Chapter 7 Court Prophecy
The centurion was awakened at midnight.
He was lying in the soldiers' tent.
The soldiers conscientiously set up camp on a grassland some distance from the village.
To avoid doing this while everyone is asleep at night.
He was dragged into purgatory by that undead monster who called himself 'Messiah'.
The centurion felt dizzy, as if a large bucket of mercury had been poured into his head, and his nose and cheekbones were in excruciating pain, as if they were broken.
He endured the pain and got up, calling to the guards beside him while trying to recall what had happened that day.
"what happened?"
"How did all this happen?"
"My bronze sword has absolutely pierced his heart."
As an outstanding warrior who had fought for many years and was experienced in many battles, he would never allow his enemies to survive, and his proficiency in killing techniques would never allow his bronze sword to miss its mark.
"It must have pierced his heart, without a doubt..."
The centurion reiterated his affirmation.
Seeing that the centurion was making a move, the guards rushed to help him up.
In response to the centurion's confusion, the guard replied with lingering fear, "Sir, you did indeed pierce his heart... We saw a large amount of blood gushing from his chest, and he did indeed fall into a pool of blood... in full view of everyone."
"Then why did he get up again and punch me?" The centurion was puzzled. He took the ointment handed to him by the guard and wiped the wound on his face.
As the guard recalled the scene, the shock and horror returned to his eyes, and he stammered out a fact that was unbelievable to anyone—
"He came back to life."
"..."
"Then I'd rather believe that my sword missed its mark!"
The centurion had his back to Yara at the time, so he did not witness the shocking scene.
When the guard uttered the words 'resurrected from the dead,' he couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity... But as his subconscious rebuttal gradually faded, he began to hesitate.
"You saw it with your own eyes?" the centurion asked in surprise.
"In full view of everyone, witnessed by their own eyes..." The guard's Adam's apple bobbed. "A beam of colorful light spread across his body, and then all of Yara's wounds disappeared... and then he got up."
Looking at the guard's confident eyes.
The centurion fell into a long silence.
"After he knocked you down, he also claimed something…" the guard continued.
The centurion was somewhat surprised. He asked, "What did he declare?"
The guard paused, glanced at the deep night, and said,
"Yara proclaimed himself the 'Messiah'..."
"The anointed one of God!"
The campfire flickered within the campsite, a gentle breeze swept across the open fields, carrying the scents of earth and flowers, and in the distance, stars twinkled atop the high mountains, like immortal gods high above, watching over humankind...
"God?"
"Which of the Olympians is God?" the centurion asked earnestly.
But clearly, the centurion and the guard were not learned enough to recognize all the names of the gods, let alone try to find among them the one who was called 'God'.
"Could it be Zeus?" the centurion suggested a bold guess.
"Watch your words, sir!" The guard quickly stopped the centurion, reminding him, "Have you forgotten the rumors about His Majesty the King and the God-King?"
Only after being reminded by his guards did the centurion realize his mistake.
He recalled that little-known secret that had circulated from the palace—
Several years ago, the King of Argos received a prophecy—
[The princess's offspring will destroy the kingdom of Argos.]
Such prophecies of dubious origin are not a big deal. Many nobles, and even His Majesty himself, have been cursed with far more vicious and cruel curses. These are usually just topics of conversation or amusement and then forgotten.
However, to everyone's surprise, King Argos took this prophecy to heart, to the point of neglecting his meals and sleep and ignoring state affairs for a long time.
Later, to prevent the prophecy from coming true, King Argos forbade the princess from contacting any men. He even spent a fortune building a giant bronze tower, imprisoning his daughter inside and only sending palace maids to take care of her needs.
Logically, since the princess was cut off from the outside world, she couldn't fall in love with a man or have children, thus breaking the prophecy...
But one day, as King Argos passed by the bronze tower, he happened to hear the cry of a baby coming from inside...
King Argos was furious. He immediately executed all the maids who served the princess inside the bronze tower, and slaughtered every man, even male dogs, within a radius of several miles outside the tower...
However, the tragedy had already occurred. In a fit of rage, King Argos executed the princess himself. After killing his own daughter, he turned his attention to the infant.
Just as he raised his sword, intending to kill the baby and end the prophecy that had worried him for years,
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky!
It struck his longsword precisely, knocking King Argos down on the spot.
Fortunately, King Argos was not killed by the cleaver, but this did not deter his will. He tried countless methods to kill the baby.
However, the giant axe aimed at him would shatter prematurely, the hammer that slammed down would inexplicably fly backward, hunger would attract cows and wolves to nurse him, and poison strong enough to kill an elephant would have no effect on him at all...
In the end, King Argos, having no other choice, summoned a soothsayer.
In the end, the soothsayer revealed the truth to the King of Argos—
[That child was the son of Zeus.]
Later, King Argos, having exhausted all other options, tied the infant to a heavy stone and offered him as a sacrifice to the sea god, throwing him into the ocean. He could only hope that the ruler of the sea could overcome the will of the king of the sky.
...
"But regardless, I made a promise yesterday—"
"If he defeats me, I will take him to see His Majesty."
"Regardless of his relationship with the King of the Gods, that should be decided by His Majesty..."
"We'll go see him tomorrow."
The centurion said this to the guards.
The campfire burned all night, the firewood crackling and sparking.
But the night remained as usual.
...
The next morning.
The evaporation of the damp dew formed a thin mist over the wilderness, and the morning light seeped into the mist like golden threads, making the entire Canaan seem to be shrouded in a golden light, mysterious and sacred.
It's as if this place truly is the so-called "land bestowed by God".
Early in the morning, the centurion, accompanied by several followers, stepped into the village.
The village has only completed basic planning and initial construction.
Therefore, many areas still only have wooden stakes.
The hardworking villagers had already emerged from their tents, intending to build their new homes step by step according to the plan.
After what happened yesterday, the villagers had no good feelings towards these soldiers.
Therefore, they all glared at the centurion and his men with disgust.
However, the centurion also had no liking for these weak and helpless refugees who had taken over the kingdom's land without permission, and he glared back at them without backing down.
His respect was reserved only for Yara.
It wasn't these troublemakers.
Soon, the old man and the pockmarked man came over.
Even though Yara defeated the centurion yesterday, the villagers were still somewhat afraid of these soldiers.
After all, no one knows if they will go back on their word, which is why they still have the courage to stand on this land.
That was also because of Yara.
Yesterday's duel was so awe-inspiring, with Yara emitting colorful light and rising from the dead. Afterwards, Yara's declaration of being the "Messiah" filled the villagers with pride.
They didn't know what "God" or "Messiah" meant.
But they knew that Yara was a man who performed miracles.
And they are Yara's followers.
"grown ups..."
Where is Yara?
The old man was about to say something when the centurion interrupted him.
Clearly, he didn't want to waste his breath on these troublemakers.
He only wanted to see Yara.
"I'm here."
The sound came from afar.
Upon hearing the voice, the centurion's face began to ache again. He looked up and indeed saw Yara, who was carrying an antelope as she returned from the forest.
Yara slammed the antelope to the ground, ordering the villagers to help carry it away, while he dusted off his hands and stepped forward.
"What? Are you still upset about yesterday's defeat?"
Yara said coldly, his eyes fixed on the centurion like a wolf.
The centurion stared into Yara's eyes again, and to his astonishment, he found that those eyes were even sharper and more piercing than they had been the day before.
Even the centurion, a veteran who had killed countless people on the battlefield, was so frightened by that look that he took two steps back.
"You...you really are different from yesterday."
Yara snorted coldly and did not respond.
The centurion took a deep breath, temporarily setting aside all those fantastical tales of "resurrection" and "divine anointing," and forced himself to remain calm, saying,
"I have said... if you want to legally acquire this land, you will need the king's authorization."
"Besides, this is the royal hunting grounds..."
"Then let's go!"
Yara interrupted the centurion.
He continued:
"Go to see him..."
"King of Argos".
...