The Palace of Troy
It was late autumn, and the rain was continuous. Sometimes it was heavy, sometimes it was misty, splashing onto the steps. King Priam sat on the marble throne, while the princes and elders stood on both sides. Pei Zi Yun and Helen were also among them.
At this moment, the hall was filled with people discussing. Some supported handing Helen over, some opposed, and some were neutral, neither supporting nor opposing.
These people expressed their own opinions, and all of them sounded very reasonable.
"We must hand Helen over, or else God will destroy us." Elder Anteno, who was known for his wisdom, didn't care about Paris's presence anymore and said loudly.
When Prince Ephobus heard Elder Anteno's words, he immediately stood up, his face full of excitement. Ever since Paris became the prince, he hadn't had a good day. Now that he finally had a chance to overthrow Paris, how could he miss it?
Thus, he hurriedly said, "Father, you've seen it now. Paris easily put Troy in danger. He doesn't have any qualities that a prince should have. He grew up in Mount Ida and has no upbringing. How can such a person be a prince?"
As he said this, Ephobus glanced at Helen and was immediately attracted by her. He originally wanted to say "hand Helen over", but instead, he said, "Father, regardless of whether you hand Helen over or not, Paris has brought disaster to Troy. He should be punished. Strip him of his prince title and hand him over to the Greeks."
"Hand him over to the Greeks?"
The first few sentences were reasonable, but this was too much. Everyone looked at Ephobus strangely. Handing Paris over to the Greeks was equivalent to betraying one's own brother.
Everyone looked down on those who betrayed their own brother. Ephobus' words were no different from digging his own grave.
Faced with everyone's gaze, especially his father's, Ephobus' face turned pale. He then realized that he had said the wrong thing.
Ephobus was also confused because of his concern. He wanted to overthrow Paris as soon as possible. Everything that had to do with Paris was very impulsive. In the eyes of outsiders, his brain was not working well when it came to Paris.
Actually, before Paris returned to Troy, Prince Ephobus was recognized as the second prince. He had enough intelligence, but now, everyone didn't seem to think so.
Helen's face turned pale and her body trembled as she listened to Prince Iphobus. She was afraid that everyone would listen to Prince Iphobus and hand her over.
When Pei Zi Yun saw the look on Helen's face, he hurriedly patted her on the back of her hand and whispered, "Don't be afraid. Continue watching, everything will be fine."
It was impossible for King Priam to give up on him, and he still had a lot of preparations.
As expected, Troilus jumped out and shouted, "Hey, Ephobus, I didn't expect you to say something like this. You're betraying your own brother. Are you still our brother?"
Troilus did not hold back when he spoke, and his words left Ephobus speechless. Only then did he realize that once his reputation spread, those who were still attached to him would probably fall apart. Who would believe a guy who betrayed his brother?
"What's more, what Paris's brother did was only what Hercules had done in the past. He did it to the Greeks, and it was a reasonable revenge."
"Hercules, Peleus, Teramon, and Achilles could destroy Troy and steal our princess, Hesione. We can also steal their queen, Helen, and even destroy Sparta and Mykenia."
The more Troilus spoke, the more agitated he became. It was as if the destruction of Sparta was right in front of him, and he was the hero who represented Troy to take revenge on the Greeks and destroy the Greek cities.
"This is the arrangement of God." An elder of Troy stood up and said, trembling.
"Yes, and Prince Paris mentioned this possibility before he left. We agreed then, so this responsibility is not on Prince Paris. If he really brought back a girl from Greece, then we will bear this responsibility together. " Another elder from the radical faction shouted, "If the Greeks want to fight, then let's fight. The Trojans have never been afraid of war. This time, we will let the arrogant Greeks taste the taste of defeat."
"Sigh, I think we, the Trojans, are temporarily not a match for the Greek army. It is not suitable for us to face them head on." An old and wise elder said.
"What do you mean we are not a match for the Greeks? We haven't even fought yet, who knows if we are a match for them?" The elder immediately retorted.
Immediately, an intense argument broke out in the palace.
"Enough." King Priam shouted and stopped the argument in time. If they continued arguing like this, not only would they not reach a good conclusion, but it would also cause internal conflict.
King Priam turned his face and said to Hector, who was standing silently, "Hector, what do you think?"
"This is not Paris's responsibility. Everyone already knew about the oracle. Paris will bring back a girl from Greece, and this girl will bring war to Troy. However, everyone still agreed to let Paris go. Now that he has successfully returned, it is not appropriate to push the responsibility to him. " It was rare for Hector to speak so much, and his point was very clear. This matter was not Paris's responsibility.
"Since the Greeks want war, we will fulfill their wish. But before that, we still have to deal with the Greek envoy and try to resolve this peacefully. This will also buy time for our war."
"You are right. Let's do this. Next, we should strive for a peaceful resolution, and at the same time, be fully prepared for war," King Priam said.
When Helen heard King Priam's words, she had mixed feelings. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, she did not have to worry that everyone would hand her over.
"Next, Paris, you will be in charge of dealing with the Greek envoy. Try to resolve this peacefully. If it is not possible, delay them and buy time for us to prepare." King Priam gave his first order.
"Yes, father." Pei Zi Yun accepted the order.
"Hector, you will be in charge of the training of the Trojan soldiers. All weapons and armor must be prepared. I hope that the Greeks will see a strong Trojan army, not mercenaries." King Priam gave his second order.
"Yes, father." Hector replied.
"Yes, Iphobus."
"Yes." When Iphobus heard the king call his name, he was very happy. He was still very valued by his father. If it was not for Paris, everything would be perfect.
"You will be in charge of the management of food and treatment. Is there any problem?" King Priam asked. He was now more and more doubtful of Iphobus's ability. If it weren't for his previous impressions, Priam wouldn't have asked Iphobus to maintain and manage these things.
"Troilus, you will assist your brother, Iphobus, in completing this task." In the end, King Priam still felt that Iphobus was not reliable. He called Troilus over to supervise him. If he did a good job, then it would be fine. If he did not, then he was prepared to replace him.
"Yes, father. I will do my best to complete this task." Troilus's face was full of joy. He did not expect his father to give him such an important task.
When Iphobus heard that Troilus was going to "assist" him, his face darkened. It was as if he had swallowed a fly. However, this was King Priam's arrangement, and he had no choice but to obey.
Just like that, King Priam distributed the tasks one by one. Some princes were assigned to maintain the peace in the city, some were assigned to check on the harvest in the fields, and some were assigned to calculate the financial situation.
Priam looked at Prince Helenos, who was standing there without saying a word. He asked, "Helenos, what is the result of your divination for our war with the Greeks?"
"Father, the divination shows that this war with the Greeks will last for many years. However, in the end, we will lose this war, and Troy will be destroyed once again. The Greeks will kill Paris, Hector, and even all the Trojans, including you."
Helenos seemed to be talking about something insignificant that had nothing to do with anyone.
However, everyone's expression changed. Helenos's divination had always been accurate. This was proven when Paris went to Greece last time.
"Helenos, is there any way to prevent this prophecy from coming true or to change the result?" an elder asked, voicing the doubt in everyone's heart.
"Respected Elder Caneus, this is the result that the gods have already decided. How can the gods' will be changed so easily?" Helenos said calmly.
"This again? Aren't we just going to watch the arrogant Greeks destroy our home again? I don't believe in the prophecy. The final victory still depends on our warriors, "the elder with a fiery temper said loudly, but not many responded.
In this world controlled by the gods, politics, military, and trickery all had to give way.
"Actually, this prophecy can still be changed, right?" Priam looked at the prophet's son calmly. His heart was filled with disgust, and he treated him like a crow.
Rather than disgust this son, he hated the prophecy and the gods behind it.
Princess Kassandra was a person blessed by the gods with the ability to prophesy, and she was even better than Helenos. She had never made a mistake, but none of the Trojans believed her. They only mocked and ridiculed her.
The deep reason for this was that every prophecy from the gods was disadvantageous to the Trojans. This caused deep dissatisfaction in the people of Troy.
"Father, the outcome was already decided from the start. Paris was just a prelude. The gods had already decided our fate, including the fate of our Troy." Hellenos spoke of a truth that no one could accept in pain.
Priam's face was gloomy, and the entire palace was silent.
"The prophecy can be changed, but we have to find a hero. Only a hero can change the fate of Troy."
A voice suddenly sounded in the palace. Everyone turned around and saw that it was a prophet from the city. Everyone looked over with hope.
The prophet did not let them down. He said loudly, "Prince Hector and Prince Paris are heroes. Only they can change the fate of Troy."
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