Bear School Astartes-Chapter 835 - 818: Situation and Assassination
Phidias’s words didn’t surprise Lann; given the belief system of this civilized era, it was a normal phenomenon.
"And if it’s just this, then there’s no big problem."
But Phidias now looked exhausted and dejected, not like someone merely troubled by a ’plague.’
"Oh."
He let out a deep sigh.
"The plague is frightening enough, but what’s even scarier is the frenzy of people’s thoughts after enduring the plague, leading everything to worsen... That’s what Socrates said when he talked to me."
"There’s a lot of talk in the city now, some say it’s not divine punishment, but spies from the Peloponnesian Alliance poisoning the city. Later, the Spartans also withdrew their forces outside the city, which is in our sight, further making people believe this rumor."
"Those believing the rumors are quite angry with the Spartans, yes... very angry... but what can be done?"
"They’ve been pressing us on the battlefield already; now we’re facing a plague. Should we go out and confront them in battle outside the city at this time?"
Lann narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing a hint of... public opinion conspiracy within the rumor.
The Athenians would naturally be angry, but the issue is, if this anger could be transformed into a willingness to fight the enemy, it would of course be twice as effective.
But now, as long as the leaders are clear-headed, they should know that sending troops to attack while suffering a plague is pure suicide.
The anger towards the enemy that cannot be expressed won’t vanish into thin air, it will only be redirected.
The enraged populace would only think of venting their anger, not how to clean up the mess after their anger dissipates.
So where will this anger be redirected?
——The current leader of Athens, Pericles.
With the education he’s received over the past decade, and the insight of the Sons of the Emperor, Lann immediately sensed the malice within the rumor.
This is a political attack, but rather an unremarkable one.
If one’s insight isn’t enough, if their education isn’t sufficient, they might not even notice it.
Just like Phidias and Cassandra now; they still believe it’s just a rumor. A quite justified and well-organized rumor.
"Let me guess..."
Lann rationally folded his arms, speaking to Phidias above on the second floor.
"Now, Pericles’ Mansion at the entrance should be crowded with people? Protesting citizens can’t wait to throw trash at his door?"
"They already have."
Phidias lowered his head to add quietly.
"And Kleon?" Lann immediately caught a name from his impression.
Pericles’ main political opponent, a brown-haired middle-aged man skilled in stirring up public emotion and exploiting this sentiment.
"Kleon is leading outside Pericles’ Mansion." Phidias said indignantly.
"At this critical moment, he didn’t think to calm the public anger; instead, he set up a temporary stage outside Pericles’ Mansion himself! Advocating that Pericles is a coward who disguises his weak personality with so-called ’rationality’ and ’foresight’!"
"He’s speaking publicly?" Lann raised an eyebrow.
Speech-making is nothing unusual; under Athens’ political atmosphere, speech and debate are activities citizens enjoy completing in public view, the more attention, the more enthusiastic.
Because that means prestige and fame, which benefits future political involvement. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
But during rampant plague, talking amidst a large crowd, spitting saliva everywhere...
Is he not afraid to die?
"Maybe he has a Divine Artifact on him." Cassandra next to Lann shrugged indifferently.
"Or perhaps he has followers capable of using Divine Artifacts, giving him a protective shield or something."
"A Divine Artifact can be used like that?"
Lann looked at Cassandra with surprise; his understanding of this world was still lacking compared to locals.
"It’s just a plague." The beauty nurtured by the Aegean Sea shrugged, noticing Lann’s surprised expression, expressing her own surprise.
"Remember what I told you? I once pierced through a person’s kidney, and then that person knocked me flying backward with one blow. Compared to that, isolating a plague seems normal, right?"
Lann’s mouth twitched; although both scenarios were absurd, these two matters clearly differ in principle.
A person who can withstand a knife stab might not necessarily endure a disease.
But in Cassandra’s mind, this illogical linkage existed.
The main point is... the silly beauty guessed correctly.
"If you had said that earlier..." Lann smacked his forehead, "we could have gone straight to Pericles, right? I only came to you first because I was afraid you’d catch the plague!"
"You didn’t ask! And why do you think I’m so fragile?"
Compared to other women, the Sparta-born Cassandra clearly cared more about Lann perceiving her as fragile.
She widened her eyes staring at Lann, her right hand clenched into a fist, ’bang bang,’ pounding on her Amazonian Breastplate.
Brave, confident, and assertive.
Lann quickly waved his hands, intending to express that he just carelessly mentioned it, mainly out of concern for her.
But then, Lann’s gaze sharpened.
He raised his left hand swiftly towards Phidias watching the commotion upstairs!
"Click~ Swoosh!"
After a mechanical clicking sound, followed by the sharp whizzing of a pointed object tearing through the air rapidly.
The grappling hook on Lann’s left arm’s brace, propelled by the Projector, directly flew out, though it didn’t reach supersonic speeds like when pushed by [Alder’s Rune].
However, the mechanical trigger speed was faster than forming hand seals.
Phidias jolted instinctively, curling to the side.
Next, the claw attached with rope made of Fierce Jackal Dragon’s mane suddenly snapped behind Phidias!
"Ah!"
Along with the snap was a scream.
A killer who had somehow sneaked into Phidias’s workshop’s second floor, holding a Short Curved Saber, had their wrist caught by Lann’s grappling hook from the Projector!
The New Continent Expedition Team’s grappling hook’s basic requirement is being able to support equipped Hunters hanging in treacherous terrain, and even facilitate movement.
This mechanical snap, capable of withstanding at least several hundred kilograms, instantly crushed the assassin’s wrist, protected by an iron brace!
Next, Lann’s left hand tugged, and the person behind Phidias involuntarily smashed through the wooden handrail, falling directly!
Cassandra next to Lann had somehow already retrieved the longbow from her back.
Drawing bow and nocking arrow all in one motion, before Lann could pull that person crashing to the ground, an arrow pierced straight into the eye socket gap of the helmet in mid-air!
Lann operated the mechanical structure to release and recall the rope, while the force of Cassandra’s arrow made the airborne corpse roll sideways before finally hitting the ground.
The person hit the ground wearing traditional Greek iron armor. Greaves, short skirt, breastplate, bracers... and a hooped mask engraved with an old man’s visage, with dark purple and black horsehair plumes on the helmet.
Divine Guard.
Both Lann and Cassandra recognized the attire at first sight.
"Phidias, hide to the side, away from the second-floor doorway."
Cassandra commanded, simultaneously raising her longbow aimed at the second-floor doorway, with golden particle glow on her bow-drawing wrist.
The killer had approached Phidias from that hallway.
Under Cassandra’s orders, the sculptor crawled and rolled, heading toward the opposite end of the hallway.
"You want to kill him? Show yourselves! Let’s see who’s faster?"
The golden particle glow on Cassandra’s bow-drawing wrist coiled around the arrowhead; when Lann saw this move a year and a half ago, it could pierce the head of a lion and nail the lion’s body two meters away.
Supposedly called [Destructive Shot].
Under such kinetic attack, what difference would a tower shield make? Showing one’s head means death.
Brandishing her bow to intimidate the Divine Guards at the second-floor entrance, Cassandra winked at Lann.
The Demon Hunter understood, heading toward the stairs.
