Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 45 The best way to achieve peace and prosperity in the world

Training the warriors wasn't a big deal, but Casaloran felt utterly exhausted.

It wasn't physical exhaustion, but more of a mental one. Casalon couldn't understand how things had turned out this way—they were the ones who had won, they had everything, so how could things have turned out this way...?

"I'm afraid we can only seek the wisdom of the North Wind God."

With a sigh, Casaloran rose again.

Seeking the wisdom of the North Wind God once or twice is fine, but frequently going to the North Wind God to solve problems will only show one's incompetence—but it doesn't matter if he is judged as incompetent now, because he really doesn't know how to deal with this situation.

The ice warriors who once fought alongside him now regarded him as an enemy. The resentment hidden beneath their awe and the gazes of those warriors was like a series of cold snakes, slowly tightening around his neck.

It's not fast, but it's extremely sturdy.

No matter how much he swung his arms, he couldn't break free.

"snake……"

Thinking about this, Casaloran even felt a little suffocated for a moment.

Even the sweet-smelling air around us now seemed to be laced with snake venom.

"This can't go on any longer!"

With that thought in mind, Casaloran hurried into the depths of the palace, this time ignoring even David Day at the door.

But Casaloran quickly withdrew.

The god of the north wind is not here.

He didn't even see a single feather.

"Why isn't he here again?"

Casalon emerged from the palace with a bewildered expression on his face.

The North Wind God has been noticeably busy lately; who should he turn to to resolve all of this?
"It seems you are indeed of no use to your Eagle God."

It was at this moment that David Day, who was being held at the palace gate, suddenly spoke.

"To your Eagle God, you are not even as useful as me now. At least I can really sacrifice my liver... But you, obviously, have done nothing."

"What do you know..."

This time, Casaloran didn't even bother to throw a punch.

At this moment, he felt only endless exhaustion.

It shouldn't be like this.

They were the ones who won, they had everything they'd ever wanted, but why, why...?

Why didn't you tell me?

Just as Casaloran was about to leave, David Day spoke up once again.

“How do you know I don’t understand if you don’t tell me? Even though I’m imprisoned by you now, I was at least the thirty-sixth king of the Ignis… I still have some understanding of the troubles a king can encounter.”

"You? What can you understand?"

Casalorn scoffed, thinking that the dwarf king must have gone mad.

"The trouble I'm facing right now is something you weak dwarves can't possibly understand..."

As he spoke, Casaloran poured out all the pent-up frustrations he had been experiencing these past few days.

Although much of what he said was not, strictly speaking, suitable for the dwarf king to hear, he wasn't worried about the king having any other ideas, considering that the dwarf king had once rebelled against the so-called serpent god—perhaps he was just too frustrated and wanted to talk to someone.

What Casaloran didn't expect was that right after he finished explaining the suffocating situation he was in,

David Day, however, suddenly laughed.

"I thought it was something serious, but it's just this... It seems your experience is still lacking." "Just this?"

Casaloron frowned, his fists clenched tightly.

What do you mean by "just this"? This situation, which almost silently rendered the Icefield Warriors useless... is actually described as "just this"?

"Otherwise what? As a king, can't you see the problem?"

David Day simply shook his head as his gaze swept over Casaloran's iron fist.

"Why have your warriors lost their fighting spirit? It's because they have no enemies. The Ignis have been conquered by you, and you have no enemies... Without enemies, who are you going to fight? Without enemies, what can they do besides live their own lives?"

"How could there be no enemies!"

Casalon argued his case forcefully.

"Your serpent god! That serpent! It hasn't just not appeared yet! It's the enemy of the gods! The common enemy of all the Icefield people..."

"Wait a moment."

David Day suddenly interrupted Casaloan.

"Think about it carefully, are the enemies of the gods really the enemies of the Ice People?"

"What's there to think about?"

Casaloan thought David Day was talking nonsense.

The enemy of the gods is the common enemy of the Ice People. The serpent lurking in the shadows has not yet been eliminated, which could be an unimaginable catastrophe...

"Think about it again, think about it carefully."

It was at this moment that David Day spoke up once again.

"Think carefully, think seriously, is your Eagle God's enemy really your enemy? Or rather, would your enemy be considered an enemy by that Eagle God?"

"Think about it carefully, think about it carefully."

"Don't rush to conclusions, think about it carefully."

……

Casalorn fell silent for a moment.

He was actually not very willing to think about these kinds of issues.

Are the enemies of the Eagle God the enemies of the Ice People? There's no need to ask that question. No one can question the Ice People's devotion to the Eagle God; they all regard this god of the North Wind as a stern father.

But could the enemy of the Ice People be the enemy of that Eagle God?

Obviously, no.

If they were enemies of the Ice People, they would also be regarded as enemies by that Eagle God. The great Eagle God would have led the Ice People warriors to break through the defenses of these dwarves long ago. Why would the Ice People need to fight on the front lines for hundreds of years?
The enemies of the Ice People are not the enemies of the North Wind God.

Conversely, the enemies of the North Wind God...

"Ah, judging from your expression, you should already know what I'm talking about."

David Day chuckled.

"So, your situation wasn't that complicated from the start. It's just that your giants lacked experience and had never seen anything like this before, which caused you to misunderstand..."

David Day paused for a moment at this point.

"As for the solution, it's quite simple. The reason you're in pain is because you don't know which side to stand on... You didn't encounter this problem before, so you could be both the king of the warriors and the messenger of the Eagle God."

"And now, there is a divergence between what the Eagle God wants and what the warriors want."

"Will you stand with the Eagle God, or with your warriors?"

(End of this chapter)