Frog God Haikyu

  Lin Ke frowned and said, "The purpose is very clear, it's to harass Moses and the others. The frog may not bite people, but it can be annoying until they are exhausted and can't hold on anymore. They will eventually become panicked and fearful, and won't be able to move forward. No one can withstand endless torture, little by little wearing down their courage and determination. If they collapse, Seth will have succeeded."

  "Wow, this move is really ruthless! Chasing out so many frogs to bother people, I want to take action but can't find the opponent, there are too many frogs, and it's hard to drive them away!"

  Lin Ke pondered, "If the Frog God Haiguet doesn't show up, we don't need to either. This is a test for Moses and his people, and they must overcome this difficulty. As long as we pass through the Roni River's delta into the dry region, Haiguet won't be able to control so many frogs. At our current speed, it'll probably take several more days."

  Mei Danzuo: "This is a test of faith and willpower, to see how firm their determination is, whether they can persist in this environment. I found that David is a good kid, he eats and sleeps very stably, the calmer one's mind is, the less likely they are to be disturbed by such torture."

  Lin Ke smiled: "The frog is actually helping you test people, are you planning to guide that child in the next few days?"

  Mei Danzuo smiled: "I've never eaten frogs since I was a child, and later when I came to your tribe, I knew that frogs can also be eaten, and they're so delicious, now I'm craving again."

  ……

  A growing sense of unease and panic spread among the people, as the relentless torment continued day after day, causing some to become disoriented. Some speculated that this was a punishment from the gods, but where were their gods, Arroh and Mehndraz? The twelve Shaper-Priests exerted all their might, yet they could not completely drive away the ubiquitous frogs, reminiscent of Amun's encounter with scorpions in the desert.

  Many of the people said to Moses, "We can't take it anymore! Most of us are strong and healthy, but we just can't take this constant wandering without rest. Is this a punishment from God? Why must He torment us like this? Take us away from these woods and those water springs!"

  "Moses exhorted: 'We cannot leave the thicket now, or we will be discovered by the pursuing army. This is exactly what the evil god Eguzi wants to achieve. You are calling for Arroh, but have you thought about what you should do? Don't stop moving forward, quickly leave the Delta wetlands. The longer you stay here, the more suffering you will endure. Everyone gather around me and let me raise my staff to bless you all, washing away fatigue and unease.'"

  Moses led the tribes without stopping, despite being exhausted, and continued on the path guided by the divine spirit. That night while camping, David was sleeping amidst the croaking of frogs when he suddenly heard a voice in his mind saying: "David, son of Jesse, the messenger of God is calling you, please quietly exit your tent and head towards where the frogs are croaking the loudest, no one will notice you."

  David's courage is really big, these days everyone hears the frog croaking and feels nervous, but he dares to enter the dense forest where the frogs are loudest at midnight. The night watchmen were also tired and did not find David sneaking out of the tent. As David passed through the dense forest, the surrounding frog sounds suddenly became quiet, as if they had retreated to a very far place. Then he saw a small stream with a bonfire lit on its edge, and someone was sitting beside the fire.

  The man, wrapped in a cloak, hid his face, holding a long golden skewer, on which was threaded a string of frogs, clean and washed, sizzling over the fire, dripping with oil. With one hand he sprinkled salt on them, filling the air with an enticing aroma. David was startled, stepped forward and asked: "Who are you? How can you roast frogs, is this thing edible?"

  "Tell me first who you are and why have you come here?"

  "I am David Solomon, the brave warrior of Duketown, fulfilling my vow to return home under the guidance of our divine spirits. I was summoned by the messenger of God Arroh."

  Mudan Zuo stood up and smiled: "I am the messenger of the gods, these frogs have tormented you for so many days, dare you eat them?"

  David knelt down and said: "As long as you eat, I will eat."

  Meadow tore off a frog and ate it deliciously under the shadow of the cloak, then handed the golden needle to David: "Kid, are you hungry? It tastes great!"

  David picked up a roasted frog and took a small bite, then stuffed the whole string of frogs into his stomach, savoring every bite. Meidanzo smiled at him until he finished eating, then asked: "Was it delicious?"

  "Delicious, too delicious!" David nodded and said.

  "Are you still afraid of them?" Mei Danzuo asked again.

  David shook his head and said, "Don't be afraid, I wasn't afraid to begin with. Messenger of the gods, did you summon me just to invite me to this delicious meal and tell me not to fear frogs?"

  "Right," said Mei Danzuo with a smile, "but I have something else, this is our little secret, don't tell others."

  From that day on, Maidanzuo awakened the power for David, but never revealed his true face, only saying that he was a messenger of the divine spirit Aroqia. David asked him what this power was, and Maidanzuo replied that it was the power of faith, which required people to cultivate with firm beliefs.

  David asked Medanzo what the frogs were all about, and Medanzo explained: "Those are the messengers of the evil god Egusha who are playing tricks to block the footsteps of the people of Ducktown and shake your faith."

  David asked: "Can't you, as a messenger of God, drive away those frogs?"

  Maidanzo shook his head and said, "The frogs live in this wetland, you will encounter them as you walk through. This is the difficulty that you need to overcome yourself. If the evil god's messenger takes action directly, the divine messenger will stop him, but you can't expect everything without paying a price, thinking that the gods will grant you everything. Including the power I imparted to you today, it was granted by the gods, but you can only cultivate it yourself."

  ……

  The next day, David returned to the camp, and Abner ran over to him and hugged him, saying: "Son, where have you been? Everyone was worried about you! If we hadn't seen you again, Moses would have sent someone to look for you."

  David held up a branch with a string of frogs on it, saying: "I'll go get some food, put them over the fire to roast and sprinkle some salt, they really taste great."

  The people around him said in terror: "David, how can you eat such things? They are demons sent to torment us, be careful or you will be poisoned to death!"

  "David laughed and said: 'I ate it last night, it was delicious, what are you guys afraid of?'"

  Moses walked over and patted David's head, saying: "You're very brave, you've done a great job. If others don't want to eat it, you can just eat it yourself."

  After five more days, the group finally left the wetlands at the edge of the Roni River Delta and found themselves facing undulating dry hills with grasses and shrubs growing on them. The croaking sounds had finally disappeared. Link and Medanzzo stood on a treetop watching Moses and his companions enter an area without any frogs, when they suddenly felt a powerful force emerging from behind. Link whispered: "Hai Qiu has appeared, right in the thicket, is he going to make a direct move?"

  Mei Danzuo suddenly pulled out the key of fate, swung his hand and put on a scorpion shell armor for himself, turned around with a cold face and said: "My hands are also itchy, I've been waiting impatiently for a long time!"

  Lin Ke also turned around and quietly reminded, "Be careful, this Haiget's stealth technique is more clever than us, and we haven't found his hiding position for so many days."

  "Of course, with frogs everywhere, he can easily conceal his presence. I suspect he's a mutant frog demon like Yun Meng, born with the ability to move undetected in his growing environment. If Yun Meng hides in the swamp and conceals her presence, we'd have a hard time finding her too. But if he wants to take action, things will be different."

  When speaking, only the empty space among the trees is seen to have countless water droplets floating up, drifting from the leaves, the pond, and the nearby stream into mid-air. Each drop, like a transparent pearl, reflects dazzling light under the sunlight, it's really beautiful! A person emerged from among the grass leaves, looking like a young man.

  The man wore a green robe with deep brown stripes, his eyes were slightly rounded and bulging, but he was still quite handsome, except that there were also several brown-green stripes on his cheeks and forehead, like oil-painted decorations, reflecting a faint floating luster, looking eerie and mysterious.

  As soon as he appeared, the floating water droplets began to glow and gradually lengthened in mid-air, transforming into transparent arrows. Countless arrows were densely packed, all pointing at Midna and Link. Midna pointed at him with the Fated Sheath and asked, "Ghirahim?"

  The newcomer was slightly taken aback: "So you know me? Since you know it's me, why haven't you put down your weapons and paid respects?"

  "Mei Danzuo narrowed his eyes and said, "Why? Frog Angel, you've been causing trouble for the past few days. What makes you think we'll put down our weapons and pay homage to you? To be honest, we don't know you and don't want to know you. It's just that when we see those frogs, we think of you."

  Haiguet also narrowed his eyes, which were also olive green in color, like a thin vertical slit on the iris: "You are indeed not ordinary mortals, seeing the legendary Haiguet and yet not being surprised at all, even daring to speak like this?"

  "Those so-called truly transcendent and immortal gods, I've seen them too, but they're not my gods. What about you? Who sent you to disturb that group of suffering people and what's your purpose?"

  Haquet's figure was submerged in a transparent water arrow, those arrows filled with power but never shot out. He looked at Maidanzo and then at Link, slightly surprised, and shouted: "Are you disciples of Scorpio King Sui Shui? No wonder you got the power bestowed by the gods. But this is Egu, I am the messenger of Set, the king of all heavenly messengers, how dare you block me?"

  Lin Ke had not spoken, but he was not idle either. At the same time that the water droplets between the trees turned into arrows, a bow also floated out in front of him, its string opening up to form a series of illusory shadows, transforming into many strings, this bow looked just like a harp. Dozens of arrows flew out, densely packed and alternating on the bowstring, precisely made from the tail needles of the Variant Giant Scorpion. He and Mei Dangzuo were still wearing scorpion shell armor, no wonder Hai Qiuhe had misunderstood.

  "We are messengers of whom, it is none of your concern who you are a messenger of, nor is it our concern. Those poor people have done nothing wrong and have never offended you, why must they be tormented?"

  Haquait obviously misunderstood Medanzo's words as a default, revealing a contemptuous expression: "Scorpion King Siwah himself has not yet obtained the qualification to join the Anunaqi God System, and you are even more unlikely to have hope. A demigod who was exiled in the desert, without a god system to rely on, sent an envoy here to make an enemy of me, don't you think it's ridiculous? I see that you two still have some achievements, put down your weapons and swear allegiance to me, I can consider introducing you to the Angel King Set, maybe there is still a chance to join the Nine United God System. Please kneel down and thank me!"

  The background of his words is very complicated. It was said that in the distant past, when the Anunnaki gods broke out in a war among the gods, Amat and Kingu were on the defeated side, while Enlil and Marduk were on the victorious side. According to legend, Amat created nine monsters during the war, including the nine-headed serpent Humbaba, the scorpion-man Pashittu, and the giant lion-man Shulmu. These nine monsters naturally also lost, some were beheaded, some were captured, and some fled.

  These monsters are extremely powerful, and even after Enlil and others won the victory, they didn't want to pay a huge price to exterminate them. It's best to make use of them for themselves, or let them swear not to be enemies again, so there is no need to fight bitterly. Humbaba was subdued by Enlil and became the gatekeeper of the divine realm, which can be regarded as joining the Anunnaki pantheon.

  The Scorpion Man was forced to agree not to be an enemy of Enlil and others, but also did not submit to them. He was then exiled to the desert, losing his chance to join the Anunnaki pantheon, and he himself became known as the Scorpion King. The Lion Man Yun was coveted by both Marduk and Enlil after the Great War, and was allowed to join the Anunnaki pantheon. However, Yun fell in love with the goddess Mu Yan, but ultimately left heartbroken due to a well-known curse, becoming the wandering Lion King.

  Suishui was very powerful, but he belonged to the exiled demigod. He himself was not a transcendent immortal god nor could he get the guidance of the divine system. In the eyes of formal divine system members, his messenger had of course gotten the wrong person. Haikyu opened his mouth and gave Medanzo and Link an opportunity, letting them put down their weapons and swear to follow him. He could introduce them to Set or perhaps they might have a chance to be introduced into the Nine Unions Divine System.

  If someone else had heard this, it might have been a great temptation, but for Haquet to say these things to Link and Midna was like playing the violin to a cow. These two didn't even understand what he meant, let alone them, even the "God Amun" they believed in probably wouldn't understand why they wanted to get the divine guide?