Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1745. Bronze Statue
After several days of sailing, the Adrestia entered the Laconia region of the Aegean Sea.

They stopped at a port village called Gesion, which was the closest sea stop to the city-state of Sparta. If you want to go to Sparta, you have to start from here and take the land route.

Lan, Cassandra, and Triss stepped off the boat.

In the sky, Ikaros was hovering high in the sky.

And a shadow so agile that it was hard to see clearly jumped from the ship to the roof of the village of Gesion in an instant.

Then, the ball of fluff waved to Lan on the roof to indicate that no one saw him.

Cassandra was called the falconer because of the company of Ikaros. The eagle is the symbol of Zeus, the king of gods, and is also called the bird of the gods.

Ikaros was a strong evidence of her being considered a demigod by the city-states of the Aegean Sea.

In this era, an eagle can represent so many things. Then a cute cat that can talk, walk upright, and fight with weapons can cause an even greater sensation.

This was only in ancient Greece. If it were in ancient Egypt on the other side of the Mediterranean, the flannel ball could probably be seen as a messenger of the Egyptian gods as soon as it appeared.

During the Great Plague of Athens, Lan ran around the city with a ball of flannel.

But at that time, the people in Athens were exhausted by the plague, and there were hardly any normal people on the streets.

Furthermore, the people who met and talked with Lan at that time were Socrates, Aristophanes, Hippocrates, Alcibiades... These were the wisest people in Athens, and even the wisest people in the current era.

They can look at the flannel ball, an intelligent life form other than humans, rationally, but that doesn't mean that other people can do the same.

Fortunately, Flannel Ball's achievements in studying the "Lone Shadow Ninja Technique Book" are even higher than Lan En's.

If it wanted to, it could become an outstanding ninja cat. It would not be difficult for it to follow Lan without any trace.

The same was true for Qilin, but it couldn't hide itself, and the cabin inside the Adrestia was too small for it, so Lan put it on the Aegean Sea again, letting it play around the ship by itself.

"Is this Sparta?" Triss asked casually, with a hint of curiosity but without much emotion. "The kingdom of warriors?"

"We still have a long way to go on land." Cassandra waved her hand, beckoning the two to follow.

The sorceress looked at the port village in front of her and didn't feel it was anything special.

Their port stops are built in a very neat manner, with stones neatly stacked to form a coastline.

This gave Triss at least some appreciation for the stonemasonry skills of this world.

But in other aspects, she still considered it to be a civilization that was not very special and even a bit primitive.

The ground near the port was still wet and muddy, with walls made of stones covered with mud and dried hay, and painted with red or blue paint.

There were people coming and going at the port, including beggars kneeling on the roadside, laborers transporting goods, and recorders and tax collectors checking the goods.

Most of them only wear a robe to cover their bodies.

Triss knew that this was probably related to the climate, as it was really hot here. However, the clothing styles were not very varied compared to the magical medieval era, so she inevitably felt bored.

'This place is far worse than the port area in Vizima.'

Triss muttered to herself.

If we talk about famous ports in the north of the magical Middle Ages, Novigrad is the first choice, followed by Gos Velen, and several major cities in Kovir.

Vizima could barely make it into the top ten.

But it was much better than the Gesion in front of him.

'But at least the air here is fresh and the scenery is beautiful.'

The only thing that made Triss feel happy was the scenery and people here, which were different from those in the north.

The people here seemed to be more aware of hygiene than those in the magical medieval north. At least that was how Triss saw the crew on the Adrestia.

When we arrived at Gesion, the smell of this port village was not as strong as that of the magical medieval northern port.

On the other hand, let's look past Gesion and into the distance.

The hillsides of Laconia are covered with large expanses of verdant green grass dotted with bright flowers, and the highest point of the ridge is rock bleached by the blazing sun.

The colors are very contrasty and saturated in good lighting, and the colors are so clear and bright that they seem to be dripping from the petals of flowers and blades of grass.

It makes people feel happy and alive. 'Well, this place does look nice.'

Triss secretly agreed with Lan's arrangement of an itinerary that would allow her to calm down and relax.

However, just as Triss followed Cassandra and Lan down the deck of the Adrestia and stepped onto the port land of Gesion and walked less than five meters inside.

"This is..." The sorceress's bland, slightly bored expression gradually turned dull. "What the hell is this?!"

Triss's beautiful eyes gradually widened, and her seductive lips opened uncontrollably.

Her eyes moved from bottom to top, taking in everything in front of her.

Her words were trembling slightly out of control.

"Oh, you mean this?" Lan, who was standing next to him, seemed to have been waiting for this scene for a long time. He crossed his arms and stood calmly, as if he was talking about a trivial and common thing. "This is a statue of Hermes. It is very common in the Greek world."

"He is the god of roads, thieves, travelers, and the patron saint of contracts in the mythology here. People often place their commissions and requests for help under his statue. If someone takes a contract to find a job, it is equivalent to the contract being witnessed by him."

In front of Triss, there was first a half-meter square cube stone platform, and then on the stone platform, there was a full metal statue about three and a half meters tall!

The brass figure gleams beautifully in the sunlight.

Triss suffered the same shock as Lann when he first arrived - the people of this world used materials lavishly in architecture and sculpture.

The brass statue is three and a half meters tall, and its solid texture basically proves that it is made of solid material.

In the magical Middle Ages, this bronze statue would be enough to keep a large ocean-going merchant ship running for half a year!

But now, this thing is placed right here! Placed beside the port of a port village that Triss thought was quite ordinary... as a sign?!

After listening to Lan's description, Triss could easily compare the function of the Hermes statue with the village entrance notice board in the northern countries. The function is exactly the same!

Post notices, help requests, and tasks. If someone sees it and wants to take the task, they will take the notice and go find the client.

But what are the signs of the northern countries like?
——Even a large wooden board standing up is considered a high investment! If there is a tree at the entrance of the village, it would not make any difference to nail the notice directly to the tree.

What about here?
Just for such a trivial matter, the people here erected a three-meter-and-a-half-meter-tall bronze statue!
What does it mean? If you have a bronze statue on the pier of your village, what will be built in the capital, the center of the city-state?
"Is this what you said..." Triss turned to look at Lan in a daze, "The most simple, least decorative and least enjoyable warrior city-state?"

She looked kind of cute in her dazed look.

"I really want to show you the statue of Zeus that I saw when I first came here, but unfortunately it's in Kephallonia, which is a bit far from here."

Lan said with a smile. He also reached out and patted the thigh of the Hermes statue. The dull sound it made confirmed that this thing was indeed solid.

"It's a pity that we are not in Athens. Otherwise, you would have seen the bronze statue of Athena in the city when you landed at Piraeus Port. I am only about the same size as Athena's nose. Oh, and I know the builder of the statue."

"Builder?" Triss was a little confused. "I guess it should be a great wizard? And a great wizard who specializes in the construction industry."

"I guessed wrong." The demon hunter chuckled, "He's just an ordinary person, a sculptor."

"Ordinary people? It's impossible for ordinary people to create the huge sculpture you mentioned, even if they put in the entire national strength of a country."

"Here, maybe. They have very unique technology, and it's very high level. It's a legacy from their ancestors."

“Ha!” Triss laughed dumbly, “I really wish my ancestors could leave me something so great. Unfortunately, I’m just a little girl born in Maribor with an ordinary family tree.”

"But you are you, Triss." The witcher shrugged. "Family, ancestors... What do these boring things have to do with you? After all, you are still Merigold the Fearless."

Triss stared at the witcher in front of her silently with a smile. Her smile was so happy that it almost reminded people of a woman who was about to enter the marriage hall.

Tender, happy, and at the same time... hot and lustful.

"Can you find a hotel here, dear?" She pushed her red hair behind her ears. "Any hotel. I don't want much. Just a bed. A bed is all I need."

"What a shame, what a shame." Today, the once simple and shy young man can handle such hot hints calmly as if jokingly, "We have to go to Sparta now, and this is really just a port village."

Since arriving in the ancient Greek world, Triss has had neither the time nor the opportunity to get off the ship to take a look. After all, the landform of this birthplace of ocean civilization is too fragmented.

Her mood had not been very high, which made Cassandra laugh at Lan's plan to bring the sorceress to ease his mood, which could be declared a complete failure.

But today, after getting off the ship at the port of Gesion, Triss saw the statue of Hermes standing on the roadside of the port. It seemed that she finally developed an interest and love for this world and this civilization.

(End of this chapter)