Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

“First of all, I killed Ptahka. Without my arrow, you would never have been able to take him down… Secondly, I also need some close-quarters self-defense skills. Didn’t you see how dangerous it was just now? I would have died without Thomast!”

That makes sense, after all, as the only warrior in the team capable of sniping enemies from a distance, Nephthys' safety is indeed very important.

"Then you should give me the sword. I've already saved your life..."

Thomas immediately perked up.

"I will continue to protect you, so let me take this sword."

"Actually... I can take this sword too."

Imhotepsa, the Sun God Physician who had previously been largely ignored, spoke up at this moment.

"If we could get our hands on this sword, the team might have an extra fighting strength... I'm not greedy for the sword, I just want to do something for everyone during the battle."

After all, this five-person team has only ever had four members. If he, as a medic, can truly master combat skills, it would be a huge boost to the team.

Everyone had a valid reason, even Habisa himself—he was the only swordsman in the team, so if he didn't take it, who would?

In an instant, the five people who had once shared life and death were arguing loudly.

As the argument escalated, some people brought up old grievances. First, the spearman said that the strongman had blocked his position last time, causing him to suffer a wound for nothing. Then the strongman accused the archer of missing his shot once before, with the arrow piercing his body. The Sun God Physician tried to intervene, but everyone called him a quack, pointing to the scar on his body and asking why he couldn't heal such a small injury. The physician was so angry that he cursed and declared that he would never apply any medicine to anyone again.

Even Habisa, who hadn't gotten a word in edgewise, was dragged into the scolding. These days, he'd been busy coordinating various squads, trying to organize a large-scale attack. This kind of thing that could secure victory had somehow become a distraction from his duties. According to his teammates, if Habisa hadn't been distracted, they would have already reached level 30. How could they be stuck at level 20 because they didn't have any green-skinned monsters to kill?

The constant commotion annoyed Habisa immensely. Being a farmer by birth and not good with words, he couldn't utter a single rebuttal beyond a few curses.

"You, you..."

Seeing that the strongman Gebton had even raised his fist, Habisa instinctively drew his sword.

It wasn't his longsword that had already been cut off.

Instead, it was another one that was wider and sharper.

Habisa couldn't remember what happened after that. He only remembered that when he came to his senses, there were only five corpses left on the ground—besides Putahka, his four teammates who had shared life and death with him were now all lying in pools of blood.

"I……"

Habisa stared blankly at the blood-stained sword in his hand and then at his fallen comrades on the ground.

"What have I done?"

The feeling of the sword still lingered in my hand. This longsword was indeed a rare treasure; it sliced ​​through flesh and blood as lightly as cutting through air.

Even if he reaches level 30... no, even if he reaches level 50, can he achieve that level?

Habisa doesn't know.

All he knew was that he could never go back.

Chapter 144 The Price of a Gift

In the Temple of the Sun in the holy city of Heliopolis, the war priest Matteperi was still overseeing the battle.

The water, imbued with divine magic, was carried out basin after basin. The priests serving the gods would fill water bags and transport them to sun temples in various places.

After that, the temples of the sun god in various places will continue to hold ceremonies, transforming more and more people into warriors of the sun god.

"Until the entire population becomes soldiers."

Matt Perry finally stood up after making the last pot of magical water.

The priests, having finished their work, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The sudden relaxation was not only because the busy work was over, but also because the war itself no longer required their attention—they had already foreseen their own demise under the relentless attacks of the serpent demon army.

But now, the battle has taken a turn for the worse than they ever imagined.

With that divine water, everyone can become a warrior, even the most elite warrior.

No matter how ferocious the serpent demon army was, it would be completely overwhelmed by this vast sea of ​​people. No matter how powerful the four priests who had sided with the serpent demons were, it would be difficult for them to wipe out these scattered warrior squads in one go—but these warrior squads could keep tearing at the serpent demon army, just like piranhas in a great river.

When these ferocious fish swarm in, even a strong lion can be devoured into bones in a matter of moments.

Just like these piranhas, the more piranhas eat, the stronger they become. Similarly, the more enemies these warriors kill, the more experience they gain, and the higher their level becomes.

With the blessing of divine magic, and with the addition of levels and experience, the warriors of the Sun God will only grow stronger in battle.

"Definitely win!"

The priests' faith was rekindled.

But Matt Perry simply shook his head.

"Not even close."

"Don't forget, the ancient serpent itself hasn't been dealt with yet."

These words immediately poured cold water on the heads of the passionate priests.

Yes, there is a real god on the other side.

Even if that ancient serpent didn't move, it was still a true god. Once this ancient god started moving, who knows what kind of natural disaster would occur?

When faced with the ancient gods, there are ultimately limits to what humans can do.

"However... we also have our own gods."

The priests were immediately reassured when they realized that they had been worshipping the sun god for who knows how long.

Yes, even if they were ancient gods, they were just ancient gods. But the sun god they worshipped truly demonstrated His power—like this holy scene where the whole nation is a soldier, this grand occasion where everyone fights for the sun god, this vibrant and flourishing scene where all things compete for life. How could that ancient serpent compare to that?

"Does that ancient serpent still need to use primitive witchcraft?"

The priests immediately burst into laughter, and the somber atmosphere was quickly dispelled by their cheerful chatter.

Yes.

Regardless, they won this time, although it wasn't a complete victory, it was still a great one.

Of course, we should celebrate winning and relax our long-suppressed nerves.

But just as the priests began preparing for the banquet, ready to have some fun...

However, some discouraging news came from the front lines.

"What? You're saying some of the Sun God Warriors have betrayed us?"

Upon hearing the messenger's report, the priests were speechless with astonishment.

The Sun God warriors at the front lines have betrayed us, and there's more than one. The Sun God warriors, who were supposed to be tearing apart the Serpent Demon army, are now facing those damned traitors.

And these damned traitors are far more dangerous than the Serpent Demon army. After all, these traitors were originally warriors of the Sun God. They know very well how their former comrades acted. And now, when they turn around and use this experience to hunt down their former comrades, their efficiency is outrageously high.

"So why did they betray us?"

The priests were completely baffled, as this betrayal seemed utterly illogical.

But the battle reports from the front lines do not lie.

As messengers rushed into the temple one after another, the priests received more and more news of treason. In the battle reports from the front, the traitorous Sun God warriors either obtained incomparably powerful weapons, or obtained indestructible armor, and some even obtained unheard-of martial arts skills.

Yes, these traitors were indeed acting alone, but with their overwhelming equipment, a single one of them could easily defeat an entire squad of soldiers.

“Those traitors, those beasts who have sided with the Serpent Demon… they, they’re even killing our warriors to level up!”

The last messenger rushed into the temple and immediately collapsed onto the marble floor.

The message brought by the exhausted messenger sent shivers down the spines of the priests.

Experience and leveling up are clearly the magic weapons that the warriors of the Sun God use to defeat their enemies.

But now, this secret weapon has been used on the head of the Sun God Warrior.

"This……"

The priests immediately turned to look at Matt Perry.

Experience and level were all brought to them by the war priest in front of them. Now that this system had problems, they naturally placed all their hopes on the Spear of Sunlight.

They hoped that the Spear of Sunlight could find a way to at least reclaim the divine spells that had been cast upon the traitors, and prevent that power from falling into the hands of the Serpent Demon army.

However, Matt Perry shook his head at the expectant looks in the eyes of the priests.

"This is not the divine magic of the sun god; it is the power from the stars."

Mattepe's expression was blank.

“This is a power from another planet, a power that does not belong to this land… I am merely a priest of the sun god, and I cannot exert any influence on this power.”

"This……"

The priests were immediately covered in sweat.

It was at this moment that they remembered that when making those magical waters, the war priest seemed to have actually said something similar—but at that time they hadn't realized this, they only thought that since it was a divine spell released by Matt Peri, it must be the divine spell of the sun god.

But now, this...

"Besides, this isn't necessarily a bad thing."

As he said this, Matt Perry looked into the distance, his gaze seemingly passing through the hall to the enormous ancient serpent, as large as a mountain, in the distance.

“From the very beginning, I never intended to achieve any victory using this method.”

"What truly determines victory or defeat has always been things outside of war."

Chapter 145 The Attributes of the Ancient Serpent

This method alone will not win.

Matt Perry was clear about this from the beginning.

Although there are folk sayings about how many ants can kill an elephant, these are merely the imaginations of ordinary people. In Matt Perry's conquests across numerous planets, he had never seen any weak creature capable of overwhelming a true god simply through sheer numbers.

Even the ancient gods of yesteryear, these species that have been eliminated by the times, are ultimately not something that a group of ordinary people who use divine magic can shake.

But Matt Perri did it anyway, even going so far as to use his divine magic to thoroughly instill the concepts of experience and rank into every Sun God Warrior.

This is because, from the very beginning, this divine art was not intended as a weapon of war.

This divine technique was, from the very beginning, a decoy.

The primordial era was chaotic, ignorant, backward, and outdated... Even if those ancient gods accumulated considerable power in the primordial era, they were ultimately still lagging behind the times.

The old gods who have been eliminated by the times will inevitably want to keep up with the times, after all, advancement means efficiency and further progress.

"Therefore, if we want to defeat them, we should bring them civilization and knowledge instead."

Matt Perry remembered that the sun god had given him such an oracle before his arrival.

"When they embrace civilization, that will be the time of our victory."

Recalling the oracle of the sun god, Matt Perry admired the sun god's foresight even more.

Just like now, the bait is everywhere. That ancient serpent, that former god, will definitely notice this unfamiliar yet more efficient upgrade system—that ancient serpent will definitely be interested in it, and will even try it out.

When that ancient snake began to try to accumulate experience and level up.

That is when the gods will make their move.

An old god who has been eliminated by the times, no matter how glorious he was in the past, will no longer have any status.

The ancient serpent, completely ignorant of this system, could not possibly withstand the gods who had been accumulating experience on this path for an unknown period of time.

Therefore, the war was unimportant from the beginning. All the wars and all the deaths were meaningless. They were merely ways to attract the attention of the ancient serpent, so that the ancient serpent could swallow the bait.

And now...

"Have you already started trying it?"

As if sensing something, the war priest suddenly looked up into the distance.

……

Outside Buto Town, Du Yi, with the assistance of three priests, had already deciphered the divine magic system.

Although this mechanism seems quite simple on the surface, with just a few more terms appearing in the field of vision, in reality, whether it is level, experience, or profession, these all require connection to the consciousness of the person being treated in order to achieve accurate feedback—this alone raises the difficulty level by several levels, since neither Du Yi nor the priests under him have the skills in this area.

However, if they lack skill, they can make up for it with their ideas.

Just like it is now.

The black water, shimmering with golden light, was poured into the pool through bronze pipes. Since he couldn't get much of the "holy water of the sun" that the bird worshippers spoke of, Du Yi could only use his own venom and blood to make up the difference. After mixing a bunch of materials that they thought might be useful, the water turned into this iridescent black.