Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 278 The Gift of the Four Gods

With the revelation that the God of Mystery was about to reap the rewards, David Day and Casalon simultaneously abandoned their interference with the spiritual field. This allowed them to directly contact their own gods, and also enabled the Pleasure God's messenger, the Shadow of Enchantress, to finally contact the God of Pleasure himself.

However, the divine message conveyed by the god of pleasure left Enchantress somewhat bewildered.

In the oracle, the God of Pleasure clearly instructed that since the God of Mystery wanted to monopolize everything on this planet, then they should simply muddy the waters—in short, they should imitate the God of Mystery's approach and directly provide assistance to the planet's natives.

Furthermore, in the oracle, the god of pleasure had already provided specific examples. For instance, the legion commander of the god of tyranny, Casaloron, directly provided these local natives with the navigation technology they desperately needed. David Day, the incarnation of the god of destruction, went even further, using unlimited food supplies to raise a group of starving people. Although the latter seemed far less effective than the former, it was clear that David Day could not have done more than that.

Therefore, as the messenger of the god of pleasure, the Shadow of Enchantress could not lag behind. It had to find a way to help these local natives and, incidentally, let them accept the influence of the god of pleasure.

"But... what can I do to help?"

Faced with the new divine oracle, the Shadow of Enchantress was completely bewildered.

If it hadn't been injured, perhaps it could have stepped forward on its own initiative—at that time, it wouldn't have needed to do anything; simply standing there would have been enough to bring joy to all the local natives.

But now, its body has already been shattered once, and it will take time to rebuild it. Right now, it doesn't even have the most basic strength, so what can it do?
However, one cannot say such things to the god of pleasure. After all, asking the god of pleasure for help would be proving one's own incompetence, and a god without ability would not need to exist.

We must think of a way, at least to demonstrate our usefulness.

So after thinking for a moment, the Shadow of Enchantress had no choice but to infiltrate the city of the local natives.

This is something only it can do. Even if its body is shattered, it can transform itself into different forms. However, some local natives would never be able to see its true form. It can go anywhere it wants.

With this in mind, the Shadow of Enchantress circled the entire city and then went to the most central area of ​​Tatunbuto, namely the Priest's Court.

The Priests' Court, which is the office of the four priests, was originally part of the Serpent God Temple. However, as the Serpent God Empire grew larger and larger, the city of Tatunbuto also grew larger and larger, and the daily affairs that needed to be handled by them also increased.

Therefore, in order to maintain the solemnity and tranquility of the temple, the four priests had no choice but to set up their offices separately next to the temple.

Such an important place would naturally be guarded, but for the Shadow of Enchantress, these mortal guards were no problem at all.

"At least for now, their security might need an upgrade."

Thinking this, Mei Zhiying transformed into a minor official carrying papyrus paper and stepped inside.

The guards did not stop it, after all, such minor officials were common in the priesthood. The Phantom Shadow, mixed in with the crowd, easily met the so-called four priests.

They looked like four ordinary people, or even more exhausted than ordinary people. Judging from their hunched figures and the faint traces of white hair, these four people were clearly exhausted and almost at the end of their lives.

"Perhaps they need some younger, more energetic managers... or simply some ways to prolong their lives."

Meizhiying silently noted down these potential needs.

Of course, in Mei Zhiying's opinion, the best way is to combine work and rest, and use sufficient enjoyment and rest to allow the body and soul to recover from fatigue. However, it is obvious that these local natives will not listen to this - perhaps this is also a characteristic of these natives, they seem to be working all the time and never have a moment of enjoyment.

"However, this is a common problem of barbaric civilizations, especially after they have seen the splendor of the starry sea... The weak do not deserve to rest; they will only give everything to become stronger."

Thinking of this, the Shadow of Enchantress suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. Having traveled to many planets, it had witnessed quite a few civilizations, but whenever it saw a race struggling for survival, it always felt a profound sadness enveloping the entire species. Even if they risked their lives, even if they gave everything, even if they burned their souls, even if they gave their all, what was the use?
These natives are indeed chasing after them, but the other races in the Star Sea have never stopped moving forward. Even if these natives can enter the Star Sea, they will only have just touched the starting point of other civilizations.

If you can't catch up, you can't catch up; if you fall behind, you fall behind. These are not things you can do by risking your life.

"What they need may be the truth... but that's the one thing we can't give them."

Mei Zhiying shook her head and dismissed the idea. After all, it would be too cruel to make a group of natives realize that there was no hope for the future.

But it was at this moment that Ansag, one of the four priests, saw it shaking its head.

"What are you standing there for? If you have nothing to do, go get a cup of hot water."

Clearly, even the leader of the four priests was unable to see through the Phantom's disguise.

This proves once again that the natives' level is really too low. Although it is true that the natives are too strong, the gap itself is the biggest problem.

"No wonder they were lured by the God of Mystery. If I were that weak, I probably wouldn't have been able to refuse either."

With this in mind, Mei Zhiying began to make plans.

The God of Mystery offered knowledge, the God of Courage offered key technology, and the God of Life doesn't know yet, but judging from the God of Life's usual approach, it's probably an enticement related to health.

As the messenger of the god of pleasure, what can it offer?

"Then let me bring you some joy."

Thinking this, the Phantom Shadow had already vanished.

Meanwhile, Ansag waited for ages for his hot water, so he got up and poured himself a cup. But when he returned with the hot water, he suddenly noticed a small animal sitting on his seat.

It looked like a small leopard, but unlike a leopard, this animal had pointed ears.

"……Meow?"

After staring at Ansag for a moment, the unfamiliar animal made a sound it had never heard before.

"This is……"

Ansag instinctively reached out his palm to the unfamiliar animal, but the small leopard-like creature showed no fear. Instead of being attacked, Ansag felt a furry sensation in his palm.

It was this strange animal that was rubbing against his hand, and it was even making purring noises.

"It seems...not bad?"

Ansag tried stroking the fur of the unfamiliar animal; the soft touch even made him feel much more relaxed.

(End of this chapter)