Chapter 1115
At that moment, a familiar bell rang from the northwest. It rang nine times in a row, followed by another nine rings after a short interval.
The spectators at the side of the square turned their heads to the north and were pleasantly surprised to see a huge golden statue standing on the hill of the gods. It was incomparably dazzling under the sunlight.
"Oh! That's … the statue of Hades! "
"The rumor is true. The kingdom has really built a statue of Hades that is comparable to the Statue of Athens in Athens!"
…
Even though the sunlight reflected off the statue was so dazzling, the people still opened their eyes wide and focused their reverent gazes on the hill. Their faces were filled with excitement and fanaticism.
Soon, they discovered that not only did the statue bring them joy, but the newly rebuilt temple in front of them was just as delightful. Not only was it taller, wider, and more magnificent than before, but the triangular fascia painted on the top of the temple was more colorful and colorful. It was even sparkling like the stars in the sky. (In fact, it was a pioneering work of the craftsmen. They crushed the stained glass made from sea sand and mixed it with the paint to create the effect under the sunlight.)
The Greeks had always believed that the temple was the home of the gods. The place where the gods lived must be a magnificent building, and the rebuilt temple on the top of the hill was undoubtedly in line with their extreme imagination.
Thus, under the command and guidance of the patrol team, the citizens impatiently turned into streams of people and surged towards the Hill of Heavenly Gods.
The closer they got to the hill, the more they felt the majesty and size of the statue. However, it did not give off an oppressive feeling. On the contrary, it lowered its head, which made it easy for the people to see its face. The benevolence and compassion it showed made the people want to get closer to it.
Not long after, the entire hill was completely surrounded by people, except for the area around the temple at the top of the hill. The people crowded around the perimeter formed by the palace guards. People piled on top of each other, back to back, tiptoed, widened their eyes, and focused their attention on the temple and the giant statue.
Some observant people also found the biggest difference between the appearance of the new temple and the other Greek temples: there were many small square windows on the stone wall under the triangular ornament on the roof of the temple, and there was a sculpture in each small window, which looked very strange.
However, the people who were standing in the distance and could not see clearly did not know that these were not ordinary sculptures. They were not only the main Greek gods such as Zeus, Hera, and Apollo. There were also the statues of the goddess Amara of the Bruttians, the god Vosani of the Samonians, the statues of Jupiter and Diana of the Romans, and other gods that were revered by the other races in the kingdom. The statues of these gods were erected on the stone walls, surrounding the statue of Hades in the temple, like stars surrounding the moon. The meaning of this was self-evident.
Dyvers was standing in front of the temple with a solemn expression. Beside him was the scepter priest Plaesinas, who was wearing a pure white robe. Behind him were dozens of priests and saintesses of Hades, who were also wearing white robes.
Pryinas coughed softly and slowly took two steps forward with the help of his cane. As he spoke, the priests also spoke in the same language. Unlike the ordinary voice transmitters, they could speak in a uniform tone and the same emotions, thus producing an amplified resonance. Therefore, although no one shouted hysterically, they could send the words of Pryinas to the ears of every person on the hill like a gentle breeze and drizzle.
"Citizens of Diónia, believers of Hades, today is a day worthy of celebration! We have rebuilt the golden body for the great Hades and rebuilt his residence so that he can live more comfortably in the temple and better protect us!
Before the establishment of Diónia, the contributions that Hades had made to the Greek people had been buried. Not only did no one praise his achievements, but they also feared and distanced themselves from him. Until his descendants, the Devers, appeared and built a powerful kingdom in just 20 years. They worshipped Hades as the kingdom's patron god. Not only did they make hundreds of people become believers of this great god, but they also made the justice, strictness, dedication, and sacrifice that Hades had been fighting for become the ideals followed by the entire kingdom's people.
This made Hades very happy. In order to thank his descendants for the great deeds they had done for him, he passed down an oracle and allowed the King, the Devers, to use his name. As long as the Devers and their descendants continue to worship him and continue to perform their duties on the earth, then he will always protect this family. Anyone who attempts to maliciously invade will be cursed by him forever! "
At this point, Pryinas looked back at the Devers, bent down, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Holy Hades King, please put on your crown and accept the congratulations of the believers!"
The Devers solemnly took the delicate wooden crown made of ebony and fern from the black tray and slowly put it on their heads.
The surrounding people once again burst into cheers like a tsunami, "Long live the King, the Devers!"
"Long live the King, the Devers!"
… …
Ever since they landed in Greece, seized Turií, established Diónia, defeated Crotone, ousted Syracuse from the throne of hegemony, reduced Carthage to an ordinary city-state, and established the most powerful kingdom in the history of the Western Mediterranean, the Devers' prestige in the kingdom had reached its peak. Moreover, without Cunogorata, Cornelus, and the others holding them back, not a single elder objected to the important decision of this celebration. This allowed the Devers to easily shroud themselves and their families with a layer of divine light.
… …..
It was a sunny morning. Maximus was strolling on the streets of the military camp.
Rather than calling it a military camp, the soldiers preferred to call it a military city. Compared to the nearby Etrurian towns, it was more like a city. The entire camp was square, with a radius of one mile, surrounded by a five-meter-tall wall made of thick, square bricks. There were also ten-meter-tall towers built every fifty meters on the wall. The ground of the entire city was completely paved with hard stone slabs. This avoided the puddles and muddy ground caused by rain and snow. It also gave the soldiers a sense of security when they walked on the flat and hard road. In this camp made entirely of stone, they could defend against any powerful enemy.
The reason Maximus was here was because after he joined the intelligence department of Diónia last year, he received a new appointment while he was still undergoing training. He was asked to apply as a free citizen to join the mercenary corps that was being formed to head to the border of Etruria. After successfully joining, he had to constantly monitor the corps and report information about it as well as the situation of the enemies around it.
In the beginning, Maximus resisted the order psychologically because he did not want to be far away from his wife and son. He even purposely performed poorly during the interview, hoping to not be selected. However, there were not many free citizens who were literate in the first place, and Maximus was able to write fluent essays in the Dionic language. He was also able to count, and he was a rare talent in the new army. He was recruited on the spot, and was immediately given the position of a statistician in the supply camp.
Just like that, Maximus became a member of the Etrurian border corps. After that, he was gathered together with all the recruited free citizens in the Turií military camp and trained for three months.
It was a grueling three months as though it was hell. In order to allow these rookies who lacked military training and had not even participated in battles to become qualified Diónia soldiers as soon as possible, the Ministry of Military Affairs sent out a large number of military trainers to train them with high intensity. Furthermore, logisticians like Maximus had to participate as well. There was a good reason for this. The logisticians of the various corps of Diónia had to participate in battles as support soldiers during critical moments of battle, and the border corps was no exception. However, without military skills and familiarity with Diónia's military tactics, how could these logisticians cooperate in battles? That was why they had to train together.
Fortunately, the intensity of the logisticians' training was not as high as that of the corps' soldiers. Moreover, high-intensity training meant that there was sufficient food supply. Therefore, Maximus would follow the logisticians of the corps from time to time to purchase food in the city of Turií.
During this period, Maximus's ability to manage money and bargain with merchants was displayed, attracting the attention of the higher-ups of the corps. By the end of the three-month training, Maximus had been promoted to the chief procurement officer. This was the third most important military position in the corps' supply camp, second only to the supply officer and the guard officer.
Not long after, more than 8,000 soldiers of the border corps had entered Etruria's borders.
By then, after many rounds of discussions between the kingdom and the Etrurian Alliance, the division of land for Diónia had been agreed upon. The location of the barracks had also been determined. Through the combined efforts of the engineers sent by the Ministry of Military Affairs and the laborers provided by the various Etrurian city-states, the general outline of the barracks had been formed.
Maximus followed the corps' headquarters to the barracks not far from Florentia, a city-state in the north of Etruria. Then, the soldiers had to use the construction skills that they had just learned and were still rusty with to complete the barracks.
In the arduous process of building the barracks, the recruits would further learn to obey orders, bear hardships, and cooperate with each other. They would completely get rid of the sloppiness of being free citizens and gradually become soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia.
Similarly, in the process of building the barracks, Maximus's ability to organize and coordinate was fully displayed. Therefore, a few months later, the legion's supply officer was transferred back to the Ministry of Military Affairs. Then, the Legion Commander directly ordered that Maximus would temporarily take over the role of the supply officer.
Comments