Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

"so……"

With his mind in turmoil, Habisa decided to see if he could get his things back through Senette during the day, since he needed to take his notebook and pen with him no matter what.

However, as dawn broke, before Habisa could even tell Senette his request, a summons from the Temple of the Sun arrived first.

Why was he conscripted?

Faced with the few sun god priests who came to deliver the message, it was Senette who stepped forward first.

"Didn't I already pay the fine? Why are you still... It seems you want more?"

“This time it has nothing to do with fines; all young priests are within the scope of the conscription.”

To Senette's surprise, this time, the sun priests didn't even care about the fine.

"This is an order personally given by the war priest Matt Peri. All young priests must participate in the ceremony and be loyal to the great sun god."

Chapter 173 The Descent of the Sun God

The war priest Matt Perry personally gave the order that this time even Senette could not save Habisa.

So Habisa could only follow those priests all the way to the magnificent temple. It was at this moment that Habisa saw more young priests like him – most of them had excited expressions on their faces, clearly expecting something.

However, they did not whisper among themselves, because an even larger figure was standing at the very front of the temple. That giant-like, imposing figure was undoubtedly the war priest, Matt Perry himself.

"Is...a war about to break out?"

As Habisa mingled in the crowd, this thought suddenly came to mind. Looking at the young priests around him, their faces were clearly filled with a fervent desire for battle. Combined with the news he had heard from Sennet about the war of the gods, Habisa already had a guess in his mind.

"Gathering all the young priests now, isn't this a sign that we're about to launch a full-scale attack on the Serpent God's empire?!"

Habisa made his judgment.

Unfortunately, he was not the perceptive Setka, and his judgment was far less accurate.

To everyone's surprise, the war priest Matt Peri did not say anything about the battle. Instead, he instructed all the young priests to close their eyes and sincerely recite the prayers praising the sun god.

"……That's it?"

Habisa was somewhat taken aback.

And on the faces of the young priests around him, an undisguised look of disappointment flashed across their faces.

Did you call everyone over just for this little thing?

However, the person before them was, after all, the war priest Matt Peri, the messenger of the sun god descended to earth. Even if they had the greatest complaints, they dared not utter any objections at this moment—moreover, there was nothing to complain about. They were priests of the sun god, and reciting the sun god's prayers was simply what they were supposed to do.

Then, as Matt Perry waved his hand, everyone immediately began to chant in unison.

"Great Horus, king of the sky, your golden wings pierce the morning mist!"

"You are the eye of the sky, your light piercing through the gloom of chaos!"

"Your eagle eyes are watching over every inch of land on both sides of the great river!"

"Evil vanishes like sand under your gaze!"

This is the most common prayer, filled with praise for the supreme power of the sun god, and as it is recited again and again, the priests' expressions become increasingly devout.

Of course, most priests are genuinely devout, after all, they are believers in the sun god, but a few are just pretending to be devout, such as Habisa, who is also reciting a prayer.

If it were the old Hapisa, he might have sincerely praised the sun god, but now, Hapisa can only say that he believes in the serpent god more than the ethereal sun god.

At least, the serpent god had indeed appeared before him.

The serpent god not only appeared before him, but also patiently listened to his past experiences. After listening to them, the serpent god even gave him a notebook and a pen, which meant that he had no reason to betray the serpent god.

As for the sun god that people are currently praising...

Does the sun god really exist?

Habisa couldn't help but think this.

Although both Sennet and the other priests claimed that their sun god had killed the serpent god through a sneak attack, Habisa preferred to believe that those words were fabrications. Habisa didn't know how terrifying the sun god's power was, but he had personally witnessed how enormous the serpent god's body was.

The serpent god couldn't have been killed so easily, or rather, he didn't want to believe that the serpent god could be killed so easily.

so……

"These priests of the sun god said that the snake god's death was kept secret, but now it seems that they themselves are the ones who did something similar... The so-called sun god may not exist at all, and it is a lie they made up to boost morale on the front lines."

This idea is actually a bit like shooting the arrow before drawing the target; at this moment, Habisa would rather believe that the sun god does not exist than believe that something happened to the serpent god.

However, Habisa soon realized that his judgment had been wrong again.

It was because, in his sight, a young priest suddenly opened his eyes after a shiver, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.

"Finally, I can get some fresh air!"

The seemingly ordinary young priest suddenly stretched and then started walking towards Matt Perry.

“You did a good job. I thought I wasn’t going to make it back this time… Well done, Matt Perry.”

"It is my honor."

Faced with the seemingly ordinary priest, Matt Perry immediately knelt on one knee.

Matt Perry didn't care at all, even in front of all the young priests.

The seemingly ordinary priest, though his aura was very weak, was exuding a powerful aura that quickly solidified as the crocodile knelt down—a scorching aura, carrying the pride of the sun, was as if the sun god himself had descended to earth!

No, there's no need for anything.

The one descending into the temple now is clearly the sun god himself.

However, the sun god himself was still very weak at the moment, so the other priests continued to chant prayers and praise the sun god's earth-shattering power. With these continuous praises, the sun god's aura gradually became more and more imposing.

It was as if the sun had actually set on the ground.

Under that scorching aura that felt almost tangible, one of the priests finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed, melting into the ground—this wasn't a description of collapsing, but rather a literal melting.

As Habisa watched the priest, unable to hold on any longer, gradually sink into the paving stones beneath his feet, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Are they... using us as fuel?"

Habiza was immediately terrified.

This was undoubtedly the most dangerous moment of his life. A slight misstep could have resulted in him dying on the spot, just like the priest from before. He couldn't even fight back, because no one was allowed to carry weapons in this sacred temple.

A swordsman without a sword can do nothing.

He could only watch helplessly as one young priest after another fell to the ground, dissolved into the earth, and became part of the fuel.

Before him, in the very center of the hall, the sun god, having absorbed the fuel, became even more scorching and dazzling.

Chapter 174 The Unkillable God

The ceremony finally ended after two-thirds of the young priests had been melted into fuel.

And the sun god Ujat finally regained some consciousness.

Yes, this was the backup plan he had left behind. How could a god so easily fall into a deadly situation? Indeed, his physical body was still suppressed under the feet of that evil ancient serpent, but at least part of his consciousness had been transferred to the safest place in accordance with the prayers of his believers.

This is his city, his country, and on this land upstream of the great river, his will is absolute.

Just like now, merely to shift consciousness, he could have his divine messenger Matt Peri summon all the young priests—from the beginning, this summons was not a pre-battle mobilization, but simply to select a suitable vessel for his consciousness.

Unfortunately, although the vessel was devout enough, it was not very sturdy. So he could only melt down more young priests in an attempt to make the vessel in his hands more robust.

Fortunately, not too much was wasted.

Looking at the remaining third of the young priests who had not yet melted into the floor, the sun god Ujat nodded in satisfaction.

If some are left, they can be used again when something happens next time. If all the young vessels are used up this time, then next time he may only be able to use the elderly believers as vessels.

It can only be said that, compared to those elderly believers, he ultimately preferred the body of a young person. After all, the so-called wisdom brought by the years was meaningless to him, while the vitality brought by youth was more useful to him.

"Alright, let them leave."

The sun god Ujat waved to the remaining priests.

It's like shooing away some insects.

After all, these priests were indeed like insects to Ujat, especially when they prayed. The sound of them chanting scriptures was as annoying as the buzzing of mosquitoes—even though the scriptures praised his great achievements. He could hear the yearning behind those praises.

Yes, the reason these priests praised his power was simply because his power could bring them many benefits. If these priests weren't actually useful, Ujat would have been too lazy to even bother with them.

Of course, such an attitude would certainly displease the priests, but Ujat didn't care either. They were just a group of insignificant mortals, and even if they all died, there would be another batch.

Moreover, there's Matt Perry, his loyal servant who will take care of everything for him.

As it turned out, Matt Peri was indeed capable enough to not only gather all the young priests in the holy city for the sun god Ujat to choose suitable vessels for, but also to turn a funeral into a celebration after two-thirds of these young priests had died.

“They have all become one with the sun god and returned to the sun god’s embrace.”

Matt Perry offered this response to families who had lost their children.

"This is the greatest glory, why are you grieving?"

Whether it was supreme glory or not, the families who had lost their children did not know. They only knew that when the war priest Matt Perry came to their door in person, they could not utter a single word of dissent.

Those priests who were lucky enough to survive were strictly forbidden from spreading the news.

However, given the number of people present at the time, this so-called strict order was just empty words. There would always be someone who couldn't help but spread the news that the sun god had possessed a human body—just like now, Habisa, who had escaped death, couldn't help but tell Senette, the wife of the war priest Hathorunu.

Habisa wasn't unfamiliar with life and death; he had fought on the battlefield for countless years. But this bizarre life-or-death crisis, this helplessness of being unable to do anything but watch death approach step by step, had allowed fear to completely grip his throat.

At least Habisa feels a little better now that someone has something to say to him.

Even though Habisa sees this behavior as a sign of weakness.

"But right in front of me, right in my sight, those people melted into the earth, melted into the light..."

Recalling that terrifying scene, Habisa still feels a chill run down his spine, cold sweat keeps seeping from his forehead, and his whole body is trembling.

Because, even he himself almost died there.

He didn't even know why those young priests who had merged into the earth had died. He could only watch helplessly as they fell one after another, their numbers increasing and their bodies drawing ever closer to his...

Until he himself felt that he was probably going to collapse here.

He survived by sheer luck.

He did survive, but it was far more terrifying than death. Even with Habisa's unwavering will, which was as sharp as a sword, he was still terrified by this bizarre death.

All of this was far beyond his comprehension; he couldn't understand what he was experiencing at all.

But what terrified Habisa even more was that after hearing what he said, Senette in front of him showed an excited expression.

"You mean, the great sun god descended upon humanity?"

Senette stared intently into Habisa's eyes.

"Has the great sun god descended upon the world?"

"That should be the case, but..."

Habisa was very puzzled, because that wasn't what he meant to say; he was just expressing his fear and describing how strange the matter was.

But why did Senette seem even happier after he said all that?

Habisa was indeed even happier; he could see that the gleam in Sennet's eyes was exactly the same as when he first met him—as for the news that two-thirds of the young priests had died, it didn't really matter to Sennet.

"It's just returning to the embrace of the sun god. Isn't this what we priests should do for the sun god?"

"This……"

Habisa suddenly couldn't speak.

It was at this moment that Habisa suddenly remembered a question he had asked before.

At that time, he didn't know what he was thinking, but suddenly he had a whim and asked the great serpent god a question: he wanted to know if gods could die and could be killed.

To his surprise, the great serpent god gave him two answers, one corresponding to a god who could be killed and the other to a god who could not be killed.

Habisa was still puzzled at the time. He could understand gods that could be killed, but how could gods that could not be killed be so unkillable?

Now, Habisa feels he has the answer.

This also brought him back to his senses from his boundless terror.

Chapter 175 Mortals Who Slay Gods