"Elder, what should we do next? Why did Father God suddenly leave? Could this be another trial Father God has given us?"
In the empty city, several older Dinosaur People gathered around the Dinosaur Elder, asking anxiously and at a loss.
The Dinosaur Elder had clearly only just come back to his senses as well. He frowned in thought and did not answer immediately.
Instead, he considered their next course of action.
He more or less understood the situation with the Four Gods.
Other than the God of Snakes, who had been thoroughly beaten up by Father God, the other two gods clearly still showed some concern for them.
That had been evident when the God of Snakes had tried to tear up the divine covenant and attack him and his people the moment Father God left.
Fortunately, the God of Water and the God of Sky had warned him, forcing the God of Snakes to retreat.
The God of Snakes, and even the Serpent People themselves, could be considered a potential threat to the Dinosaur People.
Even if they had temporarily formed an alliance, the Dinosaur Elder believed that was entirely because Father God's greatness had forced the Serpent People into submission for the time being.
Thus, in the Dinosaur Elder's eyes, the Serpent People were a threat, an unstable element.
For that reason, after all Four Gods had left, the Dinosaur Elder planned to demand the harshest possible war reparations from the Serpent People.
Though the Four Races had now joined forces, the debts from before still had to be settled. One matter was one matter, and that was the best justification.
Without the gods interfering, the Serpent People would have to accept it whether they wanted to or not. The Dinosaur Elder had already made up his mind.
At the same time, since the God of Water and the God of Sky were close to Father God, and since they had just defended his people, the Dinosaur Elder intended to cast aside all past grudges with those two races.
They would draw closer to the Shark People and Mosquito People, squeezing the Serpent People's living space.
They would not go so far as to wage war against the Serpent People or exterminate them, but his people had to suppress them as much as possible, ensuring they would never have a chance to threaten their race.
Thinking of all this, the Dinosaur Elder once again praised Father God.
Leaving behind the Serpent People and the God of Snakes was clearly another trial Father God had given to his people.
Father God was using this to tell his children—
They had to remain vigilant against external threats at all times and must not let down their guard simply because of the alliance of the Four Gods.
As Children of Lava, as warriors of lava, they had to maintain the image of the bravest people at all times.
Only then could they truly be considered the children of the God of Lava and Earth.
The Dinosaur Elder had never doubted Father God's wisdom.
That was clear from the solid "giant city" Father God had created.
In the Dinosaur Elder's eyes, this giant city was the most precious gift Father God had left for his people.
It was precisely because of this giant city that they could establish the most direct and intimate ties with the other races in the years to come.
The Dinosaur Elder had realized this after seeing the God of Water and the God of Sky leave some of their people here.
Therefore, the Dinosaur People had to protect this holy city created by Father God.
With that in mind, the Dinosaur Elder planned to keep most of his people here and use the two strange "caves" Father God had left behind as models, quickly settling all his people in this place.
Thus, after believing he had understood all of Father God's intentions, the Dinosaur Elder immediately explained everything to his people.
Then, amid the impassioned praises of Father God from the crowd, the Dinosaur Elder announced several matters.
First, they would invite a Mosquito Person to serve as a language interpreter and have them demand compensation from the Serpent People for this war.
Second, they would send some of their people to begin learning the languages of the other three races, as this would be of the utmost importance in future communication.
Third, some of their people would continue guarding the Great Volcano, but sixty percent of them had to come live in the Holy City bestowed by Father God.
Fourth, they would search for the place where Father God slumbered and explore underground. This was something every generation of Dinosaur People would have to do in the future.
The gods' love of sleep was no longer a secret among the races.
There was a high chance Father God had suddenly left to find a place to sleep.
Though this was meant to test his people, it was only natural for his children to seek out the place where Father God slumbered.
Thus, after determining several major directions, all the Dinosaur People immediately sprang into action.
And just as the Dinosaur People established their broad direction for future development, the other three races—the Shark People, Mosquito People, and Serpent People—also discussed their own rough plans for the future.
Time flowed like water, and the years passed like a shuttle.
While Kangqiao slumbered within the underground lava, time outside seemed to fast-forward at an astonishing rate.
Perhaps a thousand years passed, or perhaps ten thousand.
Over those merciless years, many elders died, yet newcomers continued to inherit their ancestors' will and develop generation after generation.
In the once-empty Holy City, enormous stone houses had long since filled every corner.
The entire Holy City had been divided into four districts.
The four races of east, west, south, and north each occupied one district.
The humanoids who had once lived underground or in trees had all moved into the houses of the city-state.
The Four Races had completely transitioned from the age of primitive tribes into the age of city-states.
During this era, through the friendly mingling and development of the Four Races over generations, a common language was invented.
At the same time, writing began to take shape thanks to the intelligence of the Mosquito People.
The birth of language and writing allowed the Four Races to rapidly prosper, while also turning the Holy City into the continent's undisputed cultural center.
The permanent population of the Four Races here had already surpassed four hundred thousand.
Naturally, the city itself could not house so many people, so the Four Races built low, somewhat crude residential districts around the enormous city walls.
Although the Four Races had entered the age of city-states, it was only the beginning.
None of them had yet established a new system, nor had they divided people into distinct social ranks.
If there were classes to speak of, there were only two.
The Sacrificial Order, the gods' closest attendants, were responsible for commanding battles and held the highest status and authority within their races.
Warriors. There was no need to explain them. In this era, regardless of sex, every member of every race became a natural warrior upon reaching adulthood.
Thus, the Four Races still followed their ancient tribal systems. Only their way of life made them appear to have entered a somewhat more civilized age of city-states.
They clearly had a giant city and a central city for trade, yet they still had not invented money.
Here, the Four Races merely shared information and bartered goods, so food remained the hardest currency of the era.
Furthermore, because this was the Divine Covenant Land designated by the gods of the Four Races, the influence of faith naturally led them to believe that living here gave them a greater chance of receiving the gods' favor.
Thus, although the Holy City was a center of trade and culture, it was even more like a "safe zone."
The strongest warriors of the Four Races gathered here, and with all four races protecting it together, it had also become a better place to raise children.
The winds of time swept across the world. While the Four Races continued to grow stronger, external threats also emerged one after another.
In this extraordinary world, no one knew when or where another powerful race and the god suddenly awakening behind them might appear.
Just as now, the Four Races had encountered another somewhat troublesome enemy on this land.
A kind of Giant Worm that lived underground. They had no intelligence, but they reproduced rapidly and would occasionally ambush and devour life on the surface.
Aside from these Giant Worms, the Four Races had also discovered several gods without any followers.
That was at least a small blessing amid misfortune.
However, overseas, the God of Water had also encountered trouble in recent years.
The territory of the deep sea had begun invading the Near Sea in large swathes. As fellow water gods, the followers of the Lord of the Deep Sea were launching fierce attacks against the territories of the Shark People under the Lord of the Near Sea.
The long-standing standoff among the four seas had been broken. To deal with the Lord of the Deep Sea, the water god of the Near Sea, who took the form of a Water Lizard, had even called upon the God of Snakes and the God of Wind for aid.
Even so, the current situation remained far from optimistic.
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