Type-Moon, a human love simulator.

Chapter 131 The Greatest Greek Tragedy

Outside the city-state of Sparta, Suren took off the toga that symbolized gods and sacrifices and was only worn by nobles, and changed into a set of hand-woven straw sandals and rough linen clothes. Although the straw sandals were exquisite and the craftsmanship seemed quite good, this outfit undoubtedly showed that it was the attire of common people.

He gave the goddess Athena a hand-woven olive wreath, and Athena naturally had to give a gift in return.

The complete set of silk fabrics that had been woven long ago finally found an opportunity to be given to Suerlun.

Suren didn't know how long Athena had been preparing, but he could feel the comfort of the clothes fitting his body when he put them on.

In a while, we might have to send some people to the underworld, and it would not be appropriate to wear such exquisite clothes.

Although Athena's blessing ensured that the clothes would not be damaged, Suren cherished the goddess's craftsmanship.

In Greece, slaves were not eligible to enter cities and generally worked in the fields without rest. Suren went from the prosperous, advanced and developed city-state of Athens, which even developed the rudiments of commerce, to a barbaric and remote country farm full of oppression and exploitation.

Sparta had a land grant system, which distributed land to citizens, but citizens generally did not need to work. They had plenty of time to hone their military skills and worship gods within the city-state.

This is normal. If we don't liberate productivity and solve the most basic problem of food and clothing, how would people have the time to consider so many skills that are of little help to survival?
The slaves worked with numbness on their faces. In fact, Greece in the Age of Gods was rich in resources, and they could solve the food problem from nature without doing anything. However, these people worked not to solve the most basic survival, but for the pursuit of mankind's "good life".

In pursuit of delicious food, people are needed to do the fine processing.

They seek entertainment, so they need people to please their base desires.

The pursuit of...the desire for domination, so they need a large number of slaves to satisfy their power to decide life and death over others.

After solving the three most basic human desires, humans will develop endless secondary desires to fill their increasingly empty souls.

At the beginning of the 20th century, humans had actually solved the problem of food production, but even in the 21st century, people will still starve to death.

This is the evil of mankind.

Perhaps Nero's judgment was right...?
Suerlun suddenly thought of an old friend, then shook his head with a smile, thinking that he was going crazy for actually empathizing with such a beast.

“Is humanity a monolith?”

Suerlun sighed, and quickly answered his own question: "Humanity has never been a whole. Individual identities have been divided vertically based on race, region, ethnicity, bloodline, skin color, and even gender and occupation..."

“O Yahweh, is this Babel the Tower?”

Yahweh felt that the Tower of Babel built by all mankind would be as tall as God, and he was afraid and angry about this, so he destroyed the Tower of Babel, separated mankind into different parts of the world, and made the languages ​​of all mankind no longer intelligible.

This is Babel.

This is a biblical story. Even if this story is possible to be true, it must be after this era, because this is the extremely ancient Age of Gods Greece. Even the Age of Gods in the Bible is later than here.

Surlun was not a weak person. Although he felt deeply saddened that in this extremely rich Age of Gods, humans would exploit others unscrupulously even if they were no longer threatened with survival, he had already anticipated this.

After all, they are a group of barbarians who have no laws or culture. What can they know even though they are protected by God?

How well were the Greeks protected by the gods?

Even to judge a simple murder case, gods had to be the judges, and the Greek gods really had the spare time to judge human cases.

"Then let me try to build a tower of Babel with the gods in this age of gods, a tower where humans and gods have the same heart."

The Tower of Babel represents the miracle of human unity. It is a myth only recorded in the Bible. Now, Suerlun wants to challenge this miracle that is as great as the only one.

An old man looked up to wipe his sweat and saw Suren standing by the field with a compassionate look.

He is so handsome, with a beauty that does not belong to human beings. It seems that only gods have such a handsome appearance.

But what caught the old woman's attention was not Suren's appearance, but his eyes full of emotion.

Surlun's eyes are big and bright, which makes him clearly convey the beauty of decisiveness and perseverance no matter who he looks at. It is obvious that this is a hero who cannot be defeated.

But at this moment, these determined eyes were filled with sadness and compassion. He seemed to be lamenting for these slaves, and seemed to be looking at the whole world.

"Sir...what are you doing here?" the old woman spoke, interrupting Suerlun's thoughts.

"Have you heard of...Sullen?"

Suerlun came back to his senses and calmly asked all the serfs: "Do you want to become citizens living in the city?"

Talking about freedom in this era is like talking to a cow, no one can understand it at all, otherwise the god of freedom would have appeared long ago. The culture of worshiping gods is very strong in Greece, and every concept has a corresponding god.

So Suren didn't talk about freedom, he just asked these slaves if they wanted to be citizens.

And mention your own name?
Although he might sound like he was boasting, Suren felt that his name had long been known throughout Greece, and that even in the most remote country farms, his epic poems must be circulating.

"Surron the Remover of Obstacles? The greatest Greek hero in the eyes of the bards, the hero beloved by the gods... is that so?"

Now, not only the old woman, but all the slaves who were working were attracted by Suerlun's name. They thought carefully about what Suerlun said, and after hesitating for a moment, they said, "So, what do you want to say? Are you one of those scholars who pity slaves?"

They did not dare to believe that the man in front of them with a demeanor as graceful as that of a god was Suren. In the impression of these slaves, no matter how great a hero was, they were all descendants of nobles, kings, and gods.

Heroes are inherently racially segregated from ordinary people and slaves.

As heroes, they naturally would not show mercy to slaves, because they could not see the existence of slaves at all.

"I was going to say...Sullen wanted to free the slaves."

Suerlun paused, then repeated seriously, "All the slaves in Greece, in Athens and Sparta... and in all of Greece, will become citizens. No one will be a slave from birth, and their descendants will always be slaves."

"...You are kidding, right?" The old woman did not believe Suerlun's lies. She sighed and said numbly: "I live a good life. I have enough food and drink every day and enough sleep. My master has not abused me..."

"Okay, I'm going to work now. Go write your paper over there!" The slave laughed at himself and said, "Scholars from Athens, if you don't finish your paper, you may just be reprimanded by the teacher, but if we don't finish our work, we will die."

Slaves were the property of their masters. Except for abstract city-states like Sparta, ordinary city-states would not slaughter slaves at will because they still needed them to work.

"Why are you unwilling?" Suer Lun did not show any anger, but asked calmly, "Isn't it good to have someone help you get rid of your slave status?"

"If you help me with my work, I will talk to you." The old woman pounded her tired back and said, "If it doesn't delay my work, I am still happy to communicate with the Athenians."

"Okay, if you're willing to talk to me, I'll help you and finish everyone's work." Suren nodded. For a hero like him with unlimited energy and powerful strength, he can finish the work that ordinary people need a day to complete in less than ten minutes.

"You want to abolish slavery. Doesn't that mean you already have a system that is more advanced than slavery, such as the monarchy of the Persian Empire, or even a democratic republic, right?"

The calm old woman sat down, and her first words surprised Suerlun. He didn't expect that a slave had such insight.

Perhaps, the Greeks were not incapable of understanding those barbarians with advanced ideas, and the ancients were not fools who could not be educated.

Who knows? Three thousand years ago, Duke Zhou proposed the ideal country of universal peace, and this idea seems a bit ahead of its time even in the 21st century.

"Don't look at me like that, I used to be Thebai... Never mind, let me continue!"

The slave continued, "But this is impossible. Slaves are just ordinary people, while nobles have the blood of gods and ancient heroes flowing in their bodies. They are born much stronger than ordinary people."

"The nobles drove the citizens to oppress the slaves. They were the vested interests and natural defenders of this system."

"You want to liberate Sparta, maybe it's possible, but you said you want to liberate all of Greece?" The slave laughed: "Do you want to be the enemy of all the nobles in Greece? Do you think you can defeat the heroes of all the city-states in Greece?"

"First of all, you got one thing wrong." Suerlun pointed a finger and said, "Meat eaters are despicable, and the vested interests are all paper tigers. They are a class with natural weaknesses. When their lives are threatened and they have to compromise, they compromise even faster than you slaves."

"After all, slaves have nothing, and they have a lot to lose."

"Second..." Suer Lun held up another finger: "I think it's okay."

"what?"

The old woman was confused for a moment.

"I mean, I can defeat all the so-called heroes of all the city-states in Greece." Suren laughed and said, "Come on if you are not afraid of death. I don't care how many people there are."

"Whoever dares to stand in front of me and wants to be my enemy will have to bear the consequences himself!"

Meta-rule: Violence can solve all rules.

What laws and regulations, what morals, what economics... In fact, all the basic logic that controls the operation of society is violence.

Any rule is built on meta-rules, and the operation of any rule is based on the meta-rules. If the meta-rules collapse, any rule built on the meta-rules will disappear.

Surlun's iron fist is enough to make him ignore all obstacles on the ground. After all, when it comes to compromise, it is a choice between power and life. Those nobles know how to make choices.

We must kill, but we cannot kill indiscriminately.

Liberation of slavery was only the first step. Suren decided to summon all the scholars in Greece to formulate a code of law, and to use the code's fair trials for killing and sentencing.

Kelar's code is full of ego and prejudice. Although he does not kill people, killing and oppression are happening all the time in places he cannot see, which does not actually solve the problem fundamentally.

This time, Suren decided to pool ideas and adopt the wisdom of all Greece to promote the progress of mankind.

Perhaps, we can go a step further and adopt the wisdom of the gods to perfect the coexistence of the golden rule?
"I see, you are Surren."

The old woman was about to kneel down at Suerlun’s feet, but Suerlun said, “Stand up! Don’t kneel!”

"I don't care whether you want to kneel to God or to a human being, but I can't bear to see others kneel down to me... Stand up!"

Suerlun said calmly: "I liberated the slaves not to make them kneel to me."

"Is that so?" the old woman murmured, and then he stood up and shouted loudly: "Look, the obstacle remover Suerlun is here, the great hero who is about to liberate the slaves, Suerlun is here!"

Following his shout, all the exploited and working slaves looked over here. They shouted Surlun's name loudly. Perhaps they did not hear clearly what the slave said before, but just a name attracted them all.

Before Suerlun spoke, all the slaves knelt at his feet. Suerlun had a blank expression on his face. This time he did not ask everyone to stop kneeling. He just sighed and said, "It is easy to defeat the thieves in the mountains, but it is difficult to defeat the thieves in the hearts."

"That's right, great hero, if you want to abolish slavery, you can do more than just abolish slave status."

The old woman stood up, nodded and said: "You still need to liberate their minds... Even so, do you still want to do this?"

"This isn't a difficult task." Suer Lun said with a smile, "Besides, someone has to do it first, right?"

"Someone has to do it?" The old woman's eyes lit up, and she took out a pen and paper and began to write and draw.

"Is it really another god?"

Surlun sighed and said, “That’s what I said. How can humans have such insight?”

These Greek gods are like the Dao of Forgetfulness. Before they reveal their identities, you have no idea what they are going to do. If they are having fun, they will behave exactly like slaves, but if they are unhappy, they will curse you in a minute.

Suren asked, "Which god are you?"

“Oh? Were you recognized?” The god was surprised, but she still looked up and said, “I’m Melpomene… Well, you can call me - [Tragedy].”

"Surren, the hero beloved by the gods, fate tells me that if I observe you, I will be watching the greatest tragedy in Greece."

Slave... No, Melpomene no longer pretended to be timid. She smiled at Surren and said, "Hero, even if you know your destiny, are you still determined to take this path?"

"Perhaps Calliope will like you very much?"

"Whether it's a tragedy or an epic..."

Surren stood up and walked towards Athens: "I am the 'protagonist', am I not?"

I am the one who created the plot.

Tragedy or epic, this is the life experienced by a man named "Suerlun". The whole process is his choice. Whether he turns his life into a tragedy or an epic, Suerlun is willing to bear it.

As for the Greek gods of fun, Suren did not object to their observation of him.

Everyone's life is born as a drama.

It doesn't matter whether you are a spectator, a protagonist, or even a supporting role.

Everyone is his own protagonist.
-
Suren sat on the throne of the King of Athens, looking down at Aegeus, the King of Athens who once sailed with the Argo.

The Argonautic Expedition had ended, but Jason, the hero who captured the Golden Fleece, did not have a better ending. He eventually lost his wife and son, and died alone under the Argonautic ship, which was full of honor.

But now with Surlun, his fate will be much better than before.

The Argonautic Expedition was one of the great adventures that affected the whole of Greece. The heroes who were qualified to participate in the Argonautic Expedition were all famous and powerful men in Greece, such as Aegeus. Although he was not outstanding among the Argonauts, he was the king of the Athenian city-state.

Since Aegeus was absent from the city-state of Athens all year round, his son Theseus was imprisoned by Hades for trying to go to the underworld to kidnap Persephone and has not been found yet. The whole of Athens has changed greatly in the past few years. Citizens do not trust each other and the city is in chaos. Aegeus was just about to make a big move to govern the city-state when Suren came to him.

"Aegeus, I have decided to unify all of Greece and establish the First Greek Empire. What do you think?"

Surlun looked calm, the Golden Supreme Sky slowly floating around him, and he looked relaxed and natural. If he hadn't just knocked down all the guards in the palace, he would really look like a guest who was reminiscing about old friends.

He spent some time conducting slave research in the countryside of most Greek city-states. Although most of the population had become serfs, the slaves were not docile beasts of burden, and they still retained a consciousness of resistance.

that's enough.

But after going around in circles, Suren returned to the city-state of Athens and decided to start from Athens instead of Sparta.

"..."

Aegeus opened his mouth but couldn't say anything for a long time. He was the only person in the entire palace who could still remain conscious and stand still.

Of course, he was also the only one who did not draw his weapon and point it at Surren.

His weapon was still on his back, with his hands hanging naturally. It was obvious that he did not have the courage to fight Suerlun.

"Thank you for showing mercy, Surlun." Aegeus sighed, found a chair and sat down, and said, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to unify all of Greece, abolish the existing city-state system, and replace it with an imperial autocratic system." Suerlun repeated, saying lightly: "Each city-state will have a tax officer, and the city lord's mansion will be directly under the emperor. The hereditary nobility will be abolished and replaced by a merit-based system of nobility."

"Of course, this is just a transition. When the time is right, perhaps a representative system of a democratic republic can be established."

"Also, abolish slavery, and make it a law that all men are created equal. And I will also establish a supreme code of law that governs both humans and gods, based on the Twelve Golden Covenants between me and the gods."

The so-called Twelve Golden Covenants are the twelve agreements that Suren made for the relationship between gods and humans.

First: Man and God are two complementary entities that form the cornerstone of Greece.

Second: People believe in gods, and gods guide humans correctly.

Third: People and God should be equal.

Fourth: God cannot act arbitrarily.

Fifth: Humans cannot worship other foreign gods.

Sixth: God judges all matters with absolute justice, and humans must not violate their covenant with God.

Seventh: People should offer sacrifices to their ancestors first, and gods may not exceed this.

Eighth: God makes peace among people and should not stir up discord among them.

Ninth: People must respect God, otherwise they will be punished by God.

Tenth: If people keep their covenant with God, they will receive God’s grace.

XI: Praise Zeus.

12: Praise Suren.

"...Are you crazy?" Aegeus said subconsciously, and then realized that the person in front of him was Surlun. He sighed with relief: "It's you, that's normal."

He had heard of Suren's similar claims when he was on the Argo, so it was reasonable for Suren to do this now.

"The nobles will not agree." Aegeus shook his head and said, "You are making an enemy of all Greece..."

"That's because they don't understand me, Suerlun." Suerlun said calmly, "Absolute violence can be exchanged for absolute power. This is the most basic rule."

"Otherwise, why would people believe in gods?"

Aegeus' impression of Suren still remains on the level of human thinking. After all, humans are social creatures who need social interaction and political strategies to achieve all their needs.

But the gods don't need that. All humans have to do is to keep the gods happy and prevent them from getting angry.

Suren stood up and said, "From now on, they will see me as if they were seeing a god."

"Aegeus, go and spread my declaration and decree throughout Greece—"

"First: All of Greece, the Mediterranean, and even the Caucasus Mountains, all countries and nations that are shrouded in the faith of the Twelve Olympians, will be brought under the rule of the First Greek Empire, and the titles of kings of all city-states will be abolished."

"Second: Abolish the privileges of the kings and nobles of each city-state, abolish slavery, and have the officials of each city-state inspected by the gods and appointed by me personally."

"Third, summon all the scholars in Greece to Athens and formulate a code of law to discipline humans and gods. After being reviewed by me and the goddess Athena, it will be presented to Zeus and eventually added to the Supreme Code."

"Finally, the old kings of the cities, if you will not give me the water and soil, the sky and the earth, everything that I want, then bring all the soldiers you can lead to me."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. If anyone dares to disobey, I will strike him down!"

After Suren finished speaking, he looked at Aegeus and said, "Aegeus, my subject, do you have any advice for me?"

"...My king, you have the final say in everything." Aegeus certainly had no problem with this. He had witnessed Surlun's power that was comparable to that of a god, so he would naturally not overestimate his own abilities.

To be honest, Aegeus had prayed silently to Suren many times when he encountered difficulties. Unexpectedly, the difficulties were solved smoothly. This made Aegeus believe from the bottom of his heart that Suren was a god walking on earth.

"No, I am your Emperor."

After Suerlun sat on the throne, he seemed to have become a different person. Compared to a human, he was more like a piled-up statue. His voice was faint, but it was full of iron-like majesty and a powerful force that made people submit unconsciously: "If there is really no ideal country in this world, then I will create it."

Although Suren's strength is comparable to that of the main gods, he is not a real god. Most Greeks still regard him as the strongest hero in Greece.

But since it is the 'strongest', it does not mean it is 'invincible'. Although many small city-states were terrified when they saw Aegeus, the former king of Athens, coming to announce the order of the Greek emperor, most of the powerful city-states, as Suren said, were ready to bring all their soldiers to fight to the death.

There was no other way. Suerlun was going to confiscate all the noble power. This guy was not going to gently replace the old order, but was going to directly smash the old order and establish a new order. But -

In Greece during the Age of Gods, any city-state that decided on major events needed to offer sacrifices to the gods in order to obtain their predictions and oracles, and major events like war were naturally no exception.

This trend had far-reaching influence. The reason why the Spartan king could only take 300 royal guards to participate in the Battle of Thermopylae in Hippo was because the Persian invasion was during Sparta’s most important festival, the Carnea Festival, which celebrated Apollo’s protection and the harvest. Therefore, war was not allowed. As a result, Leonidas could not get the support of the Senate and could only take the royal guards within his power to participate in the battle.

As the favorite of the gods, Suren was treated completely differently from other Greek heroes. No god stood against him or caused trouble for him. Almost all the gods supported him.

Surlun is god-reverent and respectful to all gods. He is ambitious and dares to put forward proposals that even the gods have given up. He is also energetic and not only put forward an almost impossible proposal, he is even working hard for this goal.

Such a hero who is like a little sun naturally won the favor of the gods.

All the city-states that prayed for oracles received the oracles they wanted, but the contents were somewhat unsatisfactory.

"Blessed by the gods, under the sky, the owner of the earth, mountains, rivers, oceans and the underworld, the emperor of humans and non-humans, the master of monsters and animals, all the places covered by the faith of the Twelve Olympians are the earthly kingdoms ruled by Sulun."

"God will punish you if you are against the Greek emperor."

To put it bluntly, this is actually the icing on the cake. Whether there is this oracle or not, there are no city-states or individuals in Greece that can resist Surun.

Surlun can really defeat the entire world by himself.

Violence is the meta-rule. Even without the oracle of God, Suren can still purge all the nobles in Greece with absolute force.

Rather than letting Surlun do it himself, killing countless people and causing rivers of blood, which would pollute his state of mind, it would be better for the gods to help him directly, saving time and effort.

Although Suerlun did not think that this would dirty his hands, the class struggle would never end, and he had already made plans to send all the slave owners to the underworld.

But among these kings, there was only one who was different.

That was Eurystheus, the king of Argos.

He may not be famous, but his brother and slave is Hercules, who is famous throughout Greece.

Argos was a city-state that believed in Hera as its main god. It was Hera who cast a spell and held up the darkness with her hands, preventing Hercules from being born smoothly. Instead, Eurystheus was born before Hercules, turning from a younger brother into an older brother.

Because Zeus had promised in front of the gods that the first offspring of Perseus would rule over his brothers, he originally intended to give this honor to Hercules, but because of Hera's interference, it was given to Eurystheus instead.

When the city-states were seeking oracles, Eurystheus naturally sought help from Hera's oracle, but Hera's oracle was very simple -

"Let Hercules complete the final trial."

Yes, Hercules accidentally killed his wife and children, so he exiled himself to be a slave under Eurystheus. He needed to perform ten miracles to cleanse his sins, but Eurystheus found an excuse to add two extra ones.

Eurystheus thought he understood the oracle, and immediately called his brother Hercules, who in his heart was comparable to a god.

"Hercules, you only need to complete one last great deed, and you will be free again."

Eurystheus said with a deep gaze: "Go and kill the arrogant Athenian Suron who claims to be the Greek emperor."

"I'm sorry, I can't do it. This is beyond my ability."

Hercules shook his head. He had fought with Surlun before and had tried his best but was still defeated by the other party. Even though he had become much stronger over the years, Hercules felt that he could not even beat Surlun back then.

The stronger he becomes, the more he can see the gap between himself and Suerlun.

At the same time, he also didn't believe that Suerlun had been standing still in the past few years and his strength had not changed.

"You are not trying to put me off, are you?" Eurystheus, who had never been rejected by Hercules, was furious. He shouted, "The hind of the goddess, the cattle of the giants, the wild boars that ravage the earth..."

"You are the great hero Hercules who has the power to hold up the sky, and you dare to deceive me and say that you can't deal with that shameful Suren?"

"I never tell lies." Hercules raised his head and looked at Eurystheus. "Also, since Suren has ordered the abolition of slavery, does that mean I am no longer your slave?"

Hercules wore the head of the Nemean Lion on his head. This monster was invulnerable and devoured countless people, but was eventually strangled to death by Hercules.

Hercules skinned him and used him as his hat. Once, when Hercules was eating, he took off the lion-head hat and put it aside, which scared away the passers-by around him. The young Theseus thought it was a lion and even raised an axe to fight the lion.

Now, this lifelike lion head did not bring any negative impact to Eurystheus, but Hercules' eyes as calm as dead water made him feel cold all over.

"Okay, okay, then you don't need to kill Suren. So, you block the gate of Athens and prevent anyone from entering or leaving Athens... for ten days, just ten days, how about that?"

Perhaps Eurystheus was afraid that Hercules would go crazy and kill him, so he quickly added: "My brother Hercules, after you have done this, you will no longer be my slave. No matter what kind of sins you have carried, you can wash them away after completing these twelve great deeds."

"..." Hercules was silent for a while, then said: "This is the last time, Eurystheus. The next time we meet, I will tie you up and bring you to Athens and hand you over to Suron. You will personally verify Suron's code."

The city-state of Athens has now become the capital of the first Greek empire.

Suren abolished the city-state system and, according to his own will, molded the whole of Greece into a whole, which naturally required a capital to confirm the emperor's position.

"My wisdom and vision transcend the times. I am absolutely fair, absolutely perfect, and absolutely wise. I have finally come to this point..."

Surlun sat on the throne, thinking all the time. He used all his wisdom to turn everything he knew in his mind into reality and realize the great golden age.

Although Suren used force to establish the First Greek Empire as if he was playing house and proclaimed himself emperor, the Athenians actually did not recognize Suren as the Greek emperor.

But there was no way around it. Almost all the nobles in Greece were priests. That was the way things were at that time.

The oracle declared that the gods approved of Suron's unification of Greece. As human beings, did they dare to disobey the oracle?
This was not the age when gods were clay statues; the gods of this age were everywhere, with their tentacles reaching every corner of Greece. The bards were tired of telling of the consequences of disrespecting the gods.

The nobles said they would obey the oracle, but for some reason, they did not read the oracle to the citizens as usual, and they all began to procrastinate tacitly.

It's not that we are against the oracle, nor that we are against the will of God, it's just that we don't have time to read the oracle for the time being.

Originally, the citizens of Athens wanted to flee as a means of protest against Suren's "tyranny", but Suren turned around and announced that the serfs in the countryside would be promoted to citizens, which immediately won the approval of the majority of people.

For a time, the upper-class nobles and kings received the oracle and dared not disobey Surlen. The lowest-level serfs were liberated by Surlen and wholeheartedly supported his rule.

Only the citizens who are neither in the middle nor in the middle of the social ecological niche, who are neither qualified to receive oracles nor know the inside story, and who have lost their vested interests under Suerlun's tough reforms, are naturally the most reactionary group.

But neither Suren nor the nobles took these people seriously.

The noble priests treated the citizens as pawns, but Suren believed that these reactionary citizens were nothing but trivial matters. Was there a shortage of Greeks in the world who wanted to be citizens?

If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will!

"Golden King, someone has blocked the gates of Athens, blocking citizens who want to leave Athens and scholars who want to enter Athens."

Aegeus stood below and reported to Suren respectfully.

In fact, Aegeus was very familiar with this person.

Surren did not ask Aegeus why he did not deal with this person. He just nodded and said, "I know."

Hercules, wearing a Nemean lion-head hat, blocked the gate of the Athenian city-state. He alone was like a mountain separating the inside and the outside. No one, no matter who they were, could pass through the land where Hercules stood.

Those who are inside must stay inside, and those who are outside must stay outside.

Until Suren arrived.

Even though they cursed fiercely in private, when they really saw Suren, everyone unconsciously made way for him to walk in front of Hercules.

"Long time no see, Hercules, haven't you completed your Twelve Miracles yet?" Suren looked relaxed and even greeted him with a smile.

"Sullen... King of Gold, Emperor of Greece." Hercules looked at Surlen bitterly, and after a while he sighed, "Maybe it's done?"

"To be fair, Lady Hera is indeed a goddess with a small heart."

Looking at the miserable Hercules, Suren smiled with relief: "But Goddess Hera has done me a favor. Although you are my friend, Hercules, I will still do my best."

"Be careful, don't die..."

How many city-states are there in Greece? How many demigods, descendants of gods, and heroes are there in these city-states?
No one knows, but it is definitely not a small number, probably several hundred people.

But until now, from the time Surren declared himself emperor until now, only Hercules had stood before him.

Because the gods knew very well that these heroes combined were no match for Surlun, they all issued oracles to prevent them from seeking death.

Only Hercules was different, he offended the Queen of Heaven Hera.

It is also well known that Lady Hera is narrow-minded and cannot tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes. She has disliked Hercules for a long time and has been secretly plotting against him.

If Hercules was not the son of Zeus and had a strong life, he would have been killed by Hera's endless tricks.

But Hera finally found an opportunity for Hercules. He was one step short of completing the twelve great deeds he had performed to atone his sins. Originally, Eurystheus should have asked him to capture the three-headed dog of hell that guarded Hades, but Hera knew that this was an opportunity.

The three-headed dog of Hell is no match for Hercules and will only add another entry to Hercules's book of honor.

But Suren is the strongest hero in heaven and on earth. Even the thunder of Zeus, the father god that burns everything, cannot shake Suren's immortal body.

Anyway, Hercules was not a danger to Surlun. On the contrary, it was a good thing that he could survive Surlun's hands.

Therefore, Hera drove Hercules to challenge Suren.

Suren knew all this, but he still decided to obey Hera's wishes.

Although Suren and Hercules had a good personal relationship, and their relationship could barely be called "friends", it was still far behind the close relationship between him and Hera.

There is no other way. Even though Lady Hera is a narrow-minded person, she is still my goddess who has supported me all the way. She has supported me without hesitation from the beginning...

Remind Hercules that Suren had been very kind to him.

"what?"

Hercules subconsciously assumed a fighting stance. It took less than half a second for him to take down the longbow behind him and fully draw the arrow string. As a hero with extremely rich combat experience, Hercules' body was much faster than his mind.

Each of these Greek heroes was highly skilled in the art of archery, but Suren was the best among them.

But just as he raised his head and aimed at Surlun, he saw Surlun's eyes burning with fire and the Styx.

It can be said that with this move alone, even a million-strong army would be doomed in front of Suerlun, and even a blind man could not avoid Suerlun's Eye of Judgment.

The gap between a powerful hero and an ordinary person is like the difference between humans and gods. Now Hercules finally understands why Suren has the confidence to unify Greece.

Such a person, such a great existence, is willing to reason with you and be your emperor, instead of just killing you all because he doesn't like you. As human beings, the Greeks should be grateful to Suren for treating them as human beings.

A philosopher king should have supreme wisdom and power equal to his wisdom.

"Roar!!!"

What a pair of eyes those were! Hercules seemed to see in them all the sacred fire of Olympus and the River Styx, the final resting place of all the souls of all living beings. His soul was instantly ignited, and the severe pain from his soul made this battle-hardened hero unable to help but roar like a wild beast.

What followed was Surlun's giant bow. The Golden Supreme Sky pulled the bow at full power. This strike was enough to shatter the Caucasus Mountains and split the Aegean Sea in two.

It can be said that Surlun really gave his all without reservation, and every move he made was intended to kill.

Even in the extreme pain of his burning soul, Hercules still lived up to the demeanor of the son of Zeus and the second most powerful hero in Olympus. His body made a direct judgment and ignored the golden sky hanging in the sky, and chose to attack Suren directly.

This is the most correct way to fight. If Hercules runs away and exposes his back to the threat of the Golden Supreme Heaven, he will surely die.

Even if he could run to the foot of Mount Olympus in an instant, the giant golden arrow would pierce him in the next instant.

In close combat with Suren, the giant bow that was powerful enough to shatter mountains would not be struck rashly, otherwise the city-state of Athens would be annihilated.

As expected, the Golden Supreme Sky was indeed hanging in the balance, and Hercules successfully engaged in close combat with Surren...

Then?

Then he was beaten to a pulp by Pankrasin, who was comparable to the goddess Athena by Surren.

"Hercules, your boxing skills were no match for mine a few years ago. Where do you get the confidence to fight me in close combat now?"

Suren slapped Hercules' hands twice, causing his middle door to open wide. The next moment, his knee made close contact with Hercules' face, breaking his facial bones.

"Besides, do you really think you know me?" Surlen snapped his fingers, and the next moment, the giant golden arrow on the bowstring shot out suddenly and shot towards Hercules as he sighed.

Hercules used the skin of the Nemean lion as a shield and the huge force that supported the sky as protection, and collided head-on with the giant golden arrow.

And that arrow that could pierce the sea would be enough to wipe out Athens if even a trace of its power leaked out, but it poured all its power on Hercules without reservation.

"If I don't even have this much control, then what qualifications do I have to hold the Golden Supreme Sky?"

Suren spoke slowly and did not take this opportunity to attack Hercules, in full Big Boss style.

Having shot the first arrow, Golden Supreme Sky was slowly gathering strength, and it seemed that he would be able to shoot the second arrow soon.

After the loud bang, there was a cloud of smoke and dust. Surren raised his eyebrows and said, "There's smoke but no damage... But the Nemean Lion's skin is really buggy. Can it block this attack?"

In fact, it is unstoppable.

After the smoke and dust cleared, Hercules' iconic lion-head hat had disappeared. The Nemean Lion's steel skin, which was said to be invulnerable to swords and spears and impenetrable by arrows, was not truly impenetrable after all. It was just that the force was insufficient to penetrate it.

The leisurely Suer Lun looked more and more like a big boss. He asked calmly, "Look at you. Your lion-skin hat disappeared with my first move. What else can you rely on to stand in front of me?"

"Of course... I'll fight to the death!" After a good fight, Hercules, who had regained consciousness from the burning Eye of Judgment, was proud enough. His will was even stronger than that of most gods.

Relying solely on the perception of danger and external blows, he was able to regain consciousness from the wandering in the holy fire and the Styx. Hercules was indeed very strong, powerful in all aspects. No wonder he could go to the underworld and shoot Hades.

An arrow appeared in Hercules' hand at some point. It was the arrow he got when he killed the nine-headed Hydra. He used his top archery skills to kill the nine-headed Hydra, which could be resurrected infinitely as long as it had one head left.

After Hydra's death, Hercules soaked his arrows with the Hydra's venom, a highly toxic venom that even gods could not avoid.

According to legend, Chiron, the Centaur sage who possessed the highest level of divinity, originally had infinite life. However, after being accidentally shot by Hercules' arrow, he committed suicide because there was no cure and the pain was unbearable.

There is no doubt that this was a life-and-death fight. Not only did Suren not hold back, but so did Hercules. The two strongest and greatest heroes in Greece were fighting an unreserved and desperate battle.

Suer Lun shook his head and sighed, "Have you run out of tricks? Hercules, is this the only trick you can use?"

Surlun calmly snapped his fingers, and the Golden Supreme Sky teleported over and directly knocked Hercules away.

He has a lot of magical weapons and skills, and the gap between him and Hercules is also huge.

Before, he was able to beat Hercules half to death in his bare-bones state without any equipment, let alone now?

But soon, Hercules stood up. The skin of the Nemean Lion was so hard that even the Golden Sky could not leave any mark on it. Moreover, after such a fierce fight, Hercules seemed to be inspired by the blood of Zeus, and his recovery and resistance to blows became stronger and stronger.

The Greeks did not understand what mechanical gods were. They had seen the mechanical bodies of Zeus and other mechanical gods and thought they were just things called "Titans".

Later, the Twelve Olympians lost their Mechine bodies and became gods again. The Greeks then regarded all the Olympian gods as descendants of the Titans and believed that all the main gods had the blood of the Titans.

Just like there is no god named Chronos in Greece, but there is Chiron, the son of Chronos.

Legend is reality. Legend has it that Chiron is the son of Kroros, which means he is the son of the King of Gods and possesses the highest divinity.

The same is true for Hercules. He has the blood of the Titans in his body. Even Zeus does not have this, but as the son of Zeus, he has the blood of the Titans.

It can be said that the living Hercules is far more powerful than his heroic spirit state after death. Even the crown spiritual base is not enough to carry the power of this great hero.

Before, Surlun could make Hercules' face bloody with just one punch, but now he needed three or five punches. In addition, the recoil of the opponent's head and cheek bones also made Surlun's fingers ache slightly. However, Surlun had the always-burning holy fire, and in a competition of consumption, Hercules was definitely not his opponent.

The life-and-death fight between the two sides gradually turned into a one-sided beating. Suren tried to kill Hercules, but he became more and more resilient and his recovery ability became stronger and stronger. Perhaps this was what fate had shown, and Hercules had not yet died.

It is unknown how long it lasted, but as Hercules grew stronger, Suren also grew rapidly. Through this indestructible sandbag, Suren gradually integrated all his skills, and activated his wisdom to research more combat skills.

In any case, Surlun, as the attacker, gained much more than Hercules, who had been passively beaten since the third day and could not fight back.

At the beginning, Hercules, who was extremely experienced in combat, could still find time to fight back with a few moves, but from the third day on, it was a one-sided beating from Surlen.

Hercules has become numb. Even as the son of the God King who has fully developed the blood of the Titans, Hercules still has his limits. If he breaks this limit, he will die no matter how strong his recovery ability is.

But Hercules felt that this limit seemed to have been reached...

But at this moment, the sun in the sky rose ahead of schedule, and the darkness was instantly pierced by the light. Suren's punches and kicks, which were like a meteorite rain, suddenly stopped. Even if a few more punches could kill Hercules, Suren stopped at this moment.

"It's been ten days." This was the first sentence Suerlun said since the battle, and it also indicated the end of the battle.

"Hercules, your mission is accomplished." This was Suren's second sentence.

Suren withdrew his hands. The hands that could shatter the stars still looked so white and slender, like a work of art. There was no sign that these were hands powerful enough to kill the Lord God.

"Hercules, in the name of the Greek Emperor, I absolve you of your guilt." This was Suren's third sentence.

Surlun still held back. In fact, on the first day, he had already figured out how to completely kill Hercules, and even destroy his soul.

That is his highly integrated spiritual will, which condenses the eighth sense of Alaya consciousness, a spiritual realm that is powerful enough to face the collective consciousness of mankind and will not be assimilated.

If Surren wanted to, his powerful spirit could crush Hercules, but he just used the most ordinary and straightforward punches and kicks to subdue the arrogant hero one punch at a time.

"...I owe you my life. Thank you for the Emperor's kindness." Hercules, whose face was unrecognizable and whose bones were broken, remained awake with his tenacious will: "Sullen, King of Gold, I, Hercules, am willing to be loyal to you."

"Well, then go and bring here Eurystheus, the false king of Argos who disobeyed the emperor's order and stubbornly wanted to maintain the corrupt slavery system. He will become the first criminal in the Greek canon, and I will grant him the honor of being remembered forever in human history."

"Hercules, running for me is the greatest honor of your life. I give you the responsibility of patrolling Greece. You are to bring all the fools who do not obey my orders to the city-state of Athens."

Suren turned around and walked back to Athens. Unlike before, the Athenians no longer separated a path for him to go back, but knelt on both sides to welcome their emperor back to his capital.

You see, it is actually very simple to completely destroy the old order and establish a new one.

He can defeat the whole world with his own strength. The philosopher king should have such great power.

Only absolute strength can create absolute power.

(End of this chapter)