novelraw Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22. The Battle of Thermopylae
“So this is the hill of Thermopylae…. A natural fortress.”
Lee Han-seong, who had joined the Spartan army, arrived at the hill of Thermopylae.
Thanks to continuous testing during the journey to Thermopylae, the Spartan warriors had become accustomed to the command style where King Leonidas' orders were relayed through Pheidippides' Six Harmonies Voice Transmission.
Of course, it wasn’t just the Spartan army that had grown accustomed to Six Harmonies Voice Transmission; the Greek allied forces with them had as well.
“With our army united by your ability and the terrain of this fortress, Xerxes' army won't be able to pass through here, no matter how numerous they are!”
“It will be as Your Highness wishes.”
King Leonidas, pleased with the effectiveness of Six Harmonies Voice Transmission he had confirmed so far, laughed heartily and declared victory.
However, Lee Han-seong could not genuinely share in Leonidas' joy.
He knew that this place would be breached due to a traitor who would appear on the third day of battle with the enemy.
Without showing his regret, he reminded himself to just get what he needed.
He had already obtained one thing on the way.
[The rare skill reacts to King Leonidas'
[Conditions have been met, and the rare skill blossoms into
While relaying King Leonidas' commands from his side, he gradually came to understand his intentions, and at some point, the
With this, the first condition of the History Alteration was met, so what remained were the traitor and the last stand at Thermopylae.
‘Should I expose the traitor? Or just let him be?’
If he wasn't going to change the history of defeat, it was right to leave him be….
But the fact that the traitor appeared as the second clue bothered him.
While Lee Han-seong was pondering about the traitor, the approaching Persian army slowly began to come into view.
“Just how many of them are there that we still can't see the end?”
“Can we win?”
“With that number, just shooting arrows would cover the sky, wouldn't it?”
At the appearance of the Persian army, which numbered around a million, sounds of dropping morale could be heard among the Greek allied forces.
In contrast, the number of the Greek allied forces commanded by King Leonidas was a mere 7,000.
Due to the nature of the hilly terrain, they wouldn't have to face all of them at once, but just as a sense of despair from the overwhelming numbers was about to set in.
“Hahaha! Then we’ll fight in the shade, won’t we?”
The captain of the Spartan royal guard laughed heartily and threw a joke.
As if in agreement, the other Spartan warriors also burst into laughter, and the sense of despair that had been spreading among the soldiers subsided.
There was also the fact that they knew the enemy wouldn't attack right away.
It would take a few days for a million-strong army to set up camp and finish preparations for battle, so there would be some time before the attack.
***
Thus, as the Greek allied forces and the Persian army continued their standoff, wary of each other, a commotion arose one day where the Spartan warriors were staying.
“What is it?”
When King Leonidas heard the commotion and went to see, a hunchback was there, displaying brilliant spear skills and engaging in a fierce fight with the captain of the royal guard.
Clang! Clang!
Despite the physical defect of being a hunchback, his spear skills were superior to those of an average warrior.
“Let me fight alongside the Spartan warriors too!”
“You hunchback, what nonsense are you spouting! Your spear skills are decent, but you wish to join us with just that!”
No matter how outstanding the hunchback's spear skills were, they were bound to be inferior compared to the captain of the royal guard, who stood at the pinnacle of the 300 Spartan royal guards.
Eventually, the hunchback was cornered and on the verge of having his neck cut.
“You will pay for that insolence with your neck!”
“Wait!”
King Leonidas stepped forward and stopped the captain of the royal guard from cutting the hunchback's neck.
“What is your name?”
After momentarily dismissing the captain of the royal guard, he asked for the hunchback's name.
The hunchback, with a look of deep emotion, bowed respectfully and opened his mouth.
“E-Ephialtes.”
“Hmm. I have seen your spear skills well.”
“Then…?”
“However, you cannot join us.”
Disheartened by King Leonidas' refusal, Ephialtes suddenly noticed Pheidippides standing by the king's side and gave him an envious look.
“That Athenian, who was just a messenger, can join, but why can't I fight with you?”
“With your bent back, you won't be able to lift your shield high enough. If you really want to join, it would be good if you could take on the role of caring for the wounded or clearing away the corpses. And Pheidippides has already proven his worth.”
“Ah….”
After hearing such a clear reason, he could no longer argue.
His slumped back as he trudged away was a pitiful sight.
-Nyaa.
But then, the cat cried and, just as it had at the dungeon's Midpoint, began to show the history of a different timeline.
A vision of the original history unfolded before my eyes.
Flicker!
It was a dark night.
The flickering light of a torch illuminated a figure sitting with a languid expression in a tent.
It was Xerxes, the Persian emperor who had started this war.
In front of him was the hunchback I had just seen.
“I know a secret path to Thermopylae. If I tell you this, what reward can I receive?”
“I am generous. You will get what you desire. Tell me about the secret path.”
“It seems I have come to the right place. Unlike King Leonidas, you are magnanimous.”
At Xerxes' promise, Ephialtes himself became a guide and led the Persian Immortals towards the secret path, and with that, the vision before my eyes ended.
‘So the traitor was Ephialtes.’
Lee Han-seong tried to gauge the constellation's intention.
Did revealing the traitor mean he should be dealt with before he betrays them?
But if Thermopylae isn't breached, then there won't be a Battle of Salamis, will there?
He couldn't understand the constellation's intention at all.
“What do you wish for me to do?”
He even asked the cat directly, but the cat remained silent.
The choice was solely Lee Han-seong's.
Lee Han-seong briefly looked around at the Spartan warriors.
The time they had spent together, including the Battle of Marathon 10 years ago, was just over two weeks, but it was enough to recognize each of their faces.
‘What do I want to do?’
He asked himself.
They were all fated to die here.
No, they were already dead people.
Knowing this, he had maintained only a superficial relationship with them.
As if dealing with strangers whose deaths didn't matter.
‘Really?’
But the fact that he was agonizing over it like this meant that deep down, he didn't want them to die.
In the first place, if all he wanted was to complete the 3-star promotion, he could have just turned a blind eye to the traitor.
To be honest, he didn't want to see King Leonidas, the captain of the royal guard, or the other warriors of the royal guard… the comrades he had been with, die.
But if Chungmugong failed to be promoted in this History Alteration, his comrades in reality would be in danger.
So he had tried to ignore it, but….
He still didn't like seeing people he knew die.
‘Therefore, I will try to change the history of Thermopylae as much as possible.’
He hadn't given up on the plan for Chungmugong's promotion at the Battle of Salamis.
He was just thinking of finding a way not to give up on either side.
He felt he would greatly regret it later if he didn't do it here.
-Meow!
As if affirming him, the cat cried.
Having made up his mind, Lee Han-seong asked for King Leonidas' permission.
“May I speak with the man named Ephialtes for a moment?”
“You, Pheidippides?”
“Yes.”
“If you must, then come with me.”
King Leonidas, as if he wouldn't allow Lee Han-seong to act alone, followed him to Ephialtes' quarters.
***
“Ephialtes. If you truly wish it, there is a way for you to join us. Would you like to hear it?”
“What is that…?”
Lee Han-seong, who had gone to see Ephialtes, didn't outright accuse him of being a traitor.
He hadn't betrayed them yet.
Instead, he found a way to keep him by their side.
A method only possible now that tactical actions could be sustained even after the phalanx was scattered, thanks to Six Harmonies Voice Transmission.
“I am thinking of making you a card to be deployed only in individual combat, where individual capabilities become important, when our phalanx breaks.”
“…Hmm.”
“If our side has the advantage, you will have to wait in the rear, but if the formation breaks and we are at a disadvantage, you too will be able to fight to your heart's content.”
[
…….
As long as he could fight, it seemed some restrictions didn't matter, as Ephialtes eventually accepted his proposal.
A minimal leash was placed on the one who harbored the seeds of betrayal.
It was the moment the last stand at Thermopylae became an unknown variable.
***
On the fifth day of the standoff at Thermopylae, Emperor Xerxes' attack order was finally given.
“The enemy is coming!”
With their massive army being a constraint, the Persian army had to commit its forces sequentially.
Thus, the Persian vanguard stepped forward.
King Leonidas, having confirmed them, gathered the Greek allied forces and spoke.
“We will stop the enemy here!”
“We will fight the enemy here!”
“The enemy will die here!”
“Remember this day, warriors.”
“For it will remain your day forever!”
Pheidippides' Six Harmonies Voice Transmission repeated King Leonidas' words with each phrase, delivering his message to places where the sound could not reach.
“Earn your shields, comrades!”
At the words to earn their shields, a roar erupted from the Spartan royal guard.
In Sparta at that time, a shield was given to a warrior after his first victory.
King Leonidas' words meant to win.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The warriors stomped their feet and roared, confident of victory.
And finally, the Persian army entered firing range.
A Persian general came forward and shouted.
“Sparta! Lay down your weapons!”
It was a call for surrender, advising them to disarm.
To that, King Leonidas answered not with words, but with action.
Swish!
A single spear suddenly flew and embedded itself in the chest of the general who had advised surrender.
“Persia, come and take them yourselves!”
Confirming that they had no intention of surrendering, the Persian soldiers nocked arrows to their bows.
Shushushushushushu!
Soon, a rain of arrows was fired.
Countless arrows, enough to cover the sun.
Even seeing that sight, the Spartan warriors, far from being afraid, were smiling.
“What’s so funny?”
“It's just as the captain said!”
“What?”
“That we would fight in the shade!”
The warriors, who had raised their shields and joined them with their comrades' to block the arrows, ran towards the Persian army to meet the enemy.
It was the beginning of the Battle of Thermopylae.
***
The form of the battle that followed was simple.
Since the Greek alliance occupied the strategic point, not many troops were needed.
The phalanx formation, as proven in the Battle of Marathon, could easily face a large number of enemies with a small force.
Also, not all soldiers went into the phalanx; they rotated in shifts to conserve stamina, so there was no problem with combat sustainability.
Clang! Thud! Thud! Slice!
“Gah!”
“Kuhak!”
As the Median army, which had been the vanguard, was being shredded like they were in a blender, dying in countless numbers, Emperor Xerxes, who was watching the battle from the rear, could no longer remain still.
“Deploy the Immortals.”
Rising from his seat, he attempted a second attack with the 10,000 men of his strongest unit.
However, even the Persian elite, the Immortals, could not achieve a better result than the previous attack.
“Retreat!”
The Spartan army used a feigned retreat tactic to lure them into a pursuit.
When the Immortals' formation broke.
“Turn back! Annihilate the enemy!”
They would turn right back and kill them.
[Leonidas'
The battle that followed the attack that caught the enemy off guard was more like a harvest than a battle.
Slice slice slice slice!
On the first day, the Spartan army, which had slaughtered hundreds, thousands of enemies, had only two or three casualties.
On the following day, as the sun rose, Emperor Xerxes believed he would be victorious today.
“The enemy is few, and they must have been weakened by the injuries from yesterday's battle. There will be no more resistance. Attack!”
But that was a misconception.
“Uwaaah!”
“They said we wouldn't be able to fight anymore! What is this!”
On the contrary, the Greek alliance, whose morale had been boosted by the victory of the first day, seemed to be fighting even better than yesterday.
And that was the truth.
‘Having experienced actual combat, the proficiency of the
While relaying King Leonidas' commands, Lee Han-seong was also growing.
The king's intentions, which he had only roughly guessed at, were now being read in detail, and the relay method of Six Harmonies Voice Transmission was becoming more sophisticated.
Every word and action shown by Leonidas became a lesson and nourishment for the
‘The command just now is more urgent than the one before.’
He wasn't just repeating King Leonidas' words; his leadership ability had risen to the level where he could grasp the core of a given command and adjust the order of command delivery himself.
[The
Even though he hadn't used the
At the same time, the soldiers receiving the commands felt more and more like his own limbs.
‘Now, I can do it.’
At this moment, the Greek allied forces were no different from a single organism.
Fwububububuk!
“Re-retreat! Quickly fall back and preserve our forces!”
At the sight of his soldiers dying even faster than the previous day, Emperor Xerxes was greatly flustered and had no choice but to withdraw his troops.
He had also prepared in advance for the traitor who would be a problem on the third day, so it seemed possible to hold off the Persian army for days at this rate.
However, it seemed the history of defeat would not change so easily.
“The bypass road has been breached?!”
Ephialtes had definitely remained by their side.
But for some reason, on the third day, the Persian army had found the bypass road, just as in the original history.
For Lee Han-seong, who had been keeping Ephialtes close and watching him, secretly letting his guard down, the news was like a bolt from the blue.