I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 53. Mermaid

Mermaid (Τρίτωνες).

Pausanias, a geographer and historian of the second century A.D., said:

“A mermaid has swamp frog hair on her head. The hair is similar to the color of the face and is continuous. The rest of the skin is rough like shark skin. . . . The hands, fingers, and fingernails resemble snails.”

That is, it is not beautiful at all.

Only the appearance of the monster is described.

I could confirm before my eyes that the record of Pausanias was true.

The shield wall is gradually shaking while the monsters’ spears and knives are swinging and stabbing.

The spears and claws pushed through the shields caused the soldiers to fall down one by one, and the mermaids pushed their sharp teeth to squeeze through the fallen gap.

I took out my steel sword and cut off its head with a single knife.

[Kieek!!]

The severed neck thumped with a roar like a broken brass instrument.

As if trying to bite the ankles of the soldiers, I opened my mouth and let out my long tongue. I cut it off and stepped on it with my foot.

Every time I stepped on it with force, the flesh and bones of the head gradually distorted the shape, and the sound it made also approached the noise of blowing air.

Soon, the head stopped moving. At the same time, the body that struggled was also thrown away by other mermaids who were blocked from approaching the shield wall.

It wasn’t just me struggling.

Hector did not stop at guarding the shield wall, but ran on both sides of the shield wall and killed several mermaids who tried to bypass the defense line.

Aeneas thrust his spear into the right place next to the other soldiers and swung his sword to block the mermaids’ approach.

Although no mermaids were hit by Aeneas’ blow, it was certain that such a check would be of great help to the war situation.

However, there were limitations.

The number of mermaids narrowly fell short of the number of our envoys, but they were on an equal level.

They were stragglers, while our numbers were not entirely made up of fighting men.

In other words, each of the mermaids was a fighting force.

[Queueek! Keu!!]

A mermaid thrust a barnacled spear through the gap between the shield walls at me again. After narrowly dodging the spear, I inserted the spear shaft into my armpit and pulled it.

The mermaid couldn’t let go of the spear and came with her right hand, and I cut off her wrist in the gap.

The one who lost his right hand screams in pain and attacks me using the claws on his left hand.

When I dodged the attack again, the nail scratched the neck of the soldier standing next to me.

The hapless soldier collapses, blood spurting from his carotid artery, and the shield wall here completely disintegrates.

“sh*t!”

“Stand back and raise the window!! If you lose your spear, draw your sword!!!”

Inevitably forced into a melee, we quickly fell back and widened our distance to avoid interfering with each other’s movements.

The spirited mermaids jump at us with screaming cheers.

First of all, the first mermaid to come was the one whose hand was cut off by me earlier.

Steam rose from his right wrist, and soon the hand was regenerated.

“Gee, f*ck.”

[Kiaaag!!!]

The mermaid screamed and waved both hands at me.

When I slashed it with the sword, the conch-like claws shattered with a squeak.

Of course, the hands are also regenerated, but it didn’t take long for the fingernails to grow back. Still, it was enough to tie the means of attack.

As the mermaid pauses to recover, I step back and pick up the spear from the corpse on the floor.

Then, as he threw the spear with all his might, the mermaid’s left shoulder was pierced. It pounced on me in a fit of rage, quickly closing the distance and attempting to snatch my sword.

After cutting the wrists that came close again, he pulled out the spear from his shoulder and pierced it through his heart.

Soon, there was a gurgling sound, and dark red blood spurted out of the hole in the hide.

I wanted to walk around with my heart pulled out like a reptilian from a fantasy novel, but fortunately it didn’t seem like it.

After spitting out the blood in his mouth and kicking the fallen body, he sees two mermaids rushing beyond it.

As two spears pierced at the same time, I crouched down and rolled on the floor, burrowing under the spearheads of my enemies.

Then, press the jewel on the bracelet he was wearing and place his hand near the belly of one of the mermaids.

-Pushk.

[Cueee!!!!]

The dagger embedded in the bracelet comes out and pierces through the scales.

After pressing the jewel with my fingers again, I inserted the dagger, thrust the spear under the man’s armpit, and cut off the thrashing head with a knife.

The steel sword had a heavy texture and passed through blood vessels and flesh.

At that moment, the other spear pierced me through my back, as if piercing my spine.

I quietly snapped my fingers.

The mermaid, who was certain that he had killed me, had his skull crushed by a hammer flying out of the air.

He probably didn’t even feel the moment of death.

After he cut down the three mermaids, his face was covered in blood, and his feet were sticky with brain water.

From nob le mt l. co m

Looking around, no one seemed to have identified my hammer in the chaos of battle. Ordinary soldiers were better off not knowing.

Relieved, I snapped my fingers again to send the hammer back.

The war situation was not so unfavorable.

Hector jumped between the ranks of the enemies and was dealing with three or four at the same time.

Taking advantage of gaps and confusion created in the ranks of the enemy, our soldiers regrouped and counterattacked the enemy. The numerical inferiority had long been overcome.

And Hector takes one look at me and nods.

I shot an arrow through Hector’s side, piercing the heads of the two mermaids that were approaching him, and like Hector, I ran through the midst of the enemy.

Grabbing the knife again, leaping once and splitting the left eyeball of the nearest mermaid.

As I turned around as I drew my sword from the screaming creature, four mermaids surrounded me and attacked me at the same time.

The mermaids are all one head taller than me.

In other words, no matter what I do, it is invisible to allies beyond this encirclement.

My fingers hit each other to make a sound.

The next moment, a hammer spinning in the air shatters all the spears flying around me and crushes the skull of one mermaid before it falls to the floor.

I picked up the hammer and threw it at the other, who was staring at the broken shaft in dismay.

Quickly coming to his senses, he throws down the broken spear and sticks out his claws at me, but as soon as a heavy mass collides with his chest, he screams and falls backwards.

I put a knife in the neck of the man who was moaning as if his ribs were broken, and threw a spear at another mermaid who approached and pierced the stomach.

The guy forcibly pulled out the spear and passed out as he watched his internal organs being pulled out one after another.

I stabbed him in the neck again and killed him.

Metallic sounds and the smell of blood were everywhere.

I stepped on muddy pools of blood, stepped on the corpses of men and mermaids, and pursued other foes.

and···

“Miss Aeneas!”

I ran straight to where the call came from.

Carrying a fallen soldier with his ankle cut off, Aeneas struggles against a one-eyed mermaid.

No, to be precise, Aeneas’ life was in danger.

I tried to block the mermaid’s approach by stabbing it everywhere with a spear, but it was only a waste of time because I couldn’t inflict a fatal wound.

As much as he retreated carrying the wounded on his back, the time delay was unfavorable to Aeneas.

Soon after, the mermaid grabs the handle of Aeneas’ spear and breaks it with force. Aeneas draws a sword, but a sword is a difficult weapon to use to keep distance.

Soon, the mermaid’s sharp teeth rush at the slow-moving Aeneas.

I threw the spear hastily,

[Quaaa!!!]

The enemy was pierced through the temple.

From nob le mt l. co m

Looking around, the battle has already turned in our favor.

The leader, who was bigger than the others by one head, was surrounded by countless soldiers under Hector’s command and howled as he was hit by spears and arrows.

It wasn’t long before Hector rushed in and slit his neck, causing the colossus to fall in a spray of disgusting blood.

The mermaids, realizing that their defeat was deepening, were already retreating towards the stream they had come from.

As the bleeding mermaids jumped into the water one by one, the stream turned bloody.

The battle is over.

The soldiers, whose legs were weak, let go of their guard one by one and sat down on the blood-stained dirt floor. Looking at it now, out of close to 100 people, only about 6 died.

A total of 10 people were injured, about 2 were seriously injured, and the rest were minor injuries enough to take care of themselves.

Considering the course of the fierce battle, it was a decent level of damage.

Hector was already giving instructions to the remaining soldiers to collect the bodies of their allies.

However, I had no energy, so all I could do was walk to Aeneas, who was lying on the floor as if collapsing with a wounded soldier on his back.

I quietly looked out at Aeneas.

“Go, thank you…”

“Haven’t you ever killed anyone?”

It’s a strange question.

A fierce hand-to-hand combat has just ended, and you’re asking me if I’ve ever killed anyone? Not to the rear volunteers, but to those who fought in the forefront?

But at my words, Aeneas’ eyes tremble with fear for a moment.

“That…that’s…”

“I will ask you again.”

I was half convinced, but I still needed to ask.

“Did you just think of killing enemies in battle?”

“…”

I still remember the feeling of the first murder.

When I was running away from Ino and the thieves, all I had to do was lure the thieves with the hounds,

At the mansion of Cassius and Anoitus, I and Theo spilled a lot of blood.

I couldn’t help it in order to live, but after that, it was clear that I was numb to the shock of the act of slaughter.

Some would say it was broken, but I decided to think of it as growth.

Even a slave boy, whose only business was to do business in the provinces, had to get used to killing like that…

The city’s heir, who should be the commander, hesitates to kill.

He had the courage to step in to save the life of a wounded soldier.

He had the courage not to abandon the injured soldier whose ankle was cut off and run away.

However, he did not have the courage to cut the enemy until right before his own death.

Aeneas bowed his head as if embarrassed by my words.

I pondered for a while.

Is it right for me to scold Aeneas like this?

Is it moral to shame a 15-year-old boy for fear of killing people?

The worry didn’t last long.

“it’s crazy?”

A war with the Greeks, or a disaster that may come in another way awaits.

And the boy in front of me should be the main axis of the military command.

“If you stayed that far away, you would be dead. Then, of course, the soldier you were carrying on your back would have died.”

“That’s… I’m sorry…”

“I would have understood if I had just abandoned that soldier and ran away. Because you are the king’s son And your life is more valuable.”

…At least in terms of the morality of this era, it would be an act that could not be called wrong.

“But you got scared and tried to choose the path where both of you died. I chose the worst option.

Choose nothing, lose everything.”

Aeneas’ eyes went beyond fear and began to be stained with deep shame and self-loathing.

I also held on to my weakening heart and forced Aeneas to sit down again.

“This, what is this…”

“say it.”

I crouched down in front of Aeneas.

And I looked into his eyes up close.

“Imagine that Troia falls, the forest on Mount Ida burns, and all the fairies who defended Troia die in droves.”

At my words, Aeneas’ expression completely changed. Because I touched his back.

“Yeah, that doesn’t matter! What are you saying all of a sudden…”

“You know what oracle I was born into.”

I try not to show too much anger. I’ll try to stop at this point.

“But you act softly like this, that’s it.”

It didn’t go well.

“…”

“Think about it, people you know won’t be swept away by that fire.”

Probably, Oinone too.

I couldn’t bear to say it, but Aeneas knew what I had omitted.

To that extent, Aeneas’ eyes change to those of a wounded beast.

“Are you going to stay still then?”

“Don’t speak . . . carelessly.”

“Do you think that time will never come?”

“then.”

Aeneas shakes off my hand and forcibly raises himself. Blood was oozing from cuts and puncture wounds everywhere.

“Are you sure that such a moment will come?”

Aeneas did not scream or point at me.

I just stared at her and spoke in a low tone without any accent.

I answered.

“okay.

And I know it’s because of me.”

Then, Aeneas’ stiff face cracked slightly. Embarrassment spreads.

But I didn’t give him any more answers.

Instead, he turned his head and called out to Hector.

“older brother! Aeneas is hurt! I need salves and bandages!!”

“I wasn’t careful about what you just said…”

“later. I am tired now.”

I wiped the bloody knife with the collar and put it in the scabbard.

Holding the curved spearhead in his hand, he climbed into the carriage he had been riding before the battle.

The seats were firm, but that didn’t matter. Because I just needed a place to lean on.

I closed my eyes.

Aeneas…

We must turn that feeble boy into the killing machine described in the passages of the Iliad.

I have to lift a rock the size of my body and turn it into a hero who threw it at Achilles without hesitation.

…my bones hurt.

It seems that I had more work to do on this tour than I thought.

***

Even if they are not human, they are the creatures of the gods, so there is bound to be something valuable in the corpses of mermaids.

On rare occasions, there are old pearls in their mouths, and even if not, there are doctors who occasionally pay for things like bones and gallbladder.

Soldiers pray to Poseidon for pocket money today and search the corpses of mermaids.

“Ruler of the tides and tides, please do not be angry as I sweep from the land the vestiges of your long-ago anger…”

“Hey, it looks like there’s something stuck in the armor of the boss here?”

“Where to look?”

Among them, the body of the head was of course the most valuable thing, and everyone was interested in it.

They unearth old, rusted, crude bronze armor. The fishy smell of blood and the sticky texture made the soldiers frown.

“···uh?”

But soon a light begins to shine in their eyes.

“Hector? Hector!”

“What is it?”

“This came out of the body of the chief.”

Hector picked it up.

And I feel something ominous.

It was a huge, golden dish.