Starting with the defeated female knight

Halfway up the mountain, I suddenly felt a sense of danger coming from the mountains beside me.

So He stopped, began to breathe on the mountain, and after confirming that Green had no intention of coming over, He slowly lowered His head and decided to go around the mountain that gave Him a strange feeling.

Keep going, children...

We need more companions...

Rustling...

After exhaling, the giant centipede retracted its body, bypassed the Green Mountains, and headed towards the border of the empire.

Seeing the giant centipede exhale and run away, Green lost the desire to continue observing and was about to leave.

But just then, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, and his gaze paused slightly.

The tentacles, which were about to leave, also stopped.

......

"Deworming is an extremely difficult process. The physical pain is secondary; what's more painful is the mental and emotional torment..."

In the church garden, the old man continued to mutter to himself as he watered the plants.

"Because insects cannot be simply categorized as good or evil; they are a more indescribable existence. Some insects never understood why the gardeners wanted to expel them..."

"They clearly didn't intend to destroy the garden, they clearly always treated the flowers kindly, and even the original gardeners were nurtured by their own hands, hoping that someone would help them take care of the garden..."

"But in the end, not only did the gardener betray them, but the garden itself rejected them."

"The reason is actually very simple: they forgot that a flower is a flower, not an insect."

His hand, which was watering the plants, paused slightly, and his tone became somewhat low.

Treat flowers the way that insects are kind to...

That's not caring.

"It is the most terrifying torment in the world."

......

Groups and sections of people appeared before Green.

Yes, in clusters and sections.

Like a twisted centipede, several, or even a dozen, humans were pieced together, crawling on their limbs. Their bodies were covered in venom that seeped into and corroded their skin. They continued along the path the centipede had taken.

They were screaming, they were crying, their skin couldn't withstand the venom, it was constantly corroded by the venom flowing out of them, and they were emitting bursts of wails.

One of the centipedes collapsed because it couldn't withstand the corrosive venom. The larger centipede immediately turned around, looked at it with concern, and subconsciously licked it, trying to relieve its pain in this way.

But naturally, the 'centipede' that was still howling fell silent immediately after being licked like that.

After confirming the death of the 'child,' even though it had no expression, Green could clearly sense a kind of 'sadness' emanating from it.

Then he saw that after confirming that the 'child' was dead, the centipede used its limbs to grab its body, easily tearing it into pieces and throwing them in front of the other 'centipedes'.

Not hungry... Time to eat...

After an indescribable feeding, miraculously, the centipedes' injuries visibly healed.

It can also withstand more corrosion and torment.

Then, the giant centipede slowly turned around and once again turned its gaze to the land within the empire that had been ravaged by the demonic tide.

Then, it began to wriggle its limbs.

They...are starving...

They...are in great pain...

They... need our help...

【them......】

[They need to become like us]

Book 1: Chapter 32: Ancient Gods, Families, Corruption

Another ancient god has awakened.

Now, it is wriggling its many limbs, leading its people, moving towards the territory of the empire.

The message, sent from the capital, quickly reached the investigation team that was heading to the border.

But in fact, long before this news reached them, Green had already told Edith about the giant centipede through the tentacles wrapped around her.

The centipede was enormous, about the size of a small mountain.

Its limbs are very tough, capable of easily tearing apart animals; its shell is also very hard, so much so that even a large rock thrown at it will only leave a small mark.

In addition, it possesses potent toxicity, capable of transforming almost everything around it into something poisonous.

His target seems to be your side; normally he should pass through my side.

But He didn't seem to like me very much. After breathing on me twice, He walked around me.

[I'm fine on my end. I felt we already had enough people, and there were some needs in Dawn City, so I called everyone back earlier.]

But I looked at the direction He was heading, and it seemed to be the way you came. If you keep going like this, you'll probably run right into Him.

Although Green didn't find the giant centipede particularly terrifying, that was only true to him.

So after confirming the giant centipede's movements and discovering that it might run into Edith and her group, Green immediately relayed the news to Edith.

I originally wanted to persuade them to take a detour and try to avoid the giant centipede.

But Edith shook her head at his suggestion.

“Lord Green, I understand your good intentions, and I know it is dangerous.”

"But when it comes to the ancient gods, none of us can back down."

The ancient gods are not simple things.

A towering physique, immense strength, and bizarre abilities are merely the basic characteristics of the ancient gods, not their most dangerous aspects.

Their most dangerous aspect is their 'faith,' which is also the essential difference between them and other powerful beings.

“Once they come into contact with humans and establish a ‘church,’ they can begin to expand their membership and draw strength from human faith.”

"At the same time, once their 'church' takes root, its expansion will become faster and faster, and it will continuously produce 'fellowships'."

"In this process, not only will the ancient god himself become stronger, but his followers will also rapidly fall into corruption, becoming not only stronger, but also more bizarre and difficult to eradicate."

"A single ancient god is not actually that scary. Even if it is powerful, it is not much different from other legendary creatures, such as ancient dragons."

"But once they are allowed into the empire, establish 'churches,' and begin to spread, they will gradually evolve from a single monster into a terrifying catastrophe."

In fact, due to past painful experiences, the Empire still has a set of effective countermeasures against the Old Gods.

This includes, but is not limited to, oversight of the capital, border defenses, and church reforms.

However, the sudden outbreak of the demonic tide not only destroyed the defense line, but also affected the monitoring in the capital.

In addition to the aftermath of the demonic tide, the people in the disaster-stricken areas are now in dire need of spiritual salvation, which can be said to have created a natural breeding ground for ancient gods.

If He were to successfully enter, or even take root, the consequences would be unimaginable.

【I see】

After listening, Tentacle nodded in agreement.

[This does sound a bit ominous]

They didn't catch it at all, or rather, they didn't care about the sense of déjà vu in Edith's words.

He genuinely didn't feel he had any connection with God.

In his understanding, a god, even if not 'incomprehensible, unseen, and indescribable,' should at least be able to 'reset the world,' 'modify reality,' or at the very least, twist the timeline into a pretzel.

As for the god of this world, he neither drastically altered humanity, created Lover TV, nor established any kind of clan, so how could he be the same as that giant centipede?

Faced with Green's attitude, Edith glanced at the tentacle in her arms, then at Cecilia's arm, and hesitated to speak.

If He says yes, then that's it.

So, what are your plans for the future?

[Should we stay put, prepare a defensive stance, and then face the centipede head-on?]

"Do not."

Edith shook her head.

“We need to take the initiative and attack before He takes root.”

"That's actually simpler."

As for reinforcements? Of course, there aren't any.

Before going to the capital, Green might have thought that if the empire couldn't even send reinforcements for such a major event, it was truly hopeless.

However, after spending some time in the capital, even if it was just lingering in the church garden for a while...

He is now very certain that there are definitely capable fighters in the capital, but the more capable they are, the less likely they are to move.

There are differences even among gods.

Putting aside everything else, the blue butterflies around the capital are still fluttering around.

Although the giant centipede looks a bit scary, compared to those blue butterflies, calling it a loli is an understatement.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg in the church.

Elsewhere in the church, beneath the Magicians' Guild, and in the secluded quarters of the royal family...

God knows how many surprises await outside.

Under these circumstances, the fact that such a small team could still be mobilized to investigate the demonic tide at the border is something Green can only say: there are indeed capable people in this capital city.

"You don't need to worry."

Edith rubbed the tentacle in her arms.

“The ancient gods are not invincible, especially those that have just awakened and have not yet taken root.”

"Moreover, this time, besides Lady Cecilia, we've also brought the Church's Knights, and Lady Uli is leading the Mage's Association. As for the nobles..."

She paused.

"Even if I don't like her, I have to admit that my sister is an extremely outstanding person, whether in combat or in other aspects."

"and......"

After confirming that no one was watching, she lowered her head, blinked, and said coquettishly to the tentacle in her arms.

"Isn't that what you're here for?"

Come on, you know my situation perfectly well.

If something really happens to you outside, I won't be able to protect you in time.

Green patted her face twice with his tentacles, then his gaze gradually turned serious.

Remember, if you encounter danger, head towards me.

No matter what happens, I will come to pick you up.

I can assure you that you'll come back.

Whether it's an ancient god or anything else, they won't touch you even a little bit if you don't want to.

The tentacles opened slightly, attached themselves to the girl's body, and then tightened slightly after wrapping around her.

Like an embrace.

Don't worry, I'm right here.

No matter what happens, I will be with you.

silence.

Edith had a question that had been bothering her for a while.