Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

There, around the neck of the dead saber-toothed tiger, was a bone collar.

This is no wild saber-toothed tiger; it clearly escaped from the magicians' ranch!

"Varied……"

The young Ignis man immediately turned and ran.

The saber-toothed tigers kept by the mages all had marks left by the mages on their necks. Now that the saber-toothed tigers are dead, those mages will definitely come after them immediately!

But the young Ignis still underestimated the speed of the mages. He hadn't even run very far when a blazing fireball came crashing down from the treetops.

“I’d heard before that some deserters had fled into the holy mountain… You’re quite the runner.”

Atop the treetop, a mage cloaked in animal hide sneered.

"Now that you've come out on your own initiative, I'll use you to test how far my magic has progressed."

"I……"

The young Ignis took a deep breath.

Although unlike when he was being chased before, there was only one mage in front of him, he was now exposed to the other party's sight.

And now, the mage's hands were raised.

He closed his palms and unleashed a fireball. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't possibly survive under such circumstances.

Right now, the only thing that can save his life is probably...

"The Serpent God has been resurrected! I'm searching for sacrifices for the Serpent God!"

The young Ignis took a deep breath and then shouted.

"You've delayed the serpent god from enjoying the offerings; aren't you afraid of the serpent god's wrath?"

Recalling the Serpent God's enormous body, and the terror of how the Serpent God could cause several mages to perish on the spot simply by rising up, the young Ignis felt a glimmer of hope to survive.

Yes, if it were that snake god, these people definitely wouldn't dare use such a reason...

"Heh, the Snake God?"

Upon hearing this, the magician on the treetop laughed instead.

"Even if it's a snake god, so what?"

"you……"

The young Ignis was speechless.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Magicians wield power derived from the gods, yet right before him, the magician himself scoffs at the serpent god.

Could it be that the other party believes the Serpent God has not yet been resurrected?

Yes, that must be it. Because the Serpent God has not been revived for so long, many people think that the Serpent God can no longer be revived. After all, even he himself thinks that the Serpent God cannot be revived, otherwise he would not have dared to venture into the Holy Mountain to seek a way to survive.

But now, the Serpent God has truly been resurrected.

"The serpent god has truly revived. You only need to go into the mountains to see those traces."

Recalling the tracks left by the serpent god as he walked through the mountains, tracks that were far wider than the roads in the city, the young Ignis calmed down once again.

"If you lay a hand on me and delay the sacrifice to the serpent god, you will surely be punished by the serpent god! Do you know the consequences!"

"Of course I know."

To his surprise, the magician on the treetop laughed even more sneer.

"The serpent god has revived, causing such a huge commotion. My ranch is right next to the holy mountain, how could I not see it... But even if the serpent god has revived, so what?"

The mage on the treetop looked down at the young Ignis below as if he were an ant.

“You are just a mortal, and you have never used this divine power, so naturally you cannot understand everything… Perhaps in your eyes, that snake can be called a god, or perhaps a long, long time ago, that snake could be called a god.”

"But in today's terms, it's just a snake."

……

Upon hearing this, the young Ignis's expression changed drastically.

Those who wield the power of the Serpent God, these high-ranking magicians, are actually showing contempt for the Serpent God himself?

What are these mages trying to do?

"You should be able to figure out what we're going to do."

The magician on the treetop squinted.

"Speaking of which, you don't really think that you poachers could escape into the Holy Mountain so easily, do you? Why do you think that we, the royal family who are much stronger than you, would not have noticed your tracks at all?"

"you……"

The young Ignis was horrified.

The information the other party provided was so shocking that the young Ignis was momentarily unable to think straight—he had always believed that he had escaped into the Holy Mountain and found a way to survive through his own abilities.

But now...

This path to survival was actually part of the royal family's plan?

What exactly are these mages and royalty trying to do?

"So you know nothing."

The magician on the treetop shook his head and sighed.

Faced with someone who knows nothing about power, he finds it difficult to even show off.

"The importance of information... The words left by the ancient sage kings are indeed true."

Thinking this, the mage turned his head and looked into the distance.

That is the direction where this generation's Holy King is located.

"However, our king should already be ready."

"Prepare to devour the gods."

Chapter 17 Devouring Gods

War brings not only death, but also innovation.

With each generation of wars, the magicians of the Ignivas family gradually mastered more powerful spellcasting techniques. Their research into magic became increasingly profound, even touching upon the essence of magic.

However, they still found it difficult to win against the frozen giants who were backed by another god.

At first, they wanted to rely on the power of the serpent god, but the serpent god's long silence made them focus their attention on the power itself - they even began to think about the power of the gods and how to surpass the gods.

"Does the power of gods also have its limits?"

That's what they were thinking.

If the magicians' power comes from the snake god, then where does the snake god's power come from?

Thus, generation after generation of magicians devoted themselves to the research. Although the more they researched, the more questions they had, their thirst for power kept them relentlessly pursuing their goal.

Until the twenty-ninth leader of Ignivas found the answer in the deeds left behind by the former holy king.

"The period when the Holy King interacted most with the Serpent God was during the reign of the Nineteenth Holy King, and the way the Holy King interacted with the Serpent God most often... was by eating together?"

Upon realizing this, the twenty-ninth leader suddenly felt that he understood everything.

Because the nineteenth generation of the Holy King was quite persistent about "not being misunderstood," the records of that generation are the clearest. In the conversations between the Holy King and the Snake God, the Snake God mentioned most often whether or not they had eaten properly.

"Have you eaten properly?" seems like a casual greeting.

But in the eyes of the twenty-ninth leader, this was the key to everything.

"Yes, that's right. People who can eat more tend to be stronger and have more energy... A sign of aging and weakness is a decrease in appetite, which means that appetite is the foundation of everything!"

Of course, the twenty-ninth leader did not draw such a conclusion so arbitrarily; he merely found a direction, a direction that seemed to explain everything.

However, after three more generations of leaders, his direction has been thoroughly validated.

Through the exploration of three generations of leaders and over nearly a century, the people of Ignivas have come to understand in practice that the summary of the twenty-ninth leader is absolutely correct—while some people who can eat a lot may not be very good at fighting, those who can fight are definitely good at eating.

People who can eat a lot tend to develop tall and strong physiques. A tall and strong physique brings considerable fighting power and also makes people more agile and intelligent.

Thus, the people of Ignivas realized the key to power.

"For a long time, we have focused on the power itself, but we have forgotten that the person who uses the power is the most important... This means that as long as we continue to strengthen ourselves, we can break through the limits and even stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods!"

These were the words left by the thirty-second chief before his death. Like the last words of many chiefs before him, these words were recorded in the history of the Ignivas family.

Following this, the Ignivas family began their practice once again.

As long as you continuously strengthen yourself, you can hope to break through your limits and rival the gods. The way to strengthen yourself has already been explored by our predecessors—that is, to eat. As long as you keep eating and digesting, the nutrients you eat will become your own power.

As long as you keep eating, you will gain power comparable to that of the gods.

At least that's how the Ignivas family sees it.

Three generations have passed since the change of leaders, and the Ignivas family has become increasingly proficient in this technology. The ability to eat more has even gradually become a standard for measuring strength—if one can only eat a single serving of food, then one can only unleash a fireball the size of a fist.

However, if one can eat enough food for ten or even a hundred people without changing expression, then one can naturally create a wave of fire at will, or even burn down a forest with a single clap of the hands.

"But... does that mean we're on par with the gods?"

The Ignivas family is unable to confirm this.

Even with their devastating power, the Ignivas family still couldn't confirm whether it was comparable to that of a god—after all, to truly be considered comparable to a god, one would at least have to fight one.

But where can one find the gods to fight?

Go to the frozen tundra in the north to find the gods worshipped by those giants? Although it sounds feasible, it is far too dangerous—not to mention that there are many skilled warriors among the giants, the gods hidden behind them are not necessarily ones they can defeat.

Even among gods, there are superior and inferior ones; the god worshipped by the frozen giants is clearly the stronger one.

Having just gained power, they should first choose a relatively weak god.

Coincidentally, a relatively weak god is currently residing near the city of Ignis.

That was the snake god they once worshipped.

The devotion to the serpent god may have existed long ago, but as magicians have delved deeper into the study of power, they have long since lost that ancient reverence.

Right now, they are more focused on the power itself, and on the surging power that comes from constantly devouring.

"Just by eating ordinary wild beasts, we can become so strong."

"What if it were a god-devouring entity instead?"

This is what the previous three generations of Ignivas leaders had been pursuing.

The same task that David Day, the current patriarch of the Ignivas clan, the thirty-sixth leader, and known as the Dawn of the Newborn, needs to complete.

The ancient serpent god has awakened in his generation, and it is his responsibility to lead a group of magicians to hunt down the gods.

Then, they devoured the gods.

"I will not keep this opportunity to ascend to godhood to myself."

Gazing at the distant holy mountain, a strong man, as tall as two people, raised a large bowl filled with honey to the assembled group of mages.

Honey syrup is the most energy-rich food known, and it is said that the nineteenth holy king was so wise because he often consumed honey.

Nowadays, this sweet honey has become the best food for mages to replenish their strength before battle. Only high-ranking mages are qualified to enjoy it, and ordinary mages are not even qualified to smell it.

Right now, in front of each magician is a stone bowl full of honey.

This means that each of them is a high-ranking mage who possesses formidable power. With just a clap of their hands, they can incinerate everything in front of them with flames—this can be seen from their tall and strong bodies. Even their animal-hide cloaks cannot conceal their large physiques, which have become bloated from eating too much.

But what is most striking is their much larger bellies; those high, protruding abdomens are proof of their strength.

Chapter 18 We are all living hard

In order to devour the gods, David Day, the patriarch of the Ignivas family, the thirty-sixth king of Ignis City, known as the Dawn of the Newborn, made thorough preparations.

First, in order to awaken the serpent god whose whereabouts were unknown, the Ignivas family deliberately turned a blind eye and allowed some poachers into the holy mountain. Although the high-ranking mages later sent out some hunters, their purpose was not to hunt them down, but rather to participate in the process of hunting them down.

During the pursuit, battles will break out, and the aftermath of these battles will affect the sacred mountain itself. No matter where the ancient serpent god is hiding, it will eventually be disturbed by the intense commotion.

Secondly, in order to weaken the Serpent God, the large beasts in the Holy Mountain have been hunted back by the mages one by one, either kept in their own ranches or made into fur coats to wear. The Serpent God, lacking food, must be weak, which gives the Ignivas family a better chance of winning.