Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 144 The Price of a Gift

In the Temple of the Sun in the holy city of Heliopolis, the war priest Matteperi was still overseeing the battle.

The water, imbued with divine magic, was carried out basin after basin. The priests serving the gods would fill water bags and transport them to sun temples in various places.

After that, the temples of the sun god in various places will continue to hold ceremonies, transforming more and more people into warriors of the sun god.

"Until the entire population becomes soldiers."

Matt Perry finally stood up after making the last pot of magical water.

The priests, having finished their work, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The sudden relaxation was not only because the busy work was over, but also because the war itself no longer required their attention—they had already foreseen their own demise under the relentless attacks of the serpent demon army.

But now, the battle has taken a turn for the worse than they ever imagined.

With that divine water, everyone can become a warrior, even the most elite warrior.

No matter how ferocious the serpent demon army was, it would be completely overwhelmed by this vast sea of ​​people. No matter how powerful the four priests who had sided with the serpent demons were, it would be difficult for them to wipe out these scattered warrior squads in one go—but these warrior squads could keep tearing at the serpent demon army, just like piranhas in a great river.

When these ferocious fish swarm in, even a strong lion can be devoured into bones in a matter of moments.

Just like these piranhas, the more piranhas eat, the stronger they become. Similarly, the more enemies these warriors kill, the more experience they gain, and the higher their level becomes.

With the blessing of divine magic, and with the addition of levels and experience, the warriors of the Sun God will only grow stronger in battle.

"Definitely win!"

The priests' faith was rekindled.

But Matt Perry simply shook his head.

"Not even close."

"Don't forget, the ancient serpent itself hasn't been dealt with yet."

These words immediately poured cold water on the heads of the passionate priests.

Yes, there is a real god on the other side.

Even if that ancient serpent didn't move, it was still a true god. Once this ancient god started moving, who knows what kind of natural disaster would occur?

When faced with the ancient gods, there are ultimately limits to what humans can do.

"However... we also have our own gods."

The priests were immediately reassured when they realized that they had been worshipping the sun god for who knows how long.

Yes, even if they were ancient gods, they were just ancient gods. But the sun god they worshipped truly demonstrated His power—like this holy scene where the whole nation is a soldier, this grand occasion where everyone fights for the sun god, this vibrant and flourishing scene where all things compete for life. How could that ancient serpent compare to that?
"Does that ancient serpent still need to use primitive witchcraft?"

The priests immediately burst into laughter, and the somber atmosphere was quickly dispelled by their cheerful chatter.

Yes.

Regardless, they won this time, although it wasn't a complete victory, it was still a great one.

Of course, we should celebrate winning and relax our long-suppressed nerves.

But just as the priests began preparing for the banquet, ready to have some fun...

However, some discouraging news came from the front lines.

"What? You said a Sun God warrior has rebelled?" Upon hearing the messenger's report, the priests were speechless for a moment.

The Sun God warriors at the front lines have betrayed us, and there's more than one. The Sun God warriors, who were supposed to be tearing apart the Serpent Demon army, are now facing those damned traitors.

And these damned traitors are far more dangerous than the Serpent Demon army. After all, these traitors were originally warriors of the Sun God. They know very well how their former comrades acted. And now, when they turn around and use this experience to hunt down their former comrades, their efficiency is outrageously high.

"So why did they betray us?"

The priests were completely baffled, as this betrayal seemed utterly illogical.

But the battle reports from the front lines do not lie.

As messengers rushed into the temple one after another, the priests received more and more news of treason. In the battle reports from the front, the traitorous Sun God warriors either obtained incomparably powerful weapons, or obtained indestructible armor, and some even obtained unheard-of martial arts skills.

Yes, these traitors were indeed acting alone, but with their overwhelming equipment, a single one of them could easily defeat an entire squad of soldiers.

“Those traitors, those beasts who have sided with the Serpent Demon… they, they’re even killing our warriors to level up!”

The last messenger rushed into the temple and immediately collapsed onto the marble floor.

The message brought by the exhausted messenger sent shivers down the spines of the priests.

Experience and leveling up are clearly the magic weapons that the warriors of the Sun God use to defeat their enemies.

But now, this secret weapon has been used on the head of the Sun God Warrior.

"This……"

The priests immediately turned to look at Matt Perry.

Experience and level were all brought to them by the war priest in front of them. Now that this system had problems, they naturally placed all their hopes on the Spear of Sunlight.

They hoped that the Spear of Sunlight could find a way to at least reclaim the divine spells that had been cast upon the traitors, and prevent that power from falling into the hands of the Serpent Demon army.

However, Matt Perry shook his head at the expectant looks in the eyes of the priests.

"This is not the divine magic of the sun god; it is the power from the stars."

Mattepe's expression was blank.

“This is a power from another planet, a power that does not belong to this land… I am merely a priest of the sun god, and I cannot exert any influence on this power.”

"This……"

The priests were immediately covered in sweat.

It was at this moment that they remembered that when making those magical waters, the war priest seemed to have actually said something similar—but at that time they hadn't realized this, they only thought that since it was a divine spell released by Matt Peri, it must be the divine spell of the sun god.

But now, this...

"Besides, this isn't necessarily a bad thing."

As he said this, Matt Perry looked into the distance, his gaze seemingly passing through the hall to the enormous ancient serpent, as large as a mountain, in the distance.

“From the very beginning, I never intended to achieve any victory using this method.”

"What truly determines victory or defeat has always been things outside of war."

(End of this chapter)