Yes, how could the son of God not know? The all-knowing and all-powerful king of the gods is where?
And Ares definitely won't be as melancholic as the god in his dream. He looks just like a scribe copying several thousand words on papyrus.
Aaron, who sneaked off to learn to read, had seen the lifeless gaze of those civil officials, and it was identical.
"Let's catch fish, I'll ask the doctor if there are any calming drugs."
Father responded in a low voice, and then carried the mud plate to the backyard for sun drying.
Aaron trembled his facial muscles, thinking optimistically: at least there's more interaction between father and son, isn't there?
Once father is able to communicate with me normally, he should set off for Macedonia to bring mother back.
At least tell mother that father is becoming more human-like.
He was happy, bouncing and jumping, mimicking the movements of seven or eight-year-old children on the roadside, without feeling childish or ashamed.
Children followed him, shouting loudly;
"Aaron, have we seen those fat ladies looking for you at your house again?"
Aaron was about to nod, but suddenly realized something was wrong. He looked confused, stopped his steps, and asked carefully:
"Find me? No no, ladies are—" Aaron stammered, and couldn't say that the ladies were looking for his father, otherwise the news would spread very far. His mother would inevitably hear various gossip when she came back.
He could see clearly that no matter how beautiful, powerful, or wealthy those ladies were, no matter how much they flattered him, his father never wavered.
He was simply peacefully making the mud tablet.
He had to admit: "Okay, they are looking for me. By the way, where did you get this news?"
The children spoke without a care, shouting;
"It was your father who said it. He's worried that those women will harm you."
Aaron, hearing that, burst into anger, clenching his fists and pushing over the child who shouted even louder on the spot:
Aaron heard this and became furious. He tightened his fists and pushed the child who was shouting even louder to the ground:
He felt it was not nice to bully kids, but just now, he had this impulse that went against his moral sense.
It would be much easier to feel justified in scolding if it were his own brother.
Aaron thought like that and became depressed, walking towards the river.
Father, I have found another reason for mother to leave you.
You are a liar with a mouth full of lies.
Like that, Aaron walked to the upstream of the river outside the city with a sad face.
People throw away their living garbage into the river, so the water upstream is cleaner.
Climbing over a downhill slope, there's the alluvial land leading to the riverbank, already somewhat muddy.
Aaron stopped, hiding behind some bushes.
Because the originally spacious riverbank, today has several wooden poles, leather and sailcloth style pavilions, falling on relatively dry land.
Around the tents were placed some wooden barriers, and three soldiers wearing leather armor, equipped with short swords but not long spears, and wearing bronze helmets adorned with horse mane were fetching water and fishing from the river.
From the scale of the entire tent, there should be over a hundred soldiers altogether.
They are Romans!
Aaron took a deep breath to calm himself down. What are the Romans doing here?
Aaron knew that today there were Roman ambassadors arriving in Thebes to seek the communication between the Romans and Egypt through Thebes.
But why did they bring soldiers?
And they're hiding outside the city.
Thebes has been long without soldiers stationed there, and there are almost no military defenses in the city except for the palace of the city lord.
These one hundred and more people are fully armed, enough to turn the whole city upside down.
Aaron hesitated with his eyes, preparing to turn back, to return home first and tell his father that soldiers have occupied the outside of the city, and not to eat fish tonight.
You can buy some meat back, or butcher the old donkey at home and replace it with a stronger and younger mule.
I saw my father hit his waist several times while grinding the mill before.
Aaron was thinking this when suddenly, an overwhelming stench came to his nostrils.
This stench from the air was like a withered hand trying to choke you.
It was not just a smell, but a living, writhing breath that invaded your lungs with its viscous moisture.
There was also a decayed sweetness that made one feel even more irresistibly drawn to these foul odors, as if the body needed these tastes.
Once those odors entered the lungs, they turned into all kinds of disgusting creatures, such as molds and maggots.
The life of these filth began to become active, mixed with the fermentation smell of putrefying fruits and suppurative wounds.
Then it climbed up through the nostrils, to the area where the ear canal connects with the tear and nose mucus passages.
Finally, Aaron seemed to see those green spores floating out of the air, which shouldn't exist.
Yes, these spores have no carrier, as if they are switching from another space.
Like a transition from water to air, not having an actual presence in reality.
Gradually, Aaron felt unable to breathe, as all the life-giving breath was taken over by the stench in his lungs.
In the end, the green mist, originally representing vibrant green life, covered his vision.
Faintly, he heard the joyful, innocent voices of many children, calling out happily as if they had found a friend.
At that moment, it felt like countless little elves from the realm of the gods had descended, to welcome themselves.
He even saw those chubby little hands, extending out to cheer.
The sound itself might be innocent and cute, but amidst these foul odors, it was impossible for Aaron, whose mind was still functioning at the moment, to think that its real appearance would be more beautiful.
In the next moment, a thunderous sound exploded in Aaron's mind, filled with unending anger. Even Zeus himself could not be any more like this.
The voice roared angrily:
"You despicable thing, is the last lesson not enough?"
But Aaron knew that this voice came from a body on the verge of collapse, because he could hear the sounds of muscle tissue tearing, and even without muscles, bones clacking to produce sounds.
"I will soon make you suffer all kinds of torments in life and death, diseases, and sufferings after you have shed your mortal coil!"
Boom!
A violent golden lightning flash, like the offspring of Typhon roaring with anger, shaking the earth and heaven.
Finally, the stench that had occupied Aaron's body disappeared.
It retreated in haste, like a defeated general.
Huh, huh, huh——
Aaron broke free, knelt on the ground, and heavily panted.
Who saved me just now?
Could it truly be the father of all gods, Zeus?
He didn't have time to think it over, but he raised his head abruptly.
Because the danger had not disappeared.
Because the Romans soldiers, who were not as lucky as him, at this time, their healthy bodies under leather armor had become riddled with holes and turned into evil ghosts wandering the land.
flies flying around their bodies, maggots crawling out of the wounds on their bodies.
They—
They discovered themselves, then raised the rusty sword they had been carrying and charged towards him.
