Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

Yes, it was at this moment that they realized what they had been doing all this time—the level and experience of the God of Courage, even with the influence of the God of Wisdom, still needed time to develop, and it was impossible for those trash collectors to become so strong in such a short period of time.

But with the immortality granted by the ancient serpent, things might be different.

Even death can accumulate experience, something that many of the chosen warriors never even considered. After all, in their minds, battle was something that required risking one's life—in other words, once you die, you die and you lose everything.

But now...

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

The chosen champion couldn't help but turn to look at Elias.

But immediately, this chosen champion slapped himself in the face.

That's nonsense. What would have been the point of saying it earlier? Even if I had said it earlier, they wouldn't have listened anyway. After all, they are the chosen champions, not a bunch of fools. How could they not understand why Elias kept quiet?

Previously, they were all greedy for the experience of those garbage collectors, and even if Elias really explained the consequences, they would not listen to him.

Only when they truly realize the gravity of the situation, as it is now, will they have the idea of ​​doing something.

Fortunately, it's not too late.

It was at this moment that Elias spoke again.

"Next time, don't be lazy. Just use the rune sword to damage their souls. If possible, destroy their souls so that they have no chance of resurrection. Don't forget what we were originally here to do."

Upon hearing this, all the chosen champions nodded in agreement.

That's true. They all remembered that the reason they chose to start the war was because these local natives had been influenced by the god of wisdom, so they wanted to kill them all before they went completely mad.

However, because they were previously engrossed in grinding experience points, they had put this matter out of their minds. They felt that killing could be put on hold and that they should focus on leveling up first.

But now...

"kill!"

The broad blade cleaved through the tattered leather armor, and also through the thin body beneath it.

The crimson runes flashing on the blade were tinged with blood, and the chosen champions could vaguely hear the wails of the dead beneath the sword.

"That should be enough."

This time, the chosen champions didn't even leave behind any corpses; instead, they simply destroyed all the bodies to eliminate any trace of them, leaving these junkyardrs no chance of resurrection.

As it turned out, they were indeed experienced enough; these junkies in their eyes, who were actually members of the Blood Chapter, were not able to be resurrected this time.

"This time, it's really impossible."

Sensing the resentment emanating from those broken souls, the four priests couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.

During this time, they all witnessed firsthand just how insane this bloodthirsty fighting group, which was originally seen as a joke, had truly succeeded in washing away their shame with blood, and time and time again they had demonstrated their loyalty with their lives.

But who could have imagined that this time, they would actually pay with their lives?

To be resurrected, one must at least have a complete soul and the original body. But now, the souls of these warriors are shattered, and their bodies have been completely destroyed.

Clearly, using normal resurrection methods, it is impossible for them to come back to life again.

"so……"

It was at this moment that Ban, the most taciturn of the four priests, slowly spoke.

"There are some less conventional ways to revive someone, would you like to try them?"

Chapter 244: An Unexpected Path

Unconventional methods of resurrection are something the four priests have been researching recently.

As for the initial motivation for the research, it was naturally due to the flaws in the resurrection technology itself—a complete corpse is required for resurrection, which is too much of a limitation. It should be noted that many people die because their bodies are not complete.

For example, the Chosen Warriors who suddenly went out to challenge the Chosen Champions half a month ago and were hacked to pieces. Although many of their bodies could be pieced back together, many of them were missing their heads.

Even if you're missing your head, what should you do if you still want to live a second life?

It was precisely because of this problem that the four priests had to start thinking about solutions. After all, the current situation was still manageable; the only ones who couldn't be resurrected were the warriors of the Blood Chapter. If one day they couldn't live a second life, they might become the core designers of some key project...

They were somewhat afraid to think about the terrible consequences.

"There is a way, why not just turn them into babies and reborn?"

This was a method proposed by Melk of Libra, one of the four priests. It sounded quite reliable, and this cycle of life and death did indeed coincide with the power that the Serpent God currently controlled.

However, this seemingly reliable method has been met with skepticism.

"Even if a baby is born and learns to speak immediately, how many years will it take before they learn to walk and move normally?"

The one who uttered these words was Sathek the Greatsword. Possessing the divinely bestowed blade, he instinctively applied the mindset of a warrior—after all, many things are indeed like this; even if it's not combat but manual labor, a sufficiently strong physique is required to sustain it.

Starting from infancy and rebuilding takes at least a decade or more, which is far too long.

"It's not that your method won't work, but we need to have other methods. We need ways to allow the deceased to live a second life even without a body, and at least be able to perform the most basic normal functions."

After hearing what he said, the other three priests had to admit that Sathek the Greatsword made a lot of sense, but how to put it into practice was much more difficult than the previous one.

So they simply gathered together the immortals from all walks of life to try to come up with a solution.

This was originally just an experiment, but who could have imagined that those immortals would actually come up with a solution?

"This isn't my method; it's the work of the previous carpenter sage... Can I mention his name?"

After glancing at everyone present and receiving a definite answer, Beskey took out a roll of papyrus and began to draw on the spot.

"Although the carpenter Nutba met with an accident in the end, some of the designs he left behind are still quite reasonable..."

As Beske drew, a huge wooden machine appeared on the blueprints.

Satek the Greatsword was the first to recognize the thing on the blueprint, after all, it was the thing he had cleaved in two with a single blow—it was clearly the shape of a chariot, except that this chariot could stand up like a person.

After Beskey made some minor modifications to the graphics, the originally upright chariot gradually transformed into a heavy suit of armor.

"It doesn't have to be hollow; it can be solid too. And it doesn't have to be made of wood; other materials can be used as well."

After finishing a few drafts, Beskey put down his pen.

"As long as they look like humans, it's fine; they don't have to look like humans either. The point is to provide a temporary place for souls to reside, and it won't even prevent them from becoming flesh and blood again."

At this point, Beskey paused.

"The only problem is probably how to put the soul in it; I don't know anything about that."

As a carpenter fairy, Beskae certainly didn't understand the soul well enough, but the four priests, after performing many resurrection rituals, had gained a relatively deep understanding of the soul—and after exchanging glances, they confirmed that this method seemed to be feasible.

"But it can't be used for too long, nor can it be too bizarre. After all, the serpent god also said that the body determines the shape of the soul."

After a brief discussion, the four priests agreed on this provisional solution.

And now, these members of the Blood Warband have become the first batch of test subjects.

Even the most suitable group of test subjects.

Their souls were already damaged, and now that they were put back into humanoid bodies, there might be a chance to repair them. Besides, they didn't care whether the bodies were made of flesh or not. After all, for the Blood Donation Corps at present, it would be good enough to live a second life.

So, under the direction of the four priests, hundreds of iron golems that had been lying on the ground stood up.

Yes, this was the first prototype body. For the sake of sturdiness, the four priests simply had someone forge a solid body out of steel. Although the weight was indeed a bit excessive, it was certainly durable enough.

And the souls of those warriors were placed in the chests of these steel-clad bodies.

This was also for ease of manipulation. They had considered whether placing it on the head would be better, but obviously, compared to the chest, the head is farther from the limbs, which means that the manipulation of the body would be somewhat delayed.

"But... what happened?"

The first legion commander of the Blood Warband, who was also the first law enforcement officer to step forward, tried his best to clench his fist.

"My body... feels so heavy."

"It's normal for it to be heavy, after all, it's all steel."

Sarthaker the Giant's eyes were filled with anticipation.

"Shall we take a walk and see?"

The steel golems all tried to take a couple of steps, and then they all collapsed to the ground.

Clearly, the first attempt failed. The reason was simple: although the steel bodies carried the souls of the warriors, the power that the souls provided to their consciousness was not enough for them to drive these steel bodies.

Simply put, it means the consciousness is too weak to move.

"This……"

The first attempt failed, which was a huge blow to the four priests, so they had to resort to their backup methods.

Those were a batch of clay bodies, which, being hollow, were even lighter than wood. Of course, due to their structure and material, these clay bodies were also quite fragile, and could even be said to shatter at the slightest touch.

But the warriors of the Blood Warband seemed quite satisfied; at least, judging from their agile movements, they were virtually indistinguishable from real human bodies.

"Is this really okay?"

The four priests were still immersed in the feeling of failure, and they were still thinking about how to create better bodies to carry the souls, so they didn't take these terracotta figures too seriously.

The newly acquired Blood Warband warriors, having just received their new bodies, were already eagerly rushing onto the battlefield.

Chapter 245 The Road to Evolution

In the past, these warriors of the Blood Chapter would not have wanted to directly fight the Chosen Champions, naturally because they didn't want the opponents to gain experience.

So they didn't actually go into battle until their battle record was fully honed. At that time, they were all convinced that they were qualified to fight against these chosen champions—at least in their own eyes, they had considerable strength and were ready to go out and fight.

Then they were naturally taught a lesson. The absolute gap in strength could not be made up for by last-minute cramming training. All the soldiers were killed on the spot, and they became the experience of those chosen champions.

This left them extremely remorseful even after death. Their self-hatred was so profound that they never imagined that, despite their thorough preparations, they would still have aided the enemy.

However, it was precisely because of this complete defeat that these soldiers became more determined in their beliefs.

"Since we've already delivered it once, we can always deliver it a second time!"

At that moment, the soldiers decided to give up entirely.

After this battle, they all realized that since there was a gap between them anyway, they might as well fight these chosen champions. Indeed, these chosen champions could improve through fighting, but couldn't they also improve through fighting?

If this battle is seen as a competition, then death is not their end; they can keep running, and keep running forever.

Until they truly catch up to the level of those chosen champions, until they truly have the ability to harm these terrifyingly powerful beings.

However, just as their skills reached their peak in battle after battle, and they even managed to defeat a chosen champion, those chosen champions eventually revealed more of their trump cards.

When the body is torn apart and the soul is destroyed, the extreme pain that pierces to the heavens makes it impossible for them to think normally anymore.

Slaughter has become the only cure.

This time, they really started to give up entirely.

One warrior after another charged forward, only to be cleaved into countless pieces by those two-handed greatswords, as if breaking pottery—their current bodies were even more fragile than when they were made of flesh and blood, and even the slightest bump would cause large cracks to appear.

"what?"

The chosen champions were also quite puzzled. Suddenly, a group of terracotta warriors attacked. The main thing was that, apart from their fragile bodies, these terracotta warriors were actually quite powerful in combat.

However, they didn't take these terracotta figures too seriously, since they were too fragile and would shatter into pieces with the slightest bump, making them practically useless in combat.

"It looks like some kind of strange golem... Did the god of wisdom even teach them something like this?"

Golems, or humanoid constructs, are considered symbols of advanced technology in many primitive civilizations, but they are quite common in the Star Sea. After all, the technology behind them is not actually that complicated; it simply uses a consciousness aggregate, similar to a soul, to make a humanoid mechanical structure move on its own.

Of course, given the God of Wisdom's consistent style, this is definitely not some proper golem, and what's inside is probably not some kind of aggregated consciousness like a soul, but more likely some real soul...

"……Um?"

Thinking about this, the chosen champions suddenly realized that something was wrong.

On one hand, the thoughts that popped into their minds made them realize that something was wrong; on the other hand, it was because another group of terracotta warriors was rushing towards them from afar—and the way they were rushing towards them was exactly the same as the terracotta warriors from before.

"you……"

Before these chosen champions could say anything, they were already drawn into a new battle.

The entire battle was still relatively easy; they easily shattered the bodies of these terracotta warriors—but this time, before they could even think, they saw a new batch of terracotta warriors rushing out from the distant city.

The way the terracotta warriors wielded their bronze short swords was so familiar that it reminded the chosen champions of some warriors who had already been chopped into pieces.

If it's those people...

"not good!"

The warning had barely been spoken when the terracotta army surged forward once more.