Episode 169: The Peculiar Trojan War – (3)
"Are you mocking me, Hector?"
King Menelaus was convinced that this was a Trojan trap.
Why was Troy's commander, who had been nowhere to be seen during the invasions of their allied nations, only now coming forward to return Helen?
And that trash came along with her? Menelaus was not just a husband whose wife had been stolen but the King of Sparta.
Naturally, he was on high alert for any tricks or deception.
Menelaus glared at Paris and Hector with burning eyes.
"Did you think showing me my stolen wife along with that trash would make me lose my mind and charge at you? Or did the god Apollo, whom you serve, foretell this in a prophecy? What exactly are you scheming..."
"We're not scheming anything. The God Pluto, whom we have recently begun to serve, values justice above all else."
"What?"
"As proof, we will return the woman my foolish brother took."
At Hector's gesture, soldiers pushed Helen forward.
With her head bowed low, she slowly walked toward Menelaus.
Tap, tap.
Menelaus watched her approach with a deeply complex expression. Anger and love, regret and sorrow—all kinds of emotions swirled within him.
In the end, the King of Sparta could not say a single word until Helen stood beside him.
"Do you think this will make me pull back the allied forces and return home?"
"Of course, we've also prepared generous reparations. As for Paris... well, despite everything, he's my brother and a prince of Troy, so I can't hand him over to you. But rest assured, I gave him a proper punishment."
"......?"
Unarmed servants emerged from among the Trojan soldiers, carrying a large quantity of gold and silver treasures.
The dazzling display of wealth caught Menelaus's eye. Standing beside him was Helen, and on horseback next to Hector sat Paris, who couldn’t even bring himself to look their way.
Paris's swollen lips, evidence of a thorough beating, were unmistakable.
Well, it made sense. Even if he was a prince, the war had been caused by him.
"Because of that Paris, all of us crossed the sea and came here."
"I don't expect you to withdraw your forces and leave."
After a brief conversation with Hector, Menelaus glared fiercely at Paris and returned to the Greek camp.
Of course, Helen and the servants carrying reparations accompanied him.
Naturally, the Greek soldiers looked at them with puzzled expressions...
"Wait. Isn't that Helen? Did Troy send her back?"
"To return her so easily... If this was the plan, why didn't they do it earlier?"
"Hold on. So, what happens to the war? The King of Sparta has his wife back. Does that mean we'll return to Greece..."
"I thought I'd gain fame through this war. Is that all over now?"
"There's no way. Do you think the higher-ups will retreat so easily without any gains?"
On the first day of the war,
Troy and the Greek allied forces did not clash.
* * *
The next day, in the Greek camp.
Many commanders gathered at Agamemnon’s tent and began to voice their thoughts one by one.
“They surrendered Helen so easily. Were they afraid of our alliance's strength?”
“Hmph. Seeing our soldiers at their doorstep must have scared them into changing their minds.”
“Pluto? Why did Hector mention Pluto's name?”
“Was it some ploy to intimidate us by invoking the name of a god?”
“But does this mean we’ll have to return to Greece now?”
All eyes turned to the one who made that last remark.
Though they had reclaimed Helen, the generals were reluctant to return to Greece empty-handed.
Considering the costs, resources, and hardships endured to reach Troy, they felt it was only right to destroy the city, plunder its riches, and claim the spoils of war.
“Absolutely not!”
“We suffered so much to get here, and now we’re supposed to return empty-handed?”
“At the very least, we should cut off that Paris' head, don’t you think?”
“…I, too, have no intention of retreating, even if I’ve gotten my wife back.”
Menelaus, wearing a slightly conflicted expression, gave a small nod.
He understood why the other suitors had responded to his call for help, and truthfully, he still wanted to kill Paris.
“This doesn’t sit well with me. Achieving glory through a war among mere mortals… what kind of feat is that?”
“Do you feel the same, Nestor?”
Nestor and Polydeuces showed a somewhat lukewarm attitude toward the war.
Both had undergone rigorous training at Pluto’s temple in Thebes, crossing into the underworld as part of their training.
The fact that the god Pluto himself was now supporting Troy made them uneasy.
Moreover, fighting humans, rather than mythological monsters, felt beneath their status as true heroes.
“They say Troy now worships both Apollo and Pluto. You’re aware of this, right? Remember back in…”
“The Thebes training ground? Hmm… Yeah, I suppose. This feels like just the beginning. Let’s observe the situation a bit longer.”
Even Achilles, hailed as the greatest hero of Greece, seemed trivial in the eyes of those who had fought mythical beasts and faced genuine danger in the underworld.
Swish—
As the heroes were deep in discussion, a multicolored mist began to rise before them.
The unmistakable intervention of an immortal changed their expressions. Which god was it? Was this an oracle?
“Why have you not advanced?”
The sheer pressure was overwhelming.
Armor, spear, shield—combined with beauty that surpassed human limits.
There was only one deity who fit such a description: the goddess of war, Athena.
“Glory in war lies just ahead. Show me that the heroes of Greece are not cowards!”
With those final words, Athena vanished in an instant.
Having witnessed a god directly, the exhilarated generals unsheathed their swords, and Agamemnon sprang to his feet.
“The goddess Athena supports Greece! I will capture Troy and dedicate it to her, no matter what!”
O goddess of war, grant us your protection!
---
Meanwhile, inside the city of Troy,
a messenger from the Greek camp delivered the allied forces' demands to the Trojans.
“…If we surrender Paris’ head, they’ll withdraw?”
Hector, Troy’s supreme commander, ran a hand through his hair.
As expected, simply returning Helen wasn’t enough. These were people who had been eyeing Troy with ambition from the start...
The Greek allied forces appeared to be an overwhelming force.
In contrast, most of Troy’s neighboring allies had been conquered, save for a few exceptions. The shortage of elite soldiers left the country vulnerable.
No matter how skilled Hector was as a general, could he handle this alone?
As he pondered the situation, staring at a map and devising strategies, a woman entered his room.
It was Cassandra, his sister, a Trojan princess, and a beloved of Apollo.
“Brother.”
“Hm? What is it, Cassandra?”
“It’s an oracle from Apollo.”
As Cassandra's words came to an end, her body emitted a blinding light.
A subtle warmth and an overwhelming sense of authority emanated from her—Phoebus Apollo had descended into the mortal realm through his priestess!
"Hector, beloved kin of my cherished Cassandra."
"Lord Apollo!"
"Take courage. Remember, you are the commander and greatest warrior of Troy."
The warm aura of the Sun God enveloped Hector's kneeling figure, filling him with strength.
A direct blessing from the god himself, one of the Twelve Olympians, imbued Hector's body with divine power.
"Thank you, Lord Apollo!"
"This great war will be difficult to endure with a mortal body, but do not worry too much."
As the Sun God began to withdraw from Cassandra's body, his final words resounded in Hector's ears.
The voice of the god descended upon Hector like a divine revelation.
"Not only I but countless gods, including the Olympians, will protect Troy."
O gods, shield Troy.
* * *
A plain a short distance from Troy.
The Trojan army, having marched out of the city, and the Greek coalition forces, assembled outside their camp, glared at each other.
But not everyone was partaking in this heated atmosphere. Among them were Nestor and Polydeuces, who kept their distance.
"Ah, youth. So full of vigor. Back in my day, I was busy slaying monsters..."
"Hahaha! Let the young ones have their time to shine. We can stay on the sidelines."
"I'm inclined to agree, Peleus. We've already retrieved Helen, and there's no fighting monsters here."
The withdrawal of these seasoned Greek veterans, who had once slaughtered monsters, was a relief for both sides.
The Trojans saw it as a reduction in enemy strength, while the Greeks saw it as an opportunity for others to claim glory.
Meanwhile, the generals from both camps spurred their troops onward from atop their chariots.
From Troy’s side came Penthesilea, the Amazon queen and daughter of Ares, who came to aid Troy, and Aeneas, the son of the goddess Aphrodite.
From the Greek side came heroes of the era, like Diomedes, second only to Achilles, and the towering Ajax, rallying their men with fervor.
Clang! Clink!
Swoosh.
"Raise your spears and shields! The enemies before you are offerings for the Olympian gods!"
"Drive them out and reclaim our peace, heroes of Troy!"
"Paris! The vile man who violated the rules of hospitality and stole another's wife—where is he?!"
"They've returned Helen, yet these wretches refuse to leave. Their greed knows no bounds!"
As commanders from both sides encouraged their men and prepared for the impending battle,
the leaders of the Greek allied forces and Troy, Agamemnon and Hector, locked eyes.
The moment before combat—tense and on the verge of erupting.
The Olympian gods busily moved to aid the mortals they cherished and protected.
“Apollo, don’t you harbor a grudge against Troy? Is Cassandra’s beauty truly so enchanting?”
"Uncle Poseidon, forgive me, but this time I cannot back down."
"What? Do you really trust Hades, who sides with Troy?"
"Athena! You're finally repaying me for all the toil I endured during the Great Flood!"
"Hmph. That’s why you always lose to me."
Even above the clouds, the gods engaged in a battle of wills.
As a gentle breeze, carried by Zephyrus, blew across the battlefield, the commanders of both forces shouted their orders.
"All forces, charge!"
"For honor and glory, advance!"
Thus began the Trojan War.