Chapter 148: The Birth of the Mycenaean Empire (6)
Perseus was just as mentally exhausted as the Aethiopian royal palace.
Even with Njord’s help, more than half of the Dawn Mercenary Band had barely survived—returning in a state that could only be described as miraculous, thanks to their comrades’ desperate assistance.
The once battalion-sized expedition force had been reduced by a single trial to barely platoon-level strength.
The only silver lining was that, thanks to Njord, they hadn’t died outright.
“Over there! Bring me three roots of amaranth, a piece of mandragora, and powdered goldenrod seeds—right now!”
“Yes, sir!”
“You lot—keep washing his body nonstop with clean water. I’ve already cast a blessing on it!!”
“Understood!!”
“Everyone, hurry! Faster!!!”
“Yes!!!”
Perseus dashed around like a madman, treating the mercenaries.
For those who had lost arms, he performed transplants.
For those whose organs had melted away, he crafted artificial ones and reattached them.
For those poisoned down to the bone marrow, he split open their backs and extracted the venom.
For those whose brains had been ravaged by curses, he bestowed Poseidon’s blessings as a priest, restoring at least enough clarity for them to think.
“…If the Priest and the Mage hadn’t been here, most of us would’ve died.”
“Yeah. That Cetus… it wasn’t normal. It felt closer to an illusionary species, if anything.”
Watching Perseus run back and forth, Alexis assessed their remaining strength and the request with a cold, calculating gaze.
“Without Lord Njord’s tool, we really would’ve been wiped out.”
“Exactly. If that grand-scale anti-magic circle engraved on it hadn’t blocked and repelled Cetus’s flames, not a single person would’ve made it back alive.”
“Sigh… What do we do now? I did account for unexpected situations, but this… this crossed the line.”
Alexis let out a heavy sigh as he looked at the result of his own greed.
In truth, the idea of gathering information first had been born from Alexis’s own ambition.
He had envisioned a two-phase expedition:
The first wave would collect data on Cetus and drain its strength as much as possible.
Then the second wave would strike using that information.
That had been Alexis’s ideal plan.
He knew full well that if Njord and Perseus had taken the lead from the beginning, there would be no place left for the Dawn Mercenary Band.
So…
“The result of trying to keep the initiative in our hands… is this. We’ve even gone into debt for our subordinates’ lives. This expedition is over. There’s nothing more we can do.”
Alexis watched Perseus running around tirelessly and Njord—who wore an annoyed expression while prioritizing people like Zora, whom he was close with—and made his decision.
The request had failed. Their dream ended here.
At that moment, Philomela, who had been staring at him expressionlessly, tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“Nope. We still have Poseidon’s Priest and the Mage.”
“Yeah, sure. But this is our request. If it ends up like that, our original goal basically drifts further away, doesn’t it?”
“Tsk tsk tsk. Captain, you’re thinking too narrowly. We just have to go under the Priest.”
“What?”
“From what I’ve found out… the Priest is currently the sole heir to the island of Seriphos and a very strong candidate to become the next king of Athens.”
“……”
Alexis fell silent at Philomela’s words.
He had heard that the Priest wielded immense influence in Athens, but being the heir to a royal bloodline?
He was a far bigger figure than he had imagined.
“…But how would a witch like you know that? I’ve never been interested in that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, I’m still not interested. Lord Njord told me everything.”
Alexis pressed a palm to his forehead.
(‘Anyone can see this is the Mage’s doing…’)
***
The Dawn Mercenary Band ultimately decided not to abandon the request—but to put it on hold.
They had far too many injured, and aside from Alexis and Philomela, the other executives had also suffered serious wounds.
Still…
“Hehehe… To think I’d be this perfectly fine thanks to Lord Njord’s magic. Lord Njord really is the god of magic!”
“Ugh, get lost, you filthy guy! Lord Njord, Lord Njord—you’re just too handsome today~”
There were still plenty of carefree members.
“Wow… Lykos and Zora were sucking up like crazy, but it actually worked.”
“Right? Magic really does seem like it can do anything. He healed that in one shot.”
“Yeah. Zora had been really depressed thinking she could never use magic again.”
“Exactly. Lykos was in the same boat.”
Because Njord and Perseus were here—and because they were convinced they wouldn’t die thanks to them—the morale of the subordinates hadn’t dropped at all.
In fact, unlike the deeply worried Alexis, the rank-and-file were simply marveling with complete ease.
Alexis shook his head at the sight.
(‘Some of us are getting headaches to death here…’)
The endlessly resourceful Mage Njord.
And Poseidon’s Priest, Perseus.
There was no doubt that the two of them combined could at least stand a chance against the Cetus that had just annihilated them.
(‘But if it comes to that, we’d basically be handing over everything we were supposed to gain to the Priest. Even if he refuses, we’re mercenaries. A proper request deserves proper compensation. The problem is… that means entrusting our long-cherished dream to someone else’s hands…’)
Alexis could vaguely sense it.
If not this opportunity, then perhaps not even in his generation—or until all his brothers were dead—would the mercenary band be able to fulfill their long-held vow.
Moreover, the moment he even thought about taking advantage of the Priest, someone standing behind him would definitely step in.
Just seeing how subtly Philomela was feeding him suggestions made it obvious what she was thinking.
“Perhaps… this is the fate woven for us by the goddesses of destiny. Does this mean we have to break the oath we swore—to achieve our dream with our own hands?”
***
While Alexis was agonizing over his own fate…
The atmosphere inside the Aethiopian palace was nothing short of bleak.
Andromeda’s decision to offer herself as the sacrifice in order to buy time had become an accepted fact.
Upon learning this, the citizens too began packing their belongings for evacuation with dark, hopeless expressions.
Since King Cepheus had originally been a benevolent ruler, many people felt the situation all the more tragic.
“All of you—take the people and flee to safety. I will remain here with my daughter.”
““Your Majesty!!!””
“Anyway, isn’t Phineus the one who will inherit the throne next? Though he has his narrow-minded side, he is someone we can rely on. He is my cousin—trust Phineus and go.”
“……”
“Why do the ministers remain silent?”
At King Cepheus’s question, those gathered before him could not bring themselves to speak the truth.
That the very man he trusted and told them to rely on had already fled the country.
Just as the king was about to voice his confusion at their silence—
“Your Majesty! It seems we still have one more chance!! Among the mercenary bands that took on this request, one of them brought along a priest of Poseidon!!!”
““!!!””
***
With Alexis’s resolve settled, Perseus was now heading toward the blood-soaked site of the trial.
“Tch. If you’d just accepted those guys on the spot, things would’ve been a lot easier.”
“Hahaha…”
“They’re not particularly useful, but if I ever become king later, wouldn’t they be convenient subordinates to have around?”
Perseus could only give an awkward smile at Njord’s grumbling.
Ever since he had politely refused the Dawn Mercenary Band’s offer—when they declared they would serve under him—Njord’s complaints had grown noticeably louder.
(—I’m disappointed too. They’re clearly people who could become a great help to you.)
“Ugh… Even you, Necklace-nim, are saying that now. Of course, in general that might be true… but to my eyes, they looked far too desperate. I don’t want to take advantage of people who are that desperate. Besides, I already have more than enough, and as Poseidon’s priest, exploiting them would only tarnish Lord Poseidon’s name.”
“……”
(—……)
(—…Oh my gods! How unfair is it that such an upright kid ended up as Poseidon’s priest!!)
A brief silence fell at Perseus’s words.
But soon after, Atropos burst out in shock and disbelief.
How could someone as upright as this come from a rogue like Poseidon?! And to top it off, this boy even carried Zeus’s bloodline.
It was nothing short of a miracle born from chaos itself.
In stark contrast to Atropos’s reaction, Njord—somehow looking proud—patted Perseus’s back repeatedly and nodded.
“Mhm, mhm. As expected of a priest of a god—you should live with thoughts and actions like that. It’s very right and proper.”
As if he had completely forgotten how sulky he had been just moments ago, Njord now wore a bright, satisfied smile and even took the lead walking forward.
Perseus watched Njord with a familiar expression and shook his head with a wry smile.
And so, bathed in praise from both Atropos and Njord, they eventually reached the coastline.
A place that should have been bustling with countless ships and people was now eerily desolate.
“Wow. The traces here are no joke. The entire dock is destroyed, and there are mana puddles pooling all over the place. The battle must’ve been insane. Perseus?”
After Njord’s explanation, Perseus looked around once—and then froze in place without realizing it.
“Hey! Why’d you suddenly stop? What’s there? I didn’t detect anything major… except for that sacrifice thing.”
In the middle of the sea stood an unusually thick and tall pillar.
Atop it was a woman with dark blue-black hair and eyes like vivid emerald.
Her figure caught Perseus’s gaze so completely that he could no longer hear Njord talking behind him.
***
Before any report about Perseus could reach King Cepheus, Andromeda had shaken off everyone’s attempts to stop her and climbed the sacrifice pillar that the mages and engineers had erected.
In her mind, this was the best course of action.
With Aethiopia’s elite forces completely annihilated, wasn’t further discussion pointless?
Of course, she wasn’t certain that offering herself as the sacrifice would actually stop the trial.
But since the oracle of the Egyptian sun god’s priest and the Helios priests in the palace all agreed, it was at least worth attempting.
If her life could halt this ordeal…
And even if it didn’t work, it would at least buy them time.
With that thought, Andromeda tightly gripped the royal treasure—a single-use jewel capable of summoning the sun’s flame.
Of course, she had secretly taken it despite her father and mother’s opposition and the resistance of some retainers.
Standing atop the massive pillar, Andromeda gazed out at the blue sea, preparing to negotiate with the Cetus that would soon appear.
Contrary to her firm resolve, the ocean remained unnaturally calm.
Then, just as she was steeling herself, a human voice reached her ears from below.
—Hey there—!@@!##$@#%#.
“Hm?”
A voice coming from the base of the pillar.
At first, she thought her father and mother had already come chasing after her.
It was about the time she would have been discovered anyway.
“Father must have arrived already. But my decision won’t waver.”
Feeling the commotion below, Andromeda looked down to voice her determination once more.
“I will not bend my will—”
But what she saw was a young man with golden hair.
That day, an arrow of gold from Eros pierced straight through Andromeda’s heart.
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