Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 251 Holy Relics

As for the killing of Jesus, it was more because they could not withstand the overwhelming public opinion of the local people. In fact, the Herod royal family did not care about these religious issues at all. They were originally mixed-race people, not traditional Parphians who centered on religion. Now it is better to say that they are Romans rather than Parphians.

Herod Agrippa, the name Agrippa comes from Augustus's trusted general Agrippa. His father lived in Rome much longer than in the Holy City. Agrippa II also lived in the Romanized cities of Caesarea or Tiberias for a long time. So the conflicts between them and the locals were sometimes very sharp - on the one hand, there were class conflicts, on the other hand, there were cultural conflicts, and on the other hand, there were conflicts of blood. It would be strange if they could be harmonious and friendly.

In short, King Herod was not interested in these so-called holy relics, nor in the complicated sectarian disputes. When Orville asked him for the relevant objects at that time, he chose to hand them over without much hesitation. For him, this was actually two less invisible bombs. If there were any more problems, he could go to the Romans. It had nothing to do with him.

Finally, after many twists and turns, Orville got two things: one was a spear head, and the other was a "T"-shaped cross. If they were correct, these should be the True Cross and Spear of Longinus that were passed down to later generations.

The real objects don't look that mysterious. After all, they are just spearheads used by ordinary soldiers and crosses used to hang people. They look so simple and crude that they are a bit crude.

Objectively speaking, there are indeed some mystical aspects. Orville saw these things being dug out of the warehouse. It stands to reason that decades have passed and time will definitely leave traces on the items. Although these things are covered in dust, they are still as bright and clean as new after wiping. This is extremely abnormal. Orville was also certain of one thing - these so-called holy relics are indeed more or less a little unusual. At least this world is not completely groundless.

However, in a world where Greek and Roman polytheism prevailed, these key props from monotheism were not very useful, and Orville only used them for emergency use. The main reason was that Astolfo was always around him, which made him feel a little urgent.

He knew that according to legend, Charlemagne's sword "Yogius" was modified from the Spear of Longinus. Perhaps Astolfo or even the Franks behind it had some strange ideas about the Spear of Longinus. No matter what these ideas were, he had to make sure he didn't let them succeed.
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After replenishing supplies in the Kingdom of Palphi, Orville led his fleet to continue south, and after several days of drifting, they finally arrived in Egypt.

Antonis, the governor of Egypt, had not received the news in advance, but he knew Orville, and these elite soldiers who came with him could not be fake, so he seemed to receive Orville and his party warmly, found a camp for Orville, and let them settle down.

On the surface, there are only more than a thousand troops following Orville, including 500 guards and more than 500 Vikings. The remaining troops are either broken up into small groups or on standby in Palfi's land. This number is indeed only enough for self-protection, so it did not arouse excessive vigilance from the governor, and no signs of military mobilization were found.

That night, the magnificent Governor's Palace was particularly lively, and Antonis hosted a private banquet for Orville and several of his confidants.

Although they were members of the royal family, the Flavian family was not extravagant. On the contrary, Vespa was quite frugal. Their daily meals could be sumptuous, but definitely not to the extent of the current Egyptian Governor's Palace.

The rare goods from the Near East, North Africa, the Mediterranean world to the north, and even Persia, India, Black Africa and even Eastern countries would circulate in Alexandria and then be dispersed all over the world, which allowed the local upper class to prepare some bizarre meals that Orville frowned at. There were dozens of dishes on the table with only a dozen people, and each plate was quite huge. Looking closely at the contents of the plate, it was just like Orville's idea, almost like a zoo was thrown on it.

Roasted peacocks, boiled parrots, wildebeest heads, giraffe legs, some kind of monitor lizard that I couldn't name, and even lions and crocodiles to show off their presence. In short, in the eyes of serious people, there is not much food, but there are many rare and exotic animals.

It's not like Orville hasn't eaten something similar before, but he never really liked it. Glancing at the expressions of Ivar and the others around him, they had similar attitudes. Cu Chulainn even frowned, clearly quite displeased.

Regardless of whether it tastes good or not, this is also a way for Antonius to show his strength and show respect to Orville. Orville is not used to it but he has to pretend that he enjoys it. The two sides eat slowly and chat about trivial things under the service of the servants, which lasted until about eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

At this time, Antonius finally found an excuse to get to the point: "Speaking of which, why did you suddenly come here? Is there any decree from His Majesty the Emperor?"

"I guess so," Orville nodded at him and pointed at the tall and strong Ivar. "After discussing with His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty agreed that my subordinates could smuggle some goods beyond the regulations to the Frankish Kingdom, such as glass, sculptures, silk, honey, etc. However, we have not yet solved the problem of the supply of goods, so I came here in person."

Antonis was stunned for a moment, then he put on an expression of realization, seemingly convinced by this reason: "I see, then if you need anything, please let me know, I have some connections here, and I should be able to help you with various things."

"I will if necessary. Thank you in advance." Orville bowed to express his gratitude.

"Also, you have to be careful recently. The situation in Egypt is very bad recently. There is a palace struggle going on, and both sides have even come to the point of fighting. It is really not a good time to come here during such a turbulent time."

It seemed like a friendly reminder, but in fact it was obviously to inquire about the situation. After such a long time, Antonius could vaguely catch some clues and knew that Orville and Cleopatra had a good personal relationship.

Playing dumb at this time would be a bit foolish, so Orville simply shared half of his true opinion: "I don't have much opinion on King Ptolemy. He is the legitimate heir to the country. The main thing is that I really don't like that guy Berdinus. But anyway, Berdinus is still an indispensable role now. Letting him live may be more beneficial to the Romans."

(End of this chapter)