So the allied forces hold their ground and let the Persians wear Sparta down. So that's the game you've been playing, you crafty old bastard.
Samael rolled his eyes inwardly. After an unusually frank exchange, he had gradually come to understand the malicious calculations hidden in Themistocles's heart.
To be fair, for the long-lasting prosperity of Athens, the historical Themistocles had truly devoted himself body and soul, and his achievements were immense.
At home, he supported the reforms of Pericles, greatly shaking the rigid aristocratic order.
Abroad, he had taken part in the Battle of Marathon and organized the Battle of Salamis, defending the territorial security of Athens, and of Greece as a whole, through the two Greco-Persian Wars.
To secure a stronger position for Athens in the Greek world, he had led the Athenian navy in collecting tribute from the island states, building up Athens's economic strength.
After that, he had forcefully promoted the new postwar balance of power that emerged after the Third Greco-Persian War, namely the Delian League, with the aim of checking Sparta's rise and preserving the hegemony of Athens and the Areopagus.
But perhaps because Themistocles had been born of humble origins and had long endured the mockery and exclusion of the Areopagus nobles, this old general had become extreme in temperament and erratic in conduct.
Within Athens, too, Themistocles had begun to draw the envy of his fellow citizens. The rich of Athens, while admiring his accomplishments, started digging up all sorts of stories from his obscure beginnings, how uncultured he had been in his youth, how rough his manners were, how extreme his disposition was, and so on. Themistocles, for his part, gave as good as he got and showed no mercy.
Whenever he held office, Themistocles liked to let matters pile up until the very last day before handling them, making himself look powerful and forcing everyone to come begging to him. That built his authority, but it also earned him plenty of hatred.
And while he was expanding the navy and exacting tribute from foreign states, he himself openly accepted quite a few bribes as well. That, inevitably, only worsened his relations with the inhabitants of those islands.
On top of that, his consistently hard-line stance toward Sparta and the other rising city-states made both internal and external forces eager to drive him out of Athenian politics.
In the end, they got their wish. They exiled this old man who was both hero and tyrant, and in doing so, they planted one of the seeds of Athens's later ruin in the Peloponnesian War.
All in all, judged purely by Athens's gains and losses, Themistocles was without question a qualified savior and a hero of the city-state.
But as a foreign ally, working with this crafty old bastard would probably be anything but pleasant.
Who knew when he might sell out a whole pack of allies for his own sake and for Athens's interests.
So, honestly, kicking him out of Athens was hardly undeserved.
Now that he understood the stakes, Samael immediately gave up the idea of restoring Themistocles to his former position.
Too narrow-minded. He was better suited to being a military adviser.
"Forget it. Why am I even telling you all this? I'm not even a general of Athens anymore."
After talking at length, the old man seemed to come back to himself. He got to his feet, waved a hand, and looked distinctly dispirited.
Just as he was about to leave the courtyard, Themistocles glanced back at Scáthach and the three Valkyries, then gave them a gruff, irritated warning.
"Still, I owe you people a favor in the end, so don't say I didn't warn you. If you want to help the Spartans hold Thermopylae on land, you'd better convince those stubborn old fools on the Areopagus as soon as possible. Seven thousand against three hundred thousand. With odds that ridiculous, they can hold out five to seven days at most."
"Queen Gorgo of Sparta and Helen, High Priestess of the Temple of the Moon, have already arrived in Athens and gone to the Areopagus to ask for reinforcements. There should be an answer soon enough."
Samael looked meaningfully toward the Areopagus and answered offhandedly.
Themistocles knit his brows and let out a cold laugh, dismissing the idea without ceremony.
"Before the Egyptians switched sides and before the victory at Salamis, those two women might still have had the slightest chance of persuading the nobles in the assembly hall. But now, after consecutive victories, those people have already forgotten their place.
"These short-sighted fools have already abandoned Rome, abandoned Macedon, abandoned Thessaly. So what's one more Thermopylae? All they want is to hold on to this little patch of Athens. For that, they'd probably even submit to the Persians without hesitation."
Then the old man cast a shadowed look toward the Acropolis of Athens, a trace of mockery rising on his face.
"Don't waste your effort. For those old diehards obsessed with bloodline and order, whether it's the Emperor of the Roman Pantheon, those two Spartan women, or you people, all of you talking yourselves hoarse would probably still be less useful than that great snake in the Parthenon, the one they revere as Athens's Sacred King, crawling up in front of them and hissing a few times."
Athens's Sacred King... a great snake?
Samael suddenly remembered that, in history, after Thermopylae fell, Themistocles had tried again and again to persuade the nobles of the Areopagus to accept his advice, evacuate the Athenians by sea, make use of their naval advantage, and fight with their backs to the water, but to no avail.
To carry out his strategy, he had deliberately induced the priests to release Athena's sacred creature from the Acropolis, a great serpent, then used the serpent's disappearance to tell the Athenians that Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, had abandoned her city, and that there was no need to make a last stand there.
After the evacuation was completed, the refugees saw from afar the pride of Athens, the summit of the Acropolis wreathed in thick smoke. Those old diehards who had remained behind in Athens fought bravely to the death in the end, but it did nothing to change the larger outcome.
Although Themistocles had saved many Athenians through expedient measures, he had also been bold enough to toy with divine will, and that laid the groundwork for his eventual exile. The citizens who had benefited from his well-meant lie later did not care whether his motives had been good. Instead, they banished him for profaning divine intent and aspiring to dictatorship.
But now that old bastard had already been kicked aside by the Athenians long ago, so this trick of releasing the sacred serpent of Athens and steering public opinion was probably no longer something anyone would get to see.
What interested Samael more, instead, was the snake that had been used as a tool.
"What color is the snake enshrined in the temple?"
"Black, but not completely. Its scales have a faint violet sheen..."
"Like this?"
"Exactly. Though the one in the temple is a lot bigger than yours."
Themistocles looked in surprise at the serpent image manifested in the man's palm, then gave a slight nod.
Hearing that, Samael's lips curled faintly upward. A trace of nostalgia and delight appeared in his gaze as he muttered inwardly,
Sacred King? The place I left behind back then actually got taken over by a snake.
If I'm not mistaken, could it really be that one?
A strange look appeared on Samael's face. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Buzz!
Just as the Ancient Serpent was sinking into thought, two pillars of light composed of dozens of Rune symbols shot into the sky, humming and trembling in midair.
"Oh? So the talks fell apart that quickly?"
Seeing that his probing move had already produced results, Samael lazily stretched, while a sharp, icy glint flashed through the mockery in his eyes.
"Come on. Let's go take a walk up the mountain... Looks like I'll have my hands full today..."