Chapter 618
Gherni was shocked, but he said, "I'm a Samonai from Abenilum, north of Potentia."
The Sicilian emissaries around them, who were secretly listening to their conversation, memorized the words "Sammonet" and "Abenilum". They quietly pondered the significance of the appearance of this native of Italy, who had hardly appeared in Turii before, in the celebration of Hades.
While the two were chatting, the people entered the arena one after another. The circular arena was quickly filled, and the atmosphere in the arena became noisy and lively.
Senators began to appear one after another behind the rostrum.
"That's Lucius, the governor of Turií! I heard that he's been the chief general of Crotone many times … "
"This is Lord Cornelus, he's the most important senator in the Senate, and he's very friendly to the people! Look, he's greeting the audience around him! "
"Listen to the enthusiastic cheers of the audience. You don't need to look to know that this should be the Scepter Priest, Lord Plesinas, has arrived!"
"Look at that cold face. That's the Censor Sesta that scares the senators and officials, but the people of Diónia respect him!"
"Who is this? He's as fat as a pig. "
"Shh, don't talk nonsense! Don't look down on him. He's Merces, the finance minister that the King of Devers relies on. He controls the kingdom's purse. "
"Who is that? He doesn't look like a Greek. "
"He's indeed not a Greek. He's from Persia, Marigi, the minister of commerce of the Kingdom of Diónia. You heard the cheers of the audience, right? I heard that he contributed a lot to the prosperity of Turií, so the people of Turií are very grateful to him. "
"Who is this?"
The elder who came out of the passage did not wave to the audience, nor did he talk to the other elders. He just sat down, but the crowd cheered for him. His every move and the temperament he exuded made Gherni feel that he must have led an army to war.
As expected, Hekros said, "That's the hero of the Southern Italian War, Elder Hyros. He once led an army to conquer Rockley and its allies, and he has just become the military minister of Dionia … The elder that appeared behind him, don't be fooled by his ordinary appearance. Every one of us has benefited from him!"
"Oh, he is?"
"He is the Minister of Construction, Heraclide the Younger. He is responsible for the construction of the roads and stone bridges in Diónia."
"And who are those two? They don't look like Greeks. "
"Vespa and Hemont, of course, are not Greeks, but Lucanians. But they are also prominent elders in the Senate. Think about the size of Lucania in the territory of the Kingdom of Diónia … This one is not a Greek either, but he is equally prominent. He is the Senator of Cydorum from Bruti, the only senator who has served as the governor of Diónia. Behind him are Sarroux and Creelu … They are all senators from Bruti … "
Gherni listened to the introduction of Sekrops. He looked at the people behind the rostrum who looked different from the Greeks, and he suddenly felt a little touched.
When Sekrops introduced the senators of Diónia to Gherni, he gradually became confused. Although many senators of Diónia had appeared behind the rostrum, apart from the King of Devers, several important figures that the emissaries of Sicily were most familiar with had yet to show up.
Antonius, the hero who conquered the east coast of Sicily and served as the governor of Naxos for many years, was the one that Sekrops and the others had the most dealings with. As for Laodisian and Lessiperatus, these senators from Sicily used to entertain the emissaries of Sicily who were invited to Turií every year. But this year, they neither held a banquet nor showed up in the arena.
As far as Sekrops knew, Laodisian liked to be in the limelight the most. What happened? Sekrops had to think deeply.
At this moment. "Oh!!!" As if a gust of wind had blown through the arena, the entire arena became lively.
"Victory! His Majesty the Devers!!!"
"His Majesty the King is here!!!"
…
The cheers in the arena rose and fell one after another.
The King of Diónia, the Devers, wore a black and gold Bolton and a pomegranate crown made of gold. He smiled and waved to all sides, with the two beautiful consorts, Christos and Aegnis, on either side of him.
Gherni's eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed at a young man following closely behind the Devers and asked urgently, "Who is he?!"
"Hey, put your hand down, it's disrespectful to the King of Devers! Don't anger the audience! " Sekrops hurriedly pressed his hand down, and then said, "You're talking about the eldest son of the King of Devers, Crotocatax. Don't be fooled by his tall stature, he's actually not even 18 years old. He's still just a youth."
"Are you sure he's the eldest son of the King of Devers?!" Gherni asked again in disbelief.
"I take part in the Hades Festival every year, and Prince Cloto Catax has appeared many times. How could I be wrong?!" Sekrops was a little angry when he heard his doubts, and in order to show his understanding of the royal family of Diónia, he said, "The King of Devers has an adopted son called Adoris, and I heard that he's already gone to Dourney with the army. Cloto Catax is indeed the eldest son of the Devers. The beautiful girl beside him is the adopted daughter of the King, Cynthia. I heard that she's already 20 years old, and she's still unmarried. Because there are too many suitors, the King of Devers doesn't know who to choose, and that's why it's been delayed until now … "
Sekrops secretly told Gherni about this gossip, as if he was showing off that he was well-informed, "The girl holding Cynthia's arm is the eldest daughter of the King of Devers, Eunice. The boy talking to her is the second son of the King, Apox. The boy looking around is the third son of the King, Briantes. Oh! His youngest daughter is also here, Avia, the little girl held by Princess Aegnis. This is the first time she's appeared at the opening ceremony of a rugby match! You're in luck, this is the first time the King of Devers and his family have all appeared at a rugby match. No wonder the people of Diónia are so excited! "
Gherni did not seem to hear the Tyndarese's words, and stared blankly at the rostrum. He did not expect that the gentle, lovely, helpful Turií young man they were very grateful for two days ago was actually the noble Prince of Diónia. Could it be that the King of Devers values the Abenilum so much?! Thinking of this, Gherni became excited. Perhaps the purpose of coming to Turií for help this time could be achieved.
In fact, he was thinking too much. Crotocatax just happened to be at the mountain pass to welcome the team from the north on that day.
When he returned home, Cristoya was shocked to learn that her son had gone alone to interact with the rumored fierce Samonese for a long time.
But when the Devers found out, he praised his son for doing a good job, and said that as the Prince of Diónia with the bloodline of Pluto, he should have such courage and magnanimity! He also encouraged his son to continue to treat the Samonese well.
Because of this, the Devers and his wife had a rare little quarrel.
But at this moment, the Devers and his family were happy and harmonious. After everyone sat down, the Devers nodded to Lucias in front of the rostrum.
The Turií governor, Lucias, said, "Begin."
The trumpeters on both sides of the rostrum immediately raised their long bronze horns diagonally, and the sonorous sound of the horns resounded throughout the arena.
The teams from the cities and towns of Diónia began to enter the arena.
Eight priests in white robes first came in from the east entrance. They carried a wooden statue of Hades holding a rugby ball in his hand. Its image was similar to the bronze statue outside the arena, but it was smaller in size, and its surface was covered with gold foil. Under the illumination of the sun, the gold gleamed.
Following closely behind the eight solemn priests was the Turií team. They were led by a guide holding a wooden sign engraved with the word "Turií". As soon as they stepped onto the track outside the field, the audience on the sidelines cheered loudly. Since Turií was the center of the Kingdom of Diónia and the venue of the finals, of course, the Turií had the largest audience to watch the opening ceremony. Therefore, every year, the Turií team was at the forefront.
The Turií rugby players waved to the audience, and the audience cheered them on. The interaction on and off the field pushed the atmosphere in the arena to a climax.
However, the unfamiliar team that appeared next made the audience dumbfounded.
“abellu？！” The audience sitting closest to the track widened their eyes. When they saw the name of the town on the guide's wooden sign, they were still at a loss. What is this place?
It turned out that there was a rule in the order of entry for the opening ceremony of the Kingdom of Diónia rugby finals. Except for the first and last teams that had to be from Turií and another specific town, all the other participating teams, including the invited non-Diónia teams, entered the arena in alphabetical order according to the name of their town. This not only showed the principle of fairness and justice of Diónia regardless of closeness and distance, but also reduced conflicts and quarrels.
The team started with the letter "A" and naturally walked in front. But other than a very small number of spectators from the northern part of Lucania who had some understanding of this, the rest of the people knew nothing at all. But they, who watched the games all year round, still gave this unfamiliar team a ceremonial applause and cheers.
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