Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 140 The Snake God Knows What to Do

Satyak the Greatsword, Satyak the Serpent Scales, the Master of the Battlefield.

Nothing could stop his blade.

Because it wasn't even a blade anymore; the broad, serpentine blade had simply swept across the air without making any contact whatsoever, yet the bronze shield and breastplate were cleanly severed.

Just like it is now.

"……That's it?"

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Satek the Greatsword frowned slightly.

Although he admitted that the five bird-worshipping warriors in front of him were indeed quite capable, with two swordsmen and shieldmen, one spearman, and two archers forming a formidable force, they were still only five people, and their combat strength was ultimately limited.

To kill these five people, Satek the Greatsword only needed to swing his blade once.

Of course, this is only true for him. If it were his soldiers, it would indeed take at least ten people to guarantee a victory against such a five-man squad.

"In a five-on-five match, it's a close contest with wins and losses... no, that's not right."

With his keen sense of combat, Satek the Greatsword decisively shook his head.

It wasn't even a matter of each side winning and losing; rather, the serpent god's warriors were destined to lose.

Just as the warriors who escaped said, these snake worshippers were extremely strange—even though he had already drawn his signature snake-scaled broadsword, these mere five people not only showed no intention of running away, but even dared to charge towards him.

Where did they get their courage?

Satek the Greatblade found it somewhat unbelievable, considering that even the well-trained priests of the sun god would now avoid him.

With their inexplicable courage and their somehow developed, albeit somewhat skilled, individual combat abilities, this strange squad could indeed cause quite a bit of trouble.

"However, this is not a big deal."

Satek the Greatsword thought to himself.

Even if a rat has some skills, it's still just a rat. Anyway, all we need to do is kill them all. It's not a big deal.

And so, Satyabrück the Greatsword began his slaughter.

Just like his name, just like his power, wherever he went, corpses fell to the ground.

But soon, Satek the Greatsword sensed that something was wrong.

"These rats..."

Spitting on the ground, Satek the Greatsword couldn't help but start cursing.

He had been fighting from noon until dark, and he had killed twenty such five-man squads. Although it sounded like a lot, killing only about two hundred people in an afternoon was undoubtedly the most frustrating battle he had ever fought.

What disgusted him most was that these squads weren't even clustered together like a battle formation, but scattered all over the place. Even if he could quickly catch these bird worshippers with his speed, chasing them one by one like catching mice was still extremely unpleasant for him.

"These beasts..."

When Satek returned to the camp that night, he was already furious.

Just as he was preparing to get a good night's sleep and think about how to deal with the rats the next day, the camp suddenly caught fire.

A five-man squad infiltrated the camp, setting fire to the supplies, provisions, and numerous tents.

"These beasts!"

Enraged, Sataik the Greatsword immediately grabbed his serpent-scale greatsword. Almost instantly, he rushed to the crime scene, but amidst the flames, the bird-worshipping rats were nowhere to be seen.

"...It's a tinderbox."

One of the men brought over a small package that had not yet caught fire.

Satek the Greatblade picked up the package and sniffed it; he smelled spices.

Those were incense sticks used to worship the gods, which could produce a rather pleasant smoke when burned. Obviously, the monkeys deliberately lit these incense sticks and then put them together with the oil-soaked hay. When the incense burned out, the embers would come into contact with the oil-soaked hay, and the smoldering embers would immediately turn into a flame.

This is a simple time-delay ignition device.

In other words, they couldn't even figure out when the rats had sneaked in.

"We must handle this with caution."

Satek the Greatsword's expression turned serious.

If at the beginning these bird worshippers could only be considered rats, then after they set fire to the camp, these rats had transformed into ferocious beasts that would devour anyone they chose.

Like the piranhas commonly found in rivers, although a single fish may only be the size of a palm, when such a school of fish swarms in, even a lion will be torn to pieces.

We need to think of something.

Satek the Greatsword thought to himself.

He knew he couldn't come up with a solution on his own, and Satek the Greatsword knew that his skills lay entirely in direct combat—but it didn't matter, there were three others as powerful as him, he just needed to capture a few alive and take them back, his companions would know what to do.

If that still doesn't work, then go and ask the snake god.

Although that would demonstrate his incompetence, Satek the Greatsword could sense that the Serpent God seemed surprisingly unconcerned about it.

This is another reason why he was willing to work under the Snake God. Once he got to know the Snake God's temperament, he would realize that the great Snake God was actually surprisingly easy to talk to in many situations—which might cause the Snake God to not act like a Snake God in front of outsiders.

But for these loyal subordinates, especially the priests who had once worshipped the sun god, this broad inclusiveness was enough to make them feel extremely at ease.

Just like now, even if the army suffers heavy casualties, he doesn't need to worry too much about the serpent god's blame. He only needs to do his job well, and the great serpent god will forgive and forget.

As for the matter at hand...

This was incredibly easy for him.

Killing five people was just a matter of one strike for him, and capturing five people was even easier. Considering that other situations might arise on the way, Satek the Great Blade only captured five people for the time being, and in order to ensure that these five people would not have any problems on the way, he even chose to escort them himself.

Under that large sword, the escort process naturally went smoothly, and even the anticipated prisoner hijacking did not occur. He returned to the foot of the Serpent God without any problems.

He then handed these five strange bird-worshipping men over to his companions.

“It’s the trace of divine magic; a priest cast a divine spell on them.”

The priest who wore a crown of snake fangs, now known as Ansagh the Crowned, or Ansagh the Snake-Fanged, reached a conclusion after a brief examination.

"But this kind of divine art... just by adding some words, how can it make someone unleash this level of combat power?"

Even Ansag of the Serpent Fangs was somewhat puzzled.

After a brief discussion, they decided to report to the Snake God.

(End of this chapter)