Chapter 23 – Earth-Shaker
In principle, Hikigaya thought the Egyptians of this era were actually pretty reliable.
That bald old man had accurately recognized the location he'd seen in the illusion, and that guy Ramesses II turned out to be quite a decent person—he actually let Hikigaya go to Minos in the name of an Egyptian envoy.
For Egypt, which had just gone through a total diplomatic collapse during Akhenaten's reign, this young pharaoh's move was something that couldn't be described as merely generous or naive.
Of course, Hikigaya preferred to believe that the guy had just reached a point of "screw it all."
Historically speaking, Ramesses II had single-handedly gone up against the Hittites and all their allies with only Egypt's national strength.
Rather than calling it confidence, it was more accurate to say Egypt, in the eyes of its neighbors at the time, had become so annoying that it basically had no friends left.
But as a modern man who had received a proper education, Hikigaya felt he should at least reciprocate this favor and try to help Ramesses II out a little.
What he hadn't expected, though, was that just when he decided not to screw over his allies for once—his allies decided to screw him instead.
When he walked into the throne hall and saw Haruno, he knew the whole deal was going to fall apart.
He didn't know exactly what she'd done, but clearly, she had somehow become a high priestess of Minos.
And apparently, she wasn't very popular.
These days, Hikigaya had become increasingly aware of the changes that came after "Athena's divine manifestation." Now, he could sense human emotions—and even use his eyes to intimidate people directly.
So, without hesitation, Hikigaya just flipped the table.
First came a verbal lashing.
Then a flurry of fists like some delinquent brawl. Then a final, over-the-top "protagonist glare that kills you with cringe." No point trying to talk it out—better to just enjoy letting loose.
After finishing his outburst, right in front of everyone's eyes, he transformed into wind, swept up Haruno and the other Egyptians, and blasted through the labyrinth-like corridors, tearing his way out of Knossos.
Along the way, he noticed that the palace seemed to have some kind of power that resisted all hostile intrusions—yet one by one, all the seal-like forces barring his way were shattered by him.
By the time he returned to human form, he was already standing on the soil of ancient Crete, quite a distance from Knossos.
Looking around, he saw farmlands spread out outside the city. Dirt roads ran between the fields, dividing them.
No civilization could survive without agriculture.
Even though the Minoan civilization dominated the Aegean Sea and monopolized trade between Asia, Europe, and Africa during this era, its people still relied on farming and fishing for food.
Agriculture was the true economic foundation of Minos—not commerce. The most valued and infinitely demanded hard currency of this era wasn't gold—it was grain.
But Hikigaya didn't plan to study the Minoan economy. In fact, he didn't intend to stay on Crete at all.
The route he had taken to get here was still clear in his mind, like a sketch etched into his brain. Taking these people back across the sea to Egypt would be no trouble at all. He just needed to reach the southern coast of Crete and set out to sea.
However, just as he was about to continue on his way, he felt the ground begin to shake.
The tremors came from the direction of Knossos.
Looking into the distance, he saw a long plume of yellow dust surging from Knossos like a serpent, speeding down the rural roads between farmlands—coming straight toward him.
With his eyesight, Hikigaya quickly made out the source of the dust.
It was chariots.
He counted quickly. There were about thirty of them.
"Minos has chariots too?" Hikigaya muttered in disbelief.
From beside him, Haruno burst into giggles.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You love reading history books, don't you, Hachiman? But you know so little about the Minoans." Haruno covered her mouth as she laughed, her eyes curved like crescent moons and
sparkling with amusement. "Of course they had chariots. Their bronze-working was incredibly advanced too."
"Is that so?" Hikigaya nodded slowly, then shook his head. "But this timeline is obviously messed up. At this point in history, the Aegean should belong to the Mycenaeans. The Minoans were supposed to have been wiped out two hundred years ago. You know who I met in Egypt? A Hebrew guy. Name was Moses."
"You're kidding, right? That's just a later myth."
They didn't keep arguing, because by then, the Minoan chariots had already crossed the farmland and were now lined up in formation on the flat ground, preparing to charge at Hikigaya.
At this range, Hikigaya could clearly see the soldiers riding the chariots. They looked very much like the hoplites of classical Greece, though unlike those later warriors, they weren't carrying large shields.
However, their armor was actually more impressive than that of later Greek soldiers.
They wore full bronze chestplates, with their shoulders and arms also protected. Most of the defense was focused on the upper body.
The bronze coverage was very high, and their defensive capabilities may have even surpassed future Greek warriors.
What surprised Hikigaya even more were their bronze weapons—they weren't short-bladed like those he had seen in Egypt. In fact, the swords were fairly long.
Not quite at the level of the Qin Dynasty's long swords, but clearly, Minos's bronze-smelting and forging techniques were among the best in the Mediterranean of this era.
Still… to Hikigaya, it was all utterly useless.
He could vaguely hear the war cries of these soldiers now. He understood the Minoan language enough to make out what they were shouting: Things like "Destroy the blasphemer!"
What a joke. He wasn't a blasphemer. And Hikigaya had no intention of taking the fall for this kind of accusation.
This kind of grave misunderstanding had to be cleared up.
So, he kicked the ground with his foot.
The next moment, the ground beneath the Minoan chariots erupted.
Some parts of the land sank. Other parts rose up. In the blink of an eye, the flat field between Hikigaya and the charging chariots was transformed.
With a thunderous roar, the earth split open like a sheet of paper. A canyon of moderate size tore through the land, and from its base rose a forest of stone pillars.
The result?
Every chariot—along with its galloping horses—was now suspended in midair, wedged helplessly between the rocks.
From a distance, it looked like a grape arbor—a giant trellis strung with bunches of "grapes," only the grapes were chariots and horses.
The horses screamed and neighed in terror, expressing their primal fear. The Minoan soldiers were even worse off—completely paralyzed with shock, their earlier war cries reduced to cries of despair.
"Did you really have to go that far?" Haruno was stunned. "You do realize what this means, right?"
"What else is there to realize? The king of this country is a dumb, cute little shota, and real power lies in a bunch of menopausal women. This method is far more efficient.
They're bound to be terrified of Egypt now. Consider it my thank-you gift to Ramesses II."
"That's not it at all!" Haruno slapped her forehead like she had a migraine. "They were already scared of Egyptian magic. But now, they definitely don't see you as some Egyptian mage anymore."
Hikigaya saw the look in her eyes—it wasn't just worry.
There was also excitement.
"You forgot… These people worship the Earth-Shaker with fanatical devotion. Now they're probably going to think… You ARE the Earth-Shaker!"