Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 196 The Chosen Champion of the God of Courage

Setka the Mad Axe has been very free lately, extremely free.

While the war was still at a stalemate, Setka had wondered when this long war would finally end—but no matter how he calculated, he could only come to one conclusion: if the Serpent God did not personally intervene, the war would probably be difficult to bring to a true end.

In fact, it wasn't just Setka; other frontline warriors shared a similar understanding. Many of them were originally divine warriors of the Sun God, which is why they were even more aware that the Sun God Temple in the Holy City would only hold more hidden tricks.

This is why Setka organized people to try to gather intelligence about the Temple of the Sun through a reverse defection, simply because Setka believed this was the closest way to ending the war.

But Seth Jacques never expected that the victory would come so suddenly.

The messenger of the sun god suddenly went mad and began to slaughter his own people. In order to survive, Setka had no choice but to risk his life with his companions. Fortunately, they finally succeeded. After paying a heavy price, they actually managed to kill Matt Peri, who was known as the "Priest of War".

It was after this battle that Setka learned that the real war had already ended, and that the sun god who had descended to earth had long been subdued by the great serpent god.

As for the fierce battle in the City of the Sun, it was merely the final aftershock of this divine war.

"It's a pity that Habisa didn't get to see all of this."

This is also what Setka regrets the most. Among all those who infiltrated the past, that young swordsman was the first to be killed, even by Matt Perry's own hands.

If he had known it would turn out this way, he wouldn't have recruited that young swordsman. After all, he remembered that what the young swordsman really wanted was to learn to read and write and practice his calligraphy.

As for Setka's second regret, it was naturally the current peace and tranquility. Although Setka had anticipated the peace after the war, he was actually quite unaccustomed to it after it actually came to peace.

Whenever he closes his eyes, Setka's vision still flashes back to those days of fierce fighting. The battlefield, where flesh and blood flew, is his best home. Unlike Habisa, who doesn't really want to fight, Setka feels that he was born for war. All his skills exist for better fighting. Only fighting can make him feel that he is still alive.

But the empire now has no more wars.

Therefore, Setka could actually understand the behavior of Amonsa the Greatsword, one of the four warriors. Of course, he did not approve of such madman-like behavior of attacking his own people, but he could truly understand Amonsa the Greatsword's thoughts. After all, for warriors like them who had honed their fighting skills to the extreme, only a blood-pumping battle could make them feel alive.

When those two priests came to her door before, there was one thing that Setka didn't tell her completely.

Skilled fighters kill for either experience or equipment, and those are usually the two reasons. But for warriors who have reached the pinnacle of their level and honed their combat skills to perfection, there is a third reason.

That is, the battle itself.

A formidable opponent, a powerful foe who could fight him to the death, both sides risking their lives for the sake of the battle itself... Setka could even sense that this was the true source of experience; the numbers flashing before his eyes were merely a facade, only the carnage of this brutal battle was the reality.

So when the two priests came to him to organize an enforcement team, he didn't really have any intention of refusing, after all, he longed for battle and slaughter, no matter who he was fighting with.

However, the enforcement team's work was not as reliable as he had imagined. Apart from catching a few divine warriors who were killing indiscriminately to gain experience at the beginning, Sethka didn't have any chance to take action at all. After all, those warriors were not stupid. Except for a few who had become like him and were obsessed with battle, most of them knew that their lives were more important than temporary experience and levels.

Ultimately, this isn't the front line; it's Tatunbuto, the city of the Serpent God. The great Serpent God resides outside the city, and even the most powerful divine warriors can't possibly cause any trouble in front of him.

After that, with the appearance of Divine Food, warriors had a direct way to gain experience. As long as they ate Divine Food, they would gain experience, which meant that warriors no longer needed to level up by killing people.

If the soldiers stop killing, what can the law enforcement team do?

"Sometimes, I can't even tell myself what I really want: levels and experience, the battle itself, or both..."

Beyond the ruins of the former Sun City, before an unmarked tomb, Setka, who had traveled a long way, sat cross-legged and spoke to Hapisa within the tomb.

"Looking back now, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that you died sooner. At least you wouldn't have had to suppress yourself like I did every day... Sometimes I feel like something's missing if I don't gain some experience or level up..."

Facing his old friend, Sethka was no longer the decisive man he usually was, and his words became more rambling.

"It seems that only leveling up can satisfy me, and only combat itself can bring me joy... But as you can see, things are peaceful now." Of course, as the former Holy City of the Sun, now on the border of the Empire, this city called Heliopolis is by no means peaceful.

But things are different now. As the founder and leader of the enforcement team, one of the four warriors, and nicknamed "Mad Axe," Setka led the team here to bring the same order as the Serpent God City to the border of the empire.

"It's a pity they don't dare to fight me anymore... Hmm?"

Before he could finish speaking, Setka's hand had already touched the axe handle on his back.

He suddenly sensed a chilling killing intent.

This wasn't some petty threat like a small-time thief playing around; it was a threat that could truly kill him.

Just by the scent, Setka realized that the warrior hidden in the distance was even more ferocious than the war priest Matt Perry!

"who are you?"

Setka stared intently at the shadows in the distant forest, the large axe hanging on his back already in his hand.

As Sethka moved, a massive figure clad in full armor appeared in Sethka's line of sight.

It was an armor style that Setka had never seen before. It was as if the entire body was wrapped in metal, and the twisted helmet was topped with devilish horns. The mottled bloodstains left on the armor made this huge armored humanoid look extremely brutal.

Upon seeing Setka standing with his axe in hand, the tall, armored humanoid figure even let out a cold snort.

"Such a useful power fell into your hands, and you only managed to reach level 115?"

"Well, it's normal since we just landed."

As he spoke, the brutal armored figure drew his greatsword from his waist.

"I hope you can give me a little surprise."

"You still haven't said who you are."

Looking at the exaggerated greatsword, Setka's expression turned serious.

"You deserve to have my name remembered."

"But you have no right to remember my name."

The massive, armored humanoid raised its longsword.

"All you need to know is that I am the champion."

"I am the chosen champion of the god of courage."

"The God of Courage...?"

A hint of doubt flashed through Setka's mind.

What is the god of courage? When did such a god ever exist?
However, in that instant of distraction, the sharp greatsword had already slashed down from mid-air.

(End of this chapter)