novelraw Chapter 23 : Chapter 23
Chapter 23 : Chapter 23
Chapter 23. No Retreat in the Face of Battle
Third day of the Battle of Thermopylae.
Around dawn, in the direction of the bypass road.
Rustle.
“What was that sound?”
The Phocian army discovered the Persian army through the rustling sound of oak leaves.
……!!
Both sides, having discovered each other's presence, were startled.
‘The Spartan army is this far?!’
‘The Immortals? A surprise attack by the Persians!’
It was the Phocian army that moved first.
“Retreat! Retreat to the hill and reform the lines!”
However, even seeing this, the Immortals could not move rashly.
The current Immortals were a force of 20,000, augmented with new troops to replace the survivors of the Immortals who had suffered near-annihilation on the first day of battle.
Fear of the Spartan army was rampant.
At the sight of the hesitating Immortals, the traitor who had guided them, Ephialtes, stepped forward.
It was not the hunchback whom Lee Han-seong had kept close and watched, but a Thracian named Ephialtes.
[《Nightmare: Ephialtes》 reproduces the history of betrayal.]
As the betrayal at Thermopylae was etched into history, the name Ephialtes itself came to mean nightmare.
When the original traitor, the hunchback Ephialtes, was unable to betray them, another Ephialtes betrayed them, bringing about the same result as the original history.
“They are not the Spartan army. They are just the Phocian army, so you can just ignore them.”
“Is that so.”
If the opponent was not the Spartan army, there was no reason for the Immortals to be afraid.
“There is no need to waste time here. We will pass by while keeping them in check with arrows.”
Shushushushushu!
The Immortals rained arrows on the Phocian army, which had taken position on the hill, and passed by them.
“They are just passing by! Shouldn't we stop them?”
“We should… but how?”
It was one thing to hold out from the top of the hill, but if they tried to go down and stop them directly, it was as clear as day that the Phocian army would be annihilated.
“There's no choice. We have to quickly deliver this news to the main force.”
The only thing they could do was to send a messenger to report that the bypass road had been breached.
***
King Leonidas, who heard the news about the bypass road from a messenger, quickly summoned his staff.
“Summon a staff meeting immediately.”
It was still close to dawn, but the matter was urgent, and there was no time to delay.
=All staff, assemble!
After waking the sleeping staff with Six Harmonies Voice Transmission and calling them in, the meeting began quickly.
“If the bypass road has been breached, we must withdraw. At this rate, we will be attacked from both the front and the back.”
“No.”
Some of the staff argued for a retreat, but King Leonidas had no intention of backing down.
“If we retreat now, it's only a matter of time before we are caught in the open ground beyond Thermopylae.”
“So you're saying that even if we retreat, someone has to stay here and hold the enemy to buy time.”
The Greek army staff, who had grasped the meaning of King Leonidas' words, avoided his gaze.
It seemed they were trying to avoid becoming the sacrificial lambs who would remain here.
King Leonidas, who had noticed their inner thoughts, did not get angry.
“You may leave if you wish. We, Sparta, will defend this place to the end.”
“Really? We will never forget Sparta's sacrifice.”
“As expected. They say Sparta never retreats. It was true!”
As soon as King Leonidas' permission was granted, a considerable number of the Greek allied forces retreated.
The remaining forces at Thermopylae numbered only 2,000.
As if to match the arrival time of the Immortals, the Persian army had only prepared for battle and had not yet moved.
“Spartan warriors! Eat your last meal in this life heartily. For we will dine in the underworld tonight!”
In the meantime, the remaining Spartan army released their remaining provisions, ate combatively, and burned what was left.
After filling their bellies and waiting, the Persian vanguard also slowly began to advance.
“The enemy is coming.”
“We are going down too!”
King Leonidas took the remaining troops and went down to the wide open ground to kill more enemies.
“We will fight until we die. Let's go.”
“Wohoo! Wohoo! Wohoo!”
Thus, the moment the final battle of Thermopylae, the battle of the third day, began.
Pheidippides was also with King Leonidas.
“Why did you not flee? With your abilities, you could have escaped anytime.”
“Did I not say I would be with you? I will not flee until the last man falls.”
King Leonidas, sensing Lee Han-seong's resolve, laughed heartily.
“Haha. You are truly a warrior. I recognize you as an honorary Spartan.”
“Wohoo!”
He responded to the king's recognition with a warrior's roar.
Starting with him, the other warriors also began to let out roars, and soon the entire army erupted in a roar.
Wohoo!! Wohoo!! Wohoo!!
[
The Spartan line and the Persian line clashed, spewing out the boiling power of the battle cry.
Clang! Clang! Thud! Thud! Slice! Slice!
The enemy's vanguard numbered roughly 10,000.
Although they were clearly outnumbered, Sparta and the remaining Greek allied forces fought tenaciously.
[
[The command through leadership is engraved into the subconscious of the allies.]
With no retreat in the face of battle, it was truly Imjeonmutoe.
[The command of Imjeonmutoe suppresses the allies' retreat.]
[Due to the influence of Transcendence, the allies' physical limits are released.]
It was a state where the allies' fighting power was amplified using the Chain skill.
It wasn't to the extent that everyone transcended and was promoted by one stage like when they were in a swarm, but it was at least enough to release the brain's limits and exert monstrous strength.
Whoosh-! Craack-! KABOOM-!
The allies' attacks shattered the opponent's weapons and crushed their bodies.
In proportion to that, the allies' equipment and bodies also broke down, but the warriors paid no heed.
They fought until all their spears became useless, and then they switched to swords.
If even the swords were gone, they fought with their fists, and if their arms to swing their fists were cut off, they would bite with their teeth.
The formation had already collapsed, and the situation was no different from a chaotic battle.
Among them, the hunchback Ephialtes was also fighting to his heart's content as he had wished, with a grotesque smile on his face.
Not only him, but most of the allies had a faint smile on their faces due to the influence of the endorphins secreted in their brains.
“Just die already!”
“You crazy bastards! Why are you fighting like that!”
Rather, it was the Persian army facing them that showed signs of being fed up with their appearance of laughing and charging at them no matter how wounded they were.
However, even in a situation where one warrior displayed the might of a hundred, it was impossible to overturn the overwhelming difference in numbers.
Swish!
At that moment, an arrow shot by a Persian archer hit King Leonidas.
It was when they had annihilated the enemy's vanguard of 10,000 and killed nearly 10,000 of the main force as well.
“Leonidas!”
The place he was hit was not good, and it was an instant death.
“We've killed Leonidas! Secure his body!”
The Persian soldiers, full of vigor, try to take Leonidas' body.
It was an action born from the judgment that Sparta's morale would have dropped with King Leonidas' command cut off.
‘What would Leonidas have done now?’
But the allies' morale was still maintained.
It was because Lee Han-seong had put King Leonidas' body on his back and was continuing the command by imitating his leadership with Six Harmonies Voice Transmission.
The narrowed vision and dulled minds from the battle caused the warriors to be under the illusion that the king was still alive, as long as the command continued through Six Harmonies Voice Transmission, even though they had seen the king fall to an arrow and heard the Persian side's cry that they had killed the king.
In other words, Pheidippides was now in charge of the core of the allied forces.
There was no way the Persian side would not notice this.
“Kill that bastard!!”
The arrows concentrated on Pheidippides.
Moreover, the effect of Transcendence was ending, and the allies' strength was also weakening.
It was a situation where he could die at any moment, but Lee Han-seong did not run away.
As he had told King Leonidas, he had no intention of running away until the last person had fallen.
Swish! Swishswish!
The arrows grazed his skin, leaving scratches.
He used
In a difficult situation where he had to survey the allies spread in all directions with his command and issue appropriate orders, while also avoiding the arrows and blades aimed at him, his thinking was evolving in real time.
Fwoosh-!
The noise of the battle receded, and his consciousness seemed to float up.
The state of the battlefield felt clear, as if he were looking down on the warriors who felt like his own limbs and Pheidippides from a third-person perspective in the sky.
[Conditions have been met, and the rare skill
[3-star heroic spirit ‘Pheidippides’ is promoted to 4-star (★★☆☆).]
Through the widely expanded bird's-eye view, he could see the Immortals who had passed through the bypass road approaching from behind.
And beyond that, he could also see that the Greek allied forces that had retreated earlier had created a sufficient distance.
‘Leonidas. They lived because of your sacrifice.’
The Persian main force, having sensed the arrival of the Immortals, eased their offensive against the allies and focused on forming an encirclement.
Clang… clang… Thud!
As all the allies and nearby Persian troops fell, and the troops behind them stopped approaching and kept their distance, a brief lull in the battle came.
The allies gathered around Pheidippides.
The enemy's bows aimed at them.
‘They plan to finish us off with arrows like this.’
As the excitement of the battle subsided, the captain of the royal guard, who had finally realized King Leonidas' death, approached Pheidippides and patted his shoulder.
“This is enough. You should leave now.”
“I….”
“If you are uncomfortable leaving alone, please take the king's remains with you. That arrogant Persia would not hesitate to desecrate the king's remains. It would be better for His Highness if we send him in your hands.”
In reality, Xerxes would later behead King Leonidas' remains and crucify them.
Considering that, the captain's words were right.
“We have not lost. Although we may have been defeated in this battle, the remaining Greek allied forces will surely be victorious against the Persians. Please, on behalf of those who died here, witness their defeat with your own eyes.”
“…I understand.”
Shushushushushushu!
No sooner had he finished his conversation with the captain of the royal guard than the Persian side fired their arrows.
As I watched the arrows pouring down like rain, covering the sun in the sky, I activated Shortening Miles to an Inch with King Leonidas' body on my back.
Paaaat!
Unlike my body, which had moved a step ahead, the bird's-eye view remained at Thermopylae for a while after I left, watching the warriors' final moments.
The moment the captain of the royal guard and all the other warriors lost their lives at the end of the arrow shower, which did not stop until every standing warrior had fallen.
[You have achieved the accomplishment ‘The Last Stand at Thermopylae’.]
[The Sun Constellation records your accomplishment and the altered history.]
[The 3rd awakening skill 《No Retreat in the Face of Battle》 blossoms.]
[Pheidippides' 3-star promotion is complete.]
The 3-star promotion was also completed, and then the cat cried.
-Nyaa.
Just like when he completed the 2-star promotion, time in the History Alteration stopped.
It was ironic that No Retreat in the Face of Battle had appeared for him, who had left the battlefield at the end.
But as the captain of the royal guard had said in his last words, to not let the last stand at Thermopylae be in vain, he had to witness the victory at the Battle of Salamis with his own eyes.
[The History Alteration will continue in order to complete Pheidippides' 4-star promotion.]
[The flow of history will accelerate to the next branching point.]
[Remaining accomplishments will be consumed for acceleration. Current number of remaining accomplishments: 2]
Fliiiiip!
The ‘Sudden Rift Closer’ accomplishment was consumed, and the branching point transition proceeded, and a new landscape greeted him.
***
The place where Lee Han-seong woke up was a barracks.
Pheidippides, before he was possessed, seemed to have been sleeping, as he was lying on a bed.
His whole body was wrapped in bandages.
“Ugh.”
The wounds he had received at Thermopylae had not yet fully healed.
“You seem to be awake.”
Themistocles, having confirmed that he was awake, approached him.
“Why are you here?”
“Because this is my barracks.”
Not understanding what was happening, I looked through Pheidippides' memories with
Pheidippides' memory ended with him escaping from Thermopylae and joining the navy that was retreating from Artemisium.
“His Highness Leonidas' remains…?”
Suddenly feeling the emptiness on my back, I asked about the whereabouts of the body, and Themistocles, instead of answering, pulled back the cloth covering the entrance of the barracks.
A faint sound of singing and the smell of incense flowed in.
“For now, we are preparing for a cremation along with a memorial service. After we deal with the Persian naval forces in this battle and the war ends, the cremated remains will be returned to Sparta with the coffin.”
Outside, a memorial service was in full swing to honor the warriors who had died defending Thermopylae, led by King Leonidas.
“Where… is this place?”
“This is the island of Salamis. Here, we will end this war. And through that accomplishment, I too will be able to reach 7-star.”
For a moment, someone other than Themistocles spoke.
It was Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, who had possessed Themistocles.
-Meow.
As if in response, the cat cried.
It seemed he had arrived at the point just before the Battle of Salamis was to take place.
“You've done well to come this far. Thanks to you continuing Pheidippides' history to this point, I have finally entered the stage where I can be active, so leave the rest to me.”
Gooooo!
A level of rank completely different from the Themistocles I had seen at the Marathon Plain or the Isthmus of Corinth could be felt from him.
It was a situation where the rank of a 6-star heroic spirit was fully revealed.
It seemed that in this History Alteration, Chungmugong would be able to exert his full power.
Chungmugong in a naval battle.
He had no confidence in losing at all.