Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 41: A scheme was set up.

Days passed by like this, dozens of days and nights went by in the blink of an eye.

At midnight, most of the Ignis people, exhausted from a day's work, would huddle in their shacks, gazing at the stars in the sky—although, in principle, they should be sleeping, they still wanted to stay up a little later and stay awake a bit longer.

After all, during the day, their time, their energy, and even their entire being belong to those people from the Ice Plains.

Only in the stillness of the night, when the people of the Ice Plains have rested, do they have a brief moment that truly belongs to themselves.

They didn't chat among themselves, and the overseers didn't allow them to huddle together. If two Ignis people ever got together to say anything, the former royalty would lash out with their whips without mercy—this wasn't even a demand from the giants, but merely a spontaneous act by the royalty themselves.

The long period of silence had even caused their language skills to deteriorate, but this prolonged torment only made them miss the days when the serpent god was still around.

At least for that time, they briefly had everything.

However, their good fortune was short-lived. They hadn't enjoyed it for long when the giants from the north attacked, and everything they possessed was taken away by these giants. All that remained for them from that time were some beautiful memories and the words of wisdom left to them by the Ancestor of the Way.

You need to find what you want to do, find your own path...

Even if we find it, what then?

Those Ignis who gazed at the stars shared similar sentiments at that moment.

Indeed, unlike before, they are now clearly aware of what they want—they want to gain power, to acquire combat strength, to defeat these Ice People, and to regain the possibility of controlling their own destiny.

But what good would it do to think of something like that?
Thinking about it doesn't mean you can do it. Even if they want to become stronger, they have no chance—after all, becoming stronger boils down to three things: plenty of food, enough rest, and equally plenty of training.

But now, they can't do any of these three things.

They had to work all day, which left them no time to train themselves. As for food, the overseers left them just enough to keep them from starving.

As for rest, there's not much to say. Just by looking at how they don't sleep at night, you can tell they're definitely not getting enough rest.

"The road is right in front of us, but we can't walk on it!"

This caused the Ignis people immense pain and even remorse.

It was only at this moment that they remembered that they had everything before, whether it was plenty of food, sufficient rest, or a lot of free time.

But at that time, what they were thinking about was not becoming stronger or mastering combat power, but eating meat.

This not only wasted their time, but also turned them into prisoners of these ice field people.

"And now, those Ice People have taken everything away... Hmm?"

It was at this moment that some of the Ignis suddenly realized something.

Yes, when they have everything, they waste it all, and their first thought is always to eat meat.

Now, those giants even have meat to eat.

What are those giants doing?

----------

East of the Holy Mountain lies the city of Ignis.

Although the city is currently occupied by the Ice People, they have no intention of changing its name—after all, coming up with a new name is always a hassle, and besides, names are only used to distinguish things.

At present, at least in their understanding, there is only one city in the world.

That was their city. They had everything, everything they could never have imagined before: plenty to eat, warm shelter, and abundant supplies that came without them having to hunt or work.

"Perhaps this is one of the benefits of war."

That's what they were thinking.

After centuries of war, the war finally paid off, and they got what they wanted.

The people of the Ice Plains have always believed in taking everything they want with their own hands.

And now, they have everything they wanted.

then……

It seems like that was the end of it.

In the beginning, they ate and drank to their hearts' content, as if trying to fill all the hunger they had endured for years. But as the days went by, this gluttony seemed to lose its appeal.

As for the warm climate... it is indeed quite pleasant, but the humid air has begun to make some people on the ice plains feel uncomfortable. Perhaps they have been in the permafrost for too long, and many people feel that it would be more comfortable to have the biting cold wind blowing on them.

Having obtained everything did indeed bring them a brief period of happiness.

But after this brief period of happiness, there was more confusion than anything else.

"What should we do next?"

The people of the ice fields began to be confused.

It seems they don't need to do anything, whether it's labor, fighting, or even the things that used to give the Ice People a major headache, like collecting offerings for the North Wind God, seem to have become something they can do easily.

Without anything to do, one loses both goals and direction.

The people of the Ice Plains began to feel lost.

Of course, even in their confusion, they didn't forget to enjoy the present moment, but food alone could no longer bring them as much joy... So, strange noises began to rise and fall at night, disturbing the peace of the Ignis people.

However, this act of reproduction, which originates from life itself, can no longer provide any new direction after being done too much.

"Something's not right... something's not right."

As he stepped off the bed, the Icefield King Kasalorn felt his legs go weak and his waist and hips were exhausted from overwork, and suddenly frowned.

Everything was going so smoothly, and they had already obtained everything, so why is he... becoming weaker now?

"Shouldn't we be getting stronger? How can we be getting weaker?"

The thirsty Casaloran wanted to get some water, but his legs were so weak that he stumbled.

This intensified his ominous premonition.

"It's like... falling into some kind of trap."

Casalorn clenched his fist tightly.

"No! This is a trap!"

"This is a trap left for us by that snake!"

(End of this chapter)