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12623Translator: adomman
Editor: Snorri
Moses said with a grim expression: “It is exactly because of the guidance of God that we have been able to pass through the dangerous areas safely and arrive here. If a river that has changed colour is sufficient to shake your faith, how can we be worthy of God’s help? And how will we be able to bear with the hardship and make it back to our homeland?”
Nobody dared to drink the water from the river, so Moses raised his iron stick and gathered the dew from the grass using water magic so that his people could continue to cook.
While they were cooking, Metatro and Lynk were hiding in a remote place and having a discussion. Lynk said: “Did you see that? Someone is deliberately messing with them, making them believe that the water in the river turns into blood. Whoever did this, they are trying to scare them away.”
Metatro frowned. “If they choose not to cross the river, they would have to detour back to the roads and head east. That way, they will surely be discovered. That’s the intention of the one who did this, but who could it be?”
Lynk patted his staff and said: “God sent Hardedef to leave Ejypt with the guards. When Hardedef passed by, he conveyed His instructions. Is this what He is warning us about?”
Amon ordered Hardedef to leave Ejypt with his thirty six guards first, and they travelled along the roads in the name of pursuing the escaped slaves on horses, so they were naturally much faster than Moses. By yesterday, they had already caught up. Hardedef found Metatro and Lynk late in the night and conveyed Amon’s latest instructions to them. Other than telling his two best disciples about the true path to divinity and “the power”, he also wanted them to be wary of several things.
The Ducians had become fugitives, and the Pharaoh had informed every city about it. Other than facing pursuit by the Ejyptian authorities, the Ejyptian gods would also most likely use various ways to stop them from leaving, although the real gods would not intervene personally.
Shaking their faith, instilling fear and despair, and making them lose courage, confidence and hope. If the Ducians no longer thought that they could succeed and gave up trying, the Ejyptian gods would have succeeded. Metatro and Lynk had to find ways to overcome these obstacles and encourage Moses and his people not to give up.
If the gods failed to intimidate the Ducians, most likely they would send their henchmen to threaten them. There would probably be gods mentioned in Ejyptian legends who showed up, but Amon told Metatro and Lynk that they were not real gods, even though they also knew the secret to divinity and practised the right path.
Under such circumstances, it was up to Metatro and Lynk to step out and deal with them. However, there was no need to go all out to fight with these demigods. Instead, they could use various agreements and promises to restrain the demigods and allow the Ducians to continue advancing. If they weren’t a match for the demigods, then they just needed to do as much as they could, Amon did not require them to win at all costs.
If these two methods failed to stop the Ducians, the gods might directly guide the Ejyptian soldiers to them. If that happened, then direct confrontation and battles would be inevitable. It wouldn’t be realistic to expect Metatro, Lynk and the Ducians to defeat the Ejyptian army, but the soldiers would also be deployed all over the places instead of waiting for them in one place, so the strategy here would be to avoid encountering the large troops.
Now that the river had turned into blood, if Metatro and Lynk weren’t around, then the Ducians would be forced to take a detour even if they weren’t intimidated, so Amon’s predictions had come true. Metatro said: “A little trick like this is not going to hinder us. If Moses and his people wishes to continue on their way, we will help them cross the river.”
Lynk said worriedly: “Right now, this is not a big problem. However, this is just the beginning. I wonder what else Moses and his people would encounter.”
Metatro replied: “God said, let them make their own choice. As long as they do not give up, we will provide assistance.”
Lynk reminded him: “If the divine punishment manifested by the Ejyptian gods does not manage to intimidate the Ducians, they would very likely send their disciples to deal with them directly. Would we be a match for them?”
Metatro patted Lynk’s shoulder and laughed. “Don’t forget, we are also the disciples of a god. Amon finally taught us about the real power and the true path. The power of the two sides that we used to practise was lacking in many aspects, but now our power is complete.
Although we took a detour, at least our power is much stronger than others at a similar level as a result. I even fought Enkidu on the battlefield, that guy is someone who dares to kill a real god, why would I be afraid of a mere disciple? Since Amon trusted us to carry out this mission, we should have confidence in ourselves.”
Lynk smiled. “Although I still think it is a difficult task, it sounds so easy when you say it!”
Metatro said proudly: “Of course, why do you think back then when He infiltrated the Hittite army to capture their king alive, He only brought me along?”
……
On this night, Moses was praying to God worriedly when the voice of God’s emissary: “Moses, when the first light appears on the horizon and the morning mist rises in the forest, take your people and cross the river.”
Moses quickly got up and gathered the twelve Judges. He told them: “God’s emissary has told me, when the morning mist rises, we can cross the river before us. Tell our people to make preparations to leave.”
One of them asked: “People are scared right now. They think that the river turning into blood is a divine punishment given by the Ejyptian gods, so they do not even dare to go near the river. What should we do?”
Moses replied: “Tell them that this is the path guided by God. We only believe in our God, if there is anyone who is unwilling, they can go back. I am willing to be the first one to cross the river.”
When dawn arrived and a faint morning mist rose in the forest, Moses gathered his people and approached the river. As they moved, the mist also followed behind slowly. The flowing river was still dark red in color and emanated the stench of blood, but at this moment, the mist appeared from the forest and lay on top of the river like a carpet. The white mist on top of the river gradually grew thicker and thicker until it took the form of a floating bridge.
Moses waved his stick and said: “This is the path that God has guided us to take. As long as the faith in your heart is firm, you can walk to the opposite bank. Only one may cross the river at a time.”
The people looked at the mist, many of them afraid to cross. How can it be possible to step on the mist? Wouldn’t one simply fall into the river? Moses was preparing to cross first when a Ducian said: “Moses, I know that God has given you power. But the rest of us do not have it, so how can we walk across the river? Are you trying to leave us behind?”
When Moses heard that, he stopped and said: “Every one of you can walk across the river. Since you say that, I will be the last to cross. Which of you will cross first?”
His servant Joshua was ready to get onto the bridge when the youngest child among the Ducians named David suddenly stepped out and said: “My faith has never wavered, let me cross first!” Then he started running towards the bridge.
His father shouted: “David, be careful!” But he had already disappeared into the mist and was gone from sight. Only one may cross at one time, this was the instruction given by God, so everyone could only wait anxiously. After a short while, David’s voice appeared from the opposite bank: “I have already crossed the river, it’s fine. This bridge is incredible, it’s like stepping on clouds!”
When everyone heard his voice, they breathed out in relief. Then one by one they walked across the incredible bridge. Moses was the last one to cross. When they looked back, the sunlight peeked out from the openings between the trees and the mist was gone. The river also regained its normal appearance and they all broke out into smiles. They had made it across the river.
……
Lynk turned the crystal shuttle into a mist form and placed it on top of the river to allow the Ducians to cross the river. To think that the crystal shuttle could be used in such a way, this also showed that his skill at manipulating artifacts had improved greatly. In order to use the power discovered by Amon, one had to forget about the concepts of body arts and magic arts, which limited their imagination.
Under normal circumstances, one needed to have achieved the seventh level at the minimum, but Lynk realized that to turn the shuttle into a bridge of mist, one actually only needed the fourth level. It wasn’t because the oned power was stronger, it was simply a different way of using the power.
Metatro stayed vigilant at the side, in case anything happened while the Ducians were crossing the river. Only when everyone had made it past did the two of them quietly retrieve the shuttle and leave. Metatro smiled and said: “That boy named David is pretty good. At such a young age, he had no fear when crossing the bridge of mist. Although there were doubts in his heart, his footsteps were firm and steady, that’s a rare potential! Why did Moses leave him out when awakening the power of two sides for his people?”
Lynk replied: “I have also noticed this child. He is still too young, being only fourteen years old. The tradition of Duc dictates that the technique of Duc may only be learnt at the age of sixteen. That age serves as a very good foundation for practising the power of two sides. David hasn’t learnt it yet, so that’s why Moses left him out. You seem to be very interested in him.”
Metatro nodded. “I think he has great potential. It is indeed unsuitable to learn the technique of Duc while still too young. Without a fully grown bloodline, it is very difficult to withstand the impact of the power, only a very small minority is an exception. Since God has taught us his latest findings, I also want to try taking a disciple and awakening the power for David. He has not learnt any magic arts or body arts and he also has no prior knowledge or concepts, so it is very suitable for him to start from the beginning.”
Lynk glanced at him and said: “You are so fond of competing. Amon wants Hardedef to attempt the awakening ritual on Misphi, so you also want to do the same for David.”
Metatro said thoughtfully: “I have already experienced all kinds of awakening rituals. The earliest was in Bablon, where I went through the awakening of the power of bloodline for warriors. Later on, God Amon awakened the power of two sides for me while I was in your tribe. After saving Princess Sissila, in order to reward me, the princess ordered someone to perform the second awakening of power for me. So many complicated rituals, and now Amon is going to use one name for all of them: the awakening of power.”
Lynk sighed. “Amon is truly amazing in understanding the secret of power. But it won’t be easy to awaken this new power. I would say that the old ones are safe choices. Though they might lead to detours and limited achievement, they are easier to awaken for the ordinary people. Even if he has the talent and the luck to get on this path, there are still too many difficulties waiting for him. But still, when there are choices, there is hope. His life will not be a waste of time if he has ever tried.”
……
The Ducians travelled in the wilderness along the Nile River and bypassed Bubastis, entering the sepat of Djanet. Further ahead would be where the Nile River entered the sea. The river was split into numerous tributaries, forming a fan shaped delta that was seasonally flooded.
They walked for several days in the wet soil, and soon, they were near the coastline. They then turned east. On the way, they did not encounter any obstacles, and the Ducians felt relieved. As the weather was relatively wet, Moses told his people to set up their tents properly during the night so as not to catch a cold.
One night, when everyone was in a deep sleep, a horrified cry broke the silence. Following that, loud cries appeared from everywhere. Everyone woke up. They ran out of their tents in a panic to see what had happened. It turned out that countless frogs had crawled onto the shores from nearby streams, where they then proceeded to make their way into the tents, beds, utensils and even the people’s clothes.
How did the frogs appear? Even the Judges who were keeping watch did not realize it. Everyone was awakened by the frogs, and some of them even caught a few frogs from inside their trousers and threw them away. Chaos ensued in the tents as countless frogs started croaking, causing the people to be dizzy and unable to hear anything clearly.
One or two frogs were not scary, but countless frogs appearing in droves, jumping and crawling everywhere while croaking loudly was a horrifying scenario. Moses stomped the ground with his stick and an invisible power shut out the croaking of the frogs. He bellowed: “What are you panicking for? These are just some frogs. What would happen if the real enemies appear? Pack your things and move out!”
The road was wet and muddy, and along the way there were numerous small streams and pools of varying sizes. Nobody knew where so many frogs had appeared from, and their constant croaking made the people restless and uneasy. Moses let the twelve Judges use his stick to open a path and drive away the frogs in front.
But whenever the time came for them to camp at night, frogs would constantly pop out from the trees and cracks of the rocks. These little buggers were slippery and evasive, and they crawled into the drinking cups, the blankets and the clothes. It was impossible to keep them out. The twelve Judges did their best to drive them away, but their numbers were too great. Although the frogs did not injure or harm anyone, they made it impossible for the people to rest properly. After a few days, everyone was exhausted.
Such torture was difficult to bear, and the more they went on, the worse it became, making their days miserable. Metatro and Lynk obviously noticed it, and they discussed how to deal with it. Lynk said: “In the Ejyptian legends, there is a goddess named Heqet. She is represented in the form of a frog, and she is said to be a follower of Seth. Could it be her?”
Metatro smiled coldly. “Goddess of frogs? Now she should be called the neteru of frogs isn’t it? She’s not a real god. There are only ten real gods within the Ennead. Even the goddess of cats, Lord Bastet, isn’t one of the ten. She is probably one of the disciples of the Ennead according to Amon. And she is most likely sent by Seth. What is she trying to achieve by doing this?”
