The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 703: Volume 20: Wolves Lurking in the Mediterranean, - 11: Honorary Citizen

Chapter 703: Volume 20: Wolves Lurking in the Mediterranean, Chapter 11: Honorary Citizen

"Mr. Karadin, have you never heard of Saint Lily Klepper?" Although he knew Komer hailed from the North, Kamado still thought a merchant like his opponent, who often traveled between the South and the North, should be aware of such a renowned figure in his own kingdom, "Miss Klepper is the highest female priest of the Temple of Athena. She can communicate between the wisdom goddess and our Kingdom of Sparta, ensuring that our Kingdom of Sparta is always favored by the wisdom goddess."

So she was a female priest from the Temple of Athena! A cold smile played across Komer’s heart. As for the nonsense about communicating with the wisdom goddess, Komer didn’t believe it at all. At most, it could be that she herself had some magic powers and martial arts skills, and was deliberately maintaining her high status by leveraging the image of the Athena goddess in the minds of these Spartans. But why would Helena, who was clearly Vero incarnate, serve under some damned Saint Lily?

This did raise some doubts in Komer’s mind. He didn’t believe there could be such people in the world who had no connection with each other. He had to find an opportunity to meet this Saint Lily Klepper and see who she really was. It seemed his trip to Athens this time was indeed the right move, avoiding the Church of Light’s eyes yet encountering so many events, it was a worthwhile trip after all.

The cheers were deafening when the armored girl, holding the reins in one hand and a gleaming silver long spear in the other, advanced slowly along the circular track of the Grand Arena. Her magnificent phoenix-winged helmet could not hide her long black hair, and the sparkling silver armor shone waves of light with the shaking of the chariot wheels under the sunshine, like the beautiful, unmatched goddess Athena reincarnated, no wonder the entire crowd was mesmerized.

After a slow lap around the Grand Arena, the girl began to speed up the chariot, and her course no longer followed the smooth, fixed track, but rather darted through a series of obstacle-filled routes like a nimble reindeer. The chariot accelerated and turned sharply, with huge rock barriers and winding paths constantly eliciting loud cheers from the stands.

Even Komer was captivated. The girl’s horsemanship was undoubtedly unparalleled. The deliberately rough track seemed like flat ground before her, and the spirit of the Pegasus further perfected the display of the girl’s charioteering skills.

"Mr. Kamado, is this Miss Helena also going to participate in the Olympic Race?" Komer could no longer contain his amazement and excitement. The girl’s chariot skills were too marvelous, almost divine; he truly could not believe anyone could take the championship away from her.

"No, no, Mr. Karadin, only those racers who win the championship are qualified to enjoy the true essence of racing with Miss Helena. However, for the past three years, none of the champions has ever come close to even half of what Miss Helena can do. They consider racing alongside Miss Helena to be the greatest honor of their lives," Kamado said pridefully and with absolute confidence, clearly not believing anyone would dare to challenge this girl’s chariot skills.

"Indeed, this Miss Helena seems truly invincible. The level of skill she has attained in chariot racing is utterly sublime; I believe even among male competitors, none could match her," Komer admitted with a nod.

"Mr. Karadin, you’re right. Our Spartan racing is also different from others; racers may use their chariots to fight against each other. See those javelins fixed on the back of the chariot? Those are the racer’s weapons. Throughout the entire race, it’s not over if your chariot skills are not as good as your opponent’s—there’s still a chance. As long as you can make use of your weapon to launch an attack, whether destroying your opponent’s chariot, killing their horse, or even the racer himself, you have a chance to become the champion," Kamado passionately explained about his country’s unique racing rules.

Surprised, Komer asked, "From Mr. Kamado’s words, it sounds like if the champion competes with Miss Helena, they can also employ these rules?"

"Of course, but don’t think that just because you can use weapons, you can take advantage of Miss Helena. In reality, this rule almost eradicates all possibilities. Miss Helena is a disciple of Miss Klepper, and her Green River Sword Qi has reached an extremely high level, even being recognized by Mr. Aristotle. Even Sparta’s greatest mage, Mr. Fru, doesn’t have the confidence to definitely win against her," said Kamado with arrogance. "Should any racer wish to compete with Miss Helena in this regard, it would be purely suicidal."

Aristotle was recognized as a genius martial saint in the Southern Continent and was said to possess transcendent swordsmanship, reaching a realm comparable to gods. With his obscure, lusterless Moesis sword, he once withstood two newly matured Red Dragons at the age of adulthood, slaying them both within three hours. This feat shocked the whole continent, and even His Holiness the Pope had to admit that if it had not been for Aristotle’s intervention, those two adult Red Dragons, once provoked, could have broken free from their chains, and the Church of Light would not know how many more mages it would have to sacrifice to put down the matured, enraged creatures.

"If Miss Helena truly possesses such superior martial arts, then indeed, there aren’t many who would risk their lives for a mere reputation, after all, life is much more real than any reputation," Komer nodded in agreement.

"You are mistaken, Mr. Karadin, if that competitor can defeat Miss Helena, what he gains is far more than just a reputation. He will be awarded the title of honorary citizen of the Kingdom of Sparta, the most exalted honor in our entire Kingdom of Sparta. No matter how lowly your status was before, no matter what crimes you have committed elsewhere, as soon as you earn the title of honorary citizen, you are the most distinguished honorary citizen of the Kingdom of Sparta. Whoever dares to harm or insult you will be challenging the entire Kingdom of Sparta," Kamado proudly declared.

"Twenty-eight years ago, a horse thief from the North sneaked into the Iberian Kingdom’s racing team and won the horse racing championship. In the end, he challenged the Saintess at the time and, against all odds, succeeded. He became an honorary citizen of Sparta. He had committed the heinous crime of raping Princess Attica in the Attica Duchy, which even went as far as threatening us with war to demand the horse thief be handed over, but still, they were refused by our Kingdom of Sparta. This even sparked some controversy within our Collins City-state alliance, but in the end, we stood by our decision," Kamado continued.

"Oh? What about that horse thief citizen?" Komer’s interest piqued slightly upon hearing this.

"I don’t know, after he became an honorary citizen, he only stayed in Athens City for one month before leaving. In fact, we couldn’t have handed over the horse thief even if we had wanted to, because we didn’t know his true identity, let alone his whereabouts," Kamado said with a wry smile, "We’ve never encountered such a carefree person before."

Komer’s gaze returned to the Grand Arena, where the Pegasus horse-drawn carriages had already left the field amidst the frenzied cheers of the crowd, replaced by a resplendent warrior squad that appeared at the center of the arena. Komer knew this was Sparta’s most famous gladiator performance.

The Spartan gladiators were known throughout the Continent for their fierce, wild, and fierce reputations, and the sport of gladiating was most popular in Sparta. This fondness for combat was highly esteemed among the lower classes of Spartan society. Regardless of the gladiator’s status, once he became famous, he could gain the favor of the upper classes and even leap to citizenship in a city-state. Only city-state citizens in the Kingdom of Sparta had the right to vote and be elected, qualifying them to become members of the Spartan city council.

Kamado, not without a hint of boastfulness, began to introduce Komer to the origins of the Spartan gladiators. In fact, gladiatorial culture was quite prevalent throughout the southern part of the Continent, but none matched the reverence and passion found in the Kingdom of Sparta. Gladiating also became Sparta’s most characteristic sport, with many from the lower and middle classes rising through this sport to become city nobles. Quite a number of the Spartan city nobles belong to gladiator hero families, becoming nobles through enfeoffment by the kingdom, even forming a prominent gladiator-noble faction within the Kingdom of Sparta.

"Mr. Kamado, if one were to win the Gladiator Competition, what would the reward be?" Komer asked casually.

"Oh, Mr. Karadin, winning the Gladiator Competition could directly make one an honorary citizen of any country. If he is a wanderer from outside our Southern Mediterranean city-states and countries, he may also choose to join any nation or city-state within the Southern Mediterranean, becoming an honorary citizen there," Kamado explained. "Every country would welcome him in the warmest manner. However, no competitor has been able to take this crown from our Spartan racers, as there are no invincible warriors who can defeat those from the Kingdom of Sparta."

"Invincible warriors? Mr. Kamado, your confidence in your Kingdom of Sparta is quite extraordinary. Don’t you know there is always someone better out there?" Komer laughed, finding this fellow’s confidence amusing.

"Heh, Mr. Karadin, you really are ignorant. Didn’t you know Aristotle has two disciples who are Spartans?" Karadin glanced at Komer sideways, laughing with utmost pride and satisfaction.

(To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM for more Chapters. Support the author, support authorized reading!)