131 – Gathering of Kings
Messenia Hero War.
The battlefield chosen was the great plain overlooking Mount Taygetos.
The event was originally scheduled at the reconstructed Colosseum, but Chiron changed the venue at the opinion of the gods that those who had come a long way to see the heroes who would lead the next generation of Greece should not be able to see their activities.
“Oh, long time no see, stone head.”
“Huh, this bastard talks a lot.”
“Didn’t the idiot of Arcadia finally come?”
“To think that my daughter, who is so thirsty, is going to serve as a commander. I just knew she would come running.”
“These days, she has been weakened and has been lying down. In the end, she is paying for the crime of abandoning her daughter.”
Most of the kings sent messengers to find out about the situation, but among them, their children were studying in the Hero’s Forest or the kings near Messenia did not miss the opportunity to directly witness the majesty of the next generation of heroes.
“I heard that Theseus, who is equal to Hercules, personally leads the army.”
“Atalante la… Even if a girl leads the girls, how active will she be…”
While they were busy sharing expectations and questions and pouring wine, the forest opened and they appeared.
-Chuck! Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!
Warriors headed for the camp in perfect order.
Warriors clad in red-tipped helmets and bronze armor advanced with spears and shields.
On the red banner of the general at the forefront, the pattern of Chiron’s hooves glistened in the sunlight.
In this war, it was the military standard of Theseus, which was made up of men.
The commander-in-chief: Theseus.
Second Commander: Jason.
Shields: 200, Infantry: 300, Archers: 100.
Total troops 600.
They were similar in number to legions of any other kingdom, but everyone admired them for their spirit and fighting spirit, saying that they were the best heroes and warriors of the time.
“Ohhh, are those commanders at the forefront?”
“Yes. Theseus, prince of Athens, and Jason, prince of Iolcos.”
“Prince Jason’s strategy was truly amazing. Even our generals were tongue-in-cheek when the thieves he inspired and raised as his soldiers wiped out nearby thieves.”
“What about the wisdom of Prince Theseus? A lot of people have been in trouble because of the mystery of a treasure the prophet of our kingdom has done, but hasn’t it been solved at once?”
“Oh, you’re still young, so you’ve already shown such an activity?”
“It is not a waste to say that they are the heroes of the golden generation.”
The kings couldn’t help but admire as they shared the spirit of the next-generation heroes and their performances, which could be seen even from a distance.
Look at those spirited warriors.
If they could attract even a few of them to their kingdom, the kingdom’s might would increase many times over!
In particular, Theseus and Jason are at the forefront of the spotlight.
Other than their wisdom and Hercules, which have already been proven in their numerous achievements, they possess the greatest strength among heroes, and if possible, they were the ones who wanted to attract them, even if they offered their own blood.
“Hmm… By the way, I guess the news was true.”
“What…Ah!”
The man that all the kings gathered there could only find.
Hercules, a hero among heroes and the next great hero, who showed extraordinary strength and tremendous strength from a young age.
He said he was absent from this war for the sake of fairness, but unfortunately it must have been true.
“Did you call yourself Hercules or Alkeides?”
“Certainly not by the mouths of others, but I dare to claim the name Hercules…”
“I heard that he honors all the gods and even prays to Hera every day.”
“Huh, no matter how sincere a hero is, it won’t be easy at such a young age…”
An extraordinary hero born with the power of a god.
At the same time, Hercules cannot stand injustice and always works on the side of the oppressed and the great gods.
Like Perseus, who played an active role with the help of the gods in the distant past, and Bellerophon, who rode Pegasus through the sky.
A man reminiscent of their ancestor, the hero of the heroic tales he heard in the arms of his nanny and mother in childhood, is bound to be admired, regardless of age.
“Certainly, his spirit and strength can only be said to be of Zeus lineage.”
“I envy that. To see him in action.”
“Hmmm, but there is no need to be sorry if Hercules is absent.”
Lacocius, the king of Laconia, a kingdom located near Messenia, has seen many extraordinary heroes who have received requests from the Forest of Heroes thanks to its geographical location.
His stories were also very popular at the meetings of other kings, but when he spoke with such a proud nuance, the kings naturally turned to him.
“Oh, I think I know what you mean.”
“Oh, Thespios. Come to think of it, you must have seen him too?”
“Yes, what can I say? He’s different from Hercules, but he’s certainly an extraordinary, extraordinary person.”
“Heh heh! These people! Are you going to talk to them in a cramped way?”
The king of Thespiai Kingdom, adjacent to Laconia, also nodded violently and agreed, while other kings full of expectations clamored.
“Hey! You made a fuss on a sacred battlefield, overlooked by the gods… Isn’t it? Thespios?”
“Heh heh, who is it? Lacosius. Afterwards, I will go to the temple and offer a prayer of apology.”
“Me, me, me! Lacosius is this fellow killing again!?”
“Uh-huh, phenelpine calm down. Aren’t other corps entering?”
“What kind of army is an army made up of girls! Shut up and find out who he is…”
The king jumped up and down at the sight of a story that his friends knew among themselves, but he couldn’t finish his words.
– Clink!
An arrow suddenly flew by.
Precisely because the arrow that hit the wine bottle he was holding chilled the hearts of those gathered.
“Heo Eok?!”
“What?! Is it an ambush?!”
“Who dares to go to the sanctuary where the gods protect you!”
Those who had gathered at this jumped out in panic, but soon saw a female warrior who appeared in the forest in the distance, pointing her bow at this direction.
“That rude man!”
“We couldn’t enter the forest, but we are definitely guests. I am the body that inherited the kingship under the blessing of Zeus!”
The kings jumped up in anger at the sudden sniping, but there was someone who calmed them down.
“Hey everyone, calm down and sit down.”
“Thespios! Is it time to calm down! Now he threatens us…”
Wait.
Threatened?
At a glance, the distance between the crowd where they were seated and the forest where the archer stood was a distance that a swift messenger would have to run with all his might for a couple of hours.
But you overhear their conversation now on that street and hit the bottle he was holding exactly?
“Heh heh, I didn’t expect much because it was an army of girls. Should I change my mind about this?”
A female warrior wearing a helmet appeared out of nowhere.
And what he was holding was the blue banner engraved with Calliope’s leaves, the other side of the war, the Atalanta army’s banner.
Commander-in-chief: Atalanta.
Second Commander: Ereniea.
Warriors: 170.
Wizard: 50.
Hunter: 150.
Alchemist: 30.
A total of 400 troops.
Beautiful female warriors and wizards appeared behind the commander-in-chief who proudly set his military flag aside and lowered his bow.
Warriors come out freely, as if going out for a drink as a group, as if it were just a boring formality.
However, the kings could not keep their mouths shut again as they walked to the camp while chatting leisurely.
Their spirit, which can be felt even on this street, never yielded even compared to male heroes.
On the contrary, unlike the Theseus army, which is composed entirely of warriors, it is expected that they will overcome the considerable difference in forces, consisting of warriors, archers, wizards, and alchemists.
Thespios, the king of Thespiai, who grew up as an indomitable king and a strong warrior while studying in the forest of Chiron in his youth, praised himself for coming in person.
“If that female warrior had tried to hit it, we would have been headless corpses.”
“Heh heh, they look like lionesses out hunting.”
“I mean, this might be a fiercer war than I thought.”
“Come on! Woah, sure. I guess I was careless. Where are the men and women in the achievements and prestige of the heroes!”
“No, no. You were careless, Pelop.”
While the king and his friends, who were swallowing dry saliva and dripping with sweat, nodded violently,
The Atalanta army also formed formation and faced Theseus.
Then the deputy commander suddenly whispered something, and the commander-in-chief, who showed off his archery skills earlier, nodded and suddenly took off his helmet.
“Heo-euk…!”
“Uh, how can such an off-white color exist…”
The cold helmet that was shiny in bronze went down, and the monarchs forgot their face and couldn’t keep their mouth shut at the beautiful female warrior who appeared under it.
A red-haired beauty who must have been blessed by Aphrodite and Artemis.
However, the ambition and fighting spirit that burned in those red eyes naturally came out as a disciple of Chiron.
“Come to think of it, did the fool of Arcadia send troops into the forest to get her daughter back?”
“As a result, Artemis and Zeus’s wrath caused the country to collapse?”
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“I heard that she still begs Chiron to give her daughter back, but if that’s true, even if it’s not a curse, if you bring her back and make a courtship ceremony, it won’t be a job to rebuild the country.”
Kings sighed at the enchanting beauty of a female warrior that made even the rusty heart tremble and made it impossible to take one’s eyes off of her.
“Come to think of it, didn’t I say that the starting point of this war was originally two heroes fighting over a woman named Atalante?”
“Come to think of it. Our son Actaeon in the forest told us about it.”
Aristaeus, king of Thebes, took out the complete book of his son Actaeon, who had been watching the start of this war from close range, and read it slowly.
“No, did you bring your son’s letter to this far away?”
“It’s noisy. Do you know how long it’s been since I sent a letter from my son?”
Let’s see…
This was written in the letter Aristaeus read.
-Theseus requested a confrontation with Dianes on the condition that he free Atalanta.
However, Atalante and Dianes have always seemed to be on good terms, but I don’t know why such a misunderstanding has arisen…
“I thought he was an unusual friend, but he stole the heart of such a beauty before I knew it… My daughter was waiting for her every day. It sucks”
“Unfortunately, I thought that Atalanta would be a good match for her son.”
I was thinking about it, but when the letter Aristaeus read nailed the relationship between Atalanta and Dianes, Lachosius and Thespius all sighed in regret.
“Look, Lachosius, Thespios. But what kind of a person is Dianes?”
“Can you believe it is true that the new great hero is said to be equal to Hercules?”
Others expressed their doubts about the reaction of the kings of Laconia and Thespiae, two of the most powerful countries in Greece.
They just raised their glasses with a sullen smile.
“Rather than saying a hundred times, sooner or later you will know once you see it.”
“Looks like it’s coming out.”
The entrance to the forest pointed by Thespios with a glass.
There, the final participant in this war slowly emerged.
He was indeed a black man.
His appearance was so black from head to toe that one could immediately understand why he was nicknamed black wind or black wave in the vicinity of Messenia.
Unlike other warriors, he was not wearing armor, but a man with long hair down to his waist, wearing a black robe that looked like a gown with sleeves fluttering.
At first glance, the man with a face so beautiful that one might mistake it for a girl walked leisurely to the battlefield as if he had just taken a walk.
In the man’s hand was a jet-black military flag without any pattern.
“…Huh?”
“Are you alone?”
The other kings were astonished at the sight of him walking alone without any other troops.
The two kings who knew him put down their cups and watched him without a word.
Amid the kings’ astonishment, the black man eventually arrived at the center of the battlefield where the commanders of the two armies gathered to attend the final meeting.
“No, what the hell are you thinking? Others have gathered such a strong army!”
“The author is not that Dianes, right? No matter how confident you are…!”
“Does he think he is some kind of Hercules!”
The kings were astonished and enraged at the arrogant behavior of ridiculing not only the kings gathered here but also the gods who could look down on them from the heavens.
Still, only the two kings held on to the arm rest without a word.
“Look, Lacosius, whatever you say…”
“Everyone.”
“Huh?”
“Everyone, shut up and watch.”
“Maybe today, we can truly see the tail of a myth.”
“What…?”
Others tried to argue with the two kings who spoke in English, but soon they all shut up after seeing their eyes.
Those eyes full of intense longing and awe, as if fascinated by something.
To think that Thespius, the famous prince of Greece, and Lachosius, one of the most wealthy, look forward to and fear with such eyes.
Still not understanding, but at their reassurance the kings took their seats.
– Clink!
As they watched silently, the ceremony of the commanders to Zeus, Athena, and Ares was over, and the cups they shared were broken.
-Puuu!
Then the commanders went back to their seats, finished their preparations, and raised their flags. The horns sounded announcing the start of the war.
-Wowaaa!
-Yaaa!
At the same time, the two armies start running furiously.
However, strangely, the two corps began to rush into one place at the same time as the war began.
“Huh?”
“Wait a minute, is that…?”
The place where the leaders of the two corps lead is none other than the place where the black banner flutters.
It was the place where the strange hero called Dianes stood alone.
“Even, what the hell is going on…?”
The two armies that were fiercely hostile to each other are not each other, but a third party.
That’s also a strange situation where they charge at a person standing alone.
But even before their doubts were dispelled, the kings knew why they had marched so hastily.
-Koo-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu!!
“Huh?!”
“Earthquake?”
“Is Poseidon suddenly angry?”
While the kings rolled on the ground in surprise at the sudden roar and vibration that shook the earth, Lakosias and Thespios stood up from their seats and looked up at the sky as if possessed.
“Huh…”
“hahahahaha… Oh my…”
The two kings suddenly burst into laughter.
The other kings naturally turned their heads to where they were looking.
Then we burst into laughter together.
“Huh…”
“Ha ha ha…”
“Po, was the wine too much?”
Land.
The huge earth that always hugged and protected them raised their backs and blocked the sun.
With one kick from none other than that man in black, Dianes.
Dianes.
It was the moment when the hero of the false rumor, who was said to be on par with Hercules, was imprinted on the heads of kings as the divinity of a new great hero.