Four-Armed Divine Emperor

115: Artemisia

Xerxes ordered his legions to launch a strong attack on the Greek coalition forces, which had already won a great victory in the naval battle and had cut off the Persians' retreat. Although the attack was fierce, the coalition forces guarding Athens knew that this was the enemy's last dying struggle.

As long as they hold on, victory will definitely, absolutely, belong to Greece.

They also fought with great enthusiasm to deal with the enemy's dying counterattack. In fact, they could have chosen to temporarily avoid the attack. If the coalition forces were more ruthless and directly abandoned Athens, adopted a scorched earth policy, and did not leave a single grain of rice or a drop of water for the Persians, then even if Xerxes could temporarily capture Athens, the Persian army would still collapse due to lack of supplies.

But Al didn't want the victory to be "too easy". He had clearly stated that he wanted to deal a "devastating blow" to the enemy and pour out the wrath of the gods on them. In this authority that had already "secured victory", no one would say that Athens should be given up for fear of casualties. No one dared to say so. Al didn't even have to take action himself. He only needed to tell his loyal servants, and then the forces connected by these people would build up momentum.

casualties?

In the face of victory, it is all honor!

The attack continued for four more days.

The intensity of these four days is almost the sum of all the previous ones combined.

The direct casualties on the defenders' side amounted to nearly 10,000, with more than 4,000 killed or seriously injured. This was because after the previous siege, Athens' city defense measures had been almost exhausted, and they were eventually forced to engage in close combat.

But the Persian side was not much better, their situation only got worse.

Soldiers were already fleeing in droves, which was a terrible thing for the Persian army, whose main components came from another continent, east of the Aegean Sea.

Because the despair of war had made these Persian soldiers who came to Greece as invaders lose their judgment, or simply no longer care about being in this foreign country, especially when the Persian military discipline was extremely poor and they were very hostile to the Greeks, leaving the main force and fleeing into the unknown was a very dangerous thing.

If the Persians who appeared in Greece during this period were still soldiers, there is no doubt that they were most likely invaders. How would the warlike Greek villagers treat these enemies? That is obvious.

After the news of the Battle of Delos spread throughout Greece, even some Greek city-states in the Thessaly Plain that had sent envoys to Persia and formed vassalage treaties began to tear up the treaty with Persia, killing or expelling Persian representatives and garrisons. Several city-states even formed an alliance and went south to "recapture" the Thermopylae Pass that had been captured by the Persians.

Xerxes and his vast army were now trapped.

In the legion, the old order, authority, hierarchy, and so on... have begun to crumble.

A hungry soldier will not consider things like "orders" and "authority". Not only soldiers, but anyone, if he is extremely hungry and thirsty, will undoubtedly give up all his needs for survival.

Xerxes still tried to reorganize his army. This arrogant "God-King" seemed to really believe that he possessed the power of gods. He "patrolled" the military camp with his glittering golden decorations and inhumanly tall physique, so that the tired and desperate soldiers could see their great Lord of the Kingdom of Gods, which would boost their morale, restore their strength, and continue to fight the Greeks to the end.

He even went to the front line to boost the morale of the frontline combat troops who were about to launch a desperate offensive, but this brought an unexpected twist to the war:

When Xerxes approached the front line, Al was accompanying Anna on a patrol of the city defenses, also to boost morale and strengthen prestige.

However, the difference is that Ai'er, the "Angel Highness" who has been fanatically worshipped by many Greeks, can play a much greater role than Xerxes, who claims to be the King of Gods.

The sharp sentinel reported the news to Al, who had been feeling a little regretful over the increased casualties in the past few days. He tried to use force to stop the attack.

Chapter 463

Duan's purpose of forcing the Persians into a desperate situation was, on the one hand, to completely defeat the Persians so that they could be better used by him, and on the other hand, to allow himself, the "angel", to have a greater sense of presence and gain more prestige.

Xerxes' appearance gave him an opportunity to speed up the end of the killing.

The M82A1, also known as the famous "Barrett", is the firearm with the longest range and greatest power in Al's inventory that he has practiced with.

The effective range is between 1500 meters and 2500 meters, and the theoretical maximum range can reach nearly seven kilometers.

The Persian siege camp was only three or four kilometers away from the Athenian walls, and the troops preparing to join the battle were even closer.

Al shook Ada over, and they both fired a shot at the same time. Al missed, and Ada hit, but not completely. Through the telescope, the bullet seemed to have hit Xerxes only below the thigh, to the side of the knee. The emperor's guards immediately took the emperor back to the rear for rescue. Before the battle began, their supreme leader had encountered such a major incident. Without a doubt, this almost completely destroyed the fighting spirit of the Persian army, which was already low.

That night, someone sneaked out of the military camp and surrendered to Athens, and informed the Greeks. Xerxes was seriously injured, but he still had some rationality. He also executed a military doctor who examined the emperor's injuries and said that one of his thighs might have to be cut off. He used methods provided by alchemists and wizards, using prayer rituals, incense and hallucinogens to relieve pain and seek comfort.

This made Al feel that the time was right, and he played another card of his:

Artemisia.

In reality, this femme fatale is even more outstanding, cool, and beautiful than Eva Green's appearance in the movie. Al has already discovered this characteristic. It seems that after coming from fantasy to reality, the characters in the plot will be different from his impression. Increased charm (conversely, the clown will become uglier) is a relatively common aspect.

Chapter 106: This is Sparta (V) (9)

After she was captured by Themistocles, she was immediately sent to Athens and to the side of the "Angel" Al. Artemisia, who had originally had suicidal tendencies, became obedient after knowing that she was a person specifically selected by an "angel". She did not try to escape or commit suicide. It seemed that she was waiting for an opportunity?

Al fell in love with her as soon as they met.

And this woman also took the initiative to stick to Al, intending to attack him, but Al did not act rashly. He just walked around the edge and took some appetizers - the price he paid was that the perceptive Ada noticed the scent of another woman on him that night and angrily kicked him off the bed.

This was Al's fault.

Even if the three of them were tied together, they couldn't satisfy the full-throttle El, so they couldn't stop El from expanding his harem.

Moreover, that would mean that Anna did not consider it, but Ada and Claire completely accepted their status as Al's "spouse". Although it was almost the same in reality, Sister Wang and Claire would still feel a little dissatisfied about it in their hearts.

However, because they have already understood the little man's temperament, considering both sides, they do not accept Al going out to have affairs, just as Al would never agree:

If a man is not physically able to satisfy his partner, he should let them go out for a picnic.

He may do it himself and admit his mistakes, but there are some things that can be done but not said.

In this ancient world, if you want to talk about problems, it is probably much cleaner than in later generations, but it does not prevent Ada and the others from being disgusted by this, so they negotiated with El, making concessions in some aspects and obeying this lustful glutton in exchange for the condition that El, at least in this world, needs to seek the consent of women before "cheating".

Al had performed well before.

Among the women sent by the Greeks, Al had only touched two. Both were widows whose husbands had just died. He couldn't even remember their faces, but he remembered that they had very tight bodies. It was when he had sex with Ada, Anna, and Claire all in succession, making them dizzy and unconscious, that Al took the opportunity to taste them. He hadn't even officially eaten Medea yet.

......

Al wanted to capture Artemisia not only to include this woman in his harem, but more importantly, he also hoped to take advantage of her influence in Persia.

It’s a pity that I can’t plant the spiritual seed in Artemisia yet, otherwise it would be the safest thing.

After reaching an agreement with the other party, he sent the woman and a group of her followers who were captured with her back to the Persian camp.

That night, Xerxes, agonized by his injuries, met his lieutenant and supporter. His mind, twisted and tortured, he didn't even consider the significance of Artemisia's presence, rumored to be dead or captured. He angrily denounced the female general for ruining his fleet (which she had indeed done) and ruining his hopes of victory. He called her a fool, a scheming woman, Greece, and a slave girl...

This obviously hurt Artemisia's heart deeply.

What Al said was indeed correct.

Besides, she knew Xerxes better than Al did.

So, with the support of the generals in the army who had long been dissatisfied with Xerxes, the emperor's loyalists were purged, and the emperor was placed under house arrest in the name of recuperation, with only some mute slaves to look after him. General Artemisia, who had "returned by chance", became the commander of the remaining 130,000 people.

As soon as she seized power, Artemisia decisively chose to send people to negotiate with the city of Athens and try to reach a ceasefire.

The emperor was seriously injured by the assassination.

Chapter 464

The Persian army, which had little desire to fight, could basically declare that its will to fight was completely gone. Just like the mutiny that spread during World War I, anyone who dared to continue the attack would definitely cause a mutiny.

However, the woman did not want to fully abide by the contract between her and Al.

After all, she had nothing at that time, but now, she at least has an "army of 130,000" again.

So under Al's order, the delegation was driven back without even entering the city of Athens. Al stood on the top of the city wall and watched coldly.

Artemisia refused to give up and relaxed the requirements to send a second negotiation team. This time she led the team herself, but unfortunately she was expelled before even entering the door. She could only watch El's ridicule and a humiliating gesture on the city wall.

That's what Al did to her that night.

Hinting to her not to forget the previous conditions.

116: Son of Athena, the one who replaced Zeus

What Al wanted was "the unconditional surrender of all Persian troops to him."

Note that it is addressed to him and not to the Greeks.

And Artemisia had to obey his orders and do things for him - in fact, making this woman his slave.

However, this was naturally not something Artemisia could accept right away. She would definitely try to negotiate after she took power, but Al did not give in. It would have been fine if Artemisia did not go back to seize power. After she went back, out of various thoughts such as self-preservation in front of the furious Xerxes or ambitious measures, she chose a coup to seize power, which essentially destroyed the last bit of fighting ability of the Persian army.

The emperor's authority is the greatest, without a doubt.

Even if they were devastated by the setbacks of war, most soldiers would think about how to survive rather than "rebel against this damn emperor."

Unless the emperor's orders directly conflict with their own interests.

Xerxes could barely command the Persian army with his own residual power, but what about Artemisia? She was a woman, and while that might have been fine before, now she was arguably the culprit that led the Persian army into this precarious situation. She had wrecked the Persian fleet at the Battle of Delos. If she weren't the backbone of the army, a force to be reckoned with, someone who could at least shoulder the responsibility would have been considered a "great relief" to have her chopped into pieces or forced into prostitution.

There are definitely people who agree, and absolutely no people who oppose.

It was impossible for her to release Xerxes again. When the little golden man came to power again, the first people he would kill would definitely be her and that gang of rebels.

In this situation, it was impossible for Artemisia to let the army obey her orders and launch an attack. If she did, the generals and soldiers would mutiny on the spot, and then they would capture this woman and deal with her in a very harsh way.

The only way out for her was negotiation.

This was the death trap that Al left for her, and also the advice that Sister Wang gave him. This ingenious arrangement made Al's "respect" for the latter even greater. He realized that Ada Wong was not only a good-looking and capable "vase", but in real life she was also an ace agent who had experienced many intrigues and conspiracies, and could escape from all kinds of dangerous situations. She also became a collaborator who could stand on equal footing with the BOSS and could jump back and forth without any problem, rather than an employee.

Of course, this "respect" only made Ada's "disdain" for him even deeper. When was the time when the little man showed the most "respect" to her?

Bed.

This is a hobby that Al continues to pursue despite being scolded and stopped many times.

Closer to home.

Artemisia had no choice but to curse someone madly in private and comply with the requests of her group of "supporters" and send a series of requests for peace talks to the "Greeks".

In order to ensure the status and personal safety of this woman, when she led her team to Athens for the second time to propose peace talks, Al personally met with the Persian female general, and the two sides had an open exchange. According to the script, Artemisia actively cooperated with Al's performance, and finally gave him enough prestige and reputation. However, the peace talks ended in failure. However, in order to show the sincerity of the Greek side, the city of Athens provided the Persian army with ten carts of pickled fish.

Then there were several more battles, and finally the Persian side's will was exhausted by hunger, thirst and despair, and fell to the bottom.

They surrendered unconditionally to "Greece" and laid down their arms. Al guaranteed their personal freedom and that they would not be massacred. However, in the next five years, they would "serve" and use work to make up for all the losses they had caused.

The "corpse" of Xerxes, who was punished by God, could be sent back to the empire for burial by a team of the most loyal royal guards, but as a punishment, his crown, scepter, and ornaments would be taken off and left in Athens as a commemoration of the war.

Xerxes was not yet dead at the time of the peace talks, but whether such conditions were listed or not, he would have been dead soon.

Artemisia would certainly not keep him any longer, and the same went for the generals who supported her in seizing power. As long as the emperor was alive, a sword would always hang over their heads.

Al benefited the most from this process.

The Persian army will nominally change its organization and become a huge "labor corps". The previous generals will be the foremen, and the person they serve is "Al", because it is Al who uses his authority to guarantee their personal safety.

For the Persians, this was more acceptable.

Because the Persians had no concept of an "angel" who actually exercised divine power and performed miracles.

Chapter 465

In people's cognition, El is a true God walking on earth, the embodiment of his personality.

Surrendering to a "god" is obviously more psychologically plausible than surrendering to the Greeks, who are also mortal enemies.

On the Greek side, Al used his influence to convince most people to accept this outcome. The Persians were willing to surrender to him and hoped to get his "guarantee." Apart from this, they did not trust other Greeks. The Athenians, who had suffered heavy casualties in the last few attacks, were also eager to end the war. They feared the kind of situation Al instructed his subordinates to describe:

Hundreds of thousands of Persians fought Athens to the death, regardless of everything. Even if they were all annihilated, the Greek side would have to pay the price of at least half of their people, which was absolutely unacceptable to Athens. Even if only one-tenth of them were Athenians, the loss of 5,000 people was something no senator could afford. The families who suffered "unnecessary casualties" because they refused this condition would break their spines.

As a result, both sides became Al's puppets, and he eventually held the greatest results of the war in his hands.

The Persian Legion now has a total of 110,000 combat-ready soldiers left, and the person they serve has changed.

Al divided them into hundreds of small teams, commanded by his loyal subordinates who had been planted with spiritual seeds by him, and asked them to do some civil engineering and repair work for the Greeks first, because food, water, tools and everything else were all in the hands of the Greeks. In addition, the most important thing was that Greece also had a huge navy, and there was basically no possibility for them to escape by force. So in the six months after the war, these prisoners behaved very honestly and had been doing things according to Al's orders.

Chapter 106: This is Sparta (V) (10)

In addition to this, Al was not idle either. He took advantage of the victory in the Greco-Persian War and the opportunity when all the Greek city-states gathered in Athens to hold a grand sports meeting and the "Pan-Hellenic Congress" to expand his influence. As the only "god" alive, he had the prestige of "winning" the Greco-Persian War, annihilating the enemy's navy, capturing more than 100,000 troops, and killing Xerxes I with divine punishment. Together with his three concubines and Artemisia, a woman with poor command ability but very smart in other aspects, he discussed and came up with a very long program. In the way that the oracle asked the Greeks to XXX, he put it forward as his own plan to the representatives of the city-states and asked them to obey the oracle.

First, Al used his extraordinary physical fitness and telekinesis to cheat at the sports meet, winning more than a dozen gold medals in a row, "astonishing the entire crowd." Then, he and the priests he had subjugated planned a grand "shaman dance" for himself, drawing everyone's worship. Then, he arrogantly announced his "true identity":

Son of Athena;

Athena's own son!

He is the goddess's biological son conceived by Athena herself, and also her male body!

That is the boy who is destined to replace Zeus and Metis, the goddess of wisdom!

117: Ambition

In Greek mythology, Zeus married Metis, the Oceanid and goddess of wisdom, who was also a Titan.

Later, because he was afraid that Metis would give birth to a son stronger than Zeus and replace him as predicted, he swallowed her when she was pregnant, just like his father Cronus did. Then when the delivery period came, Zeus had a splitting headache. The god of fire Hephaestus used an axe to split Zeus' head, and a goddess holding a spear and shield, armed with sharp weapons, jumped out. She was Athena.

Metis did not die at this point. The goddess of wisdom, who was ruthlessly devoured by her husband, has been in Zeus's mind ever since, and continues to use her wisdom to give Zeus advice...

Greek mythology does not have the Ragnarok of the Gods like in Norse mythology. The Age of the Gods by Zeus seems to be everlasting and everlasting. After all, in the curse of the sky god, their lineage will eventually taste the pain of being betrayed and replaced by their own sons. The prophecy states that Metis will give birth to a son who is stronger than her and will replace her. These two can be seen as overlapping.

Metis was eaten by him, and the daughter Athena was born instead of the son as predicted. So it seems that the prophecy was broken by Zeus, and he successfully found a bug...

From a secular perspective, this seems to illustrate the extraordinary status of Athena, the "dominant lady" and "great goddess" worshipped by the Cretans, and the changes in the age of the gods, as she was demoted by Zeus, lost her original status, and became his daughter...