Chapter 30: Trail Exposed
Ramesses was Pharaoh, which meant that family interests would always take precedence over his personal feelings.
In this era dominated by slavery, slaves were power—they were the foundation of royal rule. Egypt and the Hittites fought constantly. Was it really over the lands of Asia? No, that's far away.
What they wanted were slaves.
For years, whenever Egypt and the Hittites met, it was always conflict, because both saw Asia as their personal source of slaves.
Why was Ramesses willing to improve the Hebrews' situation? Just because of Moses? Wrong. Because hundreds of thousands of Hebrews were his property!
Property on one side, a treacherous friend on the other—who do you choose?
Ramesses was a man who never slept on his anger.
The Hebrews wanted to leave? Then he would make them suffer!
That very night, he summoned all the overseers and taskmasters.
"You shall not provide the Hebrews with their usual allocation of straw to make bricks. They must gather it themselves. Yet the number of bricks required will not be reduced," Pharaoh commanded. "These Hebrews are not only lazy but also shirking work. Therefore, I will make their labor unbearable. If they fail to complete their tasks, their wages will be halved."
The sudden midnight decree shocked both overseers and taskmasters. The difference: the taskmasters felt the sky was falling, while the overseers were thrilled!
Previously, Moses, that troublesome complainer, had made them hesitant to oppress the Hebrews too harshly—he would not only complain but sometimes fight back!
Now, it seemed Pharaoh had finally awakened to the truth: these Hebrews were unruly, and they needed disciplining. They were in for a world of pain—truly delightful news.
Excited, the overseers eagerly carried out Pharaoh's orders the next day, even adding extra "private charges."
The Hebrews, meanwhile, scrambled to gather straw. Even following Pharaoh's standard, they could not meet the brick quota.
This caused many taskmasters to complain to Moses and Aaron—many of the taskmasters were Hebrews themselves. If workers failed Pharaoh's tasks, they would be punished, and so would the taskmasters.
"You've brought us disgrace in front of Pharaoh and his servants. It's as if you handed them the knife to kill us," one said to Moses.
Yet Moses sighed with relief.
He knew that when Ramesses truly wanted someone dead, he wouldn't bother with such complications.
In truth, Moses had no desire to obey the divine voice by intentionally wreaking havoc in Egypt—not only because of emotional conflict but also because God was present.
After his visit to the palace, Moses felt utterly confused.
Was this truly his "Lord"? Looking at the figure in the grand hall, there was no care for the suffering of the Hebrews.
Nonetheless, following the "Lord's" orders, he was supposed to go to the palace to meet Ramesses.
Perhaps because of some unspoken understanding between Ramesses and Moses, when Moses and Aaron arrived at the palace gates to request an audience, they were informed the Pharaoh was already waiting.
Under the watch of guards, they entered the same hall as before.
Moses felt nostalgic: once, he had stood beside Ramesses here, assisting in governing the nation.
Now, he had to stand opposed.
No—according to the "Lord's" plan, they would become mortal enemies.
The voice still echoed in his mind: "I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and perform more signs and wonders in Egypt! Pharaoh will not listen, so I will stretch out my hand to punish Egypt and bring my people, the Hebrews, out of the land. When I strike Egypt and lead the Hebrews from among them, the Egyptians will know I am Yahweh!"
Like hammering iron, Moses' feelings for Ramesses intensified, yet his heart grew even firmer.
He finally saw Ramesses again—the ruler he had once loyally served, his close friend.
But that friend now appeared utterly cold. Moses knew the man before him was the ruler of the Egyptian Empire, not his friend.
Yet that man today was gone.
With a silent sigh, Moses stood before Ramesses, while his brother stepped forward.
"Pharaoh, allow the Hebrews to leave your land!" Aaron said.
"Dream on!" Ramesses rigidly refused. "If you do not repent, I will kill your wives and children, and make you toil endlessly at the hardest labor."
Aaron continued, "Then permit us to perform a wonder in the hall."
Holding Moses' staff, he shook it and tapped it to the ground.
In an instant, the staff bent and slithered from his hand, transforming into a snake that coiled on the floor, baring white, sharp fangs at the Pharaoh.
The Egyptian court laughed at the sight.
"Moses, is this a wonder?" Ramesses laughed coldly. "After all these years at my side, you think this impresses me? Any Egyptian sorcerer can do this!"
He gestured, and several Egyptian magicians stepped forward. They shook their staffs and threw them to the ground—each turned into a long snake.
Moses, however, shook his head.
"Ramesses," he said softly, "release my people, or Egypt will truly suffer."
Before he finished, the staff-turned-snake devoured all the magicians' snakes.
"Ridiculous," Ramesses snorted heavily, dismissing the magicians and then rising to leave.
As he disappeared from the doorway, Moses and Aaron heard his last words: "The Hebrews shall work for me until death."
Seeing this, they could do nothing but leave. The situation was irreversible.
Unbeknownst to them, in the shadows of the hall, Hachiman smiled with satisfaction.
"Finally, I've caught you."
He emerged from behind Ramesses' shadow, startling the attendants, and pressed a finger to the Pharaoh's forehead.
A shattering sound echoed through the air.
Ramesses looked dazed, as if just awakening, then his expression froze.
"What… what happened? Why am I here? No… why is Moses here again? And the snake…?"
"Just the power of an injured deity," Hachiman reassured him, holding a cluster of golden flames. "But not enough yet. When Moses performs the next so-called 'miracle,' we will capture him."
Indeed, it carried the aura of Banri Hikari and Horus. Horus' state was definitely abnormal—this was no longer a matter of human language misalignment.
Previously it was suspicion; now it was certainty.
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