Telamon went out in a daze, and kept repeating what the priest had said, wanting to go back and see what it meant.

Next is Ajax, who asks the question if he will be better than Telamon in the future.

The priest replied, "The pony can run faster than the old horse and slower than the old horse." ”

That's probably what it means.

Peleus asked the same question as Telamon, but he asked his father, Aeacus.

When the black-robed priest received the oracle, he seemed to glance up at Peleus, and said, "It looks like a flourishing tree, but the trunk has been hollowed out. ”

The meaning was very clear, and Peleus's face changed instantly.

When it was Achilles' turn, he thought for a moment and asked, "Is that statue behind you pure gold?"

The priestess was stunned, and then nodded, "Of course." ”

Achilles was about to leave, but the priestess stopped him, "You don't need to ask the oracle for such a question, you can ask another one." ”

"That'...... What do the three sentences engraved on the stone tablet outside the temple mean?"

The black-robed priest shook his head, "That's three questions. ”

"Then I'll ask one of them. ”

"Which one?"

Achilles thought for a moment, "Just the first sentence, know yourself." ”

The priestess solemnly took a bay leaf into her mouth, and the laurel branch in her hand lightly touched the golden statue, repeating it three times before she spoke: "Recognize your strength and weakness, why should the crow compete with the eagle." ”

Achilles can fully understand the first half of the sentence, but what does the latter sentence mean?

Leaving the main hall with thoughts, the white-robed goddess official also left.

Only Thetis and the black-robed priestess were left in the main hall.

Thetis smiled and spoke first, "What's your name?" ”

The priestess bowed and replied respectfully, "Your Excellency Goddess, you may call me Pisia." ”

Thetis pointed to herself, "Do you know who I am?"

"The daughter of the ancient sea god Nereus, the goddess of the sea, Thetis. The priestess saluted respectfully again.

Thetis nodded, and it seemed that Pythia had seen it at the beginning.

"Goddess, is there anything you want to know?"

Thetis was silent for a moment, "I want to know the fate of my son. ”

Pisia was stunned for a moment, "Fate should be ...... by the three goddesses of fate."

"You don't have to hide it, what the three goddesses of fate can foresee, the god Apollo will not be much worse. Thetis said calmly.

Pisia explained seriously: "Goddess, the god Apollo may be able to glimpse the future, but strictly speaking, it is not fate. It's just that sometimes the future is the same as the corner he sees, so others mistakenly think that he sees fate. ”

Thetis was unmoved, "Even if it's just a corner, it's strikingly similar to the future, no matter what, please tell me." ”

"Since you insist, then let me ask for you. ”

Pisia took a bay leaf again, put it in her mouth, and gently waved the bay branch in her hand to communicate with Apollo in the heavenly realm.

After a while, Pisia stopped, and was about to speak, when Thetis spoke again.

"Don't fool me with plausible words, I just want to know the most precise answer. ”

Picia paused to think for a long time and said, "Ordinary and long life, or glorious and short death." ”

Thetis stood calmly, motionless.

The oracle had been delivered, but this time Pisia did not say anything to tell Thetis to leave immediately.

"I see. Thetis calmly turned away.

"Congratulations to the Goddess. Picia saluted again.

Leaving the temple, the group set off again, more or less with doubts.

When she had eaten in the evening, she immediately pestered Thetis to explain her doubts, after all, the gods could understand what the gods said.

"A hundred-year-old tree can grow, and the old river will not stop. This means that Endeis is in good health. ”

Telamon was overjoyed.

"A pony can run faster than an old horse and slower than an old horse. This means that although Ajax is talented, he still has to work hard. ”

Telamon immediately nodded yes, and said to Ajax: "Did you hear Ajax? In the future, you can't rely on your talent to waste your cultivation for a long time, in case you are not as good as my father, it will be too embarrassing." ”

"I see. Ajax nodded expressionlessly.

"It looks like a big tree, but the trunk has been hollowed out. Thetis looked at Peleus and comforted, "It may seem dangerous, but it's still thriving, isn't it? It takes a long time to go from lush to dry, so you don't have to worry too much." ”

Peleus nodded in agreement, but there was still some sadness lingering between his brows.

"Recognizing one's own strength and weakness, why should the crow compete with the eagle. Thetis frowned, "I don't understand this sentence a little, of course the crow is weak compared to the eagle, persuade the crow not to fight with the eagle, probably ......"

Thetis stopped suddenly, her face a little ugly.

Achilles was a little confused, so, "What is it? Mom?"

"Nothing. Theseis reluctantly answered, her face a little ugly.

I guess I want you not to kill yourself.

Comparing the priest's last oracle to her, she felt that Achilles' fate was simply dangerous.

The scene that Thetis had seen came back to her mind, the flames of war, the enemy, Achilles in golden armor, and the confused look in her eyes as she fell.

It seems that the trip to the Styx did not solve Achilles' crisis at all, and fate is not something she can easily change.

"What's wrong with you, Thetis?" asked Peleus, a little worried, he could sense that Thetis was in a bad state right now.

"I'm fine. Thetis shook her head, but her face was still pale and haggard.

"Let's go and rest. Seeing Thetis like this, Peleus immediately spoke.

Achilles returned to the tent as he had spoken, but his mind was still on the oracle.

"What does knowing yourself have to do with that?"

"Well, what did you say, Your Highness the Prince?" Phoenix, who came in after him, was stunned for a moment, he didn't hear clearly.

"Huh? It's okay, it's okay. Achilles shook his head, since he couldn't figure it out, he didn't think about it first, and it was important to sleep.

......

The scenery further south from Delphi is very different from the north, although spring has only just arrived, but everywhere is green grass and vibrant scenes, I think the goddess of spring is particularly fond of this place.

There were wide roads everywhere, even if four carriages ran side by side, and many city gates were paved with stone slabs for miles, and there were people coming and going everywhere.

Achilles' biggest feeling about the south is that there are many people and animals.

Especially after passing through the city of Thebes, the fields on both sides of the road were full of peasants ploughing, and flocks of white sheep on the verdant hillsides farther away were like cotton.

After all, the southern road is easier to follow than the north, and after only two days, the convoy entered the southernmost region of Attica, from where it is said that the sea is far south.

"Uncle Phoenix, aren't we going to Salamis Island, what are you doing in Attica?" asked Achilles, lying bored in the carriage.

After seven or eight days on the road from Thesalia, he still hadn't reached his destination, and he felt like he might be on the road for the rest of his life.

"Your Royal Highness, our convoy has to take a boat to go to Salamis Island, so we have to go to Athens first, and from there we have to take a boat to Salamis Island. ”

"Athens?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Don't you know? Athens is at the southernmost point of the Attica region. ”

Achilleston, a spirit, got up, but did not expect to go to Salamis and pass through Athens.

Athens is now the most prosperous city in the land of Achaia, and it is also the only holy city in the world that has been established by the main god of Mount Olympus, and its status is transcendent.

Wouldn't it be nice to go for a walk around Athens?

Thinking of this, Achilles immediately asked Phoenix, who was driving, "Uncle Phoenix, how long will we stay in Athens?"

"Your Highness, I don't know about that. Phoenix shook his head, it wasn't up to him to decide how long he could stay.

As he spoke, the carriage shook not too violently, and the sound of wheels running over the stone slabs came out clearly, and Achilles poked his head out to see a huge city standing in front of him.

"Uncle Phoenix, this is Athens, isn't it?" Achilles couldn't help but ask, even though it was almost certain.

"I guess so. Phoenix answered.

Although he had never been to Athens, there was no doubt that the city was almost as big as Athens.

As the convoy moved forward, Achilles barely managed to get a glimpse of the city.

The walls of Athens were very tall, made of blue-gray rock, about five meters high. Needless to say, Achilles couldn't tell how long it was, and at least several kilometers at a glance.

Although the walls are long, there are also many gates. There were twelve gates on the northern wall, and in front of each gate you could see countless caravans lining up to enter and exit.

At a casual glance, there are at least a few thousand people here, more than the total number of the Cessalia tribe.

Peleus's convoy picked up a small number of people at the city gate, and followed the caravan in front of them into the city, and there were two soldiers with spears at the gate of the city.

When it was their turn to enter the city, a soldier approached, and though the squires of Telamon were heavily armed and outnumbered, the soldier did not panic at all.

"Who are you?"

One of Telamon's attendants came out on horseback and took out a sheepskin from his body and showed it to the soldier, "We are soldiers from the island of Salamis, and we have come to Athens to borrow the way back to our homeland. ”