Chapter 147: The Birth of the Mycenaean Empire (5)
With Alexis’s sharp reprimand, the chaos was finally brought under control.
Well… to be precise, it was only brought under control for everyone except those who could at least recite a few lines of magic.
“Philomela, put that protruding mouth of yours away. Since all those idiots have run off, at least you need to stay here.”
“……”
“Sigh!”
Alexis let out a long breath at the way the entire atmosphere of the mercenary band shifted the moment Njord was present, then forcibly resumed the meeting.
They had already wasted a whole week—they didn’t have much time left.
“Alright. Now that even Priest of Poseidon has come, our odds of completing this request have shot way up. As you all know, there’s a massive stake in this request: the autonomy of the city! Now is the time for us to finally achieve our dream!!”
Alexis’s confident voice instantly turned the previously lighthearted meeting room serious.
If Njord and Perseus hadn’t arrived, they had already been on the verge of giving up on this request.
For the mighty nation of Aethiopia to offer such enormous rewards and entrust mercenaries with the job…
It was obvious they needed meat shields—cannon fodder. Naturally, the Dawn Mercenary Band had fallen into deep concern over exactly that reason.
But now, with just the arrival of these two people, the problem had been solved.
Moreover, for a mercenary band made up of those who had suffered every kind of discrimination, this was a golden, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve their goal.
“So we!! Will hunt down Cetus!!!”
***
Aethiopia was a powerful nation ruled by King Cepheus, a country built on land that had been devastated by the mistake of Phaethon, son of Helios.
For the sake of those whose lives had been ruined by his error, Phaethon had offered much assistance.
In truth, it was practically Tethys and Oceanus’s daughter Clymene, together with Helios’s son Phaethon, who had founded this nation.
Well… strictly speaking, their influence had extended to every nation established across this continent.
In any case, Aethiopia was also the leading power of a federation that united countries like Egypt, Libya, and Jordan.
Especially since in Egypt, Helios was worshipped as the sun god Ra.
Such a powerful nation’s King Cepheus had as his queen Cassiopeia, whose beauty was said to rival that of the gods themselves.
The problem arose from Cassiopeia’s temperament: she was as sharp and thorny as a gorgeous rose, and utterly arrogant.
“What do you all think? My beauty is surely comparable to the Queen of the Sea, and as for my daughter Andromeda—even if you put all the sea goddesses together, her radiance would not fade.”
She was the type to casually spit out such arrogant words without a second thought.
The only reason no one stopped her was because of her stunning beauty and overwhelming power. Not even King Cepheus dared to.
“Hmm… So that’s what caused all this mess?”
“Yes. If it hadn’t been for that, they wouldn’t have called mercenaries like us, much less offered such rewards.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. But here’s the thing—I actually know a fair bit about the gods, you know? How the hell is this country still standing?”
At Poseidon’s question, the mercenaries gave wry smiles.
After accepting the request and gathering information, this had been the part that shocked them the most.
Normally, by now the entire country should have been ravaged by floods and tsunamis, with drinking water for humans and other races alike polluted and dried up, leaving everyone dead.
Yet before the gods could unleash their wrath, the goddess Eurynome had stepped in to prevent it.
“Hmm… The fated partner of that boy Perseus, the one my husband keeps clinging to… Interesting. Then let’s put it to the test.”
No one knew exactly why Eurynome had intervened, but one thing was certain: the goddess had shown mercy.
Precisely one month later, if they passed her trial, she would forgive all sins.
“…That’s kind of strange, isn’t it?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
While listening to Alexis explain the full background of the request alongside Njord, Perseus felt something odd.
As a priest of Poseidon, he had studied the temperament of the sea gods and the unique powers they wielded—and one thing had become very clear to him.
It wasn’t his own god, Poseidon, who was the real problem.
The real problem was the sea gods themselves.
The vast majority of sea deities were free-spirited. “Free-spirited” sounded nice, but in practice it meant they were like spoiled children who absolutely had to get their way.
And standing at the very top of those beings… was the goddess whose name had just been mentioned: Eurynome.
“Of course, Lady Eurynome doesn’t move easily. But even so, she is one of those who rules the seas in Lord Poseidon’s stead. For someone like Lady Eurynome to back down without reason after being insulted… that’s about as likely as Lord Zeus suddenly stopping his philandering.”
“Yeah, that’s true. That woman—no, Lady Eurynome—never forgives. She gives off a bit of a Hera vibe. And when she gets hysterical… it’s really something.”
“……”
Alexis shut his mouth tightly at Perseus’s sharp-tongued explanation and Njord cheerfully joining in to insult the gods right alongside him.
The analogy was painfully easy to understand, but the problem was that agreeing with it might earn him divine punishment on the spot.
(‘Every time I see this… maybe we really should separate this Mage from the priest? I know Poseidon’s priests tend to live wildly, but still…’)
***
A few days later.
As planned, the Dawn Mercenary Band, together with mercenaries gathered from across the country, began to march out as the meat shields for the regular army.
What should have been a march filled with worry and fear showed none of that.
They were equipped with artifacts crafted by disciples of Hephaestus—rare sights indeed—and clad in armor and weapons coated with adamant, said to be worth more than its weight in gold.
Such equipment would have bankrupted most nations.
The grand military parade currently on display was a blatant demonstration of Aethiopia’s overwhelming power.
Of course, the sea monster Cetus came in countless varieties, with vast differences in the type and degree of power it possessed.
Still, to the citizens watching the sight of ten thousand regular troops marching in formation, the trial itself no longer seemed to matter.
—WAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!
—General Andros!! Bring us victory!!!
—Do well! You’re our pride!!
—Overcome the trial! Bring us victory!
In the midst of all this fervor, Njord and Perseus quietly slipped to the back of the procession.
According to the original plan, they should have stepped in right away.
But after hearing the biting words from Njord and Perseus, Alexis completely overturned the entire strategy.
If what the two of them said was true… then this expedition was doomed to failure no matter what.
“So for now, our goal is to gather information. You didn’t lose the item Lord Njord gave us, right?”
“Captain, who in their right mind would lose something that valuable! That’s literally our lifeline. And hey, maybe the trial won’t be that bad after all!!”
“Hahaha, then we won’t have to split the rewards with the priest or the mage. And we get this rock-looking artifact for free?”
“Crazy bastard—even the most money-grubbing mercenary wouldn’t say that out loud.”
“Well… if we can pull this off ourselves, there’s nothing better.”
“Yeah, yeah. I hope my prediction is wrong too. The cost of bringing in Lord Njord and Priest Perseus isn’t exactly cheap.”
[[Uahahahahahaha.]]
And so, two regimental-level mercenary bands, eight battalion-level bands, two company-level bands, and ten thousand Aethiopian troops marched out for the trial.
“Still… with that many, they should manage somehow, right? It’s the strongest force I’ve ever seen.”
“…I’m not so sure.”
“Huh?”
***
In the end, the combined force of twelve mercenary bands and ten thousand Aethiopian troops was utterly routed.
Devastatingly so.
Among the survivors, only a tiny fraction remained unharmed.
Above all, the death toll reached roughly thirteen thousand. All regimental-level mercenary bands were completely wiped out, both company-level bands annihilated, and around seven thousand Aethiopian soldiers killed.
It was the worst catastrophe in the history of the nation of Aethiopia.
No one—except Poseidon—had anticipated this outcome.
Once again, humans and the other races were forced to confront the terror of gods and monsters.
“Ughhhk…!”
“…The mana circuits are damaged.”
“Cough…”
“Hey! Someone get a medic over here! He’s vomiting blood and it won’t stop!”
The survivors who made it back were in complete disarray.
Some had lost arms or legs.
Some had their internal mana overloaded, causing their bodies to collapse from within.
Others bore massive gashes across half their bodies or were writhing in agony from curses.
Countless numbers suffered such fates.
“What… what in the world happened?!”
Most shocked of all were the Aethiopian royal family.
They had never once imagined that their elite forces could be wiped out in a single moment.
This defeat cut far too deep.
Moreover, the monster sent by Lady Eurynome had delivered a message.
In one more month, they would have to face the trial again.
“Ahhh… What are we supposed to do…?”
King Cepheus despaired.
His strongest card had been completely annihilated. In this situation, there was nothing more he could do.
Even now, the remaining soldiers were already wavering—many were fleeing.
“The only option left is…”
It was something King Cepheus didn’t even want to imagine.
But in the end, when all other paths were closed, the only thing left was what the priest of the Egyptian sun god had suggested: offering a living sacrifice.
***
Normally, offering a sacrifice was the final resort used by individuals or groups to appease gods and beings of similar stature.
Such offerings typically involved presenting the one who had incurred divine wrath—along with something befitting the offense.
In the current situation, after failing the trial, the only things Aethiopia could possibly offer were Queen Cassiopeia, who had provoked the gods’ trial, and her daughter Andromeda.
“Your Majesty, the citizens’ anger is boiling over. They live in constant fear that the gods’ wrath might turn on them at any moment. It feels like a riot could break out any day now.”
“Our priests of Lord Helios also find it difficult to intervene in this matter. After all, it was Lady Eurynome herself who stepped in to mediate…”
Hearing the words of his vassals and priests, King Cepheus clutched his head in anguish.
In the end, the only thing he could do was offer either his queen or his princess as a sacrifice.
(‘Sigh… So in the end, we have no choice but to offer a sacrifice and give up on the trial?’)
“Father. Don’t worry. I will be the sacrifice. I don’t know if the sea gods will truly calm their anger with just me, but we have to at least try.”
“Andromeda!”
“It’s alright. But even if the sacrifice doesn’t work, someone has to buy time for the people to evacuate. And… if Mother steps forward, the gods will surely try to make her suffer.”
“……”
King Cepheus’s face twisted in pain at the sight of his daughter standing resolutely, volunteering to become the offering. He couldn’t utter a single word.
Because he could see it clearly.
Though she stood so bravely, her hands and legs were trembling uncontrollably.
And beside him, Queen Cassiopeia—unable to endure the extreme stress any longer—collapsed.
“Your Majesty!”
“Mother!!”
“Physician!!! Physician!!!”
In that moment, the royal palace of Aethiopia looked, to anyone who saw it, like a nation whose fate had already run dry—shrouded in the deepest despair imaginable.
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