Rasses left satisfied, leaving behind a bewildered Hikigaya.
No one knew exactly when the first God Slayer appeared, and Hikigaya didn't know either. He only knew that in the Middle Ages, God Slayers were called Kings of Magicians, but before the Middle Ages, in the classical era, and even in the Bronze Age when he now lived, what they were called or even if they existed at all was completely unknown to him.
If not, he really would have wanted to ask Rasses II—how could he call a God Slayer to preside over the groundbreaking ceremony of a temple? Wasn't he afraid that the god he was going to worship would be so angry as to disobey and directly punish him?
But since Rasses wanted it done, Hikigaya would cooperate. After all, it sounded quite interesting.
It didn't take long. Under the bright full moon, the Pharaoh and Queen appeared again in Hikigaya's courtyard, their attire different from any he had seen before. Rasses was bare-chested, wearing a wig on his head and a wrapped loincloth around his waist—this was the style of Pharaohs from the Old Kingdom era. Nefertari wore a simple, tight white long gown.
Around this most honored couple of the Egyptian kingdom, more than thirty priests gathered.
Through Rasses's introduction, Hikigaya learned their identities—they ca from the famous Karnak Temple, including the High Priest managing the temple and the second and fourth-ranked High Priest heirs.
Invited by the Pharaoh, Hikigaya stepped out of his residence. Under the cool moonlight, what appeared before him was a procession of Egyptian chariots lined up in an orderly column on a paved stone road.
These chariots had wooden bodies with wheels at the rear end. A single pole was fixed to the body, harnessed to two horses.
The chariot drivers and warriors stood beside their chariots—they were the elite soldiers of the Egyptian army.
Besides them were infantry, lined up on both sides. When the Pharaoh and Queen appeared, all the warriors bowed their heads in respect to their rulers.
This was Rasses's personal guard, equivalent to the imperial guard of later dynasties.
Their equipnt was expensive for this era: they wore bronze helts, short-sleeved scale armor protecting their chests, and the infantry carried leather shields that were rounded on top and flat on the bottom.
Hikigaya noticed that among the chariots, six had only drivers and no warriors.
Rasses released the Queen's hand, ca to Hikigaya, patted his shoulder, and pointed to the nearest chariot. "My friend, please get on. We must get to the construction site as quickly as possible."
"Thank you, but I don't need these, and besides, they're not fast enough," Hikigaya replied.
That was the truth, and from the Karnak priests' eyes, he saw doubt and displeasure—more politely put, envy and jealousy.
Surely traveling by chariot was a prestigious thing in any era, and the Karnak priests were known for their pride before they were wiped out by Hikigaya and others.
Hikigaya glanced at them, then at Rasses, and chuckled quietly.
He wondered how Rasses II would feel if he knew his descendants would one day be bullied by these priests.
But Hikigaya guessed even if Rasses knew, he would have to bear it.
Pharaohs and temples were intertwined in honor and sha—Pharaohs could weaken temples but couldn't overturn the whole system. Akhenaten was a cautionary tale.
"Our Egyptian chariots are the fastest," one priest suddenly said stiffly from the crowd.
Hikigaya looked over and saw that except for the High Priest and two heirs who kept calm, all other Karnak priests looked displeased.
Such fragile egos—jealous even of these broken chariots.
At this mont, Hikigaya felt every pore in his body radiate a kind of "joy." The worst thing for a poser isn't failing to impress, but not finding a chance to show off at all. To him, these Karnak priests instantly transford from irrelevant passersby into utterly adorable creatures.
"I admit it, they're slow," he said with nostrils flared.
Then he waved his hand.
Suddenly, at the villa's gate, the wind began to blow without warning. Within a few breaths, the wind beca a visible swirling vortex, wrapping around people.
First Rasses and Nefertari were lifted by the wind and placed into the foremost chariot, then the High Priest of Karnak and his two heirs.
The scene was so sudden that the others were completely frozen, their expressions awkward and sowhat comical.
The next mont they panicked, but their cries were drowned out by a roaring sound from the sky.
It was a massive wave of water, surging over the buildings like a frog's tongue flicking out from the heavens.
It lifted people and chariots like a shovel, then reversed like ti flowing backward, returning to the sky.
Leaving the familiar earth, these ancient people were seized by fear, but soon they noticed the water holding them had a familiar scent.
It was the sll of the Nile River that nurtured them.
Finally, a soldier was the first to open his eyes. He saw a vision beyond his dreams—the water carpet holding everyone steadily, while beyond the water was the empty night sky.
The soldier stared in disbelief and looked downward. The water was crystal clear, and below were dense buildings, and at the end of this heavenly river was the familiar Nile.
More people began to open their eyes, and exclamations echoed among the crowd.
"How beautiful," Nefertari said, standing on the chariot, holding the pole, her beautiful eyes shining with light.
This must be the power of a true god, sothing humans could never accomplish. At this mont, she believed her husband's words.
She looked forward. Not far ahead, Rasses also stood on his chariot, looking calm.
But how did Set control the Nile's waters? Hadn't he killed his own brother?
This doubt lingered in Nefertari's mind until she felt a tremor beneath her feet, waking her from her thoughts to find her chariot firmly standing on the Nile.
But this was only the beginning.
The water started to speed up. In Nefertari's eyes, the flow was making the caravan go faster and faster.
Soon she could no longer clearly see the things on the riverbanks, for everything was being left behind at a speed she had never experienced before.
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