Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

The badly wounded messenger trembled even more violently.

"Those demons, those, those three demons..."

"...Wait? Three?"

The minotaur monks present suddenly felt that something was amiss.

Even if that monkey Ignivas is incredibly powerful, summoning a demon god would be enough to kill it. Moreover, given the number of those black-robed monks, summoning even one demon god would be the limit.

Where did the other two demon gods come from...?

"Boom!"

As a shadow that blots out the sky descends, the earth begins to tremble.

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying roar echoed throughout the entire temple.

"Finally home!"

Outside the magnificent temple, the enormous blue-faced lion let out a long breath.

Chapter 111 The Power of the Masses in One Person

The Hennu were unable to defeat the Ignivas.

The Thirty-Sixth Akakage was aware of this before even going into battle.

Perhaps it's uncertain who would win in a battle between an ordinary Hennu and an ordinary Ignivas, but if he were to personally lead the fight as he is now, no matter how many Ignivas there are, they would be no match for him.

This is simply because the position of Akakage is far too special.

Only the bravest warriors and the most powerful mages can become Crimson Shadows. This is a rule passed down through generations of Ignivas. But only those who sit in the position of Crimson Shadow can understand the secrets behind it—as the leader, the resources at their disposal are enormous, so enormous that even ordinary Ignivas can become the strongest.

In other words, each Akakage was the strongest person to begin with, and they were supported by the strongest resources.

The power resulting from this kind of strengthening upon strengthening is unimaginable.

In the past, none of the Akakage generations had used this power for conquest, which directly led to the power appearing as if it did not exist—but the 36th Akakage would not care about this, after all, he had already received the wisdom from the Serpent God.

"Anything will do to get a good meal."

Thinking this, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage, who was almost exhausted after the series of battles, decisively took out a handful of powder from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth.

The food essence is of extremely high purity. It was originally a sacred object offered to the God Taiyi, but since he is Akakage, he naturally has the right to use some of it.

The pure white powder melted instantly in his mouth, and abundant nutrients flowed through his limbs and bones like water.

The body, which should have been exhausted, was rejuvenated once again, with both physical strength and energy restored to even greater levels than before.

Such high-quality food essence is naturally not easy to obtain, but the current Thirty-Sixth Akakage doesn't care about the waste at all—because right behind him, at the other end of the tunnel, all the Ignivas people, all his kin, are working hard, day and night, just to provide him with supplies and replenish his resources.

At this moment, although he was fighting alone, he was not fighting alone.

"Perhaps, this is the most suitable way for the Ignivas."

Looking at the dilapidated camp not far away, still warm from the flames, the 36th Akakage nodded slowly.

"As expected... as long as we follow the right path, we will definitely continue to grow stronger."

Feeling the abundant power within his body, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage became even more determined.

Yes, that's the feeling, the feeling of gradually understanding everything, gradually comprehending everything...

On that day, the day he received the wisdom of the serpent god, his perception was correct.

The path to salvation lies therein.

“Before, I was only thinking about how to deal with these Hennu people, which made me weaker and more helpless... Now, I only want to get the saber-toothed tiger, which makes me stronger and stronger as I fight.”

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage suddenly felt a sense of absurdity. The so-called victory had come so easily, and it had been in his grasp from the very beginning.

At that time, he was unaware of this and thought he should use all sorts of methods to outwit and outmaneuver the Hennu people.

But now it seems...

"Ah."

Thinking back to his past self, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage couldn't help but chuckle.

"However... there's no need to think about these things."

Thinking of this, the 36th Akakage shook his head.

It's pointless to criticize your past self based on your present self. Instead of wasting your energy thinking about such trivial matters, you should focus on how to get the saber-toothed tiger from these Hennu people.

However, even such a matter didn't really require much thought. After all, before he came, he had already given the Hennu people his ultimatum—either hand over the saber-toothed tiger or kill all the Hennu people. As for how to get the saber-toothed tiger, that was something the Hennu people should think about.

"So this is what it feels like to walk on the right path."

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage once again felt the wisdom emanating from the Serpent God.

Yes, only through thousands of years of sedimentation and accumulation can one come into contact with the true reality stripped of all complexity and embellishment. Once one touches the true truth, even thinking itself seems so superfluous.

Just like now, he doesn't even need to think about anything; he just needs to keep doing it firmly.

Thinking about such things is someone else's business; he just needs to keep doing it firmly.

Just keep doing it.

"It's time to continue."

Taking a deep breath, the Thirty-Sixth Akakage stood up once again.

He hadn't figured out how to wipe out the Hennu, but just like the profound truth he had sensed, it wasn't something he needed to think about—he could just kill any Hennu he saw, and that was definitely the right thing to do.

Without realizing it, his thinking began to become simpler, more direct, and more efficient.

It became more and more like the snake god in his memory.

Then he really did see God.

That enormous golden-winged roc was indeed worthy of being called a god. At the very least, if this golden-winged roc appeared in the frozen north, in front of those ice-field people, they would definitely worship it as a god, as a lost eagle god.

But now...

The golden-winged roc was facing him.

Looking at the golden-winged roc before him, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage felt only boundless fighting spirit.

Are you here to stop me?

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage spoke.

This made the Golden-Winged Roc squint its eyes.

Back when they were still east of the Great Snow Mountain, in order to communicate normally with the ancient serpent and avoid having to rely on the blue-faced lion to translate everything, he had learned some of this so-called Ignis language. Therefore, he could understand what the tiny monkey was saying, and even hear the provocation in its words.

This made him even angrier.

On the east side of the Great Snow Mountain, he was filled with rage when he was captured alive by that ancient serpent—and now, having finally escaped, he should have continued to enjoy the reverence of the Hengnu people on the west side of the Great Snow Mountain.

As it turned out, the Hennu people did indeed respect him enough; in order to get him to take action this time, they sacrificed a hundred black-robed monks.

But now...

How dare a mere monkey provoke him?

"It's just a monkey..."

The golden-winged roc thought this as it swooped down.

A single dive is enough to kill, or even just a feather is enough.

These tiny monkeys...

"boom!"

In an instant, blinding flames filled the Golden-Winged Roc's field of vision.

Chapter 112: Ascending to the God Level

Faced with the Golden-Winged Roc, which could be called a god, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage should have been terrified.

After all, this is a colossal being that can be called a god, a true monster that transcends the ordinary. Whether in terms of strength, stamina, or the techniques it has mastered, it is not something that mere mortals can contend with.

However, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage never considered backing down.

On the one hand, it's because he has more important things to do right now; he wants to create a world with saber-toothed tigers and mammoths, so how could he possibly stop here?

On the other hand, it's because he's not fighting alone at this moment.

Although he was the only one fighting, behind him, on the other side of the snowy mountain, were all the Ignivas people.

When all the Ignivas people did everything in their power to supply him alone...

"boom--"

The towering flames even lit up the night sky.

This power, which can be described as a natural disaster, is completely beyond human control. Even though the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage is the bravest warrior and the strongest mage, his body is already overwhelmed.

But this was something that didn't matter to him at all.

He swallowed large amounts of the food's essence, and the fine powder that melted in his mouth quickly nourished every inch of his body, injecting new energy into his almost dried-up flesh and blood, allowing him, who was on the verge of death, to be revitalized time and time again.

The wisdom accumulated by the Ignivas over thousands of years flashed through his mind, from the records of the Crimson Shadow, the notes of seekers, or even folk proverbs spoken by ordinary people... All the thoughts he had heard and seen were gathered and condensed in his mind, allowing him to know how to deal with those situations that were about to get out of control.

The dying body came back to life time and time again, and the raging flames that were about to get out of control were stabilized time and time again.

Under repeated control, the raging flames gradually became as docile as a saber-toothed tiger and a mammoth, gradually becoming like a part of his body, and even gradually becoming as easy to control as his own arm.

This is not an adjective, but a true sense of being able to direct someone as easily as one's own arm.

The missing left arm reassembled, and the flames took shape again.

He did lose an arm, but at this moment, he gained something far more powerful than an ordinary arm.

"So that's how it is..."

He unleashed a fiery fist at the golden-winged roc in mid-air.

A thin line of fire flashed past along the edge of the fist.

Meanwhile, the golden-winged roc in mid-air silently fell from the clouds.

"So that's how it is... Wait, what did I do?"

It was at this moment, when he came to his senses from the intense battle, that he realized just how extraordinary his feat had been.

Just now, he actually defeated that terrifying Golden-Winged Roc.

You must know that this Golden-Winged Roc is already a mythical creature. If this Golden-Winged Roc were to appear in the frozen north, in front of those ice-field people, they would definitely worship it as a god, as a lost eagle god. In ancient mythology, only the great serpent god truly shot down the eagle god of those ice-field people.

The idea of ​​one god killing another is still within the realm of understanding.

But now, he has killed a god while still a mortal.

"Is this really possible?"

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage was even somewhat dazed.

However, the golden-winged roc falling from mid-air, the left arm made of flames, and especially the memories he had just retained, were all clearly reminding him of this.

Yes, it's possible.

It wasn't the kind of "I can do it" kind of achievement that comes out of nowhere; he could even meticulously recount how he accomplished it—the wisdom and experience of generations of his tribe provided him with an endless stream of inspiration and countless solutions to problems. Furthermore, the tireless logistical support from his tribe gave him countless opportunities to experiment and learn from his mistakes.

With such support, he can confidently and boldly make any attempt, whether he makes a mistake once, twice, or even three or five times. It doesn't matter to him, because he can afford to wait.

But if he gets it right just once, it's a huge improvement.

Through endless attempts and repeated corrections, he eventually mastered power comparable to that of a god, until he finally brought down a true god from mid-air.

"This is... the path to godhood."

Upon realizing this, the Thirty-Sixth Akakage inexplicably recalled the end of the Old King's era.

The last Old King, named David Day, also sought to be on par with the gods with a mortal body. However, according to the records of the Ignivas, this arrogant Old King ultimately failed. Now that I think about it, the reason why the Old King failed was probably because he lacked one crucial element.

"He made godhood his everything, which is why he was unable to achieve it."

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage vaguely sensed that he had grasped something crucial.

The person who most wanted to become a god, even with the resources to do so, ultimately failed. But he himself never thought about these things; he never made becoming a god his goal, and that's what brought him everything.