Chapter 20 – Second History Alteration

When he opened his eyes again, Lee Hanseong realized he had become the ancient Athenian courier ‘Pheidippides’.

Because in a barracks filled with soldiers dressed in ancient Greek attire, a figure who appeared to be the commander was saying something.

“With the Persians having already captured Eretria and now landing in the Marathon region, you must deliver a request for aid to Sparta, Pheidippides.”

And the commander was giving him an order right at that moment.

But he couldn’t focus on the commander’s words.

The second Historical Alteration was vastly different from the first.

-Meow.

The Constellation’s Projection was already sitting on the terrain map in the center of the commander’s barracks, looking his way.

It seemed that as his Grade had risen upon recruiting the third Devotee, he could now intervene in the Historical Alteration.

Sure enough.

Pat.

The moment the cat, visible only to his eyes, leaped and settled on Pheidippides’s head.

[Due to the intervention of the Nameless Constellation, some clues for the Historical Alteration are partially revealed.]

[First Clue: Full Moon.]

[Second Clue: The Spartan Royal Guard’s <War Cry: War Cry>.]

[Third Clue: The Battle of Marathon.]

Unlike before, the clues were revealed one after another without needing to deduce them individually.

Keeping the three clues in mind, he recalled the original history he had seen when first Synchronizing with Pheidippides.

September 1, 490 BC.

Upon confirming the Persian expeditionary force that had landed in the Marathon region, the Athenian side sent a messenger to Sparta to request aid.

That messenger was Pheidippides.

‘But Sparta did not send reinforcements.’

When he arrived in Sparta after covering the 240 km distance in two days, the Carneia Festival, a religious festival, was taking place there.

If it had merely been a festival period, they might have sent a modest force.

However, Sparta had a tradition of not going to war on the day of the full moon.

And the day Pheidippides arrived happened to be the day of the full moon.

‘The festival and the full moon. For these two reasons, the request for aid was refused.’

If only this history had remained, Pheidippides would not have become a Spirit.

But over a dozen centuries after this period.

Around the time the Olympics were held, a legend arose about a messenger who, to announce the victory at the Battle of Marathon, ran endlessly without regard for his own body, announced the victory, and died, turning history into legend.

Thanks to that embellished legend, Pheidippides received the Sun Constellation’s Blessing and was able to become a Spirit.

‘This Historical Alteration will likely need to proceed by recreating both the history and the legend.’

No, to complete the 2-Star promotion, he had to go beyond recreation and create a new Feat.

He reviewed the Skills currently available.

【Pheidippides(★☆☆)(Transcendence Applied)】

General Skills: <Fatigue Ignore>, <High-Speed Dash>, <Lung Capacity Enhancement>, <???>.

Rare Skills: <???>, <???>.

General Awakening Skill: 《Shrinking Earth》, 《???》

Vocation Awakening Skill: 《???》

【Lee Hanseong(★☆)(Transcendence Applied)】

General Skills: <Skill Engraving: Set>, <???>.

Rare Skills: <Multi Deep Synchronization: Overmind>

General Awakening Skill: 《Transcendence》

Vocation Awakening Skill: 《???》

“Ah!”

Perhaps because he activated the Historical Alteration before Transcendence’s duration ended, Pheidippides and his Grade had risen by one stage each.

Thanks to that, unlike last time, he could also use Transcendence.

Shrinking Earth caught his eye.

“They can’t go to war on the day of the full moon? Then, I just need to arrive before the full moon rises.”

Since reinforcements couldn’t come due to the full moon, if he arrived before it and requested aid, he could at least receive support from the Spartan Royal Guard.

The first clue, the full moon, likely meant this.

Using Shrinking Earth, it was entirely possible to reduce the two-day journey to a moment.

At the 1-Star level of energy, the limit of Shrinking Earth’s movement distance was roughly around 100 meters.

However, that distance tended to increase tenfold with each rise in Star Rank.

Now, with Transcendence applied, reaching the 3-Star level, he could shrink the earth by 10 km at once, and if he activated Transcendence once more within the Historical Alteration to reach the 4-Star level, it would increase to 100 km.

‘Since I can use Shrinking Earth consecutively without Life Consumption up to three times as the limit, that should be enough.’

Gooooo!

As Transcendence activated, Pheidippides’s Grade, which had been at the 3-Star level, soared to the 4-Star level.

The distance from Athens to Sparta is 240 km.

Fwaaat! Fwaaat! Fwaat!

He activated Shrinking Earth twice at full power, then performed a third time with less force.

The next moment, Pheidippides was standing on Spartan soil.

“…Ugh, gahk.”

Consecutive activations of Awakening Skills had drained his stamina to the bottom, but using <Fatigue Ignore>, he moved to the city and shouted.

There was no time to rest.

“A messenger from Athens!”

* * *

Upon revealing his identity, Pheidippides was promptly escorted to the royal palace of Sparta.

While moving, he observed that the Carneia Festival had already begun.

‘Tsk, I won’t be able to bring back many reinforcements.’

Pheidippides handed the Athenian commander’s letter to the King of Sparta.

“Darius’s dogs are tormenting the weak Greeks; our Spartan warriors cannot stand idly by.”

After reading the letter, the King of Sparta seemed ready to readily agree to the request for aid.

“Then…?”

“However, as Sparta is currently in an important festival period, it seems we cannot send many soldiers.”

It meant they could send a force, albeit small.

“I anticipated that. Then, how many…?”

“I shall send my Royal Guard of 300 men.”

The Royal Guard could be considered Sparta’s finest elite.

Especially those 300 warriors, though few in number, were the ones who would etch their names in history a decade later during the Second Persian War, making them sufficient as reinforcements.

“I thank Your Highness for your grace!”

Preparations for departure proceeded swiftly thereafter.

As the full moon day was approaching, they hurried to depart that very day.

“Are you the messenger from Athens? What will you do?”

The question from the Royal Guard Captain asked whether he would return first to deliver news of the reinforcements or move with the reinforcements.

Given that the second clue mentioned the Royal Guard’s <War Cry>, he planned to move with the Royal Guard for now.

‘What the second clue likely means is… the Blooming of the General Skill <???>.’

And considering the third clue is the Battle of Marathon, he probably needed to participate in the victory Feat alongside them to complete the Two-star promotion.

For now, blending in with them was the priority.

‘Anyway, since I shortened the travel time with Shrinking Earth, I have some leeway.’

The standoff at the Battle of Marathon begins from September 3rd, two days later.

The standoff continues until the 11th, so arriving before then would be sufficient.

“I wish to go with the warriors.”

“Oh ho. But your voice sounds so weak, can you even keep up with us?”

The Royal Guard Captain asked, as if testing him.

“I can do it!”

“Is that your best? Hey everyone, show him once.”

The Royal Guard Captain, seemingly dissatisfied with Pheidippides’s voice, urged the other warriors to demonstrate.

“Wahoo!! Wahoo!! Wahoo!!”

The simultaneous war cry of 300 men resounded loudly.

The cry was so loud it hurt his ears, sending shivers down his spine.

Each person’s vocalization itself was different.

The volume of their voices was directly linked to their confidence, and an overwhelming will to fight swirled among the 300 Royal Guards.

[You have been exposed to the Spartan Royal Guard’s <War Cry: War Cry>. Morale is decreasing.]

[The General Skill <???> reacts to <War Cry: War Cry>.]

The System Message announced that an opportunity for a new Skill Blooming had arrived.

Whether the Skill would Bloom or not depended on the result of his current action.

“See? Try it again!”

“Uwooooh!!”

So Lee Hanseong did his best.

Using the lengthened breath from <Lung Capacity Enhancement> and <Fatigue Ignore>, he shouted with all his might, as if his throat would tear.

[Conditions met. The General Skill <???> Blooms into <Vocalization>.]

Then followed a success message.

“See. You can do it if you try.”

The Royal Guard Captain smiled with satisfaction at the voice that burst forth along with the new Skill’s Blooming.

It was the moment Pheidippides was accepted by the Spartan Royal Guard not as a weak Greek, but as one of their own, a warrior.

* * *

Ten days later, the morning of September 11, 490 BC.

The Marathon Plain.

Callimachus, the Athenian commander-in-chief, observing the Persian camp, was waiting for the right moment to attack.

“As expected, Sparta is not coming.”

It was slightly puzzling that Pheidippides had not returned, as the time for a reply, whether acceptance or refusal, had already passed, but given that they hadn’t arrived by now, it was correct to assume there were no Spartan reinforcements.

Callimachus briefly recalled the seven-day standoff.

The Athenian forces, gathered by promising freedom and citizenship to slaves and non-citizens, numbered about 9,000, plus 1,000 from Plataea, totaling around 10,000 hoplites.

But the Persian forces that had landed on the Marathon Plain numbered close to 25,000.

The numbers clearly put Athens at a disadvantage.

‘But having more numbers isn’t necessarily always better.’

The more troops there are, the more supplies they consume.

The food that would last 10,000 men for ten days would only last four days for 25,000 men.

The longer the standoff lasted, the more favorable the situation became for Athens.

‘Considering the cavalry horses on top of that, the consumption would only increase further.’

Typically, a warhorse drinks about ten times the water a human does, and its fodder consumption is also beyond imagination.

As a result, last night, news came from Persian deserters that they had been waiting for.

The news was that the Persians, feeling pressured by dwindling supplies, planned to bypass and attack Athens via their ships.

Callimachus looked at the enemy camp, confirmed that a force of 10,000, composed of 5,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry, had departed, and sensed the time had come.

“That’s it! Now is the chance to strike them!”

The Athenian and Persian camps were positioned perpendicular to the beach.

The numerically superior Persian army placed its elite infantry and commanders in the center, with regular infantry composed of archers and shield-bearers on the left and right wings.

To match the length of the battle line, Athens thinned its central phalanx, normally eight ranks deep, to four ranks, extending its wings left and right accordingly to align with the Persian line.

“All forces! Advance!”

Drums and trumpets sounded as the offensive began.

As the central phalanx was thinned, Callimachus, the commander-in-chief himself, was in the central battle line to reassure the anxious soldiers.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The Athenian and Persian forces slowly closed the distance, maintaining formation with synchronized steps.

When they narrowed to within 200 meters, the range of arrows, Callimachus shouted once more.

“Run!”

The moment his Order fell, the Athenian hoplites began running swiftly, as if forgetting the weight of their armor.

Thudthudthudthudthud!

Yet, the formation remained almost undisturbed.

It meant this was not a sudden command but a pre-determined tactic.

It was a tactic made possible by the excellent discipline of the Athenian army.

Swishswishswishswishswish!

Most of the arrows shot by the Persian archers fell behind where the Athenian army had passed.

A smile formed on Callimachus’s lips as they passed the enemy’s first attack without damage.

A good start.

“Waaaaaaah!!!!”

With a war cry, the Athenian battle line closed the distance in an instant and clashed with the Persian line.

In terms of soldier quality, it was natural that the Athenian hoplites were superior to the Persian light infantry, who were little more than men with weapons and no armor.

Clang! Thud! Clang! Thud!

The phalanx tactic Athens prided itself on was pushing back the Persian left and right wings, composed of regular infantry and archers.

But the battle in the center was different.

‘Gah. Reducing the phalanx by half was indeed the problem.’

The Persian center, already composed of elite infantry, was pushing back the thinned Athenian center.

“It must not be breached! Hold the line!”

Callimachus tried to hold out as long as possible, encouraging the soldiers in the center who were about to be breached, but buying time was the best he could do.

Bloodshed ran rampant, and the battle of clashing spears and swords dragged on.

Thud! Slash! Thud! Slice!

And finally, the central phalanx was breached, and an enemy soldier’s blade reached Callimachus.

Slice!

A severed left arm.

As extreme pain radiated from the stump, his vision blurred, and the enemy’s follow-up sword strike seemed slow.

It looked like a sluggish attack he could easily block, but his own sword was equally slow.

Only his consciousness had sped up in the face of death.

‘Ah, I’m dying.’

At this speed, he couldn’t block that sword.

Realizing this, Callimachus sensed death.

‘I leave the rest to you… Miltiades, Themistocles.’

As he entrusted the future to the next-generation commanders participating in this battle and prepared to accept death with composure.

-SPARTA!!

Suddenly, a tremendous war cry resounded loudly from all directions.

As if thunder had struck his ears, his heart beat rapidly.

The movement of his arm, raised to block the enemy’s sword, sped up slightly.

Simultaneously, the enemy staggered as if dizzy, and the trajectory of his swinging sword became disordered.

Clang!

Thanks to that, he deflected the blade and survived.

This phenomenon didn’t happen only to Callimachus.

Immediately after the war cry resounded, the Persian forces faltered, and the Athenian army’s momentum rose.

“Spartan reinforcements have arrived! Hold on a little longer!”

Callimachus, who grasped the situation, shouted with all his might about the arrival of reinforcements and reorganized the central formation that had been pushed back.

It was the moment the tide of war turned.