Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

"Surrender now, accept the infusion of courage, and you'll at least have a chance to live."

"……Why?"

Melk, with the giant axe pointing directly at him, seemed to hear the wails of countless wronged souls echoing in his ears. The overwhelming bloody aura startled him so much that he fell to the ground in the yellow sand.

This made the God of Courage laugh even more. It turned out that conquering this planet was so simple. Even the ruler of this underworld was only this capable. If that was all, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger. He could simply raise his battle axe and completely transform everything here.

However, at that very moment, the snake with some strength blocked his way.

"summon monster?"

The god of courage paid no attention and simply swung his axe straight at the target.

However, the expected effortless split did not occur.

The sharp axe blade, covered in spikes, got stuck directly on the snake scales.

"……Um?"

It was at this moment that the God of Courage suddenly realized that something seemed amiss.

However, following the force of the chopping motion, the heavy snake body was already whipped through the air.

"Boom!"

The shoulder of the god of courage instantly exploded, and crimson blood, like magma, stained the yellow sand on the ground.

"……Who are you?"

It was at this moment that the God of Courage remembered that, according to previous intelligence, there seemed to be a giant native serpent on this planet that was worshipped as a god.

But it was just a mere native giant snake...

Is it really that strong?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

The God of Courage didn't believe such a thing at all, simply because he had traversed far too many subspaces. Those so-called native gods, which one of them wasn't cleaved in two by a single swing of his axe? Many didn't even need him to swing his axe; the moment he appeared, the native gods were already completely transformed.

But, now...

"Could it be that my power has weakened?"

This was the second judgment of the God of Courage, but even this judgment was unreasonable—simply because, in order to occupy this subspace as soon as possible, he had already invested a full half of his power.

Even with half the force, it was impossible; it couldn't even break the skin of a giant native snake.

Half the power...

half……

"……half?"

Feeling a strange consciousness rising within him, the god of courage suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky.

Above, the dark clouds that had been gloomy had somehow dissipated, revealing a huge golden scale!

Even though the two ends of the balance scale were empty, it continued to adjust, rising and falling on both sides until it returned to a stable state.

At that very moment, the God of Courage inexplicably felt that his fighting strength against the giant serpent had been leveled.

This is an absolutely fair fight; the winner will own everything here.

"be cheated!"

The God of Courage's already scarred face suddenly became even more unsightly.

They've been tricked. They've been tricked from the very beginning. This planet has never been a wild land full of treasures, but an extremely dangerous trap. At this moment, he could even feel that the scales in mid-air had locked his soul, making it impossible for him to break free.

Alternatively, one could become the new god of the underworld through the fighting.

Either they die in the fighting, becoming nourishment for this underworld, or even for the planet itself.

"No wonder the natives here are all so incredibly talented..."

It was at this moment that the god of courage realized that all the abnormalities were not without reason.

Unfortunately, he realized this too late.

"No! It's not too late!"

The god of courage gripped his great axe tightly.

If it were the God of Mystery or the God of Desire, he would have already been trying to escape at this point, since this situation, which was clearly a trap set by someone else, was a sure way to die. But he was different; he was the God of Courage, and he had absolute confidence in his own strength.

Even in a fair fight, he was confident that he would be the one to have the last laugh.

Moreover, he may not actually want to engage in any fair fight.

"Come!"

The heavy axe was driven into the yellow sand, and the god of courage raised his hand and waved.

"You guys come too!"

With a flash of crimson light, a two-headed eagle leaning on a long staff, a radiant humanoid wielding a long whip, and a rotting mountain with three giant trees growing on its back all appeared.

"Huh, this tyrannical god didn't eat all the food himself?"

The two-headed eagle, leaning on its long staff, looked puzzled. Judging from its two vulture faces, it seemed it had just been about to start cursing. But upon seeing the huge scales in mid-air, the two-headed eagle immediately burst into a tirade of curses.

"You shameless old dog! You actually betrayed me! You..."

Before the two-headed eagle could finish cursing, its thick snake tail had already pierced through the air and arrived.

bang——

Chapter 299 The Four Gods Battle the Ancient Serpent

Tatunbto, the city of the serpent god.

Seven more days have passed, and the Four Gods and Demons Army is still stuck in the portal construction phase. This is because the warriors of the Blood Chapter have used every means possible, rushing forward time and time again to detonate themselves. But this is the longest time they can buy, since the construction of a portal can be done anywhere.

"Our defenses are riddled with holes, and our planet is full of vulnerabilities."

It was at this moment that the four priests truly realized how terrifying it was to lack their own technology.

They had to worry about the teleportation portals that were popping up everywhere, and also about the giant starships that could attack from the sky at any moment. All they could do was keep sending their soldiers to sacrifice their lives.

Without the help of the Star Gods, this is all they can do.

With the limited technology at their disposal, this was the best they could do to utilize their resources; they had already done their utmost.

But the demon army still came.

The first thing to be built was the teleportation portal to Mount Damang, which was the border of the Serpent God Empire and the weakest point in the entire empire. The reason for this weakness was the strategic mistake of the four priests, who mistakenly believed that as long as Tatunbuto was built, everything would be stabilized.

But this world isn't just about Tatunbto.

The strategic mistakes of the past have ultimately become bitter pills that we must swallow. Now, it's not just the area around Damang Mountain that has fallen; other border regions have also fallen.

Beyond that lies the heartland of the Serpent God Empire, upstream of the great river, where the warriors of the God of Courage have also constructed a teleportation portal. Although these warriors are few in number compared to the large armies pouring into the borderlands, these chosen ones, clad in heavy armor and wielding rune swords, are all exceptionally powerful.

Their appearance is also the biggest reason why the other portals cannot be destroyed, simply because the most elite Blood Legion has been used entirely to fight against these Chosen Ones.

"We have far too few soldiers..."

Looking at the map on the table covered with glaring red lines, the four priests sighed in unison.

When the Serpent God Empire was first established, there were indeed many warriors. However, as peaceful life gradually approached, those warriors eventually chose to lay down their arms and return to their fields. After all, they chose to fight only so that they could live in peace, so when peace came, they naturally no longer needed to fight.

Moreover, there's also the Snake God.

The enormous serpentine body coiled outside Tatunbto has become the source of security for the entire Tatunbto, and even the entire Serpent God Empire. As long as the Serpent God is there, there is nothing to fear. So apart from a few warriors who still want to fight and have been incorporated into the law enforcement team to maintain order, the only fighting force in the entire Serpent God Empire right now is actually the Blood Warband.

Of course, the four priests were aware of the problem, but at that time they were too reliant on the power of the serpent god. They believed that as long as they did good diplomacy, as long as they continued to acquire knowledge from the stars, and as long as their civilization progressed rapidly, everything would eventually get better.

If we can buy them a little more time, give them a little more time to accumulate experience, just ten years... no, even just five years, just give them five more years, and they will have the confidence to face any crisis.

However, five years have passed.

Let alone five years, they wouldn't even have five days left. Their enemies in the starry sea, those colossal beings far superior to them, wouldn't give them any time to develop.

"This is war."

Of the four, Sataik, who had once led troops in the war that established the nation, closed his eyes in anguish.

"This is what war is all about..."

Satek gripped the hilt of his knife tightly.

He originally thought he was the kind of person who knew how to fight, after all, under his command, the newly established Serpent God Empire did indeed accomplish the feat of conquering the Sun God Kingdom—but now it seems that it was less that he knew how to fight and more that the Sun Empire was destined to perish.

In situations like this, even a pig could achieve some success.

Now is the time to truly test a general's abilities.

It turns out I have no talent.

This time, Satek clearly realized this.

But now, it's all too late.

"No, there is still a chance."

Of the four, Ansag was the first to stand up.

"We still have a chance."

"Opportunity? What opportunity?"

Melk, who had just been pulled back from the Underworld, was still in shock. He had witnessed the four terrifying beings descend upon the Underworld, and right now, the Serpent God was fighting all four of them alone in the Underworld, unable to even spare a hand to help them.

The demonic army in the distance is advancing all the way, and will be at the city gates in three days at most.

They had long since lost all chance.

Ultimately, the gap between the two sides is still too great. The enormous technological chasm is insurmountable—no matter how hard they try to catch up, they cannot catch up with the Star Gods in a short period of time, who have accumulated a foundation over an unknown period of time.

But at that moment, Ansag continued speaking.

"What opportunity? Of course, it's the last chance."

At this point, Ansag looked at the other three.

Are you afraid of dying?

Such a question is meaningless. The serpent god is the god of death, and as priests of the god of death, how could they be afraid of death? After all, no matter how many times they die, they can always come back to life again.

But looking into Ansag's eyes and at his serious expression, the other three already knew that this so-called death was not something trivial.

That is death in the traditional sense, which is true death. No soul will be left behind, and not even the body may remain.

"Not afraid."

Sartek, being a warrior, was the first to stand up.

"A soldier's destiny is to die in battle."

"I...forget it."

Melk was about to say that he wasn't a warrior, but after realizing that the statement might be ambiguous, he simply stood up as well.

"Even if I weren't a warrior, I wouldn't be afraid of this."

In the end, even the most inconspicuous class silently stood up.

This made Ansag nod in agreement.

"Alright, since none of you are afraid of death, then we have one last chance."

As he said this, Ansag looked into the distance.

"While we may not be able to defeat these powerful enemies, we may not be able to bridge those civilizational gaps."

"But at least we can do this: drag them down to hell with us."

Chapter 300 Seed of Creation

"They have no chance of winning."

On the massive palanquin carried by thirty-six creeper warriors, David Day turned to Casaloran, who was riding a huge skeletal horse beside the palanquin, and spoke.

Surrounding them was an endless army of demons: the creepers of the god of life, the champions of the god of courage, the succubi of the god of desire, and even the shapeshifting golems of the god of mystery... Although these warriors from the four gods were at odds with each other and sometimes even fought each other during marches, there was no doubt that they were an extremely powerful force.