King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 168

The King of the Underworld is Tired 169 (168/179)

An Odd Trojan War – (3)

“Are you mocking me right now, Hector?”

King Menelaus was convinced this was a Trojan trap.

The commander-in-chief of Troy, who hadn’t shown his face when invading neighboring allied countries, was now stepping forward to return Helen?

And that trash came out with her? He was the King of Sparta before he was a husband who had his wife stolen.

Naturally, he was wary of some kind of trap or trick.

Menelaus glared at Paris and Hector with burning eyes.

“Did you think that showing me my stolen wife and that piece of trash together would make me lose my mind and rush in? Or did your god Apollo tell you through prophecy? What kind of scheme are you trying to pull…”

“It’s not a scheme. Pluto, whom we have been serving recently, values justice.”

“What?”

“As proof, I will return the woman my foolish brother took.”

At Hector’s gesture, soldiers pushed Helen’s back.

She slowly headed towards Menelaus with her head bowed.

Thump, thump.

King Menelaus’s expression as he looked at her was very strange. Anger, resentment, regret, and sorrow swirled within him.

In the end, the King of Sparta couldn’t say a word until Helen stood beside him.

“Do you think I’ll withdraw the allied forces and return just because of this?”

“Of course, we have also prepared many gifts and reparations. Paris… is my brother and a prince of Troy, so I can’t hand him over to you, but I have scolded him a little.”

“……?”

Unarmed servants came out from among the Trojan soldiers and brought out a lot of gold and jewels.

A golden feast was visible to Menelaus, Helen was next to him, and Paris, unable to even look this way, was sitting on a horse next to Hector.

Paris’s lips were swollen from how much he had been beaten, and it was clear in his eyes.

Well, even if he was a prince, the war started because of that bastard.

“We all crossed the sea to get here because of that Paris.”

“I don’t expect you to withdraw your troops and return.”

After talking with Hector for a while, Menelaus glared fiercely at Paris and returned to the Greek camp.

Of course, Helen was next to him, along with servants carrying various items in the name of reparations.

Naturally, the Greek soldiers also looked at them with puzzled expressions…

“Is that… isn’t that Helen? Did Troy send her back?”

“To return her so willingly… if they were going to do this, they should have done it sooner…”

“Wait. What happens to the war now? The King of Sparta has retrieved his wife, so are we returning to Greece…”

“I thought I could make a name for myself in the war. Is it all over?”

“That can’t be. Would the higher-ups retreat without any gains?”

The first day the war began.

The Trojan and Greek allied forces did not clash.

* * *

The next day, the Greek army’s camp.

Many generals came to the tent of Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief, and began to speak one by one.

“For them to hand over Helen so willingly… weren’t they afraid of our alliance’s power?”

“Hmph. They must have been scared and changed their minds now that they have soldiers in front of them.”

“Pluto? Why did Hector mention Pluto’s name?”

“Isn’t it a trick to threaten us by invoking the name of a god?”

“But if this happens, do we have to return to Greece?”

All eyes were on the one who spoke last.

They had received Helen back, but they didn’t want to return to Greece without any achievements.

Considering the cost, supplies, and hardships of coming all the way here… they had to at least destroy Troy, plunder the city, and take spoils.

“Absolutely not!”

“We came all this way with so much trouble. To return empty-handed!”

“Shouldn’t we at least cut off Paris’s head?”

“Hmm. I also retrieved my wife, but I have no intention of backing down.”

Menelaus himself made a slightly reluctant expression, then nodded slightly.

He also knew why the other suitors had accepted his request for help. And he also wanted to kill Paris.

“I’m not really keen on it. What great achievements can be made in a war between humans without monsters…”

“You too, Nestor?”

But Nestor and Polydeuces showed a somewhat passive attitude towards the war.

They were the ones who had crossed over to the underworld through the Pluto Temple in Thebes and undergone training. And [they knew] that the god of that underworld was on Troy’s side.

They didn’t want to show off their martial prowess by fighting mere humans, not monsters.

“Troy worships Pluto along with the god Apollo. You know, right? Before…”

“The Thebes training camp? Hmm, well, yes. It’s also a preliminary battle… let’s watch the situation a bit.”

Even Achilles, the most outstanding young hero of Greece in the first place.

From the perspective of true heroes who have fought mythical monsters, it just seemed pathetic.

Swoosh-

Before the eyes of the heroes who were sharing their opinions, a five-colored mist rose.

The intervention of a clear immortal changed their eyes. Which god is it? Are they perhaps giving an oracle [a divine communication or prophecy]?

“Why aren’t you advancing?”

An enormous pressure. Armor, spear, shield. A goddess’s beauty that surpassed human beauty.

If there was a god who met all these conditions, it was only one, the goddess of war, Athena!

“The glory of war is near. Show me that the heroes of Greece are not all cowards!”

The goddess Athena disappeared in an instant after saying those words.

The generals, elated at having seen a god directly before their eyes, drew their swords, and Agamemnon jumped up from his seat.

“The goddess Athena is on our side, Greece! I will surely capture Troy and offer it to the goddess!”

Goddess of war, protect us.

Meanwhile, inside Troy Castle.

A messenger from the Greek camp conveyed the alliance’s opinion to Troy.

“…If you hand over Paris’s head willingly, we will withdraw?”

Hector, the commander-in-chief of Troy, covered his head with one hand.

As expected, returning Helen alone was not enough. They were originally eyeing Troy from the start…

The Greek allied forces, which seemed like a huge army.

On the other hand, most of the nearby allied countries had been occupied except for a few, and his country lacked skilled military leaders.

No matter how much Hector was the best general in Troy… could he do it alone?

As he pondered, looking down at the map and thinking about strategy, a woman entered Hector’s room.

The princess of Troy and his sister, Cassandra, who was loved by Apollo.

“Brother.”

“Huh? What is it, Cassandra?”

“It’s Lord Apollo’s oracle.”

Whoosh-

At the same time as Cassandra’s words ended, her body emitted a tremendous amount of light.

A subtle heat and pressure were felt. Phoebus Apollo descended to the lower world through his priestess!

“Hector. [You are] the blood of Cassandra, whom I love.”

“Lord Apollo!”

“Take courage. Remember that you are the commander-in-chief and the best general of Troy.”

The warm energy emanating from the sun god enveloped his kneeling body and gave him strength.

A direct blessing from God. The power of the 12 gods dwells in Hector’s body.

“Thank you! Apollo!”

“This great war will be difficult to endure with a mortal body. But you don’t have to worry too much.”

The last words of the sun god, slowly leaving Cassandra’s body, echoed in his ears.

Above Hector’s bowed head, the voice of God descended like a revelation.

“Many gods, including me and Olympus… will protect Troy.”

Gods, protect Troy.

* * *

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A plain a little away from Troy Castle.

The Trojan army that came out of the castle and the Greek allied forces lined up outside the camp glared at each other.

However, there were those who stepped back from this heat, namely Nestor and Polydeuces.

“Ahem. They’re young. Young. I used to fight monsters at that age…”

“Hahaha! Let the young people take the lead and we’ll step back a bit.”

“I was thinking the same thing, Peleus. Anyway, we got Helen back, and we’re not fighting monsters.”

Everyone wanted the two old generals of the Greek allied forces, who had been slaughtering monsters, to step down.

The Trojan side thought that the departure of the hero power would increase their chances. The Greek side thought that their chances of gaining merit would increase.

Anyway, the prominent generals of each camp encouraged the soldiers while riding chariots.

Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons and daughter of Ares, who stepped up to help Troy, and Aeneas, the son of the goddess Aphrodite.

Diomedes, who is considered the next best general after Achilles among the heroes of this generation, and the incredibly tall Ajax are gaining momentum.

Clang, clang. Swish.

“Raise your spears and shields and be vigilant! The enemies you see before you are sacrifices to the Olympian gods!”

“Let’s drive them out and regain our peace, Trojan warriors!”

“Paris! Where is the ugly man who broke the custom of hospitality and stole his wife!”

“Those who have ugly desires that do not retreat even after returning Helen are right there…”

Unlike the generals who encouraged the soldiers and prepared for battle from all directions,

Agamemnon, who led the Greek alliance, and Hector, the commander-in-chief of Troy, glared at each other.

A touch-and-go situation just before the battle began.

The Olympian gods were busy moving to help the humans they cherished and protected.

“Apollo. You must also have a grudge against Troy. Was the beauty of that child Cassandra so outstanding?”

“…Uncle Poseidon. I’m sorry, but I can’t back down this time either.”

“What? Do you believe in Hades, who is on Troy’s side?”

“Athena! I’m finally repaying the grudge for working to death during the great flood because of you!”

“Hmph. That’s why you always lose to me.”

The gods above the clouds also engaged in a war of nerves.

Amidst the warm breeze created by Zephyrus [the Greek god of the west wind], the commanders-in-chief of the two camps gave orders.

“All troops. Charge!”

“For honor and glory! Advance!”

The Trojan War. Commencement.