A mysterious voice?
The words brought to mind the divine oracle in the myth.
A god had given the order for Telephus to help Greece and destroy Troy.
If it weren't for this order, Telephus, even if unable to join Troy, would likely have maintained neutrality indefinitely out of hatred for Agamemnon and the others.
Who was the owner of that voice? Could it be that god?
Night's mind ran through it rapidly.
A command that pushed Telephus to betray his loyalties and help his enemies attack his own father-in-law would definitely not have come from Heracles.
If Heracles' character was anything like the myths suggested,
That man would never do something so underhanded and would never put his own son in such a painful position of betrayal.
As for other gods, with Heracles standing between them, did Telephus really need to fear and obey the commands of other gods to the point of acting against his own conscience?
For a demigod this courageous, one who held the city to the last, to have not a single thought of resistance, the power and standing of whatever gave that command would need to be far above even Heracles himself.
A name had already surfaced in Night's mind, settling a heaviness over him.
Zeus!!
Only this man, the father of Heracles himself, had both the power and the standing and, as an elder, was naturally positioned to override his own descendants and command them to obey.
If you refused, you were already violating the principle of filial piety.
Caught between two impossible choices, Telephus ultimately chose to listen to the stronger side and fight for Greece.
That was something that could be understood.
Damn it.
Hector revered Zeus and the gods deeply.
Troy itself was once a city personally protected by Zeus.
Because the old king of Troy had Apollo and Poseidon build the walls and then refused to pay, Zeus grew displeased and decided to destroy the very city he had nurtured.
Yes, that old king was truly without honor.
But what had the people done wrong?
What had those who still worshipped these gods, who believed in them and loved them from the bottom of their hearts, done wrong?
Destroyed by the very ones they revered most.
Thinking of Hector's fate in the original story and then thinking of how even Apollo himself said nothing and simply helped Troy in his own way, that contrast
Zeus's pettiness ignited a fire within Night's chest.
Of course, it's about killing some deity or anything.
He just felt this man was not worthy to be revered by someone as devoted as Hector.
The idealistic, kind-hearted young Zeus who wandered the world and was praised everywhere by nymphs and spirits no longer existed.
What sat on the throne now was a new God-king who toppled a corrupt old order and then became exactly the same kind of corrupt ruler in return.
Night took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
After all, no matter how much he resented it, there was nothing he could do about that King of Gods right now.
Not unless the other version of the grandfather he invented, the one who could be called the ending of Greek mythology itself, the god of war Kratos, could actually step out of the story and make it real.
Well...that's another story.
Hearing his words, Night looked at the man in front of him and spoke.
"Telephus, no. You are not completely without options.
I have an idea that might help you get your revenge on Agamemnon."
"What idea?"
The fact that he did not immediately refuse outright meant the resentment was still very much alive inside him.
If not for that mysterious voice holding him back, Telephus would have gone after Agamemnon himself long ago.
"So, seeing that the situation was exactly right," Night said.
"I have heard that the Greek alliance has been suffering repeated losses on the Trojan battlefield.
This has no small connection to the demigod Achilles stepping back from the fight.
"Though once Agamemnon and Achilles reconcile, the Trojan War will still drag into a stalemate, and Troy may even end up losing.
In terms of heroes, both in number and quality, they are far outmatched by an alliance backed by all of Greece."
...
Telephus nodded.
"You are right, that is exactly how it is.
I have fought against Achilles before. He inherited his father Peleus's strength and even surpassed it.
That man, like us, is also a descendant of the Argo heroes. He is extremely difficult to deal with."
....
Thinking back on Achilles's power, Telephus still felt a lingering unease, though even as he resented Agamemnon, he held a certain mutual respect for Achilles.
On the battlefield earlier, Achilles was the only one who never preyed on civilians, someone who simply loved to fight for the sake of fighting.
For a pure warrior like that, the two of them had once felt a mutual admiration, something between rival and friend.
Achilles, for his part, had greatly respected Telephus's courage and will, the way he swore to protect his kingdom and always charged at the front of every battle.
It was precisely for that reason Telephus knew just how formidable Achilles truly was.
"To break the balance of this war,
Troy needs a new force to help them. Even though you cannot take the field yourself,
I can."
Telephus snapped to attention instantly. "Griffith, are you saying you want to join Troy's side and help them fight against Agamemnon?!"
To be honest, right up until that moment, it had never once crossed his mind that this new friend, this brother he just made, might choose to help Troy over Greece.
Troy had been desperately seeking aid from all over, and aside from the Amazon queen, who in all of Greece had stepped up to help?
Because they were too afraid.
If not for the sea between them making it so difficult to send troops,
With the gap in territory between Mycenae and Troy, it would be like a father crushing a child, effortless.
Even with the expedition hitting setbacks, every surrounding kingdom was still sitting back and watching.
The Amazon queen would never have gotten involved in this mess if not for a long-standing vendetta against Greece.
Speaking of which, that vendetta between the two parties had something to do with his own family as well.
One of Heracles's twelve labors was obtaining the belt of Hippolyte, the Amazon queen of that era.
It was the symbol of queenly power bestowed upon her by the god of war.
Because of Hera's scheming, Heracles was forced into battle with the Amazon warriors and killed quite a few of them before taking the belt from them in their humiliation.
Because of that, the Amazons had even gone to war with Athens.
Although Telephus didn't know how capable his newly sworn brother Griffith actually was in combat,
But looking at him, he seemed more like a handsome prince or a brilliantly talented bard than a powerful warrior.
So, Telephus really wanted to say it plainly.
Don't go and get yourself killed.
To shift the tide of a war, a single person joining as outside aid was not much use, unless that person's strength was somewhere close to Achilles's level.
And Achilles was, in Telephus's eyes, the strongest hero he had ever encountered in his life, second only to his father Heracles before ascension.
He did not believe Griffith could win.
And yet,
The next words out of his mouth sent Telephus reeling completely.
"No, I am not joining Troy. I am joining the Greek alliance."
Telephus: ????
Huh?
He was practically on the verge of a question mark appearing over his head.
The look on his face was not one of someone doubting their own sanity but of someone genuinely wondering whether the other person had lost theirs while also being completely unable to follow the humor.
Not joining Troy, but joining Greece instead?!
What kind of incomprehensible operation was this?
.
.
.