Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

"That's right! It's them! It was all done by these poachers!"

Facing the colossal serpent, which was as large as a mountain, the mage took a deep breath and then pointed at the young Ignis beside him.

"It's these poachers! They go into the mountains and eat all the wild animals!"

"you……"

The young Ignis turned his head in astonishment, completely unexpected that this mage would preemptively accuse him.

But the moment their eyes met, he saw a chilling killing intent in the mage's eyes.

"There can only be one king in Ignis, and that king is me!"

In the depths of the mage's heart, this shout resounded loudly.

Therefore, in order to become the only holy king and to squeeze out this competitor, he would stop at nothing.

Upon realizing that the Serpent God was learning the language of Ignis, the mage felt a sense of crisis—after all, he knew that his current safety was entirely due to the young Ignis man's inability to communicate effectively with the Serpent God.

If only the serpent god could learn Ignis's language and fully understand their meaning...

"If I had known, I should have killed this brat before the Snake God left!"

At this moment, the mage only regretted why he hadn't thought of this and had missed a golden opportunity.

Fortunately, it's not too late now, and it's even safer now—if the Serpent God really has any other plans, then killing this kid himself would only incur the Serpent God's wrath.

On the contrary, by making the snake god dislike this kid directly, and then having the snake god take action himself, he himself would be relatively safe.

“Mount Holy has always been a forbidden area for the Ignis people. Except during the harvest festival when the king of the Ignis people would come down the mountain to offer sacrifices, no one else would ever go down the mountain.”

To convince the serpent god of his words, the mage even added a few more sentences.

“However, there are always some poachers who have violated the ancestral teachings of the Ignis people and the laws established by their ancestors, venturing into the mountains without permission just to hunt the precious animals there… They are offending the majesty of the gods! They must be severely punished!”

"Oh? Is that so?"

The enormous serpent opened its mouth, and although its words were clearly still somewhat stumbling, the thunderous sound was enough to make people tremble.

"You mean, his poaching?"

"Yes! He's one of those poachers!"

Seeing that the serpent god was already angry, the mage nodded repeatedly.

This is it, this is exactly what he wants, as long as the snake god kills this kid...

"It wasn't me! This pig is lying!"

The young Ignis, recovering from his shock, immediately launched into a tirade of curses.

"They let us in! He told me himself! He clearly noticed my presence, yet he still let me in..."

"Ha, then tell me, why should I let you in? What benefit would it bring me?"

The mage immediately scoffed.

This is what he was waiting for.

If this kid were to speak first and reveal some of the things he said before, he would indeed be at a disadvantage—but it's different now that he's spoken first. With a charge already leveled against him, the kid is already panicking.

It even exposed its biggest weakness.

This young Ignis is tongue-tied.

This kid is a deserter who has never received any proper education. Although he has developed some skills, they are all used for fighting. When it comes to speaking skills, he can't grasp the key points at all.

On the contrary, it was his side...

The importance of communication has been emphasized since the time of the nineteenth Holy King. As a member of the Ignivas family and a descendant of the nineteenth Holy King, even though he spends most of his time cultivating magic and eating, he still possesses at least the most basic eloquence.

“As a descendant of the nineteenth Holy King, I will become the new Holy King… so there is absolutely no way you could kill me here with just a few words.”

Thinking this, the mage spoke again.

"Speak, what other charges are you going to pin on me? You just said I let you in, are you going to say I was plotting against the gods?"

"You, you're not..."

Before he could finish speaking, the young Ignis stammered.

Even if he was slow to realize, he had already figured out that it was pointless for him to say anything at this point.

He was only a step too slow to speak, and that's how he ended up in this situation!

"I……"

The young Ignis opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to organize his words to launch a counterattack.

But his momentary hesitation was seized upon by the mage.

"What's wrong with you? Can't you speak?"

The mage looked serious.

"Are you admitting your guilt?"

"I, I, I, I..."

Faced with the mage's aggressive questioning, the young Ignis was unable to utter a single complete sentence.

But at that very moment, the young Ignis suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“I know where to find meat! This magician owns a ranch! It's right outside the Holy Mountain! He said he'd give you all the saber-toothed tigers he raises on his ranch!”

"……oh?"

At that moment, the giant snake head turned to look at the mage.

"You have a ranch?"

"……Have."

Seeing those eyes, which were even bigger than himself, turn to him, the mage immediately lowered his head, unable to look directly at them.

"Yes, I do have a ranch near the Holy Mountain, and I would be happy to offer you all those saber-toothed tigers..."

The magician felt a pang of heartache at the thought of actually offering up the saber-toothed tigers he had raised to the serpent god.

However, considering that the opportunity to become the Holy King was within reach, after a fierce internal struggle, he finally gritted his teeth and accepted it.

If only I could become the Holy King...

"...What about this kid? What should we do with this damn poacher?"

As he said this, the mage raised both hands.

"How about I do it? I'll punish this one..."

bang——

The giant tail swept across, and the mage was instantly sent flying.

"His eating meat is no big deal."

The enormous serpent opened its mouth once more.

"Dead, dead, it's unnecessary."

...Is it unnecessary?

The mage looked up in astonishment.

What do you mean by "unnecessary"? What is the serpent god thinking? How can he not even punish a sinner who has offended the dignity of the gods?

Even if you say the snake god is merciful, merciful to this extent...

"Also, remember, I said, I said, don't treat me like a god."

The giant serpent's speech was still halting, clearly indicating that it was not yet proficient in the current Ignis language.

"Then, poaching, one person, eats...eats, one person, how much can they eat?"

Upon hearing this, the mage immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Under the gaze of those vertical pupils, he felt as if his animal skin cloak had been stripped bare, and even the thoughts hidden in his heart had nowhere to hide.

He even wanted to use the snake god to get rid of this damned deserter.

It turns out that the snake god knew everything from the very beginning.

Chapter 23 Wild and Captive-Raised

Looking at the mage in front of him, who was still trembling despite being wrapped in animal skin, Du Yi couldn't help but shake his head.

Although he was initially angry when he heard that someone had stolen the animals from the mountains, Du Yi was amused when the mage said that another savage was poaching. After all, there shouldn't be any fur trade in this era; the only purpose of poaching was to eat them.

How much can one person eat? And even if there are several people, how much can they eat?

After that, the mage's words further confirmed Du Yi's judgment. Judging from the way he relentlessly pursued the other savage, he didn't give him a single chance to speak—this was clearly an attempt to make him feel hostile towards the other savage so that he would kill him with a single swipe of his tail.

If Du Yi were truly a snake, he might actually believe it. But Du Yi himself used to be a human, so how could he not see through the trickery?

This mage is indeed quite eloquent, but precisely because of this, he has gone too far.

However, Du Yi had no intention of killing the mage. He had no interest in getting involved in the feud between these savages. After all, he could see that when the savage brought the mage over, there was already a hint of ferocity in his eyes. Since the two savages had a grudge against each other, let them settle it themselves.

Du Yi was quite interested in the ranch they mentioned.

"Artificially raised..."

Du Yi couldn't help but recall a long, long time ago.

That was when he last woke up. The savage called the Radiant One was still there. After they were able to communicate smoothly, the Radiant One would often bring ingredients into the mountains. Du Yi had to admit that the ingredients the Radiant One brought into the mountains were indeed several levels higher than the wild game hunted in the mountains.

The reason, of course, is that those animals are all artificially raised.

Although Du Yi remembered that when he was still a human, people thought that eating wild animals was a good thing and that wild animals were more delicious than artificially raised ones, after comparing them now, Du Yi could say with certainty that it was not the case at all.

This is simply because wild game and artificially raised animals have evolved in completely different directions.

Wild animals prioritize survival, the ability to withstand dangerous wild environments, the ability to live, and the ability to grow continuously—in other words, wild animals don't consider whether or not they want to become palatable.

Many wild animals even deliberately make themselves unpalatable. For example, some wild boars that Du Yi found had thick, smelly tendons and skin that made Du Yi lose his appetite, and he wouldn't even include them in his diet.

This, in turn, gave the wild boars a chance to survive.

Of course, sometimes genetic mutations can occur, just like the mammoths he hunted before. Although they looked wild, they tasted much better than those raised in captivity. But such cases are extremely rare, and in Du Yi's opinion, the odds are about as small as winning the lottery.

Broadly speaking, the taste of wild game can never compare to that of farmed animals.

After all, artificial breeding and wild survival are completely different. You should know that the purpose of these wild people in setting up ranches is not to make the livestock on the ranches grow strong and healthy. From the beginning, their purpose in raising these wild animals was to make them meat when they grew up.

This means that only those that produce a lot of meat and taste good can reproduce generation after generation on the ranch. As for those that produce little meat or taste bad, they have already been eliminated by the wild people during the selection stage.

"Captive-bred saber-toothed tigers... they probably never ate this back then, right?"

Du Yi recalled that the Radiant Ones had only ever brought him mammoth meat back then, since mammoth meat was his favorite.

He had never actually eaten a saber-toothed tiger raised in captivity.

"Go and have a look."

Du Yi thought to himself.

Since this mage has a saber-toothed tiger that he raises in captivity, he won't stand on ceremony—of course, he won't actually go and freeload; he's not that kind of person.

Even if the saber-toothed tigers tasted mediocre, he would still pay for them.

"So, lead the way to see those saber-toothed tigers you're raising... I'll give you the reward you deserve, and if they taste really good, I'll even place a long-term order."

"Yes! I'll take you there right away!"

The mage immediately raised his head excitedly, his face even turning bright red.

----------

On the way away from the holy mountain, the magician's heart was filled with excitement.

Donating an entire ranch was painful for him, but the thought of the rewards he would receive made it all worthwhile.

This is because the serpent god has already promised to reward him.

This was a privilege reserved for him alone; the Snake God had only promised him payment, while the deserter received nothing.

“Only I can receive the serpent god’s blessing, and that is the reason why I am about to become the Holy King.”