I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 72. preparation (1)

The chaos in the capital has been sorted out to some extent.

When the envoys departed and Dolon ‘disappeared’, naturally his forces were scattered assuming defeat.

Of course, there were groups that rallied among themselves imagining desperate political retaliation, but since there has been no movement on our side for a while, their attitude is slowly softening.

– “Do you believe Dolon? Maybe it’s a ploy to join the Hittites to avoid our surveillance easily. Then, when the Hittite army invades, Dolon can be their chief.”

– “It is not a matter of believing or not believing. If he had intended to actively cooperate with the Hittites, then his lukewarm behavior so far would not be explained. Trust me.”

-“Yes, believe me.”

And, I persuaded Priam.

That’s how the turmoil in the capital ended. without major bloodshed.

I decided to be content with just that.

– Sarak.

With all the fuss behind me, I needed some breathing space, and I had a lot of personal things to do.

So I came to Antandros.

sound of stepping on grass.

I walked off the road, fully enjoying the feeling of stepping on soft dirt.

“I saw that Mr. Skleos was doing well, and I also saw Anoitos diligently widening the road. I’ve done everything to do in Antandros.

hahahaha, do I have to be so busy here too? I was terribly tired even in Troia.”

Really, in that short period of time, I saw all kinds of things to see and things not to see in the royal capital.

There was a lot of trickery, and many people died, and among them I killed people. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience.

When I think of that time, my hands tremble and tremble momentarily. Theo moderately pretended not to see me like that.

Well, even so, it feels like I’ve taken care of all my backlogs at once when I’m back home.

From nob le mt l. co m

Looking back, I saw the view of Antandros below Mount Ida.

I stare at the carts and people coming and going on the narrow road. As the population increased, bottlenecks in the old town became serious.

I need to widen the road. In particular, after repairing the avenues extending from the plaza, the size of the plaza itself was increased, and…

. . . And looking ahead again, I was already deep inside the mountain.

I beckon some of the soldiers following the escort to retreat.

“Theo? Take your soldiers and retreat. You know it’s safe around here.”

“…”

“brother?”

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

When Theo turns his head and shouts, the soldiers show strange expressions.

“What… what happened…”

“Didn’t you hear the rumor? You know that? The reason I was able to kill the mermaid without hesitation is…”

…What kind of rumor is that?

Still, I’m glad I got out of my way. You’ll probably keep your distance and watch from afar.

That’s enough.

In an empty field, shrubs sway in the distance, and closer, fir trees and pine trees form a thick forest.

I shout to the forest.

“I’m back!!”

My voice is diffusely reflected as it hits the countless tree trunks. A small echoing sound can be heard here and there.

And when the echoes cease,

[The boy is back.]

[He became the lord of Antandros.]

[The news is late. It was already several months ago.]

[Anyway, I have to tell Ino.]

[Did you bring a sacrifice?]

[I don’t know.]

Familiar whispers are heard biting their tails.

I bowed my head to the masters of the forest and pointed to the items I had prepared.

“I brought the sacrifice, of course.”

I poured oil on the deer the soldiers had left behind, set fire to it, and threw various toys into the woods.

Soon, the hands and faces of the fairies appear from between the trees, inhale the smell of burning venison, and snatch the flying toy.

[Very good.]

[As expected, that child does not forget the present.]

[Then I have to tell you the news.]

And, before long, footsteps can be heard from the forest.

The sound of small, cheerful, fast-moving footsteps.

“Paris?”

an unfamiliar voice.

When I turned my head, Ino was walking towards me from the west side of the forest.

Contrary to expectations, it was a slightly complex face.

I thought it would be a bright face with pleasure.

The first words Ino said were also very different from what I thought.

“Are you late?”

“…”

“No, I didn’t mean to blame. Don’t be grumpy!

It’s just that it’s much later than I thought. I thought it would come in about a month.”

“Sorry.”

“Because it’s okay. hahahaha… isn’t the job of a prince very difficult?”

huh. very.

When I was stuck in Troia, preoccupied with purging the opposition, I felt that this place was very, very far away. like you’ll never come back

I barely swallowed what I was about to say. I didn’t come all this way because I wanted to say something weak.

Ino tangled her hair and chatted with me… and sighed lightly.

“Is it difficult for us to play as often as before?”

“…”

Perhaps, if the current situation continues.

Unlike the original history, Ino and I, who are not related, will naturally grow apart, and I will probably meet Helen…

I lightly grabbed Ino’s wrist and asked.

“Ino.”

“huh? why?”

“You have a scar on your elbow. Where… the cut scars.”

“ah? this?”

Ino said with a bright smile.

“I fought!”

“With what?”

“With the fish monster!! Anyway, I won, but I can’t see my elbows, so I guess you didn’t know? thank you!”

When I saw Ino singing while rubbing herbs on her elbows, I was convinced…

The decision you make from now on will probably be the right one.

“Ino?”

“You, from a while ago, holding on to weight and calling me ‘Ino’? It’s like Theo pretending to be serious.”

“···Do you want to come with me?”

“Uh, uh, huh?”

Ino’s eyes widen.

“He built a mansion to live in together with you.”

No, damn, what is this. Why are you so speechless?

coughing again

“I built a mansion to live with you. to Troy.”

“…”

“Can I take you to Troia? Because it is too dangerous here.”

To be honest, I was very worried.

For example, if Ino just shouted ‘Leave your sisters here!’, I had nothing to say.

Yes, it’s a story about abandoning one’s family in a dangerous place and running away to a safe place alone, but even Ino can’t accept it…

“good!! Am I living with the prince too?”

“···huh? What, right?”

“I have nothing to pack. When can we leave?”

“that is···”

I was taken aback by the brightness in an unexpected part.

“Right now?”

“Then let’s go!”

Then he takes my hand and starts running right away.

I ran after Ino with a bewildered mind, holding onto his hand and not letting go.

***

[Did you take him?]

[at las. I did a good job of pushing it off.]

[Everyone, give me a coin. Did I tell you that the shepherd wins by the nose? Didn’t you?]

[You didn’t know he was a prince. This is a scam!]

[If you go to them, there’s nothing to see when you’re bored.]

[Let’s kidnap a handsome boy from the village below.]

[Could you decorate it with what the bear handled?]

[Ok, fine.]

Whispers rose from the woods, then stopped.

The fairies left in search of other entertainment to replace the stories of boys and girls that they had enjoyed for quite some time.

***

···brought.

really screwed up

The mansion he had hastily built at the request of Priam had several guest bedrooms, and Ino could be placed in one of them.

I felt like a son of a b*tch, but I couldn’t help it.

If I just leave it there, I feel like Paris in the nuclear power plant myth, but what should I do?

“Paris! What are you doing?”

“Ugh, yeah. I’m just working!”

“There are flowers outside! Let’s go play together!!”

“for a moment!”

After answering Ino’s call outside the door, I turn my head.

“Interesting.”

It was the voice of Anchises.

“It’s the little fairy I saw then. Are you Kevren’s daughter?”

“···you’re right.”

“You took care of my son when he was little?”

“yes.”

“That’s… I hope Aeneas won’t come to the royal capital for a while.”

As Anchises turned his head, I stood blankly, not knowing what expression to make.

And while I am absent-minded, Anchises speaks.

“So, what did you call me for? It’s not like I’m proud of my newlyweds.”

“Last time you mentioned building a forge in Troia.”

At my words, Anchises’ face instantly hardened.

“Can you build it?”

“no. I can do something else instead.”

Anchises’ expression changes to a knowing smile.

“Other?”

“Let’s see.”

I simply assembled the items that were lying on the table.

The durability was poor because it was commissioned in the simplest form to the carpenters in Antandros, but it will still function.

I point the object at the tree over there in the garden.

I pressed the trigger.

The arrow flies in a straight line and pierces the thin tree trunk.

“This is called a crossbow.”

“…”

“I’m trying to mass-produce something like this, is that okay? As you can see, it’s tricky to make and takes quite a while to shoot again, but it requires no training.

Even if you give it to farmers who have never shot a bow before, everyone will be able to shoot it.”

After shooting, I tried to dismantle the crossbow again, but I accidentally broke the bowstring and ate it. sh*t, it was during the demonstration of the new weapon…

“Paris.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Aren’t you using too much iron? I think it will take a lot of balls.”

“ah···.”

Anchises said while stroking the parts of the crossbow I had put down.

“Give me a reason not to use the resources and labor of the artisans to just make a helmet or a javelin.”

let’s remember Archers were almost non-existent at this time. And if you look at the historical records of the time, most bows are shot parallel to the ground.

In other words, it is for short-range sniping.

Even in the Iliad, there is no story like ‘Paris ordered the archers to fire a volley and knocked out hundreds of soldiers’.

Only the sentence ‘Paris hit someone’s limb’ is repeated dozens of times.

And if it’s for sniping…

“Listen to this.”

“huh? Yes, I see.”

“Even though you may not be able to guess because the thread is broken, it is an object that is fired by pulling here…

Now, look over there and aim at the target.”

“I did.”

“Do you see where the arrow will fly?”

“Clearly.”

“Did you find it difficult to aim while loaded?”

“It was easy.”

“Then, imagine that standing over there is a Hittite general.”

I said while taking the crossbow back from Anchises.

“What could be more comfortable than a bow?”

“It must be difficult to write on top of a tank.”

“What if you pay multiple gunners on level ground?”

“…I can pierce some of the enemy general’s necks.”

“no. Think bigger.”

Chariots were widely used in various regions, but especially in China, hundreds of thousands of chariots were operated by each country until the Spring and Autumn Period, and the nobles leading the chariots were the core of the battle.

And it was the crossbow that made the chariot decline.

The elite charioteers centered on the aristocrats were now able to be subdued by the common infantry by forming a net with crossbows.

“Even if 10 crossbowmen knock over 1 chariot and die, it is a benefit. Is this one crossbow worth more than two horses, a chariot, a rider, and a nobleman riding on them?”

Then, how about on the battlefield of Troy, where tanks will be the main force?

“Then let’s proceed.”

done.

***

Since he was only 9 years old, he has worked for years to protect Antandros.

Now in Antandros, some usable steel is mass-produced, and steel agricultural tools and steel weapons increase.

The cities in the vicinity of Antandros were connected by roads, sharing enormous wealth, and at the same time were naturally subsumed within the sphere of influence of Antandros.

The population of the area increased greatly as numerous vagrants and bandits settled there. They will become laborers and soldiers again.

Now, the work must be done in Troia as well.

“The Hittites usually wear scaled armor. It is worn with small bronze plates sewn onto cloth or leather clothing. That is why···.”

-Kwajik!!

Hector pulls out a thick knife and cuts down the practice tree trunk diagonally.

“…they prefer to break the scales with their weight like this.”

After Anchises asked me about weapons, he immediately called for Hector.

After hearing Anchises’ explanation, Hector came to a secluded gym outside the city and demonstrated in front of me.

While explaining the strategy and tactics of the foreign peoples, which I did not know.

“Then what about the Achaeans?”

“Why do you even ask the Achaeans? Wasn’t it the Hittite side that was urgent?”

“I’m just asking for reference. Just imagine, brother. What would happen if the most beautiful woman in the world was… uh… the Achaean princess?”

“From what I’ve heard, I can’t say that it won’t happen at all. good.

The Achaeans are relatively rich in bronze, so they prefer to cover themselves with wide plates of bronze.”

“…Then, aren’t you invincible? Should I stick my sword through the bronze plates?”

“no.”

Saying so, Hector corrected his sword grip posture.

“As much as it covers the whole body, it is easy for the armor to become much heavier. So, inevitably, the Achaeans have to reduce the thickness of the bronze plate, and then like this!”

-Quack!!

A thin bronze plate is pierced by a sword.

“…You have to gather your strength into one point and stab it to deal with it. That’s why the Achaeans’ swords are pointed, and the Hittites’ swords are long and heavy.”

After all, the Achaeans meant to stab a point with a spear, and the Hittites and other Eastern nations meant to swing their blades like axes to cut them down.

Weapons and tactics are originally created to suit the enemy and the environment. Just as trenches are dug to avoid machine guns, tanks are built to penetrate trenches, and anti-tank rifles are built to block tanks.

So, what about facing two completely different forces: Achaia and Hittite?

“Should I make two types of knives?”

“Why?”

“Once word spreads that we will be estranged from the Hittites, the Achaean pirates cannot stand still. A pirate captain like Agamemnon will immediately set his sights on our city.”

Agamemnon has been a pirate since his ancestors, and in ancient Greek mythology, there is always a story about finding treasure on a boat, but isn’t that a pirate?

However, as if he was quite impressed with my expression, Hector chuckled and then nodded.

“Yes, do it. If only I had the resources to do so.”

The resources to do so are…

“Of course we have the resources.”

A spear, a sword, a helmet… hopefully a breastplate.

Even if you can’t, you can take care of thousands of people like that. Of course, carrying two or three swords at a time would be a luxury only a few generals could enjoy.

And from now on, if you’re thinking of running a few forges by overtaxing the rivers of Antandros…

“I will be able to stop the Hittites even if they come with tens of thousands of troops.”

“Then are you planning to cover all of that with your own money?”

“As the lord of Antandros, he may ask for ‘donation’ from the nobles, but… Yes.

I will arm the soldiers with my money and resources.”

We need to extract our capabilities to the limit that we can extract from Troia, which is the size of Gyeonggi-do.

An empire three to four times the size of the Korean Peninsula might soon invade.

“Will it not be a war soon? If you lose, you will be left with nothing. Troy was destroyed by Hercules within a few decades.

Again, can that happen?”

I recall the shape of a wooden horse.

Imagine a burning city, imagine death flowing like a river.

We must protect this land. I have to protect my people who live on this land.

“···okay. Let’s talk to your father.”

Hector nodded.

“Thank you, brother.”

“And, one day, you will have to convince the citizens of Troia and its allied cities that war is near. In a few years, the Hittites will move.”

Hector took off his helmet and brushed his sweaty hair.

. . . I will see that scene often in the future.

on the battlefield.