Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

"How dare they throw mud at me... Where is he?"

"Here..."

The young Ignis pointed to the enormous serpent body before him.

Or perhaps, beneath the massive serpent's body.

It was at this moment that Du Yi remembered that he seemed to have stepped on something, but he had forgotten about it because he was distracted while talking.

When Du Yi withdrew, the enormous humanoid figure, larger than a dozen mammoths combined, had been completely flattened and sunk into the ground.

"Oh no, how did he die?"

"That beast should have died long ago!"

At that moment, some Ignis people who had come to their senses pointed at the huge humanoid figure that had been crushed on the ground and began to curse.

"So the Harvest Festival was all a lie all along. So those offerings were never actually sent to the Holy Mountain. This beast... Great Serpent God, do you really want this beast to live?"

"First of all, I'm not some snake god, and secondly... even if he dies, he shouldn't just die like that."

Du Yi casually replied.

Yes, even if he dies, he can't just die like this. This so-called King Ignis, who has been using his name to smear him for so long, is now dying quietly. That would be too easy.

We need to grind it a few more times, otherwise it would be a disservice to him for carrying the blame for so long.

"Speaking of which, this Ignivas family still owes me a pot. The Radiant Ones promised me that back then, but they still haven't done it..."

While reminiscing about the past, Du Yi extended his tail tip and began to dig at the ground, trying to pry the enormous humanoid figure out of the ground so that he could crush it a few more times.

However, after scratching it a few times, he only managed to peel off a single layer of skin.

Or rather, the enormous humanoid figure currently lying on the ground is clearly just a skin.

But beneath this large piece of skin lies a huge underground cave.

The cave was filled with blood.

Clearly, the king of the Ignis did not die in the crushing just now.

Instead, they dug a tunnel and escaped without a sound.

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...

"It does make sense."

Chiying 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."

Chapter 35 It's really hard to come up with a name

In the distant sacred mountain, Du Yi was carrying out a thorough cleaning operation.

After all, compared to the king who could be easily crushed, the excrement covering the mountains and fields was the most important thing right now. This was his dwelling place, his living environment, and it wasn't even too far from where he rested and slept. If this smell continued, he probably wouldn't be able to get a good night's sleep anymore.

Fortunately, he's not working alone right now.

Without hands or feet, he found this delicate work quite troublesome, but the Ignis people were very quick and efficient—in just half a day, all the excrement that had been turned over was swept away and piled up in the orchard halfway up the mountain.

It was at this moment that Du Yi discovered that these Ignis people had actually planted quite a few fruit trees.

"We can definitely get more of these. These berries look to be of good quality. I'll even order some from you later... By the way, how do you manage to make these fruit trees grow so well?"

The savage who knew him gave a detailed answer, which made Du Yi regret asking the question.

The reason for their vigorous growth was actually their own excrement. Although Du Yi could roughly understand that this could be considered a kind of fertilizer, he still lost his appetite for these fruits and vegetables when he thought of the strange smell he had smelled before.

However, he also allowed these Ignis people to dig up the dung in the deep mountains, since it was meaningless to him but was indeed useful for planting.

"But make sure there are as few people as possible, and make sure to arrange a date beforehand."

Du Yi made a three-point agreement with these Ignis people.

In addition, he made some other agreements with these Ignis people, such as not going to the place where he slept, and not looting all the produce in the mountains. As the representative chosen by the Ignis people, this young Ignis person also stated that they would only settle outside the sacred mountain, just like their ancestors thousands of years ago.

"We just need a place where we can survive, and we won't offend the gods."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the young Ignis humbly lowered his head.

But this action made Du Yi shake his head repeatedly.

"This is also the last thing I want to say: don't treat me like some kind of god."

Facing the devout gazes of the Ignis people, Du Yi spoke in the Ignis language.

“I have no interest in your worship or your offerings. I said the same thing to your ancestors, the ones you call the Radiant Ones, and now I say it to you again.”

……

Upon hearing this, everyone in Ignis present was stunned.

The fact that the great serpent god, who only existed in legends, actually appeared and even saved everyone's lives at the critical moment was an exciting thing.

However, the serpent god refused their offerings and even their faith.

"……Why?"

One of the Ignis couldn't help but ask.

"Great serpent god, why do you not accept our offerings? Why do you not accept our faith? If we cannot even believe in you, then what should we believe in?"