Miss Hebe is Fighting Her Way Out of the Lostbelt!

By the time Seno and the others arrived, the snakes, scorpions, and birds that had infested the city were completely devoid of any humanity or wisdom.

This was the end of Abydos, its glorious crown fallen to the ground, no longer existing.

40 Farewell (Seeking Reads, Seeking Favorites)

Heliopolis.

"Wonderful! Marvelous! Unparalleled!"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Tutankhamun burst into laughter. He clapped his hands, sparing no praise. "How audacious, yet how brilliant, to discern the correct path from mere fragments of words. The pulse of history is truly in your hands right now."

"Then, for such a grand occasion, you wouldn't refuse a Pharaoh's participation, would you?"

"It would be my honor," Hebe said with a slight bow.

"Excellent, excellent," Tutankhamun said, leaning against the table with a knowing smile. "You need not worry about Heliopolis. As for now, you wouldn't mind my small assistance, would you?"

The Pharaoh stood up, brushed off his white cloak, and gracefully extended his hand.

Two pure lights suddenly appeared above his head, connected head to tail, forming a brilliant halo behind his head.

"My third Mark is called the [Illusory Wings of Sunrise]," Tutankhamun explained. "The greatest function of this Mark is to receive the mighty power of the Lord of Secret Arts, to stabilize this frail body of mine, preventing the Marks from conflicting with each other and allowing my achievements to operate normally.

Because of this, those empowered by my third Mark can traverse all secret paths without hindrance. Your Highness Hermes, when you are empowered, you will be able to smoothly cross the vast territory between Upper and Lower Egypt, reaching east of Abydos from this very spot in an instant."

As Tutankhamun spoke, wing-like patterns extended from the sides of the halo, and brilliant sunlight fell upon Hebe like a light veil.

Hebe knew that the power of this Mark was far from limited to this, but since Tutankhamun didn't say, she wouldn't ask.

"The third Mark has been bestowed," Tutankhamun smiled. "But it's not enough."

The halo behind his head expanded like a living thing, sharp barbs extending from its edges.

A massive object, made entirely of gold, gradually rose from the temple floor. Its exterior resembled a sarcophagus for a mummy, but its front bore a hollow and majestic face, identical to the "Tutankhamun's Golden Mask" Hebe had seen on television in her past life.

This golden mask was enormous, its interior space large enough to hold two people.

Hebe stepped inside, and the illusory sunlight gradually emanated from the surface of the golden mask.

The Pharaoh's face slowly turned, looking towards the east of Abydos, where Nitocris was.

A voice drifted from afar, like a dream.

—[Among the gods, the one with beautiful countenance]

This was Tutankhamun's achievement.

[Current Progress: 75%]

The climate east of Abydos had been completely altered by the natural disasters. When Hebe emerged from the golden mask, the scorching yellow sand briefly burned her.

Fortunately, it wasn't yet completely unbearable.

A small oasis with wild date palms grew not far away, and Nitocris was sitting beneath a tree.

As Hebe approached, Nitocris twitched the corners of her mouth, as if trying to smile, but the expression was more unsightly than crying.

"He actually did it. How dare he..."

The female Pharaoh muttered distractedly, her pupils churning with unceasing hatred, grievance, and pain.

Just moments ago, Nitocris had been thinking of seeing Hebe. But when Hebe truly appeared before her, Nitocris became afraid to speak.

—She had neither fulfilled her promise to Hebe to travel far east; nor did she have the ability to stop the natural disasters. In fact, when the Breath of Set swept in, her heart was momentarily seized by panic.

In reality, this was merely human nature.

What truly tormented Nitocris was her own delicate and sensitive heart.

Hebe keenly sensed this.

"Please help me," the girl with flaxen hair lowered her eyelids. "Your Highness Nitocris."

"Of course," the female Pharaoh's voice trembled. She finally raised her face, blooming a smile as radiant as a sunflower. "If it's you..."

If it's you, then all that I've done won't be meaningless.

Five minutes later, Hebe and Nitocris returned to the vicinity of Abydos, avoiding the rampaging venomous snakes and fierce beasts, and rejoined Seno and the others.

"King of Ibis." Seeing Hebe arrive, the group's anxieties finally settled a little.

"Seno, have your subordinates prepare," Hebe commanded calmly, as if she had rehearsed it countless times. "When we return to the White City, immediately mobilize all the citizens of Memphis to the city gates. Tell them not to bring anything, so as not to cause panic."

The taciturn young man was stunned, then his body trembled slightly with excitement.

He silently bowed: "I obey your command."

Nitocris appeared beside Hebe, pointing the obsidian mirror in her arms at Seno and his subordinates, capturing them within the mirror as well.

The golden mask descended from the clouds, the illusory sunlight once again enveloping its majestic face. It slowly turned its direction, this time aiming at Memphis.

Hebe realized her estimations were a bit off. The first time she rode the golden mask, she thought it could easily carry two people.

However, when Nitocris entered, Hebe's relatively spacious activity area instantly became extremely cramped, forcing her to curl up her legs while Nitocris held her in her arms.

This was certainly a posture that could easily cause misunderstandings, but at this moment, they no longer had time to dwell on it.

The Golden Mask descended silently into Memphis. The residents of Memphis had not yet dispersed from the festival's afterglow, completely unaware that a city far from their homeland had already been destroyed.

Nitocris jumped out of the Golden Mask, holding Hebe. The moment their feet touched the ground, the Golden Mask gradually faded, dissipated, and returned to formlessness.

Tutankhamun's protection had a time limit.

Hebe patted Nitocris's arm, signaling her to put her down.

The female pharaoh turned the mirror surface, and then Seno and the others began to rush through the streets and alleys of Memphis. They summoned their colleagues and subordinates, and began to mobilize the people of Memphis.

During this process, Hebe watched the movements around her, but the King of Ibis never appeared.

Taking this opportunity, Nitocris went outside the city and flipped the mirror surface again. The guided citizens unknowingly walked into the Mirror of the Underworld.

Thunder filled with anger echoed from the sky. The Red King sensed Hebe's actions, but he could do nothing. The ascension ritual had reached a critical juncture, and Ozymandias could not spare any more energy.

But this did not mean he would let these people go.

The ground began to shake, and houses on the outskirts of Memphis began to collapse in large numbers.

"Imma, hurry!"

Nitocris stood outside the city gate, dodging the cracks opening on the ground, and shouted to Hebe.

However, Hebe just smiled and waved to Nitocris.

41 Nine Calamities

The earth trembled, sandstorms gradually approached from afar, cracks widened, and houses swayed and collapsed.

Everything in Memphis disintegrated in the sudden earthquake. Across the gradually collapsing city walls and gates, Hebe and Nitocris looked at each other.

The girl with flaxen hair waved with a smile, her eyes sparkling like jewels washed by the new rain.

Nitocris stared at her blankly.

She watched Hebe's smiling face without a word.

The surroundings shook and the earth sank, but that face became clearer and clearer.

Nitocris thought she would probably never forget those deep green eyes in her entire life.

The female pharaoh turned and left.

The corners of Hebe's mouth turned down slightly. She was still smiling, but with a bit more relief and a bit more emotion.

This is certainly deceit, the girl thought, but I have no more worries, so this is fine.

Even if you see me as a liar, or a treacherous minister bearing all sins.

This way, we can walk on our own paths, without fearing swords or storms.

Hebe turned around, spread her arms, and laughed heartily in this world of ruins.

"Ozymandias has unleashed nine calamities, and he will end the preceding suffering with the tenth calamity. With this ritual, he will declare that even the Ennead has been defeated before his divine might, and he will achieve unprecedented and unparalleled merit."

"But the Priest brought another possibility, declaring that Ozymandias will ultimately die by his own regret..."

[You will complete the reversal during Ozymandias's ascension ritual. The destiny of the December Archon, the Duke of Sighs, being born is unavoidable, but he may not necessarily be Ozymandias. If this truly happens, then Egypt will be spared the finality of destruction, and the world and all histories will be renewed.]

[Current Progress: 90%]

The clouds pressed lower and lower. If anyone could survey the entirety of Egypt at this moment, they would see that the great river flowing north had turned into a muddy red. This time, whether it was small fish and shrimp or giant crocodiles several meters long, all of them had died in the river, their corpses mixed with blood and water.

One of the Nine Calamities, the Blood Water Calamity, the Blood of Isis.

Or rather, the influence from the July Archon, the Holy Grail.

The sky trembled as if enduring immense pain. After a brief silence, hailstones the size of human heads fell from the clouds accompanied by lightning.

When the hailstones hit the desert, they left behind tragic craters. When the hailstones fell on Abydos, they destroyed all the buildings in the city.

Rumble, rumble.

The thick layer of dust covering the city walls also fell off.

A few hailstones fell on the city walls, causing the walls that had stood for thousands of years to collapse, leaving only low ramparts.

Dense herds of beasts let out howls as the hailstones struck their heads like heavy fists.

One of the Nine Calamities, the Hailstone Calamity, the Fist of Tefnut.

The influence from the June Archon, the Pearl.

A sudden east wind blew from another part of the desert, and then dense black shadows appeared in the wind.

They carried an ominous buzzing sound and lunged at every living thing in the strong wind, even the monsters were not spared. These tiny insects quickly devoured everything in sight, and then laid eggs and hatched at an even faster rate.

These terrifying swarms of insects should have been the most troublesome enemies for the Memphis side, but at this moment, what covered the land were not living people, but herds of beasts.

The insect swarms and the beast herds became entangled, engaging in a brutal battle on the ground.

One of the Nine Calamities, the Insect Calamity, the Legions of Horus.

An influence from the September Archon, Scarred Father.

With a violent roar, the earth began to sink. Deserts and oases alike plummeted amidst the violent tremors. A terrifying vortex tore open fissures, swallowing everything within sight.

Herds, swarms, and the hailstones that remained on the ground all fell into the bottomless depths.

This fearsome rift began in the west of the African continent and extended straight towards the northeast. After passing through the river valley, it split into two ends, forming a massive crack shaped like the Chinese character "person," which would exist forevermore. In later ages, it would even be named the "Great Rift Valley of East Africa."

The terrifying abyss made the herds retreat, and the rising sandstorm also died down midway. For a time, the heavens and the earth fell silent for about two kè.

One of the Nine Calamities, the Earthquake Calamity, Geb's Labor Pains.

The might of the September Archon, Skyflint.

Including the several calamities that had already been raging, all nine calamities had now arrived.

Just as Hebe had predicted, the Nine Calamities were not concentrated to plague Egypt. In fact, there were instances where the calamities were completely opposed to and counteracted each other.

However, even so, these influences originating from the Archons themselves were objectively destroying every city of Egyptian civilization, ravaging, crushing, and annihilating the Great Scarlet Desert and every oasis.

Clouds gathered and swirled, like a deep sea inverted in the sky.

Hebe moved through the constantly collapsing city. Every road was breaking, but new roads immediately appeared. Everything in this city was emitting a death rattle. Memphis was dying.

The Red King Ozymandias did not wish to see Hebe, so Memphis attempted to impede Hebe's progress.

The majesty of the king, even at this moment, could still command the city, making it submit.