The Pharaoh's Popular Support [Third Update]

All of Egypt's nobles had been assassinated overnight. Such a major event spread throughout Memphis and began to reach even farther places.

The officials had originally wanted to suppress the news, but that was impossible.

If only one or two people had been murdered, it might have been manageable. But now, every high-ranking noble in Egypt had been killed. An incident of this magnitude could never be successfully concealed.

So they could only let the news spread.

Every one of Egypt's foremost nobles had died in their homes overnight. Nothing like this had ever happened before. To the Egyptian people, it was like some fantastical tale had become reality, and rumors swiftly arose everywhere.

Some said that, because of Egypt's current chaos, the deaths of these nobles were a warning from the gods to the Pharaoh.

Some said that certain recent policies of these nobles had offended a god, and their deaths were divine punishment.

Still more rumors claimed that Merenre II's death had not been an accident at all, but murder, and that these deaths were revenge dealt out by the Pharaoh's guardian god, Horus.

And so on.

Rumors surged among the people, but the most widespread ones concerned Merenre II's murder and the revenge of Horus.

As for the cause of Merenre II's death, Egypt's upper ranks had always known the truth, yet concealed it from the people. The official announcement had been that Merenre II died of old age.

After all, while these high officials had dared to murder the Pharaoh, they did not dare let ordinary Egyptians learn of it. In the eyes of those ignorant commoners, the Pharaoh was descended from the gods, a heavenly deity walking upon the earth.

They could die of old age or die in any number of ways, but they