Moonlight fell upon the surface of the Nile, making it shimr with silver light.
The Temple of Set in Rasses City was located at the confluence of two main city water sources.
The Nile in Lower Egypt was completely different from Upper Egypt; here, the waterways crisscrossed, and the place where the Temple of Set stood was cleverly separated from the main urban area by rivers and canals.
On its other side stretched a wide plain.
Currently, the temple had just finished its foundation excavation, but the chariot army's barracks had long been established, and fortress construction was beginning.
It would be integrated with the temple itself.
This city would not only be the Pharaoh's new ho but also the place where he gathered his great army.
Those professional soldiers who maintained daily training and answered directly to the Pharaoh were being transferred here in batches, turning this place into a massive military camp.
At this mont, the workshops that were bustling and noisy during the day had fallen silent. Only patrolling soldiers were awake, preparing for sleep.
As the strongest part of the Egyptian army, the chariot troops' camp maintained round-the-clock vigilance.
From the very start of the city's construction, a division of the Egyptian army had been ordered by the Pharaoh to relocate here.
This force consisted of about 6,000 well-trained soldiers and 100 chariots to ensure sufficient mobility.
The Pharaoh had never underestimated the number of dostic enemies nor the unscrupulous thods they might use.
The Pharaoh did not neglect these soldiers.
He provided them daily with twenty deben of bread, two bundles of vegetables, one roasted fish, and clothes made of linen. Such generous rations allowed the soldiers to work for their ruler with considerable pleasure.
That night, a sergeant commanding fifty n was patrolling with his subordinates along the canal. When they passed by the section adjacent to the Temple of Set's construction site, they noticed sothing unusual.
On the water surface where the Nile connected with the south, waves were rising.
This Egyptian infantry unit well reflected the superior discipline of Egypt's army over other nations of the ti. The sergeant bit down on a whistle-like device and raised his hand.
Seeing his signal, the light infantry quickly spread out with bows drawn, while the heavy infantry raised their shields and positioned themselves in front of the light infantry and the sergeant.
But the sergeant was puzzled. These waves seed unusually large — it didn't look like soone was swimming across.
Soon, the waves ca closer and could be seen more clearly.
What he saw made him open his mouth wide in shock.
"Osiris above! How can that chariot move on water? And that person—he looks like the Pharaoh!"
Not only was he shocked, but the other Egyptian soldiers wore similar expressions, so even dropping their weapons.
"Good heavens! They say the Pharaoh is protected by the gods — it's really true!"
The Egyptian soldiers just stared dumbfounded as the procession charged onto the construction site across the canal.
Once they regained their senses, they quickly laid down their weapons and perford a prostration in the direction of the Pharaoh.
But by then, the Pharaoh's caravan had already entered the chariot troops' camp.
Hikigaya was the first to jump off the chariot.
Chariots were not comfortable — they lacked the shock absorption of later vehicles and required standing the entire ti.
They were only sowhat useful for showing off.
Hikigaya looked up. The full moon was just rising.
According to Rasses, this was the best ti to hold the ceremony — there was definitely so insider knowledge involved.
Who would deliberately choose such a quiet late hour to start a construction ritual?
He saw Rasses giving orders and waking the remaining soldiers. Feeling bored, Hikigaya approached the queen.
The Egyptian soldiers respectfully bent their backs when they saw him, while the Karnak priests who had been previously sneering looked even more subservient.
These so-called holy n really lacked backbone.
When Hikigaya reached the queen, she stood next to the chariot, gazing at her husband's figure.
By modern standards, she was just a young girl.
Noticing Hikigaya's approach, the queen turned her head with slight surprise.
She respectfully bowed her head and softly asked, "Lord Set, do you have any matters to discuss?"
"I promised your husband earlier that I would help treat your health," Hikigaya smiled.
Since he had nothing else to do, why not chat with this beauty? He recalled her na was Nefertari. "May I hold out your hand?"
Nefertari opened her eyes wide but hesitated only briefly before extending her hand with an expectant look.
Hikigaya reached out and took it.
Nefertari's hand was very soft, which was rare in this era—she was naturally beautiful, apparently.
Holding her hand, Hikigaya slowly infused a trace of his Magic power.
As he had expected, her condition was far better than that of Haruno before.
Nefertari's injury ca from magic, and was only damaged, whereas Haruno's fertility had been completely drained by Di Jun—a totally different level.
Hikigaya could resolve it with Osiris's authority.
"It's just a small problem," Hikigaya was confident. "It might feel a little uncomfortable, please bear with it."
"Yes, I will endure it," Nefertari said seriously, showing a determined expression.
In the next mont, Osiris's power surged forcefully into her body.
Around them, the priests and soldiers saw a green glow suddenly cover her skin.
But in Hikigaya's eyes, the unknown ancient magician's leftover magic was powerless.
The mont Osiris's power entered the place where life is nurtured inside Nefertari, those energies were completely dispelled.
Then he released her hand.
The green glow faded, with a small portion absorbed into Nefertari's body to continue nourishing her.
"All done," Hikigaya looked satisfied with the result, then gave Nefertari a thumbs-up. "You can continue having children."
Of course, there was one sentence he didn't say aloud — if you're willing to bear children, having over a hundred by Rasses II would be no problem sharing half of them!
Then he saw Nefertari start to cry...
"Thank you... thank you... sob..."
The young girl cried loudly, attracting the attention of Rasses, who had been trying to look cool.
"Nefertari, my love, what's wrong?" The future ruler, whose foot would eventually crush an entire fleet, jumped down from the chariot and ran over.
"It's nothing; she's just a little emotional," Hikigaya said with a face full of vexation.
This queen had a weak psychological constitution; in later tis, many girls were against having children. "I've cured your wife's problem; she is now very healthy."
"Really!" The strongest bald man of this era looked even more excited than his wife.
This made Hikigaya abandon his brief ambition of gaining the "Won's Friend" achievent in this era.
He definitely did not want to see the scene of curing soone who cries that much.
"Let's get to business," Hikigaya said, looking behind Rasses at the rows of chariots gathering in the camp.
There were quite a few—Egypt's wealth was evident.
This single camp probably held more chariots than many countries at this ti.
"That's right, please get in, my lord. We're heading to the Temple of a Million Years now."
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