Chapter 22: The Hittite Ancient Gods
Hikigaya looked at the black ashes scattered on the ground in front of the tent and felt both amused and exasperated.
Here he was, watching the spectacle without doing anything, and yet these ancient people simply couldn't behave—they insisted on attacking him.
Not only that, but that bastard Muwatalli, who had no idea what kind of medicine he had taken, even glared at him.
This was why reading was important. Reading made people reasonable, whereas those who liked to court death were rarely rational.
Finally, with no more interruptions, Hikigaya refocused on Ramesses.
The young Pharaoh now fully revealed the true face of a reckless playboy. Empowered by the blessings Hikigaya casually threw at him, he bullied the Hittites and their allies mercilessly.
"Killing in the wind? More like killing in madness!"
Hikigaya deeply appreciated that the amount of power he "lent" Ramesses was just enough for fighting humans. It was a wise decision.
Looking at Ramesses, Hikigaya thought that if he had more power, he might follow the Mesopotamian "statue plundering" tradition and directly rush into the Hittite Pantheon.
In Mesopotamia, that was considered the cruelest way to strike an enemy, and the Hittites had long accepted this idea.
To give an analogy: if the Egyptian army stormed Hattusa, slaughtered tens of thousands, and prepared tens of thousands of "problematic" children for the Hittites next year, as long as the Pantheon remained intact, the Hittites would be furious but would not cower. However, if the Egyptian army spared even a single chicken and only took the statues from the Pantheon, the Hittite kingdom would collapse.
Gods embodied the past, present, and future; without gods, there was no meaning to existence. This was the universal value of the ancient Near Eastern civilizations.
Hikigaya could not allow Ramesses to do that.
Times were different. In his previous travels, it had been revealed that ancient gods in this era could freely manifest on Earth.
A Pantheon of ten thousand gods didn't exist, but hundreds could easily fit.
If a dozen gods came down to tear you apart, would you be scared? Sure, you're awesome, you're not scared—but would you be worried?
Hikigaya felt he would die of worry.
Thus, this was the absolute limit of his assistance to Ramesses. Wanting more? Dream on.
The young Pharaoh, however, didn't know this. He was no longer satisfied with merely defeating enemies who dared provoke him.
The goddess of victory smiled upon the Pharaoh. Having suddenly "cheated" in battle, the Hittites, fatigued from prolonged fighting, showed signs of weariness. Most importantly, their chariot formations were disrupted.
Inspired by the Pharaoh's divine power, the Amun Legion's soldiers rekindled their fighting spirit. Archers successfully reformed their lines and unleashed volleys on the now slower Hittite chariots, significantly delaying the reformation of their formations.
On the southern horizon, another Egyptian legion appeared—the Ptah Legion.
The Ptah Legion's military commander was an outstanding strategist. He did not rush to rescue his Pharaoh. Despite the Hittites being exhausted, their iron-clad warriors still had significant combat capability, and the Amun Legion's camp was already a scene of chaos.
His target: the Hittite infantry phalanx that had just crossed the ford.
Following traditional Egyptian tactics, he divided his army into three lines. Chariots were placed on the first line, the second line consisted of ten rows of heavy infantry forming dense formations, and the third line had chariots again, protecting the flanks of the heavy infantry while striking from the sides. Light infantry were interspersed between the first and second lines, shooting arrows.
He effectively delivered to the Hittite infantry the same experience that the Ra Legion had suffered earlier.
The Hittite infantry, which should have been strong support for their chariot corps, was routed in a single charge by the Ptah Legion. The Ptah Legion then drove the fleeing Hittites into the main body of the coalition army.
At this point in the battle, no one could hope for an easy advantage.
For Muwatalli, however, the worst was yet to come: his accompanying priests had cowered.
That bastard had been confident at first, but when he squinted and saw Hikigaya from afar, he panicked completely.
Later generations have a simple way to describe this stance: "I want to go home! I want my mom!"
Muwatalli was so furious he almost rammed his chariot into someone—if not for the fact that this priest was technically a relative.
Eventually, after summoning several priests and discovering that these same guys who had always strutted around Hattusa now cowered, claiming the storm god ignored them, Muwatalli, despite extreme reluctance, issued a retreat order.
To flatter himself slightly, if not for the Ptah Legion rushing to join the Pharaoh, the outer army could never have escaped.
Even so, the Hittites' most valuable chariot corps suffered massive losses.
Upon retreating to the Orontes River, the Hittite chariots found the shallow river fords blocked by swarming infantry. With no choice, they counterattacked to survive. By then, the tide had turned: facing fully organized, battle-ready Egyptian forces, the Hittite chariots were decimated. Many military elites, weighed down by heavy armor, fell into the river and drowned.
By this time, Ramesses had already returned to mortal form. Of course, this did not stop him from boasting to his subordinates that he had just fused with Set.
But all of this was no longer Hikigaya's concern.
After the Ptah Legion drove out or killed all enemies in the camp, Ramesses withdrew his power.
He sensed multiple forces suddenly appearing in the world—likely the distant figures who appeared to be Hittite priests.
Counting exactly twelve forces, the answer was obvious: the Twelve Ancient Gods of the Hittites.
These were no minor figures. The Hittite twelve-god system, transmitted through their Mycenaean relatives, deeply influenced the later Greeks.
In particular, the Hittite storm god Teshub greatly shaped Zeus as the thunder god in Greek mythology. Among the forces Hikigaya sensed, one accompanied by thunder was the most flamboyant.
Hikigaya, however, was not afraid of lightning. The first god whose power he had seized was Set. During the Hyksos era, Set, Canaan's Baal, and Teshub were considered equivalent, effectively merged.
Just as the power obtained from Kuafu had been "solidified" as simulation, the power Hikigaya stole from Set in later times had been "solidified" as destruction. Through it, he could wield ample natural forces—not only storms and fire but also thunder and violent weather.
As for Athena's thunder weapon, Hikigaya felt it was being rejected by his own power, with Set's power as the main force.
Thus, wind, rain, and lightning were nothing to him. He admitted, however, that he was somewhat wary of Teshub's principles.
In mythology, Teshub had a history of calling family for help when he couldn't win. Hikigaya figured that if Teshub came to Earth to try again, it wouldn't be a problem.
So, after intimidating the priests in the spiritual domain, Hikigaya refrained from further action.
Sensing Hikigaya's sincerity, the multiple forces dispersed—one by one.
Only one force did not dissipate. Instead, it grew stronger.
Even the sky darkened amid a low rumble of thunder.
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