Do you believe me when I say I’m not a dragon?

Of course, Mercer did not have the ability to predict the future. He used scale powder to infer it.

Judging from the information sent back by Scale Powder, there was a strong herbal smell in the priest's mouth, a similar smell that Mercer had smelled in the forest a long time ago.

It is an herb with a strong hallucinogenic effect. After taking it, you will fall into hallucinations and go crazy. The group of long-tailed monkeys have already tested this on their own bodies.

It can be inferred from this that the gods that this group of people believe in are simply the product of her imagination or that of past priests.

Thinking of this, Mercer wanted to laugh a little. Instead of letting these villagers worship the imaginary gods day after day, Mercer didn't mind replacing it and making the fantasies of these priests come true - and then through them hands to accomplish your purpose.

Plan the first step to make them aware of your existence and pave the way for the second step.

The second step is to completely obey your own orders, no matter how ridiculous the orders are.Then prepare the ground for the third step...

Feeling the still destructive energy in his body, Mercer slowly climbed up the mountain wall and saw the limp goddess below.

He raised his head, imitated the arrogant attitude of the Red Phoenix, and let out a mighty roar. At the same time, he spread his wings. The huge wingspan obscured people's sight, so that everyone could only look at Mercer.

Under Mercer's deliberately restrained roar, although it would not cause harm to the fragile human body, how could people not tremble? At the same time, the black mist was released, and the chaotic black mist seemed to be able to block even the sunlight.

"Lord God..."

Staring at the elusive flowing black mist, the goddess was stunned for a moment, her eyes suddenly fell into ecstasy, she raised her arms and clasped her hands together.

"It's a god! The god has arrived!"

——Behind her, people surrendered to the black dragon and started worshiping.

Shia was also one of them. She knelt on the ground with the others, looking at the black dragon with dull and shocked eyes.

God has really arrived.

......

Mercer did not do anything to them, but chose to ignore their current behavior.

After repeated prayers, the group of people left and returned to the village.

The first thing the goddess did when she returned to the village was to scrape off the totem on the column and paint a new image with a lot of black and red, like a giant dragon spreading its wings and stirring up black smoke.

She stood on the high platform and shouted to everyone in an almost crazy tone: "Everyone! I saw it - it's God! The Lord God has arrived!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other people who saw Mercer's face also started shouting. The other people who didn't know what happened didn't understand what happened, but they still cheered in cooperation.

But at this time, Shia silently withdrew from the crowd and returned home a little dejected.

"Welcome back, sister...what happened?"

After hearing the footsteps, Rachel looked at the door curiously, and Shia sat down beside her bed dejectedly.

"...It feels like everything is so strange."

Shia said tiredly, pulling off her clothes and breathing deeply.

"Can you tell me more about it?"

As a listener, Rachel silently listened to everything she encountered when facing the black dragon.

"...The worshiping dragon, the black mist, and the way it looks at us...I can't possibly see it wrong, as if everything about us has been clearly seen by it... ." Shia covered her head, her tone full of confusion, "In the past, when I faced the priest's prayers, although I would follow them, I didn't believe in the existence of the so-called gods at all, but now... ...When facing the black dragon, all I could imagine was the gods... But seeing other people being so fanatical that they could hardly think normally, I subconsciously denied the existence of gods... ..."

Seeing her sister showing her vulnerability in front of her, Rachel couldn't help but reach out her hand to comfort her.

"There is a book that records..." Rachel said: "When the world view that you yearn for and believe in collapses, you will feel the loneliness of being abandoned by the world. If the situation is serious, you will feel as if Everyone was questioning themselves, and in the end, even I began to doubt everything.”

Looking at Shia, whose eyes were still dim, Rachel pursed her lips and said in her ear: "Sister, let me tell you a secret - I may have found a way to treat my disease."

"......What did you say?"

Hearing these words, Shia's heart perked up and she looked at Rachel, who looked at her with extremely serious eyes.

"——It is mentioned in this adventurer's autobiography that people with low resistance are prone to suffering from a disease in a cold and humid environment. This symptom is difficult to treat locally, but if the patient lives in an environment such as a desert, Over time, your body will gradually improve."

Shia looked at her sister with a calm and gentle personality in disbelief, but now she said such wise words, her tone not only stuttered: "But... the priest said that your illness is only... "

"Her pharmacological knowledge is not trustworthy at all. What if I say that the god she talks about never existed from the beginning?"

"What's the meaning......"

Shia didn't know when the belief in the village started, but from her own perspective, it seemed that it was only right for people to have faith in gods, even if their behavior was so weird.

Although he had similar thoughts in his mind, even Rachel did not tell Rachel about this speculation. If he said it in this village, it would be denied by the entire village for hundreds of years.

"The book sent by the villagers contained a notebook. The notes were recorded in another language. The content was about the effects of various herbs around the snow-capped mountains. If I guessed correctly, this was passed down from the ancestors of the priests. It’s a book, but she didn’t recognize the words on it, so she gave it to you.”

Facing Shia, who was already a little sluggish, Rachel held her hand tightly and said: "There is a medicine recorded in the notes, which can be mixed with purple frost leaves, plum blossom sap, and parasitic fish eggs in proportion. Forming an effective drug against drowsiness - but on top of this, using snow deer antlers to increase the potency of the drug will also amplify the toxicity of the drug, which will bring strong hallucinations to the user. In terms of external performance, He is unconscious, his eyes are unfocused, and he seems to be talking in his sleep. This behavior is exactly the same as the change of the priest you described, sister."

——In other words, the gods that the villagers believed in were lies told to them by the priests from beginning to end...

Chapter 139: Preparation for leaving

Shia didn't doubt the accuracy of Rachel's words, but she couldn't help but feel dazed after the things she had always known were destroyed.

"Since the gods here are false...the black dragon..."

"It's just a creature, a creature of flesh and blood that needs to eat. It's no different from us humans, Discocorns, and Violent Dragons."

Rachel looked into her sister's eyes and said: "Sister, don't regard all unknown things as the power of gods. It's like looking at us from the perspective of a pan-horned beast. They will never know how we use firewood in winter. Make it warm.”

Shia opened her mouth, feeling speechless at her words, and for the first time she felt unfamiliar with Rachel in front of her.

Rachel, who has never been exposed to the village's faith due to physical reasons, may have a completely different point of view from those villagers and even Shia - from this point of view, it is reasonable for Rachel, who has been influenced by foreign books, to have this idea. things.

Under Rachel's comfort, Shia's heart gradually calmed down. She was silent for a long time, and finally took a deep breath and raised her hand to touch her head.

"…Thank you, Rachel."

"We are a family and that's how it should be done."

——This is how Shia, who brought a whole box of books a few days ago, responded to Rachel's thanks. Now, Rachel returned this sentence to her.

"...No matter what, you woke me up. Although the black dragon is powerful, it is still a creature that needs to eat. The so-called arrival of gods is just the wishful thinking of the priests."

Shia said, and as soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door, and the two of them looked at the door at the same time.

"Wait for me." Shia stood up, walked out of the room and came to the door. When she opened the door, standing in front of it was an excited hunter.

"Kanesia! The priest has requested that every family send a panhorn beast as a sacrifice to the god."

"Giving another one? Haven't you already given one before?" Hearing this, Shia frowned slightly, feeling a little dissatisfied.

"The previous time I entered the belly of the violent dragon, but this time the gods have come! Can it be the same twice?" Looking at Shia's hesitant eyes, the hunter said impatiently: "Will you give it away or not?"

"..." After thinking for a moment, Shia nodded: "I understand, when?"

"Tomorrow. Get ready quickly."

"......I will."

...Sia walked into the room again and sat next to Rachel.

"I've been running back and forth these days. Sister, you must be quite tired." Rachel, who heard the conversation between the two, did not interfere, but gently patted her back.

Shia nodded, as if she had thought of something, her tone was a little low, and she said: "What you just said, you can't tell others, they won't believe you."

"Well, I will."

Just when the atmosphere was quiet for a while, the sound of quarreling suddenly came from outside the house. Shia turned her head and looked next door: "What's wrong?"

After Rachel listened for a while, she analyzed: "It seems that the family next door wanted to use the pregnant Discocorn as a sacrifice, but was stopped by other people in the family."

"Oh, that one."

Shia understood, but apart from the pregnant Discocorn, there were only a group of cubs left in that family, so they were really not qualified to be used as sacrifices.

Thinking of this, Shia suddenly raised her head and her eyes lit up: "By the way, I thought of it."

With that said, she stood up and quickly walked out of the house under Rachel's doubtful eyes.

Next door to their house, this is where the quarrel came from.

Shia stood at the door of their house. After knocking on the door, a voice came from the door: "——Who is it?"

"It's me, Kaneshia. I have something to discuss with you."

"......come in."

Shia opened the door and looked at the tense family in the room.

"I can help you with the sacrifice matter." Looking at one of the hunters, Shia said straight to the point.

Before his face showed joy, she added: "But this is not for you. I need your pull cart."

"Pull a cart?" Upon hearing this, the hunter frowned again.

Their cart was made by themselves. Although it didn't look very beautiful, it was durable. On weekdays, they would just tie a few hounds on the front and pull it to the woods to carry firewood, but it wasn't really convenient.

"What are you doing pulling a cart?"

he asked suspiciously.

"It's fishing season in a few months. My sister also wants to see the sea, but she's not in good health, so she needs to be taken there by your family's tractor."

Shia's face did not change and she faced the hunter and said.

He didn't have too much doubt, but after being silent for a while, he tentatively asked: "Two Discocorned Beasts."

"It's okay, but you need to add half of the dried meat of a pan-horned beast."

Food like jerky can be stored for a very long time, but the disadvantage is that it is not easy to make, not to mention that the environment here is very cold and humid, and each production requires a lot of effort.

"Deal, I'll go and push the cart right away."

The hunter agreed without thinking twice.

...After a while, Shia returned to the house, closed the door, and then began to smile.

"Sister, what do you want?"

Looking at Shia in confusion, Rachel showed a puzzled expression.

"Take you out of here."

Shia sat on the bed next to her and said seriously: "I have decided since you just said the solution to your symptoms. I will take you out of here, leave the village, and go to the desert you mentioned to treat your symptoms." Get better with your illness."

As she said that, she smiled again, "They thought I was just taking you to complete a small task, so they sold the cart to me so cheaply. If they knew the truth, they would definitely have to pay more for it based on their character." A horned beast."

"......Good for you."

Rachel was a bit dumbfounded. After laughing for a while, her smile slowly faded and she said, "However, it may be a very long distance. Without a map, we may have to spend a long time on the road. Is this really good?"

"It doesn't matter, I've already decided."

"...That's not what I meant, sister. This kind of thing cannot be done by being passionate. It is very dangerous to move forward without being familiar with the surrounding environment. Only trained hunters... ..."

"But I'm the hunter?"

"These two are different..." Seeing the confusion and determination in Shia's eyes, Rachel paused, and after a moment of silence, she suddenly showed a wry smile: "Okay, then Please sister.”

Chapter 1: Sacrificing the Black Dragon

......

At the edge of the volcano, the goddess chanted complicated words, and at the same time she crawled on the edge and looked at Mercer's figure, her eyes full of heat.

"God—"

Feeling the gaze of the goddess, Mercer felt a little nauseous, but still just lay on the ground to rest.

——This is indeed beyond Mercer's expectation. He did not expect the goddess to be so...loyal.

Originally, he thought he had to put on a show and use scale powder to create a fairy-like scene - although using black scale powder would be a bit weird.

But according to Mercer's expectation, the goddess had to go through some questioning and then Mercer appeared again before she had her current attitude. Who knew that she directly skipped the questioning process and directly recognized Mercer as a god? Believe it or not.

Then there are only two situations, either she has other plans in her heart, or she is really stupid.

... Mercer didn’t think that this old man, who looked to be in his eighties or nineties, had any plans for the world, and even if he did have any ideas, there was nothing to pursue in this unvisited ice field.

Therefore, this old man really regarded himself as a so-called god without much thought, leaving Mercer not knowing what to say.

Although a stupid person is convenient for Mercer to control, it is not good to be too stupid. Otherwise, if Mercer accidentally fails to connect with her brain circuit, a small move of hers will be considered by the other party as a devastating disaster. It is too troublesome to pray and worship.

Thinking of this, Mercer slightly raised his eyes and looked at the edge of the volcano, where he could feel the sheep-like creatures passively accepting their death sentences.

——If this worship is just about giving food, then there is nothing wrong with it.