Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 77: Moving Mountains and Seas
As it turns out, the 28th Akakage's determination was indeed firm enough.

Until his death, the 28th Akakage never told anyone that secret. After reviewing the records about the snow mountain, he also deleted and modified some of them. What the Serpent God saw on the mountaintop was simply omitted. Instead, he added all the descriptions left by the 27th Akakage, imitating the tone of the Serpent God and the people in the mountain.

This was also the only thing that the 28th Akakage did himself during his tenure.

He did nothing else.

During this time of food shortages, stability was the only thing a Crimson Shadow should do; nothing else mattered to him. As it turned out, his judgment was at least partially correct. In the decades following his ascension to the throne, the Ignivas not only withstood the food shortages but even slowly recovered some of their fruit and vegetable production.

Although the quality of these foods could never compare to those made from the serpent god's compost, they still filled some of the food gap.

"At least we did something."

With these thoughts in mind, the 28th generation Akakage, who was already very old, also left this world.

Because the 28th Akakage did not pass on the lie about the Great Snow Mountain before his death, the newly appointed 29th Akakage was completely unaware of the secret. As someone who grew up listening to the legends about the Great Snow Mountain, the 29th Akakage was quite persistent in exploring the other side of the Great Snow Mountain.

At the same time, since each generation of Akakage is basically the strongest mage and the strongest warrior of that era, and as the most powerful one among the Ignivas, the 29th Akakage even plans to personally climb to the summit to take a look at the world on the other side of the mountain.

"I can do it! I definitely can!"

With this in mind and bearing the expectations of all the Ignivas people, the 29th Akakage, carrying luggage and supplies, ventured deep into the Great Snow Mountain.

Then, he was carried back.

As it turns out, the colossal peak, which even the great serpent god found difficult to traverse, was an insurmountable Wailing Wall for mortals. This attempt to challenge the gods with a mortal body ultimately ended in failure.

If the 29th Akakage hadn't brought his attendants with him when he went into the mountains, he would probably have been the only Akakage to die an unexplained death before a successor could even be arranged.

Even if they manage to retreat alive, the only thing the 29th Akakage can do right now is to arrange a successor.

The climb through the snowy mountains, in that frigid climate, had already caused irreversible and serious damage to his body.

"To conquer that mountain... we must climb over it!"

After selecting his successor, the 29th Akakage left these last words.

After the 29th Akakage passed away, the 30th Akakage who succeeded him was not his apprentice—after all, the 29th Akakage died too young and had no time to train an apprentice.

This directly led to the fact that, when choosing a successor, the 29th Akakage could only consider his fellow disciples, those mages who worked with him for the 28th Akakage. From among these people, he selected the most shrewd and capable one.

And the 30th Akakage did not disappoint the previous Akakage; at least he was not foolish enough to risk his life to climb the Wailing Wall himself.

But apart from that, the 30th Akakage provided unwavering support for his people's ascent of the Great Snow Mountain. He even visited those reclusive seekers of the Dao, obtained many secret techniques that could assist his people in climbing the mountain, and passed them on to all the Ignivas who wanted to cross the Great Snow Mountain.

"We will definitely get over that mountain!"

The 30th Akakage spoke these words with utmost seriousness. Clearly, this slogan was tinged with personal grudges, after all, the 29th Akakage had once been his friend—and now, his friend had died young while climbing the treacherous peak, so naturally he would vent all his anger on that mountain.

Although the 29th Akakage died on his sickbed, the 30th Akakage still stubbornly believed that the Great Snow Mountain had taken his friend's life.

But that's where the problem lies.

If he had received instruction from Akakage and formally learned how to be an Akakage, he should understand that as an Akakage, one must never let personal emotions interfere with judgment in official matters—but this self-taught Akakage had not considered this at all; at this moment, he only wanted to grind that snow mountain to dust.

"……etc?"

Driven by this hatred, the 30th Akakage vaguely realized something.

"It seems... it really works?"

At this moment, the 30th Akakage suddenly had an epiphany.

Although he came from a self-taught background and was the least like Akakage, this gave him a perspective that was independent of Akakage's. The normal Akakage would think more about the Ignivas people themselves and would ignore many other things.

Just like it is now.

Is crossing the snow-capped mountain the only way to get to the other side of the mountain?

"Not always!"

With this in mind, the 30th Akakage pondered for a whole day and night.

He then issued new orders.

It was less of a command and more of an idea, or perhaps a suggestion—clearly, for the Ignivas, crossing the colossal peak that even the gods considered difficult was virtually impossible.

But why is it necessary to climb over it?
"We can absolutely destroy that Wailing Wall!"

The 30th Akakage said this.

It doesn't even have to be destruction; even just carving a passable path through the Wailing Wall would suffice, since the latter would be a much smaller undertaking. However, slogans are meant to be loud and impactful, aiming to be as awe-inspiring as possible.

After proposing this idea, the 30th Akakage received support from almost all the Ignivas.

"We should have done this a long time ago! Why didn't we think of it before!"

Upon realizing that there was another way to cross the snow-capped mountains, the Ignivas immediately began their work.

Under the leadership of the thirtieth Akakage and with the support of all Ignivas, the massive mountain-moving movement began.

(End of this chapter)