Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 325 The Will of the Planet

As Luce Meiying recounted her story, Gekala gradually came to understand everything.

The idea that the four gods are trapped on this desolate planet seems illogical, since it's difficult for a desolate planet to produce any truly powerful beings. The four gods shouldn't be unable to even evacuate—but if you consider the planet itself as a living thing, everything suddenly makes sense.

The four gods did not die at the hands of any powerful beings, but were devoured by the planet itself and became part of the entire planet.

However, planetary-level devouring is completely different from conventional devouring and digestion. According to Ryus Enchantress, the devoured at the planetary level is difficult to detect—this kind of devouring often manifests as "wanting to stay here" or "being trapped here due to some accident."

Those creatures that survived were unaware of what had happened. They simply felt that something had happened, or that they liked their current environment. Such thoughts might accompany them throughout their lives, until they grew old and lay buried beneath the earth.

In this process, their energy, their actions, their deeds, everything about them... even their remains, all of this will become nourishment for the planet itself.

"That's why I came here this time, to take my mentor out of here. I can't just watch him die here."

Ryus Enchantress revealed her purpose.

"Now we can be sure that those who are willing to stand on our side include the Serpent Cult, the World Tree, Priest Nar Corruption, the Four Gods who may still be alive, and you."

"Either we escape this planet together, or we die on this planet."

……

Having said all that, Gekala began to understand why this galaxy was so wild and untamed.

If such a terrifying planet were to land here, it would indeed devour everything around it, leaving nothing behind.

As a follower of the god of courage, Gekala felt despair for the first time, simply because the opponent he was about to face was far too powerful—yes, even when facing ferocious beasts, even when facing terrifying demonic serpents, he dared to swing his greatsword.

But what if we're facing the planet itself?

His so-called greatsword was nothing more than a toothpick, not even an ant. In fact, he himself was nothing more than an ant compared to the planet itself. This was no longer a matter of defeating an enemy; he was facing the entire world itself.

It's impossible to win.

Or perhaps, the concept of winning never existed in the first place.

Gekala's face visibly fell into a slump, and in just a moment he became listless. Judging from his dejected appearance, it looked as if he would die here at any moment.

"Perhaps spending the rest of my life in this place wouldn't be such a bad thing..."

But at that very moment, the snake-scale-like bark clinging to his head suddenly began to spread.

As the snake-scale bark spread, the wolf-headed swordsman's mind cleared once more, his extinguished courage rekindled, and even his thoughts became much clearer.

He's not the only one fighting against this planet, so why is he wallowing in despair?

"hiss……"

Recalling her recent feelings, Gekala gained a deeper understanding of what the so-called spiritual energy field of a planet truly meant.

"Do you really want me to stay here?"

"In short, do not touch the bark on your body. Once the bark is damaged, the planet itself will begin to guide you back to the earth."

Ryus Enchantress took out a few more pieces of root covered in snake scales, then peeled off the bark and stuck them on Gekala's forehead.

“We outsiders don’t have the aura of this planet, making us more vulnerable to being locked onto by the planet itself… So get up quickly, we should leave now.”

As she spoke, the female assassin helped Gekkar to his feet, and Gekkar heard the clanging of armor outside—just as he picked up his greatsword, fully armed city guards had burst through the door. "It's them! Kill them!"

The heavily armed city guards charged forward, their longswords gleaming coldly, while behind them, the mages' staffs were ablaze with sparkling crystals.

However, a heavy greatsword blocked all the attacks.

The massive blade, as thick as a block of iron, easily blocked everything, but this heavy weapon also exposed a huge flaw in its user—seeing the wolf-headed swordsman lose his balance, the city guards immediately raised their weapons and slashed down wildly.

But all those sword blades struck empty air.

The wolf-headed swordsman who appeared to be out of balance was merely a manifestation of their inner desires.

As for the real target, it had already broken through the window and disappeared without a trace.

"It's an illusion."

The mages standing in the back row also looked rather grim.

"They actually fooled us all. These aliens are really... not friendly."

Upon hearing this, not only the mages but also the city guards turned serious.

If aliens come and are willing to stay on this planet and contribute their share, then there's still much to say.

But what if these aliens wanted to leave, and even actively made contact with the World Tree...?

Those are traitors to the planet, termites of the earth. They must all be killed to ensure that the earth beneath our feet remains undamaged.

The earth beneath their feet was everything they depended on for survival.

They will not allow anyone to harm Him.

Even the ancestral gods that our ancestors once worshipped.

With that in mind, the city guards and mages began another round of large-scale searches.

……

The entire search lasted for three days and three nights, and wanted posters were posted everywhere. Even Du Yi had seen the wanted poster for himself.

"A warrant for the arrest of the ancestral gods worshipped by our ancestors... that must be referring to me, right?"

Looking at the glowing snake on the wanted poster, Du Yi felt that it didn't quite resemble him.

However, no matter how realistic the drawing is, it's impossible to find him, simply because the wanted poster depicts a large snake, while he is currently a small snake—his nimble body allows him to move more easily and infiltrate any place he wants.

Just now, he was preparing to sneak into the city lord's mansion to take a look.

He wanted to see what the descendants of those Tatumbutu people had become.

The city lord's mansion and the mage tower were almost connected, but the shining defensive tower ultimately failed to lock onto Du Yi's tiny body—Du Yi entered the city lord's room without lifting a finger.

To Du Yi's surprise, the mercury-like humanoid figure was sitting in a chair, and judging from its expression, it seemed as if it was waiting for him to arrive.

(End of this chapter)