Green Monster Epic

Chapter 642: The Difficult Choices of Life

“Now that your advancement to demigod is basically guaranteed, if you truly intend to walk the path of an eternal god, as I believe you do, perhaps you should start preparing.”

“What do you mean?”

Allen was puzzled.

“I mean, I suggest you prepare to establish your own church!”

“……”

Looking at Figglas's earnest bear face, Allen was speechless for a moment. He didn't expect the other party to suddenly throw out such a major topic, leaving the goblin leader, who was completely unprepared, in a state of mental chaos.

“The demigod rank, if my clan's records and guesses are correct, is already capable of borrowing a small amount of the power of faith to help influence reality and obtain even greater power. And this is what I want to tell you about the biggest secret of demigods.”

“Perhaps even when you advance to Saint, you can use the power of faith to help you break through the shackles faster and more steadily!”

“Whether you are pursuing your individual strength or want to protect the prosperity of your tribe for a long time, embarking on the path to becoming a god is your best choice.”

Figglas's eyes drifted, lost in reverie.

“Why would you tell me such an important secret? What do you really want?”

Allen recovered from the confusion. Although the will enhancement brought by the Steel Will wasn't his forte, Allen still tried his best to suppress the chaotic thoughts in the depths of his mind, and then stared at the bear face in front of him with a serious, earnest, and cautious gaze.

“Me? I hope my only friend can walk a stronger path, so that I might be protected in the future, and I can also save face in front of other dragons when I return to the Dragon Realm.”

“Of course, the most important point is that we dragons cannot rely on the power of faith to embark on the path to becoming a god like you humanoid intelligent species, so in this regard, we have no conflicting interests.”

Figglas's eyes were sincere and frank, meeting Allen's eyes.

“I'm just telling you a little bit about embarking on the path to becoming a god. As for whether you can do it in the end, and how far you can go, it depends on your own efforts and luck. Anyway, I can get a hundred tons of delicious food from you to help me become stronger faster. I think this deal is worth it!”

“……”

Allen wasn't suspicious, but he felt that what Figglas said was too important. At least, in Allen's opinion, its value wouldn't be lower than a demigod artifact. Now, it was being revealed so easily, and although Allen was the one benefiting, he always felt like he was taking advantage of his friend.

Having grown accustomed to the rules of equivalent exchange, he suddenly felt unreal when someone was willing to exchange something he considered extremely cheap for something extremely precious.

Of course, in his life, it wasn't like no one had ever treated him like this before. The deceased dwarf goblin master, Philoch; the Oakleaf Temple's nature druid, Oscar… They had all selflessly helped Allen, but apart from these few people, Allen had never had such an experience again.

Feeling Figglas's sincere friendship, Allen felt a touch of warmth in his heart. To be honest, ever since he was betrayed by the human spy, Keira, Allen had found it difficult to completely open his heart and accept a true friend.

“Thank you!”

“Hahaha, do we still need to be so polite between us? When you rescued me from the drow encirclement before, was I polite to you? And before, in the ruins, you rescued me from the illusion…”

Figglas patted Allen's shoulder casually, nonchalantly talking about the help and kindness Allen had given him. In fact, it was because of these favors, which even dragons felt were heavy, that he dug out the knowledge that had been sealed in his memory, trying to help Allen clear the fog and find the right path.

“Alright, let's get back to the topic.”

After a round of mutual flattery, Figglas faced Allen again with a serious expression.

“Actually, it was because I saw that the foundation you had laid was very good that I brought up this matter of faith. If I hadn't stayed in your tribe for a long time and learned about your tribe's life, I wouldn't have thought of these things.”

“Do you know that your title of God of Food has spread to various large and medium-sized tribes in the wilderness, and even the countries of the Four Civilizations are aware of it?”

“The cooking techniques you have researched have directly subverted the cooking style that has continued for countless years in our Feyman world. In the past, the vast majority of people didn't realize that there were so many complex flavors and wonderful sensations in this world…”

As he spoke, Figglas slowly placed a piece of tofu carved into the shape of繁花 into his mouth with chopsticks, feeling the bursting sensation of the tofu under the pressure inside, followed by the liquid intertwined with multiple flavors, rolling between his lips and tongue, the exquisite taste permeating his heart, making people intoxicated.

“Since you have such a good foundation, if you don't embark on the path to becoming a god, I will feel sorry for you!”

“Of course, it's also fortunate that I was too bored living in the Dragon Realm when I was young, so I went to the Hall of Inheritance to pass the time and learned a little bit, otherwise you wouldn't have had the opportunity to come into contact with these secrets.”

“Let me tell you, don't think that there are many gods in this world, but their churches in the material world will definitely not allow such secrets to spread. You must know that every additional god means one more competitor. The number of believers, the source of faith, is limited, and the churches are already working hard to maintain believers and spread faith. How can they allow other gods to divide the already small cake?”

“Fortunately, the God of Nature system you belong to should be considered the most gentle of the several major god systems. Although they have been cracking down on evil god churches and believers, as long as you operate properly, they may not necessarily use force to contain you.”

“After all, you have a stable base, which is your own tribe and hundreds of thousands of people. Even if you establish a virtual God of Food in your own tribe for the tribesmen to believe in, the churches of the God of Nature system have no reason to directly interfere…”

“Hmm…”

Allen was thinking. The secrets that Figglas told him were still being digested, and even the many analyses that he was doing for Allen now, he hadn't fully processed in his mind.

“I want to know more now, how should I connect my advancement to demigod with the establishment of faith.”

“…Haha, that's a good question!”

Figglas laughed awkwardly to the sky a few times, then lowered his head and looked back at Allen: “Actually, I don't know!!!”

“I told you before, the strength system of our dragon clan is completely different from you humanoid intelligent races. We also don’t know the specific interaction between your gods and the power of faith.”

“What I'm telling you now is just speculation based on countless years of observation and recording of the experiences of you humanoid intelligent races becoming gods. As for the specifics of how to complete the interaction between faith and reality, I'm afraid you still have to rely on yourself to explore it bit by bit.”

“…”

At this moment, Allen felt relieved. If Figglas could help Allen solve this problem, then Allen would really have to be wary of the dragon's true intentions. This had nothing to do with so-called friendship, nor was it because Allen was suspicious, but just a feeling in Allen's heart, a summary of more than two hundred years of experience.

“Alas, let me tell you, you really have an advantage…”

Figglas continued enthusiastically to offer Allen suggestions.

Late at night, Figglas had skillfully found a place to enjoy himself, leaving Allen alone in the castle's study, quietly contemplating.

Allen's brain, which had been affected by the magical power of the mechanized mind, constantly churning out various thoughts, finally calmed down, allowing Allen to peacefully ponder the top-secret information the dragon had told him during the day.

Becoming a god, such simple words, when combined, were so exciting and yet felt so unattainable.

Although Allen had great confidence in himself, whether as a tribal chief managing the tribe or as an individual training and improving himself, he believed that he was more excellent than the vast majority of people in the world. But to say that one day he would overturn his past choices and regard becoming a god as his pursuit and goal, this required great courage and decisiveness, and it was not so easy, especially since Allen himself was never an unrealistic idealist.

The grand vision that Figglas had painted for Allen was very tempting and beautiful, but Allen also clearly recognized what kind of difficulties and obstacles he would encounter in the future if he made such a choice, as well as the pressure and deterrence from powerful forces.

No one could guarantee that others would not notice Allen's purpose, nor could they be sure that they would not bring deep hostility to Allen and his tribe because of this.

Currently, the opponents that Allen and his tribe needed to face in the wilderness were other alliance members, the strongest of whom were only the four demigod-level powerhouses and their tribes, as well as the ununited Drow Federation in the north. These opponents, in Allen's opinion, could be completely withstood and would not bring much resistance to his current goals.

But if he chose to become a god, then he would probably have to face the Natural God Temple, which was like a lurking force in the wilderness, never truly showing its true face. Although the power of the God Temple had always seemed harmless and even released enough goodwill to the major tribes and the wilderness, a careful observation and understanding would reveal that the power of the Natural God Temple had already penetrated into every corner of the wilderness, covering the entire sky.

Wanting to promote a new faith and god in the ubiquitous place of the Natural God Temple and embark on the road to becoming a god without being discovered was impossible. And after being discovered, what kind of reaction the Natural God Temple would ultimately make and how much impact it would have on Allen and the Greenwood Tribe were all unpredictable.

With the tribe's existing development path, as long as Allen didn't do anything stupid, the tribe would not be in danger of extinction for at least a thousand years in the future. Even with the solid foundation laid by Allen and the status brought by his upcoming demigod strength, it was not impossible for the tribe to last for ten thousand years.

However, now that the path initiated by the dragon was full of temptation and magic, once Allen set foot on it, the stable situation in the future would no longer exist, and everything would return to the unknown and dangerous mist.

Of course, since it could make Allen's heart flutter and worry, the benefits contained in this suggestion also had a bright future.

“Alas!!”

Even with the assistance of the mechanized mind to eliminate distracting thoughts and think rationally, Allen still felt that his brain had turned into two little people, fighting fiercely in the silent world of consciousness.

The difficult reality and the choice full of changes and risks made Allen sit for many days until Figglas knocked on the castle door again, refreshed.

“Have you thought about it?”

Seeing the exhaustion and struggle that could not be concealed on Allen's bear face, Figglas finally couldn't help but ask.

“…”

Allen did not answer, but remained silent.

“Actually, I have another suggestion here. I don’t know if you are interested in listening to it??”

Figglas mysteriously leaned in front of Allen, trying to please him.

“What suggestion?”

Allen was curious, but immediately regretted it.

“Hehe he~~”

“Speak, what do you want again?”

“Make me a dinner with your own hands tonight!!”

“…”

… … … …

“Actually, your difficulty, your biggest worry, isn’t it just that the Natural God Temple will have some drastic reaction?”

“Then it’s simple. Let’s secretly promote the image of the God of Food in the Greenwood Tribe first and see the Oakwood Theocracy’s attitude towards this.”

“After all, it’s in your tribe’s territory. Whether it’s secretly spreading the faith, formulating a confidential plan, or observing the Oakwood Theocracy’s reaction, it’s definitely easier to control the situation than promoting it in other places.”

“Anyway, you haven’t really been promoted to demigod yet. If things are exposed and the Oakwood Theocracy uses thunderous means to suppress it, you can also take advantage of the fact that the other church has no backing from gods and its strength has weakened to deal with it calmly.”

“At least in this way, the future path of you and your tribe can still have some guarantee, or rather, there is still a way back!!”

“…”

Allen raised his head and looked deeply at Figglas, who was talking volubly, seemingly moved by his rhetoric, but also seemingly having other intentions.

“Don’t get me wrong!! I just want to see what it’s like to start a church from scratch. What an interesting thing.”

Figglas seemed to have noticed something and quickly waved his hand to explain.

“I believe you.”

Allen was noncommittal.

“…How is it? Have you made a decision?”

“…No.”

“Alas!!”