The appearance of the Pharaoh's army did throw Melibra into a moment of panic, but he quickly calmed down and saw the opportunity hidden within this unexpected development.
What was Melibra's dream? To replace the current royal family, become the new Pharaoh, unify Egypt, and accomplish an unparalleled feat.
And in this process, the power of the Pharaoh was a major obstacle standing between him and his ambition.
To become the new Pharaoh, either the current regime had to collapse, or he had to defeat the Pharaoh head-on.
And now, wasn't the opportunity right before him?
The Pharaoh's army had come from afar to attack Heracleopolis.
In the process, the Pharaoh had likely already reclaimed several nomes along the way.
If he could defeat the Pharaoh's army, his reputation would immediately spread across all of Egypt, and everyone would bow before his strength.
At that time, he could openly wage war everywhere and then become the new Pharaoh.
With such a chance to rise by stepping on the current Pharaoh, how could he possibly not seize it?
Thinking carefully, as the Pharaoh advanced, reclaiming the nomes along the way must have required time and effort.
Between Heracleopolis and Memphis, the closest nome to him was Tebtunis.
There had always been exchanges and trade between Heracleopolis and Tebtunis.
So, when was the last communication with the warlord of Tebtunis?
Five days ago?
A week ago?
In any case, it had not been long.
From this, it seemed that the Pharaoh's army had not taken long to conquer Tebtunis.
Reclaiming Tebtunis would have taken time, and fully occupying and maintaining order would also require time.
Yet now this army had appeared here, meaning they had not had much time to rest along the way, they must already be exhausted.
Furthermore, due to the ongoing turmoil, agricultural production across Egypt was low. The Pharaoh would not have much grain at her disposal.
Thus, after such a long expedition to Heracleopolis, her forces must be short on supplies and fatigued.
An opponent like this would not be difficult to defeat.
Melibra had seen the strength of the Pharaoh's royal guards in the past, but after a long period without war and due to widespread corruption, those guards had likely lost much of their combat effectiveness.
Meanwhile, he had painstakingly trained his own army for a long time.
Combined with the advantage of defending a fortified city and waiting at ease for an exhausted enemy, no matter how one looked at it, victory should belong to his side in a direct confrontation.
Then… it was decided!
After repeated consideration, Melibra quickly made a decisive choice.
At dawn tomorrow, he would engage the enemy in a head-on battle.
Although relying on the advantage of defending the city would give him a higher chance of victory, such a victory would not produce a decisive outcome.
A defeated Pharaoh who retreated could quickly recover.
But a field battle was different. Defeating the opponent openly in such a battle would deal a far greater blow to the Pharaoh, both militarily and politically.
Thus, after observing for a while, Melibra descended from the city walls, returned to his military camp, and began organizing his troops.
That night, as expected, Melibra received an envoy sent by Nitocris.
However, in response to the envoy's attempt to persuade him to surrender, Melibra tore apart the letter from Nitocris on the spot and arrogantly declared that the decisive battle would take place the next day.
…
The next morning, the sky was overcast, matching the grim atmosphere of impending battle.
Outside Heracleopolis, Melibra's army formed into square formations, ready to strike.
To defeat the Pharaoh and contend for the world, Melibra had waited for this day for a long time, and so had his army.
In the original course of history, they would have had to wait several more years.
Unlike other warlords, because Melibra was willing to invest resources, nearly all of his soldiers were strong and well-built.
Though their armor remained crude leather, and most only had leather trousers and leather shields, such equipment was the norm in this era.
As for weaponry, Melibra believed his army would greatly surprise their opponents.
With ambitions of becoming Pharaoh, he naturally understood the importance of military strength.
"To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools." In order to build a powerful army, Melibra had long been gathering craftsmen and preparing high-quality weapons.
Now, every soldier under his command wielded superior arms.
There was no situation where a dagger would break apart at the blade and handle during combat, something that was actually quite common in Egypt due to its underdeveloped military industry.
Even more impressively, Melibra had spent a great deal of money to assemble a chariot corps of fifty chariots.
It should be known that, as the decisive force in warfare at the time, chariots had long been something only the Pharaoh could equip in large numbers.
Even hereditary nobles could at most maintain a few chariots.
With such an army, Melibra believed he would certainly give the current female Pharaoh a "pleasant surprise."
At the thought of that female Pharaoh, Melibra felt both disdain and desire.
The former came naturally from his contempt for a woman ruling as Pharaoh, while the latter… when Nitocris had still been a princess, Melibra had seen her once.
At that time, he had been deeply shaken by her beauty, which could be called the greatest in all of Egypt.
Now, thinking about facing this female Pharaoh in battle and defeating her, he even began to entertain other thoughts.
If he could make this female Pharaoh his queen, what a wonderful thing that would be.
Moreover, with the bloodline of the previous Pharaoh as his queen, would it not make his own ascension to Pharaoh even easier?
There were rumors that this female Pharaoh favored a foreign pretty boy, but that did not matter to Melibra.
After all, a beauty of such caliber, with such a status, only she in all of Egypt was worthy of him.
Lost in his fantasies, Melibra finally snapped back to reality and led his army onto the battlefield.
He could hardly wait to defeat his opponent, to seize that Pharaoh in his grasp.
However, the moment he saw his opponent on the battlefield, Melibra was instantly stunned.
It was not that Nitocris's heroic bearing and peerless elegance on the battlefield failed to attract him, nor was it that seeing her sharing a chariot with that "pretty boy" did not anger him.
Rather, it was because Nitocris's army was far too powerful, so powerful that it exceeded Melibra's imagination.
In fact, in terms of numbers alone, the two sides were roughly equal.
Although Nitocris had set out with an army of nearly fifty thousand, most of them were garrison troops, suitable for holding territory, but not meeting her standards for direct combat.
Thus, those garrison forces had been left behind to station newly conquered lands.
Now, the troops facing Melibra on the battlefield numbered only ten to twenty thousand, roughly the same as his own.
Yet it was precisely this force of ten to twenty thousand that, through their equipment and sheer presence alone, dealt a massive blow to the overly self-confident Melibra.