Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

Casalon was taken aback when he sensed the message from the god of courage.

"This... wasn't it me who thought of it first? How could it have been confiscated already? How could they..."

But as Casaloran continued to decipher the information, he realized that he wasn't the first to fund local indigenous people in this way.

The first person to do this was actually David Day, who was thousands of miles away and whose whereabouts were unknown.

……

……

……

In the distant Da Mang Mountain, David Day, having lost the Seed of Creation, was practically powerless to do anything. He had originally intended to retrieve the Seed of Creation so that he could continue to complete the mission of the God of Life.

But who could have imagined that just as he and Casaloran formed an alliance and summoned the messenger of the God of Desire to take the fall, they discovered that the God of Desire had already arranged everything. And when the messenger of the God of Desire also returned defeated, and the three parties were preparing to discuss what to do again, they discovered that the one who truly reaped the rewards was actually the mysterious God hidden in the deepest recesses.

From the moment they arrived on this planet, they had already fallen into the trap of the God of Mystery. Every action they took against the local natives became an aid to the God of Mystery.

Simply put, from the moment they sat down at the table, they were already doomed to lose.

However, David Day refused to admit defeat.

Or rather, he can lose, he can admit his incompetence, and he can bear the blame of the god of life—but the mysterious god lurking in the shadows shouldn't expect to win so easily.

"Since you want to take all the benefits, then you might as well not live at all!"

At that moment, David Day clearly felt that his will had completely merged with that of the God of Life in the starry sky.

The god of life thought so too.

Therefore, his actions will receive the full support of the God of Life, and even if the God of Mystery personally kills him, the God of Life will avenge him.

"Then let's see if you dare to kill me."

With that, David Day roared.

"Life will protect life!"

At David Day's command, the creepers covered in moss and spores instantly died on the spot, leaving behind only small hills full of mushrooms, which amazed the starving mountain people nearby.

"Is this... really safe to eat?"

The starving people swallowed instinctively. Although the rotting giant in the distance filled them with dread, they had indeed not eaten for a long time.

"Take it, you can take it."

David Day waved casually.

He was once a king, after all; he knew how to command an army.

Chapter 278 The Gift of the Four Gods

With the revelation that the God of Mystery was about to reap the rewards, David Day and Casalon simultaneously abandoned their interference with the spiritual field. This allowed them to directly contact their own gods, and also enabled the Pleasure God's messenger, the Shadow of Enchantress, to finally contact the God of Pleasure himself.

However, the divine message conveyed by the god of pleasure left Enchantress somewhat bewildered.

In the oracle, the God of Pleasure clearly instructed that since the God of Mystery wanted to monopolize everything on this planet, then they should simply muddy the waters—in short, they should imitate the God of Mystery's approach and directly provide assistance to the planet's natives.

Furthermore, in the oracle, the god of pleasure had already provided specific examples. For instance, the legion commander of the god of tyranny, Casaloron, directly provided these local natives with the navigation technology they desperately needed. David Day, the incarnation of the god of destruction, went even further, using unlimited food supplies to raise a group of starving people. Although the latter seemed far less effective than the former, it was clear that David Day could not have done more than that.

Therefore, as the messenger of the god of pleasure, the Shadow of Enchantress could not lag behind. It had to find a way to help these local natives and, incidentally, let them accept the influence of the god of pleasure.

"But... what can I do to help?"

Faced with the new divine oracle, the Shadow of Enchantress was completely bewildered.

If it hadn't been injured, perhaps it could have stepped forward on its own initiative—at that time, it wouldn't have needed to do anything; simply standing there would have been enough to bring joy to all the local natives.

But now, its body has already been shattered once, and it will take time to rebuild it. Right now, it doesn't even have the most basic strength, so what can it do?

However, one cannot say such things to the god of pleasure. After all, asking the god of pleasure for help would be proving one's own incompetence, and a god without ability would not need to exist.

We must think of a way, at least to demonstrate our usefulness.

So after thinking for a moment, the Shadow of Enchantress had no choice but to infiltrate the city of the local natives.

This is something only it can do. Even if its body is shattered, it can transform itself into different forms. However, some local natives would never be able to see its true form. It can go anywhere it wants.

With this in mind, the Shadow of Enchantress circled the entire city and then went to the most central area of ​​Tatunbuto, namely the Priest's Court.

The Priests' Court, which is the office of the four priests, was originally part of the Serpent God Temple. However, as the Serpent God Empire grew larger and larger, the city of Tatunbuto also grew larger and larger, and the daily affairs that needed to be handled by them also increased.

Therefore, in order to maintain the solemnity and tranquility of the temple, the four priests had no choice but to set up their offices separately next to the temple.

Such an important place would naturally be guarded, but for the Shadow of Enchantress, these mortal guards were no problem at all.

"At least for now, their security might need an upgrade."

Thinking this, Mei Zhiying transformed into a minor official carrying papyrus paper and stepped inside.

The guards did not stop it, after all, such minor officials were common in the priesthood. The Phantom Shadow, mixed in with the crowd, easily met the so-called four priests.

They looked like four ordinary people, or even more exhausted than ordinary people. Judging from their hunched figures and the faint traces of white hair, these four people were clearly exhausted and almost at the end of their lives.

"Perhaps they need some younger, more energetic managers... or simply some ways to prolong their lives."

Meizhiying silently noted down these potential needs.

Of course, in Mei Zhiying's opinion, the best way is to combine work and rest, and use sufficient enjoyment and rest to allow the body and soul to recover from fatigue. However, it is obvious that these local natives will not listen to this - perhaps this is also a characteristic of these natives, they seem to be working all the time and never have a moment of enjoyment.

"However, this is a common problem of barbaric civilizations, especially after they have seen the splendor of the starry sea... The weak do not deserve to rest; they will only give everything to become stronger."

Thinking of this, the Shadow of Enchantress suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Having traveled to many planets, it had seen quite a few civilizations, but every time it saw a race struggling to survive, it could still feel the desolation that enveloped the entire race.

Even if you risk your life, even if you give up everything, even if you burn your soul, even if you give your all, what's the use?

These natives are indeed chasing after them, but the other races in the Star Sea have never stopped moving forward. Even if these natives can enter the Star Sea, they will only have just touched the starting point of other civilizations.

If you can't catch up, you can't catch up; if you fall behind, you fall behind. These are not things you can do by risking your life.

"What they need may be the truth... but that's the one thing we can't give them."

Mei Zhiying shook her head and dismissed the idea. After all, it would be too cruel to make a group of natives realize that there was no hope for the future.

But it was at this moment that Ansag, one of the four priests, saw it shaking its head.

"What are you standing there for? If you have nothing to do, go get a cup of hot water."

Clearly, even the leader of the four priests was unable to see through the Phantom's disguise.

This proves once again that the natives' level is really too low. Although it is true that the natives are too strong, the gap itself is the biggest problem.

"No wonder they were lured by the God of Mystery. If I were that weak, I probably wouldn't have been able to refuse either."

With this in mind, Mei Zhiying began to make plans.

The God of Mystery offered knowledge, the God of Courage offered key technology, and the God of Life doesn't know yet, but judging from the God of Life's usual approach, it's probably an enticement related to health.

As the messenger of the god of pleasure, what can it offer?

"Then let me bring you some joy."

Thinking this, the Phantom Shadow had already vanished.

Meanwhile, Ansag waited for ages for his hot water, so he got up and poured himself a cup. But when he returned with the hot water, he suddenly noticed a small animal sitting on his seat.

It looked like a small leopard, but unlike a leopard, this animal had pointed ears.

"……Meow?"

After staring at Ansag for a moment, the unfamiliar animal made a sound it had never heard before.

"This is……"

Ansag instinctively reached out his palm to the unfamiliar animal, but the small leopard-like creature showed no fear. Instead of being attacked, Ansag felt a furry sensation in his palm.

It was this strange animal that was rubbing against his hand, and it was even making purring noises.

"It seems...not bad?"

Ansag tried stroking the fur of the unfamiliar animal; the soft touch even made him feel much more relaxed.

Chapter 279 gave too much.

Recently, the people of Tatunbto have felt, to varying degrees, that life seems to be getting better.

Although their lives weren't too bad before, they still felt somewhat hardship from working all day. Countless people were burning themselves out for the dream of flying, but that dream seemed so far away, and everything seemed to have no end.

Despite the daily exhaustion, the fact that they didn't complain was already a testament to their strong will. So, while they didn't support those who wanted to bow down and apologize to the gods in the starry sky, they were surprisingly understanding – after all, toil had been a constant part of their lives, and who knew how long these endless days would last.

But recently, it seems like everything has suddenly gotten better.

First, there was a major technological breakthrough. Although they hadn't yet advanced their technology to the level the Snake God had described, the second-generation carpenter, Beska, somehow managed to find a way to fly. Although the armor used to travel to the Star Sea was still in its infancy, it was a huge improvement compared to the previous aimless wandering.

However, there were also rumors that Beskay was secretly contacting the chosen champions who had once been enemies of the Serpent God. Although the four priests repeatedly explained that Beskay was just carrying out official duties, this matter still aroused the dissatisfaction of the Blood Chapter.

Secondly, there is the abundance of food. Although Tatunbuto is far from being able to eat meat freely, it has at least been able to eat noodles freely. Everyone knows that all of this is thanks to the help of the serpent god. In addition to the locally produced fruits and vegetables, there are also some mushrooms being sold secretly in the city. According to those who have eaten the mushrooms, they can even be used as medicine.

It is said that these fungi, known as Ganoderma lucidum, were transported from the distant Damang Mountain. It's not that no one has ever wanted to bring some back, but none of those who went there ever returned. They all stayed in Damang Mountain, claiming that living there could prolong their lives.

However, compared to the first two, the biggest change to life was the appearance of those four-legged creatures.

These four-legged creatures resembled smaller leopards, but they had pointed ears and their calls were different from the roars of leopards; instead, they made relatively pleasant meowing noises. So, to distinguish them from real, smaller leopards, they named these animals cats.

Because these animals are small and don't get in the way, people can even pick them up and pet them to relieve tension. People love them and have even begun to regard these cats as animals second only to snakes.

As for why snakes are considered the most sacred, it is because the snake god resides outside the city, and as the snake god's subjects, they naturally regard all snakes as sacred beasts.

Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction.

This put the Shadow of Enchantress, who was hiding in the city, at ease.

It had originally thought that these local natives would be like the chosen ones of those tyrannical gods, a group of born war freaks—but now it seems that these local natives also need some relaxation.

"That should be fine."

A few days later, seeing that the cats released into the wild were not disliked, Mei Zhiying felt that she had fulfilled the mission of the God of Pleasure.

Whether it was the disgusting God of Destruction, the cruel God of Tyranny, or the great God of Pleasure, they all used different methods to disrupt the insidious plan of the God of Mystery, and incidentally spread their influence—although it was still uncertain who would ultimately obtain everything from these natives, at least for now, they had each gotten what they needed.

"As long as this is for now, at least we can join forces temporarily to fight against that mysterious god..."

Mei Zhiying thought to herself.

But at that very moment, the Shadow of Enchantress suddenly sensed that a cat had died.

"Who? Was it done by the God of Mysteries?"

The first thought of the Shadow of Enchantment was that the God of Mystery wanted to take everything—but the God of Mystery was currently facing off against the God of Tyranny and couldn't possibly be bothered with such a trivial matter.

"That's... that giant snake?"

Indeed, this is possible. After all, these natives still worship the giant serpent, and their serpent worship is ubiquitous in the city. Now, the appearance of the cat has impacted the natives' belief in the giant serpent to some extent, so it is only natural that the giant serpent would kill the cat.

However, whether it was the mysterious god or the giant serpent that made the move, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, all living beings like to gain and hate to lose.

Especially when such simple relaxation is lost, it's hard not to feel resentment, which will only make the local natives more inclined to turn to the god of pleasure.

"This actually increases the influence of the god of pleasure...that's a good thing."

So initially, the Shadow of Enchantress didn't pay much attention to this little thing. It was even somewhat happy to see those cats lose their lives—although it was quite cruel to the cats themselves, it was the best thing for both it and the God of Pleasure.

Until it saw a dog.

Those must be dogs, after all, wolves have erect ears and drooping ears, so they must be dogs—but the natives of this planet haven't domesticated wolves yet, so where did these dogs come from?

Although the dog wasn't very big, it was still twice the size of the cat. What's more, right now, the cat was holding a smoked fish that it had picked up from somewhere in front of the dog. So, with one charge, the dog bit the cat that couldn't dodge in time, and then with a violent shake of its head, the cat and the smoked fish flew away on the spot.

"Well done, Bruce!"

Seeing that the big dog had punished the cat that stole the fish, someone came from afar, affectionately patted the dog's head, and even offered it a meat bone as a reward.

Meanwhile, Mei Zhiying, standing to the side, was completely stunned.

Taking a deep breath, the Shadow of Enchantress simply circled the city twice more. It was then that it discovered that there was a large number of dogs in the city. Like cats, these dogs were also furry, and unlike cats that can only be petted, these dogs could even guard the house.

People regard dogs as symbols of courage and loyalty, even more so than cats.

Courage and loyalty.

Courage, and loyalty.

"Kasalorn! What a mess you've made!"