Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

It was originally swooping down, but instead crashed headfirst into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"How could you, how could you..."

The giant eagle simply couldn't believe that it would fall to the ground because of a mouthful of venom—but at that moment it already felt death approaching, and while flailing its claws wildly, it desperately tried to open its eyes.

Even if it were to engage in a ground battle, it was confident it wouldn't be at a disadvantage. After all, it still possessed sharp claws and an iron beak, capable of easily tearing the snake's body apart, as long as the giant snake dared to approach...

"……Um?"

It opened its eyes and suddenly froze.

The reason was that what was getting closer and closer in their line of sight was not some snake's body that was about to strangle them.

Instead, it was a huge rock, even larger than its head.

"Oh!"

The flying boulder struck the eagle's head, instantly smashing its brains open.

Chapter 50 The End of the Old Era

Even after the giant eagle was crushed to death with stones, Du Yi still didn't know where it had come from.

Heaven knows why everything turned out this way just because he went out to explore, but there's no point in delving into these things now—the giant eagle in front of him is the real gain.

"How long has it been since I've had chicken?"

Du Yi couldn't quite remember when he last ate poultry.

As for the difference in taste between eagle meat and chicken, Du Yi didn't think too much about it. Having not eaten chicken for so long, he didn't have time to ponder it.

Besides, it's just a meal; there's no need to think so much about it.

So Du Yi rolled up the huge eagle's body and dragged it all the way to the mountain where he lived. He wanted to go back and properly process this rare ingredient, and not waste a single bit.

Especially considering that the giant eagle's body was almost the same size as his, who knows how many meals it could feed him.

"But...did I steal the monster's kill?"

Du Yi couldn't help but recall that just now, it was clearly those savages who were attacking the giant eagle, but now it was his side that dragged the giant eagle away—although theoretically he didn't have to give the giant eagle to anyone, from a fairness point of view, those savages did indeed have a share.

"Chicken legs are definitely out of the question, chicken wings are no good either, chicken breast, chicken head... how about we give them a chicken neck to gnaw on?"

Du Yi thought to himself.

However, he only thought about it, because when he turned around, the savages that had been everywhere were nowhere to be seen.

"It's not that I don't want to give it to you, it's just that you yourselves don't want it."

Du Yi couldn't help but admire the noble character of these savages, so he simply left two portions of roasted mammoth meat for them as compensation.

This is no ordinary mammoth meat; it's mammoth meat he brought back all the way from the snowy mountains. Besides being very meaningful, it also fills the gap in the local mammoth population, which has been eaten to extinction.

Although the taste was a bit lacking.

"However, I hope you will like this gift."

Thinking this, Du Yi hurriedly dragged the giant eagle's body into the mountain.

Freshly slaughtered ingredients must be processed quickly; otherwise, they will not taste right.

----------

Meanwhile, in the city of Ignis.

This once-first city in the world had been reduced to ruins in the previous great battle. Everywhere there were broken walls and charred remains from the flames. Amidst the devastation, one could even vaguely see a few corpses. They had not been hunted down by the giant eagle, but had unfortunately died under the collapsed buildings.

However, among those collapsed buildings, there were still some large, living people cautiously watching the receding giant shadow.

"They've finally left..."

As the enormous shadow gradually disappeared in the direction of the holy mountain, the mages hiding in the ruins finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That's terrifying, absolutely terrifying! Heaven knows why the Serpent God, who has been missing for so long, would suddenly reappear at this time—although no matter how you look at it, judging from the battle just now, the Serpent God killing the giant eagle was a good thing for them.

But when they thought about what they had done before, and when they thought about how they would also be punished by the snake god, they couldn't be happy at all.

"Speaking of which, didn't we seek refuge with the God of the North Wind precisely to escape the serpent's retribution?"

Recalling the terrifying scene of the giant eagle having its head smashed by the serpent god with a boulder, the group of high-level magicians broke out in a cold sweat.

Clearly, the North Wind God they had allied themselves with was not very reliable, and couldn't even handle their attacks.

"From this perspective, it seems that there is only one way to protect oneself and survive in the long run."

Upon realizing this, the high-ranking mages immediately regained their composure.

"Yes, now that the God of the North Wind is dead, there is no one left in the world to fight that serpent..."

"Then, why don't I just become a god?"

With this in mind, the mages rushed out.

That was indeed a race, because the remains of the giant eagle were something to fight over—although the largest part of its body had already been taken away by the snake, the snake still managed to spill some eagle blood when it crushed the North Wind God.

To that terrifying giant serpent, this little bit of eagle blood might be meaningless, but to these mages, the eagle blood that fell to the ground was enough for them to take a bath!

"By cleansing ourselves with the blood of the gods... we will surely reach the heights of the gods! We will surely be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods!"

Seeing the opportunity to become gods right before their eyes, they disregarded everything else.

But just as they were about to rush to the battlefield, they found that someone was already waiting there.

Everyone was at least twice as powerful as these magicians.

Upon seeing that towering figure, the mages instinctively recalled the fear they had felt a few days ago when they were dominated by whips and batons.

What appeared before them were clearly those giants, those ice warriors.

But at this moment, these Icefield Warriors were no longer the pampered people they had been before. Their faces were filled with endless grief, and some of them even opened their throats and imitated the cries of eagles, letting out mournful screams.

Even without any words, the mages could sense that these ice warriors were mourning their eagle god.

"But...why did they smear blood on their faces?"

One of the high-ranking mages couldn't help but speak up, finding the actions of these Icefield people somewhat perplexing.

"That's the blood of a god, isn't this a waste?"

"This……"

Another high-ranking mage who had served on the front lines was already trembling uncontrollably.

"This is...this is battle armor! Those giants are using this method to motivate themselves! They're going to fight to the death! Attack now!"

However, the mages were a beat too slow in their reaction. By the time they unleashed their fireballs, the ice warriors were already almost upon them.

The blazing fireballs bombarded the warriors, but the usually invincible flames had no effect whatsoever.

Clearly, the blood of the gods is indeed useful, even very useful.

However, at this moment, they were about to experience the effects of the blood of the gods firsthand.

"Where are the giant kings? Where is Casaloran? Where are the giant kings?"

Faced with being surrounded and attacked by more than ten giant warriors, the high-ranking mage Sadok couldn't help but shout.

"Kasalorn! Come out and do something about this!"

But these cries ultimately received no response.

Because, the distraught Casaloran had already staggered into the depths of the palace.

Chapter 51 The First Evil

Deep within the palace, King David Day of the Ignis listened to the commotion outside.

Everything seemed to be over. He heard the sound of a giant object crashing to the ground. The fact that it could make such a loud noise meant that the so-called Eagle God had been shot down.

"They actually did it..."

David Day couldn't help but exclaim.

It was at this moment that David Day realized what true power was.

He once thought that power was the ultimate magic, but the truth proved that his magic was meaningless in the face of the gods.

After that, he felt that a huge body was the real strength. But when the serpent god ran over him and when the god of the north wind tore off his limbs, he realized that this so-called becoming stronger was a joke.

However, even after losing all four limbs and becoming a cripple, he found true power in his ancestral teachings.

That was an ancestral instruction left by the nineteenth Holy King, who warned his descendants not to overthink or have wild ideas—it is said that this was a proverb left to the Holy King by the Snake God, but no matter how you look at it, it was just an ordinary admonition.

On the surface, this statement seems to have nothing to do with power itself.

"But why did our ancestors specifically leave this saying behind?"

At that moment, David Day fell into deep thought.

Why did our ancestors tell people not to overthink or have wild ideas? This may seem like a meaningless admonition, but it actually means that everyone overthinks and has wild ideas.

This also means that if this ancestral precept were applied in reverse...

That's roughly the current situation.

Even without hands and feet, it didn't matter; even without being able to fight, it didn't matter. With just a few words, without even lifting a finger, the king of the Icefields took the initiative to fight the God of the North Wind.

"Truly... an incredible power."

At that moment, David Day felt he understood everything.

Yes, physical strength alone is like that king of the Icefields; no matter how powerful he is, he can only become a spear in his hand. After all, what he is currently exploring is a different kind of strength, a true strength that transcends ordinary power.

"So this is the secret of power... this is true strength!"

David Day was incredibly excited to have tasted victory for the first time.

He could sense that he had touched something that could be called truth, something that could truly be called power. With this formless yet incomparable power, he would control everything, surpass everything, and even reshape his body.

Yes, that's it. Reshaping the body—that's why he ordered the king of the Icefields to fight the God of the North Wind.

As long as one obtains the body of the North Wind God and consumes the god's flesh and blood, there is still a possibility that his torn limbs will regrow.

At that time, he will become a true god, a true immortal being!

"So, you've already finished fighting?"

David Day smiled as he watched the king of the Ice People, the warrior named Casalon, stagger toward him.

"Congratulations, you and your warriors have finally broken free from the control of the gods. You are now truly free..."

Poof——

The answer to David Day was a javelin.

"It was all because of you..."

Casalon suddenly raised his head.

His tiger eyes were now bloodshot.

Although he had always believed that defeating the gods was the right thing to do and that he should stand with the warriors, the moment he saw the Eagle God fall, the King of the Icefields, Casalon, vaguely realized that something seemed amiss.

Indeed, this time he did choose to stand with the warriors. Although he did revere the North Wind God, he still chose the warriors who followed him south, rather than the North Wind God who was about to abandon them.

Ultimately, the reason the Ice People choose to worship the North Wind God is because they can receive his protection. When the North Wind God no longer protects the Ice People, or even abandons them, the Ice People no longer need to stand with him.

But that's where the problem lies.

"Indeed, I chose to stand with the warriors... But does standing with the warriors necessarily mean becoming an enemy of the North Wind God?"

At that moment, Casaloan suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.

This battle seems completely unnecessary. Even if he stands with the warriors, there's no need for him to fight the North Wind God—after all, even if they have shown their incompetence, the North Wind God is too lazy to fight them and will at most just ignore them.

Simply put, there is no conflict between standing with the warriors and standing with the gods.

So when exactly did he start to feel that he had to choose between the two?

Moreover, were those standing beside him truly his warriors?

Those were not warriors of the frozen land; they were clearly enemies of the frozen land warriors, and also enemies of the Eagle God.

What was he thinking back then that he would actually use those dwarves?