Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 31 How a Mortal Faces the Gods
West of Ignis, the Holy Mountain.

The Ignis people who had migrated to the mountains felt the earth tremble—at first, they even celebrated, thinking it was a sign of the serpent god's return.

But only the Ignis who was the first to live in seclusion here, the former deserter, knew that this was not a sound made by the serpent god.

The serpent god always travels by meandering across the earth, so how could it possibly make such a rhythmic sound, like footsteps?
"Footsteps!"

The young Ignis man suddenly raised his head.

Yes, footsteps.

The earth was trembling.

It trembled beneath those enormous feet.

What appeared in his sight was an unprecedentedly enormous humanoid figure. Its massive body was even wider and taller than the tallest palace. Even the so-called towering trees were nothing more than low-lying weeds in front of that enormous figure.

Nothing could stop the giant's advance.

"This, this is..."

Having been to the northern tundra before, he had seen giants before, but those giants living on the tundra no longer deserved to be called giants—how could those giants, who were only two Ignis tall, compare to this behemoth before him?

"This, what exactly is this..."

The young Ignis was in a state of confusion; he couldn't understand why such a thing had appeared.

But at that very moment, someone among the other hermits suddenly shouted.

"King! This is our king!"

"This is the first light of dawn...this is David Day!"

As the shouts rang out, more and more people recognized the giant's face—but the appearance of the king did not bring them joy; instead, it filled them with even greater terror.

Simply because they were all escaped from the city.

They fled to the holy mountain in order to escape this king and the repeated conquests of this nascent dawn, hoping to find a way to survive.

But now, this David Day has actually come after us.

Even in this state.

"They've come... to kill us?"

Seeing the giant, who resembled David Day, walking directly towards the Holy Mountain, the Ignis who had fled the city couldn't help but tremble, their legs even going weak.

They never expected that the nascent dawn would actually dare to chase them all the way to the sacred mountain.

Even in this form.

"Isn't he afraid of being punished by the snake god?"

Someone in the crowd said this unconsciously.

Yes, this is a sacred mountain, the abode of the serpent god. For hundreds of years, except for sacrifices, this place has been an absolute forbidden zone for the Ignis people. And now, this nascent dawn dares to chase after us. Doesn't he fear angering the gods?

"What snake god? What snake god? Where is the snake god? Does anyone know?"

It was at this moment that someone else spoke up.

Upon hearing this, those who had just begun to have some hope immediately lowered their heads.

Yes, where is the Snake God? Nobody knows, after all, the Snake God has never appeared in hundreds of years—even hundreds of years ago, when the Snake God was said to be alive, people had never seen what the Snake God looked like.

Only the leaders and kings of each generation are truly qualified to see the serpent god.

Only the king of the Ignis was qualified to come to the sacred mountain with offerings and meet the serpent god during the harvest festival.

Of course, this is a clear statement.

In reality, it was widely known among the Ignis that the offerings from the annual harvest festival were all taken by mages and stored in the royal treasury. The so-called harvest festival was merely a pretext for the royal family to amass offerings.

Even the Harvest Festival is just a name; whether the Snake God actually exists is even more debatable.

They have been living in the mountains for quite some time now, but none of them have ever seen what the snake god looks like.

Or perhaps, only one person has ever seen what the serpent god looks like.

"The Serpent God exists!"

Taking a deep breath, the young Ignis, the former deserter, shouted at the people.

"The Serpent God exists! I have seen Him with my own eyes... If you say the Serpent God does not exist, then what about the fruit trees we planted before? If we didn't use the excrement of a deity, how could those fruit trees grow so miraculously, blossoming and bearing fruit in just ten days and nights?"

"That, that might just be a rare treasure from the mountains..."

Someone in the crowd muttered this, but their voice clearly lacked confidence.

After all, everyone has witnessed the orchard's bountiful harvest. It's truly inexplicable that so many fruits and vegetables could flower and bear fruit in just ten days.

"But, but..."

Someone hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke up.

"But will the snake god come to save us?"

……

A brief silence fell over the crowd.

The young Ignis, the deserter, wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to give a definite answer.

It was because he had personally encountered the serpent god that he understood even more clearly that there was no hope of salvation, and the serpent god didn't even have eyes for them, the Ignis people. He remembered that when communicating with the serpent god, the serpent god had repeatedly emphasized that they should not be worshipped as gods.

The snake god has its own things to do; the snake god will not save anyone.

To survive, they can only rely on themselves.

But such words cannot be spoken openly. If it were said directly that the snake god would not save anyone, the people present would probably collapse on the spot.

So, after taking a deep breath, the young Ignis stood up straight.

"The snake god will come to save us!"

The young Ignis shouted.

"Because I have a way to communicate with the snake god!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, the people who had been dejected just moments before quickly turned their gaze to the person who had first secluded himself in the sacred mountain.

Yes, although they didn't even know the young man's name, he had lived in the Holy Mountain long before them.

In other words, the method this kid was talking about for summoning the snake god...

Could it really be true?

"Please believe in me, and believe in the snake god."

The young Ignis said this, but his fists were already clenched tightly behind his back.

Now that he knew the Snake God was not there, he had no choice but to fight to the death.

"If everyone does as I say, we will all survive!"

"Take all that excrement out!"

(End of this chapter)