Douluo: The Adventures of King Skin

"Throughout the year, there are various regular games and sacrifices; in our homes, we have gorgeous and elegant equipment to entertain our minds every day and make us forget our worries."

——Pericles

When Pyrrhus entered the territory of Taurantia, time was already pressing. He hurried on without stopping and finally did not delay his adoptive father's wedding.

The Illyrians were a widespread people.

According to Greek mythology, Illyrios, the son of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, is their famous ancestor; according to later history, they are probably the ancestors of the South Slavs.

The Illyrian region to the south includes the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula on the Adriatic coast. From here to the lower reaches of the Po River in northern Italy and the location of later Venice, there are Illyrian tribes, city-states and kingdoms. They are influenced by Greek culture has more influence, but is still relatively backward;

The northernmost branch is a group of semi-nomadic tribes collectively known as Pannonians, occupying almost the entire grassland inside the Carpathian Mountains.

The part of the Illyrians close to Greece was relatively developed and had produced a very influential power decades ago.

A kingdom called Dardania arose, and King Bardelis unified the large area between Pannonia and Taurantia and became the commander-in-chief of the Illyrian League.

Under his leadership, the alliance defeated Molossia and Macedonia several times. Philip II's father, Aminstad III, was beaten to the point where he could not return home. He was restored to power only with the support of his old relative Jason of Philae. .

Later, when Baldelius grew old, he negotiated peace with the reigning Philip II and married his daughter Odatta to him.

-

This later gave birth to Alexander's eldest sister Cunane, a princess on horseback. After Alexander's death, she happened to be a widow, so she planned to marry her half-brother "The Idiot King" Aridaeus, but she was admired. The person who killed Ardicus and eventually married Ariddaus became her daughter, later Eurydice...

Far away.

The old king Bardelis married his daughter to Philip II. Philip II's wings were hardened, but he treacherously attacked his father-in-law. As a result, the old king died on the spot, the army suffered heavy losses, and the Illyrian Alliance also suffered. Falling apart.

The current ruler of Dardania is Bardelius II, the old king's grandson. He once participated in Alexander's expedition and later returned to his country to succeed to the throne.But the country's power has collapsed, and it can only be secretly crowned king under the noses of the Macedonians...

"Father! I'm back!"

"Ah! Pyrrhus!" Glaucias stood up and hugged his adopted son's arm tightly, tears streaming down his face.

The adoption of Pyrrhus against the pressure of Cassander was mainly for political purposes, but after more than ten years of getting along day and night, he had already regarded Pyrrhus as his own son.

Nowadays, people are old and soft-hearted. When they see their adopted son return after a long absence, they can't help but burst into tears in public.

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back." The old man wiped away his tears and introduced Pyrrhus with a smile: "This is my bride, the princess of Dalmatia."

Dalmatia is on the northern coast and is considered a peripheral tribe of Illyria. Now it has a nominal commander, and it is not an exaggeration to call the commander's daughter a princess.

But Pyrrhus saw that the bride seemed a little older than her adoptive father.

Your political marriage is too pure.

The two greeted each other politely.

Glaucias said: "The wedding will start in a while. I am still busy here. You should go and accompany your mother first. She has missed you very much for such a long time. She cried continuously when something happened in Epirus. For several days.”

Pyrrhus nodded and then left.

"Pippi!"

Beloya was sitting in the side hall weeping secretly. She couldn't believe it when she saw Pyrrhus coming.

Then he ran all the way, held his adopted son in his arms, and cried loudly.

"I can't live anymore now... I didn't expect to see you before I went to Hades!"

"..."

How could it be that exaggerated!

Glaucias has already taken in many young and beautiful concubines, but the bride is nearly 20 years older than Beloya. The adoptive mother is even jealous...

The adoptive mother cried so hard that Pyrrhus couldn't laugh or cry, so he could only slap his adoptive mother on the back as if coaxing a child.

"How are Fotiya and the kids?"

Belloya cried for a while, wiped her tears and began to ask about her grandmother's current situation.The two have been good friends for many years, but due to the recent war, the correspondence has been discontinued for a long time.

Pyrrhus replied that everything was fine, and then the adoptive mother began to ask about Pyrrhus's marital status.

"How did Fotiya become a mother? Her son is so old and she hasn't arranged for you to get married?"

Pilos suddenly felt bad and quickly explained:

"This... is actually engaged to the princess of the Antigonus family, but she is not yet of marriageable age..."

"How can one be enough!" Belloya said dissatisfied.

How many more are there?

"You are from Epirus and you are the king, so you must have...five, right?"

"..."

Belloya has already entered the marriage urging mode, "In this way, you listen to the nanny, and the nanny will find you another princess from Dardania, who is just a little younger than that Strattonis. If you marry, you will be the last to enter the family, so you won't be Offending the Antigonus family..."

Stratonis is only over ten years old, how much younger does she have to be?

"Isn't it a bit..."

"It's late! You don't know that the whole of Illyria is rushing for marriage now, and your eldest and second brothers have gone out to pick up the bride! This Bilkenna was originally going to be left to Silas..."

Glaucias had three sons, but he did not see the two older ones when he came back this time. Only Silas, who was about the same age as him, was there. Pyrrhus was still wondering why his son was not there when his father was getting married.

It turns out that they all went out to get married.

The two eldest of these three sons were born to Glaucias's ex-wife, and only Silas was Beloya's only biological son.

Pyrrhus was even more uneasy when he heard that Brother Milk's marriage partner was going to be given to him, and he immediately refused.

"Stop thinking nonsense. People in Dardania are more particular than Taurantians. They don't want to get married because they think they are too close by blood. This is your turn. Don't be ungrateful. The wet nurse also sees you doing great things. Help you match..." Belloya scolded unceremoniously.

Pyrrhus could only accept it with a smile.

Of course, the wedding was a lively one. Glaucias was a king after all, and the guests invited included almost all the prominent forces in Illyria and the surrounding areas. Even Lei, who was further inland than the Venetians in Italy, Everyone is here.

During the dinner, Glaucias introduced his adopted son to all the guests.

Thanks to the prosperity of the newspaper industry brought about by "Bright Eyes Times", news delivery in the Eastern Mediterranean is now unusually fast.The name of Pyrrhus' "Condor" is also well-known in Illyria.

So Pyrrhus gained another wave of connections...

But besides the feast, he couldn't help but wonder, how could the Illyrian states, which had always been fighting openly and secretly, sit together and drink together so happily?Is the adoptive father's reputation so great?

…………

…………

After the guests had had their fill of wine and food, they all left. The bride... was getting older after all, so Glaucias arranged for her to go back to the house to rest.

In the dim light, the adoptive father, adoptive mother and adoptive brother Silas sat in the hall with Pyrrhus. This was the moment for the family to reunite.

Pyrrhus told them about his experiences over the years.

Glaucias also began to ramble on about his current situation.

After the decline of Dardania, Taurantia also gradually emerged under the leadership of Glaucias, absorbing many surrounding small tribes, and was about to become the leader of the new generation of Illyria, but what followed soon , that is, the beatings of Philip, Alexander, Antipater, and Cassander...

He spent half his life as a soldier but could not break the situation. Now that he is getting older, he has begun to think about taking over.

Of course the eldest son wanted to inherit Taurantia, but the second son also found a good match in a hurry. The other party was the big oligarch of the Apollonia city-state, but he had no children, so he was waiting for his son-in-law to inherit the inheritance...

"Now there are no arrangements for Silas. I hope you will take this incompetent brother with you when you go back this time. Even if you can't become famous, following you to see the world will be a life worth living."

Silas also looked at Pyrrhus with eagerness. He heard that Brother Milk was doing great things in Greece. How could he just sit in Taurantia and eat old rice?

Of course Pyrrhus wanted it.

What he lacks now is manpower. Silas will definitely not be alone when he comes. He also has his own friends.

Then he remembered his previous doubts, why are all the Illyrians busy with marriages now, and even Dardania has reconciled with Taurantia.

You must know that Taurantia has risen, and Dardania also wants to revive. In order to compete for Illyria's right to speak, the two families have almost fought in the past two years.

"Hmph! What a fart! The Illyrians are running out of food! The Pannonians are about to go south to rob! Why do you think he married that old Dalmatian woman? She's not just someone's wheat. !”

Belloya didn't save any face for her husband.

"Alas -" Glaucias didn't care and just sighed, "Illyria can no longer support such a large population, and the Gauls are coming too!"