Pffâ
"Lord Aaron, why would you do this, allowing us to die? What good does it do you? I can obey youâ"
Hissâ
"Evil God, Evil God, may you die a horrible death!"
Hissâ
"...The earth will be soaked with sin and blood, and you surely will pay the price... No one can escape, no one can!"
...
Standing on a mound, Aaron listened to the incessant pleadings, wails, curses, and angry shouts around him, his expression unchanged.
Before the city was built, a moat had been planned, but water had not yet been diverted into it.
However, the heavy rain had solved that, as the moatâs channel blocked the accumulating water from other areas. Now, a short canal leading directly out of the city was being urgently dug by thousands.
After all, even if the Spring of Life produced enough water, relying on bare hands for transport was insufficient. Besides, given the size of the spring, even with more water, it might not hold back the massive dark tide.
Still, as terrifying as those creatures might be, individually, their strength remained insignificant. Even diluted, the springâs water was sufficient for use.
"Speed up the progress, pay no mind to what theyâre saying."
"If they had devout hearts, they would have proven it by now. The gods do not need to coerce their faith through slaughter; this is merely a personal decision of mine."
His voice calm, Aaron gazed at the increasingly pure and sacred spring nourished by life in front of him.
Sinful blood nurtured holy flowers, beneath the healing Divine Spring lay a ground littered with corpses.
Perhaps behind every luminescence, such was the case, be it by choice or force.
"At least, thatâs the case for humans."
Descending the slope, Aaron figured the Egyptians must be nearly dead by now.
Whether his plan would succeed would be confirmed by what followed.
Having devoured so much of his kinâs flesh and blood, facing an alien clan, it only seemed right they should die in greater numbers.
"You have been trained for a while, though the enemy is not human, we must still take up arms to protect our lives and possessions."
Soon after, as Aaron approached the city walls, the surging black tide was already close at hand.
"Draw swords!"
"God is with me."
...
"God is with me."
Outside the city, mounted on his horse, Kash whispered a prayer, then gazed into the distance at the barely formed buildings.
He saw the guards standing readyâwell, heâd rather call them armed rabble.
Neither their equipment nor their training seemed adequate in the least.
"I thought the enemy foretold by the oracle was formidable, turns out theyâre merely these insignificant Sin People... Iâve heard of them, a clan cursed by the God La, their ancestors committed great sins, itâs surprising the Egyptians havenât dealt with them."
The blade dripped with blood, the last remnants of an Egyptian aristocrat Kash had personally slain.
Though the oracle prevented him from seeking trouble with the Egyptians directly at this time, since they were in his way, he might as well eradicate them.
The brief battle had undoubtedly proven that even well-trained soldiers were no match under his vast army. As for those called Hebrews, Sin People, there was certainly no difference.
"They didnât even have decent leather armor, nor enough weapons."
"Stone spears... are we living in ancient times?"
"Hahaha..."
Kashâs words triggered a burst of laughter; despite knowing these insect-like legions wouldnât harm them, each Nubian still harbored quite a bit of negative emotion.
The recent massacre of the Egyptians allowed them a slight release, but it was far from enough.
"Prepare yourselves, gentlemen, letâs complete the Godâs mission soon, and then break through Memphis. I want to present Ramses II as a Sacrifice to the gods to prove my capabilities."
"After that, everything in the city will be ours!"
Raising his sword, Kash willed the rolling black tide to surge forward.
He saw the city walls, the moat, and the vigilant guards, but none of these mattered against the overwhelming numbers.
How many lives the desert contained, no one knew. But for Kash, their number could only be infinite.
SasaâŠ
Amid the soft crawling sounds, the tide touched the shallow ring of the moat.
The tide dove forward without a hint of hesitation; they didnât need to dodge, only to fill the space with their numbers.
Watching this scene, Kash began to wait silently.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hm?"
His expression shifted slightly as the front of the tide continuously poured into the shallow moat, yet the clear water seemed like an Abyss, swallowing everything.
If it werenât happening right before his eyes, Kash might have thought his army had already halted there, instead of steadily advancing.
"Your Majesty, thereâs something wrong with this water!"
The voice came from beside him, and Kash nodded slightly.
However, he didnât feel angry about the setback, instead, he felt a slight relief.
The oracle had instructed them to exterminate this clan, and they seemed so easily defeated. But if they truly were that weak, the Egyptians should have destroyed them long ago.
"So the first barrier is the moat, no matter. Let the ants form a suspended ant bridge and send the rest of the life across."
Though this would greatly slow the pace of their advance, Kash didnât mind.
His army was endless, and this small city wouldnât hold him back for long.
...
Whizâ
Whizâ
Whizâ
...
The collisions on the ground had begun, and the power of the last of the four Pillar Gods, the Sky Goddess Nut, was gradually becoming apparent.
Up in the sky, hundreds of thousands of stars began to fall towards the mortal realm, aiming directly at the vast tree.
Strictly speaking, the Sky Goddess did not hold authority over the power of the stars, but she had birthed them and possessed the power to mobilize them.
So under her guidance, the meteors, like another heavy rainfall, brought destruction and burning to the earth.
"Why hasnât He made his move yet? Is He not afraid that those mortals will be completely slaughtered by the stars?"
Feeling uneasy, Nut knew they actually had the advantage in this chess game.
After all, this was Hemenuâs world; while both sides would be weakened in their interference in the mortal realm, their opponents would be weakened even more. Moreover, there was another issueâtheir opponent did not hold divine authority over Hemenu.
This was one of the reasons the Egyptian gods had initially agreed to accept the chess gameâthey thought, despite the strength of the Outer God, they still stood a good chance given their superiority in both supernatural and mortal realm powers.
However, since the incident with Shu, almost all the Pillar Gods had become extremely anxious, unable to comprehend the power Messe had displayed.
Messe was not showcasing divine miracles through the power of the Outer God, this directly subverted the balance of power in the mortal realm. Thus, Nut, among others, didnât say it out loud, but at least for her, she just wanted to get through her own turn and then place her hopes on the god La.
"So why havenât you made your move yet!"
Watching the falling stars, Nut was even more urgent than Messe.
She desperately hoped the Outer God would intervene to stop them, but all she faced was disappointment.
Not until the first star fell upon the tree did the mortal realm remain as usual. The deity from the alien realm did not interfere, instead watching it all unfold.
"..."
The stars fell onto the tree, and likewise upon her own heart.
In an instant, Nutâs heart sank.
She forced a smile, looking in the direction of the god La. However, all she could see was the gold mask covering his falcon head.
"Donât be delusional, Nut, He has already arrived..."
A deep voice came from beside her, as Seth looked emotionless towards the sky.
The feeling was exactly the same as when Shu had fallen, as if he was already doomed.
â...Anubis, my unborn son...â
Divine power surged, and Seth did not seem to intend to sit idly by.
Watching that seemingly all-encompassing enormous hand, as a deity symbolizing the land of Hemenu along with Earth God Geb, Seth soared into the sky.
Divine light flickered, like a mantis trying to shake a giant tree.