Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 56 The Last Ignis

The fire has gradually died down, and the king is nowhere to be seen.

This is a true reflection of the city of Ignis today. The once-deep palace has long been shattered in the chaos of war, and the old throne no longer bears the shadow of the king. After losing the king, even the original calendar has become chaotic.

Earlier, people used the calendar of the thirty-sixth chief to mark the years, but with the death of David Day and the frequent wars, people gradually lost their ability to remember which year it was.

However, this kind of thing isn't that important. After all, no one cares about it right now. The former royal family and the remaining frozen giants are both fighting hard and trying to fill their stomachs. Those mountain people who abandoned their homeland are all training hard and honing their combat strength.

For a time, this place, which was originally rife with war, ushered in a brief period of peace.

This is why the new leader elected by the royal families, the mage named Akakage, was once called the Holy King, and people believed that he brought peace—but only Akakage himself knew that the so-called peace was just because too many people had died and no one had anything to eat.

When everything is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt, people must seize the time to resume production, at least to ensure they have food to eat, so naturally there is no time to fight.

"But things might change after I leave."

Years later, the now elderly Red Shadow spoke these words to the new generation of Ignivas.

Yes, the term "Ignis" no longer exists. After all, the symbol of the Ignis people, the city of Ignis, has been destroyed. The only ones still following the Crimson Shadow are the descendants of those magicians from back then; they are all members of the Ignis family.

Upon seeing these descendants, Chi Ying even experienced a moment of disorientation.

In the history of his tribe, he had learned that Ignis was once just a small village of about a hundred people. It was only through gradual development that it became such a large city. Now, everything seemed to have returned to its starting point. After a period of war, the people of Ignis seemed to have returned to their original state.

"So... if possible, leave this place, like our ancestors."

In his final moments, Akakage gave these younger generations his final instructions.

“Go elsewhere and rebuild our city… Our ancestors could do it, and so can we. Don’t stay here any longer. Fighting those Ice People is pointless. Even if you want to reclaim your homeland, you must first strengthen yourselves.”

As the Holy King was about to breathe his last, his descendants wept bitterly.

There was one person who didn't cry along with them.

When he saw that figure, Chi Ying's pupils suddenly contracted, because the figure was so familiar that it even evoked memories of his youth—something from a very, very long time ago, dating back to when he first met the serpent god.

A deserter also met the serpent god with him.

"You, how did you..."

Akakage subconsciously raised his head.

"How come you still look so young? I'm already so old..."

"Because I haven't worked as hard as you."

Among the crowd, the former deserter sighed.

"Life in the mountains is simple; you don't have to think too much. You just need to exercise every day, so you'll stay healthy... It's just that when I heard you were going to die, I remembered what happened back then, so I came down the mountain to see you."

"you……"

It was at this moment that Akakage suddenly realized that even though there was a distance between them, the deserter's words could be clearly heard by him.

God knows how they did it; such an amazing ability is simply unheard of.

"Is this what you learned in the mountains? Did the snake god teach you?"

“He does not allow us to worship Him as a god, so we now call Him the ancestor of the Way.”

The former deserter looked at the crimson figure on the sickbed. "This is the power of the Dao. As long as you follow the guidance of the Dao Ancestor and practice your own path, you can obtain all kinds of incredible power."

"This……"

Chi Ying was speechless for a long time.

It's truly unbelievable.

Just like now, even though he was surrounded by Ignivas who were weeping because he was about to die, it seemed as if only he and the deserter were communicating.

This magical ability is completely different from the magic of the Ignivas.

Or perhaps, this is what truly deserves to be called magic.

"That's amazing, truly amazing."

Chiying sighed.

If he hadn't coveted the status of the Holy King back then, if he had chosen to stay in the mountains... would everything have been different?
Now, he has truly become a Holy King. Although there will no longer be the spotlight of the masses, and although he himself feels that being a Holy King is not so great, he has ultimately achieved his wish.

"For the sake of what happened back then... I know there was some friction between us back then, but for the sake of our old acquaintance, please do me a favor."

"That's what Akakage said."

“Look after these descendants for me, at least leave them a way to survive… They will leave here and migrate to more distant places, just like the ancestors of the Ignis.”

"As for those who don't want to leave, please persuade them. Staying here is pointless for them; they'll only die in pointless battles."

"You're also from Ignis, lend them a hand."

……

After a moment of silence, the deserter from back then shook his head.

“I am no longer an Ignis, none of us are Ignis… all those who fled into the mountains, we are no longer Ignis.”

“We now have a new name; you can call us, the people of the mountains.”

“We live in seclusion in the deep mountains, following the guidance of the ancestor of the Tao and practicing our own path. The affairs of the outside world are none of our business, and we will not participate in the conflicts outside. So, I probably can’t help you with what you’re talking about.”

……

The elderly Red Shadow remained silent, simply gazing at this once-familiar person.

Over the years, he has had friends and relatives, but those close friends and relatives have long since died or passed away.

Right now, this deserter, whom he once regarded as an opponent, is truly the only acquaintance he has left.

"For the sake of us being Ignisians."

In his final moments, the aged Red Shadow left behind his last words.

This made the deserter sigh.

"I knew I shouldn't have come down the mountain."

That's what the deserter said.

(End of this chapter)