I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Chapter 67. man from the east (2)

“Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm…”

Humming a strange tune that I do not know, Anchises pulls the pommel at the end of the handle with force.

And, oop.

When the pommel was pulled out like a stopper with a cute sound, Anchises whistled happily and took out the contents.

From nob le mt l. co m

Long wooden sticks fell from within, and there were ciphertexts written on them.

Still humming, Anchises put the wooden sticks together in rough order. Then comes a readable sentence.

“Whoa… Dolon is up to something funny.”

“Is there any mention of armaments?”

“doesn’t exist. Fortunately, I don’t think we’re planning an armed uprising yet.”

Priam breathed a sigh of relief, and so did I.

Of course, the Dolon I saw was not someone who would start a civil war that would threaten Troy’s existence… but no one knows how people will behave.

Dolon’s top priority is to secure the city of Troy and avoid war with the Hittites.

In addition, the vengeance against Achaia must also be shining.

Once the goal of safety can never be achieved.

Of course it’s because of me.

Surprisingly, many people, including Dolon, know about the prophecy that I will bring destruction on Troy, but…

No one knows exactly ‘how’ destruction will come.

Except for the people gathered here, they do not know that I have hated the goddesses Hera and Athena, who have enormous power.

Revenge there?

…to Achaia where Achilles is?

It’s hard to say that it’s a creative suicide method. This is because it is an option that prominent figures such as Adolf Hitler and Toyotomi Hideyoshi have already tried.

Anyway, unless I’m developing wooden mines that will target Achilles’ heel like a ghost, I’m not willing to take that risk.

furthermore···

‘Because the Hittites will perish in a little while.’

“Once, the main points of their strength have been identified. Let me recite them one by one, lord. First of all, of course, there is Dolon’s mansion. Other than that, they seem to be building friendships by holding periodic hunting parties.”

“Cousin, isn’t that where we all expected it?”

“But you wouldn’t have known this.”

Anchises took out a wooden block from one of these letters and handed it to me and Priam.

And Anchises smiled, squinting at me in particular.

“Lastly, there is a place where they hold regular worship services and strengthen their power. It is a space that gathers people and naturally inserts them into forces in the name of praying together in a temple appropriately by recruiting a priest.”

Anchises laughed as he pointed to a section of the wooden block I was holding.

“It is the Temple of Hephaestus.”

***

With a population of about 30,000, Troia may be a huge city by the standards of this era, but it is a number that cannot be treated as a city according to the Korean administrative system. At this scale, it is possible for citizens to run society through direct democracy.

That is why kings in Greek mythology are so often expelled.

As long as there is the will of the citizens, the royal authority can collapse and be shaken at any time. It would be convenient to think of it as changing one district council member anyway.

In other words, the most important thing is the will of citizens.

– “Guys, did you hear? The news about Antandros.”

– “…don’t act like someone you heard about for the first time yesterday. Where are the people who don’t know these days?”

-“Ah, yes, yes, Prince Faris is a man who piled up iron ingots like a mountain in Antandros, and the blacksmiths are also holding tight. Anything else other than that?”

Once information about Antandros was widely spread to the general public.

No wonder. In a society where all citizens are neighbors, if you cross one or two legs, it will spread widely in a week which aristocrat has what venereal disease. Would it be foolish if someone fanned and spread the information?

What we need to pay attention to here is the direction that extends from the information.

-“If we get our hands on that steel… the profit will be enormous.”

-“Is that all, the price of importing tin from far away might be much cheaper.”

-“I heard that in Antandros, the fields are plowed with steel. Have you ever seen the scale of the farmland?”

This is clearly the hope that Priam planted and spread by the knapsacks.

– “Ha, but, let’s talk about it. Will the Hittites stand still?”

-“okay. Didn’t they lose their copper mines to Assyria anyway? If there is enough steel to replace bronze, it is certain that they will light up their eyes and attack.”

-“It’s a war… can we win?”

This is… perhaps the fear that Dolon’s puppets are spreading.

Why is the former obvious and the latter ‘probably’?

The citizens of Troy are too wise to have hope in this situation, and smart enough to feel fear.

Certainly the hundreds of chariots that the Hittites will bring are much clearer than the unknown glory of the future.

Priam has no choice but to be pushed back in the public opinion war.

It’s not just because public opinion is unfavorable. He had as many things to worry about as the number of affairs Zeus had.

Above all, the Hittite envoys have arrived. As Anchises and Hector put their efforts into serving the guests, they have no choice but to face the enemy with their limbs tied.

Therefore, I will be the one who moves as the king’s chess piece.

I should have known Dolon.

His purpose and the plan he had devised to get there.

I took a piece of cloth out of my pocket. In a paperless world, the only means of recording are filthy expensive papyrus, clay tablets, and scraps of cloth.

There was a letter written in Korean. This is the translation of the bar I picked up in the forest.

‘I agree to the plan. I will support you. Move public opinion.’

The nutritional value of these three sentences was not as great as expected.

The fact that Pitana agrees with Dolon’s plan and supports him is a fact that can be seen from the fact that she left a secret letter. If you want to do something, of course you have to mobilize public opinion.

What matters is ‘how’.

We need to open Dolon’s head.

for him,

“Paris, the priest standing over there is Dareth. A key personnel accident on Dolon’s side.”

“good. Theo is waiting outside.”

“…”

“It will be safe, so stay out.”

You should open up to the people around you first.

***

The temple of Hephaestus was… surprisingly more modest than that of Antandrus. It must be because I spent a lot of money on the temple of Hephaestus whenever I had money.

Still, there was a sense of reverence in this space that made up for the splendor. People calmly bow to the statue of Hephaestus in silence.

I tossed an iron coin into the box while smelling the incense burning on the altar for a moment.

-widely.

Then, a wrinkled hand grabbed the iron coin.

“Hello, Paris. Is this the iron of the famous Antandros?”

“Dares. As worshipers of the same god, it is an honor to meet you.”

The priest bowed his head respectfully and whispered to me.

“For a moment, could you move to another room in the temple?”

I stopped talking for a while.

“There is a meeting for Hephaestus-nim.”

yes, this is it

I went down the winding hallway and entered an equally quiet room. Men and women in clean and simple clothes were each praising Hephaestus.

What a pleasure it would be to offer that steel to our great motherland, the Hittites.

Antandros may become the center of the empire, replacing Hattusha as the royal capital of a greater world!

In the meantime, let’s crush our enemies, the Achaeans, too!

It didn’t sound the same. No wonder. If it was a meeting place like that, the priest wouldn’t have called me to this place.

They just build friendships with each other, have conversations, and then see the effect of being tied to a political group before they know it. It is the same reason why tennis meetings and early football clubs often become venues for competition among political parties.

In any case, he laughed quietly, as if it was a scene that even a priest was satisfied with. I hear someone whispering with a believer next to me.

“It is not false to say that the steel of Antandros benefits us. Also, worrying about provoking the Hittites is not unfounded.

Rather think of the great hope we have when both are right! What great feats our citizens can accomplish!”

“Because Troy became part of the Hittites?”

“Is that bad? We will be able to share the blessings of Antandros with those who know how to handle steel and gain their knowledge of metallurgy.”

“···no.”

I’m sure you heard something from Dolon.

Something… I feel a sense of incongruity.

In the midst of silence, our two signs resonate too loudly. We go into another room and start a conversation over drinks and fruit.

“The gods must have led Paris to this place. It is an honor to meet Paris as a servant of the Blacksmith of Olympus.

From nob le mt l. co m

Lord of Antandros, who fashioned steel from the earth.”

The priest’s eyes shine.

Even after that, I was able to feel it while talking about this and that… but this person is not hostile to me. no, friendly

As if floating, I ask a few questions.

“You seem to have a strong sense of loyalty to the Hittites.”

“Your mother’s ancestors are from Hattusha. Seeing the destruction of Hattusha, your maternal grandfather gouged out your eyes. And my mother led her family and flowed west and west and came all the way here.

Many believers want to be with the Hittites, but I’m a little different. Of course, I love my mother’s country, but it is a land of suffering. It smells bloody.”

The sense of difference that I had been feeling from before is gradually becoming clearer.

again.

“What do you think of Achaia?”

“Oh, I don’t even want to do business. Those savages say to live by themselves.”

“Are you not angry?”

“well. My father wasn’t a native of Troy either…”

There is no bloody revenge against Achaia, which Dolon had.

Apparently, Theo said that Lee was Dolon’s closest aide.

“We followers only adore the prince’s brilliant achievements.”

Even the most basic goals are not shared with Dolon.

Yes.

‘Dolon’s forces do not have a proper focal point.’

I guess Dolon’s circumstances.

Dolon had Troia, his hometown, to protect, and Achaia, like an enemy, to be torn apart.

However, Priam is not friendly to Achaia, but oddly confronts the Hittites. I would have thought that it would be difficult to see a proper revenge in my lifetime.

Didn’t the Trojans just a generation ago pay the price for the great depravity of the royal family?

It must have been easy to gather anti-royalty forces. Thanks to the former king’s splendid reign. People with patriotism for the Hittites could have been summoned. Because of dissatisfaction with the mighty kingship of the Hyeonwang.

However, the problem is that Troy’s royal authority was too strong.

In that situation, the eldest son of outstanding personality named Hector was produced.

Now that he’s crowned king, Dolon’s anti-Achaeian policy stance is truly a delusion.

The symbol is this priest.

“Priams is also continuing his wonderful reign, but the feat Paris has accomplished in Antandros… I am speechless.”

He is kind to the Hittites, but he is not so hostile to the royal family, and wants to avoid war. Acaia doesn’t care whatsoever.

Dolon’s faction is a group of people gathered together for rough numbers.

It’s anti-royalty, it’s pro-Hittite, it just seems like my friends support Dolon, so I support it…

I appeared in the midst of that situation.

The hope of shattering Hector’s succession to the throne, or at least sabotaging it, giving the anti-royalists a breath of fresh air.

Dolon must have prepared to capture me in a hurry.

By the way… Priam told me to, so I quietly return to Antandros?

Can not be done. How did you get your chance!

I tried to contact me by borrowing the power of the ‘sea’ with the feeling of grabbing at least a straw, but to my surprise, I managed to break through all of them and arrive at my destination, leaving behind only a tremendous story.

In addition, the news that was heard gradually said that the citizens of Antandros welcomed the king with both hands, rather than being reluctant to the king who was a slave.

It was only then that Dolon must have realized.

Why did a man with such prowess and talent return to Antandros without developing ambitions in the capital?

Isn’t it because you don’t know the power in your hands!

All Dolon had to do, then, was to instill hope and a little courage in such a hero.

By luck I returned from Antandros to Troy. Now was the opportunity. Dolon, not wanting to miss his chance, hurriedly called me…

I declined his offer.

“Paris?”

“Ah, ah… How far have we been talking?”

“We’ve been talking about the cold weather lately.”

“I’m sorry. It was the first time I saw such a splendid statue. Aren’t I a country person?”

Priests easily show me the scene of their empowerment. even try to convince me

…Actually, it must be said that there is nothing secretly decorated within the faction. Dolon, with its own purpose, couldn’t plan much.

“All of our followers respect Paris. They talk about how great it would have been if Paris had been the one who would be king.”

“is it?”

“I am one of those people who talk like that.”

“Thank you, but the next king of this country is Hector.”

This priest’s main work also ends at the level of loosely uniting people.

That alone… is definitely not enough.

Politics is not an internet news comment window. Nothing changes even if passive supporters press ‘Like’ and go.

We need an opportunity to get them to actually take to the streets and threaten the king and the opposition.

It is necessary to catch the weakness of the royal family or to raise issues related to Antandros.

And, both of them have a clear target to target.

As a loosely cohesive group, the strategies available to them are limited.

“Paris?”

grow.

Soon there may be an open attack on me.

Before the Emissary leaves, so that Dolon can utilize the Emissary.

“I stopped by today to offer a simple tribute to Hephaestus, so I won’t be able to stay long.”

“Oh, would you like to leave now?”

“okay. see you next time.”

I left the temple Theo sees my firm expression, nods, and walks after me.

I got a rough feeling. What do they move for, what are their weaknesses, and what should I do.

I must be ready for an attack.

Antandros is my city. can’t give it to anyone