Volume 1 Flood 081, Return to Reality

  The Assyrian king shrugged: "I don't know what reason, ask them themselves. The proudest people on the mainland can't bear such suspicion and questioning, it will be lively to watch. Although Queen Semir didn't disguise herself as Enkidu, she disguised herself as Enkidu's body shape. The bow and arrow she used were made of snake tendons and snake fangs. Everyone on the mainland knows that Enkidu and Gilgamesh killed Humbaba and obtained the snake tendons and snake fangs. The great wizard of Dreamflight won't be able to recognize this kind of weapon."

  Alfa's heart still had lingering fears: "Offending these two people is not a good thing, we must keep it strictly confidential."

  Xinna coldly snorted: "It's just two people, I'm not afraid of them. Even if the Kingdom of Balen wants to declare war on me, with the highlands blocking the way, it's easy to defend and hard to attack. I'd like to try my luck at establishing a merit... However, you're right, this is a state secret, only you and I can know about it, don't leak it to anyone."

  The prime minister quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I still think your decision is too risky. Next time for such an important matter, could you please give us some advance notice so we can plan more thoroughly?"

  The king waved his hand and said, "Alfa, it's not that I don't trust you. You are the most loyal minister in Assyria. But to assassinate the Holy Maiden in Dreamflight City, there must be no possibility of leaking information. If the other side is prepared, the queen and the national teacher will have a hard time escaping, so I didn't tell anyone."

  "Your Majesty's decision may be correct," Alpha let out a small sigh, "You summoned me in the evening to discuss something secretly, what are your intentions? What can I do for you and for the kingdom?"

  The King of Sinaeh sighed and said, "Prime Minister, you have many things to do. Organize the army to prepare for crossing the plateau at any time, establish a city-state in new fertile land, and expand the territory of our kingdom. I have an unyielding ambition, but the Assyrian Plateau not only guards our territory but also confines my great aspirations. The land of my kingdom is barren and narrow, and although our warriors are brave and good at fighting, they have always been trapped outside the plateau.

  To the west of the Yu River, a thousand-mile fertile land will appear, which is my opportunity to open up territory and build a great cause for thousands of years. I want to be a king who is admired by the Assyrian people for generations to come. However, the other three countries will not give up their contention, only by provoking their disputes first, can the Assyrian soldiers have the opportunity to cross the plateau and occupy it first.

  While speaking, someone outside the palace loudly announced: "Her Majesty the Queen has returned, and the State Master requests an audience."

  Before the words had fallen, a woman had already walked in. She was wearing a tight-fitting dress, her long black hair tied up and without any accessories. It was Semir, the queen of Assyria. If Amun were here, he would be greatly surprised, because she was the assassin who had attempted to kill Maria in Dream Flight. Who would have thought that it was actually a woman?

  Semir's figure is petite, and her tight-fitting outfit accentuates her curvaceous physique, which seems to contain a dynamic tension within. Her facial features are delicate, with deep brown eyes that hold an air of mystery.

  The King of Sennaheh rose from his seat, opening his arms to her as he said: "My dear queen, you have returned so soon; all has gone well?"

  Semir gave her husband a hug, then stepped back and nodded: "The assassination of the Holy Girl was unsuccessful, but it doesn't matter, Your Majesty's plan should be going smoothly. It's just that the calmness of that Holy Girl exceeded my imagination, she might be the youngest Grand Mage on the continent right now." Then he turned to Alfa and bowed his head: "I didn't know the Prime Minister was also here, I think the King must have something to discuss with you, I'm tired, I'll go rest first."

  "Your Majesty, Queen Wang, you must be tired."

  Semil turned to the king and said, "The national teacher is right outside the door, ask him for the details." After finishing speaking, she walked into the back hall by herself, her attitude somewhat cold and arrogant, and she didn't use honorifics when speaking to the king.

  The queen left, and the prime minister whispered to the king: "Your Majesty, the queen's face doesn't look good, it seems she is angry. You sent her to such a distant place to carry out a dangerous assassination mission, the queen must not be happy in her heart. It has been many days since you two met, and she rushed back to Nineveh overnight. Your Majesty, whatever it is, let's talk about it tomorrow, and tonight, please comfort the queen well, express consolation and concern."

  Xinnahe's expression was somewhat awkward, and he cleared his throat, saying: "The queen is tired and needs a good rest. As the king, I must prioritize state affairs. The national teacher is still waiting outside, please let him in to discuss matters together."

  There is a distinction between the identities of monarchs and ministers. The Queen of Semir can enter the inner temple directly, while Faust can only come in after being reported. This great wizard is over fifty years old, but looks like a man in his seventies or eighties, with completely gray curly hair and a face full of wrinkles, looking very haggard. Three days and three nights of non-stop travel are indeed very tiring, on the other hand, he just looks like this, completely different from the usual dignified and elegant appearance of great wizards.

  Faust is the chief elder of Assyrian Academy, said to be the most knowledgeable person in the entire kingdom. He can recite all the books stored within the Assyrian Academy and the Temple of the Main God, accurately reproducing every page and every paragraph. His thirst for knowledge surpasses everyone else in the kingdom, his greatest hobby is collecting various classics, any precious book that he hasn't read will be repeatedly read and memorized before being put down.

  Faust once said, "Knowledge is pursuit, I want to find the power to change the world and life." He was called "Xian Shi Guo Shi" in Assyria, which was not an official position, but later, even the king and everyone else called him that. Xian Shi Guo Shi became a noble title belonging only to Faust.

  The king gave Faust a seat and asked kindly, "Respected national teacher, I didn't expect you to return so quickly. How many flying scrolls did you use? There's no need to rush back so hard, as long as you're safe."

  Faust smiled wryly: "Her Majesty the Queen only wants to return to the capital as soon as possible, although she is riding on a shadow arrow, but I have used up all my flying scrolls."

  "Really? So you've been flying non-stop for three days and nights, no wonder you're back so soon, and you look so tired."

  Faust: "Being able to establish merit for the kingdom, this bit of labor is really nothing. The plan was mine to present to Your Majesty, so naturally I should be the one to carry it out personally. This time the assassination of the Holy Maiden was unsuccessful, but the goal should have been achieved. Now we just need to make preparations and wait for the turmoil to start before making our move."

  King Shinah: "I was just discussing this with the Prime Minister, preparing to cross the highlands and establish a city-state. We must start now, without alarming others. A thousand-mile fertile land will appear in the center of the continent. Does the State Master think other countries will understand this?"

  Faust sighed lightly and said, "I have a premonition that in other kingdoms, there will also be sages who perceive it. Even if they didn't react at the time, more than two years have passed, and large areas of fertile land have emerged from the swamp. Who wouldn't realize what's going to happen? Moreover, we are thinking, won't the gods also perceive all this? At that time, they will surely guide their people."

  "I've studied the terrain there, and initially, the exposed swamp can accommodate a large area of fertile land near the foot of the Assyrian highlands, while the other three sides are still surrounded by swamps. Crossing the highlands is our obstacle, but the swamps will block the large troops of the other three countries, so from a geographical point of view, the Assyrian kingdom still has the upper hand."

  Faust took out his staff, and a light appeared in the void, which was the terrain around Douke Town. He pointed to the inland lake at the northernmost end of the desert: "The large army cannot enter the swamp for the time being, but that lakeside is a good place to set up camp. The competition will occur ahead of schedule, and only when there is war among them can we quietly enter the southern part of the Assyrian Plateau and establish our foothold. As the area of fertile land exposed above water expands, the territory we occupy will also gradually expand, until it extends to the entire region, and only then can we stand on invincible ground."

  The king furrowed his brow as if in thought, and asked: "The Empire of Egu is the most ambitious, with the strongest national power. It has long been desired to cross the desert and make all kingdoms surrender. The territory that can achieve this goal is within the borders of the Hatti Kingdom. War between the two countries will inevitably break out, and the assassination attempt on the Holy Maiden was just a pretext. In your opinion, when should we act?"

  Faust hesitated and said, "National wars are not easy things. The supply lines of both countries are very long. Even if we want to start a war, we need to make many preparations. Large-scale warfare will have to wait at least a year or two... Prime Minister, can we be prepared in this period?"

  "Leading a large team with supplies across the plateau is not easy, and the Giant War Array is most suitable as the vanguard. At first, the exposed land area of the swamp will not be very large, and it will be divided into many isolated islands. We'll spread out along the foot of the Assyrian Plateau and slowly move forward. As long as we're not disturbed by other factors, our preparations won't be a problem."

  ……

  Far away in the Dream Flying City, Ah Meng probably didn't think that his future journey leading his people back to their hometown would be filled with so many dangers. Princess Xiao had already intervened, guiding the Highland Giant Tribe to secretly enter the swamp to find isolated islands to establish a tribe. The ambition of the Assyrian king was even greater, he wanted to occupy the entire Thousand Mile Fertile Soil, open up new territory south of the Assyrian Plateau, and in order to achieve this goal, he further intensified the contradictions between countries, sending people to assassinate the Holy Girl.

  Amon's life has been very peaceful during this time, and he is also the captain of the guard now. He has dozens of warriors under his command, as well as two slaves who take care of his daily needs. Amon is not used to having slaves do things for him, usually just letting them sweep the yard, and when he needs something, he gives them money to go buy it, which makes life a lot more convenient.

  The guards had regular drills, and if it was a matter of hand-to-hand combat skills, Amun was not inferior to anyone. But the coordination between warriors in battle, the coordination between warriors and mages, the use of various weapons, and the role of different equipment in different situations were all subjects that Amun learned a lot from. This captain of the guard seemed stern but was actually the most gentle person, and when he was happy, he looked like a child.

  As the captain of the guard, there are more opportunities to come into contact with those divine classics alone, and it just so happens that they can be verified with the high-level divine techniques to be cultivated. In the Isis Temple, it is inconvenient to display divine techniques, and various divine techniques can only be cultivated privately.

  But some divine techniques require actual combat to verify the results of cultivation, so Amun sometimes walks out of the temple and spends a night outside before returning. People think that the captain of the guard is going out for leisure and relaxation, but in fact he is looking for a place where no one can disturb him to test the effects of high-level divine techniques. This kind of trouble makes Amun himself feel inconvenient, so he starts thinking about buying a mansion in Dream Flying City.

  At least there should be a good place to settle Xue Dingyuan. The cat came to Egypt and did not live with Amun in the Temple of Isis.

  The main deity worshiped in the Temple of Isis is the goddess Isis, but various subordinate shrines also enshrine almost all the gods of the Egyptian pantheon, including Bastet, the servant of Osiris. The statue of Bastet has a distinctive feature: on the slender body of a young girl, there is the head of a cat, with long hair scattered around, looking like a lion.

  Because Bastet, the goddess, had the form of a cat, cats were revered and adored in Egypt. Cats also received affection from people for more practical reasons: long ago, Egypt often suffered from rodent infestations, someone introduced domesticated housecats, which became good helpers in guarding grain warehouses, saving many grains for Egyptian residents every year, so they would be appreciated by the people.

  Many cats live around the Temple of Isis, neither wild nor domesticated, lounging lazily at the foot of walls or in the square to bask in the sun. Passersby like to feed the cats, and the temple priests also put out cat food at fixed locations every day as a symbol of offering sacrifices to the people of Bastet.

  When Amun first entered the temple of Isis, Xie Dingyuan jumped out of his pocket and slipped away, immediately mixing into the various cats on the square, wanting to chase but couldn't catch up. Xie Dingyuan was very familiar with this place, just like returning home, no wonder, it was stolen by Belle from Meng Fei Si last year, and the requirement he put forward to Amun at that time was - "Take me back to Egypt".

  Amun has never been clear what Xue Dingyan is thinking or what he wants to do. It's all guided by this cat, and where Xue Dingyan goes, he can't control it. Living in the Temple of Isis, unable to see that cat, his heart can't help but feel strange. After all, during the most lonely time of his life, a huge and intimidating cat accompanied and helped him through the difficult years. No matter whether Xue Dingyan wants to use him or has other purposes, Amun is grateful.

  Ah Mon wasn't unable to see Xue Dingyuan, every time he went out alone, a cat would suddenly jump out and rub against his leg outside the temple, and upon closer inspection, it was Xue Dingyuan. Ah Mon sought out a secluded place to practice his divine techniques, and Xue Dingyuan would follow him and watch from the side, squatting there with one paw propping up her cheek and tilting her head, looking very interested.

  Every time Ah Mon saw Xue Dingyuan, he would buy the best wine. Later, he developed a habit of buying good wine and carrying it with him. The guards under his command, seeing that their captain liked wine, often gave him some as gifts.

  Amun wasn't clear where Xue Dingyue usually hung out, but after this cat returned to Ai's residence, it became more and more beautiful and spirited. Its body was slender and agile, its fur smooth and shiny, and when it jumped and ran, it was quick and swift. In the open wilderness, Amun had to use all his strength to keep up with it, clearly fully restored to vitality. If not for looking at the pattern on its fur, Amun could hardly recognize this cat anymore. However, Xue Dingyue had one obvious characteristic - that was, its spiritual energy couldn't be detected.

  Xue Dingyuan's demeanor is still very arrogant, looking at Ah Meng's eyes like a high and mighty king looking at his subjects, but his attitude has become much more intimate. Every time he sees Ah Meng, he is obviously happy, otherwise he would not have jumped out to rub against his legs, which was unimaginable in the past.

  Apart from occasionally finding opportunities to go out and secretly meet with Xue Dingrui, Ah Meng was also waiting for Maria's summons. However, the Holy Maiden had been very busy lately, and it was said that she had gone to the capital of Egypt to discuss important matters with Pharaoh. It might have something to do with the assassination attempt last time. A month later, the Holy Maiden returned to Meng Fei Si, but the first person to come find Ah Meng was Gabriel.

  Gabriel summoned Amun to a martial hall, where the great warrior usually handled official business. The reliefs on the walls depicted scenes of various battles, with images of past great warriors.

  Gabriel invited him to sit down and said, "Ahmen, the Holy Maiden had instructed me a long time ago to guide your physical training, but I was too busy until today to find you."

  Amun hastily said, "I know you're busy, last time the Holy Maiden was about to break through to the 7th level achievement and had to prepare for the Isis Blessing Ceremony. During the ceremony, an assassination attempt occurred, and my trivial matter of cultivating body techniques actually troubled Lord Barley."

  Gabriel looked at him and suddenly asked: "Amon, how old are you this year?"

  Ammon replied somewhat embarrassed: "Almost seventeen years old."

  Gabriel exclaimed in a low voice, "Incredible! At your age, you've surpassed me. As long as you don't take the wrong path, you'll definitely become a great warrior. The Holy Maiden's judgment was correct. If I'm not mistaken, it was during that encounter by the Roni River that you got the opportunity to break through, and after coming to Dreamflight, you recovered and grew in strength, becoming a 6th-level warrior."

  Ammon nodded and said, "Yes, you're absolutely right."

  Gabriel continued, "Everyone's experience is different, but there are always some similar encounters. Just like when I broke through from a 5th-level warrior to a 6th-level warrior, it was during a battle while executing a mission. At that time, if the great wizard Wald wasn't present, I might not have survived, but after returning, my power growth broke through its previous limits, just like experiencing a rebirth."

  Amon nodded repeatedly and said, "My feeling is about the same. It's indeed a difficult experience. Now that you're a great warrior, if you can give me some guidance, I wonder what it will be like to break through from level 6 to level 7?"

  Gabriel smiled faintly: "No one can make it clear on this point. To tell you the truth, I've actually forgotten."

  Amon exclaimed in surprise: "Forgot? Can something like this be forgotten?"