Hard Hit

Why aren’t we going to the hippodrome?” Julia asked Hermes as the group entered the gymnasium the next day. “ I thought you’d want Brody to work on his chariot driving some more. ” “ That can wait, ” Hermes replied. “ I’ve had enough of watching chariot driving for a while. Besides, if I ask Poseidon to borrow his horses again so soon, he’ll think I’m worried about Brody’s chances in the event. ” Julia didn’t respond. She was pretty sure Poseidon had already figured out that Brody wasn’t an expert chariot driver!

我们为什么不去赛马场？” 第二天，当一行人走进体育馆时，茱莉亚问赫耳墨斯。“我以为你会希望布罗迪继续练习驾驶战车。” “那个可以再往后放放，”赫尔墨斯回答。“这段时间我已经看够了战车驾驶。 再说了，如果我这么快再次向波塞冬借马，他会认为我担心布罗迪在比赛中的机率。” 茱莉亚没有回答。她很确定波塞冬已经发现布罗迪不是一个专业的战车手！

Athena and her champion spotted Hermes and Brody and came over. “ My champion is training for the hoplitodromos, ” Athena told Hermes. “ We’ve reached the point where he would benefit from running against an opponent. Can we train with you?” “ The hoplitodromos. ” Hermes snapped his fingers. “ I knew there was something I meant to do today! ” “ The hoplitodromos, ” Julia said to Markos. “ That’s the race where the runners have to wear armor, right?”

雅典娜和她的冠军发现了赫尔墨斯和布罗迪，走了过来。 “我的冠军正在为重装步兵赛跑这个项目训练，”雅典娜告诉赫尔墨斯。“我们已经达到了他可以从与对手的比赛中获益的程度。我们可以和你们一起训练吗？” “重装步兵赛跑。”赫尔墨斯打了个响指。“我就知道我今天有什么事要做！” “重装步兵赛跑，”茱莉亚对马库斯说。“这是一项跑步者必须穿盔甲的比赛，对吧？”

“ Yes, ” Markos said. “ It’s quite a test of an athlete’s strength and endurance. ” Julia watched as Hermes snapped his fingers again and a pile of metal armor fell out of the sky with a clang. It was so loud that it startled Ares, who instantly turned into a huge, growling dog. “ Sorry, my friend, ” Hermes called out with a smirk. “ I didn’t mean to scare you. ” Ares returned to his normal form and scowled at Hermes. “ You didn’t scare me, messenger, ” he snapped. “ You merely distracted me! ” Julia watched Ares grab his champion and drag him off toward the javelin area. She was glad to see the war god go. After his trick with the javelins, Ares made Julia nervous when he was close.

“是的，”马库斯说。“这相当考验运动员的力量和耐力。” 茱莉亚看着赫尔墨斯再次打了个响指，一堆金属铠甲咣当一声从天而降。声音太大了，把阿瑞斯吓了一跳，阿瑞斯立刻变成了一只咆哮的大狗。 “抱歉，我的朋友，”赫尔墨斯笑着喊道。“我不是故意吓唬你的。” 阿瑞斯恢复了正常状态，皱眉看着赫尔墨斯。“你没有吓到我，使者，”他厉声说。“你只是分散了我的注意力！” 茱莉亚看着阿瑞斯抓住他的冠军，把他拖向标枪区。她很高兴看到战神离开。在那次标枪捉弄事件结束后，当阿瑞斯靠近的时候，茱莉亚总是很紧张。

“ I guess it’s a good thing Brody gets to practice with Athena’s champion, ” Julia said. “ Athena probably won’t turn Brody’s shield into a hungry wolf or something. ” Markos chuckled. “ True. It’s too bad we can’t say the same for most of the other gods. I hear they’re already coming up with ways to sabotage Alcides as soon as he arrives. ” Julia noticed Hermes staring at them.

“我想布罗迪能和雅典娜的冠军一起练习是一件好事，”茱莉亚说。“雅典娜可能不会把布罗迪的盾牌变成饿狼之类的东西。” 马库斯轻笑了一声。“没错。不过很遗憾，我们不能对其他多数神说这样的话。我听说他们已经想出了办法，一旦阿尔西德斯到来，就会阻碍他。” 茱莉亚注意到赫尔墨斯在盯着他们。

“ Well?” the god said. “ Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to help my champion get ready?” “ Sorry, Hermes. ” Markos scurried over to Brody. Julia went to help too. The armor consisted of a metal helmet, a large wooden shield covered in bronze, and a pair of metal leg coverings. She picked up the helmet and almost dropped it. “ Wow, ” she said. “ This stuff is heavy! ” “ No kidding. ” Brody put on one of the leg coverings. “ This gear is a lot heavier than my football pads. It’s not going to be easy to run in all this stuff. ”

“嗯？”神说。“你们是要坐在那里，还是要帮我的冠军做好准备？” “抱歉，赫尔墨斯。”马库斯急忙跑向布罗迪。 茱莉亚也去帮忙了。盔甲由一个金属头盔、一个青铜覆盖的大木制盾牌和一对金属腿罩组成。她拿起头盔，差点掉下来。 “哇，”她说。“这东西很重！” “别开玩笑了。”布罗迪戴上了其中一个腿套。“这个装备比我的足球垫重得多。带着所有这些东西跑步并不容易。”

“ Don’t forget this. ” Markos picked up the shield. “ Be careful not to drop it while you’re running, or you’ll have to stop and retrieve it. That will slow you down. ” “ Okay. Hold the shield while I put on my helmet. ” Brody adjusted the metal helmet on his head. Then he took the shield from Markos. “ Ready, boy?” Hermes stepped forward, looking impatient. “ Athena’s champion is waiting. ” “ I’m ready. ” Brody took a few steps toward the other athlete. His armor clanked with every step. As soon as Brody neared Athena’s champion, the goddess waved her hand. “ Go! ”

“别忘了这个。”马库斯拿起盾牌。“小心不要在跑步时掉下来，否则你必须停下来取回它。这会让你的速度变慢。” “好的。拿着盾牌，我戴上头盔。”布罗迪调整了一下头上的金属头盔。然后他从马库斯手中接过盾牌。 “准备好了吗，小子？”赫尔墨斯走上前，一脸不耐烦。“雅典娜的冠军还在等着。” “我准备好了。”布罗迪朝另一个运动员走了几步。每走一步他的盔甲都会发出叮当声。 布罗迪一靠近雅典娜的冠军，女神就挥了挥手。“出发！”