reason to deny this request, and he chose to accept. Soon, with the help of the Church, they constructed a new, massive venue capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of people, a classical marvel under the influence of Transcendent Power, located several miles outside the City of Athens, before the Acropolis.

The Acropolis of Athens, originally intended for defending against external enemies, had almost never been truly used; in contrast, in its center was Athena's largest temple in the Mortal Realm, the highly renowned Parthenon Temple.

Establishing the venue there naturally carried the intent of 'offering the grand event to the Goddess,' and for this action, the far-traveled Priest raised no objections.

Thus, the matter was settled, and the related information was immediately disseminated worldwide in various ways. Previously, that trading party from Thebes had debated because of this.

After all, although the grand event was sudden, many famous sages from foreign lands had come upon hearing the news. The people in the trading party were arguing about the merits of these sages, even though their arguments were only based on 'possibilities,' 'hearsays,' and 'speculations.'

"So it's like that, a grand event with some elements of debate... Andrea, have you ever seen a similar event?"

After a moment of thought, Laine spoke up.

"No, this should be the first time. The Panhellenic Games are competitions of skill and martial prowess; debates and decisions... such an event has never been held before."

Shaking her head, a glint of light flashed in Andrea's eyes.

She had never attended a similar event, not even the Panhellenic Games, as she had not been born the last time it was held.

She had long been curious about it but had never had the chance to witness it firsthand. Now, an opportunity had arisen, but she was still a captive.

"Hey—ahem, Mr. Aiven."
Enjoy new chapters from empire

Sitting up straight, Andrea looked very serious.

"We're not far from Athens now, right, I mean, once we get there, will you set me free?"

"What do you think?" Glancing briefly at the nervous Little Princess, Laine drew the curtain.

"Keep moving forward, don't fantasize about things that won't happen. If I planned to send you home as a gift, why would I bring you all this way?"

"Alright."

Slightly disappointed, but not overly so.

Actually, Andrea hadn't thought that 'Mr. Aiven' was in Athens to send her home; he probably had his own matters to attend to.

Although there wasn't much interaction during their journey, the Little Princess realized that this mysterious figure was probably no ordinary person.

The more ancient the times, the more limited the dissemination of news, thus a person's experience and knowledge were largely linked to their status.

Although 'Mr. Aiven' displayed unfamiliarity and ignorance in many areas, he seemed like a master or key figure of some major power, yet he hadn't really interacted much with the earthly nations.

"Mr. Aiven, there must be something you want me to do."

Clenching her small fists, Andrea spoke firmly: "Since there's still something for me to contribute to—I mean, can I propose some conditions?"

"But you are my captive."

Speaking calmly, Laine realized that Andrea probably had never learned the skill of bargaining.

"But..."

"And I even saved you."

"But..."

"You don't even know your own use—perhaps your usefulness doesn't require active cooperation?"

"..."

"Let's set off. Destination, the Acropolis of Athens."

With a slight chuckle, Laine casually said, "I have not yet met the Priest from Olympia. I also want to see what a grand event of this era really looks like."

"Great!"

Her voice suddenly filled with more spirit, and the chariot promptly started moving.

Laine leaned back, pondering the grand event.

It might be a coincidence, but Laine didn't believe in coincidences. In any case, since the Priest from Olympia had made such a request at this sensitive time, he had to see it for himself.