Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

"Let's have a good meal before we leave."

Since the Radiant One was determined to leave, Du Yi respected his decision. However, as this was their last meeting, Du Yi still prepared a sumptuous feast for him.

But the weakened Radiant One merely drank some honey.

Just like when we first met.

During the meal, the Radiant One also made arrangements for his affairs after his death. His child would inherit his position after his passing. The young man would be as strong as he had been, and even more intelligent.

“I also taught him your language, and he will do it better than I did.”

"That's what the Radiant One said."

"The next time, he will come to talk to you... He will also make that thing we agreed on before, the pot."

“You could actually have brought him here.”

Du Yi couldn't help but shake his head.

"At least let me get to know you first... You're being too formal."

"That won't do. This is my own rest time. How can I bring that kid along?"

The Radiant One chuckled and even took another big bite of honey.

Thus, this brief reunion finally came to an end, and it was time for the Radiant One to leave. Considering that the Radiant One was already so old, Du Yi found a piece of his own snake skin and gave it to him.

These old snakeskins that shed from his body were imbued with his scent, and any wild beast that smelled them would instinctively retreat.

It allows the Radiant Ones to leave this deep mountain without engaging in any combat.

Even with the protection of the snake's shed skin, the arduous journey still caused the Radiant One to collapse as soon as he returned to the city.

"Don't be sad, I'm just going to reunite with my father."

The weakened Radiant One opened his eyes as his son and a group of mages surrounded him at his bedside.

“Actually, I should have died long ago, but the snake god forcibly prolonged my life... Everything we have now is because of that snake god. He brought us everything, and he ensures that we have a bountiful harvest every year.”

"So you must remember that even after I die, you must continue to offer sacrifices and tell the serpent god and the Lord of Abundance about what is happening outside."

At this point, the Radiant One paused.

Immediately afterwards, he grabbed his son's hand.

“Remember, child, don’t overthink it or let your imagination run wild. This is the foundation for communicating with the snake god and the best way for you to govern this city… As long as you do what you’re supposed to do, our city will naturally prosper.”

Seeing the young man in front of him, who was even stronger than he had been in his youth, nodding earnestly, the Radiant One closed his eyes in relief.

Even though his eyes were closed, he seemed to see his father again.

Just like when he was a child, he grasped that large hand.

At this moment, the nineteenth leader of Ignivas, the holy king praised by all, departed from this world.

At this moment, the twentieth leader also announced his succession, calling himself the Successor of the Flame.

"Ji Huo" means to inherit the flame and the light. This title itself is a declaration to everyone in the city that he will inherit the will of the Radiant Ones and make this city named after fire continue to shine.

As it turned out, the Radiant One was right. This twentieth Firebringer was indeed more vigorous and intelligent than the Radiant One. The handover of leadership was completed smoothly, and the city continued to maintain stable development, just as it had when the Radiant One was still alive.

But sometimes, being too smart isn't necessarily a good thing.

Chapter 11 Harvest Festival

Although Du Yi still retains human habits in his daily eating habits, as a snake, he still needs to do some things that snakes must do.

For example, shedding skin.

Du Yi wasn't quite sure how ordinary snakes shed their skin, but in his case, molting and hibernation seemed to be combined—each molt meant a long sleep, and heaven knew when he would wake up.

So after eating and drinking his fill, he went deep into the mountains and dug a huge pit for himself.

Although with his current massive physique, he has no natural enemies whatsoever, he still has the habit of finding a secluded place to sleep and covering himself with something.

So, after being covered in a lot of mud, Du Yi left only his two nostrils exposed to breathe.

"It seems like I've forgotten something? Oh well, if I can't remember, it means it's not important."

The tireless efforts of thousands of days and nights quickly turned into a deep sleep.

So, not long after lying down, Du Yi had already fallen asleep.

However, not long after Du Yi entered a deep sleep, the distant hillside was once again piled high with offerings.

----------

The annual harvest festival is the most important festival in Ignis.

This festival was established by the nineteenth leader of Ignivas, the Great Holy King Radiant One. On the coldest day of each year, the Great Holy King would bring a large number of offerings to the sacred mountain to sacrifice to the serpent god in the mountain—and the serpent god would drive the dangerous beasts out of the deep mountains.

It is said that decades ago, such events would have been called beast tides, and they even destroyed their former homes. But now, these events have become a time for mages to show off their skills. The ferocious beasts that were once only found deep in the mountains are now coming to the plains to fight them head-on. All they need to do is unleash fireballs to get a large harvest.

This is why this festival, which was originally used for sacrifice, is called the Harvest Festival.

Every harvest festival signifies a bountiful harvest.

However, this year's harvest festival was different from the past. The nineteenth leader had passed away, and the one presiding over the festival now was the twentieth leader, the one named the Fire Successor, who was the descendant of the nineteenth leader in his later years.

The people in the city had no particular thoughts about the successor to the Firebringer. After all, the successor had indeed shown that he was as strong and intelligent as the former Lightbringer, or even more intelligent. People felt that the Firebringer could inherit the Lightbringer's wisdom and lead the race to a better future.

Even the successor of the flame himself thought so.

"I will definitely inherit everything from my father, and I will definitely lead the tribe to glory!"

With this in mind, the Firebringer followed in his father's footsteps and, carrying a large number of offerings, entered the deep mountains alone.

"Only one person can enter the Holy Mountain." This is a tradition that has been passed down since the time of the Radiant Ones. Although no matter how strong a person is, the amount of things they can carry is ultimately limited, the Radiant Ones still insist on entering the mountain alone.

Of course, the Radiant One also gave his reasons. On the one hand, too many people were going into the mountains, which disturbed the Serpent God. On the other hand, it was also for the good of those people.

After all, the father of the Radiant One was scared to death; not everyone can withstand the impact of the Serpent God's enormous body.

As the successor of the Radiant Ones, the Firebringer naturally followed the same rules. Before coming here, he had already mastered the language of the gods and knew how to face the Serpent God. His father had also instructed him in this regard not to worship the Serpent God as a deity, as that would displease the Serpent God. It was better to treat the Serpent God as an elder in the neighborhood so that he could communicate with the Serpent God smoothly.

Everything will go smoothly, the Firebringer thought.

And so, just as the Lightbringers of old had done, the Firebringers lit their own campfires.

The burning bonfire emitted thick smoke that shot straight into the sky, a signal made with the serpent god; once the smoke rose, it was time for the sacrifice.

When the serpent god descends, he will offer those sacrifices, as well as the news brought back by explorers from afar—especially the latter. He remembered his father saying that the information from afar, the observations and understanding of this world, were what the serpent god truly needed.

But this time, the snake god did not come.

At first, the Fire Chaser thought the Serpent God was far away. After waiting for most of the day, the Fire Chaser still thought the Serpent God was probably busy with other things. But after waiting for a whole day and night and the Serpent God still hadn't come, the Fire Chaser finally realized something was wrong.

"No way... Didn't Father say that as long as the smoke rises, the Serpent God will definitely appear?"

When the sun rose on the third day, the torchbearer was speechless with astonishment.

Three days and nights passed, but the serpent god still did not appear. On the contrary, the dried meat he carried had been completely eaten up—after all, the ritual was not supposed to last for three days in the first place, and even though he had made some preparations, he actually did not bring much food.

This scene reminded the torchbearer of his father.

The Fire Chaser had also heard the stories his father told him. Back then, his father had been starving for a very long time before he finally met the snake god.

So, after thinking for a moment, the Firebringer decisively cut off a piece of mammoth meat that was originally intended as a sacrifice.

He had heard his father, the one who shone, say that every time a sacrifice was made, the serpent god would treat him to a feast. The serpent god would use the offerings as ingredients to cook various delicious dishes to entertain the sacrificers. This meant that even if he cooked and ate some of the offerings in advance, it should be fine.

"Anyway, it's only a little bit earlier... the Snake God won't blame you."

The successor thought this way.

What was merely scraps for the Serpent God was a feast for the Fire Successor. A single piece of mammoth meat was enough to satisfy the Fire Successor, who had been starving for three days.

After having eaten his fill, the Firebringer finally had the energy to start thinking about how to deal with the current situation.

"The serpent god is unlikely to come... and even if he does, the harvest festival has already been postponed."

After eating and drinking their fill, the clever successor of the fire immediately assessed the current situation.

He would likely not be offended if he ate a few bites of the offerings, since the snake god would eventually turn them into a feast to entertain him.

But if there is no game during the harvest festival, the people in the city will definitely be dissatisfied. After all, the harvest festival is called the harvest festival because every household will have a catch. Now that the catch is less, how can he not be scolded?

"If we want to complete this hunt..."

Making up for this hunt is almost impossible, since he is neither a snake god nor does he have the ability to command all beasts.

"But what the tribe needs is the hunt, not the hunt itself."

The clever successor almost instinctively realized the key point.

Then, he turned his attention to the offerings beside him.

The moment the Firebringer saw these offerings, he had already thought of a solution, albeit a less-than-ideal one.

"The serpent god shouldn't blame me, after all, these offerings are insignificant to the serpent god."

Remembering his father's words of wisdom, the successor took a deep breath.

Immediately afterwards, he took all the remaining offerings down the sacred mountain.

Chapter 12 begins with stealing offerings.

That year, the harvest festival in Ignis was marred by some unexpected events.

The beast tides that used to bring a bountiful harvest every year did not come; only the Firebringers themselves returned, along with a large quantity of pre-cooked prey.

“The serpent god thought it was too much trouble to make everyone hunt every year, so He simply cooked the hunted animals and had me bring them back.”

Faced with everyone's doubts, the successor of the fire gave this answer.

As for why there were so few cooked hunts, the Fire Chaser had his own explanation. On the one hand, there would definitely be losses during processing, and on the other hand, after years of hunting, there were far fewer wild animals in the mountains. Although the people in the city had some complaints, they eventually accepted the explanation when they saw the Fire Chaser's sincere face.

Although the hunt was less successful, something is better than nothing.

After doing all this, the Firebringer breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, this matter has been settled."

Yes, the successor is much smarter than his father. If his father had encountered this situation, he probably would have died in the mountains.

But he was able to resolve things smoothly and ensure that no one complained.

“My father said that the offerings were just the tribe’s way of thanking the snake god. The snake god didn’t actually need the offerings… So, at this time, it shouldn’t be a problem to use the offerings as the harvest for the harvest festival.”

After all, his father, the Radiant One, had met the Serpent God many times, so he was certain that the Serpent God did not need sacrifices.

Now, he has simply added his own interpretation to this established fact.

"I hope the Serpent God can understand my actions... This winter is not going to be easy."

The Firebringer quickly put the matter out of his mind, as there were more troublesome things waiting for him to deal with.

That is, the problem of food shortage.

In the past, each harvest festival brought a large catch, which greatly enriched the meat reserves of Ignis City. If people ate sparingly, it would even be enough to feed the people of the city for thirty days and nights.

But this time, the small amount of sacrificial offerings he brought back, disguised as hunted prey, was only enough for the tribe to eat for one day.

If you eat freely, even one meal might not be enough.

"The food shortage..."

The successor was starting to have a headache; this was a problem that his father's era had never encountered.

The previous generation left no experience, so the successor was at a loss as to how to deal with it. The ranch's output was limited, and all the food that could be obtained had already been harvested before winter.

Simply put, he needs to prepare some extra food, and he has to do it quickly.

"And if next year's harvest festival is like this too..."

The successor had a bad feeling.

To obtain more food, they had to look to their surroundings. It was at this moment that the Firebringer marveled at the Snake God's foresight. Although he had not been able to report the intelligence brought by the explorers to the Snake God like his father had, the information sent back from afar had become a lifesaver.

"The eastern end has been explored to its limit. There is only endless water there, and according to the explorers, the water is extremely bitter and undrinkable... Although there are many large fish there, there are also waves even larger than the river changing its course. It is not a good place to go."

"In the south, the explorer almost died in that miasma-filled jungle. Although it looks like it's rich in resources, it's far more dangerous than the east... You know, when the explorer came back, his body was covered in lumps. When you cut them open, they were full of white worms. Heaven knows how those things got there."

"To the west...to the west is the sacred mountain."