Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 34 We Will Be Back
East of the Holy Mountain, in the city of Ignis, deep within the palace.

Under the command of the high-ranking mage Sardok, Crimson Shadow was busily packing things up. From honey reserved for royalty to various smoked meats and precious handicrafts, everything was taken out of the cellar and loaded onto the cart.

Not far away, there were even more high-ranking mages directing their apprentices to do the same thing.

The more they loaded the trucks, the more terrified Chi Ying became. Just looking at the several large trucks full of supplies in front of him, and the large food items in the cellar that were too bulky to carry... this was completely different from what their mentor, Sadok, and their king had told them.

There are clearly large quantities of supplies still stockpiled in the city of Ignis, and even in the deep palace.

"……tutor."

Taking a deep breath, Akakage finally couldn't help but voice his doubts.

"If we give all these things to that living god... wouldn't His chances of winning be even greater?"

"Don't talk nonsense. You said it yourself, that's a living god. Of course, He wants sacrifices."

As he watched the supplies being loaded onto the truck, Instructor Sadok remained expressionless.

"Are these offerings? These are my accumulated wealth over the years! And you want me to give them to him... Why should I give these precious resources to someone who is destined to lose?"

"Defeat is inevitable?"

Chi Ying was completely dumbfounded. Was this still the same Sadok mentor he knew, who was loyal to the king?

"But you were supporting Him before..."

"Why not support Him? Without supporting Him, how could we have accumulated so much wealth?"

At this point, the high-ranking mage Sadok shook his head repeatedly.

"Now that He has willingly gone to his death, we should hurry up and leave too... The savings we have are the foundation for us to live in a new place. Before we leave the city, remember to take a few more Ignis people with you. Once we find a good place to live, let those Ignis people reproduce freely."

“A few generations later, I can also start a new Ignivas family.”

"I, too, can become the new king."

……

Red Shadow keenly caught the details in Mentor Sadok's words.

It's me, not us.

In other words, the mentor Sadok never even considered giving him anything. In Sadok's eyes, his existence was probably no different from those Ignis who were about to be taken away.

Even like the goods on the truck.

His apprenticeship was also part of Sadok's accumulated knowledge and skills.

"Alright, stop standing there and let's go. If we don't leave now, our current human god might already be killed by the snake god."

It was at this moment that Sadok's mentor's voice rang out once again.

"Don't have any doubts. Think about it carefully and you'll understand. Even if He can become a god, he will only be a newly ascended god. But that snake god became a god hundreds of years ago... no, even thousands of years ago."

"The gap between the two sides is so large, how could it possibly be bridged in such a short time?"

"His only chance was when the serpent god had just awakened. Only by seizing that one and only opportunity could he possibly succeed... As for the so-called path to godhood that followed, it was nothing but his own delusion."

"Everyone knows that once that one and only chance is lost, He can no longer succeed."

"Except for Himself."

……

Red Shadow never imagined that all the remaining high-ranking mages, these usually loyal mentors, would actually disbelieve that their king could truly become a god.

But he had to admit that what his mentor, Sadok, had said...

“That makes sense.” Akakage sighed.

If he had known that his mentor, Sadok, also thought that the serpent god would win, why would he have bothered to pretend to be so loyal?

"It does make sense."

Just as Akakage was about to reveal some of his true abilities to his mentor Sadok in an attempt to persuade him to release him,...

But a thunderous sound rang out in mid-air.

As the words fell, crimson blood dripped from mid-air.

The familiar voice made Akakage subconsciously raise his head.

This also caused the instructor, Sadok, and the group of high-ranking mages to break out in a cold sweat instantly.

But facing the terrified mages, the enormous, blood-covered humanoid simply smiled.

"What you say makes sense... but why didn't you say so sooner?"

"Great, rising sun, you have returned."

Faced with those gleaming, sharp teeth, Instructor Sadok managed to force a smile.

"These are the supplies we painstakingly collected, just waiting for you to come back and enjoy them..."

Before Mentor Sadok could finish speaking, the enormous, skinless hand had already grabbed one of the large vehicles.

After carefully examining the supplies on board, the huge, blood-covered humanoid figure remained silent for a moment before slowly nodding.

"enough."

"...?"

All the mages raised their heads.

Enough of what? What are you talking about? Are you referring to these supplies?

Although there are a lot of supplies, given the severity of their injuries, even if all of these supplies were used, it probably wouldn't be enough to restore much of their health.

Besides, even if it could be restored, what then?

His return from another severe injury proves that their current human god is truly no match for the serpent god within the sacred mountain.

“Indeed, you are right. Perhaps I alone would not be able to defeat that snake.”

To everyone's surprise, the enormous, blood-covered shadow did not get angry, but gently put the cart back on the ground.

"Only one god can defeat a god."

"Another god...another god?"

A high-ranking mage suddenly looked up as if he had just realized something.

"what do you mean……"

"Let's go, that snake should be catching up soon."

As he said this, the enormous, blood-covered shadow turned its head and looked into the distance.

That's the direction of the northern permafrost.

"Get to the front lines as fast as you can, we're going to the giants' side... Those giants are from a harsh, cold land, they've never seen anything good, these supplies should be enough to bribe them."

"When the cold winter arrives, the best season for the frozen giants, we will bring them back, bring back their gods... We will kill the serpent, we will kill the traitors, and we will rebuild the dynasty of the Ignivas family."

(End of this chapter)