The next day, furious roars echoed throughout the entire palace hall.
"I'm not dead yet! You want me to bow to those foreign tribes at sea? As long as I'm alive, it's absolutely impossible!"
The five princes, summoned back once again from various city-states to report at the palace, had been passive in war preparations and attempted to persuade Crete to seek peace with the Atlanteans...which enraged King Minos.
As a result, the twilight-aged lion, in his rage, directly ended his recuperation, stormed out of the inner hall, and in full view of the court, took a whip and beat his five sons half to death.
If not for the second daughter, who was the high priestess, and the generals bitterly pleading, King Minos nearly sent his five disobedient sons straight to the underworld.
But seemingly inheriting their old father's stubborn character, the eldest prince Androgeos, even on his last breath, spat blood and spoke from the heart.
"Father, we cannot win.
Do you want to doom everyone?"
These words sent a chill through everyone's hearts.
Though as the situation gradually clarified, nearly everyone had considered this possibility,at most, they had only thought about it.
But now, even the old king's own flesh and blood declared it so; Crete's future was all too imaginable.
"Good, good, good!"
Hearing his eldest son's rebuttal, the old man laughed in extreme anger.
"You want to live, no one is stopping you! I'll give you three days, get out of Crete immediately!"
Then, the old man turned to his ministers with changing expressions, equally merciless, once again displaying his toughness and obstinacy to his subjects and people.
"Anyone else? Anyone in the city who wants to leave can go with them,
I won't stop you! By law and decree!"
Though this old king was always strict in enforcement and rarely broke promises.
Yet no one in the hall responded; everyone appeared utterly loyal and devoted.
Only some gazes quietly glanced at the five princes on the ground who were gradually recovering.
The five didn't say much more.
In the hall, they solemnly bid farewell to their father, supported each other, and departed grandly.
That night, several fully loaded large ships quietly set sail, leaving Crete through leeward harbors.
Among them were the eldest prince's family and confidants, as well as citizens from the city-states under his governance who were willing to follow him.
According to insiders, they headed to Paros Island, an offshore dependency conquered by King Minos.
As news of the eldest son's defection reached the palace, the old king showed no intent to pursue or punish over a full day.
Instead, he ordered the lifting of curfews at several leeward ports, adopting a hands-off attitude.
Seeing their elder brother's example, the second prince Catreus was even more decisive...he didn't wait for nightfall, leading a large group out of the harbor toward another Minoan overseas territory, Rhodes Island.
Upon receiving the news, King Minos, as promised, ignored it completely.
With two successful precedents, the remaining three princes quickly followed their brothers' footsteps, breaking with their stubborn father and bidding farewell to this land where Minoans had lived for generations.
Similarly, some wavering generals and ministers quietly began transferring their families and close associates.
As the news spread to the common people, nearly everyone sensed the impending collapse of the great edifice.
Driven by fear and the will to survive, large numbers of civilians began fleeing with their entire families.
Seeing this, King Minos not only did not pursue responsibility but even extended the port opening period by two more days.
In a short time, Crete's population sharply decreased; ships of all sizes scattered like schools of fish fleeing sea beasts, migrating toward the mainland and new places of survival.
At this moment, in the palace hall.
Gazing at the shuttle-like fleet on the sea and the increasingly sparse cooking smoke across the island, the twilight old man on the throne couldn't help revealing a faint sorrow.
This was the kingdom he had built bit by bit....and now also destroyed bit by bit by his own hands.
Yes, this great drama of father-son rupture was naturally orchestrated by him and that scribe.
Among the five sons, only the eldest was informed of part of the inside story and cooperated somewhat; the rest acted purely according to their true convictions.
Thus, eldest prince Androgeos gained the privilege of first choice among Minoan offshore dependencies and ultimately chose to become king of Paros Island.
As for the remaining sons, how they chose and where they went, depended entirely on their wisdom and luck.
Children eventually grow up; even King Minos himself could not shelter his offspring forever.
And with the great house about to collapse, leaving them a path to life was already the greatest mercy this old father could offer his descendants.
Similarly, showing such leniency to the royal family who should defend the land, he naturally would not harshly blame the fleeing ministers and subjects.
—No one was obligated to die with him.
"Father, why are you up again?
Lie down and rest quickly!"
At this time, Princess Ariadne, who had hurried to the palace, saw her twilight-aged father standing barefoot alone at the palace gate and quickly ran over, supporting him to the bed in the rear hall, and gently coverinf him with a blanket.
However, even after being pressed onto the bed by his second daughter, the old man remained restless.
"How are things going?"
Princess Ariadne immediately replied softly: "Rest assured, Father, all the necessary notifications have been made; no household was missed."
"Sent the fleet?"
"Yes, as per your instructions—watching from afar. But that area is away from the Oceanus sea, with Crete's coastal defenses holding the front line, so they basically won't encounter sea beasts."
"Better to be prepared." King Minos paused, then continued pressing.
"By now, how many have left?"
Upon hearing this, the second princess hesitated for a moment.
But under her old father's piercing gaze, she could not conceal it and honestly reported the truth.
"Nearly eighty percent..."
"Surprisingly, twenty percent still remain—not bad..."
King Minos grinned, murmuring to himself.
Hearing her old father speak in this way, thinking it was sarcasm, the second princess immediately comforted him.
"That's only the other city-states.
In Knossos city, over thirty percent chose to stay, willing to stand with you until the last breath for this homeland! My sisters and I are the same!"
To his daughter's vow, King Minos shook his head, smiling without words, and simply gazed at the sun sinking inch by inch below the horizon, murmuring softly.
"It's been five days now... those who should leave have left..."
The second princess sensed the sorrow in her old father's words.
Her lips parted, wanting to persuade him further, but before she could speak, a withered old hand heavily landed on her shoulder.
"Then, tomorrow at midnight, you will take your two younger sisters and the remaining people, and board the ships to leave together.
On the ships, I have left three hundred divine-blooded royal guards for you, from now on, they will all obey your command."
"...!"
Hearing King Minos's instructions, the second princess's face changed.
First came blank shock, then she quickly knelt down and swore.
"Father, I won't leave! I will absolutely never abandon you!"
"I know. You have already proven your loyalty to Crete..."
The old man nodded, a comforted smile appearing on his face as his withered right hand gently stroked his daughter's soft, smooth hair.
"That's why I am personally entrusting the purest seed of the Minoans to you."
In a flash, thunder boomed in the second princess's mind.
The various events of recent days gradually connected, and the answer escaped her lips.
"This was your plan from the very beginning?"
King Minos slightly nodded, his aged eyes glancing toward the shadows in the corner.
"Or perhaps... you explain it?"
At this moment, under the second princess's stunned gaze, a certain scribe who had been hidden there unbeknownst to her stepped out from the shadows.
While supporting King Minos to lie down, he leisurely began to speak.
Stepping from behind the curtain to the forefront, Lorne paused briefly before recounting the plan he and King Minos had finalized that night, to this princess, who had been kept in the dark.
In fact, this was both an amnesty and a test.
Allowing the five princes, batches of ministers, and tens of thousands of civilians to flee was indeed because King Minos did not want these Minoans under his rule to sacrifice themselves in vain for a war that could not be won.
But on the other hand, they were also using this to screen for those with truly resilient minds...those qualified to carry on the pure seed of Minoan civilization.
And after rounds of elimination, this group that ultimately chose to stay was undoubtedly the most suitable candidates.
They were also the gift King Minos intended to leave to his second daughter, the high priestess, and to the great mother goddess Athena.
To put it more cruelly...
The earlier batches, led by the eldest prince, seemed to gain an advantage but were actually using their lives to probe the gods' attitudes and open a safe sea route to the mainland.
If anything went wrong, they would be the first to be sacrificed.
And the one who proposed this heartless suggestion was naturally a certain virtue-lacking, black-hearted scribe.
But the earliest departing groups were fortunate enough, and did not attract the attention of the gods or sea beasts.
Or perhaps, the actions of humans as insignificant as ants were of no consequence to them.
Of course, these layers of maneuvering were not suitable to reveal to the second princess before him.
For now, she only needed to understand that her group and those Minoans who remained steadfast after the test were the true seeds upon which King Minos placed his greatest hopes.
But even knowing the full story, the second princess still hesitated.
"But, Father..."
"Obey. This is the goddess's command!"
The old man interrupted his daughter's hesitation, his face turning stern.
Finally, after King Minos invoked Athena's name, the second princess—as high priestess, fell silent for a moment, then changed to another question.
"What if... they refuse to leave with me?"
"Then get them drunk, knock them out, and throw them onto the ships one by one!"
Lorne, who was prepared for this, stepped forward to advise the priestess.
The latter, however, shook her head, rebutting again.
"But what if, even then, some still refuse to go?"
"Then..."
Lorne was about to speak when his shoulder was pressed by a withered old arm.
King Minos on the bed sat up straight, tightening the wrinkles on his face as he solemnly declared.
"Then let me guard them—to the very last moment!"
"..."
(End of Chapter)