Facts proved that Alaric was right.
Even after allowing the routed soldiers to return to Heracleopolis, the city, having lost a large portion of its army and its lord, was utterly incapable of resisting Nitocris's forces.
Faced with an army at its gates, the defending troops of Heracleopolis had no will to fight.
After just one round of explosive stone projectiles from the catapults, the soldiers on the walls completely collapsed, scattering in all directions to save themselves.
The remaining commanders could not organize any effective defense at all.
With a single charge, the city walls were taken.
Within that very day, Heracleopolis returned to the rule of the Pharaoh.
This battle against Melibra had a profound impact on Nitocris's campaign to reclaim all of Egypt.
The reason, of course, was that Melibra's defeat came far too quickly, and Nitocris's methods of victory were far too unbelievable.
The three decisive attacks that secured the victory were all related to magic.
First came the magically enhanced explosive stone projectiles, then the arrow rain summoned with a favorable wind, and finally the terrifying anti-army spell, Solar Flare Burst.
After these three rounds of attacks, let alone Melibra's army, even the most elite ancient forces, such as the Roman legions, or the Mongol cavalry, would have had no chance of victory.
In the Age of Gods, Egyptian priests indeed possessed divine magic, but such power was rarely applicable on the battlefield.
Thus, the effects of magic in this war left the Egyptians completely bewildered.
As the routed soldiers of Melibra and the merchants of Heracleopolis spread out to other parts of Egypt, stories about Pharaoh Nitocris gradually spread as well, and due to superstition, they became increasingly exaggerated.
Among the common people, the battle was described like this:
"Faced with the rebels' provocation, the Son of Horus flew into a rage.
Thunder descended from the heavens, wreaking havoc among the rebel ranks, and countless traitors were struck down by lightning.
Yet the rebel leader remained stubborn, leading his men to charge at the Pharaoh."
"Thus, the Pharaoh ordered arrows to be fired. The wind was unfavorable at the time, but the moment the order was given, the god Shu came to her aid.
He stirred up fierce winds, allowing the Pharaoh's arrows to travel several times farther, throwing the rebels into chaos."
"Seizing the opportunity, the Pharaoh invoked the power of Ra.
As a descendant of Ra, her call was answered at once.
Divine flames descended from the heavens, burning the rebel leader Melibra and those around him to death, while the rest of the rebels were blinded by Ra's light."
"And so the Pharaoh's army charged bravely and utterly defeated the enemy."
This was less a description of a battle and more outright praise of Nitocris herself.
It was just one step away from directly declaring her a god.
Naturally, the warlords of Egypt refused to accept such claims.
They could not be expected to believe such statements without evidence.
If the Pharaoh were truly divine, then what would that make of them?
The regional warlords attempted to refute these rumors, claiming they were merely propaganda spread by the Pharaoh.
However, when they investigated the source of these "rumors," they discovered that they did not originate from the Pharaoh at all, but from the routed soldiers of Heracleopolis, the very survivors of that battle.
All of them gave identical accounts, as if what they described were the absolute truth.
If this were truly fabricated, could the Pharaoh have conspired with so many of her enemies at once?
Because of this, many people began to half-believe that the Pharaoh truly wielded divine power.
After all, this was the Age of Gods, when deities still walked the earth.
People were naturally more accepting of such supernatural phenomena, and the claim that the Pharaoh was descended from the gods had never been mere self-aggrandizement.
Especially in the nomes surrounding Heracleopolis, where the local rulers were familiar with Melibra and knew his strength well, this realization struck even harder.
If Nitocris could so effortlessly annihilate Melibra with almost no casualties, then she could just as easily deal with them.
Thus, after stabilizing Heracleopolis and beginning to reclaim the surrounding nomes, the rebel leaders one by one laid down their arms and surrendered respectfully.
This entire region was subdued almost without a fight.
Soon, all of Upper Egypt was reclaimed. Next came Lower Egypt.
With the momentum of her victories in Upper Egypt, combined with the spreading rumors about her, Lower Egypt also surrendered without resistance.
What had once been a fragmented land of warring lords was completely unified by Nitocris in just one year.
Such an achievement was unprecedented in the history of Egypt. By this feat alone, she would be remembered as one of the most illustrious Pharaohs in history.
At last, the Pharaoh's army was able to return in triumph.
However, for Egypt, although the war had ended, everything was only just beginning.
Due to the past misconduct of officials and decades of chaos and division, the state of Egypt was far from stable.
In earlier times, the people of Egypt could easily support a single Pharaoh with the strength of the entire nation.
But after the Pharaoh lost control over the regions, it became as if they had to serve more than a dozen Pharaohs at once.
Nearly every few nomes produced a "Pharaoh," plunging the entire country into misery. Many Egyptians starved to death, became slaves, or turned to banditry…
Thus, Nitocris's most urgent task now was to restore stability and allow the people to return to normal life.
Beyond that, there were rewards for the army, appointments of new officials, arrangements for the nobility, and countless other affairs awaiting the Pharaoh's attention.
Yet even amid such overwhelming responsibilities, Nitocris eagerly sought out Alaric, who was hidden away in the underground palace, quietly translating divine runes on papyrus.
"What is it?" Seeing her hesitant expression, Alaric set aside the papyrus, rubbed his eyes, and turned to her. "Coming here at a time like this, did something troublesome happen?"
The moment he finished speaking, she became angry.
"In your eyes, am I the kind of person who only comes to you when I run into trouble?"
Looking at the girl standing with her hands on her hips, pouting, Alaric gave a wry smile and shook his head.
"Of course not. I've never thought that."
"That's good," the girl snorted in satisfaction before continuing, "Hey… will Thoth ever leave me?"
"Of course not," Alaric reassured her, gently touching her face. "Why would you ask that?"
"I'm just worried," Nitocris said, a little embarrassed.
"At my most desperate moment, Thoth suddenly appeared and saved me, and then saved Egypt as well.
If someone like you were to suddenly disappear… I don't even dare imagine what I would do."
"I won't disappear. I promise," Alaric said seriously, lightly tugging at her cheek. "What would make you feel at ease?"
"In that case, promise me one thing," the girl thought for a moment before finally speaking. "I want Thoth to become my queen."
"W-What?"
Alaric was completely dumbfounded by Nitocris's words.
But the girl explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
"I am the Pharaoh of Egypt, so of course you would be Egypt's queen."
"Coach, I take it back, okay?"