Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

The fire has gradually died down, and the king is nowhere to be seen.

This is a true reflection of the city of Ignis today. The once-deep palace has long been shattered in the chaos of war, and the old throne no longer bears the shadow of the king. After losing the king, even the original calendar has become chaotic.

Earlier, people used the calendar of the thirty-sixth chief to mark the years, but with the death of David Day and the frequent wars, people gradually lost their ability to remember which year it was.

However, this kind of thing isn't that important. After all, no one cares about it right now. The former royal family and the remaining frozen giants are both fighting hard and trying to fill their stomachs. Those mountain people who abandoned their homeland are all training hard and honing their combat strength.

For a time, this place, which was originally rife with war, ushered in a brief period of peace.

This is why the new leader elected by the royal families, the mage named Akakage, was once called the Holy King, and people believed that he brought peace—but only Akakage himself knew that the so-called peace was just because too many people had died and no one had anything to eat.

When everything is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt, people must seize the time to resume production, at least to ensure they have food to eat, so naturally there is no time to fight.

"But things might change after I leave."

Years later, the now elderly Red Shadow spoke these words to the new generation of Ignivas.

Yes, the term "Ignis" no longer exists. After all, the symbol of the Ignis people, the city of Ignis, has been destroyed. The only ones still following the Crimson Shadow are the descendants of those magicians from back then; they are all members of the Ignis family.

Upon seeing these descendants, Chi Ying even experienced a moment of disorientation.

In the history of his tribe, he had learned that Ignis was once just a small village of about a hundred people. It was only through gradual development that it became such a large city. Now, everything seemed to have returned to its starting point. After a period of war, the people of Ignis seemed to have returned to their original state.

"So... if possible, leave this place, like our ancestors."

In his final moments, Akakage gave these younger generations his final instructions.

“Go elsewhere and rebuild our city… Our ancestors could do it, and so can we. Don’t stay here any longer. Fighting those Ice People is pointless. Even if you want to reclaim your homeland, you must first strengthen yourselves.”

As the Holy King was about to breathe his last, his descendants wept bitterly.

There was one person who didn't cry along with them.

When he saw that figure, Chi Ying's pupils suddenly contracted, because the figure was so familiar that it even evoked memories of his youth—something from a very, very long time ago, dating back to when he first met the serpent god.

A deserter also met the serpent god with him.

"You, how did you..."

Akakage subconsciously raised his head.

"How come you still look so young? I'm already so old..."

"Because I haven't worked as hard as you."

Among the crowd, the former deserter sighed.

"Life in the mountains is simple; you don't have to think too much. You just need to exercise every day, so you'll stay healthy... It's just that when I heard you were going to die, I remembered what happened back then, so I came down the mountain to see you."

"you……"

It was at this moment that Akakage suddenly realized that even though there was a distance between them, the deserter's words could be clearly heard by him.

God knows how they did it; such an amazing ability is simply unheard of.

"Is this what you learned in the mountains? Did the snake god teach you?"

“He does not allow us to worship Him as a god, so we now call Him the ancestor of the Way.”

The former deserter looked at the crimson figure on the sickbed.

"This is the power of the Dao. As long as you follow the guidance of the Dao Ancestor and practice your own path, you can obtain all kinds of incredible power."

"This……"

Chi Ying was speechless for a long time.

It's truly unbelievable.

Just like now, even though he was surrounded by Ignivas who were weeping because he was about to die, it seemed as if only he and the deserter were communicating.

This magical ability is completely different from the magic of the Ignivas.

Or perhaps, this is what truly deserves to be called magic.

"That's amazing, truly amazing."

Chiying sighed.

If he hadn't coveted the status of the Holy King back then, if he had chosen to stay in the mountains... would everything have been different?

Now, he has truly become a Holy King. Although there will no longer be the spotlight of the masses, and although he himself feels that being a Holy King is not so great, he has ultimately achieved his wish.

"For the sake of what happened back then... I know there was some friction between us back then, but for the sake of our old acquaintance, please do me a favor."

"That's what Akakage said."

“Look after these descendants for me, at least leave them a way to survive… They will leave here and migrate to more distant places, just like the ancestors of the Ignis.”

"As for those who don't want to leave, please persuade them. Staying here is pointless for them; they'll only die in pointless battles."

"You're also from Ignis, lend them a hand."

……

After a moment of silence, the deserter from back then shook his head.

“I am no longer an Ignis, none of us are Ignis… all those who fled into the mountains, we are no longer Ignis.”

“We now have a new name; you can call us, the people of the mountains.”

“We live in seclusion in the deep mountains, following the guidance of the ancestor of the Tao and practicing our own path. The affairs of the outside world are none of our business, and we will not participate in the conflicts outside. So, I probably can’t help you with what you’re talking about.”

……

The elderly Red Shadow remained silent, simply gazing at this once-familiar person.

Over the years, he has had friends and relatives, but those close friends and relatives have long since died or passed away.

Right now, this deserter, whom he once regarded as an opponent, is truly the only acquaintance he has left.

"For the sake of us being Ignisians."

In his final moments, the aged Red Shadow left behind his last words.

This made the deserter sigh.

"I knew I shouldn't have come down the mountain."

That's what the deserter said.

Chapter 57 The Familiar Village Returns

Given the reclusive nature of those living in the mountains, they should have no interaction with people outside the mountains.

But it was because of that deserter's trip down the mountain that the two sides, who should not have crossed paths, began to have contact. Although the deserter used the secret technique he had comprehended when he spoke to Akakage, Akakage himself did not use any encryption when he spoke.

This directly resulted in all the Ignivas present hearing Red Shadow's last words.

It was at this moment that they discovered there was another mysterious stranger hiding in the crowd, and judging from the tone of Chi Ying's last words, this mysterious person was clearly of the same generation as Chi Ying.

But just as they were about to detain the mysterious man and ask him a few more questions, the figure suddenly vanished.

It was as if they had never existed.

"You...you all saw it, right?"

After a moment of silence, someone couldn't help but speak up.

Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately nodded in agreement, which further confirmed their belief that there was definitely someone standing there just now—after all, if only one person saw it, it might be considered an illusion, but now that so many people had seen it, it was definitely not a hallucination.

"But our Holy King has already died of old age... how come he is still so young?"

Recalling the face they had just seen, the Ignivas became increasingly confused. On one side was a young, mysterious man, and on the other was the Holy King who had died of old age. The contrast between the two was utterly absurd.

"Perhaps it really is just a hallucination."

That's what they were thinking.

They then temporarily forgot about the little incident and continued with their own business.

After all, now is not the time to worry about such trivial matters. The more important thing is to get the new leader to take over as soon as possible. As for the candidate for the new leader, he had already chosen one before Akakage died. Since Akakage never married, he had no children. The one who succeeded him as leader was his most capable apprentice.

Out of respect for Akakage, the apprentice did not use his own name, but instead inherited Akakage's title, using the name "Second Generation Akakage".

After inheriting the position of leader, the second Akakage followed the Holy King's last wish and prepared to lead the remaining people of his clan to migrate to the distant south.

However, not all members of the tribe were willing to leave.

"The late Holy King said before his death that the current peace is only temporary. Once the food needs are met and the giants regain their strength, they will attack again, and the war will continue... Rather than wasting our lives in this meaningless battle, it is better to go to a distant place, like our ancestors, to establish our own city-state and accumulate our own strength."

The Second Akakage persuaded those clansmen who did not want to leave.

But these words had no effect, since he was simply repeating the judgment of the First Akakage—the First Akakage had said something similar before, but those who didn't want to leave still didn't want to leave.

Ultimately, Ignis City is still the most suitable place to live, as for leaving...

Where can they go?

The permafrost in the north?

That's the giants' homeland. If they just migrate there, the giants will probably start a war with them on the spot.

The sea to the east?

Then there's even less to say. Unless they can breathe underwater, going to sea to feed the fish will be their only fate.

Needless to say, the west is the direction of the Holy Mountain. Although the Ignis people have always worshipped the Serpent God, it's hard to say about the Ignis family. Even though they, as the younger generation, have not personally experienced the crusade against the Serpent God, as descendants of rebels, they dare not go in the direction of the Holy Mountain.

This means that the only place they can go is to the south.

In other words, a miasma swamp.

"It's called a miasma swamp, but it's more accurate to call it a miasma jungle... Although the environment there is indeed harsh, trees can survive, alligators can survive, so why can't we?"

The Second Akakage used these words to encourage his clansmen.

Then the Ignivas began their expedition.

As it turned out, the expedition was much easier than they had anticipated. After all, as members of the Ignivas family, each of them could cast spells. With a clap of their hands, they could unleash a fireball that would blast even the most powerful alligator dragon to pieces.

As for the environment, that's even easier to say. Burning with flames is always the best way to clear the area. Once the intense flames have burned through, all poisonous insects and rodents will disappear without a trace.

However, just as they were about to establish their new home, the number of people who had migrated there began to decline.

It was a symptom like an epidemic. Once it started, one would inexplicably begin to have difficulty breathing, and even in hot weather, one would be unable to sweat. The reason it was described as being like an epidemic was because it was not an epidemic at all, and even the best shaman in the tribe was helpless against it.

It's almost like an invisible curse.

As time went by, more and more people began to feel unwell, unable to sweat properly, and even developed sores on their bodies. Some even said that this was divine punishment, a curse imposed on them by the gods after they had angered them.

"What curse! How could there be any curse! If the gods really wanted us dead, wouldn't it be simpler to just kill us?"

The Second Akakage used these words to inspire everyone.

But he was also quite uneasy.

After all, he had never seen such a situation before. Heaven knows what they had encountered. That invisible and formless force was slowly but steadily killing everyone.

"There must be a solution... there definitely will be, just like where snakes are found, there are often antidotes."

Recalling the proverbs about the serpent god that circulated among the Ignis, the Second Akakage tried to strengthen his resolve.

Fortunately, it turns out that this proverb is true.

He actually found spices nearby that could fight the disease.

However, it was more like poison than spice, since his entire mouth began to feel numb and painful when he first ate the red fruit—but it was under this torment that his forehead began to sweat for the first time in a long time.

"This thing seems to work!"

Realizing this, he immediately ordered his people to collect a fruit called "pepper," and after adding these fruits to their diet, the number of casualties among his people quickly decreased.

It was precisely because of the change in their eating habits that these Ignivas people, who came from afar, were able to gain a foothold in this hot jungle.

The second Akakage was no longer just the successor to Akakage, but was truly respected as a leader.

Like their ancestors, they rebuilt the village, as well as their pastures and farms, and the planning of the city began to take shape.

However, people always get old.

Before the new castle was even completed, the second Akakage had already entered his twilight years.

Chapter 58 Forever Young