Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

Why do people get old?

Seeing that his hair had turned completely white, the Second Akakage couldn't help but cover his face and sigh.

In his perception, it seemed like he had only recently brought his people to the south. After all, there were still so many things to do, so much work to be done, and even the reconstruction of the city-state was only just beginning. So why, why did he suddenly grow old at this time?

"Actually, this kind of thing is normal, isn't it..."

Beside the Second Akakage, a young Ignivas attendant was cautiously offering words of comfort to the king.

After all, there was nothing that could be done about it. The first Akakage lived too long, which meant that when the second Akakage took over, he was already middle-aged—although at the time, that was still considered a vigorous and capable age, and could even be seen as a symbol of reliability.

But looking at it now...

The Second Akakage's reign was ultimately too short.

Actually, it can't be considered too short; it's been close to thirty years. If it were back in Ignis City, thirty years would have been enough to accomplish a lot—but right now they're not in Ignis City, but in the miasma swamp to the south. Just leveling this rotten land has taken the tribesmen countless hours.

As for the timber and stone needed to build the city, that was even more difficult. It was only after leaving Ignis that they realized just how privileged their ancestors had been.

Back in Ignis, they never had to worry about materials. If they wanted stones, they could just blast them in the mountains; if they wanted wood, there were towering trees everywhere.

But right now, this miasma-filled swamp...

Finding stone was already extremely difficult. The tribesmen had been exploring for many years but had not found any place to mine stone. As for timber... it was almost as if they had none at all. Those trees that grew crookedly and were not suitable as building materials at all. They were only fit to be thrown into the fire as firewood.

Fortunately, during the fifteenth year of the reign of the Second Akakage, a mage made an unexpected discovery while burning wasteland: the mud dried by the flames was as hard as stone. Although it was a bit more brittle than stone, it was still usable as a building material.

It was on this basis that the city of Ignis became possible to be rebuilt; otherwise, given the current circumstances, they probably would never have seen the city take shape in their lifetime.

Now, things are finally starting to get better. The tribespeople have fully adapted to the hot environment and are becoming more skilled at using the surrounding materials. The city is taking shape, and everything is looking promising.

But at this very moment, the second Akakage has grown old.

Like his mentor, the Second Akakage did not marry. After all, with his workload, he didn't have much time to get married and have children. However, unlike the First Akakage, the Second Akakage didn't even have time to train apprentices. This meant that if the Second Akakage suddenly collapsed, no one would know which successor to find to continue leading the team.

Originally, the Second Akakage intended for the mage who first discovered the process of firing bricks to take on this responsibility, since the mage had indeed made a great contribution and was qualified to inherit the position.

However, the mage was unlucky; while feeding his pet alligator, he was bitten to death by the alligator.

"So...it wasn't me, was it?"

Seeing that the second-generation Akakage had fallen silent, the young guards attending him immediately began to have all sorts of wild thoughts.

Theoretically speaking, it's not entirely impossible. After all, unlike back in Ignis Castle, the position of leader is no longer solely inherited by royal descendants. Both the first and second Akakage emphasize that background doesn't matter; if you have the ability, you can take the position.

The young guard didn't know whether he was capable or not, but he was very close to becoming the second Akakage. If everyone else was capable, he would definitely be the first one to be noticed.

"If I were to become the third Akakage... I would definitely become a Holy King even greater than the first Akakage!"

At that moment, the young guard seemed to have already envisioned himself being adored by the masses.

But at that moment, the Second Akakage suddenly spoke.

Do you think... it's really possible for a person to stay young forever?

"This……"

The young guard was puzzled.

Although he didn't understand why the Second Akakage asked that question, it was clear that as long as one is human, one will grow old, and no one can escape birth, aging, sickness, and death.

The Second Akakage is the leader of the Ignivas, a wise man among wise men, he shouldn't be unaware of such a simple matter.

Or……

"Is the Second Akakage testing me?"

Realizing his current position, the young guard immediately understood what was going on.

Then, he immediately had the answer.

"To be forever young, that is, never to grow old... This is indeed a possibility. As long as a person dies young, they will never grow old, and thus will be forever young."

"Get out."

His response was a tirade from the Second Akakage.

The young guard was also puzzled as to why the Second Akakage had suddenly become so angry.

Perhaps only the Second Akakage himself knew the little thoughts in his heart. There were so many things he hadn't done yet, and he didn't want to die like this. So, any words related to death would inexplicably ignite his anger.

not to mention……

"I saw it with my own eyes."

The second-generation Akakage, sitting on the throne, vaguely recalled his youth.

That was when he had just become the second-generation Akakage, and also the day his mentor, the previous Akakage, passed away. He remembered it very clearly; he had indeed seen a young man.

According to his mentor's last words, that young man was a contemporary of his mentor, the first Akakage.

In a sense, that truly means being forever young.

"If I could be like him... no, I don't even need to be that young. I just need to be thirty years younger, or even twenty years younger, or even just ten years younger, and I could accomplish so much!"

Thinking of this, the Second Akakage took a deep breath and then called back the guard he had previously expelled.

"I have a task for you."

The Second Akakage said this.

"Return to our sacred mountain as quickly as possible."

"That is, the place where the serpent god lives."

Chapter 59 All the way north

Bearing the entrustment of the second Akakage, the young guard embarked on his journey home.

Despite calling it his hometown, this young guard didn't really know much about the city of Ignis or the Holy Mountain. He was born after the Ignis people migrated south, and he only heard about the past glories and the legendary serpent god from the occasional casual conversations of the older generation.

According to the older generation, the king of the Ignis was a tyrannical and incompetent ruler who not only disrespected the serpent god but also, after his defeat, allowed the giants of the frozen earth to invade the city—and now, the land that originally belonged to them is occupied by the giants of the frozen earth.

"Although the first Crimson Shadow had temporarily made a ceasefire agreement with those giants before the tribesmen went south, so much time has passed now that those giants may not necessarily keep their original oath."

He still remembered the Second Akakage giving him these instructions before he left.

However, this was not a big deal for him. As the bodyguard of the second Akakage, his combat ability and magic were quite outstanding. Even without using magic, he could kill a crocodile dragon with his bare hands. If the power of magic were taken into account, he was confident that he could kill even a small group of giants.

However, the young guard wasn't foolish enough to actually go and challenge those giants. He clearly remembered the important mission he carried.

“Before you were born, when I was still young, on the day the first Akakage died, I saw someone… He must have been an Ignis, even someone from the same era as my mentor Akakage, but he seemed so young, so full of energy…”

Before leaving, the Second Akakage talked to him for a long time, but in short, he wanted him to go back to his hometown and think of a way, whether it was to maintain his youth forever or to make him young again, to bring back that secret technique.

In other words, the Second Akakage did not want to pass away at this time; this leader of Ignivas wanted to serve for a few more years.

Although the young guard was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't take over the leadership, he could understand the Second Akakage's thoughts—after all, the Ignivas' new city had only just been laid down and everything was just getting on track, so changing leaders at this time would cause all sorts of trouble.

Therefore, even for the sake of his people's well-being, he was prepared to complete this task well.

"After all, if I can accomplish this, it will be a great contribution to my people. Then when the Second Akakage retires, I will be qualified to become the Third Akakage."

With this in mind, the young guard gradually approached his former homeland.

According to the older generation, this former homeland was incredibly rich, with abundant resources, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was flowing with milk and honey. But the further north the young guard went, the more desolate it felt. The vegetation became sparser, and there were hardly any animals to hunt.

"Why is it different from what the elders said?"

The young guard was somewhat confused; he even thought for a moment that he had gone the wrong way.

But he immediately realized that he had not gone the wrong way.

Simply because a giant appeared in his line of sight.

There were five giants in sight, each wielding an equally enormous war club. Their towering figures were as tall as two Ignivas. Even more terrifying was the fact that their eyes glowed faintly green, and the way they scanned their surroundings made it seem as if they were about to devour anyone in sight.

At this point, "choosing to devour someone" is no longer just an adjective, but a literal meaning.

When the young guard saw the eyes of the giants, the giants naturally noticed his presence as well. The way the giants charged and slaughtered their way through the crowd seemed as if they wanted to devour him alive!

"These giants... they eat people?"

The young guard was terrified.

Despite his surprise, he remained calm as he worked – with a clap of his hands, a fireball was unleashed, instantly blowing the head off the giant in the front row.

Surprisingly, the giant's head was not shattered by the fireball; the intense fireball merely blasted the giant's face into a bloody mess.

"They can't be killed by explosions... is it because their skin and flesh are too thick?"

The young guard frowned, then simply pulled out two bone daggers from his waist.

The giant with a blood-covered face fell behind, but two other giants rushed up—just like the giant before them, two more fireballs slammed into their heads.

This time, however, they were not so lucky. Although the fireball itself failed to shatter their skulls, the daggers embedded in their faces exploded, blowing their skulls off.

This is the new fighting style that the Ignivas have mastered after migrating to the miasma swamp. Even the thickest-skinned crocodiles cannot withstand the explosive throwing knives hidden in fireballs.

Using this technique, the young guard easily killed five giants, which was nothing to him as Akakage's personal bodyguard.

Then he was chased by hundreds of giants for seven days and seven nights, and he didn't even get to eat much.

It was at this moment that the young guard realized what being in enemy territory really meant—he might be able to easily kill a squad of giants, but the screams of those giants before they died would attract all the giants, and after discovering the bodies of their comrades, the giants would form large groups, giving him no chance to defeat them one by one.

"Really are……"

The young guard began to have a headache.

Things seemed to have gone wrong from the very beginning. Rather than finding the secret to immortality, he first needed to escape alive from the giants' encirclement—but that was the most troublesome part. He had been chased for seven days and seven nights without getting a proper meal.

There was no prey, no berries, and not even much grass or tree bark to be found. In the words of the previous generation, this should be a land flowing with milk and honey. What happened?

Fortunately, the young guard was lucky. Just when he thought he would be found by the giants, a antelope suddenly appeared. The giants' attention was then drawn to the antelope, and no one cared about chasing him anymore.

But that wasn't all good luck. What surprised the young guard the most was that when he escaped, he actually saw his own kind.

Unlike his fellow tribesmen who had left for distant lands, the people who appeared before him were the Ignivas who had chosen to stay on this land.

It was from these fellow clansmen that the young guard gradually learned what had happened on this land over the past few decades.

Chapter 60 The Land Flowing with Milk and Honey

"At first, everything was fine..."

In a shelter hidden beneath the ruins, several Ignivas people in tattered clothes are telling their stories to a young guard.

"Although we had just experienced war at that time, under Lord Akakage's leadership, we were still able to restore some production..."

As these elderly members of the clan recounted their experiences, the young guards nodded in agreement.

This was similar to what he had heard from his elders: the past wars, the wise and holy king, the brief peace, and the Ignivas people gradually recovering their strength... These were the parts he knew.

But then came the part he didn't know.

The so-called gradual recovery of vitality is actually a matter of not recovering much vitality. Compared with their former dominance, the recovery of vitality these former royalty spoke of was merely to the point where everyone would not starve.

If there is any good news, it is that the giants at that time were in the same boat; both sides were at their wits' end, so a war was indeed impossible.

But this brief peace was not the end of the nightmare.

But it was the beginning of something far more terrifying.

When the first Crimson Shadow was still around, there were still some prey around Ignis City, and the vegetation resources were relatively abundant. However, no one bothered to cultivate them. So during this period, whether it was the Ignisians or the giants, as long as there was no war, there was always enough food.

But everything changed after the first Akakage passed away.

In fact, changes had already begun before the First Akakage passed away. The number of animals that could be hunted was gradually decreasing, and the fruits and vegetables that could be harvested were also quietly decreasing. Clearly, peace had led to a larger population for both the Titans and the Ignis, but the larger population, in turn, consumed more food.

Of course, if it's just a food shortage, it's not an insurmountable problem. After all, they've taken over the ranches and fields, and with careful management, this land, which even Ignis City can support, should be able to feed them without any issues.

However, the problem lies precisely here.

Although the giants and the Ignivas had tried very hard to manage it, their efforts had not been effective.

Simply because they don't understand.

The giants who remained in the city were warriors of the frozen land. They might be quite adept at hunting and fighting, but when it came to managing ranches or cultivating fields, they were completely clueless.

As for the Ignis people... they were the former royal family. Being royal meant that they did not have to work. They were mostly responsible for studying magic and fighting against external forces. As for production work, it was always done by the Ignis people, that is, the commoners in the city.

After the Ignis fled into the Holy Mountain, these former royalty had to do the work themselves, and as for their efficiency... well, that's hard to describe.

Even during the reign of the first Akakage, production on this land recovered briefly, but due to mismanagement, both the Titans and the Ignivas eventually ran out of resources. As food became increasingly scarce, even the pastures and fields themselves were abandoned, and this land ended up in its current state.