The Greek camp was not far from the beach, and it was a shelter on higher ground.
At this time, the camp was still very lively. The soldiers went to the surroundings to cut down trees and build trenches and fences around the camp.
Rows of tents were set up, and chariots were pulled ashore, neatly arranged in rows. Sacks of food were carried ashore and stacked in the tents.
The soldiers dug the trenches, and the craftsmen built watchtowers. The camp gradually took shape.
The smaller ships were towed ashore at high tide, and the bottom of the ships were padded with stones to prevent the bottom of the ships from rotting.
A group of soldiers cut down trees and collected wood, built wooden beds, picked up firewood, and piled them into a pile. The wooden bed was placed on top of the pile, and the body of Palotesilaus was placed on it.
A small altar was built against the pile of firewood. In the middle of the altar was a pedestal, and on the pedestal was a statue of Zeus.
Compared to the confidence they had when they landed, the morale of the Greek coalition was low.
The heroes and princes gathered in a circle, silently watching Palotesilaus, who was lying quietly on the pile of firewood. At this time, he looked as if he was asleep, quiet and peaceful, but everyone knew that he would never wake up again.
His brother, Pardax, had tears in his eyes. "Father, how can I explain this to you?"
Two sons of the King of Philrax, Padalchus and Palotsilaos, came to him, and Palotsilaos, who was also a prince, with a lovely betrothed, Laodamia, the daughter of Acastus, the hero of Argo, who took a sorrowful leave of him and sent him off to war, and now never saw him again.
The princes were a little sad. They thought that with so many of them, Troy would be able to take them down in one go. After all, Hercules had led a few dozen ships to take down Troy and loot everything. Now, on the first day, a prince had died!
The accompanying priests placed the sacrifices on the altar, took out a jar of water, and sprinkled it on the altar and the sacrifices. They also went around the pile of firewood and sprinkled water on Palotesilaus.
The priests silently prayed to Zeus, hoping that he would take care of Palotesilaus' soul.
Agamemnon knelt on the ground, raised his hands, and prayed loudly.
"Ah, dear Palotsilaos, I am so sad to see you leave. I hope that the great Zeus can bring your soul back to the heavens. I will wash away your shame and make the despicable Trojans pay for what they have done today."
After the prayer, someone lit the pile of firewood with a torch, and the corpse was swallowed up by the raging fire.
When the fire was extinguished, only a pile of ashes was left. Someone used a porcelain jar to store the ashes and buried them under a luxuriant elm tree in the bay.
The funeral was simple and solemn. Everyone formed a circle and slowly moved around the elm tree, reminiscing the memory of Palotesilaus.
When the funeral was in progress, no one noticed Austin sneaking away. When he arrived at a tent, a servant came in and bowed. "Master, I followed your orders and secretly buried a sum of gold in Palamedes' tent while everyone was focused on the funeral."
Austin glanced at the servant and threw him a piece of gold. "Good job. Pack your luggage and return to your country today. Say that you are here to tell your family that you are safe."
"Yes, Master." The servant happily accepted the gold and retreated.
Austin's face darkened and he called for another warrior. This warrior did not know any of this and listened to the king. "I have a servant who stole the gold when I was not paying attention. This is a family scandal. Kill him secretly and throw him into the sea. The gold will be yours."
"Yes, My King." The warrior was furious. The servant stole the gold and should be killed. He chased after the servant and soon heard a scream.
After doing all this, Austin quietly returned to the funeral to remember Palotesilaus. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary.
The solemn funeral was finally over. The crowd dispersed and returned to their tents. The soldiers patrolled and returned to their posts. Everything returned to normal.
Austin returned to his tent and wrote a letter to Palamedes in the name of King Priam. In the letter, he mentioned the gold and thanked Palamedes for facilitating the duel between Menelaus and Paris.
Reading the letter that he had personally written, Austin smiled. After checking it carefully, he left the tent and rushed to Agamemnon's tent.
Agamemnon's tent was in the center of the camp. It was the largest and most luxurious tent in the entire camp. There was a thick woolen blanket laid out in the tent. Agamemnon had just returned from the funeral and was lying on the blanket, thinking about the changes in the battle.
Austin hurriedly pulled open the curtain of the tent. As soon as he entered, he shouted, "My great general, take a look. What is this?"
As he spoke, he handed the letter over. Agamemnon, who was deep in thought, did not react. Seeing Austin's eagerness, he solemnly accepted the letter.
As soon as he opened the folded letter, Agamemnon's expression changed. He immediately asked angrily, "Austin, where did you get this letter?"
"My great general, when I went to find Palamedes, he was not around, so I found it in the tent."
Agamemnon's hands trembled in anger. He roared, "Quickly summon all the princes and heroes to my tent. At the same time, call Palamedes over as well."
The messenger received the order and left.
Not long later, the princes and heroes arrived at Agamemnon's tent. Agamemnon handed them the parchment letter. Everyone's expression changed when they read it.
Padalkes, who had just lost his brother, and Menelaus, who was injured, became even more furious. He shouted, "So it was because of a traitor that we failed. Even if he is the son of King Nauplius, we must kill him."
At this time, Palamedes entered the tent and saw the angry Greek princes and heroes.
Agamemnon handed the letter to Palamedes, who had just walked in. After a while, Agamemnon asked, "What do you think?"
"It is all a slander!" cried Palamedes, reading the letter, for he knew that he was meant to be killed.
"Since you say it's slander, very well, I will now appoint a few people to form a jury to investigate you. If there is no such thing, I will prove your innocence."
"General Agamemnon, just send people to investigate. I, Palamedes, am innocent," Palamedes said.
"Austin, I appoint you as the chief judge of this jury. All the princes will be part of the jury. You will investigate Prince Palamedes. Make sure you get to the bottom of this," Agamemnon said.
"Great General, thank you for your trust in me. I will investigate Prince Palamedes seriously and fight to prove his innocence."
With that, Austin ordered a search of Palamedes's residence. The result shocked everyone. Palamedes's tent was dug up with a large amount of gold.
When the princes saw this, they shouted, "The traitor should die!"
Austin looked around and saw that some princes lowered their heads in silence, some were angry, and some did not change their expressions. He was delighted.
"My plan is very simple. Many princes might not be able to see the problem, but Palamedes has offended many people, and no one is willing to speak up for him.
"Most importantly, Palamedes has no god to speak up for him."
This was also an important reason why Austin framed Palamedes. If it was someone else who spoke up for God, this plan might not have succeeded.
"Moreover, the first battle was a bit disadvantageous, and it hurt morale. We need a scapegoat. This is why our general, Agamemnon, supported this plan."
With Agamemnon's approval, the jury sentenced Palamedes to death.
"Despicable Palamedes, your mistake has caused Greece to suffer great losses. On behalf of the Allied Army, I now sentence you to death," Austin said.
Odysseus said, "Palamedes, since we are both princes, we will not use swords but stones to kill you."
Palamedes saw through the conspiracy, but he could not prove that he was innocent or that someone had framed him. However, the evidence of his betrayal was conclusive. No matter what, he could not defend himself.
When he was dragged to the execution ground, he knew that the only thing that could save him now was the gods. He raised his hands and said, "Ah, Greeks, you will kill a knowledgeable, innocent, and beautiful nightingale."
All the princes present laughed at this strange defense. In their eyes, Palamedes's words were as weak as not saying anything at all.
In fact, Palamedes's words were for the gods to hear. He knew that as long as one god was willing to help him, he could live.
"Execute." Austin's scalp went numb. Although he knew that no god would help him, what if one of them suddenly had a whim?
He immediately gave the order, and stones rained down on Palamedes.
Palamedes was in despair. He shouted, "Rejoice, O Truth, for you have finally died before me."
When he shouted, Austin laughed coldly. "Palamedes, at this point, you still refuse to ask for help from the gods. Instead, you shout for the truth."
"Can the truth help you?"
Although he thought this way, he was still afraid that a long delay would bring trouble. He immediately threw a large stone at Palamedes's head. He groaned and fell to the ground. Blood covered the ground, and it seemed that he would not survive.
Agamemnon looked on coldly. After the doctor confirmed Palamedes's death, he ordered for Palamedes to be buried.
Palamedes was confirmed to be a traitor of Greece and was sentenced to death. Therefore, he did not have the right to enjoy the same grand funeral as Palotsilaos.
Therefore, he could only be buried. He could not enjoy a cremation.
Agamemnon only ordered for him to be buried because he was a prince. Otherwise, his corpse would have been left in the wilderness.
The surrounding princes and heroes watched silently. Not many of them showed any sympathy. Even Menelaus, who had a good impression of him, no longer had a good impression of him due to Odysseus' provocation during the last diplomatic mission. Now, all he had left was hatred.
On Mount Olympus, the gods looked on coldly, just as Odysseus had expected.
Only Nemesis, the Goddess of Justice, was watching from above. She decided to punish the Greeks and Odysseus, who had tricked them into committing a crime.
"Despicable Greeks, you will be punished for the justice you have lost. I will make you understand that justice is never lacking."
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