Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 22 The Importance of Knowing a Foreign Language

"That's right! It's them! It was all done by these poachers!"

Facing the colossal serpent, which was as large as a mountain, the mage took a deep breath and then pointed at the young Ignis beside him.

"It's these poachers! They go into the mountains and eat all the wild animals!"

"you……"

The young Ignis turned his head in astonishment, completely unexpected that this mage would preemptively accuse him.

But the moment their eyes met, he saw a chilling killing intent in the mage's eyes.

"There can only be one king in Ignis, and that king is me!"

In the depths of the mage's heart, this shout resounded loudly.

Therefore, in order to become the only holy king and to squeeze out this competitor, he would stop at nothing.

Upon realizing that the Serpent God was learning the language of Ignis, the mage felt a sense of crisis—after all, he knew that his current safety was entirely due to the young Ignis man's inability to communicate effectively with the Serpent God.

If only the serpent god could learn Ignis's language and fully understand their meaning...

"If I had known, I should have killed this brat before the Snake God left!"

At this moment, the mage only regretted why he hadn't thought of this and had missed a golden opportunity.

Fortunately, it's not too late now, and it's even safer now—if the Serpent God really has any other plans, then killing this kid himself would only incur the Serpent God's wrath.

On the contrary, by making the snake god dislike this kid directly, and then having the snake god take action himself, he himself would be relatively safe.

“Mount Holy has always been a forbidden area for the Ignis people. Except during the harvest festival when the king of the Ignis people would come down the mountain to offer sacrifices, no one else would ever go down the mountain.”

To convince the serpent god of his words, the mage even added a few more sentences.

“However, there are always some poachers who have violated the ancestral teachings of the Ignis people and the laws established by their ancestors, venturing into the mountains without permission just to hunt the precious animals there… They are offending the majesty of the gods! They must be severely punished!”

"Oh? Is that so?"

The enormous serpent opened its mouth, and although its words were clearly still somewhat stumbling, the thunderous sound was enough to make people tremble.

"You mean, his poaching?"

"Yes! He's one of those poachers!"

Seeing that the serpent god was already angry, the mage nodded repeatedly.

This is it, this is exactly what he wants, as long as the snake god kills this kid...

"It wasn't me! This pig is lying!"

The young Ignis, recovering from his shock, immediately launched into a tirade of curses.

"They let us in! He told me himself! He clearly noticed my presence, yet he still let me in..."

"Ha, then tell me, why should I let you in? What benefit would it bring me?"

The mage immediately scoffed.

This is what he was waiting for.

If this kid were to speak first and reveal some of the things he said before, he would indeed be at a disadvantage—but it's different now that he's spoken first. With a charge already leveled against him, the kid is already panicking.

It even exposed its biggest weakness.

This young Ignis is tongue-tied.

This kid is a deserter who has never received any proper education. Although he has developed some skills, they are all used for fighting. When it comes to speaking skills, he can't grasp the key points at all.

On the contrary, it was his side...

The importance of communication has been emphasized since the time of the nineteenth Holy King. As a member of the Ignivas family and a descendant of the nineteenth Holy King, even though he spends most of his time cultivating magic and eating, he still possesses at least the most basic eloquence.

“As a descendant of the nineteenth Holy King, I will become the new Holy King… so there is absolutely no way you could kill me here with just a few words.”

Thinking this, the mage spoke again.

"Speak, what other charges are you going to pin on me? You just said I let you in, are you going to say I was plotting against the gods?"

"You, you're not..."

The words had barely left his mouth when the young Ignis stammered. Even if he was slow to react, he already realized that whatever he said at this point would be useless.

He was only a step too slow to speak, and that's how he ended up in this situation!
"I……"

The young Ignis opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to organize his words to launch a counterattack.

But his momentary hesitation was seized upon by the mage.

"What's wrong with you? Can't you speak?"

The mage looked serious.

"Are you admitting your guilt?"

"I, I, I, I..."

Faced with the mage's aggressive questioning, the young Ignis was unable to utter a single complete sentence.

But at that very moment, the young Ignis suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“I know where to find meat! This magician owns a ranch! It's right outside the Holy Mountain! He said he'd give you all the saber-toothed tigers he raises on his ranch!”

"……oh?"

At that moment, the giant snake head turned to look at the mage.

"You have a ranch?"

"……Have."

Seeing those eyes, which were even bigger than himself, turn to him, the mage immediately lowered his head, unable to look directly at them.

"Yes, I do have a ranch near the Holy Mountain, and I would be happy to offer you all those saber-toothed tigers..."

The magician felt a pang of heartache at the thought of actually offering up the saber-toothed tigers he had raised to the serpent god.

However, considering that the opportunity to become the Holy King was within reach, after a fierce internal struggle, he finally gritted his teeth and accepted it.

If only I could become the Holy King...

"...What about this kid? What should we do with this damn poacher?"

As he said this, the mage raised both hands.

"How about I do it? I'll punish this one..."

bang——

The giant tail swept across, and the mage was instantly sent flying.

"His eating meat is no big deal."

The enormous serpent opened its mouth once more.

"Dead, dead, it's unnecessary."

...Is it unnecessary?

The mage looked up in astonishment.

What do you mean by "unnecessary"? What is the serpent god thinking? How can he not even punish a sinner who has offended the dignity of the gods?

Even if you say the snake god is merciful, merciful to this extent...

"Also, remember, I said, I said, don't treat me like a god."

The giant serpent's speech was still halting, clearly indicating that it was not yet proficient in the current Ignis language.

"Then, poaching, one person, eats...eats, one person, how much can they eat?"

Upon hearing this, the mage immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Under the gaze of those vertical pupils, he felt as if his animal skin cloak had been stripped bare, and even the thoughts hidden in his heart had nowhere to hide.

He even wanted to use the snake god to get rid of this damned deserter.

It turns out that the snake god knew everything from the very beginning.

(End of this chapter)