I have two requests.

  Amun finally led the frontline generals back to the main city of Cape City, and saw Pharaoh Rasis II again. The lord of Cape City, Rod Dick, had returned half a month in advance to prepare for the grand celebration ceremony. The ceremony was presided over by the pharaoh himself, with King Quaid as the host, while General Amun enjoyed the highest honor, only half a step behind almost shoulder-to-shoulder with the pharaoh to offer sacrifices to Horus.

  The ceremony was held in the temple of the city-state, but its true climax came when the procession passed through the square to accept the cheers of the people. Ahmose wore a shining suit of armor and walked beside Pharaoh with a long sword at his waist, which was not a combat uniform, but a ceremonial attire for a general to attend the ceremony, and the sword was a special gift from Pharaoh.

  Amun had already walked here for the second time, hearing the cheers of the people. Last time he came to return Nero's relics, and at that time the people praised the great gods and the wise city lord Rod-Dick. This time the story changed its protagonist, and the people cheered for the gods, pharaohs, and Amun.

  Ahmon outshone the gods and pharaohs, a young and handsome imperial general in armor, repeatedly achieving great victories and returning triumphantly. He was literally an idol in men's hearts and a fantasy in women's dreams. Countless eyes focused on him, Ahmon heard people cheering his name, that kind of heartfelt reverence and worship merged into a force, when he unfolded that strange ability, could clearly feel it!

  Amon, who had lost his powers, felt a strange new power in this situation, but he didn't know what it was for. It wasn't the magical power of a divine priest nor the martial power of a warrior, and it contained too much mystery and unknowns. He also sensed various thoughts between the gates of the underworld, which were the prayers of mortals to the queen of the underworld. Did this power also contain such things?

  Anuna's Nether Realm is the divine domain of Erebus, the King of the Underworld. Is this what they mean by the mysteries of the divine domain? Is it a power that only gods know how to use?

  Innumerable thoughts and gazes were cast upon Amun, filling him with an inexplicable sense of oppression, as if he was walking onto another battlefield. He didn't want to be the center of attention, but there was no escape when people cheered his name louder than Pharaoh's. He could clearly feel a hint of displeasure from Ramses II beside him. The pharaoh's emotions were like those of a child who had their favorite toy taken away, or a drunkard seeing someone else drink better wine.

  Lacis II, of course, would not show such emotions, he walked at the front of the team, with a high golden crown, which was the majestic king on the mainland. Amun glanced around at the crowd on both sides and found that many girls were waving their handkerchiefs at him, pointing to their cherry lips and then frantically waving at him, shouting passionate and unrestrained words that made his face flush and heart beat fast.

  Ah Meng could only secretly smile bitterly in his heart, and inexplicably thought of Gilgamesh again. After Gilgamesh killed Humbaba, he sent some of the snake's teeth and tendons to the city of Balen, where a similar scene unfolded when he entered the city. The nobles who came to welcome him had different attitudes, but that proud hero didn't care at all, simply nodding and waving his hand in acceptance of the cheers from the people.

  Amon didn't have the same swagger as Gilgamesh, although today he also had a reputation that was no less than Gilgamesh's. Perhaps it was because of their different mentalities, Gilgamesh was an heir to the throne from birth, and since childhood, he was the pride of his city-state, while Amon had always been a magician, with a mission to unravel the secrets of the gods, so he wasn't used to being so ostentatious.

  The once proud hero Gilgamesh has faded away, but his legacy lives on in the glory of Arum.

  When the Pharaoh reached the end of the long stairs and turned around in front of the majestic temple gate, raising his hand to signal to the people, the cheers reached a climax, like a tsunami, many people on the square were so excited that their whole body trembled, even their voices became hoarse. Amun took another step back, quietly standing aside, while the generals and priests lined up below the long stairs.

  This scene reminded Amun of Kor, who had now reached the pinnacle of fame in the Hittite kingdom. Whether it was Gilgamesh in the past or Kor now, Amun's status and glory seemed to be on a par with theirs, but he himself knew that the actual situation was very different.

  Ahmose is a foreigner, with an unclear background, his rise to power was too fast and he's too young, and he has too much prestige in the military, undoubtedly there's suspicion of him being a threat to the Pharaoh. From the Pharaoh's emotions earlier, it can be seen that whether it's King Hatti or King Baren, even if they have misgivings, they couldn't do anything to Koro or Gilgamesh, but Ahmose's situation is different, and now he has lost his power to protect himself.

  As the nobles followed Pharaoh into the temple, the cheers of the crowd remained outside, and the majestic image of Horus approached. The Horus worshipped in the Cape Temple was a human body with the wings of a giant eagle, and Amun recalled the cloud eagle that had been killed by Enkidu's sword.

  He thought of another thing, whether the power gathered from the gratitude and admiration of the people just now was the so-called divine power? Maybe it's also the meaning of the divine domain! The statue standing on the altar is not Horus himself, but Amun can feel the pressure of being stared at, as if he has a certain life, as if Horus is here.

  What significance does this statue hold for the gods? The answer may lie in this. To become a god, is it really necessary to stand high on the altar? Maybe or maybe not, but that's not what Amun needs to think about now, yet he can't help but wonder.

  After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods, there was a grand banquet. It seemed as if they had returned to the scene of feasting with the Hittite nobles in the desert. Many people stood up to toast the Pharaoh and then toasted Amun, praising his achievements. The Pharaoh also personally patted Amun on the shoulder and said: "Our great general is truly the bravest warrior on the continent!"

  The day after the banquet, it's time to get down to business. The various troops need to return to their garrisons to rest and recover, the fallen soldiers need to be mourned, the generals and officers who made achievements in battle need to be rewarded, and the major events are discussed by Pharaoh and his ministers before being handed over to the relevant personnel for implementation.

  In fact, the Egur Empire did not win in the last two battles. The war with Hatti was unfavorable and desperate, but a successful negotiation was reached due to an unexpected turn of events. As for the battle with the Uruk army, it was a retreat followed by defense, although they heavily damaged the enemy, the losses of the Egur army were even more severe, and in the end, it was the Uruk army that withdrew voluntarily.

  For the glory of the empire and the face of Pharaoh, it can be said that this was a victory for Egypt, but these two battles did not gain any advantage, it can be said that they exhausted the people and wasted money, ultimately gaining nothing, only consuming huge manpower, material resources and financial resources, but Ramses II still had to reward the whole army as if they had won a great victory.

  Since the Pharaoh himself doesn't care, Amun naturally doesn't need to consider it. Let each legion commander present the list of meritorious officers and soldiers directly to the Pharaoh. The rest of the ordinary rewards and condolences will be handled by the Egyptian military department. As for his personally led Anra Legion, those with merits are naturally not left out, and the secretary has already counted them in advance.

  Amon's nominations for the reward were, of course, well-deserved. Shiou, the quartermaster of the Anra Army, finally became a noble as he had wished, and not only that, but also became a titled noble due to Amon's deliberate promotion, and even got a nominal position in the Ministry of Property of the Dreamflight City-State.

  There must be a fief with a title, but the Pharaoh did not directly grant him a fief, only allowing Xi Ao to buy it himself. Xi Ao was overjoyed, as he had previously been ineligible to purchase land near Dreamflight City as his own fief, and now he could.

  Former commander John, who was once demoted to Helei Mountain for his recklessness, was later promoted by Amun to the Anra Legion and seriously injured while resisting the Uruk Legion's attack. He is now back in Dreamflight City for recuperation. His merits are not small either, under Amun's recommendation, he has been promoted three ranks in a row, and his position is equivalent to that of the Military Affairs Director of the city-state.

  Ahmose simultaneously requested to resign as the commander-in-chief of the battlefield and the legion commander of the Anra Legion, formally handing over his military power. The Pharaoh pretended to persuade him to stay on as the legion commander of the Anra Legion, thanking him for training such an elite force for the empire. Ahmose's handover of military power was also a relief from his burden, and he insisted on resigning, so the Pharaoh went along with it, and Ahmose gloriously stepped down.

  The Uruk army may have retreated, but the dispute over the Dulak Plain is clearly far from over, and the defense of Cape City-state is naturally more important than ever. The Sett army needs to return to its base for reorganization, and relying solely on the original city-state garrison is obviously not enough. Roddick applies to Pharaoh to let the Anra army take up residence in Cape City-state.

  Amon also made the same suggestion to Pharaoh and recommended John as his successor. Although John was not a great warrior, he had outstanding military achievements and was one of the direct founders of this legion, so recommending him was no problem. Pharaoh agreed that the Anra Legion would be stationed in Haicheng City-State, and did not veto John's appointment, only saying that they would discuss it again after General John recovered from his injuries.

  The rewards given to the generals who followed Amun are not worth mentioning one by one. When he went on an expedition, he selected 80 bodyguards, and after this series of wars, only 36 survived. These people were specially selected by Medanzer, with excellent qualifications, all ordinary civilians without any background or literacy, following Amun through life and death, and now they have all become nobles.

  The Imperial Guard was a private army, also serving as the imperial nobles' escort, but their salaries were paid by the empire. Amun himself could also pay out of his own pocket to supplement them. After handing over military power, it was naturally impossible to maintain a large private army. The 36 people were divided into three small teams, which happened to meet the number of Imperial Guards stipulated by an imperial general. Amun prepared to take them back to his own territory.

  Amon now holds only the nominal title of a great general, but his position is extremely high, surpassing that of ordinary city-state lords. He is equivalent to the lord of a large city-state like Meng Fei Si and the high priest of the Isis Temple. Therefore, the captain of his personal guard also has a low position, with a rank equivalent to the defensive military officer of an ordinary city-state, which can be personally appointed by Amon.

  But he did not continue to appoint Medanzo. Medanzo's identity was more embarrassing, he was a noble of Balan, with a nature of being employed, and the Egur army had just fought against the Uruk corps from Balan before. Amun didn't know about this war before his expedition, otherwise he wouldn't have let Medanzo take over as the commander of the Imperial Guard directly.

  In the great war with the Uruk army, he did not let Medanzo lead soldiers to charge, but only appeared on the battlefield as his own guard. After the war was over, he handed over his military power, and Medanzo naturally left the Egu army, receiving a large sum of money but no other rewards.

  It doesn't matter, Amun let Medanzo temporarily lead the loyal guards back to their newly acquired territory, and leave the position of captain of the guard vacant for now, keeping it for future favors.

  Putting aside idle chatter, in the throne room of Pharaoh's palace, after all the miscellaneous affairs had been discussed and settled, Pharaoh was about to let his ministers withdraw when Ahmose stood up, left his seat and came to the center of the hall, kneeling down to pay respects: "Your Majesty, Ahmose has one more thing to request of you."

  The Pharaoh was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said: "General, please sit down and speak. What is your request?"

  Ahmose did not get up, but said slowly: "You once said with your own mouth after meeting with the king of Hatti that if I wanted any reward, I could speak out when I returned to Egypt. Now I want to make a request to Your Majesty."

  This is openly asking for a reward in front of the officials, Pharaoh has already heavily rewarded Amun, and now he wants to continue to ask for more rewards, and also grabs the words that Pharaoh once said in front of the officials, it's inevitable that there will be suspicion of usurping the throne. However, with his achievements, just hanging a nominal title and retiring, handing over military power and asking for rewards afterwards is also a normal practice, no matter what requirements are put forward, Pharaoh cannot refuse.

  Rasis II was taken aback for a moment, and then burst out laughing: "Amon, you can naturally ask for any reward, speak up, as long as I can get it out!"

  Amon: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gracious permission. What you have already granted me is more than enough, and I do not wish to make further requests. However, my people, the descendants of the miners who were once oppressed in Keltos, are still suffering in the mountains of Heilongshan. I hope that you will release them and restore their freedom. I fight for the Empire's glory, but also to save my own people."

  The Pharaoh frowned: "Is this true? How come I don't know about it?"

  It's unclear whether the old man truly didn't know or was just pretending to be ignorant. Ah Mon took out a scroll and held it above his head: "Perhaps Your Majesty doesn't recall such trivial matters, but they are very important to me. It was you who personally ordered them to be imprisoned in He Lie Shan for labor, this is the official record."

  There was an inner attendant who took the document and handed it over to Pharaoh, Rameses II opened it and took a look, and said with a hum: "I remembered, there was such a thing. General Amun, your request, I am unable to refuse. But do you still remember the treaty we signed with the Hittite Kingdom? To return the escaped slaves of the other party, you are also a witness to the treaty. Leaving them in Mount Horeb is also a kind of protection, do you want to hand them over to the Hittite Kingdom again?"

  Amon replied in a calm tone: "Your Majesty does not need to return them to the Hittite kingdom, because when they left Hatti, their status was not that of slaves, but rather people who had lost their homes and were homeless refugees. It was Your Majesty's generosity and kindness that took them in. I express my gratitude on behalf of my people!"

  Ahmose somewhat provoked the Pharaoh, whose face didn't look too good. The Imperial Minister of Internal Affairs hastily interjected: "General Ahmose is unaware that they are now slaves to the Pharaoh. Although you have made great contributions to the Empire, they are only your kin and cannot be granted freedom due to your merits."

  Amun thought for a moment and said: "That's easy, I ask Your Majesty to bestow these slaves upon me."

  The Pharaoh looked at Amun and finally smiled: "Of course, no problem, just a few dozen slaves. If I'm stingy with these, how can I make the Egyptian soldiers believe in me? Amun, your tribesmen are now all your slaves, you can take them back to your own territory."

  When the generals in the hall heard that Pharaoh had refused Amun's initial request, they all showed a look of discontent and were about to speak up for him. Now hearing that Pharaoh agreed to grant these slaves to Amun, they didn't make a sound. Considering Amun's merits, it was just a matter of asking for a few dozen slaves, who were also his own clansmen, what a big deal was that?

  Amon bowed and said: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

  The Pharaoh seemed to feel embarrassed himself, and deliberately opened his mouth to ask another question: "Amon, do you have any other requirements? Do you want treasure or beauty, or more slaves and territory, all of which can be proposed."

  Amun smiled: "Since Your Majesty has said so, I really have a request, and I hope you will grant me another piece of land."

  I didn't expect Ah Mon to really take the opportunity, and since Pharaoh's words had already been spoken, it was hard to retract them. So he asked again: "Great General, you already have a very large territory, what else are you eyeing?"

  Amon's request was indeed a bit excessive, and the other generals looked at him curiously, not knowing which place this great general had taken a liking to. If it were someone else's territory, it would be difficult to deal with. Amon calmly pulled out another sheepskin map from his bosom and held it above his head, saying: "I have already prepared the map, please take a look, Your Majesty."

  The Pharaoh took the sheepskin scroll presented by the inner attendant, and immediately exclaimed: "Dukping Plain! This is not within the borders of the Egu Empire!" What Amun presented was a map of Dukping Plain. In the original Duk town area, he drew an irregular circle with a radius of two or three hundred miles, which was the most suitable place for living and building a city after investigating the terrain.

  Amon nodded: "Yes, I cannot hold military merit and be greedy, nor can I ask for more territory within the empire. However, according to the treaty between Egypt and Hatti, explorers from both countries can enter there to seek wealth and open up wasteland. I am only asking Your Majesty to grant me nominal ownership, as to whether I can develop it into a territory depends on myself."

  So it is! All the ministers showed a relieved expression. This request, Pharaoh had no reason to refuse, and for him, it was a reward without any cost, giving Amun a piece of land that was not within Egypt's borders, and requiring Amun to cultivate it himself. The Pharaoh looked at Amun's thoughtful nod and said: "Alright, it seems you've been prepared! Let the Ministry of Internal Affairs issue a decree, and the city of *Puan will grant this land as a fiefdom in your name, but you need to occupy and cultivate it yourself."

  Ahmon bowed again, then stood up and returned to his seat. He had long been prepared with two things, which made today's affairs possible, and relying on military merit, he forced Pharaoh to nod in front of the group of officials.

  Although he only received a nominal fief, it was very important for Ahmose. The pharaoh refused to relieve the identity of those miner slaves, and Ahmose asked the pharaoh to give them to himself, which was just the first step. Although Ahmose could treat those slaves well in his territory, they were still slaves after all, and Ahmose had no right to give them freedom. Those who escaped from the country would still be sent back according to the agreement between Egypt and Hatti.

  The Pharaoh's expedition may not have gained an advantage, but he is still determined to keep the miners in his hands. The descendants of Du Ke Town were once the legitimate owners of that land, but now they are slaves of the Pharaoh. As long as the Pharaoh gets the deed, the master of the slaves will become the master of that land.

  The Pharaoh had inquired about the fate of the land deed before launching the war, but Moses and others only said that the land deed had long since disappeared with Tuqiao Town in the flood. Whether or not there was a land deed was just an excuse, and the Pharaoh still launched the expeditionary war.

  These miners have an even more important role, they not only master the magical skills, but also have a much higher efficiency in mining divine stones than ordinary divine masters, and are familiar with the distribution of mineral veins around Duoke Town, symbolizing a living, huge wealth, how can it be easily let go?

  Moreover, with the new situation now, they will stay in the Egu Empire and become a means of restraining Amun. Amun has extremely high prestige among the people of Egu, especially in the military, and such a person cannot help but make Pharaoh wary. If he is loyal to serving the Egu Empire, everything is fine, but if Amun goes to any other country on the mainland, it will be a blow to the Egu Empire. The Pharaoh naturally does not want Amun to return home with his people, and such a person must be used by Egu, whether or not he is actually used is another matter.

  The pharaoh gave the slave to Amun, which was not bad, they were still slaves of the Egyptian Empire, being detained in Amun's territory was not only a favor but also a better restraint.

  But Amun was also prepared for this move, and asked Pharaoh for a piece of land that was beyond imagination, and under such circumstances, Ramses II could not possibly refuse!

  As the lord of the fief, Ahmose could naturally and properly send his own slaves to open up the land. These two requests seemed unrelated, but happened to allow Moses and others to escape from their slavery in Egypt and return home. As for what their status would be after returning to the plain of Tukh, it was no longer within Pharaoh's power to decide.

  Today's Imperial General, has long been no longer as ignorant as when he first left Duke Town. Amun sat in the position of commander-in-chief on the battlefield, but didn't interact less with all kinds of people. The move to grant territory was inspired by a certain experience from a long time ago, Princess Xiaoyi of the Kingdom of Balen gave Yuxiel, the leader of the Giant Union Tribe, a piece of land that was not within the borders of the Kingdom of Balen.

  Amon learned this from Princess Xiao, but he was the one who took the initiative to ask. He has always been a simple and honest child, never playing tricks on people, and for the first time playing official power struggles, he played a big game, with Egufa as his opponent.

  The Pharaoh immediately understood Ahmon's intention, but at this moment, there was no way to do anything. Capturing the King of Hatti and rescuing the army from crisis, promoting peace talks between the two countries, commanding the army to repel the Uruk troops, and invoking the gods to protect Egypt's territory - what a great achievement! He only made these two insignificant requests, which couldn't even be refused.