Chapter 34: The Ancient Group Fight Incident
In the fourth year of Ramesses' reign over Egypt, war between the kingdom and the Hittites seemed inevitable no matter how you looked at it.
The cause appeared to be Ramesses forcing the prince of Amurru to sign a treaty of submission to Egypt.
However, the Hittites considered Amurru their legitimate vassal state.
Thus, the Hittite king Muwatalli responded with utmost severity toward Egypt. Not only did he conscript troops at home, but he also demanded that his vassals immediately fulfill their obligation to fight alongside the Hittites.
The armies had already gathered; everything was irreversible.
When the news reached Egypt, the Hittite invasion had become a fact. All the dispatches from the north described a bloody reality—countless Hittites and their allies had marched south, launching large-scale attacks on the Egyptian forces stationed at the border, brutally slaughtering the Egyptians there.
This news caused panic in the Delta region.
Those Egyptians who had recently moved into Ramesses City and held some political status were well aware of the city's purpose.
It was not built for the Pharaoh's enjoyment; it was meant to allow the Pharaoh to command and deploy troops more conveniently to launch attacks against the Hittites.
But now, the Hittites struck first. This meant that the Pharaoh was unprepared, and the Egyptian army was also insufficiently ready.
These people suddenly realized they had no other choice—they had to support their Pharaoh, or else those barbaric, violent highlanders, who had no understanding of civilization, would kill them all. As for their wives and daughters, "rotating rice" (a crude euphemism) would be the least of their concerns—they might even discover that bathing doesn't necessarily require water.
Parts of the above conclusions were kindly provided by the 21st-century godslayer, Hikigaya Hachiman...
"Are you sure they'll understand?" Haruno looked at a group of Egyptian nobles whose eyes were literally blazing with anger, and asked Hikigaya, a little sweat appearing on her forehead.
At this moment, she and Hikigaya were in a spacious hall in Ramesses City's palace, which, judging by its function, was similar to what future generations would call a council chamber. Most of Egypt's top officials had gathered there, shouting and arguing fiercely.
On the only raised platform in the hall, Ramesses and Nefertari sat side by side on the large throne.
The Pharaoh's face was dark and gloomy, and everyone could feel that he was harboring a fierce and intense emotion.
"I bet you, even if I say the Hittites' goal is just to turn their wives and daughters' face into 'ahegao', they would immediately understand what that means."
"Thinking about it carefully, it's really unbelievable," Haruno touched her cheek, a flush rising on her skin—probably due to excitement—which made Hikigaya suspicious.
"Hey, Hachiman, what if I ended up captured by the Hittites? Would their king fall in love with me and then conquer Egypt for me?"
"..." Hikigaya glanced sideways at her.
Damn, too many things to roast here; don't even know where to start!
Looks like things have been too intense lately and she's cracked her brain. Let's keep it normal tonight.
"Miss, please behave yourself. If you keep this up, I'll have to call the cops!"
"Just kidding, so boring."
"Girl, you gotta respect the bald guy, or you'll get killed... Alright, calm down and watch—the result is coming."
Hikigaya pointed ahead, ending the banter with Haruno.
"No more words. We're at war with the Hittites! Where are my army's messengers and scribes? Come see me immediately!"
Ramesses stood up and issued the command loudly.
"And you, my Virgil, from now on, you are the kingdom's military commander. Order the troops to assemble. My demand is simple: within one month, the Upper Egyptian army must arrive at Ramesses City to swear allegiance to me!"
"Yes, my Pharaoh." An old man stepped out of the crowd and bowed to Ramesses. His face did not look good, but if you looked closely, it wasn't due to fear.
In fact, the widespread panic mainly involved the many foreigners living in Ramesses City, not the Egyptians themselves.
Ramesses' ministers had served under Seti I, and many were military nobles dating back to the 18th Dynasty.
These men deeply regretted that the Egyptian army never actually fought the Hittites and had withdrawn early. The news of the Hittite southward advance shattered their political expectations and revealed their true feelings.
One side was the world's earliest militaristic state, the other had been beating all foreign tribes since the 18th Dynasty.
Honestly, not only the kings and nobles but even ordinary people were curious about who was truly stronger.
Ramesses keenly seized this opportunity.
Methodically, he began mobilizing troops in his palace, ordering all the forces that had grown continuously since the Old Kingdom, what would later be called field armies, to report to Ramesses City, including the foreign legions he had formed.
Even those ministers who once secretly opposed him now fully cooperated.
Though the Pharaoh only gave them one month.
Everyone knew there was little time. If Egypt didn't send troops, in one month the Hittites and their allies would invade Sinai and then the Delta.
Such battles on home soil had not occurred since the Egyptians drove out the Hyksos.
Hikigaya and Haruno quietly watched the Pharaoh show off and got a glimpse of how history's wheels rolled fast.
This period didn't last long. Soon Ramesses dismissed the meeting, and the ministers left, leaving only a few close aides.
Then, in the midst of their curious and speculative gazes, the Pharaoh solemnly approached Hikigaya and said, "I have a request. I wonder if you can grant it?"
Damn, was this bald guy just cursing us earlier? Saying our heads were filled with rice water?
The close aides, who had just endured the Pharaoh's harsh tongue, were astonished.
Though close aides, they rarely appeared in Ramesses and Hikigaya's daily affairs. They only knew the Pharaoh valued this outsider from a distant land highly.
"According to my estimate, in one month I should have at least twenty thousand soldiers. They will form my four legions. I hope you can lead the Set army for me."
Then Hikigaya politely refused...
"No thanks," he said, "I hate showing off the most. As long as you're happy."
Honestly, using ancient Egyptian to convey some modern ideas was very challenging, which Hikigaya found enjoyable as he pushed the limits.
Pushing the limits meant, as expected, the ancient Egyptians probably didn't understand.
Even the Pharaoh, who was one of the most playful in ancient Egyptian history, couldn't escape this rule.
So before feeling disappointed, he already showed a bewildered expression.
"What does 'showing off' mean?" the Pharaoh asked, his eyes full of curiosity.
Sounds like a very fancy word!
"Oh, it's not important, but this position doesn't suit me."
"I really need you. If you find managing tedious, I will assign a military deputy who must obey your orders fully, or he will be sentenced to death. How about that?"
"No thanks. I guess I'd beat him to death before then."
Honestly, with my bad temper, if I'm not careful, I might kill your whole legion too.
Also, your so-called Set army was just a side act in history—they're probably still on the road after the fighting...
Hikigaya never planned to spend over a month traveling with a bunch of ancient people.
His plan was to rest in Ramesses City for a month, then fly over when the time was right to watch the show—and maybe grab some snacks on the side.
This was the most famous group fight incident of ancient times, with extremely bad consequences, so it was documented by the educational heads of both sides as a major event.
Just don't know if Horus will show up. If this time we could take him down, it might be easier to find Yukino and the others.