Ethan's team moved swiftly. From finding O'Connell to preparing supplies and setting out, it took less than a day in total. Even so, they ended up on the same starting line as the American group.
Both teams boarded the same ship. They would spend a considerable amount of time aboard before transferring to land and crossing the barren desert to reach Hamunaptra.
Though Ethan and the others kept an eye on him, Jonathan was still playing cards with the Americans, but he didn't reveal too much.
However, with Ada occasionally probing, they quickly figured out that the Americans had the same goal. They too had found a guide who knew the location of Hamunaptra.
"Shouldn't we do something?"
Ada found Ethan gazing at the scenery at the bow. According to her usual methods, when a group of competitors appeared, even if she didn't eliminate them, she would at least create some trouble to tire them out and ultimately win through attrition.
But Ethan had no such intention. Even if the others traveled with them, or even reached Hamunaptra first, it wouldn't change the outcome.
Ethan wanted the two legendary books, and he didn't mind using force to obtain them.
His strength was continuously increasing, and his current combat capabilities were beyond what ordinary people could resist. But most of the time, he chose deterrence over elimination. Only clear enemies were truly dealt with and removed.
This time, he didn't intend to eliminate the group of "archaeologists." The overwhelming gap in strength meant he could easily suppress them and take what he wanted.
What he was currently struggling with was the issue of Imhotep and the Egyptian gods.
Gods did exist in this world, but they couldn't directly descend into the human realm. They could only exert influence through priests or grant some power to their believers.
Those who obtained such divine powers possessed strength far beyond the average person. Among them, Imhotep, the powerful antagonist in the first Mummy movie, was exceptionally strong. Ethan wasn't certain how powerful Imhotep had been at his peak, or whether he could defeat him.
From another angle, Imhotep had mastered countless ancient Egyptian spells, or rather divine arts. His research into the soul was profound, especially the art of spirit summoning, which he could perform flawlessly.
And that was precisely the knowledge Ethan wanted. Compared to the content recorded in the Book of the Dead, learning this knowledge directly from a high priest was far more reliable, and could prevent the unpredictable side effects that came from misinterpreting spells.
This issue required careful consideration. As a fellow mage, Ethan understood how a single misunderstanding of a spell could lead to drastically different outcomes. He didn't want to end up causing a disaster for Tony while trying to fulfill his promise.
"So you're hesitating over whether to resurrect that powerful priest named Imhotep?"
Ada listened to Ethan's explanation and finally understood why he was standing there in the wind—because he hadn't decided what to do next.
"If Imhotep is resurrected, those explorers are dead for sure. Of course, I don't think their deaths would be a loss."
Ethan knew exactly what these so-called "archaeologists" were. He wouldn't feel any sympathy if they died. If he needed Imhotep to be resurrected, it was far better for these people to become the "sacrifices" than others.
"You think Imhotep will be difficult to handle?"
That was exactly what Ethan was struggling with. According to the plot, the priest's only obsession was resurrecting his lover, Anck-su-namun. Other than that, he had no ambition. Perhaps after resurrecting her, he'd go find a quiet place to live happily ever after.
"I'm not sure."
If he helped Imhotep resurrect Anck-su-namun, would the priest offer something in return? Maybe teach him spirit-summoning spells?
Going by his usual style, it would be better to make a mutually beneficial deal with Imhotep. As long as he didn't go insane and start trying to destroy the world, it wouldn't really matter.
The reason Ethan hadn't made up his mind was that Imhotep's resurrection would trigger a legendary disaster. Imhotep himself didn't care, of course, but it would impact countless innocent civilians. Ethan wasn't a saint, but even so, he felt that kind of move would be too irresponsible. That was the root of his hesitation.
"So that's it."
Ada had been quietly listening and now understood what Ethan was wrestling with.
Resurrecting Imhotep and making a deal with him was clearly in Ethan's best interest.
What kept him from doing it was the worry that Imhotep's resurrection would trigger a string of disasters, dragging countless innocent people into suffering—as if Ethan himself had created the chaos and thrown them into the abyss.
"Can you handle Imhotep's strength after his resurrection?"
As an outsider, Ada didn't need to think too deeply. In her mind, she only needed to compare Ethan's power to Imhotep's.
"I'm not sure. Maybe. Imhotep is a priest. The upper limit of his strength doesn't lie in his own magic power, but in how much support the god he serves gives him."
From this angle, being in Egypt gave Imhotep an advantage.
But among Ethan's strongest skills were spatial spells. He was fully capable of creating a sealed, independent space to cut off Imhotep's strongest support.
Ultimately, what would determine the outcome was their own strength or who had better external assistance. In that regard, Ethan had the edge, as he could use the Cosmic Cube in an emergency to restore his mana, while Imhotep might not even be able to communicate with his god in a sealed space.
"Then it's simple. If you're confident you can take him, just try to talk to him first. If that fails, take him out."
Simply put, the bigger fist wins.
As long as he was strong enough, Imhotep wouldn't be able to cause any real disaster under Ethan's watch. If there was no risk of disaster, then Ethan didn't need to feel conflicted. He could go ahead and let the resurrection happen.
"You're right. It really is that simple."
In the end, it was because Ethan's strength had improved so fast, even he didn't have an accurate understanding of it. If he knew the enemy was weaker than him, he wouldn't hesitate. But since he couldn't gauge Imhotep's full power, he thought too much.
"Besides, there's also the Book of Amun-Ra."
The resurrected Imhotep had one major weakness: the curse recorded in the Book of Amun-Ra was his absolute counter. Even if an ordinary person read it aloud, it could strip him of his magic and render him mortal. Once he lost his magic, Imhotep would be easy to deal with.
So as long as Ethan secured the Book of Amun-Ra in advance, he would be invincible.
Having thought it through, Ethan now understood exactly what he needed to do next.
First, throw all the Pharaoh's guards who had sneaked aboard into the river. If they destroyed the ship, they'd have to walk far more in the desert—which was not something Ethan wanted.
Even though their motives were right, they were still in Ethan's way. These guards were ruthless and saw no innocents. To them, anyone who dared covet Hamunaptra was a sinner deserving death.
Of course, from a certain point of view, they weren't exactly wrong.
Ethan casually pulled out a Beretta. Using this weapon against them was overkill. Ada also drew one, and the two quickly cleared out the enemies on the foredeck, each shot clean and precise.
Suddenly, Ethan remembered it wasn't just the men in black who had caused the ship's destruction during this scene. Evelyn and O'Connell had also "contributed." The two of them had started a fire during the fight, and in the chaos, no one had put it out. Though it was a small fire at first, the men in black kept setting more flames everywhere, causing the fire to grow until everyone had to jump into the river to escape.
Remembering this, Ethan rushed into the ship's cabin with Ada. At that moment, Evelyn ran out of her room, waving her hands and shouting for help when she saw Ethan.
Then she tripped on her nightgown and fell flat on her face.
Immediately afterward, O'Connell came rushing out and quickly warned Ethan and Ada, "Hurry up and get out of here!"
In his eyes, these two pale-skinned young people were just burdens in this chaotic fight, like Evelyn. But he still acted professionally and tried to buy time for others to escape.
What crushed his spirit was that Ethan ignored the warning, pointed at Evelyn, and after having Ada help her up, walked straight past him toward Evelyn's room—which was already on fire.
"Careful!"
There were still enemies inside. Walking in like that would get him shot full of holes. But the expected scene never happened.
Ethan stood at the door and gently waved his hand. The raging flames inside the room suddenly seemed to receive a command like a trained pet and obediently flew into his hand, forming a fireball that danced in his palm.
This magical scene stunned both O'Connell and the man in black who had been preparing to shoot.
(To be continued.)
Junkdog's Note: Wow, you guys went wild xD. I appreciate it, hence the three chapter bonus, and from now on, we're going to be having two chapters per day henceforth.
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