Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 172 The Holy City of the Sun
Heliopolis, the Holy City of the Sun.

In the magnificent temple, Habisa, dressed in a white robe, was worshipping the great sun god under the guidance of Sennet. Prayers praising the sun god flowed effortlessly from his lips—but the more he recited, the more uneasy Habisa felt.

One reason is that Senette is too high-profile. After all, she is the wife of the war-mongering priest Hathorunu. Hathorunu is still on the front lines, yet Senette is openly seen with him. If Hathorunu hears about this, who knows how much trouble will ensue.

But more importantly, it concerns the Snake God.

Eight days have passed since the day Sennett said the sun god killed the serpent god, and in those eight days, he has not received a single piece of news about the serpent god.

Was that battle between gods a loss or a victory?

"Of course, the Sun God won!"

Hearing that Habisa was still worried about the soldiers at the front, Senette took his arm.

"The midday sun will cleanse all evil; how could that wicked ancient serpent possibly withstand it?"

It seemed to be true. Senette even gave the reason for the lack of news—even if the evil ancient serpent had been punished by the gods, the four demon lords who were backed by the ancient serpent would keep it a secret. After all, if the news of the serpent demon's death were to spread, the newly established serpent demon empire would probably collapse on the spot.

However, there is a problem with this statement.

"Why weren't those four... Demon Lords punished by the gods?"

Habisa suddenly realized that something was wrong.

"Hasn't the sun god swept away all evil?"

"This is the test that the sun god has left for his followers."

Senette said this with an air of self-righteousness on her face.

Yes, if the gods have already defeated the gods, then the believers must also defeat the believers. If these priests, who are backed by the sun god, can't even handle a group of green-skinned monsters who have lost their gods, then it can only mean that they are too useless and don't even have the right to worship the sun god.

After all, the fact that the sun god himself intervened meant that these believers were powerless in the war.

Therefore, as loyal believers of the sun god, they wanted to wash away their shame with victory and prove their worth with the lives of their enemies.
The great counter-offensive is about to begin.

"Then I should hurry back to the front lines..."

Habisa was in a state of turmoil. At this moment, he wished he could return to the front line immediately—even though he knew in his heart that if the Serpent God really fell, it would be meaningless for him to return to the front line, but he still wanted to do something.

However, Senette, who was beside him, showed no intention of releasing him.

"You're no longer a divine warrior, why are you still going to the front lines?"

Senette said this.

"Just stay here and keep me company. If you really want battle merits, I'll find a way for you."

Habisa wanted to say that what he wanted was not military merit at all, but he couldn't say it out loud. Habisa even thought about whether he should just find an opportunity to escape under the cover of darkness. However, after trying a few times, Habisa found that in this holy city full of priests, running away rashly was almost tantamount to courting death.

Yes, he could handle one or two priests with his amazing swordsmanship, but after those one or two priests fell, two hundred or even two thousand priests would come to hunt him down. Once the city gates were closed and the roads were locked, he would really have nowhere to go.

“This…” It was at this moment that Habisa realized with astonishment that he seemed to have unknowingly walked into a dead end with no room to maneuver.

"If Setka were in this situation, what would he do?"

Habisa couldn't help but think of that extremely perceptive warrior. At least in his experience, the strongman Setka's predictions had never been wrong. If that powerful warrior were in this situation, he would definitely be able to come up with a solution...

No, if it were Zetka, he wouldn't have let himself end up in this situation.

If it were the Sethka with his keen sense of smell, he would have realized the danger before it happened, instead of stepping into an opportunity recklessly like he did.

Now, he has indeed obtained the intelligence, but he no longer has the possibility of leaving.

"Am I really going to live like this for the rest of my life?"

As night fell, Habisa stared blankly at his sword.

Actually, living like this for the rest of his life isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least he has enjoyed a wonderful life that he had never enjoyed before—of course, this comes at the cost of his freedom. But did he ever have freedom before?
It seems like stopping here is enough; there's no need to fight anymore. He has achieved everything he never dared to dream of before, and it's time to rest and enjoy life.

"Perhaps this is a gift from fate, a sweet reward after hardship..."

Such thoughts, like weeds, grew wildly in Habisa's mind.

"Besides, the Serpent God is already dead... wait a minute."

It was at this moment that Habisa suddenly paused.

Even if the serpent god has perished, he still wants to retrieve his calligraphy practice book and charcoal pencil. If the serpent god has truly perished, then the calligraphy practice book and charcoal pencil are the last relics left to him by the serpent god—regardless of whether the serpent god is evil or chaotic in the eyes of others, at least for him, the serpent god once listened attentively to his past.

Even for this reason, Habisa couldn't find fault with the serpent god, and the relics left behind by the serpent god were treasures he needed to remember.

"so……"

With his mind in turmoil, Habisa decided to see if he could get his things back through Senette during the day, since he needed to take his notebook and pen with him no matter what.

However, as dawn broke, before Habisa could even tell Senette his request, a summons from the Temple of the Sun arrived first.

Why was he conscripted?

Faced with the few sun god priests who came to deliver the message, it was Senette who stepped forward first.

"Didn't I already pay the fine? Why are you still... It seems you want more?"

“This time it has nothing to do with fines; all young priests are within the scope of the conscription.”

To Senette's surprise, this time, the sun priests didn't even care about the fine.

"This is an order personally given by the war priest Matt Peri. All young priests must participate in the ceremony and be loyal to the great sun god."

(End of this chapter)