Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1266: Passing the Throne

After a long silence, a resolute look settled over Davos's face. "When I defeat Persia and return in triumph, I will abdicate. You will take my place as the second king of the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia!"

Crotokatax recoiled in shock. "Father! You're hale and hearty, and you've never suffered a major illness. The doctors say you could easily live to be a hundred! Why abdicate out of nowhere? Please, banish this absurd idea. I will absolutely never agree to it!"

He was visibly agitated—verging on panic—and looked as though he might drop to his knees before Davos.

Davos looked at him with warm, affectionate eyes. "My child," he said soothingly, "I know you are devoted to me, but this isn't some passing whim. I've been considering it for a long time..."

Davos reached out again, laying a gentle hand on his son's broad shoulder. "I went from a lowly mercenary to the king of a mighty kingdom spanning the Mediterranean Sea," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "Aside from the blessings of Hades, I built all this on effort. Relentless, unyielding effort! I went from being terrified of battle to personally leading charges at the front, from knowing nothing of warfare to mastering it, from being entirely ignorant of governance to understanding every minute detail of this kingdom... For over thirty years, I haven't dared relax for a single moment. I constantly pushed myself to work harder! If I hadn't, everything we gained would have vanished like foam. But now, the kingdom's political foundation is rock-solid. Our grand ambition to unify the Mediterranean Sea is nearly complete. I have nothing left to worry about."

He thumped his leg with his free hand. "You think I'm perfectly healthy, but that's just a facade," he said softly. "For the past few years, stomach pains have regularly kept me from eating. The joints in my shoulders and knees ache constantly... These are old ailments from my early campaigns. I'm growing old... Not only is my energy failing, but my memory is slipping too. I often find myself nodding off while reviewing documents, and sometimes I even forget important matters..."

A wave of sorrow washed over Crotokatax as he listened. His eyes grew red. "Father, you don't have to push yourself so hard anymore," he urged eagerly. "I'm grown now. I can shoulder the bulk of those duties for you. All you need to do is keep steering the kingdom's general course! You don't have to—"

Davos smiled and gently cut him off. "Clotho, I have spent the better part of my life toiling endlessly. I just want to experience a quiet, leisurely life. I want to gather with my old friends and laugh without a single care. I want to travel freely without any burdens—to see Athens, Sparta, Carthage, Byzantium... and I want to bring your two mothers with me, of course. All these years, do you think I didn't notice? Every time I marched off to war, your mothers spent their days and nights sick with worry! Every time I stayed up late handling state affairs in the Royal Palace, I knew they were forcing themselves to stay awake waiting for me..."

"I owe them so much," Davos said, his voice thick with emotion. "I want to spend the little time I have left in this life making it up to them. Clotho, will you give me that chance?"

Davos offered a breezy smile before his expression turned serious again. "I also want my abdication to set a precedent for the House of Hades-Davos. When a man grows old, his thinking easily becomes rigid, conservative, and stubborn. For an ordinary person, that's harmless enough. But for a kingdom, it is detrimental to its development!

"Having the heir take the throne early allows them to accumulate more experience. If a problem arises, father and son can discuss it together. This benefits the entire kingdom... There has never been a kingdom that flourishes forever without decline, but by giving our successors more practice and producing fewer incompetent rulers, our House of Hades-Davos might just endure a little longer..."

"Perhaps that is just a naive thought of mine." Davos gave another slight smile, his tone turning earnest. "But let's focus on the immediate future. Even when Persia is defeated and the kingdom controls the entire Mediterranean Sea, Daionia will still face countless challenges. Just as you have always worried about how to transition Daionia away from its martial foundations to allow the kingdom steadier growth, and how to integrate the regional powers across the Mediterranean into the kingdom without sparking a fracture...

"Furthermore, even without Persia and Carthage as opponents, the kingdom will never lack future enemies. There are the Gauls living in the vast expanses north of the Alps, and the even more savage, ferocious Germanic tribes lurking in the dense forests north of the Gauls... You will be the one who has to confront these problems. Some of them will even carry over to Chris and his generation, or perhaps even further. So don't rush. Take things slowly..."

"Father—" Crotokatax began, his emotions still surging, wanting to say more.

Davos waved a hand, cutting him off once more. "Enough. We've been away for long enough. We should head back to the banquet before everyone starts to worry! And remember, this matter must be kept absolutely secret!"

A storm of conflicting emotions raged within Crotokatax, but ultimately he could only force out a single, aggrieved response: "Yes..."

Davos rose to his feet and pushed open the study doors. Gazing out into the deep gloom of the night, he looked as though a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "For the next few days, we will simply enjoy the Theonian Rugby Games while we wait for news from Africa," he said in a relaxed tone.

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The spectacular performances on the first day of the Theonian Rugby Games had thoroughly ignited the passion of athletes and spectators alike, and the subsequent competitions raged on in full swing. For everyone gathered in Thurii, every single day felt like participating in a grand festival, cheering frantically at the edge of the arenas, and then drinking in the restaurants afterward to celebrate...

Yet amid this jubilant atmosphere, the ordinary populace remained completely oblivious to the fact that the Egyptian diplomatic delegation had encountered a sea storm. Even fewer knew that early on the second morning of the opening ceremonies, King Davos had summoned Aristiras, the director of the Intelligence Department, to his estate's study for a classified meeting.

On the fifth day of the competitions, the individual archery finals were underway in the archery arena on the west side of Thurii City. The competitors who had entered the finals were Megakides of Crete and Strasippus of Daionia's Thurii Region.

Both men had already fired their mandated three rounds—nine arrows in total—and were currently waiting for the judges to calculate the results.

In truth, after every round, a spotter had brought over the round wooden target boards to show the embedded arrows to the competitors and the audience, displaying the fairness of the match. Thus, both the competitors and the spectators already had a rough idea of the outcome. Even so, when the judge loudly announced, "Megakides of Crete: 86 points! Strasippus of Thurii: 86!" a collective sigh of lament rippled through the stands, swiftly followed by enthusiastic applause.

When the archery competition first began, the spectator turnout was not very large. Over half the audience had shown up purely out of curiosity to watch an event that had never appeared in any other games. Many had even bought tickets for the archery arena simply because they couldn't secure tickets for other matches and wanted to experience the true atmosphere of the games.

However, the organizing committee's clever scheduling of the archery events—along with the uniquely quiet yet gripping style of the competition, a stark contrast to other intensely athletic sports—gradually attracted a massive following. By the time of the finals, a ticket was nearly impossible to find.

"The competitors are tied, therefore we will have a tie-breaker round!" As soon as the judge finished speaking, the spectators began to cheer. More matches meant more excitement, and naturally, the vast majority were rooting for Strasippus, as he was a Thurian. Among the small minority cheering for Megakides, Siritheos was shouting the loudest.

Siritheos had been eliminated during the hundred-meter sprint semifinals the day before yesterday. Having never harbored much confidence in winning the championship to begin with, he wasn't overly devastated. Quite the opposite, in fact; because of his eye-catching performance over the past few days, several people had actually approached him in private, expressing their desire to marry their daughters to him.

But none of these people were Daionian Citizens, and the reason was simple. The vast majority of young women in Daionia had received a formal education from the Daonian Schools since childhood. They were mostly knowledgeable, wise, and open-minded women; a handsome face and a fit body alone could not fully attract them. Furthermore, the current trend in Daionian society was to revere battlefield heroes, pragmatic and capable officials, and profoundly learned scholars. Siritheos was not even a Daionian Citizen, merely a Greek from a barren little island. Because the kingdom had become the hegemon of the Greek World, the pride in the hearts of Daionian young women was beyond measure, so they would never entertain such a prospect.

Siritheos's jumping and shouting from the stands had absolutely no effect on Megakides. His entire attention was locked onto his opponent: an older Daionian Citizen who showed not the slightest sign of putting on weight. Instead, he possessed a burly, well-proportioned physique. With short hair, a clean-shaven face, and razor-sharp, spirited eyes, he radiated a steady and capable aura.

Noticing that Megakides was sizing him up, the competitor from Thurii named Strasippus turned and smiled at him. Every subtle movement he made carried a certain bearing that left Megakides genuinely impressed.

"The tie-breaker begins! Competitors, please prepare!" The judge's shout snapped Megakides back to reality. He accepted a competition arrow from a nearby staff member and nocked it on his bowstring. He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, purging the distracting thoughts from his mind along with the escaping breath. Slowly, he raised the bow while drawing back the string. When his right arm was slightly higher than his shoulder, and his left hand had drawn the bowstring back to his ear, he ceased all movement, entirely still like a statue.

The spectators, who had grown quite experienced by now, collectively held their breath. The entire archery arena sank into an unusual, absolute silence.

After a moment, the silence was shattered by two successive snaps of the releasing bowstrings. Two arrows shot out swiftly.

Megakides didn't stare intently to see where his shot had landed. Instead, moving unhurriedly, he took another arrow and calmly nocked it on his bowstring again.