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163 But the claim of victory was premature. By his nonresistance tactics, Azag had escaped defeat. The capital city was indeed de- stroyed, but not so the leaders of the Enemy. Soberly, the text Lugal-e observed: "The scorpion of Kur Ninurta did not annihi- late." Instead, the Enemy gods retreated into the Great Pryamid, where "the Wise Craftsman"—Enki? Thoth?—raised up a_ protec- tive wall "which the Brilliance could not match." a shield through which the death rays could not penetrate. Our knowledge of this final and most dramatic phase of the Sec- ond Pyramid War is augmented by texts from "the other side." Just as Ninurta's followers composed hymns to him, so did the fol- lowers of Nergal. Some of the latter, which have also been discov- ered by archaeologists, were put together in Gebete und Hymnen an Nergal by J. Bollenrucher. Recalling the heroic feats of Nergal in this war, the texts relate how, as the other gods found themselves hemmed in within the Giza complex, Nergal—'"Lofty Dragon Beloved of Ekur"—"at night stole out" and, carrying awesome weapons and accompanied by his lieutenants, broke through the encirclement to reach the Great Pyramid (the Ekur). Reaching it at night, he entered through "the locked doors which by themselves can open." A roar of wel- come greeted him as he entered: Divine Nergal, Lord who by night stole out, had come to the battle! He cracks his whip, his weapons clank . . . He who is welcome, his might is immense: Like a dream at the doorstep he appeared. Divine Nergal, t the One Who Is Welcome: Wa ae Fight the enemy of Ekur, lay hold on the Wild One from Nippur! But the high hopes of the besieged gods were soon dashed. We learn more of the last phases of this Pyramid War from yet another text, first pieced together by George A. Barton (Miscellaneous Babylonian Texts) from fragments of an inscribed clay cylinder found in the ruins of Enlil's temple in Nippur. As Nergal joined the defenders of the Great Pyramid ("the For- midable House Which Is Raised Up Like a Heap"), he strength- ened its defenses through the various ray-emitting crystals (mineral "stones") positioned within the pyramid: The Pyramid Wars